📝 𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝗪 📝⁣⁣
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𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦-𝘜𝘱 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵 by 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐋. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞⁣⁣
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Y’all are gonna think I only get on here to post negative reviews now. 😅 I promise that’s not my intention, but rather, how the bookish cards have fallen for me lately. Pity me, please. I beg of you.⁣⁣
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I feel particularly bad about this one, especially since 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦-𝘜𝘱 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵 focuses on plus-size rep and is by a debut author, but this book is just unfortunately not very good.⁣⁣
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It begins with the fact that both main characters are incredibly unlikeable and insufferable and childish. I read another review where someone (I can’t for the life of me remember who it was, so please tell me if it was you) said this is a YA plot slapped into a contemporary romance book, and if that isn’t the truest thing I’ve ever read, then I don’t know what is. Several plot elements are incredibly unrealistic and also just don’t make sense for adults.⁣
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Thank you so much to @stmartinspress for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

📖My Thoughts📖

This was a pretty good book! I loved the characters seeing them grow throughout the book, as well as the relationships. However, I wanted to see more between Sophie and Allison. They’re best friends and while their friendship was seeming to be going in two different directions, it kind of left you wondering if they made peace with all that and were still going to remain strong or if they were just going to let things fizzle out. There seemed like a couple semi unresolved issues in the book, but it’s also fair to say, I understand that the author couldn’t tackle each and everyone one in such a short amount of time. It was nice to see Allison’s character become more strong willed and sticking her ground with things. Overall this was a pretty good book. It was cute and fun as well as very easy to read. Rom-Com lovers should check this one out!
Thank you Netgalley, Jenny L. Howe and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love a good academic rival book especially if that’s the main premise. Not only did I find the relationship between the two main characters to be a bit toxic and talk about miscommunication!

This is also a very heavy book. I’m glad I read the trigger warnings before starting it. There's death of a parent, psychological and verbal abuse, fat-shaming, sick parent.

To be honest, expected the vibe to be something else, but this is a very heavy book. It does has its moments of comedy and all, but I think it has more heavy/ intense moments than anything else. I even want to say it is a bit women's fiction rather than a romance, especially not contemporary.

The Make-Up Test is Jenny L. Howe's first novel. I went in very optimistic - a second chance romance set in grad school, what could go wrong?

I quickly realized that the Main Character, Allison was not particularly likeable. She portrays what I imagine is a relatively realistic portrayal of what it's like to be in grad school - meeting new friends, struggling with how to maintain her friendship with her roommate, learning how to be a TA (but she has a time for a puppy?).

The second chance romance left me cold - Colin was a challenging character. He's pretty flat as a character, and when you find out why they broke up, the fact that Alison is willing to take him didn't make sense to me. Then when he screws up again, she takes him back a third time? Alison: listen to your roommate: Do not get back together with Colin.

In addition to the Second Chance romance, there is a sub-plot with Alison's parents. It all ends up being a lot to take in, with a lot of characters to try and keep track of. Overall, I would rate this 2.5 stars (rounded down).

This book was the fat rep I needed! I thought it was really well done. And while it didn't shy away from the lasting trauma of growing up with a fatphobic parent, it didn't reduce the character to just that. Allison loves her body from the beginning and it was so refreshing to see a story that was about her achieving her dreams without having to change herself.

I wanted to absolutely love this one, and while I did find it easy enough to read and even relate to in some ways, some parts of it felt truly icky and I just didn't love the way the story unfolded. The second chance aspect was not resolved well enough the second time for it to be believable to me, and I struggled to connect to the characters in a way I'd like to.

I do love reading books set in academia because I think that world isn't always represented well enough, but this didn't even seem like the most accurate portrayal of this world either. I did enjoy the friend group and the advisor as well as some character growth seen from beginning to end, but overall, just not a favourite.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was cute! Honestly it wasn’t super memorable, but I did enjoy the banter! I usually swoon over academic rivals, but I am not sure I connected with these characters!

It's her debut book and I was excited for this one. I liked it and it was a good book. Hoping for more from this author in the future.

DNF. It didn’t match up with my personal tastes. Maybe it’s the right book for someone, but that someone just is not me.

This is a sweet romance with wonderful body-positive representation. However, I found the romance difficult to get into, mostly because the couple at the center of this story doesn't really seem right for each other.

I was skeptical about this book at first, because I don't love a second chance romance trope and, Colin and Allison didn't quite manage to sway me, but I enjoyed my time in the world Jenny L. Howe created. A lot of reviews call to mind Emily Henry and I don't think I would recommend this to all Emily Henry fans carte blanche, mostly because men in Emily Henry's books are unmatched and Colin... definitely isn't on that level.

Ooh a book with a fat MC, rivals-to-lovers, and second chance romance? Sign me up, thank you.

Another rom-com with a very cute premise! Exes Allison and Colin, who broke up years before in college, are now rivals vying for one coveted TA spot under a Medieval Lit professor. Colin broke up with Allison for reasons unknown (until more than halfway through the story) but Allison's best friend HATES Colin so readers are left guessing how the two could come back together.

In my mind, Allison and Colin reconnect too easily after years apart especially when Allison has no reason to want things to change based on how much she hates him. It starts, as always, with lust and angst and moves in from there. I do think the author does a good job of slowly deepening the relationship to bring the two together but I believe she didn't take into account that Colin's past trespasses are too much for most of us to overlook. The two have some very cute moments but they don't make up for the bad of the past.

I think this book had a lot going for it but one the main things the author did was try to show the good of Colin Benjamin by holding him up against Allison's abusive father. And to me, it just was a reminder that people can be bad to you on a whole spectrum and it's okay to drop them all. The less bad one does not have to be the love of your life even if he has changed. Allison's father is dying and she refuses to offer him another chance but she lets Colin back in so easily. I think she needs some therapy. Especially with how she treats her best friend throughout.

I think the resolution and the other issues in the book needed more time to be fleshed out and I think the importance of Sophie and Allison's relationship is looked over a bit.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

3 stars, maybe

Found it boring and slightly annoying? I wish this was dual perspective because Allison isn’t exactly or often likable - very stubborn and closed-minded, never lets him talk when she’s mad. Exes and enemies to lovers, but the back and forth of competitive animosity to truce to hatred gives you whiplash.

Does this book took place in the future? Her junior year of high school was during the pandemic, but now she’s in grad/phd school.

A huge reason why I won’t do grad school in English - this book. So much work. Highly recommend readers care about medieval lit because this book is full of it.

Thank you Net Galley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

When Jenny Howe popped up on my FYP I was so excited to read the book: second chance romance, academic rivals to lovers, transitioning from a college student into the real world, and "a story about a fat woman who's happily ever after has nothing to do with her weight."

Things I liked:
1. A realistic overview of grad school
2. Very fat positive
3. Representation of how relationships change after you finish college.

Things I didn't like:
1. The MC constantly felt that relationship problems were due to her inadequacies as a partner
2. The toxic father-daughter relationship and the mousy mother
3. No one looks so good in a cardigan that you forget about all the past relationship issues that you had.

Overall, it was a well-written book with flawed characters who I had trouble rooting for.

A smart romance with great plus-sized rep! I loved Allison! Definitely grab a copy of The Make Up Test by Jenny Howe.

Allison Avery loves to win. After acing every academic challenge she’s come up against, she’s finally been accepted into her dream Ph.D. program at Claymore University, studying medieval literature under a professor she’s admired for years. Sure, grad school isn’t easy—the classes are intense, her best friend is drifting away, and her students would rather pull all-nighters than discuss The Knight's Tale—but she’s got this. Until she discovers her ex-boyfriend has also been accepted. Colin Benjamin might be the only person who loves winning more than Allison does, and when they're both assigned to TA for the same professor, the game is on.

