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Sticks & Stones
I can’t believe I’m actually here—Decked out in red, white, and blue, ready to play at my first ever Winter Olympic Games for Team USA’s women’s hockey team.
Nothing could possibly make this moment any better.
That is until I see who’s standing on the other side of the Olympic Village.
Tall, muscular, and devastatingly handsome—Lucas Morgan, the skip for USA’s curling team.
Luke is every woman’s dream… He’s also my brother’s best friend.
Which means he’s extremely off-limits.
When the living situation at the Olympic Village is less than ideal, Luke swoops in to save the day by snagging a hotel room nearby.
There’s one problem though…there’s only one bed.
It’s always been an unspoken rule when it comes to Luke—look, but don’t touch.
But rules don’t apply when we’re oceans away from my brother at the Winter Olympics, right?
The gold medal is mine for the taking…
So, why not Luke, too?
Sticks & Stones is a spicy, Winter Olympics Novella with a female hockey player, male curling player, one bed, brother's best friend, and a guaranteed happy ending.
Nothing could possibly make this moment any better.
That is until I see who’s standing on the other side of the Olympic Village.
Tall, muscular, and devastatingly handsome—Lucas Morgan, the skip for USA’s curling team.
Luke is every woman’s dream… He’s also my brother’s best friend.
Which means he’s extremely off-limits.
When the living situation at the Olympic Village is less than ideal, Luke swoops in to save the day by snagging a hotel room nearby.
There’s one problem though…there’s only one bed.
It’s always been an unspoken rule when it comes to Luke—look, but don’t touch.
But rules don’t apply when we’re oceans away from my brother at the Winter Olympics, right?
The gold medal is mine for the taking…
So, why not Luke, too?
Sticks & Stones is a spicy, Winter Olympics Novella with a female hockey player, male curling player, one bed, brother's best friend, and a guaranteed happy ending.
156 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2026
43 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
February 11, 2026
Very cute Novella, takes place in her hockey series between Charlie/Charlotte and Luke! She is a hockey player and he is a curling player on this sweet little story takes place at the Olympics/in Olympic village. It’s basically a brother‘s best friend figuring out there in love with each other short and sweet… 25/32 little bit of an age gap! Also loved the introduction into the next bobcat book in her series.
February 12, 2026
A curling romance, absolutely!! But this was just bad. Why was their inner monologue describing curling but nothing about describing the game of hockey (which I know absolutely nothing about). Also there were some grammar/sleeping errors in the book that made think this was rushed for the Olympics.
February 11, 2026
4.25⭐️
How is this so good for a novella? Nothing felt rushed or incomplete. Who could resist a womens hockey player and a curler story during the Winter Olympics? I thoroughly enjoyed Sticks & Stones!
How is this so good for a novella? Nothing felt rushed or incomplete. Who could resist a womens hockey player and a curler story during the Winter Olympics? I thoroughly enjoyed Sticks & Stones!
February 13, 2026
why don’t they have a zero stars option oh my word why are we writing olympic village fanfic that is just a mess of tropes with no real substance.
i wish i was a curling stone and could slide out of here
i wish i was a curling stone and could slide out of here
February 9, 2026
Such a fun and sexy novella. Love me some Luke and Charlie. And how about that ending??
February 11, 2026
can’t believe I had to wait until 80% to get to the curling
February 12, 2026
This is a very risqué novella BUT it’s about the Olympics so it counts!!! Short and sweet!!!
February 13, 2026
I really enjoyed this book. I’ll be honest, I had never heard of this author or any of her other books, but I was tooling around Threads, being super excited about the Winter Olympics, and bam! this was a book that was recommended. So I downloaded it…really without any preconceived thoughts about it. And y’all…I’m so happy I did!! This is great…our FMC is a badass hockey player (goodness but I love women’s hockey!!), the MMC is a seriously sexy curler, it’s a brother’s best friend trope (one of my faves!), and seriously great endings all around. I highly recommend this book! It’s short, so it’s a pretty fast read, and it was a really nice palate cleanser for me after starting a different book by a different author that I had really wanted to like but really fell short of the mark for me. This was my gold medal read after the other one didn’t even podium! (See what I did there?? lol)
Fun things to find inside:
- a kickass, Olympic-level athlete FMC
- a brother’s best friend who’s slightly older and double-take sexy (who’s also a world-class athlete)
- a solid recounting of the two sports involved - hockey and curling (I kinda really dislike it when books are marketed as “sports” romances and then the sport in question shows up as one mention on one page buried deep in the plot)
- beautiful descriptions that made my seriously in-athletic self wanna become an Olympian
- intriguing side characters
- and a brother who has a reaction to the plot that is not like most other books of this trope, and that’s a great thing! (Seriously! How her brother reacts was one of my favorite parts!!)
