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The Prospects
The pressure cooker of minor league baseball leads to major chemistry in this exhilarating, sexy, and triumphant rivals to lovers debut romance.
Hope is familiar territory for Gene Ionescu. He has always loved baseball, a sport made for underdogs and optimists like him. He also loves his team, the minor league Beaverton Beavers, and, for the most part, he loves the career he’s built. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life.
Gene and Luis can’t manage a civil conversation off the field or a competent play on it, but in the close confines of dugout benches and roadie buses, they begrudgingly rediscover a comfortable rhythm. As the two grow closer, the tension between them turns electric, and their chemistry spills past the confines of the stadium. For every tight double play they execute, there’s also a glance at summer-tan shoulders or a secret shared, each one a breathless moment of possibility that ignites in Gene the visceral, terrifying kind of desire he’s never allowed himself. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis makes feel possible.
A joyful, heartfelt debut rom-com revealing what’s possible when we allow ourselves to want something enough to swing for the fences.
Hope is familiar territory for Gene Ionescu. He has always loved baseball, a sport made for underdogs and optimists like him. He also loves his team, the minor league Beaverton Beavers, and, for the most part, he loves the career he’s built. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life.
Gene and Luis can’t manage a civil conversation off the field or a competent play on it, but in the close confines of dugout benches and roadie buses, they begrudgingly rediscover a comfortable rhythm. As the two grow closer, the tension between them turns electric, and their chemistry spills past the confines of the stadium. For every tight double play they execute, there’s also a glance at summer-tan shoulders or a secret shared, each one a breathless moment of possibility that ignites in Gene the visceral, terrifying kind of desire he’s never allowed himself. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis makes feel possible.
A joyful, heartfelt debut rom-com revealing what’s possible when we allow ourselves to want something enough to swing for the fences.
366 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2024
293 people are currently reading
22162 people want to read
About the author
K.T. Hoffman
1 book373 followersKT Hoffman is originally from Beaverton, Oregon and currently lives in Brooklyn. He received his bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing from Stanford University. If he isn’t writing about trans hope and gay kissing, he’s probably white-knuckling his way through the ninth inning of a Seattle Mariners game. The Prospects is his debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,160 reviews
December 2, 2024
this book!!!! i cannot emphasize how much fucking heart it has. it’s so delicious and soft and lovely and washes over you like fine wine. these boys who’re afraid to hope—afraid to reach out in the fear that they’ll be rejected the moment they show vulnerability—took my breath away.
i haven’t taken this many notes down for a single book in so long. it feels good to be back!!! the baseball aspect of this was kind of boring at first, because i don’t understand it, but somehow the author made me get super invested and i could feel the love he has for the game. it’s the little things that shone out for me though—like the scene when everyone in the stands was cheering for gene when their team won, with him wearing the blue-and-white-and-pink cleats. the way luis was the one that gave gene the confidence he needed to pursue his dreams. the way luis blushed at the littlest things gene did. the nicknames. the way gene was so determined to keep his distance by calling luis luis at first, but old habits die hard and he slipped back into the habit of calling him “nada”. the way luis was so shocked whenever that happened; the way he beamed adorably whenever gene did that. the way gene wanted to kiss the inside of luis’ ankles. the way gene was so soft for the way luis made these little sounds while sleeping. we even got a “where’s the trophy / he just comes runnin’ over to me” scene. *clenches fist*
i adored the ending for both gene & luis—the fact that both of them got to hold the wisps of a dream in their hands, fragile as it was, made me tear up a lil, not gonna lie.
special mention to vince, to luis’ family and the way they just accepted his silent coming out just like that, to gene’s family and how loud and bright and real they were. i see you. i love you guys.
[the author about the prospects.]
i wholeheartedly believe that i’m horrible at talking about books i love in a coherent way. i have so much to say but i can’t say anything more for fear of word-vomiting, so if you want to take anything away from this review, this is the cliffnotes version: this book is just so beloved to me and everyone should read it!!
he has never been much good at wanting things, gene. it’s a foreign feeling to him. hope? hope is comfortable, well-worn. his favorite, most familiar feeling. but hope isn’t selfish; hope is so easy to turn in someone else’s direction.
i haven’t taken this many notes down for a single book in so long. it feels good to be back!!! the baseball aspect of this was kind of boring at first, because i don’t understand it, but somehow the author made me get super invested and i could feel the love he has for the game. it’s the little things that shone out for me though—like the scene when everyone in the stands was cheering for gene when their team won, with him wearing the blue-and-white-and-pink cleats. the way luis was the one that gave gene the confidence he needed to pursue his dreams. the way luis blushed at the littlest things gene did. the nicknames. the way gene was so determined to keep his distance by calling luis luis at first, but old habits die hard and he slipped back into the habit of calling him “nada”. the way luis was so shocked whenever that happened; the way he beamed adorably whenever gene did that. the way gene wanted to kiss the inside of luis’ ankles. the way gene was so soft for the way luis made these little sounds while sleeping. we even got a “where’s the trophy / he just comes runnin’ over to me” scene. *clenches fist*
for him, luis was part of that joy, but never all of it. he had his baseball joy, and his luis joy, and that absurd euphoria where they overlapped.
i adored the ending for both gene & luis—the fact that both of them got to hold the wisps of a dream in their hands, fragile as it was, made me tear up a lil, not gonna lie.
special mention to vince, to luis’ family and the way they just accepted his silent coming out just like that, to gene’s family and how loud and bright and real they were. i see you. i love you guys.
they’re about the dreams we have and abandon and find our way back to; they’re about who we are when we walk off the field and have to keep living. and they are, of course, about who wins, who loses, and who gets left behind.
[the author about the prospects.]
i wholeheartedly believe that i’m horrible at talking about books i love in a coherent way. i have so much to say but i can’t say anything more for fear of word-vomiting, so if you want to take anything away from this review, this is the cliffnotes version: this book is just so beloved to me and everyone should read it!!
March 16, 2024
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 Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!
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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 Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!
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March 25, 2025
This took me nearly a month to read, which is indicative of my feelings about it. While this is very cute, and has tons of trans joy, and I enjoyed Gene, I could not wrap my head around Luis and the dog he takes everywhere.
If I were his teammate, had to share a room with him and his dog, I would no longer be his teammate. I won't turn this into /dogfree, but the pro-dog sentiments of every Western nation, specifically the US in this case, made this very difficult for me to enjoy.
I did like how accepting Gene's family and teammates were of his identity. I enjoyed reading a book set in Oregon, a state I have since visited. Baseball isn't necessarily my cup of tea, but that turned me off less than you know what.
However, don't listen to me. I'm only one voice. My sibling loved it.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial Press
If I were his teammate, had to share a room with him and his dog, I would no longer be his teammate. I won't turn this into /dogfree, but the pro-dog sentiments of every Western nation, specifically the US in this case, made this very difficult for me to enjoy.
I did like how accepting Gene's family and teammates were of his identity. I enjoyed reading a book set in Oregon, a state I have since visited. Baseball isn't necessarily my cup of tea, but that turned me off less than you know what.
However, don't listen to me. I'm only one voice. My sibling loved it.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial Press
July 27, 2024
my gay, baseball-loving heart is so full!!!!
November 2, 2024
This is how you write sports romance! A brilliant balance of the game itself, complex team dynamics, a rich romantic relationship between Gene and Luis whose chemistry was off the charts! Moving, witty, sexy, tender, THE PROSPECTS delivered such a heartwarming, affirming, touching story of joy and hope, vulnerability and healing. The banter. The family and found family. The ADHD rep. The beautiful exploration of trans identity and experience, particularly in the arena of professional sports. It was all SO well done; I couldn't have loved this more! Can't wait for what K.T. Hoffman gives us next.
April 9, 2024
I'm not quite sure how to write a coherent review because I loved this book so much. From start to finish, this is an absolute joy to read and is full of genuine hope, optimism, and a true love of baseball. (Basically, this was a perfect book to read during the postseason).
The Prospects follows Gene, the first openly transgender player in the minor leagues, and his past and present teammate Luis. They are reunited on the Beaverton Beavers and slowly figure out how to both work together on the field and repair their past friendship. In terms of the tropes, I feel like it's kind of a second chance and an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance all rolled into one? Whatever it is, it’s great. I loved both characters and the respective journeys they took throughout the baseball season covered in the book. The plot genuinely surprised me and was well structured in a way that provided realistic relationship tension. I fully happy cried through the entire end and was so sad to say goodbye to both MCs as well as the great side characters.
Can't recommend this one enough!! Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The Prospects follows Gene, the first openly transgender player in the minor leagues, and his past and present teammate Luis. They are reunited on the Beaverton Beavers and slowly figure out how to both work together on the field and repair their past friendship. In terms of the tropes, I feel like it's kind of a second chance and an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance all rolled into one? Whatever it is, it’s great. I loved both characters and the respective journeys they took throughout the baseball season covered in the book. The plot genuinely surprised me and was well structured in a way that provided realistic relationship tension. I fully happy cried through the entire end and was so sad to say goodbye to both MCs as well as the great side characters.
Can't recommend this one enough!! Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
October 15, 2024
"Glasses on or off?" Luis asks.
"Off."
Gene is nearsighted anyway, and he doesn't plan to let Luis get far enough away that he would need them.
I know next to nothing about baseball and I loved every second of The Prospects. Gene and Luis's romance, the team, Gene's friendship with Vince. It gave me everything I wanted; it was such a fulfilling read.
I'm kind of sad that this is a debut and I can't just pick up another of K.T. Hoffman's books, but I guess I can try be patient and wait for his next release (impatiently).
Want to read
March 31, 2024whoever made the cover of this book deserves a kiss on the mouth
August 5, 2024
5 stars.
I adored this. So, so much.
Gene's story is beautiful, romantic and full of hope.
I loved the writing style (it reminded me a lot of Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue, but with fewer and less explicit sex scenes).
The story is told in single pov, third person present tense, and it totally worked for me. Gene is a trans man playing baseball on a minor league team. The character development was done very well, I loved seeing how Gene learned to let himself not only hope for, but want good things for himself.
Getting to know Luis obviously took a bit longer, but I loved to catch more and more glimpses of him. It was so lovely to see how comfortable Gene got around Luis, how he felt at ease with Luis, once Gene took an effort to know Luis, and Luis started to open up to Gene.
Luis had some struggles to push through and had to learn on his own where he wanted to get, and I loved that Gene respected that.
The relationship development was slow and beautifully written, I was glued to the pages, rooting for Gene and Luis.
Both their families had great supportive roles, and I loved them for it. It's so refreshing to not have meddling, know-it-all family members in a romance novel!
There's lots of baseball but even if I don't know a thing about baseball, I didn't mind that at all. The author's love for the sport was brightly shining through.
Can't recommend this book enough. Thanks Marieke for recommending it to me!
I adored this. So, so much.
Gene's story is beautiful, romantic and full of hope.
I loved the writing style (it reminded me a lot of Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue, but with fewer and less explicit sex scenes).
The story is told in single pov, third person present tense, and it totally worked for me. Gene is a trans man playing baseball on a minor league team. The character development was done very well, I loved seeing how Gene learned to let himself not only hope for, but want good things for himself.
Getting to know Luis obviously took a bit longer, but I loved to catch more and more glimpses of him. It was so lovely to see how comfortable Gene got around Luis, how he felt at ease with Luis, once Gene took an effort to know Luis, and Luis started to open up to Gene.
Luis had some struggles to push through and had to learn on his own where he wanted to get, and I loved that Gene respected that.
The relationship development was slow and beautifully written, I was glued to the pages, rooting for Gene and Luis.
Both their families had great supportive roles, and I loved them for it. It's so refreshing to not have meddling, know-it-all family members in a romance novel!
There's lots of baseball but even if I don't know a thing about baseball, I didn't mind that at all. The author's love for the sport was brightly shining through.
Can't recommend this book enough. Thanks Marieke for recommending it to me!
