The way I ADORED Izzy and Nikolai. Nik was truly such a broken boy and I think he evolved SO WELL throughout the entire book. Izzy has been shadowed by her brothers her whole life and it was so nice to finally get her POV.

The way these two complemented each other was perfection. This book was truly the perfect end to the Beyond the Play series!

“I didn’t say goodbye because I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to shut the door on us.”

Wicked Serve (Beyond the Play, Book 4)
Author: Grace Reilly
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Isabelle Callahan has been in the shadows of her brothers her entire life; despite playing volleyball, she isn’t the star athlete that they are, and she doesn’t know where the future will take her. A summer fling with Nikolai leaves her even more confused because it was just that, a fling. So why is she so hurt when it ends? Unlike Izzy, Nikolai’s future has been decided for him, especially after having been kicked out of school and off his Hockey Team. When he ends up at their rival school, where Izzy attends, he knows he won’t be able to stay away from her. Except now, Nik has officially been warned off Izzy by his new team captain and her brother.

This pair was clearly inseparable during their summer fling - and not just in the bedroom. The time together allowed for time to really learn and understand the other to a depth that no one else ever has before. What used to be each of them, alone on a path of unknowns, has evolved into this couple that is stronger together. When forces try to keep them apart, it’s alluring to watch them fight it and prove their love.

A brother’s teammate/rival was the perfect story for Izzy to wrap up the Callahan family. We needed the drama and protectiveness that her brothers showed us in the first 3 books. Add in this couple's chemistry and we had a spicy story as well! It’s disappointing to say this series has come to an end, but it has been a top notch first series for Grace and I am so excited to see what else she has in the pipeline.

If you like:
Grumpy/Sunshine
Second Chance
Brother’s Teammate/Ex-Rival


TW🚫: mentions of domestic abuse, alcoholism, disordered eating, panic disorder, and cheating.

Reviewed by: Kassi

This review was written by members of the Sporty Spice Book Club (sporty.spice.book.club on both Instagram and TikTok).

From seeing this story everywhere to learning it’s a romance between a broody hockey players and his rivals little sister I knew I needed to read this. After a summer fling between the two ended Isabelle never expects to see Nikolai again. Ready for her sophomore year of college and the opportunity to advance in her volleyball career the last thing she expects is Nikolai to show up at her college telling her he goes here now and plays hockey for them. This book was absolutely adorable from start to finish. One thing I adored in this was at the core this entire book was about Nikolai and Isabelle and two people making it work despite past trauma their future right at their fingertips. When the two of them got together early on in this I was worried where the story would take me. And while this book did have slow moments and maybe moments that seemed mundane I enjoyed seeing a couple just be themselves to their core without the thrown in drama and back and forth. I love how sure Nikolai stayed about Isabelle from the very beginning despite his past threatening to unravel everything he always dreamed of. And Isabelle being his number 1 supporter through everything. Supporting his love for hockey, his panic attacks the the way the past almost tore them apart. The way Cooper and Nikolai were able to develop their own friendship and give Nikolai the family he always needed. This story had a lot of spice and while I enjoyed it I do think it took me out of the story a bit. I throughly enjoyed the plot, the side characters, returning characters and the world this author created. It feels like a warm hug and you can feel the love pouring from each character on every page. While the ending was everything I could have hoped for I love the way the author gave us a realistic ending of two people working so hard to be their best version of themselves for each other.

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this arc! Overall a quick read for me, and a great change of pace from heavier books I’d been reading. I have it a 3.5/5 for a score - I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t dying to pick it back up when I put it down. I wish there had been a little more story building in the beginning of the story so I could feel more attached to the characters from the jump. Overall, I’d still recommend! We love hockey romance!

Wicked Serve is a cute sports romance novel. It’s filled with love, drama, and lots of spice. Nikolai’s past broke my heart but with courage & bravery, he faced his demons head on & succeeded. His story is truly inspirational. I love the entire Callahan family & especially Izzy. Her love & support for Nikolai is unmatched. This was a great story about how two people truly grew together & enhanced their relationship by being there & supporting one another. A true love story.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher HarperCollins & of course the author, Grace Reilly for the ARC!

he calls her his sunshine in english and in russian ◡̈ also fly me across the world to meet my
favorite animal to tell me you love me in russian and english. always a sucker for a bilingual boy

My favorite from Grace Reilly!! These two hooked me from the start and I was so excited for them to get their happy ending ☹️ in terms of writing style there were a few minor things that weren’t my favorite, but that’s completely a me thing

I absolutely loved this book!! Isabelle & Nik’s story was the cutest 🩷 This was the perfect ending to the Beyond the Play series! Nikolai has made his way to the top of my book boyfriend list 😍 (we love a man who takes accountability) I highly recommend reading this book when it comes out and thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC!

