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imstephtacular's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Transphobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Medical content, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Minor: Outing, Racism, Ableism, Car accident, and Death of parent
wildatheart1339's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Cursing and Transphobia
Minor: Car accident, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment
caseythereader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Thanks to The Dial Press for the free copy of this book.
- You’ve seen endless great reviews for this book, and let me tell you, they are all absolutely correct. What a gift of a book THE PROSPECTS is!
- Gene and Luis have my whole heart. What beautiful, soft men, learning to let themselves have what they dream of.
- The supporting cast is wonderful, too. I would gladly read whole books about Vince, Baker, or the Kyles.
- If you’re worried about the baseball, don’t. It’s a sport I feel neutral about and I was still swept along with the story.
- You’ve seen endless great reviews for this book, and let me tell you, they are all absolutely correct. What a gift of a book THE PROSPECTS is!
- Gene and Luis have my whole heart. What beautiful, soft men, learning to let themselves have what they dream of.
- The supporting cast is wonderful, too. I would gladly read whole books about Vince, Baker, or the Kyles.
- If you’re worried about the baseball, don’t. It’s a sport I feel neutral about and I was still swept along with the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Deadnaming, Car accident, and Racism
lycangrrl's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident, Medical content, and Dysphoria
no outright homophobia/transphobia but there are discussions of how being gay and/or trans is still seen as detrimental to having a professional sports careerblakeandbooks's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Thank you to Dial Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was everything!! It was equal parts soft and sexy. It was full of hope and love and dreams. Gene is an incredible main character who truly undergoes this wonderful character arc where he allows himself to want things, not just hope for them. He is the first openly transgender man to play professional baseball, and he loves his team and is ready for the season. But… when he finds out Luis Estrada who he played baseball with in college has been traded to his team, suddenly he isn’t so sure. As they are forced to figure out how to play together again, it also creates this environment where they’re able to reevaluate the other and be friends, until they start to slowly realize they’re becoming more to each other.
Luis and Gene are the absolute CUTEST, and I am obsessed with them. We must protect them at all costs!! Gene is this bubbly, hilarious, kind personality, and Luis is quiet, anxious, and introverted. They balance each other out and allow for the other to have space to be exactly who they are. As they begin to spend so much time together, it was so easy to see their attentiveness and care towards each other. I was constantly highlighting interactions and conversations between the two of them, because I could not get enough of them. I could’ve read another 200 pages of just them being together. Luis also have a therapy dog named Dodger, who I cannot fail to bring up, because he’s such a good doggo!!! He is shown multiple times to be doing a great job taking care of Luis in extremely anxiety inducing situations and when he has an on-page panic attack.
And I cannot fail to mention Vince! I love him and his friendship/mentorship to Gene. He took him under his wing, and it’s so good. They also have some disagreements/arguments in the book that felt very real to me. They were able to work through their issues and admit where they had messed up. The found family of their team was also great, and it just made my heart so warm and gooey.
I’m blown away that this is a debut novel. I feel like nothing I say or review will be even adequate enough for my love of this story and these characters. Hoffman, incredible, wonderful, brilliant job.
This book was everything!! It was equal parts soft and sexy. It was full of hope and love and dreams. Gene is an incredible main character who truly undergoes this wonderful character arc where he allows himself to want things, not just hope for them. He is the first openly transgender man to play professional baseball, and he loves his team and is ready for the season. But… when he finds out Luis Estrada who he played baseball with in college has been traded to his team, suddenly he isn’t so sure. As they are forced to figure out how to play together again, it also creates this environment where they’re able to reevaluate the other and be friends, until they start to slowly realize they’re becoming more to each other.
Luis and Gene are the absolute CUTEST, and I am obsessed with them. We must protect them at all costs!! Gene is this bubbly, hilarious, kind personality, and Luis is quiet, anxious, and introverted. They balance each other out and allow for the other to have space to be exactly who they are. As they begin to spend so much time together, it was so easy to see their attentiveness and care towards each other. I was constantly highlighting interactions and conversations between the two of them, because I could not get enough of them. I could’ve read another 200 pages of just them being together. Luis also have a therapy dog named Dodger, who I cannot fail to bring up, because he’s such a good doggo!!! He is shown multiple times to be doing a great job taking care of Luis in extremely anxiety inducing situations and when he has an on-page panic attack.
And I cannot fail to mention Vince! I love him and his friendship/mentorship to Gene. He took him under his wing, and it’s so good. They also have some disagreements/arguments in the book that felt very real to me. They were able to work through their issues and admit where they had messed up. The found family of their team was also great, and it just made my heart so warm and gooey.
