All I can say is that this book was absolutely amazing! The characters? Perfect. The romance? Perfect. The story? Perfect. Read this book!!

Ahhhh please the queerness in this book, and the anxiety rep were done so frickin well I could cry. The MC and his ship were both so wholesome and so relatable <33

A lot of the baseball stuff went over my head though, there were a lot of specifics and terms and play-by-plays of the games reported, so if you're a romance fan AND a baseball fan? Look no more, this is your next read !!

TWs - anxiety and panic attacks on page, sports injury faced by a middle aged player that leads to eventual retirement, transphobia and homophobia

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I really enjoyed the characters but I had to DNF the book. The plot just was not for me and it was very lacking to me. Although this was lacking for me I will say that the LGBTQ+ genre will be getting a nice addition. to the genre. I will say I believe I will be going back to this novel because at this time I just do not think it worked for me. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Portland has been identified as a possible candidate for a future expansion baseball team, and so I think it was wonderful that the author ran with that idea and made it happen. I also enjoyed the story of a scrappy minor league team that had not known success in a long time overcoming a very inauspicious start to the season to reach the playoffs for the first time in decades. I appreciated Gene’s respect and love for the game and his minor league team, the Beaverton Beavers.

What makes this book stand out is that it features an openly gay player (Vince) who had success in the majors before injury relegated him to Triple A, and whose sexuality is treated as not really an issue for his teammates, opposing players or fans. More significantly, the story features a player who is both transgender and gay (Gene/Nes). While there have been gay Major League Baseball players, these players have not come “out” until after retirement, with the lone exception being an active player coming out in 2023. There has never been a transgender player in professional baseball in the US, and there is no likelihood of that changing anytime soon. This makes Gene’s character more unique and special, especially as an inspiration (albeit fictional) for transgender athletes/aspiring athletes who would like to play the sport of their choice professionally and be accepted as one of the guys or the girls (depending on the sports league in question).

Not only is the book a baseball story with queer characters (including a female lesbian manager), but it is also a love story, as two former college teammates find themselves on the same minor league team. However, Gene is not thrilled to have Luis on the team at first, especially as Luis takes over Gene’s position as shortstop, shifting Gene back to second base (where he is actually a better player, but which does not have the same cachet as shortstop). Also, there are unresolved issues between them related to their college days. As the team’s early struggles are due in part to the defensive struggles and lack of communication between Gene and Luis, the manager, Baker, forces them to be roommates on road trips and insists that Gene find a way to get along with Luis. As they start spending more time together working out/practicing, Gene learns about Luis’ crippling anxiety, and Luis comes out to Gene (although not to the rest of the team). After opening up and addressing some of their issues, they rediscover the rhythm on the field that made them successful in college, and which makes them more successful as teammates in the minors. Not that their burgeoning relationship is without problems, as they become too co-dependent, which holds both of them back. They have to figure out what they want for their lives and careers individually before they can try to be a successful couple.

"The Prospects" follows Gene, the first openly transgender player in the minor leagues, and his past and present teammate Luis. They are reunited on the Beaverton Beavers, slowly figuring out how to both work together on the field and repair their past friendship. In terms of the tropes, I feel like it's kind of a second chance and an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance all rolled into one? Whatever it is, it’s great. I loved both characters and the respective journeys they took throughout the baseball season covered in the book. The plot genuinely surprised me and was well structured in a way that provided realistic relationship tension. I fully happy cried through the entire end and was so sad to say goodbye to both of our MCs as well as the great side characters.

Giving it 4.5 stars because I absolutely loved this one. Not only is it filled with love and hope, it’s just so uplifting and funny. All the characters had such a bright and likable personality, and they worked off each other so well. I loved our MCs and their dynamics with their entire team, it was such a breath of fresh air after reading some big thrillers.

The romance was top tier. Period, that's it, the entire sentence, no further information needed.

The only thing I didn’t quite get was the baseball references. There was a LOT of baseball knowledge one needed to know, and I don't really know baseball well.. I felt like I didn’t get the full experience because of this. However, everything else was super enjoyable, and I loved this book so much!

As a queer baseball fan, this is highkey the story I didn't know I'd been waiting all my life to read. Very cute with likeable, quirky characters galore. Is it a tad predictable? Sure, but that doesn't take away from my own personal enjoyment.

