The Beyond the Play series wraps up with Izzy's story, and it might be the best of the series. Reilly ends on a high note and I'm excited to see where her writing takes us next.

We've met Izzy before, the youngest of the supremely gifted Callahan family, and an athlete in her own right (she's a setter in volleyball). We've also met Nikolai in passing, he's the captain of McKee rival, U-Mass Amherst's hockey team.

After a summer of casual fun in NYC, Nikolai and Izzy part ways, expecting to never cross paths again. But that plan implodes when Nikolai is expelled from Amherst and his wealthy grandfather pulls strings to get him a spot at McKee. Nikolai is ecstatic that he can be back in Izzy's orbit, but neither are ready to let her older brother know they are dating.

This is an interesting book from a pacing perspective. A bit of a spoiler, but the hidden relationship aspect of the book doesn't last past the mid-point, and the Callahan's welcome Nikolai into the fold easily. Because of that decision, the book drags a bit in the second half. I'm all for healthy relationships, but there's probably room to cull some of the extraneous pieces of the story.

Because of the (spoilerly) decision discussed above, the tension in the story really isn't from within the couple, but rather external to the relationship. Both have to deal with family issues, Nikolai's more traumatic than Izzy's, but both of which affect the way the two interact with each other and craft their futures. I appreciate that approach to a third act, it feels more natural than a contrived break-up.

* Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review! *

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
Not normally a hockey romance or any sports romance gal but took a chance on this and it mostly paid off. Enjoyed the spice and the secret relationship aspect . Thank you for not including a third act break up! We love to see it

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.


I am loving hockey romances and this one did not disappoint! I loved the dual POVs l, the right level or spice and thought it was overall cute.

3.5 stars

After a summer fling, Nik and Izzy return to their respective colleges. After covering for one of his teammates, Nik gets expelled and ends up at Izzy’s school. The problem? His longtime rival and new hockey captain is her brother.

It’s a cheesy, dual pov, spicy, hockey romance. Probably will resonate most with those in their early twenties.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

Oh my gosh, this book was so good. I freaking love forbidden romances where you have the brothers best friend you’ve got the teammate rolled in and of course you have hockey romance involved which is chef’s kiss., I loved Isabel. I loved her character and her and Nikolai Together was so cute it was kind of like a second chance romance roll together with the forbidden romance. This book was so good.

I’ve loved every Grace Reilly book I’ve ever read and this was no different. Izzy and Nikolai’s relationship felt real and sweet and sizzling hot every time I turned the page. Watching them go from hookup to friends to committed lovers was the best part about this book, especially because I actually liked Nikolai. I like all Grace Reilly men, but he was really great to read. Izzy was also super likeable. The smut was :0 really good…. left me wanting more!

I liked the cover and description but the story itself did not land for me. Found the writing to be …not good.

This is the 4th book of the Beyond the Play series. I loved hearing Isabelle’s story after getting pieces of her in the other books. The romance between Nik and Isabelle is sweet and heavy all at the same time. Grace Reilly does not skimp on the 🌶️. Loved getting updates on all the Callahan siblings, It was a great ending to an entertaining sports romance series.

Thanks to Grace Reilly and @netgalley for this ARC.

✨4.5 stars rounded up✨

i love love love grace reilly & the callahan family, and while i’m sad to see this series come to an end this was a perfect way to see it through! this had allllll the tropes i love

-sports romance
-secret relationship
-brother’s rival turned teammate
-found family
-HEA
-no third act breakup

the banter was fun and cutesy and my gawd the spice. and even though it was a bit over the top at times i loved the course nik and izzy’s relationship followed. there was great representation of anxiety/ptsd, women’s sports, and a more diverse cast than in past books in the series.

thanks to netgalley, harper collins and avon books, and the author for the advance copy!