April 29, 2024
Gene, a short king, is super cheesed that his former teammate, Luis, will be playing for Gene’s minor league baseball team, the Beaverton Beavers (sports teams are historically not great at picking names). Luis has really bad anxiety and a dog so after a while Gene is like, okay maybe you aren’t so bad and then a bunch of other not-so-bad things happen and it’s really sweet and lovely. Gene’s comfort in his own skin is refreshing to read (we don’t get enough exposure to characters who love their bodies) and Luis’s mental health struggles are handled with exceeding care and compassion. Additionally, I’ve read many sports romances this year (I don’t know why; I’ve never liked sports, I currently still don’t like sports, and I don’t anticipate ever liking sports) but rarely have I read one where the sport involved is discussed with such genuine adoration as the author shows to this one. This is first and foremost about the love story between Gene and Luis, but the subplot is the romance between KT Hoffman and baseball. Batter up! (That’s baseball, right?)
May 26, 2024
What a delightful debut!!
I knew I would like this, but I didn't expect to ADORE it! This is up there, tied as my favorite contemporary romance of all time. It had everything I could want in a story: an MC I easily found myself cheering for, great side characters, an amazingly sweet romance, and a story good enough to hold up even if there wasn't a romance at all.
And I cannot thank K.T. Hoffman enough for creating Gene, whom I love with my entire heart.
I knew I would like this, but I didn't expect to ADORE it! This is up there, tied as my favorite contemporary romance of all time. It had everything I could want in a story: an MC I easily found myself cheering for, great side characters, an amazingly sweet romance, and a story good enough to hold up even if there wasn't a romance at all.
And I cannot thank K.T. Hoffman enough for creating Gene, whom I love with my entire heart.
September 21, 2024
average rating: ••••.75
‘if you give up now, no one else is ever going to get the chance to try.’
it should be a five star book... if the description changes from rivals to lovers to rivals to friends to lovers. but at nonetheless, i enjoy this one.
aside from gene and luis's relationship, the way the author depicts their mental health problems on their own. also, i love their friendship between the other players despite the challenges that they face
as for gene, i love how he didn't give up on playing baseball despite on what he said that ‘he's a disappointment’. even though he's the first gay trans man to take baseball, he still loves his sport. and as for luis, i'm glad that he still continue playing the sport even though he has an anxiety. also, its cute when he said that even though he didn't know his real sexuality
marvelous debut for him and i hope he continues to write more 😊
───────────────────────
pre-read:
a gay trans man who is a baseball player and his nemesis on the same team? now that's interesting 🤭
‘if you give up now, no one else is ever going to get the chance to try.’
it should be a five star book... if the description changes from rivals to lovers to rivals to friends to lovers. but at nonetheless, i enjoy this one.
aside from gene and luis's relationship, the way the author depicts their mental health problems on their own. also, i love their friendship between the other players despite the challenges that they face
as for gene, i love how he didn't give up on playing baseball despite on what he said that ‘he's a disappointment’. even though he's the first gay trans man to take baseball, he still loves his sport. and as for luis, i'm glad that he still continue playing the sport even though he has an anxiety. also, its cute when he said that even though he didn't know his real sexuality
marvelous debut for him and i hope he continues to write more 😊
───────────────────────
pre-read:
a gay trans man who is a baseball player and his nemesis on the same team? now that's interesting 🤭
December 8, 2024
3.75 stars
April 7, 2024
On my blog.
Rep: Jewish Romanian American trans gay mc with ADHD & anxiety, Mexican American gay li with anxiety & nerve damage, lesbian, gay & bi side characters, side character with Downs Syndrome, deaf side character
Galley provided by publisher
Never have I wanted a fictional sports team to win a championship as much as I did the Beaverton Beavers. That, I think, is the mark of a good sports romance: not only are you rooting for the main characters, you’re also rooting for the team as a whole.
The Prospects is a book I read way back in January and, two days out from release date, I still have no idea how to review this one. It’s easily one of the best sports romances I’ve read, and probably one of the best romances full stop. Which, of course, leads to the age-old question of how on earth can I put into words how good this was?
Firstly, what stuck out for me was the amount of love K. T. Hoffman has for the game of baseball. It infuses the entire book and it’s clear that Hoffman knows what he’s on about with the game. Frankly, after reading a book last year that butchered my favourite sport beyond recognition, it’s very refreshing to read a book where the author knows a sport deeply. Maybe that’s a me thing, but if I’m reading a sports romance, I want a good chunk of it to be about the sport as well as the romance.
Second of all is the cast this book has. Every single character has been crafted with such care and love that they feel like they could be a real team (hence why I’ve never needed a fictional sports team to win a championship as much as I did reading this book. In fact, if they hadn’t, I think I might have treated it the same way as when an actual team I support failed). I know this one probably doesn’t have tie-in books or sequels coming, but god if I don’t need it anyway! If only to see them all once again.
In terms of plot, I have to say it’s not really stuck with me beyond a few scenes (ear piercing as a love language!) and Gene’s fight to get into the majors, but that I think says more about my memory than the book. (If it means I can read it all over again as though it’s the first time, I call that a win!) But that doesn’t really matter in the end: it’s the emotions of it that stuck with me and have kept me rotating this book in my mind for three months straight. And this book is a great one for all of that.
All of which to say: put this on your radar, if it’s not on there. If it is, prioritise it! Make sure it’s the first thing you read on 9th April! You won’t regret it one bit.
Rep: Jewish Romanian American trans gay mc with ADHD & anxiety, Mexican American gay li with anxiety & nerve damage, lesbian, gay & bi side characters, side character with Downs Syndrome, deaf side character
Galley provided by publisher
Never have I wanted a fictional sports team to win a championship as much as I did the Beaverton Beavers. That, I think, is the mark of a good sports romance: not only are you rooting for the main characters, you’re also rooting for the team as a whole.
The Prospects is a book I read way back in January and, two days out from release date, I still have no idea how to review this one. It’s easily one of the best sports romances I’ve read, and probably one of the best romances full stop. Which, of course, leads to the age-old question of how on earth can I put into words how good this was?
Firstly, what stuck out for me was the amount of love K. T. Hoffman has for the game of baseball. It infuses the entire book and it’s clear that Hoffman knows what he’s on about with the game. Frankly, after reading a book last year that butchered my favourite sport beyond recognition, it’s very refreshing to read a book where the author knows a sport deeply. Maybe that’s a me thing, but if I’m reading a sports romance, I want a good chunk of it to be about the sport as well as the romance.
