⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Available 9 April 2024

I just wanted to express my gratitude to NetGalley, Random House, and KT Hoffman for providing me with an eARC of The Prospects to review. Thank you so much!

I had an absolute blast reading this book. Nes and Nada's journey on the baseball field was simply amazing. I'm not really a baseball expert, so I had to ask myself how many games they typically play in a season. But honestly, the book was about so much more than the game itself.

Let's talk about the romance! It was captivating! I was rooting for Nes and Nada the whole time. Their playful interactions were so cute and left me with a big smile. Honestly, it was a homerun—or even a bases-loaded homerun, if that feels right!

If only I had more time to read, this book could have easily been a 5-star read for me. But that's just me - many readers on Bookstagram are raving about it, and the hype is entirely justified. I hope my thoughts will be helpful to those with trust issues. Thanks again to everyone involved in bringing this book to life!

I know next to nothing about baseball, but I honestly ate this up! Our main character, Gene, is the first openly trans baseball player and he was a delight as our primary point-of-view. I really enjoyed learning about his life and journey as a baseball player and his optimistic attitude was really refreshing. I also loved the romance! It's a bit of a slow burn, which is my favorite type of relationship. Their early tension was fun and made their eventual get-together that much more heartfelt. We also got a good look at both men in the relationship as individuals as well as with each other, and giving them both the agency to choose one another made the romance that much sweeter. Overall, I loved this charming baseball romance!

This was great. A sports romance with a gay trans guy, Gene. His former teammate, Luis, (now rival because the Luis ghosted him as soon as he got drafted) is now on Gene's minor league baseball team. And it's a rocky road from rivals to friends to lovers as they face their past friendship and their future dreams.

Gene is such a great voice. Gene loves who he is, he loves his team, and he's happy to be a part of making everyone's dreams come true. But he learns that he might be able to dream even bigger than he has.

This book is joyful. This book is uplifting. This book is hopeful. I'm having trouble articulating why it's good, but it just is. And the cover is perfect.

I cannot wait to read what KT writes next.

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

GIVE ME ALL THE TRANS SPORT ROMANCES PLEASE!!!!!

This book was such a good balance between the sports and the romance!!!! I like them training together and how they go from antagonist to getting to know each other. The tension between me had me screaming sometimes!!! I just wanted them to be together so bad.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Love a trans romance - especially one where the characters LGBTQ+ identity is just a fact, but not a big deal
Hoping this can be a reality sometime in my lifetime!

Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Gene just wants to hold on tight to this final, consistent summer with his minor league team; until Louis, former teammate and rising star is traded onto Gene's team to await being called up to the major leagues, and flips Gene's summer, and his heart, on its head.
I loved this book so much that I've run circles trying to put it into words. As a transmasc with anxiety and ADHD, I felt utterly seen by these representations in Gene and Louis. I have never followed baseball, couldn't tell you how it works if I tried, but Hoffman never made me feel lost or confused, and I was so invested through Hoffman's prose and the clarity of plot. Gene's narration is so witty, real, and all heart and hope--and when he's not feeling like the heart or the hope, the characters around him bring it tenfold.
Gene and Louis's rivalry into friendship into an incredible romance had me falling hard for them and so full of hope that they'd both find what they wanted.
The Prospects is easily in my top books of 2024!

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for letting me read an arc of this book for an honest review.

I really loved this book. It was heartwarming, sweet, emotional, and full of representation. There's all sorts of characters apart of the lgbtqia+ community, there's deaf representation, a side downs syndrome character, anxiety, panic attacks, and the cutest service dog ever. The author does a great job to portray all of the emotions and hardships of it all. I don't read too many sport romances, but I was rooting for the Beavers for their whole season. I felt just like one of their fans. There's so much hope and optimism throughout the season, even when they lose they know they did their best. I love the small town, cozy vibes of this book. I was smiling through most of the book. This one surprised me but I loved it! Grand slam for sure.

This is such a great debut from Hoffman! I absolutely loved the second chance rivals to lovers ride. It was surprisingly cozy and comfy for a sports romance and I loved everything about Nes and Nada. There was great trans rep and anxiety rep, and I loved that it felt like I learned a lot more about baseball since I've never actually watched a full game before. 😂 But at the same time, if you're not too into sports that's more than fine as well. The whole thing kind of gave me '90s sports movie vibes, if that makes sense.

