This is my first book by this author. I like the approach to the ADHD representation. I did have some LOL moments in this book, but I felt it was overdone. Author could’ve put more thoughtfulness into it, but it seemed dramatized a tad. Unrealistic dialogue where characters were unkind to one another when it could’ve been more meaningful and built a slow burn. However I did like how the author went around the norm of a typical rom-com with the ADHD representation and the game show setting.
Thank you NetGalley, Jen Comfort and Montlake for providing me a copy of the ARC for an honest review.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I wanted to love it, I’m stopping around 43%, I’m just not connecting with either character. There have been a few funny moments, and I’ll likely pick it up again in the future.

Neither characters are likable and I don’t like how the book is written. And I can’t imagine reading 300 more pages!

What is love ?

I adored this book! From start to finish it was a delight. I love Jen Comfort’s writing and the way she leans into an over the top plot line while still making the characters, and situations they are in, amazingly relatable. Her humor is so funny, so sharp, with laugh out loud, impeccably paced banter alternated with swoony and heartfelt moments of raw honesty. I loved the way that Jen thrusts you right into What is Love? with the rivalry and chemistry between Teddy and Maxine already established, but as a reader you feel like you’ve been there all along.

Maxine and Teddy are truly likeable and good, not to mention downright sexy. I truly wish they were real people! Maxine is a highly relatable character with ADHD and aspects of her personality made me feel so seen and empowered by her portrayal. Her inner monologue is fantastic, and I love that she was proud of herself, of her strengths, and played those up instead of making herself smaller. Teddy is a starchy, rule-following sweetheart and is a total goner for Maxine. Both of them are messy people with real hurts and watching them open up to each other and grow together was very fulfilling.

This book is a romance lovers dream. The caretaking! The soft scenes! The swoony heart to hearts and declarations of love and acceptance! My heart can’t take it. It’s so wonderful and full of tenderness. It’s a beautiful story of embracing who you are and finding your people that accept you not just for who you are but encourage you to be the best version of yourself.

Jen Comfort became an autobuy author for me when I read Midnight Duet, her utterly bananas and brilliant gender-flipped retelling of The Phantom of the Opera. Her banter is top notch. Her characters are substantial.

Teddy Ferguson falls in love with Maxine Hart after she steals his lucky donut, takes one bite, corrects his trivia factoid, and then throws the rest of the donut away like a beautiful agent of chaos. I also fell in love with Maxine at that moment. There is, I think, a year and a half between Maxine overturning everything Teddy believes about himself and when he goads her into reengaging with him, thus kicking off their romance.

My housemate has been urging me to read a book her church group is reading, John Philip Newell’s Sacred Earth Sacred Soul and when I proved resistant, she narrowed it down to a single chapter, the chapter on the writings of a 20th century paleontologist and Jesuit priest named Pierre Teilhard de Chardin titled “Sacred Matter.” For those of you who might want a store of facts in the unlikely event that Teilhard becomes a trivia question, the Catholic Church hierarchy suppressed Teilhard’s writings and they only became available after his death because he signed ownership of them to a friend. Teilhard wrote about the sacredness of matter, of the physical world, including human bodies. De Chardin saw God in a lot of things that the Church viewed as sinful (including women). One passage of Newell’s chapter struck me in particular,

“By union, Teilhard means the oneness of interrelatedness. He does not mean uniformity or conformity. One of the guiding principles in both his scientific work and his spiritual teaching is that true union differentiates…The Oneness of the universe keeps producing greater and greater multiplicity, more and more differentiation of life-forms. Similarly, we know this is the most intimate relationships of our lives. The people who truly love us, and are thus most deeply one with us, are the people who have the capacity to most radically set us free to be ourselves. They delight in the uniqueness of our heart and mind , our body and soul; everything in us is cherished by everything in them. True union gives birth to the glory of differentiation.”

I went on this very long side-trip because this is the heart and soul of Teddy and Maxine’s romance. Teddy falls in love with Maxine long before he knows her, respects her, and rejoices in her. They each make a lot of assumptions about the other. Their happily ever after isn’t cemented by love, but by knowledge and trust. It’s more than an acceptance, they celebrate their differences. They allow each other to bring the thing they most fear into their life. For Teddy that is unpredictability; for Maxine it is structure and discipline. The one two punch of Maxine’s sky-diving challenge and Teddy’s geography lesson will leave you breathless and probably horny.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Montlake and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

What a fun premise! I really enjoyed these characters, and the Jeopardy-style setting. Loved it!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Thank you so much to Jen Comfort & Montlake for an advance copy of this book!

This book will be out April 1, 2024.

Holy moly I absolutely loved this book!!! I had heard about Jen's book Midnight Duet on a podcast and she has been on my radar ever since. The buzz around this book started to grow and I was so excited when I got access to it. I highlighted so many moments and quotes. It just was so good!

