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.

Release Date: August 13, 2024
Date Read and Reviewed: July 21, 2024
Ratings: 3⭐️

°

This was such a quick read for me. It was my first time reading from the author, and I think it went quite okay, which I am pleased.

I liked how it was quite a balance of a fluff and steam. The circle of friendship is fine as well.

Another part is that there's 2 sports being shown here, and I did like that as well.

I think my only issue is the fact that the characters act way older than their age. It was something that bothered me. They feel way older than being a character who's supposedly in their 18 or 19, a senior high student.

Overall, I think this was mediocre for my taste. Nothing special, in my opinion.


Thank you, Forever/ Avon Books, for the e-arc opportunity via Netgalley.

This book wasn’t my favourite in the series but I did enjoy it. I’d been looking forward to Izzy’s book since Grace was independently published. I felt slightly disappointed because the book felt a little too long and dragged. I felt like at times Izzy and Nikolai were a little immature for their ages. I don’t know if this is because I now prefer professional sports romances vs college sports romances.
I feel like it was a good ending to the Callahan family series and I loved the snippets of the previous characters.

4🌟
This book was predictable in terms of the direction it was going to take but to be honest, I didn't have much of an issue with it. The 2 main characters are both loyal and fiercely protective, and Nikolai seemed really sweet to be honest. It had a good amount of drama and added some dimension through the family issues and ending up in the same college. I always love reading a sports romance and this one was enjoyable!

I adored this so much. Being back in this world with the Callahan siblings was just perfect and Grace has written yet another smashing sports romance.
What I loved so much about this was the mental health representation, the struggles both Nik and Izzy faced were difficult and dark, but the author handled the topics with empathy, and grace.

I really loved these characters, the plot, the romance and the spice... oh the spice was perfect!!

If you loved the first three, you are going to adore this one!

So grateful to have read the E-Arc of this book because I LOVED IT!! I sped through this book and finished it in two days, loved Isabelle’s personality and the relationship between her and Nikolai :)

Perfect mix of romance and emotion and humour like so many of Grace Reilly’s books. Reading this series has been so fun, I have loved the brothers books and so happy to have finally read Isabelle’s!

Thank you again for allowing me to read this!

Wicked Serve is the fourth installment in Grace Reilly’s Beyond the Play series. It follows the last and youngest of the Callahan siblings, Isabelle. Isabelle feels under pressure because the rest of her family is so passionate and successful (most of them within a sport). Meanwhile, Isabelle’s Volleyball career at university hasn’t been as successful as it should have been and even though she loved her internship with a wedding planner over the summer, she feels like she didn’t deserve that because she initially received it through nepotism. To add onto all of that, she spent her time off during last summer’s internship with Nikolai, her brother’s biggest hockey rival. Of course, no one knows that the two of them spent all that time together and it should be fine since they’re going back to different universities… Right? Turns out, Nikolai transfers. to Isabelle’s university at the start of the semester, meaning he is now part of her brother’s team and the two of them keep running into each after, which brings up memories of last summer.

It’s been a while since I read the other books in the series, but I don’t remember them to be quite as long and as spicy in terms of volume. Personally, for me this book contained too much smut. It ended up getting boring. The book also is just too long, sitting at 450 pages. In the end, Wicked Serve isn’t revolutionary. It’s a decently written Ice Hockey romance with two likeable main characters and it ties into a series of sports romances with likeable main characters. Like so many of these books, the plot can be a little drawn out and dramatised to the point of silliness. And also like so many others, it’s just a tad too long. But I still had a great time reading it and it’s definitely a fun continuation of the series. I’m excited to see what more comes from Grace as she continues gathering experience.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of Wicked Serve in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Grace Reilly read, I saw ice hockey player and thought 'that's right up my street' and I'm so glad I did because I really enjoyed this.

I know I say this about all my book boyfriends but Nik is just lovely. He was always straight with Izzy, and did what was best for her and the relationships in the book (their own and those she shares with her family). It was heartwarming to see him create his own little family after his tragic past and I love that Izzy was able to help give him that and stand in his corner fighting for him.

I was expecting something more from where his dad was concerned, but that may just be because I've read too many dark romances. This doesn't detract from the story or my rating though.

A great read that I will recommend to friends and family.