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Sticks and Vows
Pucks, Lies, and Sticktape
Fake marriage? Check.
A job on the line? Check.
Accidentally falling for the hottest goalie in the league? … Oops?
Matthieu Larsson wasn’t looking for a wife—just a loophole. All he had to do was technically be married to secure his dream spot on the Wolverines. Easy, right? That was before he met Jeannie.
Jeannie had no idea that standing up for herself would backfire so spectacularly. One minute, she was telling off a jerk. The next, a six-foot-something golden-haired goalie was swooping in like an avenging angel, offering her protection with a little white lie. It was all supposed to be temporary… until the truth came out.
Now, she’s playing the role of hockey’s newest wife, fielding awkward questions, dodging suspicious teammates, and realizing the biggest lie of all? She might actually like being Matthieu’s wife.
***
In Pucks, Lies, and Sticktape, a fake marriage turns into real trouble when feelings get involved—because in the game of love, even the best goalies can’t always block what’s coming.
A job on the line? Check.
Accidentally falling for the hottest goalie in the league? … Oops?
Matthieu Larsson wasn’t looking for a wife—just a loophole. All he had to do was technically be married to secure his dream spot on the Wolverines. Easy, right? That was before he met Jeannie.
Jeannie had no idea that standing up for herself would backfire so spectacularly. One minute, she was telling off a jerk. The next, a six-foot-something golden-haired goalie was swooping in like an avenging angel, offering her protection with a little white lie. It was all supposed to be temporary… until the truth came out.
Now, she’s playing the role of hockey’s newest wife, fielding awkward questions, dodging suspicious teammates, and realizing the biggest lie of all? She might actually like being Matthieu’s wife.
***
In Pucks, Lies, and Sticktape, a fake marriage turns into real trouble when feelings get involved—because in the game of love, even the best goalies can’t always block what’s coming.
- GenresHockey Romance
220 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2025
29 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Ginny Sterling
406 books737 followersGinny Sterling is an avid romance writer. She lives to tell sweet, inspirational, tender tales that tug at the heart, leaving the reader smiling, laughing, or crying. Her book series include many titles such as FLYBOYS, Healing Hearts, Flirt’s Battalion, Reserve Ranch, Hotshots, and more.
Each book written is sure to be an adventure, bringing laughter and love to your heart!
https://linktr.ee/ginny_sterling
Each book written is sure to be an adventure, bringing laughter and love to your heart!
https://linktr.ee/ginny_sterling
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 30, 2025
I absolutely adore Matthieu & Jeannie's caring, sweet, heartbreaking, loving, swoony happily ever after!!
March 17, 2025
Loved this one! Oh Matthieu is so sweet, a little clueless but he tries so hard! He’s so caring and just wants to be there for Jeannie. Wow! She has such a strong character, forging her own path no matter how difficult and I just adore them together. Love this team!
May 9, 2025
OK, so I don’t know if I’m just in a reading funk, but this book did not hit like I needed it to.
First of all, it had one trope I cannot stand—the misunderstanding trope. The miscommunication trope. It pissed me off. For the first, like, 6 to 8 chapters, it was just nonstop miscommunication or literally no communication at all. (And that is majority of the book since it's only 12 chapters)
She’s in the room crying because she thinks he doesn’t like her, and she likes him—but she never tells him. Meanwhile, he’s out here trying to do nice things to make her feel comfortable and not caged in. And he’s thinking she hates him and is miserable because of him. But neither of them opens their damn mouths to just talk.
She never said how she felt. He never asked or comforted her. He just kept trying to do “nice things” without actually checking in with her. It was frustrating.
Also, one thing I noticed is that the author has very weird timing in this book. I don’t even know how to describe it. Like, by the end of Chapter Three, we know they’re about to have a discussion about the fake marriage after meeting that day. But then the author just skips ahead two weeks later. We don’t even get to see the conversation or the dynamic. We just suddenly jump into the fake marriage and moving to Quebec.
And there was a plot discrepancy that I noticed.The Quebec hockey team required them to be married and to present a marriage certificate upon arrival. But they were already in Quebec for weeks—over a month—and no one ever asked for the certificate, which was supposedly essential for the contract. That makes no sense. The only reason they got married in the end was because of the parents. It felt like the author forgot that plot point halfway through.
Now, after we finally got past all that? It was kind of cute. There were some sweet moments. Her parents, though? Horrible. And I thought we were going to get way more interaction with them to give us some satisfying closure—but nope. We didn’t.
