Let me start by saying that I absolutely love this book!!! Grace Reilly is extremely talented and such a queen of sports romances.
I’ve had the absolute pleasure of being a beta reader for this book last summer and I love so much how it turned out in the end!!!
This book is cute, fun, romantic and spicy all at the same time. And even though the book is long, you get SO addicted to the story and the characters that the pages seem to fly by.
Izzy and Nik are so absolutely perfect together!! And I love how their relationship focus on dealing with their insecurities and their trauma before they can be happy and together.
And, like in all Grace Reilly’s books, we have the most amazing found family trope ever. I’m so sad to say goodbye to this series. But so happy with their stories!!

read this one if you love:
sports romance
hockey mmc x volleyball fmc
brother’s rival turned teammate
college romance
found family

I absolutely love this series, this is the fourth book of the Callahan siblings. I loved getting to know Izzy, her and Nik are the cutest. They’re so head over heels for each other and I loved their story. I LOVE a good sports romance, bonus for me that it’s both characters that play a sport!

Read if you like: sports romance, brothers rival, hockey romance, friends with benefits, secret relationship, he falls first, Russian MMC, close proximity, grumpy x sunshine, opposites attract, tortured mmc

The miscommunication (or just NO communication) was high in this book, which I found was its biggest downfall. In saying that, they’re very young MCs so it’s understandable they’re not mature. Throughout the entire book there were secrets and a lot push and pull - which was so frustrating 😭
A lot of the time the timeline felt jumpy and the book was way too long imo. The author put a lot of unnecessary scenes in just to fill the book up - I ended up skimming a lot

The writing is great though, the steam is good, and I enjoyed how the characters were flawed because they had depth to them

I LOVED the koala conservatory part, as a brissy girlie, I Iiterally squealed in excitement because nobody ever mentions Brisbane in books

Unfortunately a miss for me which I’m disappointed about. If you like the tropes maybe give this book a go though

a fun quick sports romance !! very easy to read and a good palette cleanser, really enjoyed it and would recommend !

This took me a loooooong time to get through and it took me about 3 weeks to get to 40% which is so slow for me! I ended up reading half way and then just skim reading the rest.

I didn't love it and I struggled to feel any chemistry between the two leads which just made it difficult for me to get into. The spice was good but other than that, I just wasn't feeling it.

I enjoyed the authors style of writing and would read her books again but it was the connection between the two main characters that put me off.

I think this might be my favorite one in the series, I think I have a thing for morally grey traumatized men. (This sounds horrible)
I loved Nik and Isabella (also how he calls her Isabella and not Izzy, love it so much) they’re adorable even if they had a lot to go through before they could be in a good place together. I loved all the brothers getting involved in this story, I found it so adorable. The Callahan family deserves everything good in this world, they are genuinely adorable and the best.

I maybe thought that Isabella’s and Nik’s relationship could’ve been just a bit more, I’m not too sure how to explain but as much as I loved that you were fully thrown into their relationship from the beginning I just thought there was something missing. But other than that I loved it.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

And here’s another sports romance for my list of favorites of the year!! In this book we follow the story of Isabelle and Nikolai in a kinda forbidden romance bc he’s her brother’s rival, I really loved their relationship and thought it was super well developed. It was a super fun and quick read, for me the only flaw was that the book could’ve been a little shorter but it was still very good!!

Nik and Isabelle enjoy a summer fling, but that's all it can be. They go to different colleges and he is her brother's rival. It would never work.
But when Nik ends up transferring schools, he can't keep himself away from Izzy.

I loved reading about the other Callahans from the previous books and their whole family bond. However, Nik doesn't have a family like the Callahans, he doesn't have that bond they have. The book touches on mental health issues and panic attacks, and I think it's done well.

Although overall I did like this book, I didnt love it. It just didn't hook me, or make me want more after every chapter. I found myself beginning to quickly skim some pages as they didn't feel totally necessary to the story and felt the book could have been shorter.

