Wow… I wish I understood baseball better. In my defense, I’ve only ever watched two full games of baseball in my entire life. But luckily, I was still able to enjoy this book!

In The Prospects by KT Hoffman, Gene Ionescu is living his dream: playing on a minor league baseball team, where he’s often viewed as one of their most promising players. But when Luis Estrada, his old friend from school, is traded to the same team, everything is turned upside down. Gene and Luis haven’t spoken in years and things are frosty, to say the least. Gene knows he’ll have to deal with this new development and learn to get along with Luis if they’re going to be a good team overall, but it’s hard. Especially since Gene can’t help noticing how handsome Luis has become…

This was pretty cute! I liked the two main characters, Gene and Luis, though their rivals-to-friends-to-lovers journey was very predictable. Still, they had good banter with each other, and that’s something I always like. It’s not the most fantastic, sweep-me-off-my-feet-with-the-feels love story I’ve ever read, but it’s cute.

I also loved seeing a trans man as the main character in a sports romance story, because that’s not something I’ve ever seen before. Gene’s identity certainly has an impact on the story—he’s a minor league up-and-comer, after all, and trans people in sports is unfortunately still a matter of contention for some reason—but this is not a story about suffering or being oppressed. Rather, Gene is allowed to strive for success and generally to thrive. While he does sometimes face struggles due to the bigotry of his environment, this is still very much a book celebrating queer, especially trans, joy and empowerment.

The other characters, especially Vince and the coach of the team, are fun too, and make for a good cast of background characters. I felt for Vince, whose shoulder injury leads to a lot of difficulty for him, and his own subplot was quite well done.

I think the weakest aspect of the story, for me, was actually the baseball parts. I feel like, while there were plenty of scenes that featured the sport, I felt a little at a loss because it didn’t feel well enough explained. This is a book for baseball fans first, and if you don’t know the game well, you’re going to feel a little less connected to this aspect of the story. I mean, I barely knew how it works to be in the minor league, going for the majors, and I still couldn’t explain it after finishing this book. I do, however, appreciate that Gene’s and Luis’s careers didn’t progress in a perfect upward movement; they face obstacles and setbacks in a very believable way. And their doubts about what they even want make them both quite sympathetic.

In the end, The Prospects is a light-hearted love story with a lot of good things going for it. Solid characters and development thereof, with so much optimism and kindness, makes for a fun read. The baseball aspects left me a little bemused, but that’s my own fault; anyone with even ten percent more knowledge of the game than I will probably have more fun with it. (I should note, though, that there are some quite steamy scenes, so if that’s not your cup of tea, keep that in mind.) But anyway, the audiobook is an enjoyable experience; narrator Shaan Dasani does a great job. If you’re looking for a summer read, and you liked Red, White & Royal Blue, this would be a good choice!