TLDR: A fun, flirty, sexy, short romp of a story with some great characters and a plot that really helped ramp me up and get me excited during these Winter Olympics!
Fun things to find inside:
- a kickass, Olympic-level athlete FMC
- a brother’s best friend who’s slightly older and double-take sexy (who’s also a world-class athlete)
- a solid recounting of the two sports involved - hockey and curling (I kinda really dislike it when books are marketed as “sports” romances and then the sport in question shows up as one mention on one page buried deep in the plot)
- beautiful descriptions that made my seriously in-athletic self wanna become an Olympian
- intriguing side characters
- and a brother who has a reaction to the plot that is not like most other books of this trope, and that’s a great thing! (Seriously! How her brother reacts was one of my favorite parts!!)
TLDR: A fun, flirty, sexy, short romp of a story with some great characters and a plot that really helped ramp me up and get me excited during these Winter Olympics!
February 14, 2026
Thank you @jillianarlyauthor for an ARC!
𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Sticks & Stones
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Jillian Arly
𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: February 9, 2026
5⭐️
🏒 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🏒
This is the perfect novella to read during the Winter Olympics! My friend Jillian knocks this novella out of the park (or hits the hockey puck into the goal?!)! This fun Winter Olympics based novella has romance, sports action, chemistry, banter, fun friends, and vulnerable moments.
Two athletes, Charlie and Luke, have made it into the Olympics for women’s hockey and curling. Luke is Charlie’s brother’s best friend and her childhood crush… and both are pleasantly surprised to run into one another. Luke is there to save the day for Charlie when she’s in a bad lodging location… leading to some forced proximity and hotel sharing.
I enjoyed the chemistry and vulnerability that quickly blossomed between these two as they supported each other on their Olympic journeys. Their romance was fun and real!
I loved the friends and teammates, all the banter, joking around and support for each other. When Charlie’s brother Connor finally shows up, there’s mystery and intrigue surrounding him and why he was late!
Pick this up for a quick spicy sports romance read! It will make you want to watch and learn curling too! 🥌
🏒 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🇺🇸 Winter Olympics
🥌 Hockey/Curling Romance
🏒 Brother’s Best Friend
🥌 Only One Bed(room)
𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Sticks & Stones
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Jillian Arly
𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: February 9, 2026
5⭐️
🏒 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🏒
This is the perfect novella to read during the Winter Olympics! My friend Jillian knocks this novella out of the park (or hits the hockey puck into the goal?!)! This fun Winter Olympics based novella has romance, sports action, chemistry, banter, fun friends, and vulnerable moments.
Two athletes, Charlie and Luke, have made it into the Olympics for women’s hockey and curling. Luke is Charlie’s brother’s best friend and her childhood crush… and both are pleasantly surprised to run into one another. Luke is there to save the day for Charlie when she’s in a bad lodging location… leading to some forced proximity and hotel sharing.
I enjoyed the chemistry and vulnerability that quickly blossomed between these two as they supported each other on their Olympic journeys. Their romance was fun and real!
I loved the friends and teammates, all the banter, joking around and support for each other. When Charlie’s brother Connor finally shows up, there’s mystery and intrigue surrounding him and why he was late!
Pick this up for a quick spicy sports romance read! It will make you want to watch and learn curling too! 🥌
🏒 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🇺🇸 Winter Olympics
🥌 Hockey/Curling Romance
🏒 Brother’s Best Friend
🥌 Only One Bed(room)
February 9, 2026
This novella made me so happy! We get Connor’s little sister, Charlotte, and his best friend, Luke’s HEA in this one! Read this in one sitting because it was such an easy read!
Charlotte and Luke are in Sweden for the Olympics. They both know each other are there, they just don’t know they’ve had a crush on each other for years. Once they run into each other, everything comes to a head.
The chemistry between Luke and Charlotte was undeniable. The one liners and that tension building was absolutely delicious. We really got the feeling of these two knowing each other for so long that when they finally give in, it’s just so natural. And I got to learn more about curling because before this, I had no idea. And Jillian, that ending 🤯.
Thank you to Jillian Arly for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Tropes:
🏒Winter Olympics novella
🥌Athlete x athlete
🏒FMC hockey player
🥌MMC curling player
🏒One bed
🥌Brothers best friend
🏒Age gap
Charlotte and Luke are in Sweden for the Olympics. They both know each other are there, they just don’t know they’ve had a crush on each other for years. Once they run into each other, everything comes to a head.