However, I would always recommend reading this entire series as I really enjoyed the previous books!

This is one of my favourite romance series and I’m so very sad it’s over. If I could live in a family I would pick the Callahan family.

I love that there is no toxicity in the relationships in any of the stories it feels like a warm hug.

Oh my god this book was so cuteeeee 😭 I loved this one so much! Their relationship honestly was just adorable and they stuck by each other through everything which was so lovely! And the spice was SPICY. Trying to keep this spoiler free but highly highly recommend this one when it’s out!!

3,75

This was a really nice college-sports-romance! Loved how both main characters had their respective sport and how it was portrayed in the book. I felt like it was a good mix of sports + romance + plot.

There were way more sex scenes in the first half, and generally in the book, than I would have expected (I’m not mad, just surprised). Which later on made sense, because the second half focused more on the plot and the characters.

I haven’t read the other books in this series yet, but this book can definitely be read as a standalone. However, I do think it makes sense to read this series in order as it will provide a better understanding of the Callahan family dynamics and the relationship of the siblings and their respective partners.

I really enjoyed Cooper’s and Nik’s friendship and its development throughout the book! There were even moments when I enjoyed it more than the romance, as in, I was excited to read scenes between those two. I wouldn’t have minded having even more scenes with only them to be honest.

There were a couple things, which to my surprise and delight, took a different turn than I am used to from other books. Two that come to mind are, as mentioned above, Cooper + Nik’s friendship. I really expected them to not get along for basically 80% of the book but they as (best) friends made so much sense.
And the other one is the non existing breakup between Isabelle + Nik. I feel like there was an attempted 3rd-act-breakup at the 50% mark, but…is it really a 3rd-act-breakup when it doesn’t happen in the 3rd act? I will also not count it as a breakup at all, so that’s that. But the vibe was definitely giving (3rd-act) breakup.

There were no overly dramatic fights between people or generally no drama, but a lot of really great conversations and emotional bonding between family members, friends and romantic partners!

I caught myself several times thinking that this book might be about 50, maybe even more, pages too long. Especially with Nik’s past and resulting traumas keep coming up without any kind of resolvement up until basically the very end.
I also felt like the main characters, who were supposed to be 19 and 21 (I think), acted older than their age.
I also wasn’t vibing with all of the russian, but this a me-thing. я люблю тебя vs the usual я тебя люблю (eng: I love you) was a choice I guess. I eventually got somewhat used to solnishko (eng: sunshine) but I wasn’t really vibing with it in the beginning.

I was hesitant throughout the book about reading the other books in this series, but now after finishing 'Wicked Serve', I do plan on reading the other books!

Another Grace Reilly Masterpiece!!

After falling in love with this series last summer, I've spent the last twelve months counting down the days until I would be reunited with my dear Callahan family and more importantly get to know Isabelle and Nikolai as the secret romance heartthrobs that they are. Grace magically captures a whole summer of love through her flashback mentions, making me feel like I lived and experienced it right there with them.

As the story flowed into the present, it was like watching magnets reading scenes between the two characters, the way she painted their love and their feelings so transparently on the page, I was hooked from the first page and never wanted it to end.

What Grace Reilly does so wonderfully though is tell whole stories, ones of love and life, the good and the bad. In the way she tackled not only self worth and feeling seen in her family with Izzy's character but also that impact of trauma for a child with Nik, it was so masterfully handled and delicately threaded through the story. Never feeling out of place but continuously growing these characters we got to know page by page until you feel real. Izzy's admittance of not feeling good enough and feeling lost in her life around her uber-focused family hit particularly home.

Finishing this book was the worst part, because as I got closer to the end, I was already in mourning for the story being over and having to say goodbye to these wonderful characters, who across the four books of the series, have welcomed us into their homes and their lives and their minds, making us the reader feel heard and seen so often. I can't wait to see what the author extraordinaire takes on next, but I already know that I'll instantly feel at home in whatever world she creates.

