Do I know anything about baseball - no. But does that matter - also no!! The Prospects follows Gene and Luis as they go from rivals to lovers…which is absolutely my favorite genre in romance! Perfect read for anyone looking for gay trans representation in a romance book! I’m a lesbian, but enjoyed this book thoroughly. Even down to the somewhat clumsiness of their first encounter!

I knew this book would be good when I saw Casey McQuiston and Allison Cochrun recommended it, but DAMN! This was such an amazing romance! I’m not a baseball fan so honestly all the baseball talk kind of went over my head BUT I was too enamored with the rest of this story to care. It was fun, sexy, full of optimism and a lovely romance. This book hadn’t even come out yet but I can’t wait to read whatever K.T. Hoffman writes next!!
Thank you to Random House for the E-Arc!

I've been on a baseball romance kick recently so I was excited to request this, but I just couldn't get into it the way I had hoped. I do think the representation was great, though, so despite the fact that it was a DNF for me a lot of other readers looking for trans and queer sports romance will probably find a lot to like here (and even though it trends explicit and deals with some very adult issues, I think it will appeal to NA and adult readers who enjoyed YA titles like THE PASSING PLAYBOOK, OBIE IS MAN ENOUGH, etc.).

THIS. BOOK. WAS. SO. GOOD.

I loved everything about this. The sports (done really well I learned about baseball), the friendships (I loved seeing Gene's relationship with the other players), the queer rep (it was so fucking good), the romance (I was S C R E A M I NG!!! the tension!!! the understand!!! I LOVE THEM!!!)

Thank You to Netgalley, the publisher & author for the E-Arc in return for an honest review

This was such a beautiful story 😍 I loved everything about it! I enjoyed watching Gene and Luis' relationship grow and sincerely appreciated the trams representation in this story. Such a fun read ❤️

Thank you to Random House Publishing, KT Hoffman and Netgalley for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a delight! I loved the fact that it trans rep, which is rare in traditional published romance. Gene was a complex, interesting character and I loved the chemistry between him and Luis. The build-up of their relationship felt organic and natural. Highly recommend!

LOVES! Sports romance babes! It's time to take notes!

The Prospects is an incredibly cute, incredibly sweet and angst-filled yet hopeful story! In it, we follow Gene, a trans baseball player for the minor league Beaverton Beavers. He's made it in professional baseball, plays the sport he loves most in the world, and lives with his best friend, an ex major-leaguer Vince who is finishing his illustrious career with the Beavers. But then Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life. Their rivalry first throws a wrench in the team dynamics, but through prolonged exposure, the two are forced to work together. And soon training sessions are full of longing glances and maybe, just maybe, there might be something worth everything between Gene and Luis.

I am finding it hard to explain how special this story is! From an openly queer and trans trailblazer main character to his shy and anxiety-filled love interest (the mental health rep in this book is FANTASTIC! I am always here for all the sports romances that deal with mental health as well, we need more of them!) and side characters that will make you fall in love with this story even more. The Prospects had it all! Add to that a deliciously torturous slow burn, a lot of longing glances and insecurities, and a lot of baseball goodness and you have a sports romance for the ages!

All in all, The Prospects is a wonderfully soft love story that walks the line between down to earth and beautifully hopeful, and my heart still cannot! Gene is a fantastic MC and I truly can't wait to see what KT Hoffman writes next! 10/10 wanna be his friend!

This is absolutely one of the best books I’ve ever read. It was heartwarming to see a trans main character just be, and not have their transness be the main point of the book. This is exactly the kind of book I’ve been looking for. I’m so so glad that I picked this book up.

Thank You to Netgalley, the publisher & author for the E-Arc.
This is a story at its core about hope. The characters I adored, they felt so real and fleshed out. Gene is a beautifully written character, I loved watching him grow through his own limits and reach for bigger things. I found myself wanting and hoping for everything he could become. I believed in him. More than that I believe in this message. so to every transgender, individual reading this reach for the stars, hope , want and yearn because you can.

The Prospects has so much queer and trans joy, you cannot help but smile while you're reading--even with all the sports talk! As someone who doesn't enjoy baseball, I was still able to follow this story and know what was happening. I did get lost in the terminology a few times, but I think that was out of my own annoyance.

The way Gene has paved his path, shows up as his authentic self, and brings optimisn and joy to his teammates is so endearing. This romance is a second chance, rivals to friends to lovers plot. It's hot! The author, who is also trans, does start the book by stating that not all trans folks or men will talk about their body how Gene does. And I think that's one of the beautiful things about reading books with trans characters written by trans authors: if you've read one perspective and experience, well, you've read one. Trans folks remind us that we are *all* experiencing and expressing gender in our own ways. What a gift!

Luis, the love interest, has panic attacks, and I felt this was portrayed in a realistic way. The care he receives from Gene (and his dog Dodger) also models a healthy support.

There's a throughline in this book that I definitely can relate to that talks about hope vs. wanting. It can feel easier to hope than to want something you're not sure your can have, whether that's love or your dream career.

I really appreciated all the author shared in this story, and I'm excited to read more from him.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced digital copy.

The Prospects is a wonderful story of beating the odds, embracing what you want, and living a life that is true to you. Gene is a fantastic narrator. His optimism, his kindness, and his spirit were wonderful to behold and kept me on his side throughout the book. His fears of wanting too much and being limited by the bigotry of others touched on all too real topics, but even with some of the heavier tones in the book where transphobia, homophobia, and panic attacks were discussed, I would never say that this was anything other than a happy book. Books about trans adults are still few and far between, so it's exciting to have another one to support and bring to wider audiences!

Gene Ionescu is the first openly trans player in professional baseball, and, as a self-proclaimed optimist, he's mostly happy with his career. His minor league team, the Beaverton Beavers, are like family to him, and because he doesn't dare dream big enough for the major leagues, he's comfortable where he is- until Luis Estrada is traded to the team.

Gene and Luis have a history. Former friends and college teammates turned rivals, the relationship is complicated by how much Gene finds himself drawn to Luis, who may not be as bad as he thought he was. Their chemistry on and off the field is undeniable, and complicated further by the fact that they are teammates, Gene is reluctant to lean into the type of desire Luis ignites in him. The two will have to confront their relationship and their own ideas of who they are and what they deserve in order to go for what they really want, in life and in love.

I adored this book. There are far too few adult fiction novels with trans main characters, particularly ones that are written by trans authors, so bless KT Hoffman for writing the hopeful (and spicy) queer sports romance of my dreams. I adored Gene, who is so passionate and kind and unapologetically himself. Despite knowing nothing about sports in the slightest (but loving a queer sports romance every now and then), I related to and loved so much of this. Gene's ADHD representation and Luis's panic attacks and mental health struggles were dealt with so well, and I loved how Hoffman wrote about such heavy subject matter with such hope and optimism.

This book was a breath of fresh air, a hopeful reprieve from the currently seemingly constant negativity about trans people in the news. If you need a little bit of trans joy, pick this one up. It won't disappoint.

This book was phenomenal. I adored the trans rep and it’s just an important topic right now. The romance was perfect. The baseball was fun, even not being a hardcore fan of the sport. I got butterflies reading this and finished in one day. I loved their banter and all the diversity. This was a joy to read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the arc!
Pub date: 4/9/24

I absolutely adored this book! It is so full of heart - queer joy, trans joy, baseball joy, found family joy!
This story is an ode not just to baseball but especially to minor league baseball, to the right to dream and yearn.
This was a delight to read through and through. I couldn’t put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Gene and Luis used to play baseball together in college, but things didn't necessarily end well. Luis got drafted to play in the major leagues and promptly left with no word. Luis got bumped down to the minor leagues due to an injury and has landed himself on the same team as Gene. The two keep butting heads on and off the field, and it's affecting their game. They come to a tentative truce, but eventually become friends again. Both Gene and Luis have to learn how to want things for themselves - be it a relationship or dreams of being on a major league team.