I’m blown away that this is a debut novel. I feel like nothing I say or review will be even adequate enough for my love of this story and these characters. Hoffman, incredible, wonderful, brilliant job.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Cursing
aromanticreadsromance's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
What a cute, feel good debut!! This book had me feeling so giddy. It seriously felt like a warm hug. The joyful trans representation (because trans people's lives aren't ONLY traumatic) written by a trans author was delightful. I was kicking my feet at the romance. I know next to nothing about baseball, but I could feel the author's love for it emanating from the page (i.e., my Kindle screen).
I loved so much about this book. In this review, you will see a lot of the phrase "I love(d)." Let's start with the representation. Gene is a 26-year-old white gay trans man with ADHD (it is OwnVoices trans and ADHD rep). He has Romanian ancestry (his last name is Ionescu). Luis is a 28-year-old Mexican-American closeted gay man with anxiety/panic disorder and a therapy dog. Gene's best friend, Vince, is a 38-year-old baseball player, also gay, with a Deaf/Hard of hearing husband. They are in the beginning stages of adopting a child. Gene's dad, his biological uncle, is, guess what? ALSO! GAY!
Even though we hear a little about Gene's hardships of being trans, especially those of being a trans (the first and only trans!) Minor League baseball player (namely the medical surveillance), this book is SO. HOPEFUL. Gene's transness was just as much a crutch as being a woman on a men's sports team would have been for him, in different ways. His team has always been accepting of him. He's able to change in the same locker room as all the other guys. He can access hormones (with weekly bloodwork, to make sure he's not overdosing on testosterone, which is dismissed as a ludicrous idea but a realistic requirement). He had top surgery and is proud of his scars. He is never misgendered on page (except maybe once, when a character 'unintentionally' groups him in with the WAGs/wives and girlfriends). He mentions off page experiences of people asking him WAY too personal questions. When he talks about his past, pre-coming out and pre-transition, he still refers to himself as "he" and "Gene" (through the third person narrator). We know Gene is his chosen name, and we have NO idea what his deadname was. Luis knew Gene when they were on the same college baseball team pre-coming out, and he never once slips up. I LOVE how Luis, a self-identified gay man, has no identity crises about falling for a trans man (and if he does internally, we never hear about them because it's not written in his POV). Luis still identifies as gay after falling for Gene (he's never suddenly like "oh maybe I'm bi now"), showing how he views Gene as another guy.
I loved the vulnerability both Gene and Luis showed each other. It had me SWOONING. The sex scenes were also *chef's kiss*. Gene has been on testosterone for years, but there is no talk of "bottom growth" (which I know varies from person to person and only affects the size of the clitoris and clitoral hood). Besides a deepening voice, Gene doesn't mention any other changes from HRT (e.g., increased sex drive, etc.). I'd love to see the normalization of phrases like "his pussy," and I LOVE that Gene doesn't have any dysphoria surrounding his anatomy (or none that he voices, and we're in his head). He's not insecure that Luis wouldn't want him because of it. I do wish we got to see more of their time together in college, because Gene makes it seem like they were close-ish. I understand not wanting to do flashbacks, though, because it was pre-coming out.
My biggest gripe, that I feel some Latine readers might share or have more to elaborate on than me, is that very little is known about Luis's Latinidad. All we know is that Luis's father, Luis Sr., was "an international signee out of Mexico" (his dad was also a baseball player). His skin is described as "bright and beautiful brown" (whatever "bright brown" skin tone means, haha). When Gene joins Luis on a visit to his family, it feels like just another white "culture" or household. This might be because his dad died, and I'm not sure if his mom is also Mexican or if she's white and they met in the States? Either way, Luis's dad died when he was 18, so you would think some cultural traditions would have been preserved or mentioned. This is somewhat resolved with the single POV (but that also feels like a cop out), but Luis doesn't talk about his culture (and Gene doesn't ask).
I don't really like to give stars ratings for books (because how do you quantify feelings), but if I HAD to, this would be at least four stars? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it.
Thank you to The Dial Press for an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts are my own.
I loved so much about this book. In this review, you will see a lot of the phrase "I love(d)." Let's start with the representation. Gene is a 26-year-old white gay trans man with ADHD (it is OwnVoices trans and ADHD rep). He has Romanian ancestry (his last name is Ionescu). Luis is a 28-year-old Mexican-American closeted gay man with anxiety/panic disorder and a therapy dog. Gene's best friend, Vince, is a 38-year-old baseball player, also gay, with a Deaf/Hard of hearing husband. They are in the beginning stages of adopting a child. Gene's dad, his biological uncle, is, guess what? ALSO! GAY!
