Stix & Stone

MM Urban Romance (Alpha's Rejects, Book 1)

By: Courtney W. Dixon

Narrated by: Harley Chase

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?

©2023, 2024 Courtney W. Dixon (P)2025 Courtney W. Dixon

Amazing story brought to life!

I love the Alpha’s Rejects series. Stix and Stone is amazing story of making the best of your situation but also having dreams. It’s enemies to lovers. Harley Chase brought these Characters to life, and quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators; that voice is ugh sooo good.

Pretty much love

I loved the over all story. I enjoyed plot as well as the characters.

The pain and the love that stone and stix had. They were there for each other as well as for themselves.

The narrator did a great job. The different voices helped differentiate the characters.

I enjoyed the spice as well as the love.

Thank you so much for sharing the story.

This is a must listen!

I loved this book when I read it, but the audio HOLY HOT!! Harley Chase did a phenomenal job bring Stix and Stone to life. The way he amped up the spice in the spicy scenes, literally had me in a puddle. Courtney and Harley are a team that came to play! What an amazing duo!! I can't wait for Pippin & Nacho, but I don't think I'll survive hearing Harley voice Blaze 🔥


full book review ⬇️

I'm in love with these beautiful broken boys!

🛹 Grumpy sunshine
🛹 Enemies to lovers
🛹 Hurt/comfort
🛹 illness
🛹 Slow burn
🛹 Skater Boys
🛹 Demi rep

I'm reading this series out of order,
and it doesn't even matter. Each book is a complete stand-alone. And totally amazing!

This book was so emotional the things poor Stone went through at the hands of his parents is heartbreaking. No wonder he hates Stix. He sees Stix as an annoying happy go lucky guy with a great mom and sweet little sister. He doesn't realize that Stix has demons of his own.

The chemistry between Stix and Stone is intense from the beginning. As their relationship changes, they find a way to not only heal each other but themselves as well.

This is a slow burn, with plenty of spice towards the last half of the book. I would definitely recommend this book to all M/M readers!

Love the Characters!

I received an ALC of this book for an honest review. To begin with, I must say, enemies to lovers is my favorite trope, though this book presents as a more one-sided version. Nico (Stix) and Damien (Stone) are neighbors who also work at a nightclub together. Stone can’t stand Stix, but Stix is super happy and friendly, and teases Stone to no end.

Stone realizes that his dislike for Stix is actually attraction, but internalized fear and an abusive past led him to react to Stix’s teasing with disgust and meanness. After recognizing his attraction, Stone makes a decision: he will not be a coward any longer. He will reach out to Stix and approach him with the reality of his truth. He apologizes and admits his fear. He also acknowledges that he’s not as straight as he thought.

Stix and Stone’s relationship grows over time. Stone opens up to Stix and vice versa, and they get closer. Stone has to work through his internalized fears and Stix has to deal with his health and work issues. Through solving these problems, Stix & Stone learn to trust each other. They eventually fall for each other, developing a deep love that’s all-encompassing.

I absolutely loved this book and look forward to more in this series!

Giving In to the Good Emotions!

Stone's emotions control him. They are at the surface and good or bad they are just ready to come out. For the most part they are bad, and this only makes him think worse about himself. He needs to get beyond his anger and his abusive past. Adding to this he is agitated and confused by his feelings for Stix. I loved that despite being able to see all that, Stix still enjoys poking at Stone. This story is very raw and real, but we do get the lighter side of things as Stone slowly opens up to the happiness that is being with Stix. I felt like I experienced all the hardships of being forced to grow up too fast and do it without the love, comfort and stability we all sometimes tend to take for granted. Harley Chase did a great job narrating. He brought out all the personalities and different emotions at just the right level.

Stix and Stone

This brings the book to life. The narrator was perfect and brought Stix and Stone to life.

Incredible mm story!!

