I loved the interactions between Eli and Charlie, You have to suspend your disbelief a bit with the premise. How likely really is it that they would end up as contestants on a national show at the same time? Charlie was also a bit too firm in her sticking to the truth. You're really going to bail on Eli because he's protecting his dad and if you went along with it, he'd be "ruining you again?" You got caught skipping a class and almost got detention. The reaction did not match the situation and it made it hard to continue.

Cover ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Love the cover. Very eye catching. It's definitely a cover I would click on in the kindle store

Story by Kelly Ohlert ⭐⭐⭐

This story had some really good laugh out loud moments and a fun story line.

As far as the budding romance, I wasn't absorbed by it which was a bit disappointing but it was still an enjoyable read.

Would recommend it to my reading group.

The story is pretty cute and fast paced. The main leads are exs who come in front of each other in a game show and the girl hates the boy for what he did in the past. From there they go on to falling back in love with each other.

I am able to read an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press, with the request of a review. If you don't want play-by-play thoughts then skip to the bottom for my overall opinion.

I picked this book solely on the title and the cover photo, I have no idea what it's about and look forward to reading it.

Play-by-play thoughts 👇🏻

I love that it's about a game show.

And I am assuming it's got multiple POVs, which is my favorite 😍

I like that this book shows the struggle of what it's like to not have money.

Oooh! Charlotte and Eli have a history!!

IDK who I'm rooting for to win. They both have good reasons for going on the show.

I think that Charlotte and Eli will give the show better ratings than they've had in the past.

Wait.. do they get to split the money if it's a team game? That's awesome! I thought they were against each other.

I love that they are studying together. Build up the tension that will eventually lead to them hooking up.

Staying at her place.. things are going to heat up 🔥🔥

Secondhand embarrassment for her with the pore strip on her nose!!

IDK how I feel about the random facts being spit out throughout the chapters. I get it that it's a game show book, but I don't care about who has the fastest construction crew...

Oh no! Another round of secondhand embarrassment that she drooled on him. But, I've been there. Not with a *friend* but my husband. Still awkward 😂

I knew people were going to love them! Did it help the ratings?

If Eli goes against Charlie and asks for the answers to better their chances of winning I'm going to be mad.

Strange email??

Is Kenneth Stuckey the grandfather she mentioned towards the beginning of the book? If so, is he reaching out now because of her winning on the game show?

Her use of hmotel has me crying laughing 😂

OMG, not a lemon yellow hearse!

I didn't know the facts about dinosaurs, that's pretty cool to know that the trex didn't live at the same time as the stegosaurus.

Holy shit, her choking came out of nowhere! And from experience, performing the heimlich on someone is one of the most terrifying things.

It cracks me up that all these people are wanting to get a picture with them even though they have no clue who they are "make sure to write your full name" 😂

Ew, what was in the pool to cause a rash?

They have the same feelings for each other.

Her adversion to lying is so bizarre. Like, I understand wanting to be an honest person, but telling 1 lie 12 years ago STILL makes her feel sick?

I feel bad about the whole roof situation with Eli.

I'm assuming they put Eli and Charlotte in different rooms to Clint can ask them again alone about rigging the game..

Ugh. I was right. If Eli takes him up on his offer I'm going to be mad. Like Charlotte shouldn't forgive him mad.

Clint is blackmailing Eli!! But, I still won't forgive him if he cheats.

No no no.. they are behind, so Eli is going to cheat.. I feel it in my bones..

I'm never going to forgive him. And if Charlotte finds out and forgives him, I'm going to be so mad at her. Because he could have come clean about it to her after Clint told him the answers were in the pocket and before the episode started. NO EXCUSE.

All the more reason to be pissed at Eli for being manipulated by Clint.

I'm very surprised Charlotte agreed to meet with Kenneth.

Reading the scene with her and her mom getting ice cream is emotional for me. My mom passed away a few years ago and one of the last good memories I have with her is us going to get ice cream.

If I were Eli I'd start having my phone on record mode when Clint is around. Or if California one of the states where it's illegal to record someone without their permission?

He has no right to be upset with Charlotte, idc that he forgot the answer because of her. He shouldn't have cheated on the first place.

Is she going to blame herself for Gran having this coughing fit that causes them to call 911? Because she told them the truth..

Okay.. Eli coming forward and admitting to the press he cheated is softening my heart to him. Not that I forgive him, but I respect him for doing that.

Hmm. I'm still not okay with Charlotte forgiving him so quickly.

Hahaha she had to explain to Stacy what she meant just to be told he isn't there 😂😂

Yesss Dave!!

Okay, so maybe I'm not as upset as I was originally with Eli. But I'm still mad he waited until after he looked at the answers to come clean.

I like that we learn what happened to Clint at the end.



