Sticks & Stones (Cut & Run) Paperback – January 25, 2010

My Review:Book #2 in this series. I adored book #1 in this series, Cut & Run, and because of that, I haven't read this book, knowing that it would be so easy to get completely sucked into these books when I didn't have the time to devote to them. Over the weekend, I picked up and re-read book #1 and LOVED it even more than the first and second time I read it (I really need to up that rating to an A+.) So I couldn't resist the pull of the others in this series any longer. I immediately set to devouring the rest of the series.Book #2 has a very different feel from book #1 in the series. In this book, Ty and Zane are still dealing with all the stress from their mission in Book #1. They aren't passing their psych evals and the stress is affecting their relationship too. As a result, they are ordered to take a vacation. Ty is headed home to West Virginia and he drags Zane along with him. He has ulterior motives. Ty's brother, Deuce, is a psychologist and he knows that Zane needs some help. He's hoping that by all of them taking an extended backpacking trip, that Zane will open up to Deuce.But you know, this is Ty and Zane....nothing about this trip goes as planned and of course, that means that their lives are hanging in the balance. What gave this book a different feel was that we got to see Ty with his family...his father and brother are out in the woods with them. It creates a very different dynamic especially since Ty stands back and lets his dad take charge...not a normal thing for Ty to let someone else take charge of their safety. There are some incredible moments in this book. It's a great balance between the sweetness of the developing feelings between the guys and the gut-wrenching danger of the situation. It was just a great book and it really pushed the story between these two forward to some really great places!!!I love these characters. Neither one of them are used to caring so much and that has them both reeling. It makes for some great emotion and great tension to the circumstances they find themselves in. I love that neither one of them ever consider the danger to themselves when the other is in danger. They may not realize it, but they love each other completely and it's such a gorgeous thing to develop. One of my favorite things about this book was Deuce's professional opinion about where they are mentally. He agrees that they are completely messed up in the head, but they make it and their relationship work...and it works so incredibly well.Did I mention?? I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!

I wasn't sure if Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux would be able to top the stellar "Cut & Run", but top it they did. "Sticks & Stones" is a totally engrossing and thrilling story that fulfills on almost every level!The story picks up shortly after "Cut & Run". FBI Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have been pulling desk duty for the last month. Carrying emotional scars from their last mission together, their relationship is strained and Zane is not passing his psyche tests. Assistant Director Burns orders them both to take a vacation to get their heads back on straight, and Ty convinces Zane to come visit his family and go hiking with Ty and his brother and father. It doesn't hurt that Ty's brother, Deacon, is a psychiatrist and is willing to have a talk with Zane to help him out of his funk. All is going relatively well, until they stumble upon killers up in West Virginia's mountains and find themselves fighting for their lives.The first half of the novel is a deep look into Ty and Zane's relationship. The authors' skill is flawless as we are offered deep glimpses into the characters' emotions and thoughts. A superb cast of surrounding characters are expertly crafted, and the interactions of Ty and Zane with them allow us to empathize with characters on an even stronger level. These characters are Ty's family; brother Deacon, father Earl, mother Mara, and grandfather Chester. All characters are richly developed and quickly become endearing to the reader. We're given a deep look into Ty's past, what prompted him to join the FBI, and what motivates him. During this psychological aspect of the book, we come to realize that the biggest impediment to their relationship is... themselves. Each character guards against displaying his emotions, and gives his partner reason to believe he doesn't care as deeply as he does.The story changes gears deep into the novel when the heroes come across a trap set on the hiking trail. This is a trap meant to kill people, and soon the heroes are fighting for their lives. The action is gripping, intense, and superbly executed. Just as one danger is conquered, another descends upon them. It's an absolute thrill-ride. Even through these thrills, the characters' emotions are on display, and we are allowed the audience of watching the heroes come to terms with feelings they never previously knew how to even define.The entire novel, from start to finish, is seamless in its execution. It's thrilling, sexy, searing, romantic, fun, funny, and thoroughly enjoyable. It's a worthy successor to the wonderful "Cut & Run", and leaves you wanting more Ty and Zane stories. Already, I can't wait for the next chapters.

This is a review for the entire series, not just this one book.The series was recommended to me on social media by a friend of a friend who said it was different from most male/male books as the focus was on the plot, characters and story-line rather than the sex. Thus, I decided to give the first book a go; I really enjoyed it and ended up buying, reading and enjoying the entire series.As the person recommending it to me said it is not all about the sex. In fact the sex does not make up a great part of the series; yes, there is a fair amount of sex and there are some detailed and long scenes. However, it doesn't seem forced and step-by-step, it feels very real and about two men in love, not just two men having sex. Also, for the most part the sex was a necessary part of the books and moved the story forward rather than just being there in order to titivate.I got caught up in the world of Zane & Ty and enjoyed the case aspect of the books as well as the personal aspects. It showed a different side to the FBI from what I had hitherto seen or read. All of the characters were real and far more than just cardboard cut-outs - even those who had very small, at times 'walk on', parts. The writers are clearly fanfic writers (which is not a criticism or a negative thing, quite the opposite) who have branched out into mainstream writing and have, for the most part, made an extremely good job of doing so. The fact that I did read the whole series is proof of that. It is a series I thoroughly enjoyed and read all the way through without breaking off to read any other books.So why have I only given it three stars? Well, because there were a few things which irked and even irritated me and spoilt to an extent my reading of the series.Firstly: Why, oh, why, oh why, with twenty-six letters from which to choose, did the writers decide to give both leading men surnames that began with the same letter? That's one of the huge no-nos in writing. It completely spoilt the first book for me, as every time the surname was used by anyone other than Zane or Ty, I had to pause and remember (even go back on occasions) who was being spoken to or about. That even happened a few times in later books. Given in one of the books the authors use a similar thing when they give another pair of lovers the same initials but reversed, I'm guessing they thought it was cute or something - it really wasn't; it was very annoying.Secondly: The chapter lengths in a lot of the books were far, far, far too long. Twenty, thirty, in some cases forty minutes for a chapter (and I'm a pretty fast reader) is a ridiculous length.Thirdly: The formatting in some books could have been better. There was a lack of proper hyper-links in some of the contents pages (i.e. you couldn't go to a particular chapter) & also the fact that a couple of the books only allowed you to see the reading time of the whole book rather than the length of individual chapters. These mistakes are unnecessary as it is so easy to create a contents page with links to chapters.Fourthly: The price. I bought the ebooks and thought, especially given the formatting in some books, them to be somewhat expensive for what they were. I would have expected them to have been priced at a least a pound less than they were.Would I recommend the series? Yes, insofar as it's a good, well-written, gripping series with very good characterisation and plots and a male/male romance where the sex is not the main theme of the books. On that score it's very recommendable. However, due to the above mentioned 'issues', at the price the books are I'm not certain I could wholeheartedly recommend the series - not without mentioning the cons as well as the pros.All that said, it is a series which I shall reread.

