“You shouldn’t have hurt him. He’s mine to hate.”
He’s mine. He’s mine. He’s mine.
Not suitable for anyone under 18 years of age.
Read content warnings
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Contains 🌶️
Blurb
He hates that he wants me.
Stone
Just the sight of Nico ‘Stix’ Jamieson makes me want to hurt something. Between his stupid smiles on that annoyingly handsome face and the constant drumming of anything that makes a sound with those drumsticks of his, I want to throttle him. No one is that happy. I don’t trust it. Even when my hate for him is clear, he throws it back in my face with a smile and wave. And how he loves to push my buttons when he’s feeling especially obnoxious. If I hate him, then why am I obsessed with him?
Stix
Damien ‘Stone’ Sloan hates me. I have no idea what I did to the guy. Despite being gorgeous, he scares me a little. He’s bigger than me, and I have doubts he even knows how to smile. I have to put on a brave face and show how much he doesn’t affect me. Fine, I like to tease him a little too much. I probably have some death wish. But underneath all those growls and scowls is fear and pain. You can see it when his walls come down, even if it’s for a second. Everything in me wants to peek over those walls and see what’s really behind them. I’m invested now. Who are you, Stone?
This book is the first in a series, but like all my books, it can be read as a standalone.
Please read the triggers before picking up this book.
What to expect:
❥ Dual POV ❥ MM Romance ❥ Urban Romance
❥ Enemies to Lovers ❥ Slow Burn ❥ Grumpy/Sunshine
❥ Skater Boys ❥ Found Family ❥ Hurt/Comfort ❥ Queer Awakening
Review
I discovered Courtney W. Dixon last month when I was so lucky to receive a free copy of Outplayed, and so of course I was pretty quick to show my interest in her upcoming book Pippin & Nacho, the second book in the Alpha’s Rejects Series, so obviously I felt it necessary to read Stix & Stone as well, the first book in the series.
Courtney is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors when it comes to mm romance. It’s the way the characters aren’t perfect but broken in a way that makes them unique, relatable and lovable. No one is perfect, just perfectly imperfect. It’s how her writing makes me feel all the love and the pain, and Stix & Stone is no exception.
I knew I’d love this book because it has all my favorite tropes. Found family, enemies to lovers, grumpy x sunshine and queer awakening.
Alpha’s Rejects is a bar owned by Kingston also known as “Alpha”. The found family aspect of the book revolves around the staff in the bar, young people Alpha has offered work and help to get back on their feet. Most of the staff are people from the LGBTQIA+ community, and people who had a really tough time growing up. They’re also skaters, which is how it all started, since Kingston aka Alpha is a skater, and Stix met Alpha because of their common interest in skating, and Stix was later offered a job at Alpha’s Rejects when it opened. Stone was hired later on.
Anyways, Stix has his found family at Alpha’s Rejects, he has a loving mother and an adorable sister. He seems to be happy all the time and living a good life, which apparently pisses Stone off, who lives in the same building as Stix. Stix is the bane of Stone’s existence, but still Stone can’t stop himself from always watching Stix. He doesn’t understand his feelings when it comes to Stix and it makes him even more angry, and Stix becomes the victim of his angry outbursts.
Stix actually isn’t as happy as he seems to be, instead he’s walking around with heavy guilt, blaming himself for his father walking out on his family, and he is trying to make it up to his mom and sister by covering whatever they need financially with some questionable jobs.
Stone is a new member of Alpha’s Rejects. He’s been living in Baltimore for a few years after fleeing his abusive parents. He’s still struggling a lot with his past trauma especially when it comes to his sexuality, and these struggles seem to be worse around Stix, which makes Stone angry.
Anyhow. I really loved the urban setting in this book. I loved how raw and real everything felt. I could see everything so clearly in my head, their apartments, the places they skate, their workplaces, and most of all, the characters. Both Stix and Stone were beautifully broken and raw characters who each struggled due to a parent/parents. They’re both struggling financially, which is as real as it gets when it comes to areas like the one described in the book. Stix still has his mom, but his mom represent the life of a single mom who’s just trying to love her children and bring food to the table, and Stix is the loving son, who besides blaming himself for his dad leaving, also just really wants to help his mom out, and it’s beautiful, even with the job Stix takes on.
Stix was generally just such a lovable character, and despite dealing with so much, he’s also the most supportive partner ever. Stone’s journey was beautiful, even the hateful parts where he is trying to understand his feelings towards Stix, and then when he’s slowly letting his walls down to not only accept his feelings for Stix, but to deal with his past as well. I really loved how everything wrapped up in the end without being too fictional fairytale-like.
Twisted Romance Lovers 
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