This was a great book. Just a sweet, romance book. I read it in one day and I would definitely recommend this book.

There were some great parts to this story and some really poignant writing but ultimately it just felt sooooooo long and the sports content was too much for me to hold my interest.

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

What a delightful and fun story of two baseball players finding their way to each other. Gene and Luis are so wonderful as they navigate their shared history and the baseball season. I don't know what to say about this without spoiling too much of the story, but I loved how Gene is openly trans and is able to live his life as out as he wants and how Luis sees that and loves it is just wonderful. I love minor league baseball and I appreciate the author setting this book there, where the stakes are higher than major league. And really, I just love Gene and Luis. They are too cute and I wanted more of them. I also would have loved a little more of the team, it seemed like the side characters could have had their own romcom and I would have ate it up.

Genuinely fun and wonderful. What a great debut.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free review copy! I love love loved this book. The voice and writing were exceptional, the characters were all complex and heartfelt and I love a good story about baseball. Overall, a grand slam for me!

The Prospects by K.T. Hoffman gave me all the fit-kicking and warm, fuzzy feelings! It is about a minor league baseball team where old crushes resurface in a rivals-to-lovers romance. 

Gene and Luis used to be friends and play baseball in college together, that is, until Luis got scouted for the majors and left without a word to Gene. Now Gene plays for the minor league Beaverton Beavers, where his former teammate and current rival got traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene's life.

When I say this book had me kicking my feet and giggling at how cute these two are together, I am not lying. I loved the positivity of this book and Gene's optimism, even in all of the adversity. I loved the relationships, communication, and fun of these characters and the baseball team throughout the novel. K.T. Hoffman craves every character with care, purpose, and representation for someone to see themselves in. The emotions and feelings of this book will definitely stick with me, and I immediately wanted to reread it after finishing it. 

This "joyful, heartfelt debut rom-com revealing what's possible when we allow ourselves to want something enough to swing for the fences" is a book I will continue to recommend to anyone who will listen.

This book was so well written, so well CRAFTED. It was funny and sexy and filled with such an incredible amount of hope, optimism, queer and trans joy, and queer found family.


The Prospects is third person, single POV, slow-burn, friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, and it has all the rep that's seamlessly woven into the story: trans, queer, gay, anxiety, ADHD, Romanian-American MC, Mexican-American LI, disability, and more.

This book made me sob and also feel like I was bursting with joy at times.

What an absolutely joy! I would give this book ten stars if I could! Fabulous, fabulous characters, A+ baseball, and all the feelings. Everyone should read this book.

Thank you to Dial Press Trade Paperback and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I know next to nothing about baseball so this was a fun look into the inside world while also telling a good story. It had some very sweet moments and told a story that felt true to life. It was not typical and felt very real. It did not fall into stereotypes which is always a relief when reading since you don't want the same thing over and over and over again. 3.5 stars.

Disappointed in myself for putting this one off so long! It was such a unique read for me.

The MC being trans was amazing representation without being too over the top and focused solely on that aspect. The love story and world created made for such a great read. I was sucked in from the very beginning. I loved all the characters and their quirks and found myself not being able to put it down wanting to know what in the world would happen next.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.

I am officially in my sports romance era! The Prospects by KT Hoffman was absolutely adorable and I loved every second of it! Heartfelt and full of emotion, this baseball romance follows the rollercoaster of trying to make it to the big leagues! Packed full of love, tension, friendship and an adorable service pup - this read is a home run!

⚾️ Professional Baseball
♥️ Romance
🐾 Adorable Service Dog
🏟️ Rivals to Lovers
🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Rep
🧢 Teammates
🫶🏼 Found Family
🏳️‍🌈 Queer Joy
🌅 Heartfelt & Hopeful
📖 Debut Novel
🦫 Beaverton, OR

The Prospects is a grand slam of a debut and I’m so excited to see what KT Hoffman comes up with next!

Method Read: 📖
Thank you so much Dial Press for the eARC!

Good god the romances that are being put out this year are unreal. It has been SO FUN. The Prospects is so joyful, and for someone who is largely ambivalent about sports in general- I was shocked at how much I loved reading this book.

Extremely generally speaking, I am so glad this exuberant book about a trans baseball player with multiple gay teammates (keeping it spoiler free here) exists in the world. The author states that this story is unlikely to exist IRL a time soon (sadly true) but hopes that it will be a possibility in the future. Amen to that. But not just in the realm of baseball diversity- one of my favorite things about this book is that there is actually all kinds of rep- and none of it is heavy handed with a ton of commentary. They are people, not plot devices. Hoffman hasn't created a perfect world here (there's definitely some dumbassery) but it's light years ahead of where we are today.

There are some heavy themes tackled (anxiety, feelings of not deserving or being able to want things, acceptance) but the overall vibe of the book is just joy. Green sour patch kids, baseball jerseys, more baseball jerseys in stores, really delightful banter- this is just a book worth a spot on anyone's list.

Super cute book! Coming from someone who knows very little about sports, I found it easy to digest and fast paced.