Also, shoutout to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC!

i unequivocally adored this book. "the prospects" in a romance between two baseball players, gene (trans guy, he/him) and luis (cis guy, he/him). luis is traded to gene's team, but the two haven't spoken since luis got drafted and suddenly left their college baseball team without a word to gene. then things heat up, what can i say!!!!

there's basically a rivals/enemies/least favorite person to friends to lovers arc, which i ate up. there is a lot of baseball, which i didn't mind or even really notice as a thing until i saw other reviewers note it. i grew up watching baseball sometimes and happily will go to a game every once in a while, and when the cubs are in the world series i'll watch. i also have a basic understanding of how the sports world works! if you're like me, i think you'll be fine terminology wise.

i really loved how insightful hoffman is about relationships, love, friendship, sex, transness, queerness, and emotions generally without becoming preachy or using therapy-speak. i understood why people were doing things. i understood that maybe i would've wanted to really lay everything out and delve into issues 100% explicitly, but also that gene's friendships don't work like that and that's okay. they still felt real and healthy and loving.

also, a thank you to hoffman, for writing beautiful queer, trans sex. i so rarely see it in romance novels, especially so lovingly, so honestly. thank you :,) you made me cry a little.

i cannot wait to get my little hands on a physical copy in april and to read every single other book that hoffman publishes.

(as always, thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Cozy, heartwarming, and so damn fun! The Prospects brings together the best of baseball with a swoon-worthy romance for the ages.

This was such a tender, sensitive, fully-realized trans romance—I loved the glimpses into baseball culture, the arc of these estranged friends, and the exploration of transness in sports. A total, heart-opening joy.

cute story, i like sports romances and this one did the trick. I would read more from this author, the characters were fun and the enemies to lovers trope was great

Thanks to Dial Press and NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Prospects by KT Hoffman follows Gene, a minor league baseball player, who is reunited with a former teammate, Luis. They have a tense relationship after playing together in college and then losing contact. The novel follows them as they reconcile and connect again over their mutual love of the game and each other.

I looooved this book. It was so charming and heartfelt, while dealing with realistically strong emotions and deep issues. Gene was such a fun character to follow, and I loved all the baseball antics. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for more work from KT Hoffman.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have played sports my entire life, albeit soccer, and I really enjoy watching and reading media surrounding sports. So the idea of a queer baseball story with a trans main character really got me excited. Gene “Nes” Ionescu’s story is unfortunately not possible in reality, something the author acknowledges, so at first it was a little difficult for me to suspend my disbelief. I can be very particular about how realistic things are, but that isn’t the point of the story. It’s not about what currently is possible for trans athletes but looking forward to a future we can one day hope to reach. Remembering that grounded me back into the story.

The book itself has several mistakes and contradicting statements from the characters, but given this is an ARC and the book won’t be published until April 2024, I won’t discuss them here.

The thing I had the biggest issue with is the setting, or more specifically, how the author handles the setting. The author is from Beaverton, Oregon, which is the setting for the book, and he clearly has a lot of love and pride of his hometown. However, with that, he seems to make a lot of assumptions about the reader’s prior knowledge of the town and Oregon itself. I found that the way the setting was discussed is really inaccessible to anyone not already familiar with Oregon, particularly non-Americans. I’m American, and I still found myself struggling to understand what Beaverton looked like. Is it a city? A suburb? How close is it to Portland? The author doesn’t actually describe the setting in general terms, just in relation to very specific knowledge only someone from Oregon could understand. He also mentions a few other towns in Oregon, some smaller, some larger, and the only reason I understood any of it is that I have a friend in Oregon, and I’ve been there a few times. Anyone not from the USA will probably need to be constantly checking a map, I know I did.

Just like the setting can be difficult unless you’re already familiar with it, the same thing goes for the baseball. The reader is sort of thrown in the deep end of the sport, and unless you already have some prior knowledge, you’re going to be very confused. Once again I’m lucky to have a connection to the topic, my dad played baseball, and he still plays softball locally. But even with that knowledge, I struggled with some of the really specific terminology. However, after a while it became easier to understand.

In terms of the actual plot, I thought the initial conflict resolved itself pretty quickly and with little fanfare. I wish there had been a bit more tension in the conflict and its resolution, as is typically the case in a rivals situation. I found the pace of the first half to be pretty slow, and I was dragging my feet. However, once I hit the second part of the book, the pace picked up, and I was able to get back into the story.

Now, let’s talk spicy scenes. I’m never someone who enjoys sex scenes in media because they’re just not for me, but I didn’t mind the ones in this book at all. I can’t say enjoy, because I never do, but there are a few reasons why I liked them. 1) It’s nice to have sex scenes with a trans man and a gay partner, it felt natural to me, and I’m so happy to see that kind of representation. Not all queer things need to be sanitized for the public, and trans people enjoy sex too. 2) Thank GOD for the use of the word ‘clit’, I actually cheered.

Overall I felt the book was okay, there's a lot more I wish I had gotten from it and the story itself was pretty straightforward. I can’t say I was really surprised by anything that happened, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I am open to revisiting the book and this review after the final publication, as I’m confident that these issues I have can be resolved.

Current rating: 3.5 stars, rounded down.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for an eARC of this.

Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing this book and it has nothing to do with the writing or the story. I just couldn't get into it and enjoy it like I wanted to.

I'm am very happy though with the more representation that the LGBTQ+ community is getting and there are people out there that will be able to connect with those story better than I could!

The prospects follows Gene, a minor league baseball player. Gene is the first openly transgender player on a minor league team and how he feels about Luis, an old teammate getting traded to his team.

Firstly I really enjoyed what a joy all of Gene's teammates are. It was so refreshing to read a story that wasn't filled with homophobic, transphobic jocks. The team all really care for and root for each other.

As someone who deals with anxiety, I enjoy a character like Luis and I absolutely adore his dog Dodger. As someone who isn't super into sports I really appreciated that although baseball was obviously present throughout the book, it never took over or was more important than the human relationships, which is definitely a theme throughout the book

This was a really heartwarming and fun enemies to friends to lovers story. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, even if you're not super familiar with baseball it's still a great read!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gene is the first openly out trans man to play in the minor leagues, and he's proud of his accomplishment and loves his team--until one of his college teammates Luis gets traded to the team. They were friends before Luis got called up and then disappeared from Gene's life, and even worse, Luis is taking Gene's usual spot on the field. When neither is playing their best and the tension between them is clear to everyone, their team manager tells them they need to find a way to work together. As they do, their friendship rekindles--as do Gene's feelings for Luis, much as he would like to pretend they don't exist.

I loved this book. It felt much longer than it was (but somehow not in a bad way), and the pacing was pretty slow (although, again, not in a bad way). I really loved the characters and how Gene's transness and Luis's anxiety were both clearly important and absolutely given the attention they deserved, but that the book also focused on other aspects of the characters and on the baseball itself--it balanced all those things really well. I am not much of a sports person but was mostly able to follow the baseball--there were a few terms I didn't know but there was enough context for me to follow along. Overall I really liked it, and am looking forward to reading more from KT Hoffman.

So much to love about this book! It is a baseball story (I love baseball), with Gene, a trans character as the lead. Gene was such a strong character. I loved his fearlessness. his optimism, and his love of the game. The exploration of his trans identity was nuanced and filled out in a deeper way than I have read in other books. The supporting characters of families, teammates and coaches created a warm and diverse feel to the whole book.
I thought Gene and Luis' relationship was realistic and mature, and the author sensitively portrays the anxiety disorder that affects Luis' life. I would highly recommend this book to readers who love diverse representation, sports and romance. This book is a winner!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thanks for giving me access to this ARC. What a joyful queer story. I don’t read many sports romances often but I definitely enjoyed this one a lot.

Baseball, MLM, rivals to lovers what’s not to love. I have very little to say about this book that isn’t positive. A book about learning to want the things you deserve in life wrapped up in a hopeful romance. Gene’s transness doesn’t stop him from making his mark on the baseball world and while it’s shown as a hindrance in some cases, as it is in the real world, his hope and desire to be where he is, is inspiring. The side characters are likable and the rival/love interest Luis comes with his own side growth that really kept me reading.

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

Gay sports rivals and a transmasc main character! Sign me up!

Gene Ionescu, the first openly trans player in professional baseball, feels the tension rise when his rival, Luis Estrada, gets traded into his team, the Beaverton Beavers. Forced proximity, both on and off field, turns their bitter distaste into blossoming love as we watch both players chase their major league dreams.

I love a good sports rivalry. The funny dialogue and cute romance made this book a fun read. I’m not a big fan of baseball, so I found scenes surrounding the game a bit boring. Unlike me, baseball fans will eat this up!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dial Press Trade Paperback for this ARC.