Second of all is the cast this book has. Every single character has been crafted with such care and love that they feel like they could be a real team (hence why I’ve never needed a fictional sports team to win a championship as much as I did reading this book. In fact, if they hadn’t, I think I might have treated it the same way as when an actual team I support failed). I know this one probably doesn’t have tie-in books or sequels coming, but god if I don’t need it anyway! If only to see them all once again.
In terms of plot, I have to say it’s not really stuck with me beyond a few scenes (ear piercing as a love language!) and Gene’s fight to get into the majors, but that I think says more about my memory than the book. (If it means I can read it all over again as though it’s the first time, I call that a win!) But that doesn’t really matter in the end: it’s the emotions of it that stuck with me and have kept me rotating this book in my mind for three months straight. And this book is a great one for all of that.
All of which to say: put this on your radar, if it’s not on there. If it is, prioritise it! Make sure it’s the first thing you read on 9th April! You won’t regret it one bit.
March 22, 2024
I have lots of mixed thoughts and feels about this book. I nearly DNF-ed it. I strongly disliked the first third. I loved the second third. I enjoyed the last third and how it ended. I settled with a 3 star rating here because I think this book will affect and be loved by many people, and it should exist in the romance world, but if I could rate stars I'd drop it down to 2.5.
This book has some amazing things going for it - a great trans lead, found family feels, and sports romance, but I personally struggled with reading a lot of this book, especially the first third like I said.
So yeah, I still have a lot of mixed feels and thoughts about this. If I had a shelf that was “did I read a different book than everyone else” I’d shelve this one there.
An arc was provided by the publisher for a bookstagram tour.
This book has some amazing things going for it - a great trans lead, found family feels, and sports romance, but I personally struggled with reading a lot of this book, especially the first third like I said.
So yeah, I still have a lot of mixed feels and thoughts about this. If I had a shelf that was “did I read a different book than everyone else” I’d shelve this one there.
An arc was provided by the publisher for a bookstagram tour.
April 12, 2024
I do love a baseball romance written by someone who clearly knows and loves baseball, so I was on board with The Prospects as soon as I read this line: “…baseball rewards the patient, the crafty, and, most of all, the optimistic.”
Our hero, Gene, is a trans man playing pro baseball, which makes him the optimist to beat all optimists except for his creator, KT Hoffman, who’s given us a pro baseball team whose captain is gay and whose shortstop is Gene. I’m not complaining! This is a better world than ours. There’s plenty of transphobia in Gene’s world, but he stays off Twitter so it’s mostly background noise—except, of course, for how although Gene’s a brilliant player he has no real hope of making it into the majors.
I won’t recap the whole plot; let’s just say that even angsty romance is ultimately a feel-good genre, and both Gene and his love interest, Luis, resolve their professional and emotional issues in the best ways possible.
I’m dinging a star because the reasons for the 80% breakup could just as well — and maybe more easily!—have been resolved if Luis and Gene had worked on them together, and because the epilogue falls into the usual epilogue trap of tying up everything neatly with a bow. An ending needn’t be perfect to be perfectly happy.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Our hero, Gene, is a trans man playing pro baseball, which makes him the optimist to beat all optimists except for his creator, KT Hoffman, who’s given us a pro baseball team whose captain is gay and whose shortstop is Gene. I’m not complaining! This is a better world than ours. There’s plenty of transphobia in Gene’s world, but he stays off Twitter so it’s mostly background noise—except, of course, for how although Gene’s a brilliant player he has no real hope of making it into the majors.
I won’t recap the whole plot; let’s just say that even angsty romance is ultimately a feel-good genre, and both Gene and his love interest, Luis, resolve their professional and emotional issues in the best ways possible.
I’m dinging a star because the reasons for the 80% breakup could just as well — and maybe more easily!—have been resolved if Luis and Gene had worked on them together, and because the epilogue falls into the usual epilogue trap of tying up everything neatly with a bow. An ending needn’t be perfect to be perfectly happy.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
April 25, 2025
4.75
I'm in love with this novel! What a delight. What a fucking delight.
Admittedly, I fell into a pretty bad reading slump while I was reading this (I still am in one, to be fair 😭), so that's the reason for the not-quite 5 stars.
BUT, I still loved this so so so so much.
Gene was the absolute best protagonist; he felt so real, so relatable, so vivid. I loved him to bits, and I never wanted to leave him and his wonderful, complicated, joyful, messy gem of a brain.
And Luis! UGH. He was amazing; as was the romance between them. The slow-burn development, the animosity slowly morphing into helpless affection, the love, the respect, the care, the steam!!!!!! Ugh, I loved them to bits.
I've read a few baseball romances in my life, and I've never grasped how the hell that sport is meant to work. However, "The Prospects" made it feel slightly less daunting, and quite a lot more magical. I still didn't understand a thing, but I was on the edge of my seat the whole time for it.
The side characters were fantastic, each one of them complex and real and relatable, and the found family atmosphere even more so.
I cannot wait to see what over masterpiece K.T. Hoffman will deliver next. His writing was truly magical, and it sucked me right into it. I can already see myself re-reading this!
TWs: brief instances of transphobia, death of a parent (mentioned), panic attacks (on page).
I'm in love with this novel! What a delight. What a fucking delight.
Admittedly, I fell into a pretty bad reading slump while I was reading this (I still am in one, to be fair 😭), so that's the reason for the not-quite 5 stars.
BUT, I still loved this so so so so much.
Gene was the absolute best protagonist; he felt so real, so relatable, so vivid. I loved him to bits, and I never wanted to leave him and his wonderful, complicated, joyful, messy gem of a brain.
And Luis! UGH. He was amazing; as was the romance between them. The slow-burn development, the animosity slowly morphing into helpless affection, the love, the respect, the care, the steam!!!!!! Ugh, I loved them to bits.
I've read a few baseball romances in my life, and I've never grasped how the hell that sport is meant to work. However, "The Prospects" made it feel slightly less daunting, and quite a lot more magical. I still didn't understand a thing, but I was on the edge of my seat the whole time for it.
The side characters were fantastic, each one of them complex and real and relatable, and the found family atmosphere even more so.
I cannot wait to see what over masterpiece K.T. Hoffman will deliver next. His writing was truly magical, and it sucked me right into it. I can already see myself re-reading this!
TWs: brief instances of transphobia, death of a parent (mentioned), panic attacks (on page).
October 30, 2023
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.
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.
October 15, 2024
LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO!!!!!! god, i love a good romance debut!!! i had such a fucking blast and was genuinely moved (while reading about a sport i still DO NOT understand???)
the fact that the main character is a trans dude, so he could have picked any name in the world for himself, but he went with Gene... that's character work, baby!! who the fuck chooses Gene like they're a fucking grandpa, that is WHO OTHER THAN A BASEBALL PLAYER??? and yes i still maintain that i know nothing about baseball or its culture (other than "sunflower seeds"), but it just makes sense!! Gene is a name for a ball player from New York, which Gene is!!
also - a wonderful dedication/afterword section. i actually picked up this book bcs i'm procrastinating on starting lou sullivan's diaries for a new bookclub, and picture my surprise when i saw his name in there! this is such a warm and hopeful book - a wonderful counterpart to idlewild, which, while also a stellar exploration of gay transmasculinity in its own way, is definitely not bursting with hope lmao. highly recommend both of them, though!! and i will absolutely be keeping an eye out for more of Hoffman's work in the future!
the fact that the main character is a trans dude, so he could have picked any name in the world for himself, but he went with Gene... that's character work, baby!! who the fuck chooses Gene like they're a fucking grandpa, that is WHO OTHER THAN A BASEBALL PLAYER??? and yes i still maintain that i know nothing about baseball or its culture (other than "sunflower seeds"), but it just makes sense!! Gene is a name for a ball player from New York, which Gene is!!
also - a wonderful dedication/afterword section. i actually picked up this book bcs i'm procrastinating on starting lou sullivan's diaries for a new bookclub, and picture my surprise when i saw his name in there! this is such a warm and hopeful book - a wonderful counterpart to idlewild, which, while also a stellar exploration of gay transmasculinity in its own way, is definitely not bursting with hope lmao. highly recommend both of them, though!! and i will absolutely be keeping an eye out for more of Hoffman's work in the future!
October 23, 2024
*said in a voice that is so filled with affection and is very much not fine* i'm fine!
the moment i flipped open the prospects, i cried. not the first chapter, first page, or first line. the cover page. purely for what it meant to me.
it feels like kt hoffman reached directly into my heart and created gene ionescu just so he could hold my hand and walk alongside me.
perhaps that’s why finally reading the prospects felt this overwhelming. so much of my year has been marked by wanting things so badly i couldn’t bear it. forcing myself to keep my dreams an arm’s length away, not wanting them just in case i didn’t get it. so imagine not allowing myself to read this book for months, only to finally pick it up and see that exact fear reflected back at me.
we often talk about seeing characters as mirrors of ourselves. a look over our shoulders at the person we were in high school or college. a kind nod, a gentle reassurance. but gene? gene is me this very moment. and that is such a kindness that it sometimes makes it hard to breathe.
the way we’re optimists reserved only for others. how we hope terribly for many things, but aren’t much good at letting ourselves /want/ them. that’s where it gets dangerous. the preemptive little griefs he experiences over losing things he never had. i, at best, only know how to microdose on hope, so proficient at starving myself of the things i want as it feels to much to hold onto.
the way we intensely fear disappointing others if we don’t succeed, so we freeze instead. as gene slowly sees that people still love him even as he fails, i was doing the same in real life. we learnt it together. it’s a hand on a shoulder, a quiet confidence, and a dream relentlessly persevering.
but for all that gene walks by my side, by the time i turn the final page, he’s a little ahead of me. i see him beckoning me over with a flick of his wrist and a smile on his face, telling me that’s its okay to let myself have it.
and here i am, running towards him, sunlight on my face, telling him i'm on my fucking way.
“he doesn’t fully believe yet that a life this big is available to him. but he knows, now, that it's out there. that this feeling exists, and he is capable of feeling it.”
the moment i flipped open the prospects, i cried. not the first chapter, first page, or first line. the cover page. purely for what it meant to me.
it feels like kt hoffman reached directly into my heart and created gene ionescu just so he could hold my hand and walk alongside me.
perhaps that’s why finally reading the prospects felt this overwhelming. so much of my year has been marked by wanting things so badly i couldn’t bear it. forcing myself to keep my dreams an arm’s length away, not wanting them just in case i didn’t get it. so imagine not allowing myself to read this book for months, only to finally pick it up and see that exact fear reflected back at me.
we often talk about seeing characters as mirrors of ourselves. a look over our shoulders at the person we were in high school or college. a kind nod, a gentle reassurance. but gene? gene is me this very moment. and that is such a kindness that it sometimes makes it hard to breathe.
the way we’re optimists reserved only for others. how we hope terribly for many things, but aren’t much good at letting ourselves /want/ them. that’s where it gets dangerous. the preemptive little griefs he experiences over losing things he never had. i, at best, only know how to microdose on hope, so proficient at starving myself of the things i want as it feels to much to hold onto.
the way we intensely fear disappointing others if we don’t succeed, so we freeze instead. as gene slowly sees that people still love him even as he fails, i was doing the same in real life. we learnt it together. it’s a hand on a shoulder, a quiet confidence, and a dream relentlessly persevering.
but for all that gene walks by my side, by the time i turn the final page, he’s a little ahead of me. i see him beckoning me over with a flick of his wrist and a smile on his face, telling me that’s its okay to let myself have it.
and here i am, running towards him, sunlight on my face, telling him i'm on my fucking way.
August 13, 2023
My favorite book <3
May 17, 2024
Minor league baseball + rivals-to-lovers + the first openly trans player…good golly, I couldn’t have loved this more!
Gene is the heart and soul of this contemporary romance. He’s the shortstop for the Beaverton Beavers, the Triple A minor league team for the Portland Lumberjacks. That is, he’s the shortstop until his rival Luis is traded to the Beavers and takes his position, leaving Gene to play second base instead. They haven’t seen each other since playing in college. Gene thinks Luis is a miserable grump but really Luis is dealing with severe anxiety…and a secret crush on Gene, just as Gene as been secretly crushing on him too!!! I loved watching these two fall for each other and then figure out whether and how they can make it work as baseball players who could potentially get traded at any time.