DNF @ 20%

I think this is just further proof that college romances are not my thing. I just found the character so annoying and immature (makes sense since their teenagers but wasn’t enjoyable for my to read). FMC was critical of a girl for not ever wearing pink??? Which was just such a weird thing to throw in there and immediately made me not like her. She also describes herself as “not wife material” when again, she’s literally a teenager. Like girl, maybe just worry about school right now. She’s also very hot and cold for the mmc. She complains about him constantly but literally the first time she sees him she kisses him and they’re flirting and then suddenly she’s crying and yelling at him.
And the mmc is no better, he knows he hurt her but the first time he sees her he’s making jokes and acting like nothing happened. He gives off your stereotypical misogynistic bro vibes which I was not a fan of.
The boys in this book constantly refer to “chirping about girls” I don’t even know what that means but it was used over and over again and was so annoying

This book just didn’t really do it for me and I decided to save myself the trouble of finishing it

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

I enjoyed Nikolai and Isabelle's story. Nikolai has trauma to deal with, but finds solace with Isabelle. Isabelle has some issues with her overachiever family, but they help her resolve it. Nikolai tries to handle his issues alone, but luckily Isabelle doesn't allow that. Her family also helps him out and becomes his found family. Together, they do what they need to do to achieve their dreams. Lovely story.

Wicked Serve wraps up the Callahan siblings stories so well! From the very start you could feel the chemistry between the two characters and getting to experience their love story was magical. The book does deal with some heavier topics but it felt very real how the issues were faced. Over all I can’t wait for everyone to dive into this book!

This book was so cute! I loved it! By far my favorite in the series so far. I loved both characters and watching them grow both separately and together. The real star of the show was their relationship tho! They were super cute together and had so much chemistry. But most of all they communicated! That’s so rare in contemporary romance and it was so refreshing to read about a couple who was full of passion but also talked to one another and worked to be the best they could be and support one another. The writing was excellent and I loved these two! Can’t wait to read more of Grace Reilly !!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon books for this ARC!

I’ve loved the Callahan family since reading First down and each book gets better! Seeing the only Callahan sister get her HEA was worth the wait🏐🩷

Izzy is a volleyball player and soon to be wedding planner. She has a summer fling with her brother’s rival, Nik. Once the school year starts, she’s surprised Nik is now attending her university and teammates with her brother. They can’t stay away from each other and have a secret relationship. They help each other through a lot and it’s so sweet. I enjoyed when Nik would speak Russian for her,

This was a great ending to this series with a sweet epilogue. I can’t wait for everyone to check this out!

Tropes:
Sports romance
Brother’s rival
Secret relationship
He calls her “sunshine”
Emotional

I actually read the first 3 books in an entire weekend, coincidentally I was approved for this one the following week. I finished this book in 1 day, it was the perfect ending to the series. I can see these books easily becoming a comfort read, however the reason I didn't rated these books any higher is because I felt that they just barely touched the surface on the real issues, and they could have gone a little bit deeper.

All in all, it's a great series to get lost in. Checks all of my boxes, the spiciness is off the charts! However, it wasn't all spice there was still a plot to each story. These are all great book although I don't think they'd classify as standalones. I will miss the Callahan family.

I was gifted the ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review as always, all words are my own.

The end of the Callahan’s had to come eventually and let me tell you Izzy and Nik were the PERFECT way to wrap up this sweet series. They are THE PERFECT grumpy/sunshine, secret summer fling turned relationship?? The fact that Nik and Cooper are rivals turned teammates?? Seeing Cooper and Seb be over protective older brothers?? But ALSO so understanding (of course Seb more than Cooper right away)??? Nik and Izzy have a special place in my heart and I’m sad to see them go but also SO GRATEFUL to have already read their story!!

Everything about this book made my heath ACHE. Nik and Tangy?? Seeing all the Callahan’s throughout the book?? Nik speaking Russian to Izzy? Nik exclusively calling Izzy ‘Isabelle’!? The way they’re able to comfort and care for each other??

I don’t even know how to talk about how much I love them??? They were sweet and fun and able to do vulnerable with each other (eventually). I am DESPERATE to have the whole summer in heavy detail. But every time they talked about it it was clear it was so easy between them. And then when they reconnected, even though they both were hurting, it was seamless. Even though they had to hide it from Cooper, even though they both needed to focus…it didn’t matter because they were meant to be!