First of all, it had one trope I cannot stand—the misunderstanding trope. The miscommunication trope. It pissed me off. For the first, like, 6 to 8 chapters, it was just nonstop miscommunication or literally no communication at all. (And that is majority of the book since it's only 12 chapters)
She’s in the room crying because she thinks he doesn’t like her, and she likes him—but she never tells him. Meanwhile, he’s out here trying to do nice things to make her feel comfortable and not caged in. And he’s thinking she hates him and is miserable because of him. But neither of them opens their damn mouths to just talk.
She never said how she felt. He never asked or comforted her. He just kept trying to do “nice things” without actually checking in with her. It was frustrating.
Also, one thing I noticed is that the author has very weird timing in this book. I don’t even know how to describe it. Like, by the end of Chapter Three, we know they’re about to have a discussion about the fake marriage after meeting that day. But then the author just skips ahead two weeks later. We don’t even get to see the conversation or the dynamic. We just suddenly jump into the fake marriage and moving to Quebec.
And there was a plot discrepancy that I noticed.The Quebec hockey team required them to be married and to present a marriage certificate upon arrival. But they were already in Quebec for weeks—over a month—and no one ever asked for the certificate, which was supposedly essential for the contract. That makes no sense. The only reason they got married in the end was because of the parents. It felt like the author forgot that plot point halfway through.
Now, after we finally got past all that? It was kind of cute. There were some sweet moments. Her parents, though? Horrible. And I thought we were going to get way more interaction with them to give us some satisfying closure—but nope. We didn’t.
April 7, 2025
I can't stop talking about this amazing hockey series! Ginny Sterling will make sure you have a great time reading this book. These men in this series are so much fun. They can be tough but they are also just big softies. I devoured tis book in one day because I couldn't stop reading it.
Matthieu Larsson wasn't looking for a wife but he found out that in order to join this new team he needs to be married. They want all of their teammates to be family men and keep their heads on straight. So now he needs to find himself a wife fast!
Jeannie was working her shift at a diner when one of her customers was getting to fresh with her. So she thought she would just stand up to this guy but the next thing you know this tall delicious man is next her protecting her. Now that he saved her life and she needs to hide away for the night they decided they can help each other out. Now let the fun begin!!
Matthieu was such a sweetheart but he was a little slow on how to make a relationship work. Even though he had his challenges he was definitely up to the challenge of proving himself. Jeannie has a little secret that the two of them will have to work through but together they will figure things out.
This was a sweet story and you will definitely fall in love with Matthieu and Jeannie! As with all of Ginny's books you will laugh, swoon, smile and always have a wonderful happily ever after ending. I would highly recommend this book and the entire series!!
Matthieu Larsson wasn't looking for a wife but he found out that in order to join this new team he needs to be married. They want all of their teammates to be family men and keep their heads on straight. So now he needs to find himself a wife fast!
Jeannie was working her shift at a diner when one of her customers was getting to fresh with her. So she thought she would just stand up to this guy but the next thing you know this tall delicious man is next her protecting her. Now that he saved her life and she needs to hide away for the night they decided they can help each other out. Now let the fun begin!!
Matthieu was such a sweetheart but he was a little slow on how to make a relationship work. Even though he had his challenges he was definitely up to the challenge of proving himself. Jeannie has a little secret that the two of them will have to work through but together they will figure things out.
This was a sweet story and you will definitely fall in love with Matthieu and Jeannie! As with all of Ginny's books you will laugh, swoon, smile and always have a wonderful happily ever after ending. I would highly recommend this book and the entire series!!
April 5, 2025
This series keeps getting better and better. Every new teammate that we meet in this series is something a little more special.
Matthieu Larsson is at his wits end with his current position with his hockey team. Then he receives a miraculous phone call with an offer he can't refuse. The only thing standing in his way is that he must be married. Uh oh. Maybe it was divine intervention or maybe it was simply incidental, but he finds the perfect woman to be his fake wife. Jeanine is the perfect candidate for him. She does not know it yet.
In that first chapter when Matthieu swooped in like her knight in shining armor, I knew I was going to like this guy. His only problem is that he is completely clueless about romance. Bless him. Jeanine is not a material girl. However, she is a woman who needs someone to love her and care for her. She is scrappy fighter and survivor who wanted to make her own way. Now she has been thrown into the deep end of the pool in a loveless, fake marriage with a man who does not have a clue. Add to that she knows next to nothing about hockey. Even with all those problems, this was a match made in heaven.