There were a couple of points that dragged a bit, and I found myself skimming those, but this novel was truly fun to read. Things I loved:
-Sports romance
-Rivals to lovers
-Gene and Nada were adorable together
-All of the characters felt fully realized, even side characters
-The queer representation, and the fact that while it is part of the story, it's not the driving force

I would highly recommend this book and my library will be purchasing a copy.

Sports and Romance? Always count me in! I absolutely loved reading this and it had me smiling from ear to ear. I really hope people read this book because it was so amazing!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
- Baseball Romance
- Trans Rep
- Rivals to Friends to Lovers
- Hint of Second Chance

KT Hoffman got me good with this one. To be completely transparent, The Prospects was my first read with a trans MC and as a straight cis woman, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to relate to the story but because of Hoffman’s writing, I felt connected to these characters from the start of the book.

The Prospects is fully immersed in the baseball world and as a fan of the sport, I loved it. If you don’t know much about baseball, don’t worry about it! That won’t take away anything from the story.

Gene and Luis compliment each other perfectly with Gene’s sweet optimism and Luis’s quiet cinnamon roll personality. Butterflies still pop up in my stomach when I think about them.

I would love to see people pick this one up on pub day and start it in tandem with the actual MLB season! That would make this already great read just that more fun!

This was everything I needed it to be. These characters just BLEW ME AWAY. It was real, honest, messy, earnest, and so full of the wonder of being seen and loved for exactly who you are. As a non-binary trans person, reading trans characters that resonate is rare, but this was so affirming—Gene was so affirming. And the book’s banter and flirting and heat???? So effortlessly sexy. This book was so hopeful in a time for trans folks that is anything but. Gene’s positivity and belief in himself and the life he wants and knows he deserves is galvanizing. Read this. It’s pure serotonin.

When I saw “The Prospects”, I knew right away that I needed to read it! I was in love with the cover, and when I heard it was a queer sports romance I was absolutely smitten right away. The plot revolves around Gene, a loud and proud trans man, working his ass off on a minor league baseball team to make it big; when he finds out that an old teammate from college, Luis Estrada, is being traded to his new team, his world kind of tips upside down, and their journey from rivals to friends to lovers is one heck of a rollercoaster of emotions.

The banter between the characters is my fave, and I really liked that the side characters were just as loveable and relatable as the main characters. There is so much diversity in the characters and I was absolutely delighted by it! With that being said, there were moments when the author's take on mental illness felt a bit too in-your-face. I don't always like when a character kind of flat out says “I'm doing this because of my *insert mental illness here*.” I like a more subtle approach… But it didn't make enough of a difference that I didn't want to keep reading.

The love story between Luis and Gene…it's phenomenal. They were silly and sexy and I just wanted to give them both so many squeezes. I loved how supportive they were of each other and how organic their ups and downs felt. I also really enjoyed how the author explored what it means to chase your passions and dreams and what that looks like when those dreams and priorities sometimes change

Overall, "The Prospects" is a beautiful romance. Luis and Gene's story is well worth the read, and despite the few personal quirks I noted, it's a book I will be purchasing once it releases…AND recommending to all of my friends!

The Prospects by KT Hoffman was a pure joy to read!! The characters felt so real and fully fleshed out, as did the world of minor league baseball (a sport I typically find very boring but became very invested in while reading!!). I loved the insight into Gene’s head and learning about his history coming out as both trans and gay and how that affected his journey with baseball. It’s hard to discuss more details without spoilers, but I also loved Luis’ anxiety representation, and most of all the unabashed queer joy throughout! I loved this author’s writing style, and I particularly loved his ability to “show not tell” an issue I have with many other romance novels that I end up feeling fall short because they’re telling me a lot of things but not showing me why they matter. Not here; Hoffman has this down! Can’t wait for more from this author!