*Overall thoughts*
It was a very cute story. I enjoyed reading about how Eli and Charlotte rekindled their relationship while contestants on a game show. There were parts that I didn't enjoy, some of the random facts, and Charlotte seemingly ignoring her morals to forgive Eli in the end. But overall it was a cute book. 4/5 stars.

Wow! I greatly enjoyed this book!
I absolutely loved the setting in 'Let's get Quizzical'. The romance at the game show is a concept that I've never seen before, which made it very innovative and interesting.
Kelly Ohlert also succeeded in portraying insecurities in relationships without it being annoying. Most of the romance books I read rely too heavily upon miscommunication and difficulties in relationships, which I think is very annoying, but this book had just the right amount.
The spark between the main characters is also TO DIE FOR. They were so cute together, and I loved the scenes in the shower and during the shows.
The only thing that I missed in this book was a bit more scenes in the game show. There was a lot of potential there.
Overall, I think this was a great read, and I would recommend it to everyone!

Thank you, netgalley, for giving me this ARC book in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions are my own.

Thank you Alcove Press and NetGalley for the early copy.

Sadly I DNFed at 10%. I thought about giving this more of a chance but I actually can't bring myself to pick it back up.

Now that seems like I don't have enough to go on to give a real review, and that's fair, but I will say, this book already does a few things I don't like.

First of all - the "enemies/second chance" couple...he's the "bad boy" and she's the "good girl" but annoyingly so. There's this whole scene where she talks about how she had never skipped school, she had never lied to her parents, and then she even accidentally gets a question right during the quiz game and she has thoughts about the honesty of it and if she should tell producers she hit the button on accident so it shouldn't count because that's technically not fair to the others that she got it right by chance.

Come on.

This type of goody-two-shoes behavior is so irritating. I don't know a single person like this in real life and it makes the character super unrelatable. She also apparently has been just waiting around to be on a quiz show, to the point she carries around notebooks and quiz books to study with...24/7. ?????

The other piece of this is that both of these individuals need the money they will win if they win this game show, but like...if a game show is your plan to get out of debt, that's a bad one. That's like the people who spend money on lottery tickets because they're sure they'll win and THAT'S how they'll finally be able to pay off their debt. Maybe get a second job? IDK I find this particularly frustrating in books because I have been in situations where you don't know how you're going to get by or you need extra money and it's like, we have options nowadays. Sign up for Uber or DoorDash or something! I worked 3 jobs and did summer classes in college one year. Was it ideal? No. Do I think that's a fair way to live? No. Clearly we need to fix some bigger things in our economy and society but you can dig yourself out of things. It will be hard, and it will suck, but you can do it...and I keep reading these books about people who do NOTHING proactive to fix their situations, and just hope for a miracle. Oh, maybe I can win this game show, oh maybe I'll get this art grant. Ugh. Just. Get. A. Job. Any job! Work part time flipping burgers, damn! Now, the people in this book do in fact have jobs but again, they're both banking on this game show to be their saving grace. If you're living like this, you're going to be let down.

Anyway. I wanted to give this more of a chance because 10% is measly but I really couldn't bring myself to pick this book up again.

I loved this book! As a fellow game show lover it was an interesting premise for two people divided by a misunderstanding to be fated to meet again on a trivia show. You get a lot of fun facts in this book and they are spread out so that it is not too meaty. I really thought that there was going to be no character development but I was pleasantly surprised. Charlotte did annoy me at times with her extreme value of honesty and refusal to be honest with herself. A small note is that I wish there were a little more to the love interest between Eli and Charlotte. They enjoy their time together and are attracted to one another but what makes them so connected where they want to be together.

Even still, I loved the romance and that there were high stakes for a seemingly silly trivia game.

I completely enjoyed this second-chance romance set in a game show quiz competition! A bit of spice and scandal, mixed in with the importance of family and forgiveness- a very enjoyable read!

First off, thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

7/10, I'd rate it 3.5 stars if I could. Things I loved: the random trivia facts sprinkled in, that the characters were from East Lansing and Kalamazoo, MI, and the hot, but not too over the top, sex scenes.

It had a really great concept, I just had a hard time falling in love with either of the main characters. Charlotte/Charlie was a bit too much of a goody two shoes/people pleaser. Charlotte and Eli both had a character evolution, but it wasn't quite enough for me.

I would still recommend it, and will likely give the author's other book a chance.

The synopsis of this romcom book caught my attention right away. Two ex-sweethearts from high school are thrown together unexpectedly on a game show as partners.

Charlotte (Charlie) had her heart shattered in high school by Eli when he never showed up to meet her under the bleachers one night. In fact, he never talked to her ever again...until now. Charlotte and Eli, both brainiacs and big game show fanatics are thrown together on the show and end up as a team. They both need the money for their families so they put aside the past to compete together. Charlie needs the money so her ill grandmother can be cared for and Eli needs the money to help support his dad and finish up his degree. Eli and his father live together and not only is their house is falling apart but his dad is on parole from prision.