The chemistry between Luke and Charlotte was undeniable. The one liners and that tension building was absolutely delicious. We really got the feeling of these two knowing each other for so long that when they finally give in, it’s just so natural. And I got to learn more about curling because before this, I had no idea. And Jillian, that ending 🤯.
Thank you to Jillian Arly for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Tropes:
🏒Winter Olympics novella
🥌Athlete x athlete
🏒FMC hockey player
🥌MMC curling player
🏒One bed
🥌Brothers best friend
🏒Age gap
February 10, 2026
A Winter Olympics novella..are you kidding me?!?!As someone who loves to watch the Olympics Jillian Arly wrote the most PERFECT story. You best believe I was curled up in a chair with the Olympics on in the background, while binge reading. Not only was there romance and banter but learning a little about the sport of curling was an added bonus. Charlotte and Luke have a long history and from the moment they first see each other in Sweden for the Olympics their connection is undeniable. Can’t forget a little peak into the Green Bay Bobcats 👀
Available now on KU
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
🥌 Winter Olympics Novella
🏒 Athlete x Athlete
🥌 Female Hockey Player x Male Curling Skip
🏒 One Bed
🥌 Brothers Best Friend
🏒 Small Age Gap (he’s 7 years older)
#jillianarly #sticksandatones #tbr #tbrlist #romancebookrecommendations #pagesandprescriptionss #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #teamusa #olympics #winterolympics #olympicbookrecommendation
Available now on KU
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
🥌 Winter Olympics Novella
🏒 Athlete x Athlete
🥌 Female Hockey Player x Male Curling Skip
🏒 One Bed
🥌 Brothers Best Friend
🏒 Small Age Gap (he’s 7 years older)
#jillianarly #sticksandatones #tbr #tbrlist #romancebookrecommendations #pagesandprescriptionss #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #teamusa #olympics #winterolympics #olympicbookrecommendation
February 11, 2026
Charlie is at the Olympics. She and her roommate might not have the ideal dorm, but her spirits are high and she just ran into her brother's best friend (and her longtime crush). Luke is moving his curling team out of the Olympic Village and into a hotel and since there is enough space, he insists Charlie joins them. Only the room he's sharing with his best friend's sister (who is very off limits despite his massive crush) only has one bed.
Read if you like:
-Olympic Romance
-Only One Bed
-Hockey Player x Curling Team Skip
-Brother's Best Friend
-Off Limits
Stick & Stones is so good! I devoured this novella. If you have Olympic Game brain-rot like I do, it's the perfect thing to read between events. Only one bed is always such a delicious trope and I love that Jillian paired it with a best friend's little sister situation. The added 'f*ck it' moment was just the cherry on top.
Read if you like:
-Olympic Romance
-Only One Bed
-Hockey Player x Curling Team Skip
-Brother's Best Friend
-Off Limits
Stick & Stones is so good! I devoured this novella. If you have Olympic Game brain-rot like I do, it's the perfect thing to read between events. Only one bed is always such a delicious trope and I love that Jillian paired it with a best friend's little sister situation. The added 'f*ck it' moment was just the cherry on top.
February 12, 2026
This one was so cute! Charlie (Charlotte) and Luke have been in each other’s lives for a while. Luke is best friends with Connor (IYKYK) Charlie’s brother, forever. Luke noticed everything about her, but didn’t want to cross the line. But now they are both here competing at the Olympics and there is only one bed.
I love Jillian’s books and this one is no different. It comes at a perfect time, too. Her description of the sports are spot on. But this couple! I love Charlie’s attitude and confidence (even when it is forced sometimes) and I love how Luke is attentive and protective. Sometimes we alpha girls need that, but we also like a guy who lets us be ourselves. It is a perfect novella and has a little hint or two toward’s Bobcat’s book three (yeah!) I am going to need novellas on the rest of Luke’s team and Liv or peeks of them in the Bobcat’s series please and thank you. Go watch some curling and then read this. 5/5⭐️4/5🌶️
I received an advanced copy of this book.
I love Jillian’s books and this one is no different. It comes at a perfect time, too. Her description of the sports are spot on. But this couple! I love Charlie’s attitude and confidence (even when it is forced sometimes) and I love how Luke is attentive and protective. Sometimes we alpha girls need that, but we also like a guy who lets us be ourselves. It is a perfect novella and has a little hint or two toward’s Bobcat’s book three (yeah!) I am going to need novellas on the rest of Luke’s team and Liv or peeks of them in the Bobcat’s series please and thank you. Go watch some curling and then read this. 5/5⭐️4/5🌶️
I received an advanced copy of this book.
