I often have a difficult time to translate the incoherent screeching of my brain into reasonable sentences to formulate book reviews, and this one is especially challenging. I absolutely loved so much of this book, and it gave me many moments of reading on the couch, feet kicking, and giggling wildly. It was beautiful.

KT Hoffman has put together not only a charming and overall sweet love story, but a story of the endless optimism of baseball that pairs so beautifully with a story of trans joy. There are moments throughout the book that are so unadulteratedly full of pure joy, and I don’t know if there’s ever been a book that has made me cry tears of joy quite like this before. Don’t get me wrong, there are hard moments in there, and these characters are facing immense amounts of adversity, but the goods far outweigh the bad, and seeing Gene and Luis come together to tackle it as a team brought so much delight to my icy little heart.

Baseball has always been the only professional sport I even attempt to follow, and I loved how the sport elements were a main feature of the book. Gene’s love for the sport is clear on the page, and I so loved reading how he related baseball to other elements of life. The building of the connection with Gene and Luis through the sport, and the way that they play together and how it shifts was so earnest and I enjoyed it so much. Both on and off the field, these two working in tandem was a treat, and it was the kind of story that had arm grazes and eye contact having me screaming about how much I love them way more than the spicy bits (don’t get me wrong, those were great too).

At the end of the day, I have nothing bad to say about this book and I loved it so much. Absolutely 5⭐️ (I would give it 100).

Of course it's adorable. So the baseball parts got little long for me, but I would read them again happily for Gene and Luis.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)
-m/m contemporary romance
-sports romance
-trans and anxiety rep
-friends to rivals to lovers
-forced proximity

Alicia Thompson has been raving about this one and this book just delivered. A soft hug of a book, about following your dreams, a found family baseball team, and also the safety of the familiar. Gene never wanted to be the first trans baseball player, but his character had such a positivity, and just authenticity of being himself that couldn't help but pull you in and leave you with a massive smile on your face. He loves baseball, he loves his team, his family.

Enter Luis, is estranged friend from college who finds himself transferrred to the same team. Trying to find his place in baseball, and forced to work with Gene, he was such a match for him. Figuring out his queerness, falling into friendship with Gene and his place in baseball. I loved the touch of Luis' sweet service dog, and how these two slowly but surely fell into a relationship. The steam and just build of the relationship sucked me in with such a deserved HEA. All I want to do is hug these two and live in this book.

This was really cute! I liked the angst and the characters were really well rounded. I also really enjoyed the plot. Will recommend for fans of m/m and/or sports romance.

A charming sports romance. I do not care about baseball, but I do care about Gene and Luis!

This is a sweet, fairly low-anxiety read with lovable characters. As someone who is not interested in baseball, I felt like some of the scenes got really into the weeds re: terminology and game play and my favorite scenes were those when Gene and Luis were interacting (on and off the field) or when the team members were bonding/hanging out. There is an enjoyable former friends-to rivals-to friends-to-lovers evolution to Gene’s and Luis’s relationship and they make a great match. 3.5 stars.

Thank you very much to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

This book made me so happy. I really enjoyed this.

The trans representation in this book was excellent and I loved the addition of other lbgtqia+ characters as well.

The entire baseball world was also fun to read about and how the minor and major leagues worked. As a sports fanatic myself having attended both levels it was easy to imagine the world that was being created.

The slowburn was fantastic and I loved how it spanned Gene and Luis's young adult life up through them being professional athletes to show how far they both came and how they came together despite everything in their way.

I really enjoyed this one.

Thanks to the KT Hoffman, the publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to netgalley and Dial Press for allowing me to read this book. I loved this book. I loved the characters and the setting.

I read this in one day and when I finished it, I hugged my ipad to my chest and made this face: 🥹 I loved Gene's story. It was so full of heart — of love for himself, his teammates, the game of baseball. I have a lot of great memories of watching baseball as a kid, especially from a hot tub on the screened-in porch in the humid Missouri summer with my grandad nearby. I thought of those memories throughout this read, loving how the novel helped me entwine them with my queer adulthood. I could say much more but I'll end simply: You should read this.

US pub date: 4/9/24
Genre: romance (m/m, trans rep, anxiety rep, teammates to lovers)
Quick summary: Gene is the first trans man in baseball, and he's found a true home at the minor league Beaverton Beavers. Unfortunately, his old college teammate and current rival Luis gets transferred to Beaverton, and things start to get a lot more complicated...

I've been a baseball fan since I was a kid, and Hoffman has written such a fun world in this book! I loved the supportive Beaverton clubhouse atmosphere. Gene and Luis had a lovely banter-filled relationship, and it was wonderful seeing them grow closer and open up to each other about their hopes and fears (baseball-related and otherwise). There are a few spicy scenes but overall the vibe is more heartwarming and sweet than steamy. I do think it could have been edited down a bit from 384 pages, but I enjoyed the ride and would definitely read Hoffman's next book!

Thank you to Random House/Dial Press for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

This is a lovely book. At one point after I finished it I found myself excited to get back to it, and then went through the disappointment of remembering it was done. It is, as Hoffman acknowledges, an optimistic book.

Gene Ionescu is a minor league baseball player, the first openly trans (and gay!) player in professional baseball. He has a quietly happy life playing minor league ball under the wing of a veteran, closeted pitcher, and deeply loves his team, his franchise, and, most of all, baseball itself.

Unfortunately, Gene has made his life quite small. He claims he’s “not good at wanting things,” despite being a fierce and determined optimist. He knows an openly trans player will never be moved to the majors, so he’s convinced himself he never really wanted that in the first place.

As the blurb suggests, this equilibrium is disturbed by the transfer of Gene’s old teammate Luis Estrada. Luis is upsetting for Gene in any number of ways: they were once friends but Gene hasn’t heard from Luis in years; they play the same position; Gene perceives the slightly more successful Luis as having an easier time of it; and—definitely important—Gene seems in denial about a long ago and easily resurrected crush.

I found this a very humane book and one that was intensely readable. Gene is an engaging narrator and the book has great forward momentum. I found myself smiling a lot as I read. I was invested in the outcomes.

With regard to the baseball aspect: I have not really thought about baseball since I played Little League, but my indifference wasn’t an obstacle to enjoying this book. I didn’t find those aspects hard to follow, and I feel like Hoffman approached the game scenes the way that (good) romance writers approach sex scenes: they reveal things about the characters and the work happening in the book. Hoffman gave us baseball when it was needed and told us something about Gene and his story, and otherwise some of the baseball happened off-page.

It is important to add that Hoffman handled sex scenes that way too. I liked that Hoffman had Gene and Luis explore various ways that sex could be for them.

Highly recommend!

Received as E-ARC via NetGalley. Thank you for allowing me to review this awesome debut title!

The Prospects is a wonderful and comfy read that wrapped up my 2023 with a good story of growth and found family.

KT Hoffman creates a pseudo realistic setting where more things are possible for someone queer like the main character, Gene. Gene is an extremely likable protagonist that has a distinct voice and personality throughout the book. The main faces in the story all speak like real people, making the setting they are in and their connections all the more engrossing as you read. I found myself repeatedly hitting my reading goal for the day and thinking “but…what happens with them next!?”

The baseball terminology is kept to a healthy level where you can easily pick up the terms with no references and never plays it too seriously while being respectful to the sport.

The really special thing about this title is how Hoffman depicts the queer experience(s) of various characters, specifically Gene. You often find stories like this where fetishization or generalizations occur, but here we are fed a genuine, raw and normal experience of a trans male in an underrepresented scenario. The level of mutual respect amongst characters may strike some as “fan fictiony” or “too optimistic” but trust me, if you read this book you will see how we could use some more optimism like this.

My gripes are honestly only that it was too short. I felt a lot of scene and chapter transitions skipped between time and location very jarringly. Mid chapter we would sometimes skip weeks forward with very little context and I had to back track. The story also definitely has a predominant focus on the main cast, and the remaining tertiary characters get very little to no context. I would have enjoyed some more details and flavor about the surrounding team members or maybe some rival members, ect, just to fill the world out.

All in all, this is definitely a romance/success story first and less about the actual world and characters. Very relaxing read and familiar tone of voice. A great comfort read for people who want to see some real queer joy.

E-ARC provided by Dial Press. How can you not be romantic about Baseball? This is a grand slam debut for K.T. Hoffman. It is impossible not to fall in love with all of the characters, and you can’t help by to root for Gene’s journey to the MLB while he plays with the minor league Beaverton Beavers. Themes: Friends to somewhat-enemies to lovers, found family, baseball, Trans Representation.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!
Very cute and wholesome.
Gene is a gay and transgender baseball player. Luis, a former teammate and rival, gets traded to his team.
Very detailed writing.
Found family.
Former teammates/friends to rivals to lovers.
I love how Gene is so observant. The romance is so cute.
Anxiety rep
Gene is Jewish.
Extras: Luis’s Running Playlist and Gene’s Bagel Recipe
I thought that it was a cute touch.

Amazing book debut. Excited to read more.

All I can say is that this book was absolutely amazing! The characters? Perfect. The romance? Perfect. The story? Perfect. Read this book!!

Ahhhh please the queerness in this book, and the anxiety rep were done so frickin well I could cry. The MC and his ship were both so wholesome and so relatable <33

A lot of the baseball stuff went over my head though, there were a lot of specifics and terms and play-by-plays of the games reported, so if you're a romance fan AND a baseball fan? Look no more, this is your next read !!