tw's: childhood trauma, domestic abuse, alcoholism, disordered eating, ptsd/panic disorder, explicit sexual content

this book handles a lot of heavy topics for a romance but it does it really well and shows a developing relationship without toxicity. there's a good balance between soft and cute relationship development, spicy scenes, and talk about abuse and mental health

i really fell in love with the characters in this, not only the MC and love interest, but also the supporting characters. the family and friendship bonds in this book were fantastic

i think my biggest complaint was the length. i love the short chapters because it was really easy to fly through this but a lot of the chapters seemed like filler chapters that didn't necessarily add anything important to the plot. also, this book is filthy and i loved it but it probably bordered on too much smut. i prefer when there's a lot of tension and build up to the first sex scene but in this book they're literally all over each other for the first time at 15%

I DNF-ed at 63%.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read this as an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I didn’t finish this book because it is one of the most immature books I’ve ever read. It was far too long for a sports romance, and the characters are supposed to be college age but act like they’re in their 20s/30’s. It’s insane.

Show me a 19 year old who calls their boyfriend honey. Be so for real.

The author referred to “old fashioned DVD’s”. Girly pop, DVD’s are not old fashioned I want to just jump off the roof reading that.

The author writes a scene where the FMC comes from crawling to the MMC. First of all, again, these are 19 and 20 year old kids. I don’t think either of them are well versed enough to know themselves well enough to know what does or doesn’t work for them in a D/s relationship, even if it’s only sexual in nature. And no one orgasms from just crawling.

I had to stop reading to just be able to stop rolling my eyes.

It's finally the sister's time to shine! I loved Izzy and Nik. Their romance was adorable, and I loved how they worked through their own issues together. There were a lot of emotions throughout this book. I only have one complaint. I enjoy Grace Reilly's writing, but I do wish that she would edit down her books by 50-100 pages. When I got to around 50% in this book, there was a conflict that felt like it could have ended after the resolution, but the book went on again building to another conflict before resolving and ending. Both situations were good and made the book great, but maybe something in between could have been cut a bit. That's my only criticism. Overall, this was a fantastic addition to the series and a great way to end it.

Volleyball and hockey is honestly a great combo that I have not seen be done!
I have not read any of the other books in the series but this one made me want to!
If you like the dating a siblings enemy tope, this one is for you!

TW: Parental abuse, spousal abuse, childhood trauma

Wicked Serve is the fourth and final installment in Grace Reilly's Beyond the Play series and it's actually my first foray into her work. I tried to give the others a go on audiobook to get some experience in before reading and reviewing this but the narrations were not so good and I didn't want them to affect how I felt about this story.

Overall I liked this book, BUT it was super long for a romance and it dragged a lot. It's a little over 450 pages when I think romances especially contemporary ones are in the 300 range. There were ALOT of obstacles for the couple to face instead of just one main thing which I thought detracted from how great this book could be. I loved the characters though, they are really fleshed out. Isabelle is a sunshiney (he literally calls her sunshine) volleyball player. She's a bit all over the place when it comes to what she wants her passion in life to be but I didn't think it was abnormal, we all are searching for our thing in life at her age. I thought she was a bit shallow at first glance but she grew on me and her self doubt was real and made me feel empathetic towards her. Nik is a hockey player who she had a summer fling with but can't get out of her head or heart. He grew up in Russia and has suffered from childhood trauma, so much so that he has panic attacks from it.

I thought their chemistry was smoking and there's loads of spice throughout this book but there's still plenty of focus on the plot as well. I liked the focus on therapy and how it can help people with such issues, the more we normalize it the more people can get help. I'm sure if I had read the other books I would've really enjoyed seeing the cameos of the other couples because they are really present in this book. The family is huge and they all band together to support one another which was very sweet.

In the end, an enjoyable read if a bit long but I will definitely give the author another go in the future. Thank you so much to Avon and HarperVoyager for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC of "Wicked Serve" by Grace Reilly in exchange for my honest review!! I am a huge sucker for college sports romance books so I was really excited to be approved for this ARC!! 

The MMC and FMC had great banter and chemistry throughout the novel. When I first picked up this arc I did not realize that this is the fourth installment in a stand-alone series. It can be read as a standalone book- although I may go back and read the first three but I did not find myself confused when reading. This was a fast-paced and sexy read!! 

