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garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Okay so yes this was a baseball romance but I kinda could've done with less baseball lol
Overall this was a great story. The relationship between the two MCs, between the one MC and his best friend, and the MCs' personal journeys. All worthwhile.
🎧 Single POV, single narrator.
🌶️ 4/5 for only a few scenes but it gets a bump up for depicting explicit gay trans sex because I rarely see that (this is at least partially my own fault in the books I pick but anyways it's underrepresented is my point)
🏳️🌈✊ The protagonist is a trans man (so is the author). His love interest is Latine. Theyare both gay . I don't have any lived experience as a trans person, a man, or a gay person. But from my perspective this story honored the characters' experiences and humanity by creating complex beings with multiple motivations who were very relatable. So it really worked IMHO.
Overall this was a great story. The relationship between the two MCs, between the one MC and his best friend, and the MCs' personal journeys. All worthwhile.
🎧 Single POV, single narrator.
🌶️ 4/5 for only a few scenes but it gets a bump up for depicting explicit gay trans sex because I rarely see that (this is at least partially my own fault in the books I pick but anyways it's underrepresented is my point)
🏳️🌈✊ The protagonist is a trans man (so is the author). His love interest is Latine. They
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Deadnaming, Vomit, and Alcohol
3readingcircus's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- Trans MMC
- ASL rep
- ADHD rep
- Anxiety
- Brief Down syndrome mention (minor character)
Loved this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Medical content
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Racism, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
wjquick32's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
5.0
Just when I mentioned how much I love seeing trans rep in my queer romances, here comes a beautiful, heartfelt, moving book about a gay trans man by a queer trans author. I was enthralled, every single page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia
erika_winters's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
5.0
I am smiling while writing this; my fingers can’t move fast enough to type through all my happiness as I try to condense my thoughts into coherent sentences. This book brings with it a sense of hope. It discusses the love for baseball, trans joy, queer love, and the most adorable gay men in any romance novel I’ve ever read. Gene and Luis, you have my heart for life. KT Hoffman truly loves baseball and you can see it on every page of this book—from the description of the infield dirt on the bottom of Gene’s cleats to the sparse crowd filling into the old metal seats of their old Beaverton minor league stadium.
Hoffman knows ball; the baseball turn of phrases within the prose was fun to see on the page as a big baseball fan myself. I found myself smiling and laughing along with the characters, and even crying three different times throughout from pain and from pure queer love that is unapologetically shown in the book. I also loved Nancy and Dan, the Beaverton commentators in the booth; it showed the other aspect of the game so many of us love, which is listening to keen insight from sports analysts to bring the game to life for us via the radio and on television; it reminded me of my love of the Mets television booth consisting of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling (GKR). Speaking of GKR, it was lovely seeing Citi Field on the page and the mention of the Mets as a fond baseball team in Gene’s heart from living in Brooklyn with his dads.
From Baker, to Vince, to the Kyles, to Gonzo, every single character was electric and lovable in their own ways (yes, even the stern Baker who tells it like it is in all her coach-like ways). Hoffman knocked it out of the park with this one, and my heart is swelling with joy after reading this. I will forever think of Gene and Luis and the precious love they have for one another. Baseball is forever, and so is my love for these beautifully queer characters.
My hope, along with Hoffman and so many other queer athletes, is that professional men’s sports becomes more inclusive, and with texts like this, even if it is fictional, will inspire people to make this shift happen and result in the change we so desperately need across every career in life, but especially in sports since it is such a toxic arena for straight, cisgendered men to populate. This book gives me hope looking ahead into a bright future where trans men can find their place in baseball and feel welcomed and appreciated. Here’s hoping that it will one day become true, and we can root and stand behind queer professional athletes in cisgendered male sports who are unabashedly themselves, and when that happens, we will welcome them with open arms.
Hoffman knows ball; the baseball turn of phrases within the prose was fun to see on the page as a big baseball fan myself. I found myself smiling and laughing along with the characters, and even crying three different times throughout from pain and from pure queer love that is unapologetically shown in the book. I also loved Nancy and Dan, the Beaverton commentators in the booth; it showed the other aspect of the game so many of us love, which is listening to keen insight from sports analysts to bring the game to life for us via the radio and on television; it reminded me of my love of the Mets television booth consisting of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling (GKR). Speaking of GKR, it was lovely seeing Citi Field on the page and the mention of the Mets as a fond baseball team in Gene’s heart from living in Brooklyn with his dads.
From Baker, to Vince, to the Kyles, to Gonzo, every single character was electric and lovable in their own ways (yes, even the stern Baker who tells it like it is in all her coach-like ways). Hoffman knocked it out of the park with this one, and my heart is swelling with joy after reading this. I will forever think of Gene and Luis and the precious love they have for one another. Baseball is forever, and so is my love for these beautifully queer characters.
My hope, along with Hoffman and so many other queer athletes, is that professional men’s sports becomes more inclusive, and with texts like this, even if it is fictional, will inspire people to make this shift happen and result in the change we so desperately need across every career in life, but especially in sports since it is such a toxic arena for straight, cisgendered men to populate. This book gives me hope looking ahead into a bright future where trans men can find their place in baseball and feel welcomed and appreciated. Here’s hoping that it will one day become true, and we can root and stand behind queer professional athletes in cisgendered male sports who are unabashedly themselves, and when that happens, we will welcome them with open arms.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
shaipanda's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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
5.0
Shshsusjjsbskajsjosnsj THIS WAS AMAZINGGG 💕💕💕 by far the best thing I’ve read in a bit and absolutely insanely good for a debut novel
Loved the characters, related to the rep almost a concerning amount lmao and just their story was so well done and lovely
Loved the characters, related to the rep almost a concerning amount lmao and just their story was so well done and lovely
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Deadnaming, Car accident, and Death of parent
tenderbench's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
joensign's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
luciferlibrarian_93's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 ⭐️ a nice little read, lots of queer and trans joy, and loootttttttttttssssss of baseball. If I had to read the description of a baseball jersey again I’d throw it across the room. Also, unneeded conflict about 70 pages from the end that’s resolved with 30 pages to go so then I found myself skimming to finish the book. ⚾️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
milesofkiles's review
emotional
funny
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
njh_books's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was a nice trip down memory lane to my own softball days (different sports yes, but many similarities). The author knows his baseball and it shined through in the book.
Gene did grind my gears at times...and I found it dragged often in spots.
The book didn't really ever clarify why Luis ghosted Gene when he got drafted. I think that's something they would've had to work through to be able to make it work. I also thought that Luis just dropping out of baseball at the end felt a bit out of character and random, but I guess it allows Gene to have his moment in the sun. Glad they at least won the Triple A Championship together. The scene at the end of the Futures Game was sweet as sugar.
Enjoyed Gene and Vince's relationship too, but really got tired of the miscommunication trope when Gene was having it with both Vince and Luis at the same time.
Baker was a dream manager. Wish I could've played under her--also really enjoyed her storyline.
Gene did grind my gears at times...and I found it dragged often in spots.
Enjoyed Gene and Vince's relationship too, but really got tired of the miscommunication trope when Gene was having it with both Vince and Luis at the same time.
Baker was a dream manager. Wish I could've played under her--also really enjoyed her storyline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing