I am, with great disappointment, DNFing this one at 56%. The story is just fine, but it is just so personally and deeply not the book for me that I think if I spent anymore time on it, I would end up being way more critical than it deserves. This is a story that is going to find its people with or without me and they are going to just <i>love</i> it, but unfortunately (for me!) I'm just not one of them.

I do wish this got the edit it deserves; it's repetitive to an almost baffling degree, lots of descriptive sets of threes -- "For all that he loves to see the good, it has always been a conscious choice, a skill honed over many years. One born out of necessity." -- over and over and over again, and the character introductions read like undergrad icebreakers -- name, position, fun fact -- but it's a nice story in spite of that and I'm sure lots of readers will love spending their time with it and is probably well worth a shot for romance readers, and sports romance readers especially.

Thanks for NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

RATING: 4/5 STARS

I really enjoyed this sweet sports romance! I haven't read a lot of books about baseball so that was one of the unique elements of THE PROSPECTS that stood out to me. Gene and Luis were so charming together. The build-up of their relationship was natural and how they supported each other and worked through challenges was nice to read. I liked that this book really delved into Gene's identity and being trans in sports in an authentic and honest way. This book fits in well with other standout LGBT books of the romance genre, like RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE and THE CHARM OFFENSIVE.

This book was absolutely amazing. I couldn't put it down and finished it within two days. Gene is the first transgender man to play professional baseball. I love stories of trans characters achieving their dreams, especially in sports since that is something I gave up when I came out. I grew up on soccer but it is not hard to fall in love with Gene and his drive in this story.

Romance between a cis man and trans man is not often written about in the way Hoffman did. The fact that Gene was comfortable enough with his body was something you do not often see in intimacy. As a trans guy I love the freedom to not be what society wants Gene to be and the acceptance of his team not caring how naked he walks around the locker room.

I love the raw feeling of hope and learning to want more for yourself, while at the same time learning to carve your own path and not the one that is expected of you like Luis did. There are real discussions about topics much as mental health, panic attacks, transphobia, and societal expectations but so much more queer joy, hope, and expression.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House Publishing and KT Hoffman for the early access ARC in exchange for an honest review.