TWs - anxiety and panic attacks on page, sports injury faced by a middle aged player that leads to eventual retirement, transphobia and homophobia

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I really enjoyed the characters but I had to DNF the book. The plot just was not for me and it was very lacking to me. Although this was lacking for me I will say that the LGBTQ+ genre will be getting a nice addition. to the genre. I will say I believe I will be going back to this novel because at this time I just do not think it worked for me. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Portland has been identified as a possible candidate for a future expansion baseball team, and so I think it was wonderful that the author ran with that idea and made it happen. I also enjoyed the story of a scrappy minor league team that had not known success in a long time overcoming a very inauspicious start to the season to reach the playoffs for the first time in decades. I appreciated Gene’s respect and love for the game and his minor league team, the Beaverton Beavers.

What makes this book stand out is that it features an openly gay player (Vince) who had success in the majors before injury relegated him to Triple A, and whose sexuality is treated as not really an issue for his teammates, opposing players or fans. More significantly, the story features a player who is both transgender and gay (Gene/Nes). While there have been gay Major League Baseball players, these players have not come “out” until after retirement, with the lone exception being an active player coming out in 2023. There has never been a transgender player in professional baseball in the US, and there is no likelihood of that changing anytime soon. This makes Gene’s character more unique and special, especially as an inspiration (albeit fictional) for transgender athletes/aspiring athletes who would like to play the sport of their choice professionally and be accepted as one of the guys or the girls (depending on the sports league in question).

Not only is the book a baseball story with queer characters (including a female lesbian manager), but it is also a love story, as two former college teammates find themselves on the same minor league team. However, Gene is not thrilled to have Luis on the team at first, especially as Luis takes over Gene’s position as shortstop, shifting Gene back to second base (where he is actually a better player, but which does not have the same cachet as shortstop). Also, there are unresolved issues between them related to their college days. As the team’s early struggles are due in part to the defensive struggles and lack of communication between Gene and Luis, the manager, Baker, forces them to be roommates on road trips and insists that Gene find a way to get along with Luis. As they start spending more time together working out/practicing, Gene learns about Luis’ crippling anxiety, and Luis comes out to Gene (although not to the rest of the team). After opening up and addressing some of their issues, they rediscover the rhythm on the field that made them successful in college, and which makes them more successful as teammates in the minors. Not that their burgeoning relationship is without problems, as they become too co-dependent, which holds both of them back. They have to figure out what they want for their lives and careers individually before they can try to be a successful couple.

"The Prospects" follows Gene, the first openly transgender player in the minor leagues, and his past and present teammate Luis. They are reunited on the Beaverton Beavers, slowly figuring out how to both work together on the field and repair their past friendship. In terms of the tropes, I feel like it's kind of a second chance and an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance all rolled into one? Whatever it is, it’s great. I loved both characters and the respective journeys they took throughout the baseball season covered in the book. The plot genuinely surprised me and was well structured in a way that provided realistic relationship tension. I fully happy cried through the entire end and was so sad to say goodbye to both of our MCs as well as the great side characters.

Giving it 4.5 stars because I absolutely loved this one. Not only is it filled with love and hope, it’s just so uplifting and funny. All the characters had such a bright and likable personality, and they worked off each other so well. I loved our MCs and their dynamics with their entire team, it was such a breath of fresh air after reading some big thrillers.

The romance was top tier. Period, that's it, the entire sentence, no further information needed.

The only thing I didn’t quite get was the baseball references. There was a LOT of baseball knowledge one needed to know, and I don't really know baseball well.. I felt like I didn’t get the full experience because of this. However, everything else was super enjoyable, and I loved this book so much!

As a queer baseball fan, this is highkey the story I didn't know I'd been waiting all my life to read. Very cute with likeable, quirky characters galore. Is it a tad predictable? Sure, but that doesn't take away from my own personal enjoyment.

Also, shoutout to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC!

i unequivocally adored this book. "the prospects" in a romance between two baseball players, gene (trans guy, he/him) and luis (cis guy, he/him). luis is traded to gene's team, but the two haven't spoken since luis got drafted and suddenly left their college baseball team without a word to gene. then things heat up, what can i say!!!!

there's basically a rivals/enemies/least favorite person to friends to lovers arc, which i ate up. there is a lot of baseball, which i didn't mind or even really notice as a thing until i saw other reviewers note it. i grew up watching baseball sometimes and happily will go to a game every once in a while, and when the cubs are in the world series i'll watch. i also have a basic understanding of how the sports world works! if you're like me, i think you'll be fine terminology wise.

i really loved how insightful hoffman is about relationships, love, friendship, sex, transness, queerness, and emotions generally without becoming preachy or using therapy-speak. i understood why people were doing things. i understood that maybe i would've wanted to really lay everything out and delve into issues 100% explicitly, but also that gene's friendships don't work like that and that's okay. they still felt real and healthy and loving.

also, a thank you to hoffman, for writing beautiful queer, trans sex. i so rarely see it in romance novels, especially so lovingly, so honestly. thank you :,) you made me cry a little.

i cannot wait to get my little hands on a physical copy in april and to read every single other book that hoffman publishes.

(as always, thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.)