What Is Love?

By: Jen Comfort

Narrated by: Scarlett Everdeen, Rock Engle

Head and heart collide in a story of polar-opposite rivals that’s anything but trivial in this game show romance from Midnight Duet author Jen Comfort.

Answer: From the Latin word for crossroads, this is knowledge so common as to be obscure, the pursuit of which engages millions daily. Question: What is trivia?

Trivia is the magic in the mundane, the connection in the commonplace, and Maxine Hart’s second-favorite pastime. A self-proclaimed Brooklyn street rat and a high school dropout, Maxine has never been a fan of formal education, but thanks to her ADHD “superpowers,” she’s a glutton for knowledge—and a good fight. And when Maxine enters the trivia game show Answers!, her brilliance, coupled with her penchant for big bets, devastates her competition. Even record-holding, 76-time-winner Teddy Ferguson.

Or was it their kiss the night before they faced off that threw the buttoned-up professor off his game?

Now, Maxine and Teddy cross paths again in a high-stakes tournament against all-time Answers! winners, including undefeated champion Hercules McKnight. With nothing in common but an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a desire to win, Maxine offers Teddy a deal: combine their strengths to shore up their weaknesses. She’ll push his tolerance for risk and improve his buzzer speed, if he’ll find creative ways to fill in the gaps in her education.

Except neither one of them foresaw just how scintillating learning could be…

©2024 by Jen Comfort. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Sensual, funny, and heartwarming, this brings the goods.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A sizzling and smart rivals-to-lovers romance…”—Kirkus Reviews

“Comfort goes ‘to the Max’ with her plot choices, bold and hilarious banter, and full-on smoldering sexual tension, featuring two completely opposite yet perfect for each other trivia nerds. Patrons will want to buzz in early to get their hands on this wonderfully campy rom-com.”—Library Journal (starred review)

Loved it

As a life long fan of Jeopardy, and someone obsessed with romance - This was such a fun story with great pair who developed nicely over time. They start as rivals, but eventually this gets pretty spicy. I liked that the stuffy character was able to be so comfortable with his sexuality. There was also some fantastic adhd representation. I found myself surprisingly moved by one sub plot and not very impressed with another. Overall I really enjoyed this.

It was slow going in the beginning but just hold on.

It had a great opposites attract quality. And that being different than expected isn’t all bad.

Genuinely delightful

Here's what I've learned I'll get when I read a Jen Comfort romance:

✅ Genuinely funny
✅ Badass "unlikeable" heroines who don't fit the usual mold
✅ Male main characters who are multi-dimensional and subvert the expectations of prototypical toxic masculinity
✅ A+ spice
✅ Great neurodiversity rep
✅ Stories with a madcap/zany/fantastical flair, but never too much; it will be interesting, definitely not the same old same old, never boring, without tipping over into the plot eating the story

Loved this and the audio was excellent.

Brilliant!

If you don't find a partner that will learn different methods of teaching you because your brain works differently then YOU DON'T WANT THEM. Because that is the answer to What is Love?

I loved everything about this book. Jen Comfort's writing is outstanding. It is so well researched. The dialogue is smart, witty, flirty and all of the things. I can't say enough. This is the second book that I have read from her and I am about to hit her backlist.

Her characters are always quirky and her plots are so unique. It was like I was watching a movie. Teddy and Maxine needed each other. They were the peanut butter & Jelly, salt & pepper, gin & tonic. You get the idea. I just laughed at and with them. They were so hilarious. Crazy, impulsive Maxine and straight laced, integrous Teddy. They had me swooning. I could feel them in my heart. The ending was absolute perfection and actually surprised me.

As a side note. I have a son with ADHD and I always enjoy reading characters with the same neurodivergence. <3

I listened to this on audio while I was reading... went back and forth. The narration was perfection. It sounded just like I would imagine them to sound and only added to the cinematic format I envisioned in my mind.

👌🏽👌🏽

6 out of 5 stars! Thoroughly enjoyable. Brilliant, thought provoking and hilarious, would definitely recommend!

Creative, original and enlightening

Interesting and original story about two polar opposite personalities who ban together to defeat an undefeated game show contestant. They learn to love and appreciate each other—strengths and weaknesses and all. Good insider perspective about ADHD as well. Really well researched and well written with perfect pacing. Never boring. The narration is excellent with an abundance of well executed accents for the many different characters in the story.