The story doesn’t shy away from the harder things of life, like anxiety, figuring out how or when to come out, and systemic transphobia in the baseball world. But the camaraderie of the Beavers and Gene’s skill on the field also shines a light on how inclusive baseball could become. It was fun to read a book set on a minor league team and the specific pressures (and low pay) those players face. Initially, Gene thinks he’s gone as far up in baseball as he’ll be able to go due to perception of trans players but that’s also a way that he doesn’t get his hopes up. The exploration of hope for both Gene and Luis was my favorite part of the story.
Just an absolute delight of a debut! I can’t wait to see what Hoffman writes next.
Characters: Gene is a 26 year old gay trans white Jewish Romanian American second baseman, photographer, and vegetarian with ADHD. Luis is a 28 year old gay Mexican American shortstop with severe anxiety. He has an emotional support dog named Dodger. This is set in Portland and Beaverton, OR.
Content notes: anxiety/panic disorder, panic attacks, Xanax, ER visit after fainting (dehydrated on top of a panic attack), medical privacy violation (Gene tells the manager about Luis going to the ER without asking permission to share. He apologizes after and Luis isn’t upset about it.), closeted MC (no forced outing; comes out to accepting family), overt and systemic transphobia, past deadnaming, misogyny (fan tweets), systemic racism, ageism, baseball injury (secondary character), past car accident (Luis had a panic attack while driving), past death of Luis’s father, scars from top surgery, needles (testosterone injection; ear piercing), secondary character with hearing aids who prefers ASL, Luis’s sister has Down syndrome, past adoption (Gene’s dad is his uncle; his birth mom was an alcoholic and left when Gene was young and his dad adopted him), unsafe sex practices (Luis rips open condom packet with his teeth), on page sex, locker room shower sex, strap-on harness, alcohol, inebriation (secondary character), cigarettes (secondary character), gendered pejoratives, ableist language
Gene is the heart and soul of this contemporary romance. He’s the shortstop for the Beaverton Beavers, the Triple A minor league team for the Portland Lumberjacks. That is, he’s the shortstop until his rival Luis is traded to the Beavers and takes his position, leaving Gene to play second base instead. They haven’t seen each other since playing in college. Gene thinks Luis is a miserable grump but really Luis is dealing with severe anxiety…and a secret crush on Gene, just as Gene as been secretly crushing on him too!!! I loved watching these two fall for each other and then figure out whether and how they can make it work as baseball players who could potentially get traded at any time.
The story doesn’t shy away from the harder things of life, like anxiety, figuring out how or when to come out, and systemic transphobia in the baseball world. But the camaraderie of the Beavers and Gene’s skill on the field also shines a light on how inclusive baseball could become. It was fun to read a book set on a minor league team and the specific pressures (and low pay) those players face. Initially, Gene thinks he’s gone as far up in baseball as he’ll be able to go due to perception of trans players but that’s also a way that he doesn’t get his hopes up. The exploration of hope for both Gene and Luis was my favorite part of the story.
Just an absolute delight of a debut! I can’t wait to see what Hoffman writes next.
Characters: Gene is a 26 year old gay trans white Jewish Romanian American second baseman, photographer, and vegetarian with ADHD. Luis is a 28 year old gay Mexican American shortstop with severe anxiety. He has an emotional support dog named Dodger. This is set in Portland and Beaverton, OR.
Content notes: anxiety/panic disorder, panic attacks, Xanax, ER visit after fainting (dehydrated on top of a panic attack), medical privacy violation (Gene tells the manager about Luis going to the ER without asking permission to share. He apologizes after and Luis isn’t upset about it.), closeted MC (no forced outing; comes out to accepting family), overt and systemic transphobia, past deadnaming, misogyny (fan tweets), systemic racism, ageism, baseball injury (secondary character), past car accident (Luis had a panic attack while driving), past death of Luis’s father, scars from top surgery, needles (testosterone injection; ear piercing), secondary character with hearing aids who prefers ASL, Luis’s sister has Down syndrome, past adoption (Gene’s dad is his uncle; his birth mom was an alcoholic and left when Gene was young and his dad adopted him), unsafe sex practices (Luis rips open condom packet with his teeth), on page sex, locker room shower sex, strap-on harness, alcohol, inebriation (secondary character), cigarettes (secondary character), gendered pejoratives, ableist language
April 11, 2024
I’m so happy that authors are finally recognizing the gay potential of baseball <3
This was a wonderful lovely romance brimming with trans joy and had a lot of hope and heart. I loved all the platonic and familial relationships in this book, as well as the amazing communication amongst the characters. I appreciated how much Gene genuinely loved baseball, keeping alive the fun and excitement of the sport despite the pressure. It led me to feel true pride for all his accomplishments.
While this book is marketed as a rivals to lovers romance, I found it to be more of a friends to lovers situation. Gene and Luis were on the same team in college and had a casual friendship. However, they lost touch for a few years after Luis cut contact. Now they’re in the minor leagues and back on the same team. And while there’s an adjustment period, they quickly fall back into their old familiarity. I thought they had a really healthy dynamic, and a more playful rivalry that pushed each other to be better athletes.
My only complaint: Dare I say, kind of hoped for more baseball. I was disappointed that we skimmed through most of the games and didn’t even get to witness the championship game. I felt its omission made the ending feel rushed.
Overall, a really fun story with great characters, strong relationships, and amazing representation.
Rep: Trans MC with ADHD, Gay Mexican LI with anxiety + emotional support animal
Lesbian, gay, and deaf side characters
Thank you Random House for the free eARC on NetGalley!
This was a wonderful lovely romance brimming with trans joy and had a lot of hope and heart. I loved all the platonic and familial relationships in this book, as well as the amazing communication amongst the characters. I appreciated how much Gene genuinely loved baseball, keeping alive the fun and excitement of the sport despite the pressure. It led me to feel true pride for all his accomplishments.
While this book is marketed as a rivals to lovers romance, I found it to be more of a friends to lovers situation. Gene and Luis were on the same team in college and had a casual friendship. However, they lost touch for a few years after Luis cut contact. Now they’re in the minor leagues and back on the same team. And while there’s an adjustment period, they quickly fall back into their old familiarity. I thought they had a really healthy dynamic, and a more playful rivalry that pushed each other to be better athletes.
