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Beyond the Play #4
Zły serw
To największy rywal mojego brata w hokeju… Ale to on sprawia, że się rumienię.
Isabelle Callahan ma dwa cele: odzyskać dawną pozycję w siatkówce i zapomnieć, że kiedykolwiek znała diabelnie przystojnego obrońcę Nikolaia Abneya-Volkova. Jest najmłodszą i jedyną córką w rodzinie pełnej sportowców, a więc porażka nie wchodzi w grę. Ale kiedy Nik ponownie pojawia się w jej życiu, dziewczyna nie potrafi trzymać się od niego z daleka. Wraz z kolejnymi potajemnymi spotkaniami i szczerymi rozmowami granice między przyjaciółmi z korzyściami a czymś więcej zaczynają się zacierać…
Kiedy Izzy i Nikolai docierają do miejsca, z którego nie ma powrotu, muszą dokonać wyboru: wspólnie walczyć o przyszłość albo patrzeć, jak płonie.
Zły serw to pikantny romans sportowy, którego nie możecie przegapić. Idealny dla fanów Elle Kennedy i Hannah Grace.
Isabelle Callahan ma dwa cele: odzyskać dawną pozycję w siatkówce i zapomnieć, że kiedykolwiek znała diabelnie przystojnego obrońcę Nikolaia Abneya-Volkova. Jest najmłodszą i jedyną córką w rodzinie pełnej sportowców, a więc porażka nie wchodzi w grę. Ale kiedy Nik ponownie pojawia się w jej życiu, dziewczyna nie potrafi trzymać się od niego z daleka. Wraz z kolejnymi potajemnymi spotkaniami i szczerymi rozmowami granice między przyjaciółmi z korzyściami a czymś więcej zaczynają się zacierać…
Kiedy Izzy i Nikolai docierają do miejsca, z którego nie ma powrotu, muszą dokonać wyboru: wspólnie walczyć o przyszłość albo patrzeć, jak płonie.
Zły serw to pikantny romans sportowy, którego nie możecie przegapić. Idealny dla fanów Elle Kennedy i Hannah Grace.
480 pages, Paperback
First published August 13, 2024
1656 people are currently reading
44142 people want to read
About the author
Grace Reilly
12 books3,813 followersHi! I’m Grace.
I’m so glad you’re here! Originally from Long Island, I now live in Florida, where I pretend the lizards in my backyard are miniature dragons and soak up the sunshine. I can usually be found with a notebook in one hand and a paperback (or my Kindle!) in another. A storyteller at heart with a deep romantic streak, I write what I love to read: stories filled with swoon and steam, laughter and love, family and friendships, and authentic, earnest emotions and growth. I love drawing on my personal passions for my books, which is how my sports fanaticism resulted in the Beyond the Play series.
More about me: I collect earrings, the quirkier the better. I never turn down a good mint chocolate chip ice cream. I listen to way too much sports talk radio. And I adore writing about couples who are stronger together.
I’m so glad you’re here! Originally from Long Island, I now live in Florida, where I pretend the lizards in my backyard are miniature dragons and soak up the sunshine. I can usually be found with a notebook in one hand and a paperback (or my Kindle!) in another. A storyteller at heart with a deep romantic streak, I write what I love to read: stories filled with swoon and steam, laughter and love, family and friendships, and authentic, earnest emotions and growth. I love drawing on my personal passions for my books, which is how my sports fanaticism resulted in the Beyond the Play series.
More about me: I collect earrings, the quirkier the better. I never turn down a good mint chocolate chip ice cream. I listen to way too much sports talk radio. And I adore writing about couples who are stronger together.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,947 reviews
June 23, 2024
☀️
”If she’s sunshine, i’m the guy who hopes it never starts raining”
☀️
3.5 ★
this book had its flaws but all in all, it was a cute fluffy read and i enjoyed it!!
💌 plot 💌
this story follows nikolai and Isabelle, who have just been in a summer fling. they know they can’t be anything more because nikolai is her brother’s rival and he would freak out. but is that really gonna stop them?? obviously not.
🌧️ flaws 🌧️
this book should not have been 400 pages i’ll be so real. like not bc i think that’s too many pages, my favourite sports romance series windy city are all about that long. but it just didn’t feel necessary whatsoever. It felt like the author had made a mission to get this to 400 pages but for no actual apparent reason so she just filled the book with random unnecessary scenes. I still really liked it but I found myself growing bored and skimming a lot unfortunately.
🩷 what I loved 🩷
what I did enjoy though was the lack of stubbornness and misunderstandings. usually with any forbidden romance, there’s a lot of “we shouldn’t do this” or ”this was a mistake” and i do enjoy it sometimes, the angst, and this did have a few of those scenes but not to the point where you wanna punch the characters in the face.
I really loved seeing Bex and James from book 1. they’re married now with a baby and everything and ugh it made my heart so full <333 they’re forever my favs !! (and the only other couple’s book I actually read HAHA)
🌸 overall 🌸
this book was super cute and lighthearted, and the spice was good, so if you’re in the mood for an easy cute read, maybe pick this one up!! I absolutely adore Nikolai and Isabelle.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review !!
🎀 pre-read 🎀
all my requests from like months ago getting approved when im about to go on hiatus < / 3 not complaining though hehe im so happyyyy
i gave book 1 five stars but I haven’t read the other 2 in the series so I might do that before I start this !!
3.5 ★
this book had its flaws but all in all, it was a cute fluffy read and i enjoyed it!!
💌 plot 💌
this story follows nikolai and Isabelle, who have just been in a summer fling. they know they can’t be anything more because nikolai is her brother’s rival and he would freak out. but is that really gonna stop them?? obviously not.
🌧️ flaws 🌧️
this book should not have been 400 pages i’ll be so real. like not bc i think that’s too many pages, my favourite sports romance series windy city are all about that long. but it just didn’t feel necessary whatsoever. It felt like the author had made a mission to get this to 400 pages but for no actual apparent reason so she just filled the book with random unnecessary scenes. I still really liked it but I found myself growing bored and skimming a lot unfortunately.
🩷 what I loved 🩷
what I did enjoy though was the lack of stubbornness and misunderstandings. usually with any forbidden romance, there’s a lot of “we shouldn’t do this” or ”this was a mistake” and i do enjoy it sometimes, the angst, and this did have a few of those scenes but not to the point where you wanna punch the characters in the face.
I really loved seeing Bex and James from book 1. they’re married now with a baby and everything and ugh it made my heart so full <333 they’re forever my favs !! (and the only other couple’s book I actually read HAHA)
🌸 overall 🌸
this book was super cute and lighthearted, and the spice was good, so if you’re in the mood for an easy cute read, maybe pick this one up!! I absolutely adore Nikolai and Isabelle.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review !!
🎀 pre-read 🎀
all my requests from like months ago getting approved when im about to go on hiatus < / 3 not complaining though hehe im so happyyyy
i gave book 1 five stars but I haven’t read the other 2 in the series so I might do that before I start this !!
February 4, 2025
⭐️ 3.5 stars
Wicked Serve is the fourth instalment in the Beyond the Play series and can be read as a standalone. Expect lots of open door spice, dual POV and an emotional plot. I wasn't sure what to expect starting this, but I was instantly intrigued by Nikolai and Izzy's forbidden romance.
Tropes
🏒 Sports romance
🏒 Bad Boy/good girl
🏒 Boy falls first
🏒 Forced proximity
🏒 Forbidden love
🏒 Found family
🏒 Grumpy/sunshine
🏒 Second chance
🏒 Secret romance
🏒 Tragic past
Nikolai is a professional hockey player, who has a tragic past and is forced to consider giving up his dream of being a professional athlete to appease his family. On the surface, he's a fun, reckless playboy, however, he's held back by his past and won't allow himself to want more. Izzy is lost in life and is hoping to gain some inspiration for her future. She spends to summer having a secret hook-up with her brother's rival, Nikolai for a bit of fun, however, he's crashed back into her life again to tempt her.
I enjoyed Nikolai and Izzy's relationship - it did take me a little bit to warm up to them as their casual relationship is depicted from the outset. I found Izzy to be fairly immature in comparison to Nikolai, but I liked that she was the only person in his life that actually stood up for what he wanted. Nikolai is a hot Russian hockey player- what's not to like?! He was fairly open about his mental health struggles which was refreshing to read. Casual hook-up type romances only work for me if the MMC is obsessed from the beginning and Nikolai definitely was. They communicated well and were open about their feelings which made the forbidden aspect enjoyable.
I don't think this book needed to be as long as it was, the pacing was one of my main issues. It felt as though some of the scenes either added no value to the story or were repeating the same information again. I was starting to get restless by the end because nothing was really happening.
Overall, this is a steamy read and I will be checking out some of the other books in this series!
Thank you to Valentine PR and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Wicked Serve is the fourth instalment in the Beyond the Play series and can be read as a standalone. Expect lots of open door spice, dual POV and an emotional plot. I wasn't sure what to expect starting this, but I was instantly intrigued by Nikolai and Izzy's forbidden romance.
Tropes
🏒 Sports romance
🏒 Bad Boy/good girl
🏒 Boy falls first
🏒 Forced proximity
🏒 Forbidden love
🏒 Found family
🏒 Grumpy/sunshine
🏒 Second chance
🏒 Secret romance
🏒 Tragic past
Nikolai is a professional hockey player, who has a tragic past and is forced to consider giving up his dream of being a professional athlete to appease his family. On the surface, he's a fun, reckless playboy, however, he's held back by his past and won't allow himself to want more. Izzy is lost in life and is hoping to gain some inspiration for her future. She spends to summer having a secret hook-up with her brother's rival, Nikolai for a bit of fun, however, he's crashed back into her life again to tempt her.
