Oh I really enjoyed this one!! I liked the academic setting of the story. I also really enjoyed the authors writing style and the great banter that takes place in this book.

I have mixed thoughts on this book. There were some parts I liked and some I didn’t. The last 15% of this book was very frustrating. Honestly, I think Colin still had a lot of red flags by the end and honestly there’s no way Colin and Allison lasted long term in my opinion. This book just fell a little flat for me. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. It was very average to me.

Overall, this was a 3.5 for me. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

While I really tend to enjoy SMP's romance novels, I don't think this one was right for me at this time. Jenny is an amazing person, so this is no fault of her own!

This is a second chance and enemies to lover trope. I loved that the books was in an academic setting and Allison being plus size she was very confident and comfortable with her body. However, the rekindling of their relationship was under developed. Besides their past feelings for each other there was not much else to their relationship as they did not spend a lot of time out side of school with each other. The time they did spend together was awkward and brief which made it hard to connect with them.

The Make-up Test was a fun read and I really loved that the main character was plus size. As a competitive person I can see where both Allison and Colin come from. It's hard to let others best you, especially if it's an ex who hurt you in the past. Seeing the journey that Allison went on through this story was inspiring. I love how she learned to speak up for herself and her passion towards medieval lit. Her re-do at love with Colin was lovely to read and I'm glad they got their second chance.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's for an e-galley of The Make-Up Test.

We love a second chance romance over here. Allison has spent her life in pursuit of her PhD in Medieval Lit. She even had an ex-boyfriend almost derail those plans. But with an acceptance letter in hand to Claymore's PhD program, she is ready to put the past behind her and pursue her dreams. Which all come crashing down when she walks into the first day of classes to find said ex-boyfriend is also in the program. To be clear, this was HER dream, not Colin's. But he is going to take it from her, just like he did in undergrad.

Will Allison and Colin be able to reconcile their differences as they TA the same class? Or will they continue in their battle of wills throughout the program?

The Make=Up Test is a debut romance novel. The main character, Allison, is starting her PhD program in Literature. specializing in Medieval Lit, at a small school in Providence after graduating from Brown. On the first day, she realizes her ex=boyfriend, Colin, is also enrolled in the same very small program. Their relationship at Brown did not end well, and since he graduated two years ago, Allison has had zero interaction with him.
In addition to ex-relationship and current-classmate drama, Allison has a rocky relationship with her father,
Thanks to St Martin's Press, St Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This book was a bit of a struggle, that I picked up and put down four times over the course of a month and a half. I don't know if I wasn't in the right mood at any of those points, but I had trouble connecting with the MC, finding her immature. As a high school teacher who started teaching without taking any education classes (maybe not recommended!), I struggled to understand why she felt she needed to be the perfect TA - and unable to ask for assistance. I thought with my experience in education and my love of romance reads that I'd be a fan of this one, but I was wrong.

I so truly appreciate it this romance. This book will get you out of the reading slump. I love the romance and the story as a whole. I didn’t want it to end.

I started this one months ago, got side tracked, and then…totally forgot about it. It’s not that the subject matter isn’t good. I do enjoy second chance romances and academic settings. But I really did not like the main character Allison (or her mother) and I just did not care enough where the story was going.

I tried again to restart it but it just wasn’t holding my interest.

Thank you to Netgalley, St Martin’s Press, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, it was so smart, so sweet, so quirky, it was not in any way the perfect love story, so if you are looking for that then this is not it, but it was so real. This is the perfect feel-good grad school entertaining read.

I really enjoyed this geeky twist on a rom-com that focuses on two people in a college grads competing for a spot in a Ph.D. program.

Not only is there the usual rom-com fun and tropes, but add in the geek factor and a plus-sized, body positive heroine, and I was sold. This debut novel had everything I look for in a rom-com and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.

If rom-coms and smart, funny heroes and heroines are your jam, pick this up and get ready to relax and enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for an ARC at my request. All thoughts are my own.

A cute and quirky rom com from a new to me author. I really enjoyed it.
I look forward to more from Jenny L Howe

If you like books set in an academic setting with plus-size characters and second chances, this book is for you.

I wasn’t a fan of the MC, Allison, and felt like the book just wasn’t for me. Give it a chance if you like the tropes mentioned above.. you might love it!

The Make-Up Test has all the makings of a great romance - second chance trope, plus size rep, literature! - but, somehow, it fell flat for me.

I'm very a much a mood reader and The Make-Up Test just wasn't doing it for me this time around. But, it's definitely one that I will be giving a second chance later on.

This was a really fun second chance/enemies to lovers romance. I liked the competing students aspect as both characters were in the same program for Medieval Literature. I liked how they were able to overcome their arguments and I enjoyed their banter.

There was so much potential in this book, but I couldn’t get into it like I wished I could. I am happy I read it, but it’s not one I’ll remember much of.

As far as plus-size romances go, this one is fine.

I didn't love all the hate the MC received from her family about her weight, but that's par for the course with books with plus-size MCs sometimes. As a plus-size person, I'd much rather read about a plus-size MC whose size isn't the main focus/issue. Just a little insider tip there.

The plot outside the MC being plus-size was good. We had some academic rivalry going on. I thought it was an interesting take that her rival was her ex-boyfriend. Buttttttt I didn't like him. And how can you write a romance where the MMC isn't likable? I mean... maybe he is likable. But I didn't like him. His reasons for being her rival were so ridiculous and also RUDE. Like it's HER dream?! But because she made it sound like an amazing focus when you were dating, you decided to go for it TOO?! Ridiculous. Horrendous. Awful behavior.

I liked the FMC's personality though and would look for more from this author in the future. The writing overall was engaging.

I lovedddddd this book! This is one of my most anticipated reads of the whole year and it was partly because it's a plus-sized romance. I absolutely devoured this story. I loved the fact that this was a second-chance romance. Those aren't usually super high on my list of favorite tropes, but I love when the romance is just so good between two people you can't deny the chemistry.

Avery was someone who I just ached for. As a plus-sized woman myself, I related to many of her struggles and found her to be so well-written. I also love when a plus-size romance book doesn't feature a female main character whose job is in fashion. I loved that the setting for this was grad school and that it really focused on the confidence level that comes with many of these careers. I am a sucker for academic rivals to lovers. The fact that Colin's groveling was some of the best of all time really just made this book for me. At many points, early on in the story, I found myself trying to figure out how I was going to deal with Colin because he was a little annoying and I was desperate for Avery to knock him down a few pegs, but he really did win me over in the end.

Overall, I'm so thrilled with how this book turned out. It met all of my expectations and then some. I will definitely be watching out for more of Jenny's books.

I adored the main character of Allison-- she's smart, funny, confident, and I just want to be her best friend.
But her love interest didn't pass the vibe check for me, and that really affected my ability to enjoy this book.
I love the academic setting, the gorgeous setting descriptions, and the ALL the positive representations, from body positivity to mental health awareness.
I just love seeing smart women doing great things, and Allison is an intellectual superstar following her dreams.

What a fantastic message! I loved how the book started with the author's note!

This read a liiiiitle bit more like a new adult genre book, which I don't usually read. It was fresh and I loved the competitive nature and the forced proximity.

Would definitely read her next book.