WHAT IS LOVE?

Two record-setting trivia nerds combine forces to dethrone a game-show champion.

Although Maxine Hart dropped out of high school in Brooklyn, she has a lust for information that she chalks up to ADHD. Knowing a little about a lot is what earns her a spot on the trivia game show Answers!, where she beats stuffy Theodore Ferguson III, a Princeton professor and holder of the show’s record for longest winning streak. Maxine isn’t sure whether Teddy was dazzled by her natural genius or distracted by the fact that they’d shared a steamy kiss the night before the taping. Regardless, both players are eager to face one another again, and their only hope is to make it onto the Answers! tournament of champions. Once there, though, they’re both up against the undefeated Hercules McKnight, who Maxine thinks is a “fake-tanned douchebag.” Neither she nor Teddy wants to see Hercules win, so they vow to help each other strengthen their weak categories. Through clandestine meetings ripe with sexual tension, Maxine and Teddy hone their skills. The quiz show setting makes a compelling pressure-cooker of an environment; unfortunately, it overstays its welcome, beginning to feel like a gimmick for increasing Maxine and Teddy’s forced proximity. The characters’ opposite natures are what keep the momentum of their romance going. They play well off one another, slinging cutting barbs and sexy flirtations faster than their speed on the buzzer. Teddy, buttoned up and Oxford educated, often clashes against Maxine’s bold, brash, and affable nature. Her goal for being on Answers! is to show that intelligence isn’t tied to degrees and that one’s desire to learn can be cultivated in a more personal way. This is a romance for readers who love “smart is sexy” main characters or prefer banter as part of their foreplay.

A sizzling and smart rivals-to-lovers romance with a half-baked setting.