My only complaint: Dare I say, kind of hoped for more baseball. I was disappointed that we skimmed through most of the games and didn’t even get to witness the championship game. I felt its omission made the ending feel rushed.
Overall, a really fun story with great characters, strong relationships, and amazing representation.
Rep: Trans MC with ADHD, Gay Mexican LI with anxiety + emotional support animal
Lesbian, gay, and deaf side characters
Thank you Random House for the free eARC on NetGalley!
Read
April 22, 2024Hopeful and sweet! (I still know nothing about baseball)
September 17, 2023
I just finished this book and my god. what an absolutely phenomenal book. I feel like i need to go lay down in some diamond dirt and cry my eyes out and scream my queer joy into the baseball stands. this book might get me to go back to a baseball game??? But more than that, 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. KT Hoffman went to the Casey McQuiston & Anita Kelly school of good writing. Like it's that serious. I thought the writing and the subjects talked about within it, from mental health rep, to transphobia, to what happens when you don't feel like you're enough for your dreams and what happens when your dreams come true--all of it was so well written and so carefully constructed with a loving amount of thought and detail. Someone give me a baseball bat I'm gonna need to go swinging to make sure everyone knows about this beautiful beautiful book.
September 9, 2024
Never before has a romance MC who gives this many finger guns been so charming.
Seriously, though, Gene being an absolute delight really carried this book. The basic setup is that Gene is very happily playing for minor league baseball team Beaverton - as the first out trans man in the minors - and living his best life, when former friend/crush/teammate/nemesis Luis shows up to be Beaverton's new shortstop, ready to make Gene's life miserable just long enough for them to fall in love. At the same time, Gene's career starts taking off in ways he never let himself hope for, and he has to deal with the sudden expansion of career and romantic possibilities that have suddenly opened up before him. Watching him do so with good humor, a bit of vulnerability, and boundless optimism was a joy.
Truly, this was SO close to a 5-star read for me. But I can't overlook how much the middle of this book dragged. Saggy middles are certainly a common problem in romance, but this book's was so bad that I almost put it down and never finished. For me, that middle-sag came down to two things. First, there wasn't really a whole lot of believable conflict keeping Luis and Gene apart, nor was the author willing to fully let them just get together -so their wheels really just spun, romantically, for quite a while. Which did, I will say, leave me all the more surprised when Hoffman rustled up some very believable emotional conflict for home stretch of the book. I guess i just wanted more of that?
Also, because it cannot be avoided: there is just SO MUCH BASEBALL in this book. As I've mentioned in other reviews, I do not come positively predisposed to the sport. But I can put up with it if it's being used as scene-setting, as metaphorical content, as character work. Hoffman used it very effectively as all three things and then just kept going. Truly, the snippets of commentary between the two Beaverton announcers were what almost did me in: it brought very little to the story, ground the plot to a standstill, and just felt like a way to drop jargon/facts.
But nevertheless, this book rallied at the end like [insert baseball metaphor here, I've had enough]. By the last few chapters, I was pining SO hard for Gene and Luis to get together - for Gene to get everything he wants in life, really, because he's great. Solid cast of secondary characters, engaging writing style: this book has it all, and could truly have been great with a tighter edit through the middle.
Seriously, though, Gene being an absolute delight really carried this book. The basic setup is that Gene is very happily playing for minor league baseball team Beaverton - as the first out trans man in the minors - and living his best life, when former friend/crush/teammate/nemesis Luis shows up to be Beaverton's new shortstop, ready to make Gene's life miserable just long enough for them to fall in love. At the same time, Gene's career starts taking off in ways he never let himself hope for, and he has to deal with the sudden expansion of career and romantic possibilities that have suddenly opened up before him. Watching him do so with good humor, a bit of vulnerability, and boundless optimism was a joy.
Truly, this was SO close to a 5-star read for me. But I can't overlook how much the middle of this book dragged. Saggy middles are certainly a common problem in romance, but this book's was so bad that I almost put it down and never finished. For me, that middle-sag came down to two things. First, there wasn't really a whole lot of believable conflict keeping Luis and Gene apart, nor was the author willing to fully let them just get together -so their wheels really just spun, romantically, for quite a while. Which did, I will say, leave me all the more surprised when Hoffman rustled up some very believable emotional conflict for home stretch of the book. I guess i just wanted more of that?
Also, because it cannot be avoided: there is just SO MUCH BASEBALL in this book. As I've mentioned in other reviews, I do not come positively predisposed to the sport. But I can put up with it if it's being used as scene-setting, as metaphorical content, as character work. Hoffman used it very effectively as all three things and then just kept going. Truly, the snippets of commentary between the two Beaverton announcers were what almost did me in: it brought very little to the story, ground the plot to a standstill, and just felt like a way to drop jargon/facts.
But nevertheless, this book rallied at the end like [insert baseball metaphor here, I've had enough]. By the last few chapters, I was pining SO hard for Gene and Luis to get together - for Gene to get everything he wants in life, really, because he's great. Solid cast of secondary characters, engaging writing style: this book has it all, and could truly have been great with a tighter edit through the middle.
December 5, 2024
is it wrong to only like sports when they're gay?? if it is, i don't want to be right
thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review. you have no idea how many GR giveaways i entered (and lost). expected publication is april 9, 2024. mark this down, people.
where do i even begin? it's gay. there are sports. you will feel giddy. you will chuckle, gasp, and maybe even shed a tear (or five if you're like me)
luis is literally such a nugget, i wanted to put him in my pocket. i saw so much of myself in him -- his anxiety, his ability to remember something about someone from years ago, his empathy, and his gigantic heart that he wears on his sleeve. i also saw parts of myself in gene. as a non-binary person, i deeply felt the impostor syndrome of "am i enough as i am," it's something i struggle with on a day to day. gene is an optimist for his team, but not for himself. i definitely related to his inability to want things for himself to avoid disappointment. it was amazing seeing him come full circle and allow himself to want things for himself and open himself up to not only luis, but to his friends, family, and team.
the author did a wonderful job capturing the beauty in life's moments without words. whether it was a glance, a touch (or lack thereof), or a character's internal thoughts, i could see the beautiful way in which gene and luis were falling for each other without needing any words. i like that this book was trans and gay. i especially liked that those were not the only personality traits of gene or the main plot of the book.
