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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
5 out of 5 stars
Rep: Trans gay Jewish main character, Mexican gay love interest with anxiety and a service dog, queer side characters, Latinx and Asian side characters, side characters who are Deaf and have Down Syndrome
Content warnings: Societal transphobia/homophobia/racism, mentioned past parent death, on-page panic attacks, brief hospitalization, needles (used for HRT and piercings), on-page sex, mentioned social media bullying, sports-related injury of a side character
Happy #TransRightsReadathon! This is genuinely one of my new favorite books. All the characters are incredibly well-developed, it has the perfect balance of humor and hotness and sweetness and sports, and (most importantly) trans joy is at the center.
I’m obsessed with both Gene and Luis. They have ADHD and anxiety respectively, and I also have both. I felt so seen by Luis's needle phobia and neither of them having had much prior sexual experience. And speaking of which — my GOD, the spice! Admittedly I’m always a tad scared to read cis + trans sex scenes; as a transmasc nonbinary person, I worry about it feeling fetish-y or misgender-y. K. T. Hoffman blew me away, though, and this was just his debut!! It just goes to show why it’s so important to have trans authors write trans sex scenes.
I also adored the excellent support systems both leads had. Luis’s family is precious, and Gene feeling affirmed by being told he looks like his dad? *chefs kiss*
If I had to critique one thing, I would say that it might have helped to have a few of the baseball terms explained, or maybe a small glossary included. I’m unfortunately not a Sports Gay™️, so I sometimes felt a tiny bit lost. But it never took me too much out of the story, and made me want to go watch some baseball this spring and summer!
All in all, this might be the best debut I’ve ever read, and I will absolutely buy a physical copy when it publishes.
Also, I want a sequel about the Denny's server who hates their job.
**HUGE thank you to Dial Press for granting me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**
Rep: Trans gay Jewish main character, Mexican gay love interest with anxiety and a service dog, queer side characters, Latinx and Asian side characters, side characters who are Deaf and have Down Syndrome
Content warnings: Societal transphobia/homophobia/racism, mentioned past parent death, on-page panic attacks, brief hospitalization, needles (used for HRT and piercings), on-page sex, mentioned social media bullying, sports-related injury of a side character
Happy #TransRightsReadathon! This is genuinely one of my new favorite books. All the characters are incredibly well-developed, it has the perfect balance of humor and hotness and sweetness and sports, and (most importantly) trans joy is at the center.
I’m obsessed with both Gene and Luis. They have ADHD and anxiety respectively, and I also have both. I felt so seen by Luis's needle phobia and neither of them having had much prior sexual experience. And speaking of which — my GOD, the spice! Admittedly I’m always a tad scared to read cis + trans sex scenes; as a transmasc nonbinary person, I worry about it feeling fetish-y or misgender-y. K. T. Hoffman blew me away, though, and this was just his debut!! It just goes to show why it’s so important to have trans authors write trans sex scenes.
I also adored the excellent support systems both leads had. Luis’s family is precious, and Gene feeling affirmed by being told he looks like his dad? *chefs kiss*
If I had to critique one thing, I would say that it might have helped to have a few of the baseball terms explained, or maybe a small glossary included. I’m unfortunately not a Sports Gay™️, so I sometimes felt a tiny bit lost. But it never took me too much out of the story, and made me want to go watch some baseball this spring and summer!
All in all, this might be the best debut I’ve ever read, and I will absolutely buy a physical copy when it publishes.
Also, I want a sequel about the Denny's server who hates their job.
**HUGE thank you to Dial Press for granting me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
emotional
inspiring
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
But listen, no one has ever done what you're doing. You should do it the way you want to. If you give up now, no one else is ever going the get the chance to try. Keep your eye on the ball.
there is something incredibly charming about this book, especially considering the state of the world. the prospects is unflinchingly hopeful and earnest in its depiction of transness and queerness in sports. the book opens on an author's note about how this may not be realistic, and that's true, but it feels GOOD to imagine that a gay trans man could play sports on such a high level and be embraced.
of course, things aren't perfect. the book touches on transphobia and homophobia, but this largely isn't that kind of story. and i appreciate that, honestly. sometimes you don't want a story that heavy-- and yes, unfortunately, that would be heavy.
the romance is incredibly sweet. almost saccharine. it's extremely comforting, especially once things start rolling toward the middle relationship-wise. you'll have to drag through the beginning, which is the weakest point of the book, because they're set up as rivals to lovers and that just straight up is not true and i think that aspect could've been edited out. they are former college teammates who grew distant for Reasons but this dislike/hate at the start is Extremely forced. luckily, this is dropped fairly easily. once you get past it, it's smooth sailing.
the sports angle of this is a double-edged sword. baseball is the backbone of this book, and to a certain degree, this is more like a baseball story with a queer subplot. if you don't like sports and don't like baseball, this might be a slog and might be hard to follow. that said, i don't think it's that alienating? i think the love of baseball and sports as a queer and trans person really elevates it, because that experience is very different from being cishet or even just cis and liking sports.
there are barely any romance novels focused on trans characters, and as a transmasc i'm very glad this book exists. i will absolutely check out this author's works in the future :)
there is something incredibly charming about this book, especially considering the state of the world. the prospects is unflinchingly hopeful and earnest in its depiction of transness and queerness in sports. the book opens on an author's note about how this may not be realistic, and that's true, but it feels GOOD to imagine that a gay trans man could play sports on such a high level and be embraced.
of course, things aren't perfect. the book touches on transphobia and homophobia, but this largely isn't that kind of story. and i appreciate that, honestly. sometimes you don't want a story that heavy-- and yes, unfortunately, that would be heavy.
the romance is incredibly sweet. almost saccharine. it's extremely comforting, especially once things start rolling toward the middle relationship-wise. you'll have to drag through the beginning, which is the weakest point of the book, because they're set up as rivals to lovers and that just straight up is not true and i think that aspect could've been edited out. they are former college teammates who grew distant for Reasons but this dislike/hate at the start is Extremely forced. luckily, this is dropped fairly easily. once you get past it, it's smooth sailing.
the sports angle of this is a double-edged sword. baseball is the backbone of this book, and to a certain degree, this is more like a baseball story with a queer subplot. if you don't like sports and don't like baseball, this might be a slog and might be hard to follow. that said, i don't think it's that alienating? i think the love of baseball and sports as a queer and trans person really elevates it, because that experience is very different from being cishet or even just cis and liking sports.
there are barely any romance novels focused on trans characters, and as a transmasc i'm very glad this book exists. i will absolutely check out this author's works in the future :)
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Yes
Solid romance story. I really enjoyed baseball, it was an additional character in the book.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated