The Prospects is such a great addition to the sports romance genre! Baseball is by far my favorite sport and as someone who lives right by Beaverton, I was so excited when I was approved for an eARC of this book. I loved all of the complex relationships that were explored (both romantic and platonic) and the romance between our two main characters, Gene and Luis, was beautiful. The journey both our main characters go on is well written and delicately handled. It’s hard to believe this is a debut book- I can’t wait to read more from Hoffman in the future!

A love story to baseball (mostly the minor league variety) and human love….in all it’s varieties Gene is a trans, gay man who’s also a terrific baseball player on the verge of breaking into the major leagues. Currently, this scenario is almost fairy tale-like but The Prospects’ aspirational love story is sweet and feels very real. When Gene was a freshman at Stanford, he made the varsity baseball team and met Luis who was a senior. They won the College Baseball World Series…Gene stayed to finish his degree and Luis was recruited to the majors. Gene never told Luis about his feeling and Luis left without saying goodbye. Now, 8 years later, they’re on the same triple A team and it’s awkward to say the least. Luis had a car accident that’s kept him in the minors and Gene was never scouted for the majors and has worked hard to make his way up through the minor league system. Both of these guys have baggage and scars and anxieties but they are so right for each other…they just have to be open to love.

I learned a lot about transphobia and how some things people say can be taken in a different way or inadvertently be offensive.

I'm definitely the odd one out here in not loving this one. The story was alright, there were definitely times when I was in it, but then it would go flat for me again. I'm not quite sure why. The writing was fine, I liked the characters well enough (Gene in particular), but I'm only feeling lukewarm in the end (which usually means it's a me problem and not a book problem). I'm glad there are more enthusiastic reviews though. If the blurb sounds good to you, check it out.


Note: I received a free electronic edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank them, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to do so.

This was absolutely perfect. It was emotional, funny, hopeful, and just so, so good. There was trans rep, adhd rep, anxiety rep, and it was all so well done and well written. The character growth for both of the main characters throughout the book was really great, and I loved watching Gene and Luis' relationship grow into friendship, into a romantic relationship. They worked so well together, and the author did such a great job writing their relationship. I honestly can't articulate how much I enjoyed this book, and I think it will end up in my top ten for 2024! I would completely recommend this debut, and I can't wait to see what KT Hoffman writes next!

I enjoyed this so much! Definitely was very reminiscent of Casey McQuiston & Anita Kelly’s stories & that is a complimenttt! KT Hoffman, everyone is gonna know your name soon! Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC.

A really heartwarming happy fuzzy feeling inducing romance. Gene is a great character, he's just a GOOD GUY. He has his baggage but he TRIES. It's also really fun to read someone just love what they do, and find so much joy in it. Usually characters are so dispassionate or stressed to the max by other life issues, and while Gene does have his stress...he's still enthusiastic about life. I enjoyed him so much. And Luis, ahh I love him. He's so quiet and intensely in his own head. Watching him come out of his shell and just be a solid rock that Gene can trust and rely on is so GOOD. I really love them together so much. This just made me so happy while reading it.

This book is so incredibly special. It was such a beautiful, optimistic, and hopeful love story & I loved every minute of it! Thank you so much to Net Galley for letting me read this one early. (I also don’t like baseball but the author made it sound interesting and fun and special ???? 10/10 writing)

I was excited to read this book about a trans man baseball player. This book was good, but it could have used some editing. The dialogue rambled at times and the story dragged at points. I also think that it was missing that x factor chemistry between the two main characters. I felt disconnected from them and their love story at times.

They had this history, which was revealed to be pretty significant later on, in my opinion, but it wasn't really flushed out. Some flashback scenes could have worked to elaborate on that. It also would have helped build the enemies vibe a bit more.

There were many things I liked about this book. It was a beautiful story of a trans man finding love and success in a field where it feels like the odds are stacked against him. I loved the scenes where Luis and Gene made kickass plays on the field - it was exciting! And the sex scenes in this book were superb!

This was a decent debut book and I hope to read more by this author.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I've been following this book since it was known as The Keystone Combination. I immediately fell in love with Gene and his story of learning it's okay to want things. I had some trouble with all the baseball terminology but it did not take away from the story. The pacing felt right, the side characters were charming, and I felt a spectrum of emotions.

If you like:
- Gay sports anime ⚾️
- A ray of sunshine short king 🏳️‍⚧️
- Anxiety representation
- Open door spice 🌶
- Cheering for the underdogs
- Roasting as your love language 🩷
- Having emotions and feeling them

Read this book

This is an incredible debut novel! This story filled my heart with so much warmth, hope, queer joy, and love.

The Prospects is a heartfelt, feel-good sports romance following, Gene, an optimistic transgender minor league baseball player, who, at the beginning of the novel finds out his former teammate/friend turned rival has been traded to his team. The Prospects is so funny and so full of joy and hope, while also exploring themes of gender, sexuality, anxiety, and how to deal with change. I didn’t think a book could make me care about baseball *this* much, but it had me rooting for Gene, Luis, and this lovable team of underdogs. I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading more by KT Hoffman in the future.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Dial Press Trade Paperback, and NetGalley for access to this arc!

When I first heard about this book in September, I knew instantly I had to read it. This book was so good, I almost can’t believe it is the author’s debut. This is also the second romance novel I’ve read with a trans MC and I loved how different Gene’s experience here was different from the previous trans MC of another novel showing that the trans experience is far from one size fits all. Gene’s eternal optimism mixed with Luis’s anxious nature was a perfect fit together. The care and love they showed for each other and what made them different was truly beautiful.