February 11, 2026
Synopsis/Thoughts: Hockey player Charlie and curling skip Luke have always fought their attraction to each other because Luke is Charlie’s older brother’s best friend. But when they find themselves both competing in the Olympic Games in Sweden and sharing a bed, will they be able to resist?
If you’re like me and obsessed with all things Olympics, you cannot miss this sweet and spicy novella! It is such a fun look at the lives of athletes during the games, and I loved all the hockey and curling details! Charlie and Luke are such a cute couple - their chemistry and banter is on point and the spice is spicing! And the ending! Let’s just say if you haven’t read Jillian’s Bobcats series yet, you’ll be sprinting to grab them.
Read this if you like:
🥌 Winter Olympics
🥌 curling
🥌 hockey
🥌 brother’s best friend
🥌 one bed
🥌 (small) age gap
If you’re like me and obsessed with all things Olympics, you cannot miss this sweet and spicy novella! It is such a fun look at the lives of athletes during the games, and I loved all the hockey and curling details! Charlie and Luke are such a cute couple - their chemistry and banter is on point and the spice is spicing! And the ending! Let’s just say if you haven’t read Jillian’s Bobcats series yet, you’ll be sprinting to grab them.
Read this if you like:
🥌 Winter Olympics
🥌 curling
🥌 hockey
🥌 brother’s best friend
🥌 one bed
🥌 (small) age gap
February 12, 2026
This was such a quick, fun read and honestly just what I needed. And of course, it was spicyyyyyyyy. The mouth on this man came out of nowhere and knocked the breath out of me. I am still a bit short of breathe.
Charlotte is a sassy, badass woman who has had a crush on her brother’s best friend since childhood. Lucas is confident, loyal, and from the moment he spots Charlie, he can’t keep his eyes off his best friend’s sister. Their chemistry is undeniable from the very first moment in the village,and it very quickly becomes clear that they have been written in the stars long before coming to the winter olympics. It's a push and pull but the moment they give in? the sparks were flyingggggg. They had me swooning and giggling my feet like a little school girl!
And that ending? I was definitely screaming in Jillian's DMs, but I am ready for The Green Bay Bobcats book 3
Charlotte is a sassy, badass woman who has had a crush on her brother’s best friend since childhood. Lucas is confident, loyal, and from the moment he spots Charlie, he can’t keep his eyes off his best friend’s sister. Their chemistry is undeniable from the very first moment in the village,and it very quickly becomes clear that they have been written in the stars long before coming to the winter olympics. It's a push and pull but the moment they give in? the sparks were flyingggggg. They had me swooning and giggling my feet like a little school girl!
And that ending? I was definitely screaming in Jillian's DMs, but I am ready for The Green Bay Bobcats book 3
February 9, 2026
Can you compete for the gold meadow and the one person you want at the same time time?
Sticks & Stones is an Olympic inspired novella that wins gold in every way.
Charlotte is on the USA women’s hockey team, Lucas is on the USA men’s curling team, and they both have more than one competition they are ready to win.
Charlotte is sassy, caring, and has had a crush on her brother’s best friend since childhood. Lucas is confident, loyal, and can’t keep his eyes off his best friend’s sister. Together these two bring the fun and the heat to the winter games. Their banter is on point, their emotions will tug at your heart, and the tension and heat will have you wanting more.
Come to the Winter Olympic Games with Charlotte and Lucas, and you won’t be left in the cold.
Sticks & Stones is an Olympic inspired novella that wins gold in every way.
Charlotte is on the USA women’s hockey team, Lucas is on the USA men’s curling team, and they both have more than one competition they are ready to win.
Charlotte is sassy, caring, and has had a crush on her brother’s best friend since childhood. Lucas is confident, loyal, and can’t keep his eyes off his best friend’s sister. Together these two bring the fun and the heat to the winter games. Their banter is on point, their emotions will tug at your heart, and the tension and heat will have you wanting more.
Come to the Winter Olympic Games with Charlotte and Lucas, and you won’t be left in the cold.
February 11, 2026
A Winter Olympics Novella - released and read DURRING the winter Olympics! I am absolutely in love. You get a hockey play and a curling skip. You get your brothers best friend. You get the one bed. You get a USA vs Canada Women's hockey match. What more could you want? OH and then, you get to the end, and she leaves you needing the next book in her Green Bay Bobcats Hockey series so that you can find out what in the world is going on with her brother!
February 12, 2026
This was a really cute novella. I enjoyed the characters, and their bond/relationship with one another, and their friends/teammates.