The side characters added a lot of great flavor to this too and I especially represented how there was a variety of people at the beginning/middle/ends of their careers. The pacing worked out for me and I felt like the drama made sense and didn't completely come out of the blue. It was really interesting kind of unraveling the prior interactions our two leads had in the past. The spice was so good too! 👀 Just a wonderful and refreshing debut that was clearly written with love and passion. I can't wait to see what Hoffman does next!

I adored this book so much!! It follows Gene Ionescu, an openly trans player for a minor league baseball team, as a former teammate of his from college, Luis Estrada, gets traded to his team. Gene hasn't seen or heard from Luis since college, and the dynamic of the team shifts after the trade.

It was so fun to read, and even just the dedication had me tearing up. This story is so full of grit, joy, and a love for the sport of baseball. It has such a good mix of the reality of being a queer person in men's professional sports with the hope, optimism, and fun you would expect from a contemporary romance. I had such a hard time putting this down as I was reading. I felt like I was truly following along with the season for the Beaverton Beavers and was rooting them the whole way through, along with the romance. (Big shout out to a sports romance that is heavy on scenes featuring the sport that it's about!)

I don't think I can fully explain how much I loved this but it made me even more excited for the start of baseball season and I already can't wait to reread this once I get my hands on a physical copy.

big thank you to netgalley and dial press for the e-arc.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

my heart simply cannot handle this. wow. what an incredible debut! i will always have a soft spot in my heart for queer romances and nes and nada have made their way to my one of my favorite couples!
this was a romance between gene ionescu “nes”, a trans man, and luis estrada “nada” who are both minor league baseball players, previously rivals, now playing on the same oregon team. if i am one thing, it's a sucker for a sports romance novel and THIS DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

for a debut novel, the writing was excellent and crafted perfectly. there was a balance of character development, depth, plot, and theme. both nes and nada were suffering different mental health issues and while there were external factors in keeping them apart, it was really their inner selves that kept them from going for what they wanted. that TENSION! the YEARNING! it all had me kicking my feet and squealing like a pig! i absolutely adored them both - they were such sweet and incredibly well developed characters that i couldn't help but fall in love with. the tougher subjects and deeper themes of mental health, transphobia, imposter syndrome, anxiety, and fear of failure were explored so beautifully and thoughtfully. many moments that each of the character went through were relatable and handled with such delicate care.

there was such an overwhelming amount of queer love, joy, and happiness in this book that made made my fucking heart melt! it was hilarious, witty, and hottttttt. H O T.

also, as someone who knows literally nothing about baseball, the author explained the game and the players’ parts so thoroughly that i now have a new appreciation for the game (and baseball players are…hot?????). i loved that the sport was a huge part of this story as most sports romances have hardly any sport related action in them.

casey mcquiston blurbing this is the icing on the cake because it was very reminiscent of their writing/storytelling. absolutely loved this! sports romance fans add to your TBR immediately!!!!

I have never read a book like this before and I mean that in the best way possible. It felt like coming home and a big warm hug rolled into one. The characters had so much heart and the found family was so pure. Gene and Luis genuinely felt like real people with real problems who are trying to navigate the world together. I absolutely adored their story.

I did have some minor gripes because I felt like some of the backstory's were not fully fleshed out, but that did not take away from the story at all. I think I just wanted more because I became so invested in the characters.

If you're looking for a book that is full of hope, love, heart, and baseball this is exactly what you need!

Big thank you to NetGalley and Diall Press for an arc of The Prospects in exchange for an honest review!

**No spoilers
Perhaps one of the most famous movie quotes of all time comes from one of the best baseball movies of all time: “There’s no crying in baseball.” There were, however, many tears shed while reading KT Hoffman’s The Prospects. Following our main character Gene as he starts another season on the Beaverton Beavers, Gene is reunited with a man from his past that he surely wants to forget. Enter Luis Estrada, the once promising MLB player whose career was over before it started.

As not to spoil anything, I will say that the chemistry and banter between these two was perfect. But perhaps what steals home plate for me is the way in which the author writes Gene’s love of the baseball, and how it is one’s community, both found and made, that can be the strongest and most important relationship of them all. As somebody who follows baseball during the regular season (Go Phillies!) and grew up in a city where sports stand at the center of culture and community, Hoffman shows just how important sports can be for the people who sit in those uncomfortable stadium seats week after week, hoping their team brings home a W. Gene’s connection and relationship to his town and to his teammates shines just as bright as his growing relationship with Luis, and these were the aspects of the book that are at the core of Hoffman’s novel.

Funny, heartfelt, and overall fast-paced, The Prospects is one of the best books that I have read in a long time, and is a must read for fans of Queer representation in sports fiction. I will certainly be picking up Hoffman’s next work and I will be searching high and low for a book that makes me root for the home team as hard as I was for the entire Beaverton gang, and at the same time have me shouting in my living room as if I was watching the MLB World Series (again, go Phillies!)

This book has a literary, stream-of-consciousness style that to me feels claustrophobic and depressing. I’m sure others will enjoy it, but it’s not for me. DNF.

I loved this so much. I would recommend this to anyone who loves romances or sports.

I had no want to watch baseball before going into this but the book had me pulling up games on tv lmao.

I didn’t even mind that it wasn’t dual pov, it didn’t even register in my brain until just now despite the fact that I usually prefer it in romances. Even without Luis pov, I feel like I know him so deeply.

Everything was a 10/10 and I can’t wait to buy a physical copy.

The only thing I didn’t love is that Baker is forgiven for what she says. I won’t spoil it but I didn’t love her character and was actually mad that she was forgiven

I loved this book so much! It’s exactly the kind of joyous and hopeful romance read I needed. Gene, the trans MC, is so easy to root for and I found myself deeply caring about baseball for the first time ever because you could feel his love for the game. I love a main character with anxiety (relatable!) and Luis was endeared to me from the very start. I also loved the interactions with their families, chosen and biological. It was so beautiful to see them love every piece of each other. READ THIS BOOK!

Thank you for letting me have this arc!!

There’s nothing I love more than a feel good/happy romance.

This is everything I needed right now —the relationship is beautiful but also detailing the growth of the characters. The representation in this book is great(trans rep., anxiety)

Although I was lost at the baseball explanation—I have learned a LOT.

4.5/5 ⭐️ (rounded to 5)

This book warmed my heart!! As someone who has never watched a single baseball game in their life, I actually enjoyed it, yes there were terms I did not understand, but it did not deter from the story at all, honestly by the end I was living for the commentary and just the excitement of the games that occurred, when the stakes were high and everything. Gene and Luis were everything and I immediately found myself rooting for them and the team from the beginning!

The found family aspect of this book was incredibly written. I loved that Gene found within his team a sense of community, where he was able to play baseball and was welcomed with open arms. I loved Altman, Baker, and the rest of the team.

Reading about Gene’s journey as a trans man and his career, being the first trans man in baseball, and dreaming for more rather than settling for small goals, I could only just feel deeply proud of him and where he ended up, his growth, his career moves, and finding love. It was just joyous and optimistic, tender and heartwarming.

As for Luis, the mental health representation, seeing him deal with his anxiety, the ups and downs of it all, was very touching as someone who also has anxiety. I thought his experiences were well written and it was heart warming that Gene would always be there for him in any way he could help.

A wonderful debut by Hoffman.

Thank you Dial Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you PRH Audio and Random House/Dial for the review copies, all thoughts are my own.

Luis and Gene played baseball together in college, but Luis left abruptly after getting drafted following his junior season. They’re reunited when he gets traded to the AAA Beaverton club where Gene plays. This story follows their season as they learn to communicate and play together as infield teammates. Early morning practices turns into late night hangouts, and their chemistry off the field becomes undeniable, which only helps them succeed on the field. This is truly a perfect baseball, queer romance, with excellent mental health representation along the way, and if you get the chance, Shaan Dasani is great with the narration on audio. Definitely add this to your TBRs – it will get you in the baseball spirit!

Wow! What an unexpected treat! I love sports romance and I love MM romance. This was my first book where one of the MC was Trans. I was curious how it would be handled and would I have the emotional connection. The answer is yes I connected with these characters and it was handled perfectly.

I loved Gene and Luis and needed them protected from any pain and suffering. The sex scenes were incredible and beautiful and hot.

This is a great book about baseball, love and figuring out what you want. I can’t wait to see what KT Hoffman writes next.

Thank you for the ARC @netgalley

Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for the eARC.

I had high hopes for this book but ultimately they weren’t met. I was excited by the premise but ultimately didn’t find the romance to be very believable. Disappointed, but not necessarily surprised.