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)

As a lit major myself, I enjoyed reading about the graduate students of medieval literature discussing and competing for awards and recognition in their work. The romance between Colin and Allison was also interesting as they were rivals in academics as well as former lovers. This provided the tension in the novel, in addition to Allison's estranged father always reviling her for being overweight.

I only wished the descriptions of Allison's physical attraction to Colin, her former college boyfriend, were not so detailed and frequent. They became repetitive after a while. About one-eighth of the book could have been cut if edited in this way.

An unusual plot and characters, however, that made this a four star read.

This. Was. AWFUL. Who the hell green lit this?!

From the start we get an immature, insecure Allison who SHOVES that fact that she's plus sized down your throat. Next, she starts describing the male lead Colin as "knobby and spindly." This is supposed to be our lead, and there are the adjectives we're bombarded with the whole novel. Allison and Colin are second chance lovers after a back-stabbing of epic proportions in undergrad, reunite in a graduate program. Having the 2 compete for their place as the only research assistant was weak after initially being accepted. They wouldn't let that drag out over a whole semester. That's too expensive.

I hated that this was only from Allison's POV and nothing from Colin. He doesn't get to express he thoughts and feelings a lot because Allison shuts him down and stomps off. Allison is immature, completely insecure even though she proclaims she's not, and is plagued by daddy issues. She is constantly aiming to be perfect or the best at literally everything. She is also very arrogant in pushing her views on feminism into every piece of literature. Constantly assuaging that only her interpretation of the readings were the correct ones, and NEVER stopped to consider someone else's take on it. She only gets flustered and offended for no reason! This is the 2nd or 3rd book set in academia that I've read recently and the leads are all SO IMMATURE. They're supposed to be mid 20's but all act like they're still 18 year old freshmen.

The barrage of body image focus and issues within this book drove me up a wall! There's an empowering way of describing plus sized women and this was NOT it. Allison was constantly told by her father that she needs to diet, exercise more, take better care of herself and she'll lose weight. But it's mentioned ONCE that she has a thyroid condition. ONCE!!!! One the flip side, any time she describes Colin it's ALWAYS some negative adjective referring to how skinny and bony and lanky he is. This is NOT how you get someone to believe in and root for their relationship and end up rooting against them. It also enforces that idea that only buff and muscular men are attractive and that skinnier and leaner men are unattractive, which is just as wrong as the prevailing idea that only skinny women are attractive.

Another trend is the toxic family making excuses and trying to force interaction. Her father never showed her any affection or said he was proud of any of her accomplishments. He constantly put her down, physically and mentally and emotionally. School was a waste of time and money. He was constantly making her feel ashamed and at fault for her weight. Which again, thyroid issues only brought up ONCE. Her mother continuing to force her to associate with the man despite her protests and fair reasoning. The conclusion was WEAK at best. There was a really weird throw away attempt at redeeming Allison's father that was never addressed again. Why even bother including it?!

Words that made me cringe every time they were used: spindly, knobby, narrow, squawk, wink, lanky, feminist, mansplain, manspread.

This is a new author for me and I did enjoy this one. It was an enemies to lovers/second chance romance! While I’m not the biggest fan of second chance romances, this one was ok. It also had some body shaming and parent neglect in it. Our MC’s Allison and Colin are both super smart and have a past. These two end up having to work together but also fighting for the same research trip! While these two had some back and forth feeling it was a sweet romance! Allison is a plus sized smarty that’s super sweet and hard working! Her father is emotionally abusive toward her for her academic choices:( I thinks she’s great! Colin is our high achiever hero that isn’t very likable! Though he does try to redeem himself at the end! I thought the book was sweet and a quick read!

I unfortunately have to DNF this at around 33% because it's just not for me. It has a lot of amazing things going for it, and I know there are a lot of people who would enjoy it, however I am not in the headspace for this book.
The plot and characters are strong, and if you love academic rivals to lovers, and second chance, then I totally recommend this book.
However certain things in the book I can't get behind and because of that I am having a hard time pushing forward. I'm sure Colin has a valid reason for the rising star incident (at least I hope) but if my boyfriend took that from me without an explanation, broke up with me not long after, only to reappear at the grad school I specifically choose to study under a specific professor, to study the thing that I have been passionate about for years that he never seemed to care about, ultimately threatening my dreams and education, I don't think I could forgive him and ever look at him in a romantic/sexual way ever again. That's not a love interest, that's a nemesis and not someone I would want to be my partner in life. And the fact that Allison has not once attempted to explain this to him, is driving me crazy. He should be able to figure out that this situation is messed up, but since he clearly holds no remorse, it shocks me that Allison doesn't lay it out on the line to him.
Also, how is technically 2 years younger than me, but is somehow in grad school when I haven't graduated college yet. It's silly semantics that don't ultimately matter but I was like okay girl.

(If all the above things don't convince you off Colin as a romantic interest, the man unironically wears musical merch. I'm a theatre major, and when I read that he was wearing a Schuyler Sisters tee shirt under his cardigan, I physically recoiled and cringed.)

It's a strong book. There's an audience for it. That audience is not me.

I just couldnt get into it. I didnt connect with the characters and was uninterested in the plot. Wrong book for me at this time. Maybe later

I originally had seen this on here and decided to not request it, but then after being encouraged to do so based off of the raving reviews from several friends, I checked it out. I can just say that I regret not requesting this off the get go! It was awesome!

This book not only made me laugh out loud as I read through the pages, but it also made me feel. Sometimes in books, these two things are not done super well, or one part is focused on much more. But, Jenny Howe's writing managed to capture both of these in such ways that my heart felt as though it was going to burst. My husband kept giving me weird looks as I laughed through this one too.

Normally I'm not a huge fan of academic settings in books (depending on the context) but this one was done so well, it made my heart sing with praise. This book will have you chuckling, admiring the witty one-liners, and praising the mental health representation (in various ways). You should definitely check this one out!

Also - it came out on my birthday so I should have known it would be a winner!

While I went into this book with high expectations, it sadly fell flat for me. The literary aspects of this book worked much better for me than the romance. Too much miscommunication combined with a male character who is just a little too toxic made this a non starter (for me personally). All in all, a basic romance book that one might enjoy if they like their romance on the cliche side.

I'm having difficulty putting my finger on exactly what it was about this book that kept me reading because, honestly, I really didn't enjoy it.

The premise seemed really interesting to me; I appreciated the idea of undergrad rivals-to-lovers-to-exes meeting up again in grad school to battle it out once again.

However, while I understand that these graduate students are still really young, Allison came off to me as more of a teen MC from a YA novel. There was a frustrating level of immaturity and I felt like I couldn't relate to many of her viewpoints. She's also really quick to judge/cut people off while she's hung up on people doing that to her. She clearly has a lot that she's working on and unpacking in her life - past and present - but I felt at times like her confidence -socially - was maybe overconfidence; to the point of narcissism. For instance, Jed's an asshat (obviously), but when she visited him in the hospital, she was only concerned with trying to force him into saying he's proud of her accomplishments. It was cringey and wouldn't have led to any progress in their relationship even if he hadn't ignored her. I'm sure my opinion will not be popular on that front, but there it is. She was just too focused on her own hurts and hang ups- a teenage-level of selfishness.

On the flip, I did appreciate that she was perfectly confident in who she was as a person, a scholar, a female- those were all really positive, solid attributes that I enjoyed. Colin- take him or leave him. I think my favorite character was actually Wendy Frances.

Overall, I am not sure that I was the right audience for this one. I'm not a huge fan of YA, and this felt really juvenile to me.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.