I enjoyed Nikolai and Izzy's relationship - it did take me a little bit to warm up to them as their casual relationship is depicted from the outset. I found Izzy to be fairly immature in comparison to Nikolai, but I liked that she was the only person in his life that actually stood up for what he wanted. Nikolai is a hot Russian hockey player- what's not to like?! He was fairly open about his mental health struggles which was refreshing to read. Casual hook-up type romances only work for me if the MMC is obsessed from the beginning and Nikolai definitely was. They communicated well and were open about their feelings which made the forbidden aspect enjoyable.
I don't think this book needed to be as long as it was, the pacing was one of my main issues. It felt as though some of the scenes either added no value to the story or were repeating the same information again. I was starting to get restless by the end because nothing was really happening.
Overall, this is a steamy read and I will be checking out some of the other books in this series!
Thank you to Valentine PR and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
April 5, 2024
˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙ 3.5 ☆˙⋆ ༶ .⁺ ˖
This book is so cute showing us a relationship without any toxicity, a lot of support and encouragement from each other and they fell so hard since the summer they met💖 I enjoyed most of it💕
➴ College Sports? ✔️🏒
➴ Secret Relationship? ✔️🙈
➴ Brother’s Rival? ✔️🤯
➴ He falls first and harder? ✔️💘
➴ Healthy relationship? ✔️🥰
➴ Family Bonds ✔️💛
➴ Friendships Bonds? ✔️💕
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
❥ Isabelle 💗 ˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹
➳ she is so confident, extrovert, generous, supportive, caring, and very fashionable👑💅🏼
➳ she was so selfless and sometimes she needed to care more for herself. But I loved that she cared so much for her family and how supportive she was with them. Also, she was so supportive of Nik helping him to follow his dreams💗
❥ Nikolai 💙 ˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹
➳ a hockey player struggling with mental health who is obsessed with Isabelle since the first time he saw her in a game. He is so kind, supportive, gentle, caring and protective. He had a lot of gestures with his sunshine so heart-melting☀️🌷💖
➳ my respect for him for putting his mental health first and working on himself to get better and be able to be the best version of himself. Nik does this to get the future he and Isa deserve to have together😭💛✨
❥ My thoughts 💭 ˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹
➳ this book was very entertaining and for the most part, I enjoyed it✨ like those sweet moments between Nik and Isa and how healthy and domestic their relationship felt since the beginning. Also, the family and friendship bonds💕
➳ I loved that Isabelle knew how to stand up for herself and her loved ones. More than Nik because he only stands up for other people but not for himself and that was so frustrating. Like dude, you have to say something! Also, he just does whatever his grandpa tells him to do. He wanted Nik to quit hockey, so he was going to do so without a single fight. Uh? If it wasn’t for Isa, he wouldn't dare contradict his grandfather, talk to his mother, and follow his dreams.
➳ even though I loved the short chapters, there were too many😭 I feel like the book was too long with some scenes and plot that honestly didn't contribute anything.
➳ I didn’t like that Isabelle tried to push Nik to tell her about his past. I mean, girl...chill! It’s a tough matter for him and he would tell you in his own time, not yours.
➳ I love the pink color, I really do. But it was mentioned in every chapter I swear. Like we get it girl, your favorite color is pink. We understood it the 9347238 times it was mentioned.
➳ I don’t know if it was just me, but all the Russian vocabulary mentioned felt so weird and many scenes were so cringy idk😭 anddddd this book was 70% smut and 30% plot
Anyways, despite all those things I didn’t quite like about this book, it was pretty entertaining and had a lot of cute moments I really enjoyed💫
≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾
Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review! 💜
This book is so cute showing us a relationship without any toxicity, a lot of support and encouragement from each other and they fell so hard since the summer they met💖 I enjoyed most of it💕
➴ College Sports? ✔️🏒
➴ Secret Relationship? ✔️🙈
➴ Brother’s Rival? ✔️🤯
➴ He falls first and harder? ✔️💘
➴ Healthy relationship? ✔️🥰
➴ Family Bonds ✔️💛
➴ Friendships Bonds? ✔️💕
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
❥ Isabelle 💗 ˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹
➳ she is so confident, extrovert, generous, supportive, caring, and very fashionable👑💅🏼
➳ she was so selfless and sometimes she needed to care more for herself. But I loved that she cared so much for her family and how supportive she was with them. Also, she was so supportive of Nik helping him to follow his dreams💗
❥ Nikolai 💙 ˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹
➳ a hockey player struggling with mental health who is obsessed with Isabelle since the first time he saw her in a game. He is so kind, supportive, gentle, caring and protective. He had a lot of gestures with his sunshine so heart-melting☀️🌷💖
➳ my respect for him for putting his mental health first and working on himself to get better and be able to be the best version of himself. Nik does this to get the future he and Isa deserve to have together😭💛✨
❥ My thoughts 💭 ˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹
➳ this book was very entertaining and for the most part, I enjoyed it✨ like those sweet moments between Nik and Isa and how healthy and domestic their relationship felt since the beginning. Also, the family and friendship bonds💕
➳ I loved that Isabelle knew how to stand up for herself and her loved ones. More than Nik because he only stands up for other people but not for himself and that was so frustrating. Like dude, you have to say something! Also, he just does whatever his grandpa tells him to do. He wanted Nik to quit hockey, so he was going to do so without a single fight. Uh? If it wasn’t for Isa, he wouldn't dare contradict his grandfather, talk to his mother, and follow his dreams.
➳ even though I loved the short chapters, there were too many😭 I feel like the book was too long with some scenes and plot that honestly didn't contribute anything.
➳ I didn’t like that Isabelle tried to push Nik to tell her about his past. I mean, girl...chill! It’s a tough matter for him and he would tell you in his own time, not yours.
➳ I love the pink color, I really do. But it was mentioned in every chapter I swear. Like we get it girl, your favorite color is pink. We understood it the 9347238 times it was mentioned.
➳ I don’t know if it was just me, but all the Russian vocabulary mentioned felt so weird and many scenes were so cringy idk😭 anddddd this book was 70% smut and 30% plot
Anyways, despite all those things I didn’t quite like about this book, it was pretty entertaining and had a lot of cute moments I really enjoyed💫
≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾
Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review! 💜
August 9, 2024
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 2.7 ✰
The plot had a lot of potential but somehow it fell flat, the book was way too long… I think it could work better if it was at least a 100 pages shorter.
I liked how the relationship between Nikolai and Isabelle was healthy, how they cared and supported each other and how there was little to no miscommunication between them!!🙌🏻 I cheered for that
There were some part enjoyable and cute but I feel that they were shadowed by some unnecessary scene and all the smut. It was little cringe too but tolerable.
Didn’t liked Izzy at all🫢 she was very immature and would make a big deal out of something simple. (spoiler maybe)‼️ i hated HATEDDD how she forced Nikolai to tell her what was happening in his life, yeah they were dating and maybe she wanted to help but eventually I guess he will come around on his own terms and tell her whenever he felt ready.
My problem is that the author was dragging the story. By 40% of the book mostly everything was solved, after that I found it hard to be interested in whatever was happening and started skimming through it. I wished the author showed more about their summer fling.
I’m surprised I didn’t dnfed the book.
💌tropes
ᡣ𐭩 secret relationship
ᡣ𐭩 brother’s “rival”
ᡣ𐭩 he’s a hockey player
ᡣ𐭩 she’s a volleyball player
ᡣ𐭩 mental health rep
ᡣ𐭩 boy obsessed
ᡣ𐭩 sport romance
thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc
__________________________________
*ೃ༄ pre-read:
I just got the arc and it’s coming out in a few days so I had to start it right away!!! haven’t read any of Grace’s books before so i don’t know what to expect.
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹”If she’s sunshine, I’m the guy who hopes it never starts raining” ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹
The plot had a lot of potential but somehow it fell flat, the book was way too long… I think it could work better if it was at least a 100 pages shorter.
I liked how the relationship between Nikolai and Isabelle was healthy, how they cared and supported each other and how there was little to no miscommunication between them!!🙌🏻 I cheered for that
There were some part enjoyable and cute but I feel that they were shadowed by some unnecessary scene and all the smut. It was little cringe too but tolerable.
Didn’t liked Izzy at all🫢 she was very immature and would make a big deal out of something simple. (spoiler maybe)‼️ i hated HATEDDD how she forced Nikolai to tell her what was happening in his life, yeah they were dating and maybe she wanted to help but eventually I guess he will come around on his own terms and tell her whenever he felt ready.
My problem is that the author was dragging the story. By 40% of the book mostly everything was solved, after that I found it hard to be interested in whatever was happening and started skimming through it. I wished the author showed more about their summer fling.
I’m surprised I didn’t dnfed the book.
💌tropes
ᡣ𐭩 secret relationship
ᡣ𐭩 brother’s “rival”
ᡣ𐭩 he’s a hockey player
ᡣ𐭩 she’s a volleyball player
ᡣ𐭩 mental health rep
ᡣ𐭩 boy obsessed
ᡣ𐭩 sport romance
thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc
__________________________________
*ೃ༄ pre-read:
I just got the arc and it’s coming out in a few days so I had to start it right away!!! haven’t read any of Grace’s books before so i don’t know what to expect.
December 29, 2024
4.25 out of 5 stars!
I'm sad that this book is going to be the last of the Callahan sibling's stories. I really need to re-read the previous books of this series before I read this one.
I'm sad that this book is going to be the last of the Callahan sibling's stories. I really need to re-read the previous books of this series before I read this one.
August 13, 2024
3.5 Solnishko Stars ⭐️
Spicy level 🌶️🌶️.5/5
I am struggling to figure out how I feel about Wicked Serve.
Was it good? Yes.