Laughing and smiling a lot are requirements for reading this book. You will not be able to help yourself.
Thank you to the author for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Matthieu Larsson is at his wits end with his current position with his hockey team. Then he receives a miraculous phone call with an offer he can't refuse. The only thing standing in his way is that he must be married. Uh oh. Maybe it was divine intervention or maybe it was simply incidental, but he finds the perfect woman to be his fake wife. Jeanine is the perfect candidate for him. She does not know it yet.
In that first chapter when Matthieu swooped in like her knight in shining armor, I knew I was going to like this guy. His only problem is that he is completely clueless about romance. Bless him. Jeanine is not a material girl. However, she is a woman who needs someone to love her and care for her. She is scrappy fighter and survivor who wanted to make her own way. Now she has been thrown into the deep end of the pool in a loveless, fake marriage with a man who does not have a clue. Add to that she knows next to nothing about hockey. Even with all those problems, this was a match made in heaven.
Laughing and smiling a lot are requirements for reading this book. You will not be able to help yourself.
Thank you to the author for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 13, 2025
Pucks, Lies, and Sticktape
Matthieu and Jeannie have a sweet story. Matthieu gets reamed at hockey practice by his coach. He contacts his agent and she has an offer of a transfer to a team in Canada. The catch is he must be married. He goes into a cafe where he witnesses a waitress being accosted by a stalker and intervenes on her behalf. Jeannie has been waitressing to supplement her web building business. Unfortunately she has caught the eye of a stalker. When a good looking man helps her escape the stalkers clutches, she takes a leap of faith. Then he makes her an offer she can’t refuse. All she has to do is pretend to be his wife. You can read their story in “Pucks, Lies, and Sticktape”.
Matthieu and Jeannie have a sweet story. Matthieu gets reamed at hockey practice by his coach. He contacts his agent and she has an offer of a transfer to a team in Canada. The catch is he must be married. He goes into a cafe where he witnesses a waitress being accosted by a stalker and intervenes on her behalf. Jeannie has been waitressing to supplement her web building business. Unfortunately she has caught the eye of a stalker. When a good looking man helps her escape the stalkers clutches, she takes a leap of faith. Then he makes her an offer she can’t refuse. All she has to do is pretend to be his wife. You can read their story in “Pucks, Lies, and Sticktape”.
April 14, 2025
Clean Standalone Rom-com Interconnected Series HEA
This book can be read as a standalone. However it is part of an interconnected series that has overlapping characters. Reading in order highly recommended.
He's struggling where he's at.When an opportunity comes up for him to move that's to good to be true he jumps at it. But there's a catch
She's struggling to make ends meet while building up her own business. When a customer steps in saving her from a stalker she's relieved, until he asks for some help from her. What's the catch? Will she help him? How does their families feel about their choices? I am loving these books and can't wait for the next book.
This book can be read as a standalone. However it is part of an interconnected series that has overlapping characters. Reading in order highly recommended.
He's struggling where he's at.When an opportunity comes up for him to move that's to good to be true he jumps at it. But there's a catch
She's struggling to make ends meet while building up her own business. When a customer steps in saving her from a stalker she's relieved, until he asks for some help from her. What's the catch? Will she help him? How does their families feel about their choices? I am loving these books and can't wait for the next book.
April 18, 2025
This book was so good I couldn’t put it down
As I read about Matthieu and Jeannie, I could relate to it. My family was like Matthieu’s warm, always laughing, always cutting up. I Admired Jeanie for her independence before she met Matthieu. But what a fairytale he put her through after and he took her away from that creep, the diner, and her awful apartment into a beautiful life but it started out rough.
He sure did some fancy groveling when he thought he was losing her. The story was very well written very well put together and I loved the ending.
As I read about Matthieu and Jeannie, I could relate to it. My family was like Matthieu’s warm, always laughing, always cutting up. I Admired Jeanie for her independence before she met Matthieu. But what a fairytale he put her through after and he took her away from that creep, the diner, and her awful apartment into a beautiful life but it started out rough.
He sure did some fancy groveling when he thought he was losing her. The story was very well written very well put together and I loved the ending.
May 8, 2025
I am in love with this series. The team is so interconnected like a family that you want to devour all their stories. I enjoyed how Matthieu and Jeannie story wasn’t like the others. They didn’t have a marriage of convenience but I stead had a fake marriage which brings its own sets of challenges. I loved how protective of Jeannie Matthieu was and how his family and team immediately took her in as one of their own.
This is a dual pov, closed door romance. It is part of a series but can easily be read as a stand alone novel.
This is a dual pov, closed door romance. It is part of a series but can easily be read as a stand alone novel.
May 8, 2025
Another good Wolverine match up. Matthieu is ready for a change he needs a new team because he just does not feel like he fits in where he’s at. The Wolverines need a back up goalie and Matthieu will be learning from the best. The only problem is he lacks a wife. Enter Jeannie who will help him by pretending to be married and it helps her because she is having trouble with a stalker guy at her apartment. It’s great watching pretend becomes real!
April 12, 2025
This is one marvelous book in this great series.
Ginny, you did a wonderful job in creating this fantastic read of Matthieu and Jeannie's happy after. I just loved it from the very first words I was hooked to the very end. I laughed allot and cried a little too. The storyline was well created and the characters are fun to get to know and love them all.
Ginny, you did a wonderful job in creating this fantastic read of Matthieu and Jeannie's happy after. I just loved it from the very first words I was hooked to the very end. I laughed allot and cried a little too. The storyline was well created and the characters are fun to get to know and love them all.
August 18, 2025
This football loving Texas girl, okay, woman, is starting to become a hockey loving Texas lady. This author continues to bring us interesting story lines, strong characters, romance, humor, sudden, usually starting out fake, marriages, and a few twists. I’m always ready for the next one as soon as I finish the current one. I loved this one.
May 13, 2025
Great book
Loved this book. Mathieu and Jeannie were a great couple! The friends on the team were all colorful and so much fun. Just wish you had written the names of their children then it would be complete.Good One!
Loved this book. Mathieu and Jeannie were a great couple! The friends on the team were all colorful and so much fun. Just wish you had written the names of their children then it would be complete.Good One!
December 25, 2025
Awe, good story
I am new to this hockey team. It was so fun to watch their friendship grow from fake to real. I love clean stories that also show the true passion that couples have leading up to marriage. I am curious to see how the other couples stories come about.
I am new to this hockey team. It was so fun to watch their friendship grow from fake to real. I love clean stories that also show the true passion that couples have leading up to marriage. I am curious to see how the other couples stories come about.
April 17, 2025
Great book
Loved the slow burn in this book. The love that starts out as attraction and turns into a burning love.
Loved the slow burn in this book. The love that starts out as attraction and turns into a burning love.
April 18, 2025
Such a great book!
April 25, 2025
Love
Finding love even when you weren't looking and finding your forever in a chance encounter. Great book and series! Love how it changes from rescuer to home.
Finding love even when you weren't looking and finding your forever in a chance encounter. Great book and series! Love how it changes from rescuer to home.
May 4, 2025
Flirty Fun
I enjoyed this fun story about two unlikely people finding lasting love through commitment and circumstance. I enjoyed the vow renewal
I enjoyed this fun story about two unlikely people finding lasting love through commitment and circumstance. I enjoyed the vow renewal
May 16, 2025
Good story
A story of a girl being harassed and then protected by a stranger. She called him her angel.
A bit too sensuous
A story of a girl being harassed and then protected by a stranger. She called him her angel.
A bit too sensuous
May 18, 2025
Loved the slowburn of this relationship and how the story didn't skimp on the hockey half of a hockey romance.
May 30, 2025
Hmmmm. The problem with marriages of conveniences as a plot point is that I really need to believe it, and I didn't here. But it's okay, it was cute.
June 9, 2025
Over too quickly!
July 22, 2025
book
This one had me in tears from the start!! And I’m glad I read it!! And I’m also glad I found the others as well!! Good clean writings!!
This one had me in tears from the start!! And I’m glad I read it!! And I’m also glad I found the others as well!! Good clean writings!!
November 4, 2025
When does a fake marriage become real? When someone falls.. and fall hard they do.
Matthieu Larsson wants to be a Wolverine. Surely there’s a way around the marriage clause because he is not getting married. Well, at least not for real. But then he meets Jeannie.. the perfect fake wife.. until she isn’t because Matthieu wants more.
Matthieu Larsson wants to be a Wolverine. Surely there’s a way around the marriage clause because he is not getting married. Well, at least not for real. But then he meets Jeannie.. the perfect fake wife.. until she isn’t because Matthieu wants more.
May 12, 2025
I am loving this series! Thank you Ginny for another great story. As per usual, I couldn't put it down. Mathieu starts out a little clueless, but it all works out in the end. Love it!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews