The Indie Next List
Annual membership is here!
Learn more
Bookseller pick
Send as gift
Add to Wish List
Almost ready!
In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.
Log in Create account
Become a member and support local bookstores
You‘ll enjoy credits that never expire, a 30% discount on additional audiobooks, and access to exclusive sales!
Explore membershipsThe Prospects
A Novel
Length
11 hours 35 minutes
Language
English
Narrators
Shaan Dasani & KT Hoffman
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“Coming off my first rec softball season, I was very excited to read this queer baseball romance and it did not disappoint! I loved the optimistic Gene and his passion for his minor league team and it's members. The friends to enemies to lovers arc is deliciously fraught and filled with sexual tension and misunderstandings. It's perfect for sports movie and rom com fans alike!”
— Kimi L • The Silver Unicorn Bookstore
Bookseller recommendation
“This is one of, if not the best romances I've ever read. This book was moving and funny and just steeped in love. Even if you're not a baseball fan (me), this is a must read for romance lovers! KT Hoffman truly knocked his debut out of the park! ”
— Elizabeth D. • Nowhere Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“How can you not be romantic about baseball? I had a massive grin on my face the entire time I was reading this sweet, sexy romance between the first trans man to play pro baseball and his college-teammate-turned-minor-leagues-rival. I could almost hear the crack of the bat, smell the ballpark popcorn, and feel Luis and Gene's heartbeats as they slowly open up to each other. But you don't have to care about baseball to enjoy this book! The Prospects is a fresh, funny, optimistic story that pulls at your heartstrings and sweeps you up in the heartswelling emotions of a scrappy team whose eccentric players become one another's chosen family. One of my favorite reads of the year! ”
— Rebecca • Quail Ridge Books
Bookseller recommendation
“A joyful, heartfelt debut! Gene loves baseball and his team, even in the minors. It’s enough to be the first openly trans player. When a face from the past joins his team, it upsets the life Gene’s made for himself. Can he restore the balance?”
— Jennifer Jones • Bookmiser
Bookseller recommendation
“This is my dream romance come to life! I had to pinch myself when I first came across it! I mean, a trans MC and, at the very least, proportional BIPOC representation set against the backdrop of the baseball world, what else could you ask for?”
— Vio • Content
Bookseller recommendation
“I had so much fun reading this book! The first openly trans player in minor league baseball, Gene has to contend with his former teammate and present rival, Luis, being traded to his team. This book encapsulates the joys of playing a team sport and unfolds a beautifully tender romance between its two lovable main characters. Highly recommend!”
— Olivia • Author's Note
“A queer sports romance and a triumphant debut . . . a heartstring-pulling tale of two minor-league baseball rivals who realize they play much better together.”—Elle, The Best (and Most Anticipated) Romance Books of 2024, So Far “I completely adored it.”—Casey McQuiston, author of Red, White & Royal BlueAN ELLE AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF THE YEARMinor leagues. Major chemistry.Hope is familiar territory for Gene Ionescu. He has always loved baseball, a sport made for underdogs and optimists like him. He also loves his team, the minor league Beaverton Beavers, and, for the most part, he loves the career he’s built. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life.Gene and Luis can’t manage a civil conversation off the field or a competent play on it, but in the close confines of dugout benches and roadie buses, they begrudgingly rediscover a comfortable rhythm. As the two grow closer, the tension between them turns electric, and their chemistry spills past the confines of the stadium. For every tight double play they execute, there’s also a glance at summer-tan shoulders or a secret shared, each one a breathless moment of possibility that ignites in Gene the visceral, terrifying kind of desire he’s never allowed himself. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis inspires.This triumphant debut romance reveals what’s possible when we allow ourselves to want something enough to swing for the fences.
KT Hoffman is originally from Beaverton, Oregon and currently lives in Brooklyn. He received his bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing from Stanford University. If he isn’t writing about trans hope and gay kissing, he’s probably white-knuckling his way through the ninth inning of a Seattle Mariners game. The Prospects is his debut novel.
KT Hoffman is originally from Beaverton, Oregon and currently lives in Brooklyn. He received his bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing from Stanford University. If he isn’t writing about trans hope and gay kissing, he’s probably white-knuckling his way through the ninth inning of a Seattle Mariners game. The Prospects is his debut novel.
Booksellers also recommend...
Featured in these playlists...
Audiobook details
Author:
KT Hoffman
Narrators:
Shaan Dasani & KT Hoffman
ISBN:
9780593795989
Length:
11 hours 35 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Publication date:
April 9, 2024
Edition:
Unabridged
Libro.fm rank:
#1,086 Overall
Genre rank:
#73 in LGBTQIA+ Fiction
Reviews
“It may come as a shock to learn that this is KT Hoffman’s debut novel since it captures all the perfectly frustrating magic of a great enemies-to-lovers romance.”—Marie Claire, “The 25 Best Romance Books of 2024 (So Far)”“The Prospects has everything you could want in a small-town romance: community, interpersonal drama and so much heart you’ll find yourself grinning from beginning to end. Looking for a feel-good read? Hoffman makes you feel like you’re on top of the world.”—The New York Times Book Review, “The Best Small-Town Romance Novels”
“Hoffman’s debut is entertaining, sexy and delivers a much-needed joyful tale of queer love.”—USA Today
“In KT Hoffman’s debut The Prospects, [teammates who] haven’t the foggiest idea how to communicate during a game . . . find a surprising amount in common in the dugout—including an attraction neither can ignore.”—Paste Magazine
“The Prospects is about dreaming big, finding love and blowing the roof off simply by existing. It’s a debut so good it’s in a league of its own.”—BookPage, starred review
“Hoffman hits it out of the park with his feel-good queer frenemies-to-lovers debut . . .”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“It’s a joy-filled romance sure to have baseball fans and sport-hating readers cheering wholeheartedly for the Beavers.”—Book Riot, “Best Queer Books of 2024”
“This debut romance explores the power of desire and the courage to reach for something more.”—BiblioLifestyle
“The queer romcom I’ve been waiting for . . . The Prospects is a love letter to baseball, the Pacific Northwest, and trans joy. I adored every second of it!”—Alison Cochrun, author of The Charm Offensive
“This book is optimism and grit, dedication and unbridled joy. I fell in love with baseball, Gene and Luis, and the earnest beauty of KT Hoffman’s writing. An absolute delight.”—Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of The Ex Talk
“A gorgeously written tale of queer joy and trans possibility, a heart-stealing romance and a loving tribute to the art of baseball—particularly the beauty, struggle, and camaraderie of the minor leagues . . . ”—Anita Kelly, author of Love & Other Disasters
“My heart beat fast, my feelings soared, and then I got tickets to a minor league game.”—Sabrina Imbler, author of How Far the Light Reaches
“KT Hoffman’s debut is, pardon the sports analogy, a homerun. If you liked Ted Lasso, you will love The Prospects.”—John Paul Brammer, author of ¡Hola Papi!
“The Prospects is the book I will reread every time I want to go back to a world where I feel safe, and loved, and like big-hearted underdogs can rule the world.”—Alicia Thompson, author of With Love, from Cold World Expand reviews
Start gifting
Libro.fm for Business
Start a membership, get two free audiobooks