Reviews

Sticks and Stones by S. Massery, S.J. Sylvis

pmyers9315's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

amberisalwaysreading86's review

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5.0

I have eagerly awaited this collaboration between my two favorite queens of hockey romance, and let me tell you, Sticks and Stones did not disappoint!

Our heroine, Wren has had an unenviable start in life. Being known as the only child of the neighborhood drug peddler and addict, hasn’t exactly set her up for success. After constant shuffling between her desolate home life, and many brief reprieves offered by her foster brother Evan’s family, she’s just ready for the fresh start University life can bring..

In addition to her best friend/brother Evan entering her life, comes his lifelong pal, Stone.
He doesn’t immediately see the appeal of having a young girl tagging along behind them, or interrupting his time with his best mate. These feelings of animosity are further inflamed when a split second decision by Wren causes Stone’s future to hang in the balance, calling into question his credibility, and almost costing him his future in the NHL.

Little does this duo know that future set of desperate circumstances will throw them into close proximity to one another once again, making them reevaluate just how far the line errs on the side of hate… and making Wren wonder if she could be proficient at more than one type of chemistry.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and these characters, and I hope to see more of the teammates/housemates in a future book installment.

The main characters had awesome chemistry, and I especially liked the original storyline/background stories of each character.

4.75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

fischers_reads's review

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fast-paced

4.0

I was on the hunt for a bully romance and someone mentioned this one. I’m almost always in the mood for Hockey so I decided to start this one. I was OBSESSED with the first half of this book. It’s starts out in the past when Wren was a foster kid and she ended up living with Evan and his family. Don’t get too excited this isn’t a foster sibling romance, this is a foster brother’s best friend romance. The shit these two put each other through is wild. The moment things start to change and that first “baby” gets dropped I was a puddle on the damn floor. Stone goes from holding a grudge and “hating” Wren to being her protector and making sure she stays out of harms way. Stone isn’t the only one protective over her, everyone in the house is and it’s so freaking sweet 🥹There is drama outside their relationship having to do with her father and it got a little ridiculous. At one point the math just wasn’t mathing and I got bored. I’m always a fan of them BEFORE they get together because of the angst and tension. Then once they get together it’s whatever. Stone was in Wren’s pants the whole second half of the book and it just got to be so excessive. Don’t get me wrong Stone is super hot, I just felt like their relationship was just sex and him telling her what to do and what not to do. If you’re wanting a lighter bully romance I would still say pick this one up. It does have a few TW so make sure if you need those you look into them before starting. 

rachellynnreadss's review

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5.0

I knew this was going to be a top read for me because these are two of my absolute FAVORITE authors. I did not want to ever put this down. I loved the tension between these two and the fact that we got such an overprotective MMC plus the other teammates/housemates. All the guys were so willing to make sure she was safe and ugh I just loved that for her. The tension between them was sooooo good. It was more of an enemies to lovers vibes then true bully romance which I wasn’t mad about. I also did a happy dance when both the authors hockey teams series were intertwined within the story. It was so fun getting to see all the guys names in one book!

Can’t wait to see what these two give us next!

cherryreads03's review

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1.0

I’m finally free

lets9255's review

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3.0

for me

This book was eh. I hate when couple are just boom together. I’m not a fan of that I also didn’t like how at the end it was so cliché and then an immediate time jump. Overall it wasn’t bad but I was hoping for more. The idea was so good the execution was eh. 3/5

allisonbree's review

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emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

smsmith422's review

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5.0

Sticks and Stones…

kayreadsromances's review

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5.0

A MASTERPIECE BY TWO OF MY FAVES

loved the nod to both author’s respective boys and absolutely loved this story between Stone and Wren — hoping there’s more work from these two together in the future

kimiichanga's review

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3.0

 went a lil nuts and picked up another book lmao, this one ended up being mid

the pacing was weird, but still very interesting? in the mystery side. but the end was all compressed so much that there just wasnt time to develop the characters outside the smut

sometimes the things being said and done here are utter vile but theyre literally teens so I'll give them that

def interested in the next books tho bec of the other people in the hockey house