I also want to say I think this novel comes at a great time with the current discourse about trans athletes (though reality is more focused against trans women athletes). Reding about the additional testing Gene had to endure was eye-opening and I can only imagine how dehumanizing that can begin to feel.

Beyond that, I loved this novel. I love seeing queer love and I’m so excited to see more trans love represented in the romance genre. I especially love reading these stories from authors within the queer community.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

God this book was SO. GOOD. Honestly, the first draft of this review was just incoherent screeching and the 🥺 emoji over and over!!! But as much as this book made me feel SO MANY THINGS and want to scream about it to anyone who would listen, it was also a gorgeous piece of writing. The WRITING, oh my god, was so good. I don’t remember the last time I highlighted this many lines in a book on my kindle.

There was genuine mental health rep, queer rep, and trans rep oozing out of the pages in the best ways. The characters, and all the depth given to them made them so memorable. Luis and Gene were beautifully written, well-crafted characters that are as much a product of their fictional surroundings as they are of KT Hoffman’s brilliant writing.

This book is JOY. That’s truly what it boils down to - pure joy. More than just a sports romance, The Prospects felt like a joyful dream coming true. KT Hoffman is an absolute powerhouse of a romance writer, and I can’t wait to see what he gives us next.

Listen. If there was a book that could get me realize how much I missed baseball, this would be that book.

I loved Gene and his hopeful dumb ass. I loved that he couldn't help but think of the good things, except when things were super incredibly terrible.

I loved that we saw him after his transition and we saw the joy of just Being Trans.

Whether or not his story will happen in real life doesn't matter. We need stories like this to make sure they COULD. We need that hope.

While I enjoyed the representation in this book, I had a hard time getting into the storyline based on the high level of baseball talk and the lack of the explanation of the backstory of Gene and Luis. I know the basics of baseball, but felt that I would have benefitted from some additional explanation sprinkled in because of how much of the story revolved around the sport.
I also needed more about the background of the history of Gene and Luis. There were different elements sprinkled in here and there, but I needed more.

Overall I enjoyed the story, but needed some more.

This was such an adorable romance novel! I loved seeing the story of how Gene and Luis go from begrudging teammates to lovers. There are a lot of great conversations in the book about gender, sexuality, and Gene’s experiences being the first trans man to play professional baseball. While there are moments that show the hardships of being queer or trans in the public eye, the book doesn’t dwell on the transphobia or homophobia that much. It’s an optimistic story about love, striving for higher goals, and opening up to people.

It was really interesting having the book set in the minor leagues of baseball. That’s something I personally haven’t read before, it had the added tension of if the players would be able to move up to the majors. While I do enjoy sports romances, I can be pretty picky about the actual amount of sports content in the book. I think that K.T. Hoffman strikes the perfect balance of including enough game content to let the reader know the stakes for the characters, but it never gets bogged down in pages and pages of play by play action that starts to feel tedious to me.

The book is only told through Gene’s POV. Sometimes that can mean that the love interest doesn’t feel as developed because you aren’t getting their internal thoughts. But I didn’t feel that way here. There are so many amazing conversations between Gene and Luis that let you understand Luis deeply. His stories of having a father who was a famous baseball player before him, his experiences with anxiety and panic attacks, and what he wants for his career added so much to the overall story. Gene and Luis were both well fleshed out and had great chemistry together in the goofy, romantic, serious, and steamy scenes.

While I did absolutely love the story, something about the writing kept me from being able to fly through this like I’m normally able to with romance novels. It just felt a bit too dense at times. But in the grand scheme of things that didn’t hinder my enjoyment much at all. I’m looking forward to whatever K.T. Hoffman writes next. His stories and characters really work for me. Definitely check this out for a fun take on a queer/trans sports romance.

I was nervous at first. This book is set on the backdrop of baseball. However, it’s so much more. This was a wonderful read. I found the two lead characters so compelling and relatable. Their fears and anxieties were so real and authentic. This story is about giving yourself permission to love and accept who you are. It’s about not making apologies for who you are. It’s about going for what you want and not allowing others to hold you down. It’s about doing things for yourself and not giving in to the expectations of others. There is so much here. The author clearly come from a personal place and that makes it hit so well. Highly recommend.

If there were a Mount Rushmore for my favorite contemporary, achillean romance novels, The Prospects would now be up there along with Red, White and Royal Blue and Boyfriend Material. It's that good.

This novel gave me everything I could possible want in a romance. It's wonderfully written, seriously funny, and so very joyful. Here are some highlights and points that I think are worth noting:

- This book is full of great characters. Gene and Luis are both so loveable and will be relatable to so many people in so many different ways. The supporting characters are also fun and interesting and add a lot to the story.

- Representation: this book feels so inclusive and has so much wonderful and casual representation.

-The relationship is a perfectly constructed and well-paced slowburn. There is no "instalove" here. By the time these two get together, you understand why these two want to be with each other and how being with each other improves each of their lives.

-It's friends-to-rivals-to-lovers! Gene and Luis were friends in college then something happened that caused some distance and resentment. Now they are forced together and things develop from there.

-It's Spicy! This is an "open door" romance with a on-page sex scenes.

-Found Family and biological family. Luis and Gene both have great families that feature in some great scenes but there's also found family. The relationships that Gene, especially, has with his teammates is a beautiful part of the story.

-Baseball. I normally don't read sports romance books because I don't watch or really care about any kind of sports. This didn't stop me from loving every minute of this book. The baseball plot is woven into the relationship growth in a way that feels natural and that, I think, should keep both baseball & non-baseball fans easily invested in the story.

-This book is hopeful and optimistic. While there are moments of drama and angst, there is nothing too heavy or sad in this book. This novel is 100% pure queer and trans joy.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I loved this book! This is my first book with baseball in it but its done so great.