Perfect book is perfect. What can I say? I loved this book. I loved the MCs. I loved the side characters. I loved the baseball. I loved the writing style. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It's an absolute joy to read and I'll be highly recommending it to everyone. It even has a recipe at the end from one character and a running playlist from another character!

One thing I do want to mention, just because it zoned right in on my anxiety triggers, is that a character describes an incident where a panic attack leads to them fainting while driving. This is, obviously, a thing that can happen. However, it's really rare and it's kind of like the number one thing people who have driving anxiety often fear is going to happen and speaking from experience, I know that anxiety attacks often make you feel like you're going to faint, even when you aren't, and learning to kind of push through those feelings and keep driving is the way to combat that anxiety, so imagining this situation and its repercussions was rough.

But truly, this book is just so wonderful. You want this book in your life. Highly super recommend.

This was alright - maybe I've overdosed on sports romance lately, because it felt fairly average -- there were some good charcters and friendships and relationships.... but overall, it did not zip to the top of my sports romance list of recommendations. You do have to suspend disbelief a bit, because this is not taking place in actual the current day sports climate. I think it could be a great read for people looking to read some types of characters that, in the past, have perhaps been under-represented.

The premise of this book was everything I was looking for when I read the description, but I will still surprised by how well it managed to meet those expectations! A lot of the time, debut authors have a great concept, but the delivery doesn't match the expectations. That is not the case here; KT Hoffman knocked it out of the park (please excuse my baseball puns, there will be several in this review).

While homophobia and transphobia were not extinct in this world of baseball, it did not play as large of a role as it would in real life. To be honest, I loved that about this story. The world of sports is often filled with ideas of toxic masculinity, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be books and stories that allowed gay and trans people to exist within those worlds. It would be wonderful if our world was at that point, but the slight escapism of the world Hoffman creates is comforting to fans of the sport who do not get to see themselves represented often. As someone who is both queer and Jewish, though cis, it was fun to see a world where people like me and Gene and Luis could see themselves succeed in a sport that is so dear to me.

The love story was beautifully done and none of the conflict felt contrived. The struggles Gene and Luis faced individually and together made sense for the world they lived in and their character motivations. The pacing of the romance over the course of the season kept it from feeling rushed and nothing felt like it just came out of left field. You will find yourself rooting for them and celebrating their wins.

A true homerun of a story!

This review will be posted to StoryGraph and TikTok on 3/3/2024. Links will be posted once the reviews are available.

Right now, having just finished this book all of thirty minute ago, this book is sitting at a comfortable 3.5. It's definitely better than mid, but I didn't overwhelmingly love this book as much as others do. Yes, I love Gene's boundless positivity and optimism and I love Dodger, and I appreciate the anxiety and trans rep, and I'd love to see more of Vince and Jack.

But I just wish we were shown more.

A lot of this book is telling. We're told what happened during the baseball games. We're told that Vince and Gene aren't talking. We're told Gene fudged it when he was called up. But we rarely get to see any of it actually happen. We get to see Luis' panic attacks when they happen and that's awesome, but I wanted to see more.

And I wanted more of the subplots be better developed. I still don't understand what happened between Gene and Luis at Stanford and what caused their falling out. Vince's inner turmoil is barely explored. Even when Gene takes headshots for Baker we don't get to see what came of that.

I just wish this story had been a little better developed and fleshed out so we could see more.

The Prospects is so much more than a baseball romance. It is soft and tender and filled with so much hope that the baseball -- which could be a character and setting within itself -- takes a backseat to Gene and Luis' love story. From rivals to teammates to lovers, these two don't have a linear path to love, nor is it without challenges, but they overcome these challenges together in the most beautiful ways.

REVIEW:

What an absolutely beautiful debut story by KT Hoffman! When I tell you it was absolutely impossible not to fall in love with both Gene and Luis, I mean it. This book starts off very grumpy/sunshine with a taste of hurt/comfort. Watching this relationship blossom and seeing such a healthy queer relationship was absolutely beautiful. I was obsessed with the trans rep and cried many times at how loving Luis was towards Gene in that regard. I can't wait for everyone to fall in love with these boys as much as I did.

