Wicked Serve

Reilly’s intoxicating fourth Beyond the Play new adult romance (after Stealing Home) brings the heat. With three star athlete older brothers and a retired quarterback for a father, Izzy Callahan hopes to impress her family in her sophomore year at McKee University by winning a starting spot on the school’s volleyball team. Absolutely no distractions must get in the way of this goal, especially not the wickedly handsome Nikolai Abney-Volkov. Having spent all summer secretly fooling around with Nikolai, Izzy is glad to have state lines separating them as they return to their rival schools. But once Nikolai is forced to transfer to McKee, how will she resist the temptation of more intoxicating hookups and heartfelt conversations? For his part, Nikolai wants to make his last hockey season count, but playing on the same team as his former rivals proves to be difficult, especially when the captain is Izzy’s older brother, who would never let him anywhere near Izzy. Reilly ramps up the sexual tension as these two try and fail to avoid one another. Izzy and Nikolai’s love story is filled with angst and hilarious moments, balanced with deeper conversations that make the emotions feel real. Reilly will have sports romance readers swooning. Agent: Claire Draper, Azantian Literary. (Aug.)