We love a plus sized queen! Super Cute rom com I think young adults would enjoy Thank you for the opportunity to read and review!

What a lovely story! This book is beautifully written, and the character development was excellent. This was a fun romance full of humor and lovable characters. I was engrossed from the first page and it ticked all the boxes of my expectations . I would definitely recommend to others.

For a second chance romance, this was a clear miscommunication trope!

The main characters, Allison and Colin were both not particularly likeable. Their past dealt with too many heavy topics that overloaded the story I had hoped would develop. Between the death of a parent, psychological and verbal abuse and fat-shaming, it just felt heavy.

More chemistry between the two may have garnered an additional star from me, but overall the read fell flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I hate to give one star reviews. I tried to like this book. I really did. Usually, any book will get extra credit if it is centered around any activity that I enjoy - anything to do with books, baking, crafting - but I cannot remember the last time it took me this long to read a book. And to be honest, I skimmed through the last bit of it. I couldn't actually finish it. The characters are not likable at all. And as a weight challenged person myself, I thought I could really like the Allison. I don't see the appeal in Colin and can't understand why Allison would give him another chance when he obviously is only concerned for himself. Also, I'm not competitive by nature and since this book is centered around their competitiveness, it just did not connect with me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I did not love this book. This was my first time reading an academic rivals trope and maybe it is just not my cup of tea. It felt really slow and I didn't love the way the main characters treated each other. I was really excited about the girl power and the body representation, but that wasn't enough to turn the book around for me.

I really wanted to like this more, but, honestly, I think I hated every single man in this book. They were all terrible. None of them deserve an HEA. Allison needs to find a hot Welshman on her trip with her professor. THAT would be a happily-ever-after.
I think the description of this being One to Watch mixed with Beach Reads is completely wrong and is misleading to potential readers. This book has some good things going with MC Allison who is highly intelligent, motivated, and a plus-size woman who owns her sex appeal. But she deserved better.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, and I wound up DNFing it at 80%. This was absolutely soul crushing for me, because it had everything I would want from a romance book; second chance romance, academic rivals, Medieval lit students, and plus size rep. I truly wanted to love it, but overall I just wasn't enjoying it.

First thing that distracted me was the timeline wasn't really adding up to me. As someone who was an English major in college and has looked into continuing my education, I noticed that something didn't seem right, It appears the characters went straight from undergrad to a Doctorate program, and while possible it is very uncommon. Especially for the one character who didn't originally get into a graduate program, it seems like they would have benefitted from pursuing a Masters degree first and then going on to a Doctorate. I know it shouldn't have bothered me, but it was really hard not keep getting distracted by this detail as it just didn't seem accurate.

Then there was also a bit of nepotism, at least talked about. In the one scene the male character talked about how he didn't want to use his connections with his aunt (who if i remember correctly was the department chair) to get into the program. But then there were also other things thrown in like racial inequities, but it was the way and placement of where it was presented that made it awkward. It felt almost forced and a bit uncomfortable especially when he wound up at the school his aunt worked at anyway.

That mixed with the male character didn't really have any redeeming qualities about him. I actually think I would have been more invested in the couple if they had first met in the graduate program. Unfortunately their past made him very unlikable for me. I mean he lied to his girlfriend, and took away something she wanted and was passionate about while doing so. Plus then he dumped her because he was moving to a new school and needed to focus on his graduate program (which he didn't even get accepted to any of them). It just gave off major douche vibes. There were some parts where he did have good moments, like being there for her with her family issues, but I truly wish they didn't have a past because I don't feel like he fully redeemed himself. Please keep in mind I didn't finish so maybe there was a big gesture at the end, but I still don't know if he would have redeemed himself in my eyes as he just gave me a bit of an ick.

There were some parts I enjoyed about this book, it just wasn't the romance which was disappointing. I loved that the main character put her foot down and set boundaries with her dad, who was horrible to her. She even stood up to her mom in putting these boundaries in place and I absolutely loved it. And while there were some point I wondered if she truly embraced and loved her body, there were also many points in the parts I read that made me believe she was confident in her body and I did enjoy it. I just wished we didn't have to deal with some characters pointing out her weight.

Overall while this book wasn't for me, as much as I thought it would be, I know some people will love it and hope it brings them joy.

The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe. Pub Date: September 13, 2022. Rating: 3 stars. I really wanted to love this one with representation of body image, college, academia and intelligent women, but honestly this one fell flat to me. Old flames re-ignite as TAs while in grad school and the flames are pretty intense! I felt the dialogue dragged a bit and the story felt very superficial. I really appreciate the different setting for a rom com, but ultimately I did not connect with this story. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley

This enemies/rivals-to-lovers romance between grad students Allison Avery and Colin Benjamin has quite a few cute moments, the academia backdrop is refreshing to experience, and I appreciate the way it grappled with heavy matters like fat shaming and parental abuse. However, it's hampered by the author's writing style, which I think needs to be polished up, and there are certain points where the two leads don't mesh together all that well and Colin comes off as an overtly arrogant jerk. The third-act conflict was particularly an element that I just couldn't get onboard for—certainly one of the more bothersome third-act conflicts I've encountered in a romance novel. This may not be a rom-com I'll return to, but I think it's charming enough to give a try.

