Baseball! Pining! Friendship! Sex! Gender! Mental illness rep! Good hair! Great butts! This book was just wonderful and gave my romance bookclub the best 2 hours of conversation over wine and homemade pretzel bites and baseball cookies ♥️

We finished the night by sharing what our walk-up songs would be and, as expected, we made the best playlist ever!

Go sports!

It's honestly surprising that KT Hoffman's The Prospects is his debut novel because this book impresses with every single aspect. It's the kind of book you'll find yourself picking up when you need a pick-me-up, it brims with so much heart, joy, fluff, and sexiness while being balanced with the right amount of angst, challenges, realizations, and discussions of mental health. I admit that I know nothing about baseball and while following along Gene and Luis's journeys might not have made me a baseball fan, they certainly made me a fan of the Beaverton Beavers (I just can't help but root for the underdog) and of theirs. The Prospects is queer and trans joy bottled up finally being uncorked and let loose in a stream of awe-inspiring words that KT Hoffman captured, nurtured, and gave life to in the form of a book. If you're a Romance fan, then this is a debut you cannot miss.

It’s baseball season, and personally I think there’s no better way to celebrate than with some queer baseball romance. And let me tell you what… The Prospects by KT Hoffman is just the freaking treat.

The Prospects follows our main character Gene, who is the first openly trans player in professional baseball and the shortstop for the Oregon minor league team, The Beaverton Beavers.

Gene doesn’t really have any assumption or dream of being called up to the majors, but that’s okay because he loves his team and the life he’s built. That is, until his former friend and college teammate turned rival, Luis Estrada is traded to his team.

Not only is Luis impossible to hold a conversation with, but he also takes Gene’s spot as shortstop, pushing Gene onto second base. The horror! But as the team faces loss after loss and it’s clear that their inability to work together is a major reason behind that, Gene and Luis agree to work together, coming to the field early for extra practice just the two of them.

And predictably, they simply CANNOT deny the chemistry between them.

This book is truly everything that I look for in a good romance book.

It’s got two characters who are wholy fleshed out and feel real, they’ve got a relationship that is so charming it has my giggling and kicking my feet and maybe tearing up a little bit, and it’s got a compelling plot line that has me sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I absolutely fell in love with Gene and Luis and their love story, as well as with the entire world that Hoffman created. The whole team of the Beaverton Beavers is just so much fun, and is filled with a whole host of lovable characters that I can’t help but hope we return to this world again in future books.

This was an EASY 5 star read for me, and I bet it will be for you too, so what are you waiting for?

WOW WOW WOW how was this a debut?!

Gene has been immersed in the baseball world since his youth. As an openly trans player on the Beaverton Beavers, he loves playing second base. He's got his home with role model pitcher and all is well.. until his rival Luis Estrada is traded to the team. Luis is a top 2nd baseman, demoting Gene to short, two positions that desperately need to work together. Tensions strike as they become closer and realizations start to hit. Two prospects, one with destiny clear as the strike zone and the other clear as that home run!

I adored listening and reading the Prospects as I immediately felt Gene's emotions, the banter, the baseball dialogue and that reality take. It made me think twice about A LOT going on in both the MLB and society today. The friendships? YES. The breakup? FINALLY a third act breakup that made sense!! I can NOT wait to see/read/discover what is next for KT Hoffman. The ending/author's note and discussion at the end...IMPACTFUL

There was great rep in this book and I loved the individual growth of both Gene and Luis. Their story was well-written and there was also a good balance between the romance and baseball. Though I don't know much about baseball, it was interesting to see how passionate the characters were and how they balanced their career and their relationship.

Trans and mental health rep in sports!! Sportsball is not my thing but make it queer fiction and I'm 100% invested.

This was a fantastic book and it's full of so many soft sweet moments. My single criticism is that I wanted a bit more explanation of Gene and Luis becoming friendly again. I feel like they went from rivals to friends very quickly and I missed a touch of context.

But as a whole, I really loved it. I loved Gene and all his Short King energy and I loved Luis and his soft sweetness. I loved Luis' dog (who is an emotional support animal NOT a service dog) and I loved all the teammates and their community with each other.

The only reason I make that note about the service dog is that there is a specific difference and people's service dogs often get more shit from businesses because people with emotional support animals say they have service animals when they do not. It is stated in this book that the dog is an emotional support animal and I just think that distinction is important. Emotional support animals are wonderful (I have one) But they're not service animals and do not have the same rights and access as service animals do in places of business. Also when looking for representation, this isn't service dog rep.

Trans gay MC, Gay Latine MC with panic disorder. Queer secondary characters.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s full of trans joy and hope and it was such a lovely read. Gene and Luis’s former-friends to rivals to lovers story is a rollercoaster of emotion and it was wonderful to see their journey.

I love the world KT Hoffman has created in this book, where a trans man can play baseball at the highest levels, where their coach can be a woman, and where the team’s baseball captain can be openly gay. The book doesn’t shy away from any of their struggles, but instead focuses on hoping for a better future. It’s a really joyful read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves baseball and queer romances.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Somehow this book is a debut, which is flabbergasting, because it's pretty freaking amazing. It's an ode to America's pastime featuring characters that America doesn't always want to embrace. Well too bad, because the characters of THE PROSPECTS are wonderful, complicated, and not-at-all one-dimensional. They are portrayed as actual humans (*gasp*) and not just queer stereotypes.

Gene is such a great character: a trans baseball player in the minor leagues, with dreams of making it big. Gene is adorable. He is sweet, funny, optimistic, smart, and learning to navigate the world as a gay man. Thankfully, he has his teammate, aging pitcher and Team Dad Vince, plus Vince's husband, to help him navigate the baseball world. But nothing can prepare him for the arrival of Luis, a former teammate, rival, and crush, to his beloved Beaverton Beavers.