Teddy and Maxine are polar opposites and somehow they work so well as a couple. I will say it took me awhile for Maxine to grow on me but after their first trip to the library then it all clicked for me. I think had Comfort continued to have Maxine push Teddy's button I may have given up. I mean she still did but it was done differently compared to how it was in the first half of the book. The chemistry just built and built and I love how we knew from the first sentence of the book that he fell first. Their banter and constant battling was fun to read and I love that by the end they were really working together.

"Are we having a clandestine make-out-sesh? Because I'm suddenly very on board on libraries."

The SPICE. WHEWWWWWWW! What made this stand out compared to other romances I have recently read is where they are being intimate. The situations where the sexual tension just is so strong that it just had to be done right then and there. Teddy just adored Maxine and took such care of her.

They both grew with each other throughout the book and brought different sides out to one another. And even with growing within the book, they still also remained true to themselves. There was a moment late into the book where Maxine starts acting out and back to her mean ways and Teddy immediately could tell something was wrong. I felt that was a realistic moment and was not brushed aside or had the MMC play dumb that they weren't intune with their partner (which don't get me wrong, can still happen in relationships). It just really stood out to me and it made Maxine come to terms with things she was scared of. Bravo!!

I don't want to give away too much of story as that was part of the fun. But I just love their growth and respect for each other as the book went on. Even with being rivals they both had. the common goal of defeating the ultimate trivia winner Hercules (what a name) and getting a cool $2 million.

I just absolutely love this book & I think those who read it will have fun and enjoy it as well!

If you are a fan of trivia, rivals to friends to lovers, dual POV - check this out, you will not be disappointed!

PS - Kudos to the author for including a quote from one of my favorite movies "Hook" - "You're doing it Peter."

One sentence summary: Rival contestants on a Jeopardy-esque show live together, train together, and fall in love.

My thoughts: This book is so quirky and fun! I loved all the trivia, the world building of this fictional game show, and Teddy and Max’s chemistry. Plus there’s a scene in a field that had me like this 😳 iykyk

Recommend for fans of trivia, game shows, and books filled with humor and heart.

He wears suspenders, let's just let the nerdy factoid wash over us as we get excited for a romance about two competitors on a Jeopardy-esque show. Did I mention he wore suspenders and he's name Teddy? Max and Teddy are complete opposites in life (minus their absolutely amazing talent at knowing trivia) but come together to prepare for a champions version of Answers!. Please note that Max has ADHD and it feels like a third person in their romance (and Teddy learns how to handle her ADHD with care). It's a fun book which will suck you with with trivia facts that you'll annoy your friends with. You can't go wrong with this chaos + straight laced professor romance.

What a spicy and fun love story! This was such a quick read, I could not put it down. A British college professor and a high school drop out go head to head in this Jeopardy-esque adventure where opposites definitely attract. Check this one out for incredible banter, chemistry, spice, fun trivia and ADHD rep!

In "What Is Love?" author Jen Comfort ingeniously crafts a tale where intellect clashes with emotion in a game show romance that transcends the trivial.

Set against the backdrop of the exhilarating game show "Answers!", the story follows the unlikely pairing of polar-opposite rivals, Maxine Hart and Teddy Ferguson. Maxine, a street-smart Brooklynite with a hunger for knowledge and a penchant for risk-taking, finds herself pitted against the buttoned-up, record-holding champion Teddy. However, their rivalry takes an unexpected turn when a kiss ignites a spark between them, blurring the lines between competition and connection.

As they navigate their way through a high-stakes tournament against legendary champions, including the formidable Hercules McKnight, Maxine and Teddy must learn to combine their strengths and overcome their differences. Maxine's ADHD-fueled brilliance complements Teddy's scholarly expertise, leading to a partnership that is as exhilarating as it is unexpected.

Comfort expertly weaves together themes of knowledge, competition, and romance, creating a narrative that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. Through Maxine and Teddy's journey, readers are reminded of the magic found in the mundane, and the power of human connection in the pursuit of victory.

"What Is Love?" is a captivating read that will leave readers cheering for Maxine and Teddy as they navigate the highs and lows of love and trivia. Comfort's engaging writing style and well-developed characters make this novel a must-read for fans of contemporary romance and game show enthusiasts alike.
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Thank you netgalley for the arc, I don't have much to say rn, so maybe I'll come back and let y'all know
🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️rtc

They're rivals on a game show which is, essentially, Jeopardy!, and they're about to face off for the third time. She's the hard scrabble, ADHD, learns from the world around her, and he's the fancy educated professor son of actual British peerage (or close enough). They do NOT hit it off initially. Sure, there's a life changing kiss in a hotel swimming pool, but they still hate each other. And for romance reasons they're about to live together for five weeks to train for the show. What could go wrong?

I had to stop and read things out loud to my husband so many times, the writing is that funny. Maxine has big Natasha Lyonne character energy and I love it. The references in this book hit exactly for me. Teddy is so buttoned up, it's a delight watching him relax. The banter, the teasing, the lust!

And when I tell you this book is hot? Oh my word. There's this one scene in front of a map which... Goodness gracious me. These two can't get enough of each other, even in some questionable situations.