This book was a fun contemporary romance. I liked the academic rivals to lovers trope and second chance romances are usually fun! However this did fall a bit flat for me and I spent a lot of it not really liking Colin. I don’t think he got better by the end, maybe only marginally, but he still had a lot of red flags that I think should’ve deterred Allison from him.

What a fun, positive romance!

I appreciated the thoughtful fat representation, as well as the ongoing conversation around how children do not owe their parents respect or a relationship, simply because they are our parents. Additionally, I loved the academic setting. Our main characters were engaging and I enjoyed their competitive banter.

At one point, during the climax of the novel, I was prepared to give the book a negative review - I was not about to support a woman getting a HEA with someone who plagiarized her work. However, I'm so glad that didn't happen and that Howe's writing had me so invested I saw no way for that 3rd act redemption.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and I would happily read more from Howe.

When I read that there was "a very sexy game of scrabble" somewhere in this book, I had high hopes that it would be an entertaining read. Those hopes were crushed relatively quickly. Now, the writing style is excellent (so I will give this author's next book a read), and the story had potential, but I firmly believe that in romantic comedies, the main characters have to be likable for the story to be good. The main characters in The Make-Up Test are annoying. Allison isn't the worst, but she isn't someone I enjoy reading about. And Collin? Seriously, Colin is the absolute worst. But who knows, maybe you'll read it and like the characters?

Thank you to Netgalley & Publishers for an arc copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I was excited to receive an arc from NetGalley after finding out this was going to be a forced proximity second-chance romance. Part of why I enjoy second chance romances so much is seeing how people work through the issues that separated them at first. Collin goes through academic set backs and familial issues that seem to change his personality drastically. Allison...seems to need more work getting there. She is still very insecure academically which results in her lying repeatedly in order to one up Collin. At the end I feel like she didn't change. She was quick to assume the worst out of Collin. Then I'm suppose to feel bad for her cause of her dad. Naw

The Make Up Test is a fun rom-com that also speaks to some relevant topics like weight in our society. I appreciated the subtext while also keeping the book as a page turner that was fun to read. I enjoyed the ride with Allison and Colin and their extended networks. Will be looking forward to this author's next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars.

While I enjoyed Allison at some parts, I didn't care about Collin and I didn't care about them being together. The enemies part was played up and started off well but then bam everything was forgotten and things were fine. I personally would have enjoyed more time as enemies in this one and them only getting back together in the last few chapters, that might have helped it for me.

I adored this book. Jenny L Howe did a great job. That fat rep was done really thoughtfully, it dealt with topics with the fat rep that can be heavy and retraumarizing sometimes, but the way the author handled the character's relationship with her body made the difference. I also loved that the the were flawed characters, both of these character's have human failings and they give each other the room and space to grow. It was a delightful read and I am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

The Make-up Test! Was super fun 🤩 I have a good time reading, I just love books with plus size rep and this book absolutely provides great Rep. it took me a while to get into the MMC, I felt like he was very ….. well you will see but he does grow as a character and that was a relief! But please read this book you will absolutely enjoy it

I really wanted to like the Make-Up Test which stars a plus size MC. But Alison was so immature- it’s hard to believe she’s supposed to be 25. Did she really think her life would stay forever the same? She gets mad at her roommate for following her dreams. She also is very childish with Colin, but falls back into love very quickly. They had so many communication issues, it seemed like they were talking in their heads only and not with each other. The scenes with her dad were so cringey.

I did like the grad school setting and Alison was very good her job. She seemed to suffer a little of imposter syndrome, but don’t we all?

Thank you so much to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy.

Thank-you NetGalley and publisher for the chance to review this ARC.


The Make-Up Test
by Jenny L. Howe

I really enjoyed this one, the enemies to lovers in academia was done really well.

Allison and Colin were very liable leads too.

The plus size rep here was great great to see!

Excited to read more of Jenny L. Howe 's books

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Allison Avery loves a challenge and to win. She has pushed herself to excel at every academic challenge that has come her way since she started school. She pushes herself hard due to the lack of respect she receives from her father. She feels if she can keep doing well, he will love her and treat her better.

Colin Benjamin is Allison's ex - he broke her heart at Brown. They are back together at Claymore University going for their PhD and working as a TA for the same professor.

When an opportunity presents itself - Allison and Colin are back to their old ways - trying to one-up each other and pushing each other. Will they go too far this time?

This book was quite a joy to reach.