QUOTES:

- "What's the verdict?" Gene asks.
"I have anxiety. Shocker."
"That's it?"
"They said I should, and I quote, 'try to be less anxious.'"

- "Were you two an item in college? Is that why you've always been so obsessed with him?' Gene wrinkles his nose. "I'm not obsessed." He is. "And no, we weren't."

Okay, so I don't know a damn thing about any sport but that didn't keep me from genuinely loving this book. An openly Gay Trans man as the MC, so much queer representation. Queer joy, Trans Joy. Wonderful. I loved watching Gene & Luis' relationship evolve and was fully invested. Forced proximity makes things interesting 😉 This book is so sweet and sexy and full of heart and hope. But I also appreciated that this book did not shy away from the difficult things that come with being queer in major sports. FYI anxiety and panic attacks are also represented. I can't believe this is a debut novel! Cannot wait to pick up a physical copy when it's released in April! 💚

Wow, what a debut! Honestly I only realized it was a debut after I had finished reading.

When Gene's former teammate turned rival is traded to Gene's current minor league baseball team, Gene is determined to maintain their rivals relationship, if only so he doesn't have to interrogate the other things he might be feeling about Luis. But the forced proximity continues to reveal more about Luis and Gene can't help but to get to know him more.

This really is such a joyful story! Yes there are deeper issues that are discussed (Luis' panic attacks for example), but ultimately the book was really just a joy to read. I loved seeing how Gene and Luis' relationship developed and how well they showed up for one another. I was really invested in both the relationship and the team's season - I felt their highs and lows so deeply! I obviously loved the rep that we get here and the inclusivity with the team - Gene is trans and out, Vince is gay and the team knows, and it's just not a big deal! I agree with KT's author note at the end where he hopes that this could be our future. Where these facts are just facts and not earth shattering or newsworthy topics per say.

I could keep going on and on but in short, I loved this book and can't wait to see more from KT in the future. Preorder now, friends! It's worth it

Thank you to Dial Press and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

KT Hoffman's debut is a grand slam!!

Transgender minor league baseball player Gene is not thrilled when his old college teammate Luis gets traded to his team. Luis is the son of baseball royalty and beat Gene out for an award last year. When their disfunction begins to impact the team, the two begin to spend more time together to work out any kinks in their game. As they grow closer and learn more about each other, sparks fly. But with both of their dreams of playing in the big leagues on the line,

Full of hope and swoon and steam in equal measures The Prospects is a fabulous book perfect for romance lovers and baseball fans alike! I can't wait to see what Hoffman writes next.

I’m not a sports girl so parts of it were kind of boring to me. If you like sports or something sports like (Haikyuu comes to mind) then you’d like it more. It was cute though. The love interest was a sweetheart.

Great debut novel! Fun, quirky, and delightful - I was smiling the whole time. Great representation throughout, and the characters feel well developed rather than stereotypical. I could tell the author treated the characters with great care, and never shied away from the more difficult moments while still keeping true to the rom-com genre.

There’s a lot to love about this book! Overall, it wasn’t for me; that said, I’m so glad it exists, I’m sure a lot of people will love it, and I hope it achieves every success!

Some things I really enjoyed: The trans rep was wonderful! The main character is a gay trans man who is driven, relentlessly optimistic, and funny. It’s clear the author loves baseball, and his love of the sport really sings on the page. The Portland-area setting is lovely and nostalgic. There are several profound lines sprinkled throughout the book that feel like a warm hug. The romance was really sweet, and I also appreciated the nuance with which the author wrote about being queer in traditionally cis/heteronormative and queer-unfriendly spaces.

Some of the things I didn’t enjoy as much: The reason for the rivalry between the main character and love interest (or really, just from the main character and directed at the love interest) was presented in a way that made it seem silly and even a bit insensitive to the love interest. In the same vein, a lot of the conflicts in the book felt contrived and like they could have been resolved with a simple conversation.

