3.5 stars
This is an entertaining, fun read. Teddy and Maxine are interesting, relatable, intriguing, entertaining, complex characters. Teddy intrigued me and the more that we got to know him the more I liked. There were times when I really liked Maxine and times when I really didn’t like her. It made for an interesting reading experience. I enjoyed the premise and how it played out – especially the ending to the quiz show tournament and for the romance. I enjoyed the enemies to lover aspect and much of the banter. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story. I enjoyed the family and friends aspects and the roles they played in the story. There were aspects of this story that felt dragged out, but overall it’s an enjoyable read.

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

What is Love? is a cleverly written, smart rom-com. Jen Comfort's humor is not for everyone and may miss the mark with some... but not this reader! I loved the high heat and high intelligence. Great combo and great chemistry.
Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Maxine and Teddy are former winners on a game show called Answers! who are brought back together to compete in a championship tournament. Teddy is a meticulous and conservative player, while Maxine leans into the chaos and her natural talents - betting large and buzzing in even when she doesn't know the answer. Before the tournament, they come to an agreement to teach the other some of their skills/strategy and not to give into their intense chemistry.

This book is just really really fun - a true romp! I loved both characters - the banter, snark, and hotness were on a new level and I just ate it up! This book is HOT even if a fair amount of the sex happens off page (don't worry the scenes that are there absolutely scratch that itch). I think Jen Comfort is really good at creating sex scenes that move a relationship forward (iykyk - I'm definitely talking about sex on the stairs). The characters both have backstories that affect them but also don't overwhelm the plot/story here, which I really appreciate.

If I thought more about this book, do I think there were maybe some pacing issues and perhaps a little too much relationship development happened off page? Yeah, probably. But honestly I don't care. I still had so much fun reading that I was able to overlook those tiny little issues I had.

Read this for:
- Rivals to lovers
- Gameshow setting
- Trivia!
- Spice
- ADHD Rep
- Sexy Studying
- Praise

This book also gets a special shout out for one of my absolute favorite opening lines ever - it really hooks!! Thank you to Montlake and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily

A delightful rivals-to-lovers novel for anyone who is even moderately interested in Jeopardy. The chemistry between Maxine and Teddy is electric from the very first page. I especially enjoyed the mental health rep for ADHD with Maxine, as it gave the obstacles between the couple a deeper meaning. I was slightly less interested in the shenanigans with the game show, but it’s only because I kept wanting to get back to the (incredibly hot) study sessions between Maxine and Teddy. I’m excited to return this one frequently.

I loved this book!! It was fabulous and well done. The characters were on point and I thought the plot was well developed. I would recommend this book to others.

I wish I could scream from the rooftops about how much I adored this book. Rivals competing on a Jeopardy! esque TV show who have major Pride and Prejudice energy??? I could not put this one down.

This book has:
•A game show setting that is perfect for fellow Jeopardy! lovers 🎤
•The rivals to lovers and forced proximity tropes
•ADHD rep ✨
•Opposites attract, and the boy falls first! The leads couldn't be more different, but that doesn't stop them from falling head over heels in love 👩‍❤️‍👨

This book was such a unique and fun rom-com! Thank you to Montlake and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars

Okay so all vibes let's go. I snagged this arc so fast, thanks to years of watching Jeopardy with my dad and absolutely thrashing him at the home game. I didn't think I'd get to it this early, but I picked this book up, ironically, as a distraction from exam nerves. Yes. I did, in fact, accidentally pick up a book that was heavy on studying to help me wind down when it was too late to continue studying. And it was absolutely the right call.

If you're someone who's always been a little nerdy, if you watched Jeopardy from childhood, and/or if you have ADHD and never learned a study method that works for you, this book will feel like a bear hug. I related so heavily to Maxine's ADHD struggles with imposter syndrome. I did not sign up for heavy feelings, I picked up a romcom! But seriously, this delivers the romcom vibes while also providing some much-needed commentary on elitism in society in general and in education specifically.

I also really love that Teddy was so multidimensional. So often, I find that intelligent characters are given that ONE trait, as if that's an entire personality. Teddy is a little myopic up front, but I really appreciated the way he was slowly revealed, and I was rooting so hard for him by the end.