Is it going to be the first hockey romance that I'd recommend if someone asks me for a Hockey Romance recommendation? No.
BUT that is because of a very specific nuance as it didn't necessarily contain my happy tropes but that might not be the same for other people.
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
So Isabelle Callahan and Nicolai Volkov had a magical summer fling while Izzy worked as a Wedding Planner Intern for Nikolai's mother. The two "agree" to call it off at the end of summer because they go their separate ways—her back to Mckee University and Nikolai back to his university. While Izzy told her friends about their fling, she kept this secret from her family, because Nicolai happens to be the Hockey Captain at his school and he may have said some antagonising smack talk to Izzy's brother on the Ice during a match... you see Izzy's brother happens to be McKee's Hockey Captain. Lo and behold, Nikki boy gets expelled protecting somebody else and winds up at Mckee University. And soon all those feelings of coulda, woulda, shoulda bubble to the surface as the two can barely keep their hands off of each other. But they still need to keep it secret because she's supposed to be focusing on her volleyball career and he should not be making things hard on the Hockey Team.
𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
The first thing that put me off right from the start is that there is already an established relationship between the two. They already have very strong feelings for each other and the attraction doesn't have to form Now I am typically more of a person who likes it when there is more of a fight or delay in the romance "payoff". I like it when there is a bit of fight, angst and tension. They have spent an entire summer together learning who the other person is (off-page as a prequel to the story) and since the start of school are now coming to terms with the fact that they have been miserable without each other.
The second thing that kind of missed was the micro conflicts of the story didn't seem to be that big of a deal or could have too easily been solved by having an open honest conversation. The "hockey rivals" big climactic fight it was teasing didn't play out massively, her volleyball thing followed a predictable path. It just felt like there wasn't any BIG conflict that needed to be solved until the VERY END.
The third - And I am not going to "beat around the bush"... I like fluffy and smutty romances and this whilst having some elements of smutty, this had more emotional elements than fluff. I have realised that unless I am in the right headspace for emotional (as I do enjoy some of them) I am not going to enjoy it and it's almost a disservice to the book. This book deals heavily with the effects of trauma and PTSD and what unrepressed issues can trigger later on in life. Nikolai has never really dealt with his past and has almost "swept his issues under the rug". But now he cannot push his abusive father away and has panic attacks every time he talks to him. Izzy has serious imposter syndrome in her family and feels inferior to all her superstar brothers and everything they have accomplished. She cannot be a disappointment. Overall this was just a little HEAVY... But if you are the type that loves emotionally driven stories around trauma this WILL BE GREAT for you!
Lastly is their relationship (while already established) seemed to lack a little chemistry. I felt like they were always fighting, or walking on eggshells around each other or one of them (mostly Nicolai) was pushing the other away because they didn't want to deal with the emotional vulnerability wall they had erected. There were a lot of times when conflict avoidance and running away from issues was the "best" approach and there would be silence and "I haven't heard from them in days". Due to this, it was like we not only got a 1st act breakup but also a 3rd act break... (they weren't broken up but some soul was searching and "finding myself"). A lot of the book they are not together and dealing with the consequences of being miserable apart...but elements of taking so long to open just felt unhealthy... BUT I MEAN - PEOPLE CAN DEAL WITH TRAUMA HOW THEY WANT!
𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Summer Fling Second Chance
▶ Dual POV
▶ Hockey Romance
▶ Trauma Bonding
▶ Found Family
▶ Univerity/College Romance
𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Good Girl
▷ Dirty Talk
▷ Spicy/Steamy Water Scene
▷ "Out of our Systems"
▷ Hockey Jersey "Heat" - he goes feral seeing her in his jersey
Overall, I can see why this would appeal to some people. I would recommend it if you were looking for a sweet emotionally driven hockey romance that gives you vibes of a "friends to lovers" slightly forbidden romance... Overall I had a good time, I didn't have a great time. Wicked stuff!
Thank you to Valentine PR, Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Grace Reilly for my gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Spicy level 🌶️🌶️.5/5
I am struggling to figure out how I feel about Wicked Serve.
Was it good? Yes.
Is it going to be the first hockey romance that I'd recommend if someone asks me for a Hockey Romance recommendation? No.
BUT that is because of a very specific nuance as it didn't necessarily contain my happy tropes but that might not be the same for other people.
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
So Isabelle Callahan and Nicolai Volkov had a magical summer fling while Izzy worked as a Wedding Planner Intern for Nikolai's mother. The two "agree" to call it off at the end of summer because they go their separate ways—her back to Mckee University and Nikolai back to his university. While Izzy told her friends about their fling, she kept this secret from her family, because Nicolai happens to be the Hockey Captain at his school and he may have said some antagonising smack talk to Izzy's brother on the Ice during a match... you see Izzy's brother happens to be McKee's Hockey Captain. Lo and behold, Nikki boy gets expelled protecting somebody else and winds up at Mckee University. And soon all those feelings of coulda, woulda, shoulda bubble to the surface as the two can barely keep their hands off of each other. But they still need to keep it secret because she's supposed to be focusing on her volleyball career and he should not be making things hard on the Hockey Team.
𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
The first thing that put me off right from the start is that there is already an established relationship between the two. They already have very strong feelings for each other and the attraction doesn't have to form Now I am typically more of a person who likes it when there is more of a fight or delay in the romance "payoff". I like it when there is a bit of fight, angst and tension. They have spent an entire summer together learning who the other person is (off-page as a prequel to the story) and since the start of school are now coming to terms with the fact that they have been miserable without each other.
The second thing that kind of missed was the micro conflicts of the story didn't seem to be that big of a deal or could have too easily been solved by having an open honest conversation. The "hockey rivals" big climactic fight it was teasing didn't play out massively, her volleyball thing followed a predictable path. It just felt like there wasn't any BIG conflict that needed to be solved until the VERY END.
The third - And I am not going to "beat around the bush"... I like fluffy and smutty romances and this whilst having some elements of smutty, this had more emotional elements than fluff. I have realised that unless I am in the right headspace for emotional (as I do enjoy some of them) I am not going to enjoy it and it's almost a disservice to the book. This book deals heavily with the effects of trauma and PTSD and what unrepressed issues can trigger later on in life. Nikolai has never really dealt with his past and has almost "swept his issues under the rug". But now he cannot push his abusive father away and has panic attacks every time he talks to him. Izzy has serious imposter syndrome in her family and feels inferior to all her superstar brothers and everything they have accomplished. She cannot be a disappointment. Overall this was just a little HEAVY... But if you are the type that loves emotionally driven stories around trauma this WILL BE GREAT for you!
Lastly is their relationship (while already established) seemed to lack a little chemistry. I felt like they were always fighting, or walking on eggshells around each other or one of them (mostly Nicolai) was pushing the other away because they didn't want to deal with the emotional vulnerability wall they had erected. There were a lot of times when conflict avoidance and running away from issues was the "best" approach and there would be silence and "I haven't heard from them in days". Due to this, it was like we not only got a 1st act breakup but also a 3rd act break... (they weren't broken up but some soul was searching and "finding myself"). A lot of the book they are not together and dealing with the consequences of being miserable apart...but elements of taking so long to open just felt unhealthy... BUT I MEAN - PEOPLE CAN DEAL WITH TRAUMA HOW THEY WANT!
𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Summer Fling Second Chance
▶ Dual POV
▶ Hockey Romance
▶ Trauma Bonding
▶ Found Family
▶ Univerity/College Romance
𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Good Girl
▷ Dirty Talk
▷ Spicy/Steamy Water Scene
▷ "Out of our Systems"
▷ Hockey Jersey "Heat" - he goes feral seeing her in his jersey
Overall, I can see why this would appeal to some people. I would recommend it if you were looking for a sweet emotionally driven hockey romance that gives you vibes of a "friends to lovers" slightly forbidden romance... Overall I had a good time, I didn't have a great time. Wicked stuff!
Thank you to Valentine PR, Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Grace Reilly for my gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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June 9, 2024
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. 🫶🏼
—————
hockey player with a scar on his face??
volleyball girly ?????
AND BROTHERS RIVAL ???????
you know I requested this so fast and then to my surprise when I actually got approved and found out it’s part of a seriesim actually disappointed now 😔
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. 🫶🏼
—————
hockey player with a scar on his face??
volleyball girly ?????
AND BROTHERS RIVAL ???????
you know I requested this so fast and then to my surprise when I actually got approved and found out it’s part of a series
May 3, 2024
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.
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.
April 22, 2024
I always have such a rough time writing reviews for books that I find absolutely amazing. This book was truly touching and a splash of angst and heartfelt emotions. It just felt so realistic and such a beautiful love story.
*Brothers rival turned teammate
*secret summer romance
*hockey and volleyball
*found family
*he’s Russian!
*and spicy! Don’t let that cute cover fool you!
This book also touches on a bit heavier, topics like childhood trauma, child abuse, and the effects that it can take on your mental health as well as future relationships.
This book takes a journey on anxiety, panic attacks, and an overworked mental health load,
But there is such a beautiful romance in this story. The plot was just beautiful. The characters are fantastic. I loved that both characters had their own sport that they excelled in and had to find their self-worth one and together. Nikolai honestly is going to live rent free in my head for a long time. He is an absolute gem of a book boyfriend. A Russian hockey player that whispers, sweet and sexy Russian words in your ear. He was absolutely swoon worthy.
“Our love has felt like springtime. Warmth chasing away shadows, light spilling into the open. I imagined sun-drenched days ahead, but the frost hasn’t left the ground. The flowers haven’t bloomed.”
This is an epic journey of love. I wish I can read this all over again for the first time.
*Brothers rival turned teammate
*secret summer romance
*hockey and volleyball
*found family
*he’s Russian!
