This absolutely blew me away!!! 4.5 stars rounded up.

It's no secret to anyone who pays any attention to me in this little corner of the internet that I am a HUGE fan of MM hockey romances. They're utterly addicting, and I don't know how to stop reading them. I don't want to stop reading them, so I'm not going to stop reading them!!!!!! Call that what you want.

The downside to this very specific taste in books is that I often run into stories that are repetitive, tired, and feel like they're trying to mimic while simultaneously one-upping each other. It's exhausting sometimes. Rough life, I know. Prove It is not one of those stories.

Hockey rivals to lovers? CE Ricci did it in Iced Out. Hockey rivals to lovers featuring a feud wholly created and exacerbated by the media? Rachel Reid PERFECTED it in Heated Rivalry. However, Noah and Alex's relationship in Prove It subverts the MM hockey romance ultra-niche subgenre as a whole.

Summary
Noah Anderson's father has been pushing him to be the next Wayne Gretzky for as long as Noah can remember. Expecting him to go first in this year's draft is only the foundation of what should be an illustrious NHL career. The only thing standing in his way is Alex Valencia, the American player the media has been pitting Noah against since he first started making waves in the hockey community. Noah hates that he's no longer the clear first draft pick, that his dad won't stop talking about Alex, and that he's attracted to the single person on this Earth that he absolutely should not, can not, will not want.

Alex Valencia can't help it if Noah's dad wants him to view Alex as the enemy. What he can do, though, is make Noah like him. Maybe. Through sheer force of will, Alex starts to lower Noah's defenses, and the two form an unlikely friendship. Against Noah's better judgement, he starts to open up to Alex and his USA Hockey friend group. He just hopes he can keep his stupid, unrequited, potentially career-ending feelings for his straight rival a secret.

My Thoughts
If this book was a song, it would be Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls. This was unlike anything else I've ever read before. It has the sweetness of a Mazey Eddings book, the banter of Abby Jimenez's characters, and Mariana Zapata's slow burning angst that made me want to scream, "JUST KISS ALREADY!!!!!!" about 400 times.

I loved watching Alex explore his sexuality through conversations with his friends, his sisters, and in his inner monologue. I loved how supportive everyone was in his life, and that his struggling to come to terms with it were due to his lack of trust in his own judgement rather than internalized homophobia or fear of rejection from his peers. It was a nice contrast to Noah's own journey with knowing and accepting that he's gay while being unable to express or celebrate it. The juxtaposition highlights Alex's refreshingly different situation, and also proves to Noah that he deserves to have a similar support network.

Noah is such a cutie pie, and I just want to pinch his cheeks. I wish I was his older sister so I could show him that who he is isn't inherently bad or wrong. I loved his friendship with Millie and was so happy that he had her through the rougher parts of his childhood. Fuck his dad. Like seriously.

I wish we got a little more closure with his dad. I would've loved for Noah to have a big "fuck you" moment with him. I also wish we got even the tiniest little smidge of an epilogue. Those are the only reasons I took off half a star.

Also, it's not too heavy on the technical aspects of the game, so readers with limited knowledge of hockey can still enjoy this!!

Thank you BookSirens and Stephanie Hoyt for providing me with an advanced reader's copy!!!!!! I'm so grateful that I got to read this.