Luis may rival Gene for adorableness--Hoffman writes his anxiety into the story so beautifully, and it's impossible not to fall in love with them both. The story is about hope and wanting, following your dreams, and the people we find along the way. Found family is so important here. Baseball plays such a vital role in the story: its highs and lows, its transient nature, and the optimism required to play successfully. I love a good sports romance and THE PROSPECTS balances both perfectly.

The book feels just a bit long at times and one conflict felt forced/repetitive, but overall this is such a great story. It's so important and filled with such vibrant, realistic LGBTQIAP+ characters.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Random House in return for an unbiased review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was very cute. The writing style reminded me a lot of books by Casey McQuiston. The romance was adorable and I love that this was a queer sports romance. The fact that the MC was a trans MC was an added bonus!

This was a great book. Just a sweet, romance book. I read it in one day and I would definitely recommend this book.

There were some great parts to this story and some really poignant writing but ultimately it just felt sooooooo long and the sports content was too much for me to hold my interest.

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

What a delightful and fun story of two baseball players finding their way to each other. Gene and Luis are so wonderful as they navigate their shared history and the baseball season. I don't know what to say about this without spoiling too much of the story, but I loved how Gene is openly trans and is able to live his life as out as he wants and how Luis sees that and loves it is just wonderful. I love minor league baseball and I appreciate the author setting this book there, where the stakes are higher than major league. And really, I just love Gene and Luis. They are too cute and I wanted more of them. I also would have loved a little more of the team, it seemed like the side characters could have had their own romcom and I would have ate it up.

Genuinely fun and wonderful. What a great debut.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free review copy! I love love loved this book. The voice and writing were exceptional, the characters were all complex and heartfelt and I love a good story about baseball. Overall, a grand slam for me!

The Prospects by K.T. Hoffman gave me all the fit-kicking and warm, fuzzy feelings! It is about a minor league baseball team where old crushes resurface in a rivals-to-lovers romance. 

Gene and Luis used to be friends and play baseball in college together, that is, until Luis got scouted for the majors and left without a word to Gene. Now Gene plays for the minor league Beaverton Beavers, where his former teammate and current rival got traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene's life.

When I say this book had me kicking my feet and giggling at how cute these two are together, I am not lying. I loved the positivity of this book and Gene's optimism, even in all of the adversity. I loved the relationships, communication, and fun of these characters and the baseball team throughout the novel. K.T. Hoffman craves every character with care, purpose, and representation for someone to see themselves in. The emotions and feelings of this book will definitely stick with me, and I immediately wanted to reread it after finishing it. 

This "joyful, heartfelt debut rom-com revealing what's possible when we allow ourselves to want something enough to swing for the fences" is a book I will continue to recommend to anyone who will listen.

This book was so well written, so well CRAFTED. It was funny and sexy and filled with such an incredible amount of hope, optimism, queer and trans joy, and queer found family.


The Prospects is third person, single POV, slow-burn, friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, and it has all the rep that's seamlessly woven into the story: trans, queer, gay, anxiety, ADHD, Romanian-American MC, Mexican-American LI, disability, and more.

This book made me sob and also feel like I was bursting with joy at times.

What an absolutely joy! I would give this book ten stars if I could! Fabulous, fabulous characters, A+ baseball, and all the feelings. Everyone should read this book.

Thank you to Dial Press Trade Paperback and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I know next to nothing about baseball so this was a fun look into the inside world while also telling a good story. It had some very sweet moments and told a story that felt true to life. It was not typical and felt very real. It did not fall into stereotypes which is always a relief when reading since you don't want the same thing over and over and over again. 3.5 stars.

Disappointed in myself for putting this one off so long! It was such a unique read for me.

The MC being trans was amazing representation without being too over the top and focused solely on that aspect. The love story and world created made for such a great read. I was sucked in from the very beginning. I loved all the characters and their quirks and found myself not being able to put it down wanting to know what in the world would happen next.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.

I am officially in my sports romance era! The Prospects by KT Hoffman was absolutely adorable and I loved every second of it! Heartfelt and full of emotion, this baseball romance follows the rollercoaster of trying to make it to the big leagues! Packed full of love, tension, friendship and an adorable service pup - this read is a home run!

⚾️ Professional Baseball
♥️ Romance
🐾 Adorable Service Dog
🏟️ Rivals to Lovers
🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Rep
🧢 Teammates
🫶🏼 Found Family
🏳️‍🌈 Queer Joy
🌅 Heartfelt & Hopeful
📖 Debut Novel
🦫 Beaverton, OR

The Prospects is a grand slam of a debut and I’m so excited to see what KT Hoffman comes up with next!

Method Read: 📖
Thank you so much Dial Press for the eARC!

Good god the romances that are being put out this year are unreal. It has been SO FUN. The Prospects is so joyful, and for someone who is largely ambivalent about sports in general- I was shocked at how much I loved reading this book.

Extremely generally speaking, I am so glad this exuberant book about a trans baseball player with multiple gay teammates (keeping it spoiler free here) exists in the world. The author states that this story is unlikely to exist IRL a time soon (sadly true) but hopes that it will be a possibility in the future. Amen to that. But not just in the realm of baseball diversity- one of my favorite things about this book is that there is actually all kinds of rep- and none of it is heavy handed with a ton of commentary. They are people, not plot devices. Hoffman hasn't created a perfect world here (there's definitely some dumbassery) but it's light years ahead of where we are today.

There are some heavy themes tackled (anxiety, feelings of not deserving or being able to want things, acceptance) but the overall vibe of the book is just joy. Green sour patch kids, baseball jerseys, more baseball jerseys in stores, really delightful banter- this is just a book worth a spot on anyone's list.