What an absolutely incredible debut. I've read a lot of sports romances but there was something different about this one. It was both refreshing and familiar at the same time. Once I started it, I could not put it down. I kept telling myself just one more chapter, which never happened. I finished this book in one sitting, which I think anyone who starts it will have a similar experience.
I loved Gene and Luis' chemistry and watching them go from rivals to lovers. I loved following their story. They, and all the other characters in the Prospect felt realistic. Writing them like that is really what drew me into this book. You can also tell how much KT Hoffman loves baseball and really wanted to write not only a sports romance, but also a book about being a team and achieving your goals.
I can't wait until this book's publication day so my friends can have the oppurtunity to read it!

This was such a fun romp into baseball romance!

The story is told entirely through Gene’s perspective, which isn’t something I see all too often in the world of sports romances but I didn’t mind. Gene was an interesting character and his thoughts did keep me invested. I would have loved to get a glimpse into Luis and his inner dialogue but the way in which Gene experiences him is still nice and leaves his character feeling complete even if not as complex as Gene

Gene and Luis as a duo were cute - I don’t really have much more to say about them. Sometimes you read a romance and the two leads just capture your heart with how real or how sad or how inevitable their romance is and, well, I just didn’t feel that with these two. - part of that could be the wall between us as the reader and Luis as we lacked his own perspective, but I have seen single POV done wonderfully where we can still get insight into the other lead - but I think it might just be the writing style. It was a little flat, which is fine for what this book is, but I’d have loved to see a little more depth.

Being KT Hoffman’s debut novel I am definitely interested in following this author and seeing what they put out in the future.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC! I am leaving this review voluntarily!

Thank you to the publisher, Dial Press, and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

I liked this and thought it was a fun book, but it didn't scream out at me and I don't imagine it being super memorable. Admittedly I know very very little about baseball, but everything was explained and easy to understand. The romance was sweet and I enjoyed the ensemble cast.

I think the level of representation was really great, however it's not my place to comment on how well the represented groups were portrayed. I enjoyed the insight into the different identities through and definitely think the diversity added to the book.

My one main issue was that I feel like for the first part of the book they were very heavy on the rivals/dislike Gene had for Luis. as the book went on I feel like that was kind of just dropped instead of resolved which feels like an oversight. Maybe I'm just not remembering it, but either it didn't happen or it didn't stand out.

This book! The prose is absolutely ginger ale bubbles, so sweet and delicious and it would be absolutely impossible not to be absolutely in love with Gene from page 1. The tension, the chemistry, the baseball, the triumph, the sweetest characters, all the charm. Not to be cliché but truly, this book was a home run - the nuanced look at gender, the sweet and steamy love story, the perfect HEA.

Usually when I finish a book, I immediately post my little blurb reaction. It's never meant to be a full review, just my gut response. I try to put a little more effort towards coherence when it's an ARC, but otherwise I still just make my little graphic and dump my thoughts in the caption. But for THE PROSPECTS, I literally wrote it in my notes app so I could try to capture everything I want to say about it.

First of all, it is such a beautiful story of optimism, of hoping AND wanting. And joy! Queer joy and trans joy, the joy of baseball and of found family. (I know I literally just said the other day that I'm a casual baseball fan, but what I didn't say is that baseball is also the only sport I even really like, and this is such a love letter to the game.)

And the writing!! The writing is so sharp and funny and beautiful, you'd think the phrases were turned on a lathe. I don't annotate books much, maybe I'll highlight a particularly well-wrought sentence or funny line here or there. I went back and counted, and this one had 30. THIRTY. This is some of the best writing I have read in a while.

Oh, and the end matter! It's so cute!! But I'm not going to tell you what's there so you can experience it fresh. I was already charmed by the book, and then [this stuff] comes along? I never had a chance.

In conclusion, you know that meme that says something like "there are two options when I finish a book, forget everything about it or make it my entire personality for weeks"? Yeah, this is now a THE PROSPECTS stan account. Generally I never tag authors in reviews because reviews are not for them and I never want to accidentally hurt someone's feelings, but I am breaking my own rule so I can tell @squashgoblin how ardently I love and admire this book.

This was one of my most-anticipated titles for 2024; I had been looking forward to it ever since I saw the book deal announcement. Which is why I'm kinda sad that I felt pretty mediocre about it?

First, the positives. There is a trans man main character!!!!!!! I cannot overstate how amazing this is. I really love romance as a genre, but I am starved for trans characters -- this is the first traditionally published romance that I've seen (let alone read) that features a trans man main character. And I loved that aspect as I read -- sure all the professional things that happen to the MC aren't super likely, but having queer trans hope is one of the only ways we get through life sometimes.

Unfortunately, there were also some things that didn't work for me. First, I didn't connect with most of the characters all that much. Gene was great (as you'd hope for a POV character), but I was hoping for a little more from the LI & side characters. I also just didn't feel that much chemistry between the MC & the LI -- they're supposed to have history, but without that being developed more, how am I supposed to get behind an enemies-to-lovers sort of plot?

Also, something that bugged me to no end: there is a HUGE difference between a therapy dog, an emotional support dog, and a service dog. Therapy dogs are there to chill out while you pet them; they don't provide any services. (Luis says he has a therapy dog.) Emotional support dogs are pets that help with mental health, in terms of giving comfort & companionship & a reason to take care of yourself and them; they are not allowed in workplaces. (Luis says taking care of his dog helps manage his anxiety.) Service dogs carry out tasks in order to make their handler's disabilities easier to manage; they are allowed in public spaces and are legally considered a medical device according to the ADA. (Luis has his dog at work, travels with it, etc.) So what's the deal here???? Not only did this frustrate me & take me out of the story every. single. time., but the way this is portrayed will have a real impact on confusing how readers view service dogs. Disabled people already deal with discrimination with their service dogs, this book shouldn't add to it.

Something that frustrated me even more was that the book needed better editing. This is NOT the author's fault, and I barely even blame the worker editing it. Publishing staff are underpaid & overworked, and the books over the past few years have REALLY been suffering for it. I think the combo of this being a debut and it not being edited enough made a huge difference to my level of enjoyment, and whether or not I'll recommend or purchase it. Authors shouldn't be failed by their publishers like this, it sucks.

This book could've been really good, but between my own personal issues and the publisher not following through, it became a book I didn't particularly enjoy. I very much want to read more from this author, because I think they have promise and cool ideas!!! But I didn't love this book nearly as much as I was hoping for.

I heard Ted Lasso and I requested!!! I will say, I don't think the summary entirely accurately gets the vibe of the relationship between these two, but I did enjoy the book. The Ted Lasso bit was mostly that they're in sports and everyone on the team is like family, so I did want a bit more of the action, but we still got lots of good baseball. Gene and Luis were great characters, and they were so fun to read about. Sports romance ftw forever!!!!

This book is everything a sports romance should be: tender, sexy, full of trans joy and the unrelenting hope of baseball. I absolutely adored The Prospects, drinking it down with breathless delight over two sittings, then wishing I had more time with these characters.

It seemed like a book I would like but honestly DNF for me. I could not get passed the third person reading.

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.