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.

Okay. Listen. E.L. Massey’s sweetness. Fan fic vibes. A sports romance including a trans MC. AND Anita Kelly, Casey McQuiston, and Alison Cochrun blurbed it.  What do we want more?
 
If you loved The Breakaway series by E.L. Massey, you definitely should pick up The Prospects. Think of optimism. Positiveness. Sweetness. And so much yearning. Oh, and a service dog.
 
This story is full of baseball, and I don't know anything about it. I played a little softball in high school, and I knew about gloves and bats, but that’s it. So, the games-related parts went a bit over my head. But overall, I loved this story so, so much!
 
I immediately had a soft spot for Luis. Yes, of course, the brooding, quiet one. The odd one out. The not partying one. The one with the service dog who’s so, so sweet for kids. The one battling panic attacks. Slowly opening up to bright and cheerful Gene, who had his own battles to deal with. The stealthily glances. The unexpected touches. The wonderful conversations. They all brought a smile to my face, and constant feathers whirled through my stomach. Anita Kelly, Casey McQuiston, and Alison Cochrun were right. In their words: ‘The Prospects is a heart-stealing romance, doggedly hopeful and endlessly charming, and Gene is the short king of my dreams and Luis the secret cinnamon roll I want to wrap in a warm hug. I couldn’t have said it better!’ Just pick up this one, everyone!

Thank you to Dial Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

I have been eagerly anticipating this book from the moment I learned of the premise. It's a sports romance featuring minor league baseball set right here in the Portland area. (I love watching our actual nearby minor league team, the Hillsboro Hops.) And it features the most amazing trans joy with our protagonist, Gene.

Gene is the first openly trans man in minor league baseball. He is the most optimistic, sunshine character. But he also puts limits on his hopes, knowing that he can't move higher than the minor leagues given the transphobia within sports.

Luis is his college teammate who ghosted after being drafted. Now they are playing on the same minor league team and rapidly become competitors for the best position. This is all my favorite rivals-to-lovers, workplace romance, and such forced proximity.

It feels so amazingly sweet and real. I appreciated the authentic representation of both ADHD and panic attacks. I also enjoyed the chapter headings that shared how the baseball season was going and the commentary on the games from local news anchors.

But most of all, I loved the fantastic romance. The open-door steamy scenes were so moving and emotional. This felt like such a joyous space. It had the emotion and depth I would hope for from a strong romance, while also leaning in toward the positive. This is a book we need in this world.

This book was even better than I expected, such a great debut novel. I absolutely loved the message about finding your own path, your own euphoria. Learning to let people go and learning to let people leave because that is part of life. I also I hope in the future more stories like Gene’s can be told and be reality in sports.

As a baseball fan myself I loved every aspect of this book. I loved the baseball details, it was very informative. I loved the found family, their banter and dynamics. But, I think besides Gene and Luis, my absolute favourite part of this book was how diverse it was, and how much representation there was. I’ve never read a book that had representation of someone with down syndrome so I was surprised to see it, but I also appreciated it. I loved the queer representation in this novel, how coming out in your own terms is valid. I also loved Jack and the representation of people who use hearing aids and sign language. All sound I felt very seen through these types of representation.

Also words cannot describe how much I loved Gene and Luis. Their journey was an absolute delight to read. Their chemistry and their growth individually and as a couple was showcased beautifully through out the story. I am not much of a smut person, I don’t mind it, but the sex scenes were written so beautifully? Like you could really tell Gene and Luis loved each other.

I think the only thing I had a problem with was it was just a very wordy book. I felt like I was reading a 500 page book instead of a 300 paged book. I usually don’t mind very descriptive things, but sometimes it would get a bit much and drag on and certain things got very lengthy. I think maybe cause the font on my copy of my ebook was just so small. Overall I absolutely enjoyed this novel and will definitely come back to it again.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Dial Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this because Anita Kelly recommended it, and I love their books. And this was so great! The writing reminded me of Casey McQuiston's books, and the romance was so so good. I love queer sports romance and it was great to see something other than hockey! And it was especially great to have a trans MC in a sports romance.

This wasn't a full 5 stars for me, but I feel like it might be on a reread - it just took me a while to read this because of my own headspace and I didn't feel as invested as I could have. But I feel like if I reread this at a later time, I will end up enjoying it even more.

Mein Leseerlebnis

In der Liebesgeschichte werden Mitspieler zunächst Freunde und dann später ein Paar. Ein bisschen zweite Chance – nicht im klassischen Sinne – ist auch dabei. So etwas findet man in m/m romances ja durchaus häufiger vor. Doch da enden die Gemeinsamkeiten zu vielen anderen Liebesromanen aus dem Genre auch schon.

Der Schreibstil der Autorin ist wunderbar ruhig und zugleich intensiv. Genes Stimme ist eine ganz besondere und das liegt nicht nur daran, dass er ein Transmann ist und das auch offen lebt. Ich konnte mich auf den etwas eigenen Schreibstil sofort ganz wunderbar einlassen und habe ihn teils wie eine warme Umarmung empfunden.

Die Geschichten der beiden Helden und auch ihre gemeinsame Liebesgeschichte konnten mich in ihren Bann ziehen und auch berühren. Zudem fand ich es angenehm und spannend, dass der Baseball Sport eine gewichtige Rolle im Buch einnimmt und auf ihn auch regelmäßig eingegangen wird. Ich schätze so etwas in sports romances.

Das letze Drittel erschien mir leider etwas unnötig in die Länge gezogen und ich fand es zudem schade, dass man Luis Sicht auf die Ereignisse teils nur erahnen konnte. Vor allem in den letzten Kapiteln hätte ich Szenen aus seiner Perspektive als Ergänzung und Abrundung der Liebesgeschichte wertvoll gefunden. So blieb Luis in meinen Augen im Vergleich zu Gene als Charakter etwas blass.

Trotzdem kann ich euch die schöne und besondere Liebesgeschichte ans Herz legen, sie ist mir auf jeden Fall eine Buchempfehlung wert.

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Für wen?

Wer auf der Suche nach einer ruhig erzählten, besonderen queer Baseball romance ist, dem kann ich das Buch empfehlen. Die Stimme des Helden und auch der Inhalt unterscheiden sich teils wohltuend von dem, was in sports romances so üblich ist.

4 stars!

This book was told only from gene's perspective, which I quite enjoyed since I feel like most books I pick up always have multiple perspectives.

It was a super cute book, I definitely felt giddy over the romance between Gene and Luis.

I've never read a book about baseball or with a trans romance before, I did enjoy both!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!

If you love achingly tender romance books and baseball, you *need* to read this book. What a fantastic story, filled with so much queer, trans, and baseball joy. It is so heartfelt, raw, and vulnerable. Hopeful, optimistic. It's about letting yourself not only hope and dream, but WANT. My heart is bursting. I absolutely loved it.

Gene Ionescu is the first openly trans player in professional baseball. He almost has everything he's let himself dream of. He has a team that he loves, and a career he's proud of. Until one day, Luis Estrada, his former teammate and current rival, gets traded to his team, destroying the careful balance Gene has created for himself.

To me, Hoffman hit a no-doubter with this book.

Thank you so much, Random House Publishing, for this ARC!

10/10 I don't know where to start.

First off, this is the first trans romance I've ever read.

I didn't think I will find another book that would give me the vibes, the feelings and the achingly beautiful writing RWARB did and yet here we are because The Prospects by KT Hoffman did just that. AND MORE,

The romance between Gene and Louis is fire but also achingly tender and sweet. It gave me all the feels.

The representation in this book is phenomenal.

Gene, Louis and all the characters will forever be in my heart, and I know that whenever I have an bad day I can pick them right back up and they can give me some hopeless optimism and joy.

This book is soul crushingly optimistic, joyful, a classic contemporary romance in the making! A love letter to baseball and rooting for the underdog against all odds while breathing possibility and hope for the future of trans and LGBTQ + professional athletes everywhere. `WE NEED MORE HAPPY STORIES LIKE THIS ONE!!!

I cried. I cried happy tears and sad tears, because it's hard for your heart not to break when Gene's thoughts of doubt overwhelm you. Doubt because of the world we live in. Doubt that shouldn't be there, because he is amazing and wonderful and so much more.

I can't wait for this book to be out so I can force everyone I know to BUY A PHYSICAL COPY. I can't wait to buy one myself so I can annotate it and hi-light so many amazing quotes. I JUST CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS BOOK TO BE OUT IN THE WORLD BECAUSE I AM CERTAIN THAT THE WOLRD WOULD LOVE IT.

And I can't wait for the next KT Hoffman book.

Thank you to Random House and #NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. #THEPROSPECTS is out 4/9/24.

4.5 Stars!

I absolutely loved this and devoured it! I cannot wait until I can buy a couple copies to share with friends and just convince so many people to read this. An amazing story full of queer joy and a love for baseball, and really being comfortable with yourself! (Including lots of queer rep + mental health rep!!! specifically anxiety)

Gene is playing minor league baseball for the Beaverton Beavers, the same team he grew up around when his dad played. In a way this stadium feels like his home - he knows everyone here, has so many memories here, feels comfortable here. He's hopeful, but he doesn't allow himself to want anything. Not even the big leagues.

Gene played with Luis in college and then Luis was drafted and Gene didn't hear from him again. They were friends, not too close but close enough, and 7 years have passed without an answer as to why he left and went silent. But now he's coming to Beaverton to join the Beavers and Gene has to figure out how to work with him when Luis takes over his position on the field.

A book about allowing yourself to hope and maybe even want, it follows Gene as the only openly trans & gay professional baseball player. He didn't want to be the first, but he was, and he knows that'll follow him. He knows some people won't like it, but he has his team and he has the one thing he's always loved - baseball.

This story just absolutely absorbed me and I didn't want to put it down. Getting to experience the highs and lows with Gene and the team really just had me hanging in. Plus who doesn't love a friends to rivals to friends(?) to lovers arc?

Definitely recommending this to everyone I possibly can! I've been loving sports romances and haven't found many with trans characters, so this book was such a delight! I also loved how yeah, it was a romance, and yeah there was plot outside of that, but we also actually got to see some baseball. It was an important part of the story, not just a background for the rest of the plot.

Beautiful writing and a great debut - I'll definitely be on the lookout for more! I don't think this book will leave my mind for a while!

I usually don't read sports romances because I don't care about sports at all, but I picked this one up because I enjoyed the baseball aspects in "A League of their Own" (2022) and because I really want to read more romances with trans main characters. And "The Prospects" didn't disappoint! It was such a sweet, emotional and super queer romance, and I loved the ADHD and anxiety representation. Definitely read this book if you loved ALOTO!

3.5 stars! KT Hoffman has created an adorable queer rom-com that revolves around baseball players Gene and Luis. Gene is an openly trans player and Luis is his former teammate and rival, but things begin to change as the two share quality time together off the field. It was so nice to see a trans man aim for the major leagues and knock it out of the park in the process. Hoffman makes sports cute.