I really enjoyed the unique game show plot. It added excitement and introduced a shady game producer trying to sabatoge things. It created tension in Charlie & Eli's potential for a second chance at romance.

Character wise, I found Charlie to be a tad bit pretentious and Eli, a bit sad. Both are living less than stellar lifestyles which is a bit depressing so I could not help but to root for them to win the money to make some positive changes much needed in their lives.

There seems to be a lot going on and everything happens so quickly. Some things I found were left hanging without answers but overall, it was a cute fast read. I liked the trivia facts thrown in.

Thank you to Net Galley and Alcove Press for the digital ARC to review!

What's better than a second chance romance? A second chance romance where the couple reunites after 13 years on a quiz show! This book was really fun, and sweet and a must read for trivia buffs.
Thank you to NetGalley & Alcove Press for providing an ARC.

A very sweet, unique play on childhood crushes rediscovering each other against the backdrop of money woes and quiz shows. For me their reconnection felt a little too rushed and I’m realizing that second chance romances are not my style (to no fault of the author). Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! This comes out in Oct.

A misunderstanding in High School leads to Eli and Charlotte breaking up, leaving them both shattered. Years later, Eli and Charlotte are pitted against each other on Brain Battle, a semi-popular trivia game. Both of them have major financial reasons to go for the all the way for the win, so they're set on destroying one another...that is...until they're placed on a team. Can they battle through their problems and studying together? Or will the battle be more than they can take on?

I was really looking forward to a quirky romance set on a trivia game show. 1. Because I love trivia shows, and 2. I actually like second chance romance. However, this fell a little flat for me. There were a lot of little things that we never got answers to. It was a little darker motivation for the characters, which was fine because I love when a rom-com has some strong reality ties to ground it, however, it was just eh for me.

Another thing was Eli and Charlie as in their thirties with the major pressures of financial debt from certain family members and I felt as if they were still seventeen-year-olds from the way they dealt with a lot of their problems.

Overall, it's a cute read but I don't know if I'd pick it back up again.

My thanks to Netgalley and Alcove Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The idea of a romance taking place during a game show really intrigued me, but I felt that the characters fell too flat for me to really enjoy the story. Their thoughts and actions felt incredibly juvenile for their age and it was hard to believe that they, in their 30s, could both still be so affected by a high school relationship. Though this wasn’t really my cup of tea, I think that this book can be enjoyable for those who want a quick, emotional, and unique romance.

To be clear, I would have given this book 3.5 stars; as that wasn’t an option, I went ahead and bumped it to 4 stars.

Things I enjoyed about the book:

1. I felt like I was on the game show. My Dad LOVED watching game shows, so it was nice to read about a family who enjoyed watching them together.
2. I loved the bits of trivia that were scattered throughout the book. It helped tie in the game show, and Charlie’s love of random trivia.
3, The ties that both Charlie and Eli felt to their families was admirable. It was great that Charlie never judged Eli’s Dad for going to jail, and Eli never judged Charlie’s family for being ridiculously overbearing.
4, Happy endings are forever my favorite - this one was pretty good!

Things I did not enjoy/wish were different:

1. I felt like we didn’t really get resolution as to why Lucky was hanging around Eli’s Dad. Was it nefarious on the part of Clint or was it just happenstance?
2. I was not a fan of Charlie. I felt like she flip-flopped between being so angry with Eli, to forgiving him, to being super angry with him again, to them ending up together. Like…you haven’t seen the guy in 13 years, run into him on a game show, and then randomly decide to let him live with you for a week? Say what?
3. The reason Eli and Charlie “broke up” was ridiculous. And then to just never talk to each other again? Doesn’t make sense to me.
4. I wish there was more of the snark or angst between Eli and Charlie at the beginning of the book. It felt like they kind of got over it super quickly and then were just attached at the hip almost.

With all that being said, I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read that I was able to finish relatively quickly. Coming off reading a book that was intense and a bit of a mind-stressor, this was a nice palate cleanser. I would definitely read more books by Kelly!

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Big thanks to NetGalley & Alcove Press for providing an ARC for free, in exchange for an honest review.

First and foremost, there are formatting issues with the ebook (I've read it on Pocketbook), so I hope it'll be fixed prior publication.
This is a book about second chance romance between two quiz-nerds and I must say the story is cute, but nothing more in my opinion. I give it a good-hearted 3-star even though to me it's a DNF at ~70%.
Let's see why:

- The concept of the book is interesting and refreshing, but unfortunately I didn't fin myself emotionally invested in any of the characters.
- The story felt too juvenile for two characters (Charlotte & Eli) who are both 30 years old adults. They often acted as if they were still teenagers and the turn of events often felt juvenile too.
It didn't help that Charlotte was quite self-centred which is a very unlikable trait for me. Also she has a one-track-mind and too obsessed over something that happened 12 years ago - and honestly, having in mind that 12 years ago they were teenagers, it's understandable as kids do stupid things all the time, yet she can't seem to let go things.
- Also, both characters' backstory is too depressing. I know it gives the motivation behind their acts and all, but man, I would really take it down a notch, because it was just overwhelming from page to page.
- Eli is a guy yet he somehow feels too introspective, and both Eli and Charlotte are textbook overthinkers which is such a drag after page 100...