While these are minor gripes, they made The Prospects not the best fit for me personally. I think I’m among the few in feeling this way though, and I encourage others to read this passionate, heartwarming book!

Finally, I note this book is very heavy on baseball—much more so than in other sports-based romances I’ve read. I am sure many readers will love this aspect of the book, though, and again, the author’s evident love of the sport is infectious.

A fun queer sports romance with lovable characters and a lot of joy. Fans of Casey McQuiston will love this.

2.5 rating
I was very excited about this book, and it was on my anticipated books of 2024, but I didn't like it as much as I thought it would. The book's first half was good for me, but after about 100 pages, I started to lose interest in the book. I found that many of the characters (aside from Gene) started to fall flat and repetitive; many times, I couldn't tell the difference between them because they had the same voice on the page. I think the book could have benefited from more editing; making the characters more dynamic and different from one another would have helped strengthen the supporting cast because Gene was such a dominating character (in a good way).

I also think more editing would have helped with the tensions because, for the first half of the book, it was there, and so were the stakes, but I felt that a lot of it disappeared after Luis and Gene started to get involved romantically. It was a great premise, but I think where it fell short was on some of the execution, and I think more editing would have helped with it. I think it had great potential as someone who loves a good underdog sports story. It just didn't reach the level I wanted from it.

The was literally hope core as a book.

KT killed this as his debut!!!! I had such a fantastic time reading this!

The Prospects is filled with heart, optimism, and hope. You can't help but to root for Gene and Luis from their first interaction on the page. Gene is working through his hope of being moved up to the major leagues while Luis is navigating his queerness and feelings for Gene.

This book just has so much heart to it. It's such a joy to read and the writing is incredibly witty throughout. I was giggling so many times through Gene's interactions with his teammates.

There's fantastic anxiety representation and it's really eye opening to see one account of the trans experience through the eyes of Gene. It was incredibly real and made my heart so so happy.

The Red, White, and Royal Blue fans are going to eat this up!!! Dare I say this book is wayyyyy better than RWARB, in my opinion.

If you're in the mood for a:
-sports romance
-queer romance (trans and gay partners)
-forced proximity
-anxiety rep

and just something to make you smile and feel good, I HIGHLY recommend this one. Out April 9th, 2024!

Thank you Dial Press, K T Hoffman, and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

K.T. Hoffman is batting a thousand

*Thank you to Random House for providing me an E-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The Prospects is a novel about the romance between teammates-turned-rivals-turned-teammates again, wrapped in Minor League Baseball. Gene, the MC, is an openly trans and gay baseball player who harbors a grudge against former teammate Luis, but when Luis is moved to Gene’s team at the start of the season, the forced proximity reveals hidden feelings. They navigate their new dynamic while trying to push their team to success.

I am a trans gay man like Gene, and I find it difficult to read books with a trans POV character. It’s always felt too real or too fake. The Prospects is the first I’ve read that hasn’t made me feel weird. At no point was I cringing at an overdone conversation about transness to ‘educate’ cis readers, or a scene where the love interest had to explicitly say he’s still into the MC and justify that attraction for the sake of cis audiences. The representation was a highlight for me instead of a detriment. In the same vein, Hoffman’s ‘note from the author’ captured a lot of my feelings about being a trans author as well.

I also played baseball for years in grade school, so this was pretty much written for me (Gene even has ADHD like me). The sports aspect was easy to get into for me, and I found myself very invested in the team’s success. None of the ancillary characters felt flat or unjustified, and the chemistry between Gene and Luis was natural. I was actually rooting for them instead of just watching them, like with a lot of the romance I’ve tried reading lately.

The pacing was quick, so reading it quickly without getting bored was easy. I will say it may be harder for someone totally new to baseball terminology to follow at first, but it doesn’t get too technical. I found the inclusion of batting statistics actually really cool, though I do love numbers so that could just be me.