Stix & Stone is one of the best enemies to lovers I have read in a while. Stix will do anything to support his family. Stone feels an attraction to Stix but fights it for many reasons. Both has tragic past that they will have to work through. But when they finally give each other a shot it's beautiful and heartfelt. To watch them grow together and apart is one of the special things Courtney does with this characters. You will fall in love with them as they fall for each other. Harley Chase does an incredible job bring the characters to life with the way he narrates this wonderful story.

Best mental health rep MM

Stix & Stone - Courtney W. Dixon
5/5 ✨🌟

* * * SPOILERS * *

𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦.

I have loved every book by Courtney since I started reading her books last year. Between Blade & Ajax and this book, I don’t know which one I like more from this series. This ALC was just so amazing. Harley knocked this audiobook out of the park and the way he voiced out those steamy scenes… like holy cow. I’ve never heard a narrator do an audio so well during the spicy scenes.

I loved the fact that Stone was from the area I grew up in. I never ever read books with the city I live in, so that was a huge plus.

Stone and Stix were just everything. They were the perfect fit for each other. I’m a huge fan of enemies to lovers as well as mental health rep. Two of my favorite tropes. I also loved that we got a glimpse of Stone’s past to show why he was the way he was. His parents were just awful people and I’m so happy he got a family from his family as Stix’s.

And Stix… when I found out he had an auto immune disease, it tugged at my heart because of my own experiences in going through. And his mother and sister are just so amazing. I love how his sister in her own way helped Stix get the guy he wanted. That was so cute.

I’m also glad that Stone laid it out to Stix’s father. What a sad excuse of a man but it was the closure that Stix did need.

And the caregiving that both men gave to each other when they were either injured or sick, that made me all swoon because I love stuff like that.

This book was so good and I’m so glad I waited for the audiobook to come out before I dove into reading because it was well worth the wait.

I received a copy of this book and this is my honest review.

Love these boys!

Stix and Stone are two broken guys who can't stand each other. To Stone, the refusal to acknowledge his attraction for Stix is triggered by his internalized homophobia. He takes his anger out on Stix because Stix reminds him of what he thinks he shouldn't be, thanks to his extremely abusive childhood. In turn, Stix (who doesn't understand why Stone dislikes him so much) loves to poke at Stone, knowing it riles him up.

Stix has a great personality and I really really like him. He's as upbeat as he can be, despite being abandoned by his father, having to prostitute himself to help his mom and sister live easier, and suffering from an autoimmune disease. He's very open and honest, whereas Stone is very negative, closed off and quiet. It's definitely an "opposites attract" situation.
Once the sparks start to fly, they burn *HOT*. Their spicy scenes are *chef's kiss* with the perfect amount of roughness and dirty talk ;)

The audiobook was narrated very well, I really enjoyed it!

perfect start for a series

Oh, these characters. Oh, my heart. I love them. I love all of them. The Alpha's Rejects crew is one of those found families you want to read about. Their stories are sad, you know? They've all been through hard things in life and somehow found each other and created something beautiful from there. While this is Stix & Stone's book, you get to see the others and spend some time with them, setting the mood for the other books.

Stix & Stone are so cute together. Grumpy- Sunshine for the win. Stix is chaotic and all over the place, a flirt and a half, and a trouble maker. Stone is an introvert, moody, grumpy as all h3ll, and with so many issues and insecurities, it will break your heart.

Their story starts in an unconventional way, but the way they love each other is so beautiful it will make you swoon. Even though he is chaotic AF, Stix takes the time to peel all the layers of Stone's personality. He is patient, caring, and supportive. He falls first, but Stone falls harder ( if you ask me ).

They heal together and support each other unconditionally once they get past those animosities they had in the beginning. All they really wanted, needed, was for someone to love them and appreciate them, choose them for who they are.

I can't wait to see more of the crew, dive into their stories, and spend more time with them.

As I mentioned, this group is amazing, so if you are a fan of the found family trope, you will fall head over heels for the Alpha's Rejects.

This audiobook was amazing, and the narrator did such an awesome job. I am excited for what's to come, and I hope he will be narrating the rest of this series.

10/10 - highly recommend