The Prospects by KT Hoffman was a heartwarming and empowering read! This story follows Gene who is a professional baseball player trying to get called up, and is struggling with the idea of being the first transgender major league baseball player. Someone from his past, Louis, gets traded onto his team and he has to navigate not only his feelings of questioning his sports ability but also his attraction to Louis. I found this book SO entertaining. It had the perfect amount of storyline and romance. The characters developed outside of their relationships just as much as they developed together. The story was sweet, fast paced, and enjoyable all around.

This book….what a gift. I loved it. The story of Gene is of a trans baseball player learning how to allow himself to want. And Nada? His book boyfriend? Oh my goodness he is learning how to be himself. There is so much about growth and self discovery. But the characters are funny and charming. I was rooting for them the whole time. (The support characters were pretty awesome too). It has some steam, and honestly while I have read MM romance, I have not ever read one where one M has a vajay. The author did such a great job, I never once felt like it was anyone other than these exact men with their exact parts. Anyway, yea KT Hoffman! Can’t wait to read your next book!

While the author's prose was excellent, the audience needs a prerequisite understanding of baseball to know what's going on. Fans of sports romances are not often actually fans of sports, make no mistake. If a sports romance is done correctly, it can make the reader care about the sport. I did not go in caring about baseball, I went in caring about queer romance. I still do not care about baseball. I am concerned that there was too much baseball jargon too fast and it will ultimately put the reader off.

The prose, like I said, was masterful, though.

So cute! I love a good queer sports romcom and this one did not disappoint! Not gonna lie, Luis is not the most likeable character when you meet him. The more you get to know him, and learn about his experiences, the more he grows on you. And Gene - well, Gene's the cutest trans man I've ever met. I love the way this novel illustrates both the negativity that comes from those outside of the queer community as well as the love and support that comes from within the queer community.

This was such a fun read! I usually don't read sports romances, but when I hear a romance has queer rep, I am always more likely to read it. This one caught my eye when it was announced and it did not disappoint! I couldn't put it down. This was such a good debut and I can't wait to see what else KT Hoffman comes out with!

KT Hoffman has created two of my new favorite charcters in her marvelous debut novel. Nes and Nada are couple goals. A true romance with the HEA we deserve. Go preorder this book now. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This book was a total home run for me. ⚾️🏟️🎉

In a delicious second-chance set up, Gene Ionescu, the first openly trans professional baseball player, is about to become teammates with former-friend-and-current-rival Luis Estrada. Following a season of Minor League Baseball set in the Pacific Northwest, we see Gene and Luis reconnect and try to bring their team to the championships.

This book was: adorable, angsty, heart warming, hot, funny, tear-inducing, queer as hell.

I loved the (mostly) Minor League setting and the mix of tweets and broadcaster commentary. Loved the relationships between Gene and his mentors, Vince and Baker.

I liked the pacing and Gene and Luis’ development from floundering teammates to successful parters in baseball and life. Around midway I was nervous about how they’d make it work, but by the end I was tearing up and fully buying in to their happy future together.

Highly recommend for any fans of KD Casey or anyone missing baseball season! Can’t wait to see what KT Hoffman writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this arc!

Not only is the cover art gorgeous, but the book itself is brimming with queer joy, meaningful conversations, and a sweet dog! The characters and prose are true strengths of this story.

The pacing lagged just a little bit in some places, and some of the baseball talk went over my head as someone who doesn't follow the sport myself. These things docked the rating for me.

Overall though, this was a lovely romance story that had me both laughing and crying. The characters were so relatable and I love them!

Reviews posted on goodreads and storygraph.

I literally started this yesterday and when I looked up from the book, I was already more than half way through. I could not put this down!

Gene Ionescu is the first openly trans professional baseball player and now shares the same playing field with his rival, Luis Estrada. Even through their ups and downs, Gene and Luis have such a strong bond and their growth together and separately really showed throughout the storyline. This is such a heartwarming and comforting debut, it literally felt like a warm hug that made my little gay heart so happy.

It was also so fun reading a story based in the same city I live in and I think part of them made me love it even more.

Do I know or understand baseball and some of it’s references? Not really, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend if you love the queer found family trope!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the arc for my honest review!

Tropes:
-Trans and gay rep
-Found family
-Rivals-to friends-to lovers (but also some second chance)
-ADHD and anxiety rep
-Some spice
-PNW based!

I really liked this book! It combines baseball, a queer love story, some drama and fun, sexy times, and a lot of much needed representation. I thought it was so cool to read a book with transgender representation, especially when it comes to queer representation in sports romance. For a debut novel, this was really good. I loved the story of falling in love on the same team in the minor leagues and dealing with a different kind of love. There was so much to love about this book and I truly look forward to more from this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the eARC of this awesome book.

Thank you NetGalley, Dial Press, and Random House for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh I am very emotional after finishing this. What a wonderful debut novel and what a wonderful way to show gay trans love.

I myself am transgender and gay (bisexual and bigender to be exact) and while not exactly in the same way as Gene, our similarities shocked me immensely. I felt undeniably seen.

This book came to me at a time where I was already diving deep into the gay sports romance world; and while most I've read have been strike outs (hah.), I can confidently say that "The Prospects" is a solid, bases loaded, home-fucking-run. A real grand slam.

The love and appreciation for baseball was authentic and shined through the text; which was only elevated through Luis and Gene's complicated relationships with the sport. To truly love something you have to learn how to grapple with its flaws. Professional sports being no exception.

I truly fell in love with Gene and Luis. They were real, sexy, and fun in ways many sports romances rarely achieve.

I have so much more to say, but I'm having such a hard time limiting it to a reasonably lengthed review. So to quit while I'm ahead, all I have to say is a hearty thank you to KT Hoffman for creating something so beautiful. I hope to read more from you in the future.

This debut novel was such an absolute joy to read. I loved following Gene and Luis' story and I really appreciated how they were able to clearly interweave real struggles like anxiety while also showcasing trans joy and a beautiful queer relationship. As someone who has also spent a lot of time in Oregon, I also loved all the little nods to the state.

E-ARC given to me by Random House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!

4.5 stars, probably higher upon reread. Joyful as the cheers of a crowd during a championship game and as heartwarming as the works of the Casey McQuiston and Anita Kelly, The Prospects is a gay debut romance that celebrates both trans gay joy and the feeling of finally letting yourself go after what you've always wanted.

I really loved this book. The trans joy in a more hopeful world was fantastic. I also enjoyed the slightly unreliable narrator as it was so clear (at least to me) that Luis was so head-over-heels for Gene and had been since college. Also, as a trans guy, I appreciated the causal emphasis on how not all trans journeys and opinions are the same. I know I received this book as an e-ARC but after reading it, I pre-ordered a hard copy. Any trans book where outing isn't a concern is such a win for me

if I have anything to say about it, this will be THE sports romance of 2024. It is quiet yet brash and full of quirky quips.

I was super excited to get my hands on this one because of all the good things I heard about it through the grapevine. Now I’m not normally into sports romances, since I know close to nothing about any sport, but this changed my mind. As much as I don’t understand the game aspect, there’s a vulnerability there that’s endearing. I was rooting for the team despite not knowing much, rooting for this really adorable group of guys who just had a love for the game.

And holy representation. I’ve truly never read characters like Gene and Luis before. They were relatable yet unique, each having problems that I don’t think are addressed explicitly enough in books. A service animal, anxiety, uncertainty about wanting what is out of your reach? All topics that I thought were a great touch and they’re all the more real for it. The balance between sports and romance was great and blended well together. Plus all the supporting characters felt needed and not just added to be added.

My one tiny gripe was that I wish there was more to end. I wanted to read more about the game and the opportunity that came Gene’s way, so it felt a bit rushed to me. Aside from that, II still know nothing about baseball but I adore a sweet romance when I see one.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh this one is special. This one is so, so special. To get it out of the way: I know next to nothing about baseball. To an almost embarrassing degree. So if you, too, maybe know a whole lot of nothing about sports, PLEASE don’t let it dissuade you from this beautiful book. I loved everything about this and couldn’t put it down. If you liked Check, Please! then you will adore this. It is hopeful, romantic, uplifting, and an automatic candidate for a reread. Gene is so vibrant, lovable, and deeply human. The romance has so much chemistry. The found family is THERE. Also really have a soft spot for how this book tackled mental health. I genuinely can’t say enough good things. This one has a sparkle to it and is going to be so loved. Please do yourself a favor and get this immediately when it comes out!! I’m going to need to snag a paper copy of this one too.

Thank you so much Random House and Netgalley for the ARC!!

This was pure delight. It's being pitched as Casey McQuiston meets baseball which, if you know me, is just the perfect possible pitch. I loved it! The baseball is on point, the romance is on point, the queerness is transcendent. Highly highly recommend.

The Prospects was recommended by KD Casey, and since I'm a big fan of Casey's MM baseball romances, I felt pretty confident that I would like it. But The Prospects surpassed my expectations. Gene Ionescu (which I can now pronounce, thanks to the book!) is playing shortstop for a Triple-A minor league team outside of Portland, the Beaverton Beavers. He's good, and he's the heart of the team, but he's also a trans man who's the first to play professional baseball and he is pretty confident he's never making it to the Show. Luis Estrada is a shortstop who gets traded to the Beavers. Gene and Luis knew each other in college at Stanford (before Gene came out), and things ended badly, and Gene can't stand Luis. But now they're teammates (who both play the same position, and Luis is clearly positioned to make it to the big leagues). And the season starts disasterously. 3-17 disasterously. So of course Gene and Luis start training together before games. And then cue the antagonists to lovers (I'm not sure that they're ever enemies to lovers, despite what Gene thinks) romance.

The plot isn't groundbreaking here, but it doesn't have to be. What Hoffman does so well is the world-building. We are immersed in the minor league world, complete with weirdo secondary characters (the three Kyles). It's a found family where every member has weird superstitions. Hoffman clearly loves baseball and his love comes through on every page, but he also knows that baseball is hard on baseball players, and minor league ball is exceptionally hard.

Gene is probably the most endearing main character I've read in a while. He's wonderfully flawed and spending time with him is a joy. "Gene has built a whole career, a whole life, out of finding the good in what he has." sums up our Gene. And then Luis comes they start winning and Gene starts dreaming bigger dreams.
If you like a sports MM romance that focuses on the details, that isn't about glory or fame but about figuring out your spot in the batting order, with a team that's a little ragtag, then this one is for you. Can't wait to see what Hoffman writes next.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a touching story about Gene, the first openly transgender minor league player, and his teammate Luis who were once close friends. They reunite on the Beaverton Beavers team and rebuild their friendship while also falling in love. The story is funny, passionate, and full of hope.

Gene is a strong character who draws you in. Even though we don't get a POV from Luis, we get to know him through Gene. Their romance is both exciting and sweet. The found family aspect made me so happy, this is friends to rivals/enemies to lovers.

The book does a great job representing queer and trans characters, I cried a few times throughout the story. The characters are memorable and bring hope and joy. The story can make you happy and sad, especially when Gene doubts himself. But Gene's strength shines through, making this a powerful read. I can't wait for it to come out so I can read it again with my friends and experience it again.