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline Books for the early arc in exchange for an honest review 💖

This was a really sweet but steamy read, I enjoyed our two main characters - their chemistry was off the charts and I had a lot of fun with the storyline.

This series has been a major flop for me. I was looking forward to Izzy and Nikolai’s story but it just missed the mark for me. I could not get into it and after 25% I just had to DNF.

I liked the idea of the story but it felt like the writing was very forced. It had so much potential to be a good story, but it missed the mark on the execution. 3/4 of the books in this series now have been a miss for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Omg, I absolutely adored this ending of the callahans.
I very much enjoyed reading about isabelle, finding out about her and nikolai.
One better than brothers best friend, brothers enemy!

The first time reading Grace Reilly and I would look into her back log of work. Although it’s a standalone in an interconnected series, I found the storyline easy to pick up. There’s a lot of characters from previous books interwoven into the storyline, I found it easy to keep track of who’s who. Which isn’t always the case.

The book was verging on a little too long but other than that I found the book enjoyable and Nikolai was the perfect mmc. He had his issues but never wavered from Izzy and sought out the help he needed.

It’s giving forbidden romance vibes but still a cute and fluffy read!

There was no extensive miscommunication or stubbornness and both went with their feeling rather than trying to convince each other not to do this. I loved how easy this was to read but I do feel like it could have been a bit shorter.

This book has definitely made me want to read the rest of the series as they are in my TBR list!

Thankyou netgalley for the ARC!

🌟🌟🌟🌟.5
🔥🔥🔥.5

I really loved this ending for the Callahans. Izzy is the perfect sister for the family. I loved her finding her place and what she wanted from life.
Nik is absolutely the perfect male specimen. The Russian in the book is such a brill touch. And hot too. I loved his story line with his dad and his MH. So heartbreaking. Such a healthy relationship and example of healing.
There is some really hot spice in there tooooo. They have flaming hot chemistry!
It was perhaps a tad too long in places, but otherwise well written and paced.

-Volleyball FMC
-Hockey MMC
-Summer fling
-Secret
-MH representation
-Family drama
-Scarred MMC
-Hurt/Comfort
-Brothers teammate

I was absolutely delighted to receive this book and it’s a credit to the series. The whole series is amazing and this book followed suite. I’d recommend this to any romance/hockey romance readers without a doubt!

Thank you so much to @netgalley for my copy

R E V I E W

Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly

☆☆☆.5

Advanced Reader Copy graciously provided by Headline Eternal via Netgalley.

Wicked Serve is the fourth and final book in the Beyond the Play series, with each book focusing on a different athletic Callahan sibling. However, I came to this story without this knowledge, and I felt that my reading experience was no worse for wear, though I probably will go and read the first three now, having been introduced to all of the Callahan brothers and their respective paramours through this story.

This book focuses on the youngest Callahan sibling, Isabelle, who engages in a fling with her brother's hockey rival Nikolai Abney-Volkov during a hot summer in New York City. After going their agreed upon separate ways once summer concludes and school begins, Nikolai finds himself suddenly expelled with only one place to go: McKee University. Forced to join a new school in his senior year and play on a hockey team that is captained by none other than Cooper Callahan, Nikolai quickly realises that there is a silver lining to his change in circumstance. His proximity to the girl he hooked up with all summer long. And without the miles of distance as an excuse, Nikolai sets out to ensure she doesn't slip through his fingers twice.

Wicked Serve was quite lengthy for a sports romance, and I will admit to finding the first half of the story, where Isabelle and Nikolai are sneaking around, a lot more enjoyable than the second. This book addresses some serious issues, namely low self-esteem, familial expectation and child/domestic abuse, which definitely impacted the mood in the later half, though liberal helpings of sex were included to try and lighten the tone. This book was unexpectedly filthy, with more anal antics than I had anticipated. Having not read the first three books, I'd be interested to see if this is common throughout the series or just specific to Isabelle and Nikolai's sadomasochistic dynamic.

A nice read and probably a great way to wrap up a series if you've been with the Callahan's from the start.