I think this is a fantastic debut from Hoffman and I hope he keeps it up. Trans hope is so important, especially now.

Crossposted to GoodReads

Do I like baseball now? I think I like baseball now.

This book is so swoony, full of romance, witty quips, and the feels. Gene's world is absolutely rocked when his college rival (and crush) gets traded to his team and takes his position at shortstop. Not only that, they're expected to work together on and off the field. This makes for a glorious romance full of conflict and SPORTS. I know nothing about baseball and still felt like I understood all of the jargon.

Also can I say that I love an LGBTQIA+ romance that doesn't traumatize its characters for plot? Gene deals with a bit of transphobia on and off the field, but his team and family are 100% in his corner through all of it. Not to mention his friendship turned lover with Luis? My HEART. There's so much representation here across the queer and neurodivergent communities and I was so sad that this book had to end. But it ended spectacularly, so I'm not too torn up about it.

*Thank you to Dial Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This is one of the most JOYOUS trans romances I've ever read, and GOSH THAT IS SO GREAT!! I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not that I dislike books that take on bigotry alongside romance, but my darling Gene is a basically happy well adjusted dude who DESERVES EVERY HAPPY AND GOOD THING IN THE WORLD, and I'm so glad that he got them!! (Also he's casually Jewish? That description of his T shots on Shabbat as being a quiet ceremony/celebration was SO GOOD, I maybe teared up a bit.)

But also I love how Hoffman portrayed differing ends to a career. Luis's t'quiet realization that he COULD quit something that didn't spark joy versus Vince's more hardwon acceptance that he wasn't going to be able to end his career on his own terms, but there were other things that he loved that would balance that disappointment out was SUCH a great and interesting contrast. Also just SO MANY configurations of people being casually queer in different ways! It's just really nice to live in a world that looks like mine, even if I never have (or ever wanted to, lol) play professional sports.

(This is an honest review given in exchange for a free advance copy of this AWESOME book.)

The Prospects

This was a home run! A grand slam? Who knows. Regardless, what an absolute treat. Hoffman’s grasp of casual, realistic dialogue and domestic imagery makes for such an immersive and welcoming reading experience. You could easily tell that the characters were comfortable and friendly with each other (at least until Luis shows up, of course!)
As a trans masc person, this was such a refreshing and beautiful story about trans joy and happiness. While there were small mentions of transphobia that would be hard to avoid in our current world, the primary conflicts never revolve around Gene’s trans-ness. Luis never questions his status as a gay man for being attracted to Gene, because everyone in Gene’s life correctly sees him as a man. Being able to read from the perspective of a trans person who loves his body right where it’s at and isn’t struggling with being trans is such a delightful experience, and really just filled my heart with so much joy.
Back to the writing: I loved the occasional use of Twitter threads and the baseball announcers to provide a more zoomed out, meta perspective of the whole team and how they are perceived from the outside. I also loved the focus on more than just the primary romantic relationship; Gene and Luis have friendships and family relationships beyond each other that experience tension, hardships, and resolution.
Finally, let’s talk about that representation!! Beyond the main leads being a gay trans man and a gay man, there’s more Achillean and Sapphic rep with Vince, Baker, and Gene’s dad; characters with ADHD, anxiety/PTSD, Down’s syndrome, a hard of hearing character who signs, and probably more I’m forgetting. None of it ever felt forced or tokenized, it was just a normal people existing in the world, and it was delightful!
This was such an incredible debut, I cannot wait to see what kind of trans love K.T. Hoffman blesses us with in the future!

I really enjoyed this book and story. While at times feeling a little long winded, overall the story and characters are good. I loved learning Gene's POV on his transness and how it has affected the world around him. I really liked Luis as a character and even teared up during part of his story line. Some of the baseball references did go over my head, but I felt the author was able to convey their meaning so that a person with very little baseball knowledge would still understand things. I will definitely be recommending this book to people and cannot wait to read the author's future works.