These boys are my most favourite ever m-m couple. I couldn't resist. After completely falling in love with Ty and Zane in Cut & Run, I had to go straight onto Sticks and Stones. I am so enamoured with these two - their characters are so vividly drawn, I feel like I've known them for years and am rooting for them to finally accept and admit their feelings for one another.We find the boys on `enforced vacation' as Zane is flunking his psych evals as they're both still traumatised by the events that took place during the hunt for the Tri State Killer in the last book. Ty takes Zane to stay with his folks in the West Virginia Mountains just as his partner - his parents have no idea about his sexual orientation.So, we get to meet Ty's mother Mara (a sweetheart), Ty's father Earl (a tosser), Ty's brother Deuce (a very likeable shrink) and Ty's Granddaddy Chester (a slightly senile, eccentric old fart). Ty, Zane, Earl and Deuce all decide to go off hiking or a few days in the mountains but this is Ty and Zane and you just know that they're not going to follow the script - cue booby traps, explosions, grenades, shootings, kidnapping, mountain lions to name but a few.I had real issues with Earl in this one - the way he spoke to his boys, especially Ty. To brand a man as noble and brave as Ty as a coward is reprehensible and I would kind of like to shoot Earl. You have to wonder what kind of upbringing on his behalf brings out immediate and unquestioning obedience in his sons. How difficult will it be for Ty to finally 'come out' to his Dad - it's hard to imagine how Earl will cope with that kind of knowledge.This book reads more like an interlude in the bigger story of Ty and Zane's relationship. They're still both living in their own heads, unable to truly give words to their feelings but we the readers can see how much they mean to each other and I am willing them to finally open up and admit how they feel to themselves and to one another. Surprisingly, Ty is more in touch with these feelings than Zane. As they're camping with Ty's family, they really don't get a lot of alone time so there's not so much steam going on in this one but, what there is, is toe-curlingly hot, especially the scene in the mountains in the cold.So, I very much enjoyed this as a further exploration of their relationship and as a means to learn more about Ty and his background although, I have to say, there's still a whole heck of a lot that we don't know. The thriller storyline was nowhere near as dynamic as that in book 1 but the connection between Ty and Zane is what keeps this book ticking over and it's nice to see them take a few more steps down that road, all the time wanting more.I'm very much looking forward to book 3 and seeing them back in action with more `alone' time.4 stars m-m romance

Review of books 1 - 8Where have I been? How could I have not read this series until now? The Cut & Run series is a must for MM romance readers.FBI Special Agents Ty & Zane appear outwardly different but we soon see they are similar in many ways. Ty, with his rep for being difficult to work with, likes to ruffle suited Zane's feathers but Zane has many surprises up his sleeve.Each book features its own suspense plot which, although focusing on Ty and Zane, draw in great secondary characters (members of their families, colleagues, marine buddies).This series isn't insta-romance, it's a slow sizzle as 2 pig headed men get to know each other through the job. They have to rely on each other, trust each other & look after each other, building a bond which although tested to the max, withstands every challenge coming their way.Be prepared for laughter, tears, uncertainty, despair, tenderness and smoking sexual chemistry combined with truly excellent suspense plots.Love love love this series. Ty & Zane are THE couple of MM romance.

So book two in this series and the characters develop and their relationship builds. Ty and Zane on enforced vacation, hiking around the mountains close to Ty's childhood home and family.The reader meets Ty's Mother and Father, his Grandfather and Brother. Brother and Father accompany our action heros on their hiking adventure and as expected, the vacation turns into more than just a walking holiday.I love the way these characters are developing. Their relationship is far from unrequited, and definitely not unrealised, rather unspoken as obviously macho men don't talk about feelings and the "L" word. It's obvious to us, the readers. We are given access to Ty and Zanes' respective thoughts. How long must we wait for those three little words to be verbalised? So very nearly it happens in the final chapter.In this novel however Ty is most definitely hurt by the name calling, especially as in this instance it is so untrue and so undeserved.

I'm really getting into this series, and I love it. Ty acts as this hard, non caring nutter, when he really cares so deeply for his family, and especially Zane. Ty and Zane are having problems which are slowing pushing them away from each other, and neither know how to stop it. Both have been given 3weeks leave and been told by Burns to relax and enjoy themselves. Ty decides to go home to W. Virginia and ask Zane to join him. It turns out to be the vacation from hell.