- Strangely, I feel like that (Omniscient) Third-Person Narrative would fit better the story, than the dual First-Person Narrative. I think it's because there's more "tell" than "show", and even all the tells are represented as if the characters would make statements which is a bit weird. Why not show the reader all the stuff through situations and memories and nostalgia, etc, than just declaring things? The book is really storytelling-heavy. Readers rather need to explore and put 2 and 2 together on their own, than just telling them what's going on.

- There was repetitiveness, too. I.e. we read about why Eli needs to win the prize, the money and only 2 or 3 pages later we're reminded again with a different wording. Same goes to Charlotte. We get it, we get the motivation, we get the past life happenings, so why rub it under our noses in every x pages all over?

- There are some grammatical errors and lack of end-of-sentence punctuation, together with some accidently left words. i.e. "I will send me you in email", etc. So the book needs more editing.

- Charlotte was often referred to or called as Charlie by Eli, and personally it bothered me, because in my head they are 2 different names. I mean I know that Charlie can be a nickname for Charlotte, but still, the way it was used was distracting to me. Namely, because there was no system or pattern behind when Eli used Charlie and when he used Charlotte. I.e. He called her Charlie for 9 times and then Charlotte on the 10th mention, then got back to Charlie again. And we didn't even get the explanation behind, like why the nickname? Or based on what he calls her Charlie 9 times and then Charlotte seemingly for no reason on the 10th time? No memory, no nothing at all that would help me clear my confusion.

- There was some minor distracting things too, that came from the writing style, or to be more precise from the author's personal decision behind how she writes specific things. Let's take an example so I can make sense of what I mean:
Charlotte explains to the readers what is "Mjölnir" (Thor's hammer), but she doesn't explain what she means by saying "having a Jim-Pam vibe" when sharing her earphone with Eli. Now, personally I'm happen to be a huge The Office tv-show fan, but those who are not might be confused about what the heck is a Jim-Pam vibe. I suggest either explain all these examples throughout the whole book, or explain none of it and trust the reader to look it up if they want to. I mean I'm sure that probably there's more people who are more familiar with the Avengers than with The Office.

- And lastly, just an idea - the book could have started with a quiz show scene or a tense situation so it immediately creates an exciting opening which is full of anticipation and plants lots of questions into the reader's mind so we can be hooked on right away to read more. It would be a great starting point to build up the story and backstories in my opinion. To be frank, the first 2-3 chapters were personally hard and a bit boring to get through, but luckily it got more interesting after that. Too bad the turn of events were not my cup of tea and often too juvenile as I wrote before, that made me lose my interest both in the story and in the characters - so this is why I DNF it at ~70%.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Charlotte “Charlie” gets a chance at her favorite quiz show and earn money for her ill grandmother, only to find Eli, the man the broke her heart back in high school.

Definitely were some cute moments and cute premise, but found the main characters somewhat lacking.

Really funny, exciting, and different book! I loved the plot and how the author made such a plausibly unbelievable situation believable. The dichotomy between the main characters personalities, yet how they meshed so well, was fun!! It got a little but steamier and R-rated then i prefer, but i skipped over those parts. I would definitely recommend it!!

Propulsive and surprisingly heavy story with a much-needed HEA

Thank you to Alcove Press for giving me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Charlotte (Charlie) and Eli haven’t seen each other in 13 years, since Eli ghosted Charlie and ended their relationship in high school. Now they’re unexpectedly back together for the first time under the lights of a live television game show, where they must compete as a team. The narration is dual perspective, alternating between Charlie and Eli’s POV.

This book was very readable and propulsive. I really liked the characters, was rooting for them, and enjoyed their chemistry.

Something to note is that for a romcom, this does include a lot of heavy backstory because both of the protagonists really need the prize money, and the story delves into their struggles considerably. While this did provide characterization, it does get very heavy when you learn about their intense struggles living on the poverty line. For some, the novel may not have the escapist feel that is so often associated with the genre.

Overall, I liked the book and found it to be a quick and absorbing read, but it also felt heavy for the genre.

This was a very entertaining and fun romance book. I love trivia, so I could relate to the characters. The dynamic between all the characters was immaculate and perfect. The story was quite fast-paced and I enjoyed it. The letters at the end were soooo sweet and how the love interests revealed their love. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a quick and fun trivia romance.