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invaderday's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
i'm soooo blinded by my love of gay baseball right now i don't even know what to say in this review :')
i really love the delicate balance of real-world attitudes about being gay + trans mixed into this fantasy world where women and trans ppl can play professional minor and major league baseball, even if they're still easing into being the Firsts. like, it's mildly unrealistic, but again all romance is a little bit fantasy, and that's part of the charm baby!
one of the details i loved the most waswhen vince is recording gene's call-up announcement because i loooove seeing those videos in real life and the baseball comradery is so infectious and purely joyous!! baseball is about love and love is about baseball and i couldn't really ask for more than that.
this book is going to single-handedly create a legion of new (and gay) baseball fans and i, for one, can't wait to see it
i really love the delicate balance of real-world attitudes about being gay + trans mixed into this fantasy world where women and trans ppl can play professional minor and major league baseball, even if they're still easing into being the Firsts. like, it's mildly unrealistic, but again all romance is a little bit fantasy, and that's part of the charm baby!
one of the details i loved the most was
this book is going to single-handedly create a legion of new (and gay) baseball fans and i, for one, can't wait to see it
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders
its_vendetta's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
5.0
Wow. such an uplifting book I absolutely adored this!!! Made me remember that I can do everything I put my mind to and that WE CAN WANT THINGS!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Deadnaming and Car accident
cloudprince's review
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Homophobia
Minor: Deadnaming and Car accident
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
30something_reads's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
4.5
This book was pure queer joy!
I absolutely LOVED Gene and Luis as characters. They were both so heartfelt and perfect together. Their relationship felt real- the pacing, the communication, the banter, the conflict- everything! And the sheer number of happy tears I cried for them... were numerous.
Not only was this a delightful romance but it was also most definitely a baseball story with all of the nitty gritty details. (And as it turns out, I'm really into that.) I loved all of the team dynamics.
AND THE REP!! Oh my god, the rep! Here we go:
I absolutely LOVED Gene and Luis as characters. They were both so heartfelt and perfect together. Their relationship felt real- the pacing, the communication, the banter, the conflict- everything! And the sheer number of happy tears I cried for them... were numerous.
Not only was this a delightful romance but it was also most definitely a baseball story with all of the nitty gritty details. (And as it turns out, I'm really into that.) I loved all of the team dynamics.
AND THE REP!! Oh my god, the rep! Here we go:
- Jewish Romanian American Transmasc Gay MC
- Mexican American Cis Gay LI
- ADHD Rep (MC)
- Anxiety Rep (LI)
- Deaf Rep (side character)
- Downs Syndrome Rep (side character)
- Multiple queer side characters- lesbian, gay, and bi
*Thank you to PRH for a free audio copy and thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC*
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death of parent, Transphobia, and Car accident
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 careermarmaladereads's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
Gene has not seen Luis off the field since they played college ball together 7 years ago, and Luis ghosted him as soon as he got drafted into the minor leagues. Now, thanks to an unexpected trade, Gene and Luis are playing on the same team, and have to find a way to work together in this rivals to lovers sports romance.
This is a giddy, joyous, feet kicking, giggling and blushing into your book romance. Gene is a joy of a character with a sharp wit and an endless optimism that can crack anyone's tough exterior, and the sparks that fly between him and Luis are unreal. There is an absolutely delicious slow burn filled with yearning, flirting that the awkward idiots are totally oblivious to, and some intense pining. It's everything I love in a romance.
The sports drama was very well woven into the personal drama of the characters, and the conflict and struggles Gene and Luis face felt honest and believable and hard. It's also filled to the brim with trans joy, and the way the characters find their way is so heartwarming and satisfying. An extremely well done debut, I highly recommend it.
Big thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!
This is a giddy, joyous, feet kicking, giggling and blushing into your book romance. Gene is a joy of a character with a sharp wit and an endless optimism that can crack anyone's tough exterior, and the sparks that fly between him and Luis are unreal. There is an absolutely delicious slow burn filled with yearning, flirting that the awkward idiots are totally oblivious to, and some intense pining. It's everything I love in a romance.
The sports drama was very well woven into the personal drama of the characters, and the conflict and struggles Gene and Luis face felt honest and believable and hard. It's also filled to the brim with trans joy, and the way the characters find their way is so heartwarming and satisfying. An extremely well done debut, I highly recommend it.
Big thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Transphobia, Car accident, and Medical content
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
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