The minor-league baseball player Gene Ionescu is almost living his best life. He’s a professional ballplayer, even if it’s for a minor-league team. He’s transitioned and is generally accepted as the guy he is, even if a trans man still doesn’t have quite the same locker room experience as a cis man. In this liminal space, he makes a finicky distinction between hope — which he exercises as dutifully as a muscle — and actual wanting, which would inevitably lead to disappointment because hasn’t it always?

Enter Luis Estrada, Gene’s former college teammate.

Luis, the son of a major-league star, was drafted before graduation. Now he steals Gene’s place at shortstop and upsets his balance — at least, until they’re forced to room together on a road trip and discover that making out turns their physical chemistry from something destructive into something electric. But dating a teammate is a terrible idea — especially when you’re certain the teammate is going to be called up and will leave you behind.

Except that isn’t quite how it goes. We’re right there with Gene as he struggles with going from almost enough to more than plenty, as he stops letting life happen to him and learns to actually reach for something. Because what if true happiness is right there, and it’s even sweeter than you dreamed?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book!

I was immediately drawn in by the cover of this book. It’s so gorgeous. I cannot wait to buy a physical copy!

Overall, I absolutely adored reading this! It’s a sports romance with trans representation! What more could you ask for?!

10/10 recommend!

I love baseball and a baseball romance between two of the best players in the minor league team. They both could get called up at any moment but they have a history and they are both different know or at least a little more honest with each other. Loved Gene and his confidence and skills in his game. He's the first trans baseball player and he just wants to play. They have an awesome female coach too. Loved their relationship, the mental health rep (pro sports is in the spotlight and very stressful), and the team!
Tropes:
-Sports romance
-Rivals to teammates to lovers
-Forced proximity
-Trans, Gay MC
- ADHD, anxiety rep
- Chosen family

I’m not really a sports girlie but I do truly love baseball. I think I love baseball for lots of reasons other than the sports part, though.

🦋 I love how every player has their own different strengths – they don’t all need to be the home run hitters, they’re each playing their role in making a big run possible.
🧦 I love the superstitions around the game, the fun rituals of wearing the same socks you wore last time they won.
✨ I love the belief in your team even when they lose game after game – the dogged faith of it.
🌸 Also, let’s be honest, baseball wins major vibes points – I’d probably enjoy watching any sport in the sunshine on a beautiful Spring day.

The Prospects was a darling ode to these sweetest parts of baseball that I think you’ll find endearing whether you’re a big fan or not.

So that’s just the scene. Then we get to the even sweeter part: a queer minor league romance between the first trans player and a cis man. My heart exploded, y’all. 🏳️‍⚧️🥰🩷

The romance is so sweet (spicy, too) as they kindly balance their growing feelings for each other with their individual major league hopes and dreams. ⚾️

☀️I recommend you open this book up while you’re sitting out in the sun on your porch. Imagine you’re in a stadium surrounded by dedicated fans rooting for the underdog with the dogged faith in what’s possible. We need way more of that right now. ☀️

Pre-order it now before it comes out April 9th. Thanks so much, @netgalley and @thedialpress for the opportunity to read this in advance, what a true joy.

The Prospects is a hopeful, fun, and emotional slow-burn romance that I absolutely could not put down. I initially picked up this book because the idea of a queer baseball romance sounded fun and was shocked to realize that it was set in my hometown of Beaverton, Oregon. Sharing this connection with the main characters solidly pushed this book into my all-time favorites list. I cannot recommend this book enough, and am excited to share it with my friends, graduated students, and my queer romance book club here in Beaverton.

Perfect for fans of Alison Cochrun, Casey McQuiston, and A. L. Graziadei.

As a lover of baseball and romance, this was such a fun book to read! I couldn’t help but love Gene’s character and root for both the Beaverton Beavers and the Luis/Gene love story.

The Oregon setting, the stadium descriptions and even the announcers gave you a really immersive reading experience. Although I don’t think you have to love baseball to enjoy this, as the romance and character arcs really shine through, it is such an added bonus to enjoy the game and season alongside the team. The icing on the cake would have been if the Futures game was set in Yankee Stadium instead of Citi Field but that’s just the obnoxious fan talking, not the book reviewer.

Obviously, the representation here is incredible, from sexuality to mental health, you can tell author KT Hoffman put a lot of love and care into this impressive debut. Can’t wait to see what is next for him! Thank you to NetGalley, Random House and Dial Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A lovely bighearted and heartwarming tale of teammates and lovers! I would have preferred friends to enemies to lovers vs enemies to friends to lovers but that is barely a complaint at all. The baseball (baesball?) is great and proper (a huge concern for this very big sports fan) and the yearnsing is even more skillful than Gene and Luis's double plays.

I am so so sad to be DNFing this book at 13%, but I am so bored and do not like the writing style. I don't like the set up for the romance at all, and am finding the narrative to be quite repetitive. I LOVE baseball and am a huge fan so I was excited to read a baseball romance with trans rep. I also tried the audiobook thinking that would engage me more but it did not.

Thank you anyway for the ARC - and I appreciate so much that this is a baseball romance with LGBTQ+ rep. It just was not for me.