*and spicy! Don’t let that cute cover fool you!
This book also touches on a bit heavier, topics like childhood trauma, child abuse, and the effects that it can take on your mental health as well as future relationships.
This book takes a journey on anxiety, panic attacks, and an overworked mental health load,
But there is such a beautiful romance in this story. The plot was just beautiful. The characters are fantastic. I loved that both characters had their own sport that they excelled in and had to find their self-worth one and together. Nikolai honestly is going to live rent free in my head for a long time. He is an absolute gem of a book boyfriend. A Russian hockey player that whispers, sweet and sexy Russian words in your ear. He was absolutely swoon worthy.
“Our love has felt like springtime. Warmth chasing away shadows, light spilling into the open. I imagined sun-drenched days ahead, but the frost hasn’t left the ground. The flowers haven’t bloomed.”
This is an epic journey of love. I wish I can read this all over again for the first time.
November 26, 2024
I can definitely convince you to read this book with just one of Nikolai's quotes 😏
"crawl to me, Isabelle"
SCREAMS. Okay, serious talk, this book was freaking amazing.
First of all, it was filled with giggling, spicy, and romantic moments that I couldn't stop reading. Nikolai is her brother's hockey rival, and after getting kicked out of college, he transfers to the same college as Isabelle; his sunshine girl ☀️. Meanwhile, you have Isabelle, who just wants to be enough to be the team's setter. After a summer fling with Nikolai, she wants to focus on her volleyball career—no distractions. But that's kind of hard when Nik is basically in every room 🥵.
Even though they are the cutest couple ever, their relationship delves into both their pasts, insecurities, and childhood trauma, making you want to hug them and feel their emotions on a deeper level. AGH, I LOVE WHEN AUTHORS DO THAT.
Anyway, I recommend this to anyone who loves a balanced sports romance book—a balance between SPICY scenes, mental health awareness, and relationship development.
Why a 5 star Read? The storyline as well as the characters really made me feel hocked since the beginning I couldn't stop turning the page and the spicy scene reeled me in even more lolol
Fav quote: "I've never felt so owned by him. So completely his. It's raw, it's dirty, and somehow, my heart feels more exposed than the rest of me."
Tropes:
☀️Sports Romance
☀️Hockey MMC 🏒 x Volleyball FMC🏐
☀️College Romance
☀️Secret relationship
☀️Brother's Rival
☀️Found Family
☀️Mental Health Rep (childhood trauma, panic attacks, "am i enough")
☀️Dual POV
--------
Pre-review: I've heard so much about this author, and I'm thrilled to dive into this book!
ALSO, I'm excited to read a story where both main characters are athletes—I haven't come across one like this before! 💕
"crawl to me, Isabelle"
SCREAMS. Okay, serious talk, this book was freaking amazing.
First of all, it was filled with giggling, spicy, and romantic moments that I couldn't stop reading. Nikolai is her brother's hockey rival, and after getting kicked out of college, he transfers to the same college as Isabelle; his sunshine girl ☀️. Meanwhile, you have Isabelle, who just wants to be enough to be the team's setter. After a summer fling with Nikolai, she wants to focus on her volleyball career—no distractions. But that's kind of hard when Nik is basically in every room 🥵.
Even though they are the cutest couple ever, their relationship delves into both their pasts, insecurities, and childhood trauma, making you want to hug them and feel their emotions on a deeper level. AGH, I LOVE WHEN AUTHORS DO THAT.
Anyway, I recommend this to anyone who loves a balanced sports romance book—a balance between SPICY scenes, mental health awareness, and relationship development.
Why a 5 star Read? The storyline as well as the characters really made me feel hocked since the beginning I couldn't stop turning the page and the spicy scene reeled me in even more lolol
Fav quote: "I've never felt so owned by him. So completely his. It's raw, it's dirty, and somehow, my heart feels more exposed than the rest of me."
Tropes:
☀️Sports Romance
☀️Hockey MMC 🏒 x Volleyball FMC🏐
☀️College Romance
☀️Secret relationship
☀️Brother's Rival
☀️Found Family
☀️Mental Health Rep (childhood trauma, panic attacks, "am i enough")
☀️Dual POV
--------
Pre-review: I've heard so much about this author, and I'm thrilled to dive into this book!
ALSO, I'm excited to read a story where both main characters are athletes—I haven't come across one like this before! 💕
August 25, 2024
3.5/5⭐️
3/5🌶️
This series started off really strong for me & I was really excited to dive back into this world, especially for this book just based off of the tropes I knew were included, however this one was a bit of a let down. It just felt extremely long for what it was. I found myself bored and skimming through quite a bit. I also didn’t really feel the chemistry between the characters unfortunately. There was a good bit of spice in this book but I just wasn’t feeling their connection. It felt a bit forced.
Thank you to Grace, Avon, & Net Galley for the ARC!
Tropes:
- Sports Romance
- Hockey Player x Volleyball Player
- College Romance
- Brother’s Rival
- Secret Relationship
3/5🌶️
This series started off really strong for me & I was really excited to dive back into this world, especially for this book just based off of the tropes I knew were included, however this one was a bit of a let down. It just felt extremely long for what it was. I found myself bored and skimming through quite a bit. I also didn’t really feel the chemistry between the characters unfortunately. There was a good bit of spice in this book but I just wasn’t feeling their connection. It felt a bit forced.
Thank you to Grace, Avon, & Net Galley for the ARC!
Tropes:
- Sports Romance
- Hockey Player x Volleyball Player
- College Romance
- Brother’s Rival
- Secret Relationship
August 16, 2024
4,5 ⭐️
“If she’s sunshine, I’m the guy who hopes it never starts raining.”
“If I’m sunshine to him, then he’s the earth beneath my feet, the grass between my toes, grounding me like nothing else.”
Oh my god. This book was a full on emotional rollercoaster. This was my most anticipated read of 2024 since I loved the other books so much! It did not disappoint.
First of all I loved the fact that we got a little insight on the couples from the previous books. This series builds such strong friendships and I loved every single character.
This book is about Izzy and Nik. Izzy is such a sweet and thoughtful person. She always puts others needs above her own. To a point where it almost drowns her. Nik matches her so well. He helps her understand her self worth and how important her own happiness is. Meanwhile he struggles with some really bad childhood trauma. Domestic abuse often gets very romanticized in books so I was a little skeptical at first but this was written so well. It had me tear up multiple times. Niks character development is absolutely insane. I love how he rebuilds his relationship with his mom and how he and izzy try to figure out life together.
When I started this I was a little afraid that the “forbidden romance trope” would be very dragged out. That we would constantly be on edge throughout the whole book about when the bomb would drop and Cooper would find out. But luckily it was “exposed” pretty early on and instead we get to watch as Cooper and Nik become bestfriends. This made my heart so happy.
These characters compliment each other so well. Also some of the quotes in this gave me goosebumps. Imma need me a man like Nikolai Abney.
The only reason I’m not rating this five stars is because of the “Crawl to me” scene. It first of all reminded me a little too much of Twisted Games and it’s also not really my kind of thing so it just made me cringe but other than that it definitely would have been five stars.
I’m actually so devastated that this series is over now!! I can’t wait for more Grace Reilly books!!!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Valentine PR for giving me the opportunity to read this arc!!!!
“If she’s sunshine, I’m the guy who hopes it never starts raining.”
“If I’m sunshine to him, then he’s the earth beneath my feet, the grass between my toes, grounding me like nothing else.”
Oh my god. This book was a full on emotional rollercoaster. This was my most anticipated read of 2024 since I loved the other books so much! It did not disappoint.
First of all I loved the fact that we got a little insight on the couples from the previous books. This series builds such strong friendships and I loved every single character.
This book is about Izzy and Nik. Izzy is such a sweet and thoughtful person. She always puts others needs above her own. To a point where it almost drowns her. Nik matches her so well. He helps her understand her self worth and how important her own happiness is. Meanwhile he struggles with some really bad childhood trauma. Domestic abuse often gets very romanticized in books so I was a little skeptical at first but this was written so well. It had me tear up multiple times. Niks character development is absolutely insane. I love how he rebuilds his relationship with his mom and how he and izzy try to figure out life together.
When I started this I was a little afraid that the “forbidden romance trope” would be very dragged out. That we would constantly be on edge throughout the whole book about when the bomb would drop and Cooper would find out. But luckily it was “exposed” pretty early on and instead we get to watch as Cooper and Nik become bestfriends. This made my heart so happy.
These characters compliment each other so well. Also some of the quotes in this gave me goosebumps. Imma need me a man like Nikolai Abney.
The only reason I’m not rating this five stars is because of the “Crawl to me” scene. It first of all reminded me a little too much of Twisted Games and it’s also not really my kind of thing so it just made me cringe but other than that it definitely would have been five stars.
I’m actually so devastated that this series is over now!! I can’t wait for more Grace Reilly books!!!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Valentine PR for giving me the opportunity to read this arc!!!!
September 18, 2024
3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this book.
Nik was top tier tortured, brooding book boyfriend material, and it was refreshing to have an MMC with such a prominent focus on their mental health. Isabelle was sweet too, very patient and understanding meaning there wasn't much relationship angst throughout.
In Wicked Serve we follow Isobel and Nikolai after a whirlwind summer romance. The pair think they won't see each other again, but can't stop thinking about the summer they spent together. Nik quickly realises that a) he will be seeing Izzy a lot sooner than expected due to a school transfer, and b) there is no way he's going to be able to keep the distance he promised himself he would keep.
I do feel as though the pacing of the book could have been better, and the book itself could have been much shorter. By about 50%, it seemed as though our couple were happy and, while there were other aspects of the story that needed to be wrapped up, I don't feel as though it warranted half the book.
I did enjoy this though, and lovers of sports romance will enjoy this book.
Tropes:
-Established Relationship
-Brothers Rival
-Non-toxic relationship
-Open Door
-Secret Relationship
-He falls harder
-Tortured soul MMC
-Family bonds
Thankyou to netgalley, Grace Reilly and Headline for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Please check the tws before reading.
----------------
arc time arc time
I enjoyed this book.
Nik was top tier tortured, brooding book boyfriend material, and it was refreshing to have an MMC with such a prominent focus on their mental health. Isabelle was sweet too, very patient and understanding meaning there wasn't much relationship angst throughout.
In Wicked Serve we follow Isobel and Nikolai after a whirlwind summer romance. The pair think they won't see each other again, but can't stop thinking about the summer they spent together. Nik quickly realises that a) he will be seeing Izzy a lot sooner than expected due to a school transfer, and b) there is no way he's going to be able to keep the distance he promised himself he would keep.
I do feel as though the pacing of the book could have been better, and the book itself could have been much shorter. By about 50%, it seemed as though our couple were happy and, while there were other aspects of the story that needed to be wrapped up, I don't feel as though it warranted half the book.
I did enjoy this though, and lovers of sports romance will enjoy this book.
Tropes:
-Established Relationship
-Brothers Rival
-Non-toxic relationship
-Open Door
-Secret Relationship
-He falls harder
-Tortured soul MMC
-Family bonds
Thankyou to netgalley, Grace Reilly and Headline for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Please check the tws before reading.
----------------
arc time arc time
August 28, 2024
Recycled plot, unnecessarily long, and packed with so many fillers it’s a filler fest.
March 11, 2025
: ̗̀➛ started on 3/10/25
: ̗̀➛ finished on 3/11/25
2.5 🌟
just no 😭
: ̗̀➛ finished on 3/11/25
2.5 🌟
just no 😭
November 25, 2024
“If she’s sunshine, I’m the guy who hopes it never starts raining.”
An ARC was kindly provided by Valentine PR and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wicked Serve follows the story of Isabelle and Nikolai, a pair who had a short-lived summer fling while she was working as an intern for his mother. After the summer ended, they thought they wouldn’t meet again. However, when Nikolai transferred to Izzy’s university, they faced each other once more and realized that the feelings they had pretended didn’t exist had not disappeared.
Isabelle Callahan is the youngest child in a family of overachievers. As the daughter of a former NFL star, the sister of another rising star, a future NHL player, and a talented chef, she has spent her entire life trying to prove she is worthy of being one of them. She is the most generous, supportive, and kind-hearted person in the world—so generous that I couldn’t help but love her. Her development throughout the chapters is noticeable, and I loved following her as she grew more confident in herself and discovered what she truly loves.
Nikolai Abney-Volkov is a dedicated hockey player on a mission to make his supposed last season the most memorable one possible. As the son of a former NHL and KHL player who left him with too much trauma, he is a kind, smart, and determined guy whose passion is in constant conflict with his deeper fears. He’s also been obsessed with Isabelle ever since he first saw her. His story is sad but satisfying to read, especially as he begins to talk about and deal with his past trauma. I also loved how he prioritized taking care of himself and his mental health to be a good man for Isabelle. His growth was evident and effective, making his journey a pleasure to read.
Izzy and Nik’s relationship began as cutesy and cliché as it could be during the summer. When they met again afterward, they realized that what they had promised to keep casual was never really casual at all. Their relationship developed beautifully, and their romance truly began to bloom once they decided to give in to the attraction they felt. They are so good and lovely together, always understanding and supporting each other, no matter what. I especially appreciate that there were no major miscommunication issues or distrust between them, and the angsty scenes were top-tier.
Wicked Serve was my first book by Grace Reilly, and I loved it! I suppose if I’d read the previous book in the series, I would’ve loved it even more, but still, this was a super cute and lighthearted read that I’d definitely recommend for sports romance lovers! Although there wasn’t really a need for it to be this long, I liked it too much to complain.
Thanks to Valentine PR and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
An ARC was kindly provided by Valentine PR and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wicked Serve follows the story of Isabelle and Nikolai, a pair who had a short-lived summer fling while she was working as an intern for his mother. After the summer ended, they thought they wouldn’t meet again. However, when Nikolai transferred to Izzy’s university, they faced each other once more and realized that the feelings they had pretended didn’t exist had not disappeared.
Isabelle Callahan is the youngest child in a family of overachievers. As the daughter of a former NFL star, the sister of another rising star, a future NHL player, and a talented chef, she has spent her entire life trying to prove she is worthy of being one of them. She is the most generous, supportive, and kind-hearted person in the world—so generous that I couldn’t help but love her. Her development throughout the chapters is noticeable, and I loved following her as she grew more confident in herself and discovered what she truly loves.
Nikolai Abney-Volkov is a dedicated hockey player on a mission to make his supposed last season the most memorable one possible. As the son of a former NHL and KHL player who left him with too much trauma, he is a kind, smart, and determined guy whose passion is in constant conflict with his deeper fears. He’s also been obsessed with Isabelle ever since he first saw her. His story is sad but satisfying to read, especially as he begins to talk about and deal with his past trauma. I also loved how he prioritized taking care of himself and his mental health to be a good man for Isabelle. His growth was evident and effective, making his journey a pleasure to read.
Izzy and Nik’s relationship began as cutesy and cliché as it could be during the summer. When they met again afterward, they realized that what they had promised to keep casual was never really casual at all. Their relationship developed beautifully, and their romance truly began to bloom once they decided to give in to the attraction they felt. They are so good and lovely together, always understanding and supporting each other, no matter what. I especially appreciate that there were no major miscommunication issues or distrust between them, and the angsty scenes were top-tier.
Wicked Serve was my first book by Grace Reilly, and I loved it! I suppose if I’d read the previous book in the series, I would’ve loved it even more, but still, this was a super cute and lighthearted read that I’d definitely recommend for sports romance lovers! Although there wasn’t really a need for it to be this long, I liked it too much to complain.
Thanks to Valentine PR and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
August 17, 2024
જ⁀🏐𝐖𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐲 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲°ᡣ𐭩 . ° .
➺ ✩✩✩.𝟑𝟓
🏒☆⋆｡"𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞" 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, солнечный, 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐤𝐨, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨 "𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧," 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫.𖦹°‧★🏐
➺ 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬⭑𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬
⭑𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬⭑ This book contains: Domestic abuse (off page), alcoholism (mentioned little bit), disordered eating, panic disorder (only 3 times), and cheating (not from mcs).
⭑𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬⭑
⭑Brother's Rival?✔
⭑ Secret Relationship? ✔
⭑ College Romance? ✔
⭑ He Falls first/harder? ✔
⭑ Healthy Relationship? ✔
⭑ Found Family? ✔
⭑ Family Bonds? ✔
⭑ Sports Romance? ❌✔
🏒☆⋆｡"𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨." 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤. "𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬."𖦹°‧★🏐
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
➺ 𝐈𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧
Isabelle doesn't want anything but to make her family proud and achieve her goals without using her Family's name to climb up. I liked her I sorta hate her also. I hate how she is always putting this fake pressure like about family even though they genuinely love her and tells her that over and over. It also could be younger sister syndrome which I have lol. Anyways she felt force like I felt like I need to be force into relating into her. And trust me I did relate to her but I wish I didn't she sorta ruined this book she was a brat and honestly I hate how she thought playing volleyball was a way to make her family happy. Like girlie WHAT. Also I hate her because she rather be a SETTER than an OP!!! As a vb girlie and an OP I took offense lol.
➺ 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐢 𝐀𝐛𝐧𝐞𝐲-𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐨𝐯
He can't turn into him, he will try all in his power to bury those forbidden memories and to not turn into the monster his father was. I love Nikolai he doesn't deserve all of the hurt he went through! I love this man with all I am and I love how he is towards Isabelle and just everybody even his rival he treats with respect. I feel like we were suppose to be getting the bad boy who dates his rival's sister kind of guy but honestly we only got a gooey soft marshmallow<3
🏒☆⋆｡𝐀 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥.𖦹°‧★🏐
➺𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
Erm.... This book was uh something. Honestly I was so ready to read a volleyball AND Hockey book!! BUT NOOOO We only got Volleyball for like what 3 chapters and the freaking rest is about HOCKEY!!!! And here's the thing the author even got some volleyball things wrong 😭 I was so ready I was so ready to read this book because I never see volleyball books but nope this was a let down. I also think my expectations were too high and tbh I get why this book got tons of hate. But I really tried to like it but the structure was a little wobbly. Especially how the author puts all of this stupid fae pressure to get that relatable female main character vibe. I also sorta didn't like how modern it was, like don't get me wrong I could care less but it just bothered me yk. Like there was a freaking top gun Maverick reference! Like that is the first and that means it is modern and Taylor Swift!(?) Sorry I really wish I loved this book but this book just put me in a big slump. Tbh don't read, the other books are much more better!!!
🏒☆⋆｡"𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝." "𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦." "𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞. 𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬."𖦹°‧★🏐
➺ 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭
🏐𝐀𝐥𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐁𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐭
🏒𝐈 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧' 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐁𝐲 𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒
🏐𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐁𝐲 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐖𝐞
🏒𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐁𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧
🏒☆⋆｡“𝐈𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈’𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐧.”𖦹°‧★🏐
➺𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬
𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 {𝟏 ✩✩✩}
𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 {𝟐✩✩✩✩}
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 {𝟑 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐝𝐧𝐟}
𝐖𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞 {𝟒 ✩✩✩.35}
🏒☆⋆｡Мой любимый. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞.𖦹°‧★🏐
➺ ✩✩✩.𝟑𝟓
🏒☆⋆｡"𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞" 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, солнечный, 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐤𝐨, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨 "𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧," 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫.𖦹°‧★🏐
➺ 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬⭑𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬
⭑𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬⭑ This book contains: Domestic abuse (off page), alcoholism (mentioned little bit), disordered eating, panic disorder (only 3 times), and cheating (not from mcs).