There are some serious themes in the book - Maxine had a difficult childhood with a mother addicted to gambling (now deceased) and Teddy's father's memory is failing. These are present throughout and provide an effective counterpoint to all the fun, wacky banter, without overpowering it.

There's also a bad guy in the book - the number one ranked Not-Jeopardy! player - and I inexplicably and unavoidably picture him as Jeff Goldblum from the Apartment.com commercials.

This book was especially a pleasure for me as I've enjoyed, but haven't adored the two previous books I've read from this author. This one, I adore.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a DNF for me at 12% just couldn't get myself to continue it tried to come back to it a few times just not the book for me I guess. Would not discourage anyone else from reading it just didn't work for me. I want to thank NetGalley and Montlake for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

As a life-long fan of a certain televised trivia show....this book was everything! I loved it so much! The characters were relatable and funny. I am super competitive so this book made me laugh so much. I love the titles of the chapters as well. The chemistry is on point. Highly recommend. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

Jen Comfort is our favorite contemporary romance author right now, bar none. She writes truly laugh-out-loud funny romcoms (which, sadly, simply cannot be said for most books labeled "romcom"), adds some suuuuuuuper spicy scenes, but also doesn't make you feel like you're missing out on any depth. They're bonkers in the most perfect way.

What Is Love? is no exception. We've got ourselves two trivia game show champions, chaos demon Maxine and rule follower Teddy. They've been supremely attracted to each other from the moment they met, but they hate each other. He plays the game using the established patterns, doesn't risk too much, and has one of the longest runs in the history of the show. Maxine plays the game the way she lives: she jumps from subject to subject, risks as much as she can whenever she gets the chance, and ALSO has one of the longest runs in the history of the show. When they're invited to participate in a champions' championship, they discover that despite their differences, they have one thing in common: the desire to beat the chump who had the longest unbeaten run back in the '90s. They join forces to train. Teddy will tutor her in geography, and she'll show him that taking risks can be worth it. And this is a romance, so you'd better bet they fall in love along the way.

So this is hilarious, sure, but I'm going to be honest: we were low-key stressed from the very, very beginning about the ending of the book. There's only one of two ways a book about a competition can end, right? Either Teddy wins, or Maxine wins. Somehow Jen Comfort put together an incredible third act that includes one of the hottest stairwell scenes we've ever read, the most bonkers takedown of the big bad, the best final round questions ever and - possibly best of all? - that avoids a third act breakup. Amazing. Loved it. Ready for another Jen Comfort right now please and thank you.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

What a romp! Maxine and Teddy are opposites to be sure but they're both aces at trivia. And now they're competing against each other. Fans of the genre know what's going to happen but Comfort has done a great job building her characters. Loved the game show setting. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Picked as my stores romance book club pick for April this book was a wonderful delight! I really like both MCs and can't wait to discuss it with the rest of the club!

The book is well written and witty, but the pace was a bit fast for me, and I had trouble connecting to the characters.

Genre: contemporary romance

Theodore Ferguson III (Teddy), a Princeton professor, held the longest winning streak on the trivia game show Answers!, that is until Maxine Hart defeated him and went on to her own streak, raking in over $2 million in winnings herself. Maxine’s nontraditional study methods left her vulnerable for the tournament, though, and Teddy defeated her in equally embarrassing fashion, cementing their Answers! rivalry. Now, though, there’s a special tournament, which means a chance to redeem herself, and Maxine is ready for her next challenge…which means admitting she’s lacking in certain research skills, and leaning on her archrival for help. Maxine knows that she’s a lot for anyone to handle, but probably particularly the starchy professor to whom she is undeniably and inconveniently attracted.

There is literally nothing I didn't love about this book. From the high stakes to risk taking Maxine and her ADHD and anxiety to stalwart and starchy Teddy, to the drama, and to the incendiary sex scenes, I loved every moment. I find often that the more Comfort leans in on the bananas direction of her plots, the more she’s able to give us realistic and messy characters. While I don’t personally know anyone who has the same experiences as Teddy and Maxine, I do know people who react to circumstances and interpersonal relationships exactly the way they do.

I've said this before about Jen Comfort's writing, but I've never felt more seen on page with her ADHD characters, and that holds particularly true with Maxine. Sometimes, it's a comfort to know that you're not alone in your neurodiversity, and I loved loved loved seeing Maxine truly fully herself. It’s extremely gratifying to see women with ADHD on page, since we present symptoms differently than men.

Be prepared for some very spicy scenes, all with well-timed humor, but also meaningful character development. Honestly, I’d be interested in brushing up on some geography myself. But in between hot kisses in stairwells and skydiving and intense competition, there’s self reflection and caretaking and love.

What is Love? is officially out 4/1/24 (a PERFECT April Fools release!) but available NOW through Prime Reads if you have Amazon Prime. I cannot recommend this book enough to everyone, but it’s a must-read for Millennial women with ADHD.

I really liked the premise. However, from the moment these 2 sauntered onto page, I was annoyed. He is the typical extremely uptight smart guy with no give. She is not like other girls because free spirit but smart.
I was entertained by their training choices but overall this book was not for me.