Guestreview by Jen
TITLE: Prove It
SERIES: Do or Die #1
AUTHOR: Stephanie Hoyt
PUBLISHER: Nine Star Press
LENGTH: 455 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 27, 2024
BLURB:
Despite being unanimously projected to go first overall in the upcoming NHL Draft, Noah Anderson wants nothing more than to get the Draft over with so he can escape his dad’s unrelenting criticism and establish himself outside the rivalry he’s never tried to fuel.
Alex Valencia can handle getting picked second after a guy touted as the next Gretzky—but he can’t wrap his head around the fact that Noah is the one friend he can’t make.
When the draft lottery all but guarantees they’ll play for rival teams, Alex accidentally walks them right into a loser-buys dinner competition, ensuring their relationship remains a point of interest long after the season begins.
Opposites in so many ways, neither Alex nor Noah expect a relationship built on the begrudging acceptance of a challenge made on live television to become so deeply important to them. But as the line between chirping and flirting blurs, they both must decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice to play in the NHL.
REVIEW:
I’m always down for a good hockey story, so this one grabbed my attention right away. We have two hotshots vying for top draft pick status and the media has basically created a rivalry narrative. Both guys are drafted to the NHL, one to a US team, one to a Canadian team.
Noah is the US player who has focused his whole life on hockey. His father is a retired player who still has a hand in the sport. He is overbearing, overcritical, and all in all, just a crappy dad. This is all the more apparent as Noah figures out his sexuality.
Alex is the other star who decides he needs to befriend the standoffish (due to his issues) Noah. He has a great group of friends/teammates who are supportive, even overly so some times. Much of this book is Alex working to gain Noah’s friendship. Through this friendship, Noah realizes he is gay and Alex tries to be the supportive friend Noah needs. Come to find out that Alex has feelings for Noah as well but he was covering it up in the guise of friendship.
So, a lot of back and forth between the realizations and both guys being on the same page, coupled with the issue of them being in the same league. This is an extremely slow burn story which, honestly, was starting to feel pretty drawn out. The behavior with the friends, while nice to see, felt forced at times but ends up being a fun part of the story as their group chats were shared.
Suffice to say that things come together at the very end and I found myself really enjoying their story, slow start aside. I’m not sure if this series will feature the other friends/teammates or whether it will be a continuation of Noah and Alex’ story. Either way, I’ll be looking forward to catching up with this crew when it’s out. If you love the slow burn, this is definitely one to check out.
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