A review by anna4
Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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

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

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

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

There were a couple things, which to my surprise and delight, took a different turn than I am used to from other books. Two that come to mind are, as mentioned above, Cooper + Nik’s friendship. I really expected them to not get along for basically 80% of the book but they as (best) friends made so much sense.

And the other one is the non existing breakup between Isabelle + Nik. I feel like there was an attempted 3rd-act-breakup at the 50% mark, but…is it really a 3rd-act-breakup when it doesn’t happen in the 3rd act? I will also not count it as a breakup at all, so that’s that. But the vibe was definitely giving (3rd-act) breakup.

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

I caught myself several times thinking that this book might be about 50, maybe even more, pages too long. Especially with Nik’s past and resulting traumas keep coming up without any kind of resolvement up until basically the very end.

I also felt like the main characters, who were supposed to be 19 and 21 (I think), acted older than their age. 

I also wasn’t vibing with all of the russian, but this a me-thing. я люблю тебя vs the usual я тебя люблю (eng: I love you) was a choice I guess. I eventually got somewhat used to solnishko (eng: sunshine) but I wasn’t really vibing with it in the beginning.

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

Thank you to Headline Eternal for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.