"Wicked Serve" is a must-read for fans of new adult fiction!!

volleyball and hokey romance?? sign me right up!!!


I liked this book so much but before requesting this book I was so excited to read this but I wished I knew it was part of a series :( I guess that’s my fault for not doing my research beforehand. my rating has nothing to do with that but I felt necessary to put in my review.

overall I liked this story so much!! It was so cute and wholesome and the spice caught me off guard (not complaining just surprised)😭 I wasn’t expecting that from this book (I love cute book covers that seem innocent until you read the actual book hehehe) the story was so adorable and I loved that about this story, my only problem was that it was so long and dragged on for a while. Also I definitely regret not reading the other books in the series but after this book I will definitely check out the other books in this series/ books from the author.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. 🫶🏼

I am SCREAMING I can't believe I got the ARC for Wicked Serve, and I also can't believe the extent to which this book exceeded my expectations!

Wicked Serve is by far my favorite book in the Beyond the Play series. I loved both First Down (4.5 stars) and Breakaway (5 stars), but I wasn't the biggest fan of Stealing Home (3.5 stars)—though Grace Reilly absolutely outdid herself with Wicked Serve.

First of all, the situationship vibes. I love how Nik and Izzy's relationship started off as just a summer thing. Very August and Cardigan by Taylor Swift + Casual by Chappell Roan. And the progression of their relationship was absolutely perfect. The tension. THE SPICE. Their relationship felt very natural, with a few bumps, as one would expect with college students. I seriously thought there was going to be a major miscommunication or third act breakup after some things were not communicated...but both characters handled everything like ADULTS and without unnecessary angst.

Moving on, let's talk about NIK AHHH. My new book boyfriend. I want to immediately reread this so I can have more Nik content lol. But I love how the author explored his childhood trauma and mental health. He was such a complex character, and his willingness to improve himself for the good of his relationship with Izzy is perhaps the most attractive thing a man could do. Also him dropping everything for Izzy in one of the scenes...UNWELL.

And Izzy! Cue Mirrorball by Taylor Swift. Her theme song. I've wanted an Izzy book this entire series, and again, this completely delivered. I loved how the book went into her trials and tribulations with volleyball and her struggle to see her worth + to avoid comparisons in a family of superstar athletes.

I also loved the "guest" appearances from the other characters and the Callahan family. Cooper and Nik's bromance was everything. And I loved how Copper wasn't annoyingly overprotective (or even worse, misogynistic) when Izzy and Nik revealed themselves as a couple.

Anyway, I can't wait for this to release in August so I can talk about it more!

Thank you so much to Avon and Netgalley for sending me an ARC of Wicked Serve. As always, my reviews are one hundred percent voluntary and all opinions are my own :)

I loved this book! The main characters, their personalities, the family dynamics of the FMC, the friendships, all of it. The spice was great and definitely spicier than I thought it would be- so big fan! The brother’s rival trope was also pretty fun!

"Wicked Serve" by Grace Reilly serves up a winning combination of sports, romance, and irresistible chemistry! It is the fourth book in the set, following the Callahan siblings and the people that steal their hearts. Set in the high-stakes world of competitive college athletics, this novel follows the captivating journey of Isabelle, a volleyball player who loves her sport but feels like her worth is tied up in her success, and Nikolai, a hockey star torn between his dream of playing in the NHL and his obligations to his family, as they navigate the challenges of their respective sports and unexpectedly find love in each other's arms. Reilly expertly captures the intensity of athletic rivalries, while also tenderly portraying the blossoming romance between Nik and Izzy. Their dynamic relationship is filled with passion, humor, and genuine emotion, keeping readers eagerly turning the pages until the very end. "Wicked Serve" is a must-read for fans of sports romance, delivering a power play of heartwarming moments and sizzling chemistry that will leave you cheering for more.

I love volleyball and hockey so this was right up my alley. I thought the characters were all adorable, with enough backstory to keep you interested in both the sports aspect and the character growth. The pacing of the book flowed extremely well, and it did not have the same storyline that you usually find in sports romances. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Thank you!