Things I Liked:
- The sex. It wasn't monotone, but it also wasn't cheesy or cringy.
- The characters, separate and together.
Things I Didn't Like:
- The ending, focused on the brother, and not at all the MMC's reaction to, you know, winning.
Sex Stuff.
- 3 scenes (Can't remember for sure).
- Spanking, different positions. Mentions of future anal.
Things I Liked:
- The sex. It wasn't monotone, but it also wasn't cheesy or cringy.
- The characters, separate and together.
Things I Didn't Like:
- The ending, focused on the brother, and not at all the MMC's reaction to, you know, winning.
Sex Stuff.
- 3 scenes (Can't remember for sure).
- Spanking, different positions. Mentions of future anal.
February 16, 2026
This was such a perfect little read! I loved the setting being the Winter Olympics, and it had some of my favourite tropes (brothers best friend, age gap). The spice was HOT 🥵 but it didn’t overpower the whole novella which was fantastic.
Definitely recommend if you’re looking a for a sports romance, winter themed novella; even more so if you’re loving the Olympics at the moment as much as I am!
Definitely recommend if you’re looking a for a sports romance, winter themed novella; even more so if you’re loving the Olympics at the moment as much as I am!
February 12, 2026
What a great book! Seriously. Novellas are normally lots of smut and little plot or character development by design, but Sticks & Stones managed to do it all.
Super timely read with the Olympics going on, and I learned so much about curling!
I will definitely read more books from Arly in the future!
Super timely read with the Olympics going on, and I learned so much about curling!
I will definitely read more books from Arly in the future!
February 11, 2026
🩵Novella
🩵Winter Olympics
🩵Brother’s Best Friend
🩵Only One Bed
This was such a cute and quick read! The brother's best friend trope is one of my favorites, and this book executed it perfectly. Add in the "only one bed" trope and I was completely sold! The chemistry between Charlie and Luke is absolutely off the charts…these two have officially won the gold medal in my heart!
🩵Winter Olympics
🩵Brother’s Best Friend
🩵Only One Bed
This was such a cute and quick read! The brother's best friend trope is one of my favorites, and this book executed it perfectly. Add in the "only one bed" trope and I was completely sold! The chemistry between Charlie and Luke is absolutely off the charts…these two have officially won the gold medal in my heart!
February 15, 2026
Sweet and quick
Super quick fun read of two athletes at the Olympics. He’s a curler and she’s a hockey player. Brother’s best friend with a slight age gap. Perfect if you are in the mood for something flirty, no angst, Olympic fun, and spice with a dirty talking MMC and a FMC who goes after what she wants.
5 Emojis: 🥌🏒🇺🇸🔥💕
Stars: ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Super quick fun read of two athletes at the Olympics. He’s a curler and she’s a hockey player. Brother’s best friend with a slight age gap. Perfect if you are in the mood for something flirty, no angst, Olympic fun, and spice with a dirty talking MMC and a FMC who goes after what she wants.
5 Emojis: 🥌🏒🇺🇸🔥💕
Stars: ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
February 9, 2026
I loved this so much! Give me all the Olympics romance please! This was flirty and fun with just the right amount of spice and the brothers best friend was done perfectly!!! And that ending! Can not wait to see where that takes us!
February 10, 2026
Short little Olympic novella that gets you pumped for the Olympics AND for book 3 of the Green Bay Bobcats?! Yes please! I loved the sass of Charlie & the SWOON of Luke. I hope we get to see more of them in Connor's book!
February 11, 2026
Super cute Olympics Curling novella! As someone who loves curling and watches in any chance I get, it was nice to read while on commercial from watching this year’s Olympics. Also, love that the FMC is an ice hockey player! Looking forward to seeing where the story continues.
February 11, 2026
4.2! OLYMPICS SEASON IS THE BEST! And we know them athletes HORNED UP! Honestly such a cute story between Charlie (Charlotte) and Luke. Didn’t seems rushed and I got to know a little bit more about one of my fav Olympic sports to watch … CURLING! 🥌 🏒
February 10, 2026
Short and Sweet
Such a great novella! Great story with new characters but still in the Green Bay Bobcat world. I’m so excited for book three now!
Such a great novella! Great story with new characters but still in the Green Bay Bobcat world. I’m so excited for book three now!
February 10, 2026
This was a fun little Olympics novella featuring my favorite winter sport: curling! It was quite spicy for the amount of space she had. No third act breakup.
February 11, 2026
beta read
February 12, 2026
4 ⭐️ | 2.5 🌶️
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews