thanks to netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for a review!

i am a sucker for a sports romance, so i knew that this one was going to be up my alley. and boy was i correct! i loved gene from the start, and i found his relationship with luis so so sweet. it was kind of a slow burn at first, which i found held up because there was actual plot going on aside from the romance. this is a standout for me, highly recommend to anyone looking for a sports or queer romance.

amazing!! this was excellent representation of trans & lgbtq issues! the characters were fleshed out as was the writing & plot development & pacing!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the summer of gay baseball books and I couldn't be happier about it. This has easily sailed right into my top ten favorite books of all time. I love sports books, I love trans representation, I love queer romances. There was even a super casual comment about the MC being Jewish somewhere in the middle that I almost screamed about because truly I couldn't believe I'd managed to stumble upon something that managed to tick all of my boxes.

I could barely put this down once I started. If I could have, I would have happily read the whole thing in one sitting. This was equal parts joyous and triumphant in a way I feel only queer sports like this can be. Gene is such a relentless wave of positivity that more than balanced out the moments of transphobia and disappointment. Because ultimately this is a story about trans joy and triumph.

This book started out slowly for me but picked up steam about 25% in. At first, i was thrown by all the names of the characters. The main character is called Gene, Ianescu, and Nes all in the same context. It was hard to keep track that that is all the same person. Once I got used to that, I enjoyed the banter. I adore baseball and love the setting of the minor league teams with their fun quirks and silly traditions. I also love the trans rep and queer joy! Overall I would recommend this book!

Had to restart this book multiple times over the past several months. Will still recommend to readers of queer romance but it was too long and the writing and characters didn’t grip me like I had hoped for in a contemporary romance.
What worked:
-Trans rep
-Found family elements
-Grumpy/sunshine
-Working on self improvement in addition to the relationship
What didn’t:
-Writing style
-Lack of engagement and investment in the relationship and stakes

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

I purposely saved this book for Pride Month, and I'm so glad I did. Gene is the first openly trans man in minor league baseball, and a self proclaimed optimist. He knows there's not really a chance to make the majors, but that's ok - he loves his life and career. Until Luis Estrada gets traded to his team. Luis is a former college teammate and for whatever reason, him and Gene can't even have a conversation now. The problem is that's translating to their performance on the field, and the team can't win a game. Their manager forces them to share a room, and they decide to start extra workouts together to try to fix their on field issues. While doing this, they become closer, and in addition to becoming better teammates, they start to become friends, plus something more.

The chemistry between Gene and Luis was pretty great, and I enjoyed watching their relationship blossom. I definitely think having an understanding of the actual game of baseball made me like this book even more, because the on field chemistry between a shortstop and 2B is so important, and the author really zeroed in on that and the nuances of the game well.

I did think the third act breakup was a bit frustrating, but I understand that it's necessary for the plot. It was all worked out well in the end though.

I like that at the beginning, the author put a disclaimer about the sex scenes in the book, and noted that trans people are comfortable with sex in different ways, and have their own preferred terms for their genitalia. The way it's all written is specific to this book and how Gene feels and refers to his body.

Overall a fun read. I. will definitely read more from this author.

I loved this book despite not really understanding baseball even a little bit. Gene is such a delight and I was almost immediately endeared by him and his singular joyful voice. Sometimes a protagonist feels like your friend and Gene was very much that for me.

This was fun and sweet! I love a baseball themed romance! I wish there was a bit more nuance and grit. It felt a little too "perfect"/stiff. I wanted to see more depth and realness to the characters.

This one was the perfect spring time / summer time read. The character development was like no other! The trans, gay, lesbian, and anxiety representation was flawless. I loved Dodger most of all.

This was such a tender and hopeful read! I loved Gene as a character - his struggles navigating identity as both a trans person and as an athlete really resonated with me, and I enjoyed that aspect even more than the romance. I found myself rooting for the Beavers, and looking up the rules of baseball so I could understand how the team was doing - something I never thought I'd do as a die-hard hockey fan who resolutely believed baseball was the most boring sport on planet earth. And, KT's writing is so smooth and fluid - I flew through the book in an afternoon.

The only reason I didn't rate this higher is because the romance felt a little too easy for me. There were no real stakes, and any conflict was resolved pretty quickly. But, sometimes a sappy happily-ever-after is exactly what you need, and I still had a lot of fun reading this.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

Overall this is a thoughtful book and well written. The main characters are very likable and the romance is easy to root for. I personally wasn't a huge fan of the book because there was a lot of explaining how professional baseball works at the beginning. I was trying to get hooked and invested in the beginning but I just felt like it was a baseball lesson with information I already knew. First person is also my preference in romance.

I got an ARC of this book.

When the author bio includes a mention of “trans joy”, I knew I needed this book. Trans joy is something I need desperately.

This book is full of trans joy. The transphobia level was pretty low. It was not a plot. It was more people not knowing what to do. It was more people trying their best. I felt safe reading this. I didn’t have that gut wrenching panic that can come from reading cis people write trans characters. I have no idea if Hoffman is trans, but based on this book I would not be surprised if he was. Gene is too human and the plot is so mildly trans that I thought a few times throughout the book that Hoffman probably was.

The sex. Oh god. The sex.

The baseball aspects were legit. This was not a book that has the idea of baseball like a lot of sports romances. Instead baseball was an integral part of the story. You don’t need to know the rules to really understand what is happening. There is some stats talk that will make more sense if you have some basics. But without it, you will be ok. It is more about the feeling of doing something that feels so freeing and so intensely you that the details are just icing on the emotional cake.

Gene was wonderful. He was a bit of a ham. He was a golden retreiver boyfriend in the best ways. He was supportive, he was eager, he was adorable. I was all for Gene and Luis getting together. The backstory at first made me concerned, but it grew on me. The few offhand comments that come from that were so affirming for me as a trans guy. Luis’s sister had one of the best lines and I am here for that family. This book could easily have a sequel of the men later in life. It doesn’t feel like a spoiler for a romance that there is an at least HFN ending.

Luis. Luis. Luis. I wanted to hug him so tight. He was such an anxious guy and even had an ESA. I was so excited. I wanted Gene to win him over with his golden retreiver energy and help Luis feel safe. It just really felt like it was meant to be.

I really enjoyed this book. I am pretty skeptical of sports romances, so this one stands out in a lot of ways.

This was a very well-written book with really lovely main characters! I loved the romance and the mental health rep. Overall I thought it was an excellent book, I just don’t think baseball/sports romances are for me!

🌈Queer rep: Gay trans man, gay cis man. MM main relationship. Secondary gay male characters, lesbian character, MM couples, FF couple.

This book was really sweet and I absolutely loved the premise of it! Nes and Nada were very complex and loveable characters, and I enjoyed how the conflict at the beginning was resolved and their relationship progressed naturally alongside the plot. At times, the writing style was a little bit annoying because it felt a bit unfinished and backstory elements were randomly inserted to serve the specific plot moment rather than being naturally integrated, but it didn’t hinder the reading experience too much. I didn’t know I needed a trans baseball book until now, but it was wonderful and I will be recommending it to others!

I enjoyed this book so much! It was a ton of fun, and brought out all the feels. The characters were beyond compelling. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. The story gripped me and didn't want to let go. Very enjoyable.

I love this book so much I am sad I don't get to experience it for the first time again. This is the perfect summer romance. Perfect.

The Prospect is a sports book. There is romance and found family and funny moments, but this really is about baseball. There is sports jargon (that I don't understand), game details, league details and other sports stuff. I am SO excited about this, because this feels to me like a queer romance about gay men that is not written for the "female gaze" (there has to be a better way to say that? Idk).

AND Gene is trans. It feels far fetched and exciting to read about a trans athlete working his way up the ladder of baseball and learning to dream big. It feels hopeful that this story exists in our world! This is somehow very finding yourself/coming of age. It's sweet, people learn and grow and family is FOUND. I loveeeeeeee Vince and Baker and the roles they play....and that his family are cool and supportive too. There are many great iconic pep talks, definitely look out for Vince to warm your heart right up with his grumpy self. While Gene does have challenges, hate and blatant transphobia are not the main ones/not explicitly shown on page (but also not avoided as reality).

All that to say, this book is incredible and I'm so glad it's in the world. And that I got to review an early copy. I have already sent several *strong* recommendations to friends who HAVE to read this so I can fangirl my life away. Who knows, maybe I will even start watching baseball. (I will not).

casey mcquiston’s blurb says “i completely adored it” and they were right!!! cute lil enemies to lovers baseball romcom

CAN I JUST HAVE ALL THE QUEER SPORTS ROMANCES DIRECTLY IN MY INBOX RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I NEED MORE LIKE THIS

NetGalley Review — my rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I was invited to read “The Prospects” by KT Hoffman and I thought “hmmm…June feels like a good month to do that…”

Why? Well, Gene is the first openly trans minor league baseball player. He wants to go to the big leagues but doesn’t think it’ll ever happen. All of a sudden, Luis Estrada is traded down from the majors after an accident leaves him paralyzed with anxiety attacks. Luis and Gene? College teammates and always at odds over the same position. But maybe the animosity is something more?

I am going to say this. If you don’t understand baseball, this isn’t the book for you. If transgendered people make you uncomfy, this isn’t the book for you (and also, see yourself out).

On that note, I enjoyed this one for the most part. 3.5 but I’m knocking it down because it did drag on and jumped around a lot. But I liked Gene’s positivity and his chemistry with Luis. It was a fun read!

Thanks to Random House Publishing for the ARC! This was released April 9 so check it out!

#netgalley #kthoffman #theprospects

I absolutely adored this story. This was such a unique sports romance, but it also touched on so much more than that. It’s hard to describe all of the feelings this book gave me but it felt in the end like a warm hug. I was so incredibly involved in this story because the characters created were so well done. I also absolutely love baseball and to have a story that brings to light some of the bad parts of the sport, while also expressing love for it, it was an impressive balance achieved by the author. The representation of a transgender athlete in this book was done so well, and helped bring to light issues that transgender athletes have to deal with that other athletes might not think about. Overall, one of my new favorites.