Crossed Sticks

An MM Hurt-Comfort Hockey/Lacrosse Romance (Buffalo Warriors Hockey, Book 1)

By: Ryan Taylor, Joshua Harwood

Narrated by: Alexander Cendese

Two scarred souls finding love when they least expect it.

Harper

I wasn’t a keeper.

Guys just didn’t pick me, and after one too many threw me away, my heart couldn’t take it anymore.

When I was traded to the Buffalo Warriors, I knew things wouldn’t be any different.

Skate. Score goals. Work out. Repeat. That’s my life.

I’m living the dream by playing professional hockey, and I have some amazing friends.

I’m happy. Really, I am. Or at least I’m trying to be.

Until the night I run into Luca.

Luca

I had love once, only to have it ripped away when he married someone else.

Problem was, I never got my heart back.

I’ve built walls so high no one can touch me. I’m only interested in hookups, one and done.

And I can’t forget lacrosse, because it’s all I have.

I’m fine. Or at least I’m trying to be.

Until the night I run into Harper.

One chance encounter sparks a flame that consumes both men in the most delicious of ways. But when shadows from the past threaten to pull them apart, will they survive, or will their hearts be shattered again?

Crossed Sticks is a romance that’s anything but easy—and worth every moment. While the story is high on angst and deals with serious topics such as depression and anxiety, you can also expect witty banter, hilarious text conversations, public hookups, friends with benefits, grand romantic gestures, and exciting hockey scenes. Even better, there’s high heat, light kink with tons of dirty talk, found family, and a Happy Ever After that will leave you breathless.

Crossed Sticks is book one of an exciting new series of standalones, Buffalo Warriors Hockey.

©2024 Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood (P)2024 Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood

Harper and Luca

"𝙒𝙚'𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚."

Cʀᴏssᴇᴅ Sᴛɪᴄᴋs • Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood
Buffalo Warriors Hockey • Book 1
Harper • Luca

Harper and Luca have an instant connection that they grow into a solid friendship until a misunderstanding threatens everything they built.

Harper and Luca's journey starts fun and entertaining and quickly switches to a journey filled with many bumps along the road to their happily ever after. Although I enjoyed the growth of their relationship, I struggled with how they handled the conflict between them.

I loved the found family vibes and the cameos by the Barracudas and other past characters. I was disappointed with the lack of lacrosse in the book as the primary focus was hockey.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series and also hoping for a future lacrosse spin-off.

Alexander Cendese did a good job of narrating Harper and Luca's story and bringing it to life even though I struggled with him as a single narrator as there were times it was hard to decipher who was talking.

Get ready for…

🏒 Sports•Hockey • 🥍 Sports•Lacrosse • ❤️‍🩹 Hurt•Comfort • 💙 Friends w/Benefits • 🏳️‍🌈 MM w/HEA

🍁🍁🍁.5 • 🥵🥵🥵🥵

*𝘉𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴.*

Loved Everything About It.

Luca and Harpers story will take you on an emotional roller coaster in the best way possible from their fun and light playful banter to the more heavy emotional elements. Their chemistry is undeniable and Ryan and Josh did an excellent job of writing complex and fun characters. One of my favorite books for 2024.

Harper and Luca’s electric chemistry and playful banter will keep you hooked from start to finish.

Get ready to laugh out loud, feel the heat rise, and have your heartstrings tugged by Harper and Luca’s story. Their fiery chemistry makes every scene electric, while their playful banter and text exchanges add a charming twist. This tale will have you laughing, blushing, and occasionally reaching for a tissue. This sizzling MM sports romance is sure to keep you hooked!

Love yourself first

This story touched on some pretty tricky subjects, but the authors approached and handled them nicely. As always with Ryan and Joshua's books, I LOL'd and of course cried. Some because the subject matter hit hard, and some because cheated to see this be an HEA so bad! Those two deserved it. And Alexander Censese nailed it like always. *chef's kiss*

Good story

This was a good book with a good story line. My gripe with this audiobook was the narrator’s speed and not having enough distinction in the the two male characters voices, at times it was difficult to follow who said what.

Harper and Luca will steal your heart!

I’ve been anxiously awaiting Harper and Luca’s love story and Crossed Sticks did not disappoint. This sports romance is full of angst, romance, witty banter, heat and so much more! It will take you on the best kind of emotional roller coaster. I laughed, I cried, fanned myself (their chemistry is off the charts), and fell in love with these two beautifully scarred souls. These authors have a talent for writing realistic characters that make you wish that you had them for friends.

The mental health representation is authentic and skillfully written.

You don’t want to miss out on this audiobook! Alexander Cendese knocks it out of the park! If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.

A Phenomenal Story

I absolutely loved Harper and Luca's story. It dealt really well with sensitive topics such as depression and anxiety. There was also light kink as well as plenty of spice. This book is well-written by authors Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood. I highly recommend this book.