Nik is the saddest broken boy but his sunshine girl makes his world bright and I LOVE THAT FOR THEM SO MUCH. Nik’s past is so heavy and still weighs him down. watching him struggle was so hard, but also watching him open up to Izzy, and then Cooper, and then eventually his mother was so rewarding. And he was able to do it because of Izzy, because he loved her and wanted to be better for her, for himself, for them.

The end was PERFECT. It was the sweetest end for all the Callahan’s and everything I could have ever asked for 🥹

Thank you so much to Avon for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Izzy Callahan spends the summer before her sophomore year in a secret fling with her brother’s hockey rival, Nikolai. The sparse snippets we got of their summer romance honestly sounded so cute, but we don’t get much. Which is why when they run into each other on campus after Nikolai transfers to McKee and they pick up again almost immediately, I didn’t feel that I had a basis on which to root for them. Without seeing how they fell in love, I wasn’t fully invested in their relationship as much as I was with the other Callahan siblings’ love stories. Even though I was missing that initial connection, I did shift into rooting for them by the end though and I loved the couple they became.

My favorite character in this book was actually Izzy’s brother, Cooper (who was the MMC in <i>Breakaway</i>). The way his dynamic with Nikolai develops was a joy to read. Seeing Nikolai interact individually with all of the brothers was honestly so special. I would say <i>Wicked Serve</i> wasn’t my favorite of the series, but it was great to be back with the Callahan family.

Also, this didn’t factor into my rating but… I know this is a fictional world and a fictional version of the NHL they’re talking about, but the Sharks? It brought me out of the story every time they were mentioned because of how bad of a team they are in real life.

This book was so good. I loved Nikolai he was such a easy character to fall in love with. However there was so much about him that breaks your heart. Isabelle is his perfect match and was also easy to love.

This is my first read in the series and by this author. I now want to go back and read about the other characters in the series as they seem very interesting and I really enjoyed Grace Reilly's writing. (This is done in dual point of view)

5 stars! This is definitely my favorite book of this series. Nik was the best MC and although I really enjoyed Izzy in the previous books she really shines in this one, making me love her even more. All the tropes/little things in this book were well managed. I like the amount of sports, family, drama it had. (Spoiler alert) I was glad to see how Cooper and Nik's relationship developed. The Callahan family dynamic has always been a strong point in the series and it was no different in this book. I'm glad we got to see little bits of everyone. There was a point at about 70% where it started to feel a little long but then once we got to the end I found myself wishing there was more since things happened so quick. Overall, I have no doubt if you loved this series you will love this book. Plus the epilogue was perfect for everyone!

Thanks Grace Reilly, NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To say I love the Callahan Family from the Grace Reilly-verse is an understatement. I devoured the first 3 books. Wicked Serve is the conclusion centering around the baby, Isabelle and her brothers hockey rival, Nikolai. After a brief Summer fling where they go their separate ways, life throws them back into proximity. One of my favorite things about them was that their chemistry was already established. Make no mistake, it was still nuclear level heat and anticipation, BUT because we knew they’d already passed the awkward stages, it made their times together so much sexier and more intimate. The spice is there and woooooo it’s good. So. Damn. Good. It also has a personal favorite troupe: broken boy. The way Nik is dedicated to healing himself to be a better and healthier human was not just there as plot but it was realistic. He has been through some serious traumas as a child(Grace does give some warnings so please double check them) and he desperately wants to free himself from that. Iz is part of that healing as she has her own growth in being a better advocate for herself and the ones she loves. The heart of this story was the relationships’ actual growth of from Summer fling to forever. It felt real and raw at times. There’s also the incredible found family that is the actual Callahan clan and the hockey team. It was such a beautiful story with humor, tears, and an incredibly well deserved happily ever after. It all made this book such a stunning finale to this world. I’m already sad to see it end but so happy I got live in it for a while.
I would also pay anything for novella of Mom and Dad Callahan’s love story.

Wicked serve is Izzy’s story with Nikolai. Wow what a story my new favorite out of the series. Nikolai started over at Izzy college after being expelled due his former teammates bringing drugs to a party and he takes the fall. He has a dark family past his father verbally abused him and physically abused his mother, so he has panic attacks and can’t do relationships. Izzy lives in the shadows of her overachieving family thing everything she does isn’t good enough. Both of them together though was a great story..