Basically, I probably would've read this in one sitting if I wasn't working 12-hour days this time of year, and I still read this in less than a week. Impulse control? We don't know her. This book was exactly the fun, neurodivergent romp with a big heart that I needed in my life right now.

This book was so much fun set in a Jeopardy-style trivia competition. I love how the author handled neurodiversity and aging parents with humor and heart. In a lot of recent 'romance novels,' the vibe is brought down by heavy subjects, but not here. These added to the story rather than checking boxes. Maxine Hart had an untraditional upbringing and has ADHD. She's also incredibly confident and driven. She is hoping to inspire neurodiverse kids that just because they learn a different way doesn't mean they can't be trivia champions. Teddy Ferguson is a seemingly posh academic who was on a hot streak until Max upended his life.

This author is a master of the prickly FMC--clearly putting up walls and antagonizing her love interest to protect herself. Her MMCs don't know what hit them, but boy do they enjoy being hit. A passage I particularly liked: "Teddy wondered how she couldn't see it. That he'd happily let her ruin his entire life--if only she'd stay in it afterward."

Seemingly at odds, Ted and Max team up to try to beat the number one champion. They each bring important strengths to the table and of course the chemistry is incredible. As Teddy puts it: "She was the Dr. Frankenstein oof his soul, and he lived and breathed by the electricity generated when their minds clashed."

There is a bit of push and pull as Ted and Max resist their 'urges,' but once they go all in, it's wonderful. Highly recommend for fans of Jeopardy, genuinely funny romantic comedy, and big characters.

As a two-day Jeopardy! champion, I was so excited to read this book! Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Jen Comfort for providing a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m not a fan of insta-love, so I wasn’t all in on this story after the first couple of chapters, but I really enjoyed the way the relationship developed over time and the characters’ feelings deepened past the initial infatuation. I loved the portrayal of the trivia world - it felt real, not parodied. I loved the exploration of how different characters felt about the pursuit of knowledge.

I’ve gone back and forth a few times between 4 stars and 5. There are some plot contrivances that weren’t fully sold, but the ending genuinely surprised me, I believed in the relationship, and there were some fantastic lines. Recommended!

I wanted to love this book, the idea is great, but I just couldn't get into it. As a real life Jeopardy! Champion, I understand the need to change the fictional show enough for trademark issues, etc., but it is distracting for me. Also, there is just too much going on outside of the main storyline and it is distracting and sometimes unneeded. For instance, an emotional support snake is making fun of people with real service animals.

Humorous and quippy. I enjoyed the setting of a gameshow and trivia to add another layer of drama as well as a consistent, unique theme. But for the most part this is a plot about two people resolutely insisting ‘We can not become sexually involved,’ and then immediately starting to have sex - rinse and repeat several times. As a preferer of slow-burn rather than smut, the tension evaporated for me (but that’s all down to personal preference).

The book is at its best (plot, character, and writing wise) in the final third, when the drama and gameshow politics return in full force and the romance becomes somewhat angsty again.

I do think I would have gotten greater enjoyment out of it had I liked the characters a lot more at the start. While I grew fond of them beyond the halfway point, in certain moments I actively disliked their behavior - which can stop you from connecting with the story and its stakes. I could see why they were attracted to each other (in the whole enemies-to-lovers, both physically arousing, and oh-we’re-more-alike-than-we-think ways) but I had very little investment in either one of them personally as individual characters for a huge chunk of the book. Which I think is somewhat necessary in a romance; you should want the people to get together and experience happiness. You should be rooting for them.

But, despite all that, there’s humour and fun facts and I thought the story itself was cute enough that I kept on reading - I really wanted to know who would win the gameshow and the last few chapters of the book did provide some redemption. Given a different set of characters (input your OTP here) I think it would have made for a very enjoyable read throughout. Mostly, I think this is just a case of Maxine and Theo not being my cup of tea.

5.5/10

ALLLLLL THE STARRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. READ THIS RIGHT NOW. GAMESHOW. GRUMPYSUNSHINE. I gobbled up this book like it was my last supper, and all I can do is scream from the rooftops that YOU need this IN YOUR life. Jen Comfort is the queen and we all shall just bow down to her. THIS TAKES THE CAKE ON FRESH FUN STEAMY ROMANCES. MORE LIKE THIS PLEASEEE.

Thank you so much for the ARC Jen, I have pre-ordered this book.

I was super hype for this book and was really excited to get the ARC for it. I am a big jeopardy girlie and I've been on a big rom com kick for the past year, so I figured this was made for me. But I was only meh throughout the whole book. Max is all over the place all the time, she's probably a good representation of ADHD or I assume that is what she is supposed to be, but it was hard for me to follow. I viscerally hated Teddy at the beginning of the book, but he did improve throughout the book. I don't exactly know what it is about the book that just didn't grab me like I expected, but it just didn't work for me at the time I read it. This was my first time reading a book by this author, so I will definitely give her another chance though and read a second book by her. This would probably be more like a 2.5 if Goodreads allowed half stars

This book was absolute perfection, from the delightfully steamy scenes to the hilarious side characters! I had no idea I could enjoy a book about trivia competitors so thoroughly. The ADHD representation was so great, especially since it reflected so much of my own experience in the neurotypical education system. I loved Teddy and Maxine, the enemies-to-lovers was giving everything and more, like we loveee a man in suspenders that can teach AND reward in a satisfying way hehe. I was sad when it was over, but also so happy to see their story end in the sweetest twist! This made me want to try out for some kind of trivia game show, despite having zero knowledge to brag about.

4.5 stars rounded down.

OH NO I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS BOOK.

okay so i am a superfan of the following thing: jeopardy!, romance novels, bisexuals, taking down cocky men. this book, then, is unbelievably targeted at me. it is technically not about jeopardy!--it is about a remarkably similar game show called answers!--but let's be real. this book is chaotic and mutual and definitely has the hottest geography study tactics you have ever read. i was on a netgalley no-request self-ban when i heard about this book and i knew i needed to break my own rules to get it and i was correct.

also BEST FACT is that i got a j! question right yesterday based on something i learned in this book (jeopardy!--sorry, answers!--treats the caspian sea as a lake, and it technically counts as both).

i'm going to be absolutely annoying about this book until everyone i know who would love it has read it. i really hope it comes out on audio!

I read three chapters and texted two friends to tell them that they must read this. Jen writes books that are clever and smart and almost a little unlikeable, but in the BEST way. She seems to love a heroine with lots of space to grow and that growth on page is so rewarding.

Maxine and Teddy are archenemies. They competed in a game show together and severely disagreed with each other's methods. When they are asked to compete in a giant tournament of champions, they team up to learn more and also to defeat a common enemy. Proximity combined with instant but secret lust create a romance that is page turning and addicting. I think comfort is growing into her writing because every single book she writes is a little bit better.

Now this is romance.

It is catered to me, specifically. Hot professor love interest. Rivalry between two intellectuals on a trivia game show. He's head over heels from the jump. Trivia-based smut PLEASE!!!! Maps have never been this hot. I genuinely love how Maxine just moved into Teddy's house I love them so much he's so whipped.

The plot is essentially two trivia junkies go head to head on a jeopardy-like game show. Maxine beats Teddy, Teddy beats Maxine. The two, both from very different backgrounds (he's the adopted son into a wealthy English family and who went to Princeton and Oxford, and she's the daughter of a gambling addict with ADHD who grew up poor in Brooklyn and never went to college) get the opportunity to go head to head again and determine who is really the best when the show decides to have a tournament of champions. Maxine and Teddy agree to help each other improve on their respective trivia weaknesses and chaos and love! ensue. I need a Teddy in my life fr fr.

WOW. Jen hits it out of the park with this steamy rivals-to-lovers romcom. I LOVE the way our main characters have been built and their chemistry is unmatched. The last 2 chapters had be swooning!!! No third act break up is a HUGE plus. I can't wait to read more from this author. 5/5
Thank you to NetGalley & Montlake Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of content.

I'm super biased, because I'm an ADHD trivia nerd (who was on Jeopardy) but WOW DID JEN KNOCK THIS OUT OF THE PARK. And yes its funny and spicy and amazing but this book really nails the way that academia and "intelligence" rewards a very specific type of learning and expression of knowledge. More proof that the romance genre can be sexy and also speak deeply to larger societal representation.

I tried to read this one several times and I decided to DNF. Unfortunately, the writing style and the characters were not my cup of tea. I am probably in the minority here, though. It just didn't vibe with me.