A cute rom-com about how grades (and competitiveness) can get in the way of relationships. A fun, easy read that I read during a stressful time, it was a good little escape.

The Make-Up Test takes us to a university where two graduate students (and exes) find themselves competing for a spot with the top professor in the field. This book really covers a lot of fun tropes, with a second chance romance and Enemies-to-Rivals-to-Lovers in a university setting. The competition between the characters is so relatable, but there’s plenty of miscommunication thrown in throughout the plot to further complicate things.

This book was an enjoyable read, with fun moments, an entertaining rivalry between the characters, and some serious topics with Allison’s complicated relationship with her father and his health issues.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 3.5/5
Warnings: fat phobia, difficult family dynamics, emotional abuse, death of a parent
Steam: 2.5/5

Thank you to SMP Romance and NetGalley for access to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

For the most part, I really loved this book and I’m excited to see what Jenny writes next.

The romance did fall a bit flat, there were some red flags and the third act break up was a doozy. Both Allison and Colin had a lot of growing up to do which fair, they are in their early 20s, but also not always enjoyable to read. I loved the academic setting, how much Allison loved her craft and herself. Great fat representation!

i was super excited to dive into this novel because the MCs are university students however it wasn’t the book for me. allison and colin seemed to be at odds together for more than half the book. yes, both of them are going after the same job but i didn’t feel like they had to be constantly be bringing each other down to make themselves look better. at the end of the day, their students weren’t getting the education allison and colin had been preparing for … just because they were trying to mess the other up. i also couldn’t stand allison lying about the progress she’d been making with her class because she continuously admits how her drive to be better than colin is a distraction.

i only felt like the two of them were semi-cordial when i reached well-above 50% of the novel. and i was frustrated with this because we know that this is allison and colin’s second chance romance. it felt more like an enemies-to-(semi)lovers trope. however, i did found snippets where i could appreciate colin for being caring towards allison. she doesn’t have the best relationship with her father but it was nice to see colin remembering this from their past and remaining supportive of allison

Allison and Colin were the best. So, so competitive, and also so smart and passionate about their chosen subject, and so oblivious to the love staring them in the face. Will definitely read anything else by Jenny Howe!

The Make-up Test wasn’t my favorite work and it was a bit of a struggle to want to finish. I enjoy a good rom-com but this one lacked something within the character build up that had me struggling to really connect to or like them.

I received an e-arc/audio arc of The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, this really didn't work for me. I gave it a few chapters, but ultimately DNFed at 6%. This felt like it was a YA story that got aged up to be adult. The characters felt really juvenile and didn't seem to act like Ph.D. candidates that were supposed to be in a very prestigious program?? It's supposed to be a second chance romance from an 8-month relationship that happened years ago. We are told about but not shown, and based on their first meeting I got secondhand embarrassment so bad, and I have no idea how they ended up being in a relationship based on that interaction. I'm also confused at Allison's timelines, she's now in grad school getting a Ph.D. but says her junior year of high school was online due to pandemic reasons... my senior year of high school was in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic.

The Make-Up Test by Jenny Howe is such a great romance read - it is a nerdy heartfelt enemies to lovers romance read that is witty, brilliant and with a body positive representation, I love that our MCs pitted against each other were exes, and are now in a PhD program studying medieval lit. This is such a fun read with amazing growth in the likable characters. Love the setting and the fast paced read of this heartfelt romance.

By the end of the book I was just hoping that Allison would drop him and move on…Lovers to enemies to rivals to lovers...I mean....It just felt a bit boring and long. Like many other books, there was a point where the two were happy. I just wished the book stopped there. I liked when the book had no conflict:(

I tried many times to get into this book. I am conflicted as I liked the writing, but I did not like the progression of the story or the fat shaming.

No longer interested in the slow pacing or unlikeable love interest. Disappointed by this lack of sizzling chemistry for a romance novel.

Two Ph.D candidates compete for a potential research job–and one another’s affection in this grad school romance. Competitive medieval scholar Allison gets into the Ph.D program of her dreams, but so does her ex,Colin, and they are both selected as TAs for a favorite and revered professor: but only one will be selected to go with her for a trip and research opportunity of a lifetime. Allison is still holding a grudge, and Colin isn’t always nice, but he steps up for her in an emergency and redeems himself and their relationship.

I really loved the academic setting and found the trials and tribulations of grad school believable. Literary allusions and clever banter abound, but I did not find either character particularly mature or likeable. Still, I’m a fan of smart books and plus-size protagonists; there is fatphobia from Allison’s dad, but it’s shut down very well.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheMakeUpTest from #NetGalley.

Could not finish this book as hard as I tried. The characters were not enjoyable or relatable. The troy was not captivating.

Ahhh I wanted to like this book so much. I did! I have been following Jenny Howe for awhile and love her takes on fat romance and the way that bodies should be represented on page. I think the representation in this book is very solid, I just could not get past how much of an asshole the MMC is in this book and how tbh I didn't want them to get together. Which isn't what you want from your academic rivals to lovers book! I also wish that the characters were a bit older, I thought this was a story about two academics in their thirties who had more time apart, which I think I would have enjoyed more. I genuinely found parts of this book enraging. I sincerely hope I enjoy Jenny Howe's next book because I want the rep out there, but his wasn't it.

Whoo, rating this book is actually really difficult for me because I love love loved the main character. She’s fat (and seems to have accepted her body or is at least body neutral), she’s in grad school, and a million more little similarities that I’m not going to detail here, but trust me, I felt everything she felt so deeply. I also repeatedly asked myself why didn’t I read this damn book sooner!

That said, I hateddddd the love interest. The two of them dated in college, broke up, and are now in a second chance romance but also enemies to lovers situation in graduate school. I found both the recollections of Colin 1.0 to be trash as well as Colin 2.0 to be trash, and while he had a ‘redemption arc’ of sorts, I didn’t think he actually improved and was still hella awful.

All that said, I did like the book, and it gave me a lot to think about. I definitely look forward to more titles from this author. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the copy via NetGalley; this is of course my honest review. This book came out back in September, so you can read it now!

Thanks NetGalley!

Academic rivals to lovers second chance romance novel. That is mostly sweet with a tiny spice. Academical setting was well done. Characters were a little too new adultish despite their age. And everything resolved way too quickly for my liking, it was rushed.
I wanted to give this a try despite not liking second chance romances because of the cover and academic aspect, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. It was a solid read though. I didn’t particularly hate anything about it. If you like these tropes it could be perfect for you.
If authors writes any book with a trope i love i will check it out because it was easy to read and good with reading slump!

This was fun! I liked the academic rivals plotline, but the ending felt a little rushed. I loved the writing and want to read more from Jenny L. Howe, though!

3.5 stars. This was a cute second chance romance. As an academic, I appreciated the academic setting, and found it to be pretty accurate. There was sweetness and a bit of spice. Solid romance novel.

This was a good contemporary romance book, that I would recommend to anyone who thinks it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I thought i would like this book, but it seemed a bit on the more childish side, and not for me.
While i loved the ideas was not grabbed by the actual characters or writing.

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.