⭑𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬⭑
⭑Brother's Rival?✔
⭑ Secret Relationship? ✔
⭑ College Romance? ✔
⭑ He Falls first/harder? ✔
⭑ Healthy Relationship? ✔
⭑ Found Family? ✔
⭑ Family Bonds? ✔
⭑ Sports Romance? ❌✔
🏒☆⋆｡"𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨." 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤. "𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬."𖦹°‧★🏐
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
➺ 𝐈𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧
Isabelle doesn't want anything but to make her family proud and achieve her goals without using her Family's name to climb up. I liked her I sorta hate her also. I hate how she is always putting this fake pressure like about family even though they genuinely love her and tells her that over and over. It also could be younger sister syndrome which I have lol. Anyways she felt force like I felt like I need to be force into relating into her. And trust me I did relate to her but I wish I didn't she sorta ruined this book she was a brat and honestly I hate how she thought playing volleyball was a way to make her family happy. Like girlie WHAT. Also I hate her because she rather be a SETTER than an OP!!! As a vb girlie and an OP I took offense lol.
➺ 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐢 𝐀𝐛𝐧𝐞𝐲-𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐨𝐯
He can't turn into him, he will try all in his power to bury those forbidden memories and to not turn into the monster his father was. I love Nikolai he doesn't deserve all of the hurt he went through! I love this man with all I am and I love how he is towards Isabelle and just everybody even his rival he treats with respect. I feel like we were suppose to be getting the bad boy who dates his rival's sister kind of guy but honestly we only got a gooey soft marshmallow<3
🏒☆⋆｡𝐀 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥.𖦹°‧★🏐
➺𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
Erm.... This book was uh something. Honestly I was so ready to read a volleyball AND Hockey book!! BUT NOOOO We only got Volleyball for like what 3 chapters and the freaking rest is about HOCKEY!!!! And here's the thing the author even got some volleyball things wrong 😭 I was so ready I was so ready to read this book because I never see volleyball books but nope this was a let down. I also think my expectations were too high and tbh I get why this book got tons of hate. But I really tried to like it but the structure was a little wobbly. Especially how the author puts all of this stupid fae pressure to get that relatable female main character vibe. I also sorta didn't like how modern it was, like don't get me wrong I could care less but it just bothered me yk. Like there was a freaking top gun Maverick reference! Like that is the first and that means it is modern and Taylor Swift!(?) Sorry I really wish I loved this book but this book just put me in a big slump. Tbh don't read, the other books are much more better!!!
🏒☆⋆｡"𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝." "𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦." "𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞. 𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬."𖦹°‧★🏐
➺ 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭
🏐𝐀𝐥𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐁𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐭
🏒𝐈 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧' 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐁𝐲 𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒
🏐𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐁𝐲 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐖𝐞
🏒𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐁𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧
🏒☆⋆｡“𝐈𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈’𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐧.”𖦹°‧★🏐
➺𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬
𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 {𝟏 ✩✩✩}
𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 {𝟐✩✩✩✩}
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 {𝟑 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐝𝐧𝐟}
𝐖𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞 {𝟒 ✩✩✩.35}
🏒☆⋆｡Мой любимый. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞.𖦹°‧★🏐
July 10, 2024
Wicked Serve can be read as a stand-alone or as the fourth book in the series. This is the first book I’ve read by Grace Reilly and I definitely recommend for fans of Hannah Grace. This fits neatly into the new adult sports romance niche and while enjoyable, I do think I may be a little older than the intended demographic.
I appreciated that there were serious moments intertwined with the romance and coming of age experiences; however, I feel 100 pages could have been cut and the story would have stayed the same.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
I appreciated that there were serious moments intertwined with the romance and coming of age experiences; however, I feel 100 pages could have been cut and the story would have stayed the same.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
August 13, 2024
I’ve been anticipating this book for the longest time, and it didn’t disappoint! 💗
Grace really did her thing with this series, and I couldn’t express my love for the Callahan siblings enough. Their bond is everything to me, and I adore each and every one of their love stories so much!
Izzy & Nikolai had such a spicy and sweet connection. Their shared summer history helped me jump right into the story, and I was hooked! I loved the tension of how much they couldn’t stay away from each other and how they slowly became more of an integral part of the other’s lives. I really felt for them through their struggles, and the way they deeply cared for each other was everything to me 🥹 I also just loveddd the way that BOTH of them were athletes — it’s one of my favorite things to see in books!
Anyways, I adored Izzy & Nikolai’s story so much! It’s a bittersweet feeling to see one of my favorite sports romance series come to an end, but it was closed out in the best way so I can’t even complain 🤧 I love Grace and her writing so much, so I can’t wait for whatever else she comes up with next! 🫶
Thank you so much to Grace Reilly & Valentine PR for an ARC of this book 💌
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
i adore the callahan family so much, i'm so sad this series is over :,)
Grace really did her thing with this series, and I couldn’t express my love for the Callahan siblings enough. Their bond is everything to me, and I adore each and every one of their love stories so much!
Izzy & Nikolai had such a spicy and sweet connection. Their shared summer history helped me jump right into the story, and I was hooked! I loved the tension of how much they couldn’t stay away from each other and how they slowly became more of an integral part of the other’s lives. I really felt for them through their struggles, and the way they deeply cared for each other was everything to me 🥹 I also just loveddd the way that BOTH of them were athletes — it’s one of my favorite things to see in books!
Anyways, I adored Izzy & Nikolai’s story so much! It’s a bittersweet feeling to see one of my favorite sports romance series come to an end, but it was closed out in the best way so I can’t even complain 🤧 I love Grace and her writing so much, so I can’t wait for whatever else she comes up with next! 🫶
Thank you so much to Grace Reilly & Valentine PR for an ARC of this book 💌
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
i adore the callahan family so much, i'm so sad this series is over :,)
December 11, 2024
Yeah, this isn't for me.
- it's too long
- they got together way too soon (page 60)
- no tension or chemistry between them
- FMC was a bit annoying
- I questioned some of the things Nikolai said and did, I didn't really like him that much.
Ended up DNFing this
- it's too long
- they got together way too soon (page 60)
- no tension or chemistry between them
- FMC was a bit annoying
- I questioned some of the things Nikolai said and did, I didn't really like him that much.
Ended up DNFing this
September 8, 2024
Not going to lie, this book took me WAY too long to read (unfortunately life and work just got in the way of my August reading) but gosh it was a goodie!
I actually loved Isabelle and Niks story so much.
It had the perfect cutesy HEA but also touched on loads of extremely important topics.
Niks story contained a lot of Mental health, abuse, trust issues. It was great to read those points from the MMC and watch him grow through his problems with lots of support while reminding us that sometimes males struggle with opening up about their emotions and it’s okay to seek help from others.
Isabelle’s character also showed lots of development and determination through her sports and feeling like she always needed to be ‘more’ for her family.
I truly loved their growth and the fun relationship they shared from their first summer together.
The spice was also spicin’! 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Big thank you to Hachette and NetGally for the ARC.
I actually loved Isabelle and Niks story so much.
It had the perfect cutesy HEA but also touched on loads of extremely important topics.
Niks story contained a lot of Mental health, abuse, trust issues. It was great to read those points from the MMC and watch him grow through his problems with lots of support while reminding us that sometimes males struggle with opening up about their emotions and it’s okay to seek help from others.
Isabelle’s character also showed lots of development and determination through her sports and feeling like she always needed to be ‘more’ for her family.
I truly loved their growth and the fun relationship they shared from their first summer together.
The spice was also spicin’! 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Big thank you to Hachette and NetGally for the ARC.
March 30, 2025
4.5⭐️
I absolutely loved this one! It was by far one of my favorites of this series. I love these characters so much. I enjoyed that it was about two mature people who really strived for a healthy relationship. Every now and then I’m a sucker for a hockey romance! The spice was good - relevant to the plot. Great character growth and loved the tie in with mental health and dealing with childhood trauma.
I absolutely loved this one! It was by far one of my favorites of this series. I love these characters so much. I enjoyed that it was about two mature people who really strived for a healthy relationship. Every now and then I’m a sucker for a hockey romance! The spice was good - relevant to the plot. Great character growth and loved the tie in with mental health and dealing with childhood trauma.
August 4, 2024
Unfortunately, I will have to give this book somewhere between a 2.75 and 3.25. For now, I will just say 3 stars!
While the premise was cute and there was a plot that had the potential to be better presented, the flow was too disconnected for me. I enjoy romances with spice 🌶️, but it’s more important to me that the plot and pace are solid. This book had far too many scenes that were entirely unnecessary for pushing the story forward. Also, towards the end it felt like we were just getting more and more and more information and moments just to do it.
That being said, I was interested in learning more about the MMC’s family dynamic, his past experiences, and the complications he was going through in life. The FMC’s storyline was wonky and bit less interesting to me as a reader. However, together, the FMC and MMC had very cute moments together.
Albeit, mostly lustful moments - but cute.
Thank you NetGalley, Valentine PR, Avon Books, and Grace Reilly for allowing me to review this ARC.
While the premise was cute and there was a plot that had the potential to be better presented, the flow was too disconnected for me. I enjoy romances with spice 🌶️, but it’s more important to me that the plot and pace are solid. This book had far too many scenes that were entirely unnecessary for pushing the story forward. Also, towards the end it felt like we were just getting more and more and more information and moments just to do it.
That being said, I was interested in learning more about the MMC’s family dynamic, his past experiences, and the complications he was going through in life. The FMC’s storyline was wonky and bit less interesting to me as a reader. However, together, the FMC and MMC had very cute moments together.