What starts as a personal battle of wits (and lit) turns into all-out war when their professor announces a career-changing research trip opportunity—with one spot to fill. Competing with Colin is as natural as breathing, and after he shattered her heart two years ago, Allison refuses to let him come out on top. But when a family emergency and a late-night road trip—plus a very sexy game of Scrabble—throw them together for a weekend, she starts to wonder if they could be stronger on the same team. And if they fall for each other all over again, Allison will have to choose between a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and what could be a twice-in-a-lifetime love.

In this charmingly bookish debut, The Make-Up Test embraces the truth that people can sometimes change and grow, even when you least expect it.

This was sweet, I hope to check out the author’s books more in the future as well! The romance was very believable and it was really nice to read about a larger character.

My one main complaint when it comes to romances, is always the fact that the endings are short and rushed. I like my romances with a little bot more of the "afterwards". And while this was still the case with this one, I still really enjoyed it.

My one other complaint is the weird timeline and Covid's involvement with the story. It felt like such a strange and unnecessary addition to the plot, especially because it wasn't actually relevant? It took me out of the story and I feel like it could've just been ignored, like so many other books do, If I remeber correctly, the MC mentioned the pandemic starting her junior year of high school (I may be wrong about this part), which would mean that this book is set in 2026, which I find to be a weird detail, but not anything major.

I did really enjoy both characters and their relationship. I feel like I tend to have problems with a lot of MC's in romance novels and the relationship issues that cause the third act break up to be a bit ridiculous, but I think that the situations that led to their original break up and to the third act break up were actually well written and reasonable.

I was also a big fan of the second chance romance aspect. I loved the rebuilding of their relationship and getting to know each other again and fixing mistakes from the past. I found it all very enjoyable and I'm so glad I decided to read it.

Did not love this one. Couldn’t connect with Allison. Colin was not my cup of tea at all. Cute premise and I really wanted to like it but it was a miss for me unfortunately.

Allison Avery has made it into her dream Ph.D. program at Claymore. It’s a chance to study under a professor she’s admired for years and to become a professor of medieval literature. Everything she’s ever wanted is within reach…

Until her ex-boyfriend, Colin Benjamin, shows up, having been accepted into the same program—and is TAing the same class. Possibly the only person more competitive than she is, Colin is determined to out-teach and out-smart Allison in order to become the professor’s advisee. But their rivalry soon becomes muddled when old sparks begin to fly…and the truth about the past comes out.

This book was SO CUTE. Allison and Colin’s story is a perfect second chance romance, with an interesting (and intense) rivalry, intriguing backstory, and corny—but adorable—grand gesture (the best kind). Watching their relationship unfold was such a joy, especially as we got to see the many layers of both characters. Also the fat rep was incredible and the book encourages so much body positivity! Highly recommend!

I thoroughly enjoyed this second chance romance set in graduate school. It was a sweet, funny and heartfelt romance. It took all the things you love about enemies to lovers and rivals to lovers, then mixed it with second chance romance with the delightful addition of literary debates. It made my heart so happy.

After being accepted into her dream Ph.D program studying with a professor she's admired for years, Allison is beyond thrilled. Of course being in graduate school means more work, but with the support of her best friend, Allison knows that she can pull it off. But that all changes when she finds out that her ex-boyfriend Colin, is also in the program with her. Allison decides to ignore Colin -- that shouldn't be too hard right? But of course, Colin and Allison are assigned to be TAs for Allison's favorite professor. When the professor tells them that they can only advise one of them, Allison and Collin resort to their competitive tactics. Because only one of them can win.

But the more time Allison and Colin spend together, it appears that Allison's perception of Colin is all wrong. And that there was more to their breakup than she originally thought. Can Allison trust this new Colin? Or is Colin trying to play mind games with Allison?

In addition to the rivalry, the book deals with some sensitive issues surround boy shaming and abuse --just to name a few.

There's really so much to love about this book. You can't help route for Allison and Colin.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinions. (less)