Even though we hear a little about Gene's hardships of being trans, especially those of being a trans (the first and only trans!) Minor League baseball player (namely the medical surveillance), this book is SO. HOPEFUL. Gene's transness was just as much a crutch as being a woman on a men's sports team would have been for him, in different ways. His team has always been accepting of him. He's able to change in the same locker room as all the other guys. He can access hormones (with weekly bloodwork, to make sure he's not overdosing on testosterone, which is dismissed as a ludicrous idea but a realistic requirement). He had top surgery and is proud of his scars. He is never misgendered on page (except maybe once, when a character 'unintentionally' groups him in with the WAGs/wives and girlfriends). He mentions off page experiences of people asking him WAY too personal questions. When he talks about his past, pre-coming out and pre-transition, he still refers to himself as "he" and "Gene" (through the third person narrator). We know Gene is his chosen name, and we have NO idea what his deadname was. Luis knew Gene when they were on the same college baseball team pre-coming out, and he never once slips up. I LOVE how Luis, a self-identified gay man, has no identity crises about falling for a trans man (and if he does internally, we never hear about them because it's not written in his POV). Luis still identifies as gay after falling for Gene (he's never suddenly like "oh maybe I'm bi now"), showing how he views Gene as another guy.
I loved the vulnerability both Gene and Luis showed each other. It had me SWOONING. The sex scenes were also *chef's kiss*. Gene has been on testosterone for years, but there is no talk of "bottom growth" (which I know varies from person to person and only affects the size of the clitoris and clitoral hood). Besides a deepening voice, Gene doesn't mention any other changes from HRT (e.g., increased sex drive, etc.). I'd love to see the normalization of phrases like "his pussy," and I LOVE that Gene doesn't have any dysphoria surrounding his anatomy (or none that he voices, and we're in his head). He's not insecure that Luis wouldn't want him because of it. I do wish we got to see more of their time together in college, because Gene makes it seem like they were close-ish. I understand not wanting to do flashbacks, though, because it was pre-coming out.
My biggest gripe, that I feel some Latine readers might share or have more to elaborate on than me, is that very little is known about Luis's Latinidad. All we know is that Luis's father, Luis Sr., was "an international signee out of Mexico" (his dad was also a baseball player). His skin is described as "bright and beautiful brown" (whatever "bright brown" skin tone means, haha). When Gene joins Luis on a visit to his family, it feels like just another white "culture" or household. This might be because his dad died, and I'm not sure if his mom is also Mexican or if she's white and they met in the States? Either way, Luis's dad died when he was 18, so you would think some cultural traditions would have been preserved or mentioned. This is somewhat resolved with the single POV (but that also feels like a cop out), but Luis doesn't talk about his culture (and Gene doesn't ask).
I don't really like to give stars ratings for books (because how do you quantify feelings), but if I HAD to, this would be at least four stars? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it.
Thank you to The Dial Press for an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Minor: Car accident and Medical content
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Shoutout to @booksnblazers for putting this one on my radar! And then thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for granting my request for the eARC. I am not usually a sports romance person. I have tried a few. (I read Intercepted by Alexa Martin a few years ago and thought it was ok. And maybe others I have forgotten?) And I have not yet tried to (in)famous hockey situation yet... But this trans and queer minor league baseball (insert inflammatory opinion about how baseball is more of a pastime than a sport anyways) situation intrigued me.
Quick synopsis. Gene Ionescu is an underdog, an optimist, and is *just about* living all his dreams, playing as part of a minor league baseball team (the first openly trans player to do so) in Oregon, the Beaverton Beavers. He's got everything carefully balanced out, until his former teammate, Luis Estrada, is traded to the Beavers. Gene and Luis just do not get along, and their inability to play together is putting the team into a tough - losing a lot - place. So, for the sake of the team, they begrudgingly start doing some extra practice time together...and the tension between them turns to a different sort altogether. Now, Gene and Luis are trying to balance totally new things, like their individual dreams of playing in the majors (or not, as it turns out) and their beliefs (or not, again, as it were) that they can pursue both that and be together.
Look, like I said, I don't do baseball. I think it's a silly sport. But I won't lie - I do enjoy the social aspect of going to watch the local team (the Durham Bulls!) now and again. And it turns out that I really did enjoy reading this and imagining this team, their relationships and dramas and all of it, happening in that setting. It was low-key more fun than I'd anticipated. Also, I was entirely in support of this taking over “America's pastime” with queer characters. That is everything I want in a sports-based socio-cultural upheaval! One more sports comment... I thought the inclusion of the local game/color commentators was such a great nod to the uniqueness of small town/local sports. Granted my experience with that kind of commentary is all soccer-related, but I think the vibes are similar. And it was a really fun aspect and a great way to move the story forward quickly, at a few points (the baseball season is so long!), and I appreciated that.