Albeit, mostly lustful moments - but cute.
Thank you NetGalley, Valentine PR, Avon Books, and Grace Reilly for allowing me to review this ARC.
August 1, 2025
I'm normally a huge fan of longer romance books. I really love just sitting in their little universe, but I thought this one would never end. It was so boring and exasperating at the same time.
Nikolai was a great character. He was so gentle and thoughtful to everyone around him not just Izzy, I feel like he deserved better than her. He had a very traumatic childhood that he never dealt with mentally or emotionally, but he was still very kind and considerate. None of that bullying/abusive tragic hero nonsense. He had a lot of people wanting to pull him in every direction - I honestly didn't know what he'd choose. He was a great friend, lover and teammate.
Nik also had to transfers schools bc he took the fall for something another teammate did and then they gave him the cold shoulder and nothing came from it? Why bother even writing that, they could've just said hey and moved on??? This is just one of the many random side plots that do nothing but to take up pages for KU readers I'm convinced.
Izzy annoyed tf out of me. She was spoiled and had no self-awareness. She came off as a serious nepo baby. She also was having meltdowns left and right and just felt so immature.
Example, right in the beginning:
1. Her coach tells her she's not that great of a player and if she really wants to be a setter on the team she needs to work harder and show more potential, coach says she hasn't really seen anything from Izzy that impresses her. Which brings me to....
2. (This is honestly when I should've DNF'd.) How does Izzy respond to this? She then snaps at the coach and says "what did a football player break your heart?" WHO TF SAYS THAT. Oh god, if I was the coach I would've slapped her. Just do better, you dumbass. 🤦🏻♀️ I've never lost respect for a character so fast. If I ever said that to my coach I'd be running suicides until the end of the season. But of course, she faces no consequences.
3. Coach basically says she only made the team bc of her parents money and she would've picked another player to have that spot LOL
4. Izzy then admits she showed up to their first practice the previous year HUNG OVER which is why the coach isn't very fond of her. No accountability, she still snaps at the coach knowing she's right.
Yes, it was that bad - see exact excerpt:
It doesn't end here.
Later (not even halfway through the book yet) she then sneaks off after an away-game to go on a date with Nik (against the rules btw) and then oversleeps and misses the bus returning back home - which is a few hours away.
While she says she understands she broke the rules and its her fault, her actions did not align with that sentiment. She continued to bitch and whine about how "unfair" it was that she might not be able to play setter and that all her work was for nothing. Girl, grow up. This is college and these rules are in place for a reason. No one knew if you were dead or missing. This could've been a serious disaster for safety reasons.
Keep in mind she doesn't face ANY consequences other than a stern talking to from the coach and a threat that she MIGHT not be a setter. And they all made the coach out like she was the bad guy. I'm sorry but did this author even play a collegiate sport or do their research? In the real world, sneaking out and missing the bus is grounds for: removal from the team, suspension, a fine - none of that even happened to Izzy. She got one lecture and again had a meltdown.
The rest of the book just dragged on. There was a lot of sex but no chemistry between the two leads. So many chapters could've been deleted. Like running into the ex, the brunch scene, the tattoo scenes, the flu scene when he tells her he won't be going to the NHL. They sort of "separate" at 47% and my only thought was omfg we still have so much to go what else could possibly happen? We spend several chapters literally just killing time waiting for Nik's dad to show up. They "separate" again towards the end. At this point, I wasn't even rooting for them.
I didn't like that Nik's mom got herself therapy and not him, after everything he went through as well? But I guess that was part of the plot.
I also didn't like the way Izzy treated Nik's grandfather at the very end. Like the grandfather let Nik break their deal with NO consequences (he wanted Nik to quit Hockey and work for him) and Izzy 5 years later was still giving him the cold shoulder.
The rest of the side characters were great. Idk if I'd read their books though if it dragged on like this one.
Nikolai was a great character. He was so gentle and thoughtful to everyone around him not just Izzy, I feel like he deserved better than her. He had a very traumatic childhood that he never dealt with mentally or emotionally, but he was still very kind and considerate. None of that bullying/abusive tragic hero nonsense. He had a lot of people wanting to pull him in every direction - I honestly didn't know what he'd choose. He was a great friend, lover and teammate.
Nik also had to transfers schools bc he took the fall for something another teammate did and then they gave him the cold shoulder and nothing came from it? Why bother even writing that, they could've just said hey and moved on??? This is just one of the many random side plots that do nothing but to take up pages for KU readers I'm convinced.
Izzy annoyed tf out of me. She was spoiled and had no self-awareness. She came off as a serious nepo baby. She also was having meltdowns left and right and just felt so immature.
Example, right in the beginning:
1. Her coach tells her she's not that great of a player and if she really wants to be a setter on the team she needs to work harder and show more potential, coach says she hasn't really seen anything from Izzy that impresses her. Which brings me to....
2. (This is honestly when I should've DNF'd.) How does Izzy respond to this? She then snaps at the coach and says "what did a football player break your heart?" WHO TF SAYS THAT. Oh god, if I was the coach I would've slapped her. Just do better, you dumbass. 🤦🏻♀️ I've never lost respect for a character so fast. If I ever said that to my coach I'd be running suicides until the end of the season. But of course, she faces no consequences.
3. Coach basically says she only made the team bc of her parents money and she would've picked another player to have that spot LOL
4. Izzy then admits she showed up to their first practice the previous year HUNG OVER which is why the coach isn't very fond of her. No accountability, she still snaps at the coach knowing she's right.
Yes, it was that bad - see exact excerpt:
It doesn't end here.
Later (not even halfway through the book yet) she then sneaks off after an away-game to go on a date with Nik (against the rules btw) and then oversleeps and misses the bus returning back home - which is a few hours away.
While she says she understands she broke the rules and its her fault, her actions did not align with that sentiment. She continued to bitch and whine about how "unfair" it was that she might not be able to play setter and that all her work was for nothing. Girl, grow up. This is college and these rules are in place for a reason. No one knew if you were dead or missing. This could've been a serious disaster for safety reasons.
Keep in mind she doesn't face ANY consequences other than a stern talking to from the coach and a threat that she MIGHT not be a setter. And they all made the coach out like she was the bad guy. I'm sorry but did this author even play a collegiate sport or do their research? In the real world, sneaking out and missing the bus is grounds for: removal from the team, suspension, a fine - none of that even happened to Izzy. She got one lecture and again had a meltdown.
The rest of the book just dragged on. There was a lot of sex but no chemistry between the two leads. So many chapters could've been deleted. Like running into the ex, the brunch scene, the tattoo scenes, the flu scene when he tells her he won't be going to the NHL. They sort of "separate" at 47% and my only thought was omfg we still have so much to go what else could possibly happen? We spend several chapters literally just killing time waiting for Nik's dad to show up. They "separate" again towards the end. At this point, I wasn't even rooting for them.
I didn't like that Nik's mom got herself therapy and not him, after everything he went through as well? But I guess that was part of the plot.
I also didn't like the way Izzy treated Nik's grandfather at the very end. Like the grandfather let Nik break their deal with NO consequences (he wanted Nik to quit Hockey and work for him) and Izzy 5 years later was still giving him the cold shoulder.
The rest of the side characters were great. Idk if I'd read their books though if it dragged on like this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
The final instalment of the Callahan siblings; Izzy finally gets her moment! This one wasn’t my favourite but it was still a sweet read.
I enjoyed a few aspects of this book, Nikolai and his mental health representation the most! I think Grace wrote this really thoughtfully. His relationship with Izzy was pretty cute, man had a mouth on him too 😮💨😮💨 I also liked the relationship he eventually built with Cooper and the whole Callahan tribe. Izzy wasn’t my favourite FMC, she was a little bit meh, but I did love how she was able to learn to trust and lean on Nikolai and stand up for herself.
I did think this book was too long; no college romance needs to be 450 pages and it did drag a bit. I found myself just skimming and reading the dialogue, mostly in the middle.
I do recommend this series as a whole, the second book is still my favourite!
Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette for the advanced copy.
The final instalment of the Callahan siblings; Izzy finally gets her moment! This one wasn’t my favourite but it was still a sweet read.
I enjoyed a few aspects of this book, Nikolai and his mental health representation the most! I think Grace wrote this really thoughtfully. His relationship with Izzy was pretty cute, man had a mouth on him too 😮💨😮💨 I also liked the relationship he eventually built with Cooper and the whole Callahan tribe. Izzy wasn’t my favourite FMC, she was a little bit meh, but I did love how she was able to learn to trust and lean on Nikolai and stand up for herself.
I did think this book was too long; no college romance needs to be 450 pages and it did drag a bit. I found myself just skimming and reading the dialogue, mostly in the middle.
I do recommend this series as a whole, the second book is still my favourite!
Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette for the advanced copy.
August 13, 2024
Izzy’s book 🥹
I’m so sad this series is over, but I’m so glad we got to catch up with everyone else too!
📖 Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly
🏐🏒 college sports romance
📱🎧 read on kindle + audio (arc/alc)
⭐️ rating: 5/5
🌶️ rating: 3.5/5
📚 book 4 • Beyond the Play series
While this can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend the whole series. We see quite a bit of the previous characters (Izzy’s brothers + their girlfriends). That was a part of what I loved about it too.
💭 overall thoughts:
After a summer fling where they don’t expect to see one another again, Izzy & Nik find themselves studying at the same college. Nik was previously her brother’s rival, and now his teammate.
Their undeniable chemistry makes it impossible for them to stay apart, even though Izzy’s intention was to focus on volleyball, and Nik is terrified of having a relationship.