i was mega-hyped for this book, and sometimes that can lead to disappointment. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. read this shit. and remember that TRANS LIVES MATTER 🩵🩷🤍
thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review. you have no idea how many GR giveaways i entered (and lost). expected publication is april 9, 2024. mark this down, people.
where do i even begin? it's gay. there are sports. you will feel giddy. you will chuckle, gasp, and maybe even shed a tear (or five if you're like me)
luis is literally such a nugget, i wanted to put him in my pocket. i saw so much of myself in him -- his anxiety, his ability to remember something about someone from years ago, his empathy, and his gigantic heart that he wears on his sleeve. i also saw parts of myself in gene. as a non-binary person, i deeply felt the impostor syndrome of "am i enough as i am," it's something i struggle with on a day to day. gene is an optimist for his team, but not for himself. i definitely related to his inability to want things for himself to avoid disappointment. it was amazing seeing him come full circle and allow himself to want things for himself and open himself up to not only luis, but to his friends, family, and team.
the author did a wonderful job capturing the beauty in life's moments without words. whether it was a glance, a touch (or lack thereof), or a character's internal thoughts, i could see the beautiful way in which gene and luis were falling for each other without needing any words. i like that this book was trans and gay. i especially liked that those were not the only personality traits of gene or the main plot of the book.
i was mega-hyped for this book, and sometimes that can lead to disappointment. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. read this shit. and remember that TRANS LIVES MATTER 🩵🩷🤍
July 31, 2024
This book is roughly about the world of baseball. Doesn't seem like that long ago that my eyes were opened to the fact that there are a good number of athletes that are gay also perhaps even going to greater lengths to change themselves.
After completing this book I can understand why some do.
After completing this book I can understand why some do.
May 1, 2024
“And it doesn’t feel so scary, letting him in - it feels like coming home, in every sense of the word.”
Gene Ionescu has always loved baseball. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life. As the two grow closer, the tension becomes something more. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis inspires.
THIS BOOK!! This book was fucking fantastic, and I loved every moment with it.
It’s been a while since I read a contemporary rom-com (that’s not like a smutty KU book) that made me feel like giggling, blushing, kicking my feet, but this book did. It’s!!! So !!! Sweet !!!
Firstly, I love that it even exists. A book all about queer and trans joy: that follows the first out trans player in professional baseball. As the author’s note says, sure, it may be unrealistic, but since when do rom-coms need realism? That’s something that specifically queer romance books get criticized for all the time (like that popular one that we won’t talk about), and I think it’s so annoying because it is a double standard. I don’t see anyone criticizing an idk, Tessa Bailey book for its lack of realism *side-eye*
But what truly shines in this book is the characters. They’re all so well written and created. They shine from the very first chapter. Even the side characters are great (ngl, I would love to read a book/a novella all about Vince bc I really liked him). That’s because these characters aren’t there just to serve their specific roles/tropes in a romance; they feel like fully developed people who also happen to be fictional characters. I loved Gene and Luis!! Especially Luis because I’m sorry if you put a man full of anxiety, who’s also shy and down BAD, in front of me; I will deeply relate to him and immediately love him.
My only criticism isn't really a fault of the book, but I still don't know ANYTHING about baseball. I think it's because it's a very American sport, and I am not American! Nor do I like sports! They were just saying things all the time, and I had no clue what they were talking about. Like, I still don't understand what a shortstop is? Is that a top that is short? Is it someone that wears shorts? I DON'T KNOW IT COULD BE. So, in all the baseball game sequences, I was like, AH, yes. I definitely know what you're talking about, and I can picture it *laughs nervously*
Again, it's not the book's fault that my only baseball knowledge is 'I Don't Dance' from High School Musical 2. If you know a lot about the sport, you will probably have an easier time reading it. But even if you don't, it's still so worth it.
It's still early to say, BUT I think it will end up being one of my favorite romance books of the year. I was DELIGHTED.
Also, of course, thank you to the publisher for the ARC!!
Gene Ionescu has always loved baseball. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life. As the two grow closer, the tension becomes something more. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis inspires.
THIS BOOK!! This book was fucking fantastic, and I loved every moment with it.
It’s been a while since I read a contemporary rom-com (that’s not like a smutty KU book) that made me feel like giggling, blushing, kicking my feet, but this book did. It’s!!! So !!! Sweet !!!
Firstly, I love that it even exists. A book all about queer and trans joy: that follows the first out trans player in professional baseball. As the author’s note says, sure, it may be unrealistic, but since when do rom-coms need realism? That’s something that specifically queer romance books get criticized for all the time (like that popular one that we won’t talk about), and I think it’s so annoying because it is a double standard. I don’t see anyone criticizing an idk, Tessa Bailey book for its lack of realism *side-eye*
But what truly shines in this book is the characters. They’re all so well written and created. They shine from the very first chapter. Even the side characters are great (ngl, I would love to read a book/a novella all about Vince bc I really liked him). That’s because these characters aren’t there just to serve their specific roles/tropes in a romance; they feel like fully developed people who also happen to be fictional characters. I loved Gene and Luis!! Especially Luis because I’m sorry if you put a man full of anxiety, who’s also shy and down BAD, in front of me; I will deeply relate to him and immediately love him.
My only criticism isn't really a fault of the book, but I still don't know ANYTHING about baseball. I think it's because it's a very American sport, and I am not American! Nor do I like sports! They were just saying things all the time, and I had no clue what they were talking about. Like, I still don't understand what a shortstop is? Is that a top that is short? Is it someone that wears shorts? I DON'T KNOW IT COULD BE. So, in all the baseball game sequences, I was like, AH, yes. I definitely know what you're talking about, and I can picture it *laughs nervously*
Again, it's not the book's fault that my only baseball knowledge is 'I Don't Dance' from High School Musical 2. If you know a lot about the sport, you will probably have an easier time reading it. But even if you don't, it's still so worth it.
It's still early to say, BUT I think it will end up being one of my favorite romance books of the year. I was DELIGHTED.
Also, of course, thank you to the publisher for the ARC!!
March 17, 2024
This book made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside it was so sweet and so joyous and hopeful I love them sm
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