As far as the rest of the book goes, Gene and Luis are so painfully, but sweetly, awkward. I was a little worried to start, because this is a :just one POV" romance (Gene's), and I was afraid of Luis being able to get over his tough first impressions without his own narrative voice, but it turned out just fine. The enemies-to-lovers turn felt successful and genuine. They both ended up being so vulnerable with each other (content warning and shoutout for very real anxiety and panic attack rep) and I couldn't get enough of that. I was also super happy with the overall way this played out, both with the relationship and with the baseball career storylines. There was a lot of messaging about following your own dreams, giving yourself the space to decide what exactly those dreams are, for yourself, and then allowing yourself to want and go for them. (A note here, there was also a wonderful side-story, two really, about also knowing when it's time to let a dream go and find new ones - it was heartbreaking and fulfilling at the same time). Overall, there was a lot of emotional maturity showcased in this novel and I do love that in a romance.
Two random highlights: The Kyles. I mean all the teammates, really, but those three were great. Alright fine, also Vince. And the manager. Ok fine, the side characters were all really good (and very diverse!). The bonus material at the end - the walkout song list, the annotated bagel recipe and running playlist - were super fun and sweet additions.
Finally, I want to note that this book is so goddamn hopeful that it hurts. And that’s a feeling that is so important to have, now and again, and to remember how it feels. In reading the Author's Note, that seemed to be a major purpose in the writing of this novel. And I want Hoffman to know that It. Came. Through. Maybe not everything that happens seems possible right now. But that doesn't mean it won't ever be, or that that's a reason not to try/dream for it, and that is the message. The unabashed joy in being who you are - in regards to both gender and sexuality - is on full display here. And even if it's not always/universally supported, it's still very, very worth focusing on the many who DO support, and celebrate, that inclusion. When I finished reading this, I felt full. I love that feeling. Everyone deserves to have it, to see it for themselves and people like themselves. Beautiful.
"Love without the details, he has always found, is easier to receive."
"...there's something a little freeing in admitting to yourself that something will scare you no matter how well you prepare."
"But the other part, the part that queer people maybe understand better than anyone else, is the act of a parent changing the shape of their home so it can fit you, and loving you as much as they always have. More, because they know you better now."
"Hope can be selfless. But wanting feels selfish, and wanting means disappointment. / Hope doesn't? / Hope and optimism, are, like...shots in the dark. Wanting is specific, and it's hungry. It's nuance."
"It is absolutely like Gene to force himself not to want something just because the possibility of not getting it, the grief of losing something he never had, hurts too much. It's one of his best skills."
"You were literally made to be on a baseball diamond. Which is kind of incredible, because you were also not at all made to be on a baseball diamond."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, and Medical content
shelvesofivy's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this arc!
The incredible cover art is what first caught my attention, and when I learned that the MC was trans, I was sold. While this book certainly puts you through an emotional roller coaster, it's still brimming with queer joy.
Gene is such a great main character to follow. He's an out and proud gay, trans man whose strength lies in his optimism (among other qualities). Even so, it's a learned/forced optimism and that makes him relatable in a way that hurts so good. Meanwhile, he compliments the other characters around him so well—most of all Luis, of course.
This book is very clearly a love letter to baseball, so I think that baseball fans will get a lot out of it. Admittedly a lot of the technical stuff either didn’t interest me, or I found myself straight up not understanding certain aspects.
The pacing also lagged just slightly. Between 50-60% especially, I found the story dragging by a little slowly and had to make myself continue reading. This lag is what kept it from being higher rated for me.
The stars of this book are the characters, their dialogue, and the prose. The writing itself was super lovely—I found myself both laughing and crying.
As a whole, this was such a sweet romance! I'd recommend it to anyone who loves queer joy, deep conversations, and sports romances.
The incredible cover art is what first caught my attention, and when I learned that the MC was trans, I was sold. While this book certainly puts you through an emotional roller coaster, it's still brimming with queer joy.
Gene is such a great main character to follow. He's an out and proud gay, trans man whose strength lies in his optimism (among other qualities). Even so, it's a learned/forced optimism and that makes him relatable in a way that hurts so good. Meanwhile, he compliments the other characters around him so well—most of all Luis, of course.
This book is very clearly a love letter to baseball, so I think that baseball fans will get a lot out of it. Admittedly a lot of the technical stuff either didn’t interest me, or I found myself straight up not understanding certain aspects.
The pacing also lagged just slightly. Between 50-60% especially, I found the story dragging by a little slowly and had to make myself continue reading. This lag is what kept it from being higher rated for me.
The stars of this book are the characters, their dialogue, and the prose. The writing itself was super lovely—I found myself both laughing and crying.
As a whole, this was such a sweet romance! I'd recommend it to anyone who loves queer joy, deep conversations, and sports romances.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia
More...