I loved that both Izzy & Nik were athletes, I think it gave them a better understanding of each other. I think Izzy’s brothers were the perfect level of protective over her 🙃 I’m kind of biased since I already love them from the previous books 😅
There were some heavy topics in this one (related to Nik’s childhood), and I think Grace handled them really well. I liked to see how Izzy handled everything, and how she grew as the story went on.
🎙️ audiobook thoughts:
(narrated by Faith Clark & Oscar Reyes)
I don’t think I’ve heard either narrator before, but I think they both did a great job at capturing the characters & telling their story. I was impressed by Oscar Reyes’ switching between Russian and American accents.
read if you love:
☀️ summer fling turned to secret relationship
🏒 brother’s rival to college hockey teammate
(after being expelled by his previous college)
🏐 volleyball player girly girl (pink is her fav color 🎀)
👰♀️ wedding planner aspirations
🫶🏻 family (Izzy is the youngest sibling) + found family
❤️🩹 broken boy and sunshine girl
🧠 mental health rep (panic attacks)
💞 dual 1st person pov
*please make sure to check triggers, Nik’s backstory is heavy
Thank you to Grace Reilly, Valentine PR, Avon Books, Headline Books & Spotify Audiobooks for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.
*Connect with Me*
🤍 Instagram 🤍 Blog 🤍
I’m so sad this series is over, but I’m so glad we got to catch up with everyone else too!
📖 Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly
🏐🏒 college sports romance
📱🎧 read on kindle + audio (arc/alc)
⭐️ rating: 5/5
🌶️ rating: 3.5/5
📚 book 4 • Beyond the Play series
While this can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend the whole series. We see quite a bit of the previous characters (Izzy’s brothers + their girlfriends). That was a part of what I loved about it too.
💭 overall thoughts:
After a summer fling where they don’t expect to see one another again, Izzy & Nik find themselves studying at the same college. Nik was previously her brother’s rival, and now his teammate.
Their undeniable chemistry makes it impossible for them to stay apart, even though Izzy’s intention was to focus on volleyball, and Nik is terrified of having a relationship.
I loved that both Izzy & Nik were athletes, I think it gave them a better understanding of each other. I think Izzy’s brothers were the perfect level of protective over her 🙃 I’m kind of biased since I already love them from the previous books 😅
There were some heavy topics in this one (related to Nik’s childhood), and I think Grace handled them really well. I liked to see how Izzy handled everything, and how she grew as the story went on.
🎙️ audiobook thoughts:
(narrated by Faith Clark & Oscar Reyes)
I don’t think I’ve heard either narrator before, but I think they both did a great job at capturing the characters & telling their story. I was impressed by Oscar Reyes’ switching between Russian and American accents.
read if you love:
☀️ summer fling turned to secret relationship
🏒 brother’s rival to college hockey teammate
(after being expelled by his previous college)
🏐 volleyball player girly girl (pink is her fav color 🎀)
👰♀️ wedding planner aspirations
🫶🏻 family (Izzy is the youngest sibling) + found family
❤️🩹 broken boy and sunshine girl
🧠 mental health rep (panic attacks)
💞 dual 1st person pov
*please make sure to check triggers, Nik’s backstory is heavy
Thank you to Grace Reilly, Valentine PR, Avon Books, Headline Books & Spotify Audiobooks for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.
*Connect with Me*
🤍 Instagram 🤍 Blog 🤍
November 1, 2024
I so enjoyed this book so much, again. Every second was tension 😂. What is going to happen, how are they going to get together, how are they going to announce their relationship, is it going to work out, how is it going to work out. AHHHH I giggled, screamed and cried.
4,5 ⭐️
4,5 ⭐️
August 13, 2024
₊ ⊹”you’re everything to me, isabelle. you’re stubborn warmth and wild summertime. you’re sunshine.”₊ ⊹
*:･ﾟmy thoughts┊ thank the lord i finally finished this 🤧 i didn’t hate it by any means, but this story dragged on for literally ever and i was really struggling to make myself finish it lmao.
i did enjoy this book, but in terms of the series, it’s probably my third favorite. isabella and nikolai had so much potential, but i felt that their romantic execution fell flat. i wish this had been set during the summer they first met and moved on from there, rather than introducing it in the middle of the journey. i also felt that their initial meetings in the beginning were a little off; they were both telling themselves that they couldn’t be with the other person and yet every time they bumped into each other they were so touchy-feely with one another. idk, it was a little awkward for me lmao
besides that though, i did like this one! it was really interesting learning more about nikolai, who was introduced a feel books back. i ended up really falling for his character and empathizing with him and his story. his development arc was spot on! and i loved how he loved isabelle. she was always the bright spot in his light, and she took care of him in ways no one else ever had. they really did have a sweet and genuine connection and i loved reading about it!
i think my only other complaint is that it felt waay too long. i was really struggling to get through it, even though i was mostly enjoying it. there’s no reason a book needs to have almost 75 chapters, even if they’re shorter than average. most of the chapters felt like filler ones that weren’t totally necessary to the story. i felt like this book was packed to the brim with things occurring, which made it difficult for me to really fall into the story like i prefer doing.
all in all, this was a pretty solid ending to this series! it made me remember how much i enjoyed the previous two books (i wan’t really a big fan of the first though lmao). i’d definitely be interested in picking up future novels by this author! <3
huge thank you to netgalley and avon and harper voyager for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!
*:･ﾟmy thoughts┊ thank the lord i finally finished this 🤧 i didn’t hate it by any means, but this story dragged on for literally ever and i was really struggling to make myself finish it lmao.
i did enjoy this book, but in terms of the series, it’s probably my third favorite. isabella and nikolai had so much potential, but i felt that their romantic execution fell flat. i wish this had been set during the summer they first met and moved on from there, rather than introducing it in the middle of the journey. i also felt that their initial meetings in the beginning were a little off; they were both telling themselves that they couldn’t be with the other person and yet every time they bumped into each other they were so touchy-feely with one another. idk, it was a little awkward for me lmao
besides that though, i did like this one! it was really interesting learning more about nikolai, who was introduced a feel books back. i ended up really falling for his character and empathizing with him and his story. his development arc was spot on! and i loved how he loved isabelle. she was always the bright spot in his light, and she took care of him in ways no one else ever had. they really did have a sweet and genuine connection and i loved reading about it!
i think my only other complaint is that it felt waay too long. i was really struggling to get through it, even though i was mostly enjoying it. there’s no reason a book needs to have almost 75 chapters, even if they’re shorter than average. most of the chapters felt like filler ones that weren’t totally necessary to the story. i felt like this book was packed to the brim with things occurring, which made it difficult for me to really fall into the story like i prefer doing.
all in all, this was a pretty solid ending to this series! it made me remember how much i enjoyed the previous two books (i wan’t really a big fan of the first though lmao). i’d definitely be interested in picking up future novels by this author! <3
huge thank you to netgalley and avon and harper voyager for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!
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June 24, 2024
3⭐️ I think I need to give up on this series...
I loved Breakaway , but after that one, this series seems to have taken a turn, and I can't get behind it. The romance is already halfway there when the story begins. We miss the meet-cute (or not-so-meet-cute), the will-they/won't-they, the first touch, the first kiss, the first everything... We're thrown into what in other's books is the third act break up. And I'm sure that's fun for someone, but that someone isn't me. The same happened in the last book of the series.
Also, the FMC in this book didn't really click for me. The MMC's family issues/abuse were a problem for me right til the end, and I understand that this in particular is a personal thing, and might not be a problem for others, but yeah. It was incredibly frustrating.
So, overall, this book really did not work for me, but it might work for you? Idk.
🌶🌶.5 / 5 - There's a handful of scenes and they're ok, but nothing too notable tbh.
I loved Breakaway , but after that one, this series seems to have taken a turn, and I can't get behind it. The romance is already halfway there when the story begins. We miss the meet-cute (or not-so-meet-cute), the will-they/won't-they, the first touch, the first kiss, the first everything... We're thrown into what in other's books is the third act break up. And I'm sure that's fun for someone, but that someone isn't me. The same happened in the last book of the series.
Also, the FMC in this book didn't really click for me. The MMC's family issues/abuse were a problem for me right til the end, and I understand that this in particular is a personal thing, and might not be a problem for others, but yeah. It was incredibly frustrating.
So, overall, this book really did not work for me, but it might work for you? Idk.
🌶🌶.5 / 5 - There's a handful of scenes and they're ok, but nothing too notable tbh.
August 14, 2024
3.5
Honestly this book was entertaining for the most part. I enjoyed it mostly because of how sweet of a romance it is and the family bonds that Isabelle has.
Nik really kind of irked me throughout the book because he would stand up for everyone except for himself and it was just a bit confusing really.
Also the short chapters were killing me. Usually short chapters are fun and great but I feel like this whole book was filled with short chapters that really could’ve been longer if you just merged them together.
Isabelle definitely does not know boundaries when it comes to asking Nik about his past and that honestly annoyed me because I found it really rude of her to not respect that. And the overuse of the color pink was slowly suffocating me.
The romance was cute but I feel like it was mostly smut and a sprinkle of plot.
Honestly this book was entertaining for the most part. I enjoyed it mostly because of how sweet of a romance it is and the family bonds that Isabelle has.
Nik really kind of irked me throughout the book because he would stand up for everyone except for himself and it was just a bit confusing really.
Also the short chapters were killing me. Usually short chapters are fun and great but I feel like this whole book was filled with short chapters that really could’ve been longer if you just merged them together.
Isabelle definitely does not know boundaries when it comes to asking Nik about his past and that honestly annoyed me because I found it really rude of her to not respect that. And the overuse of the color pink was slowly suffocating me.
The romance was cute but I feel like it was mostly smut and a sprinkle of plot.
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