Allison’s finally been accepted into her dream Ph.D. program - her ex-boyfriend was accepted too. When their professor announces a career-changing research trip opportunity—with one spot to fill. Competing with Colin is as natural as breathing, and sparks are flying. Will Allison have to choose between a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and what could be a twice-in-a-lifetime love?

I enjoyed this, but it didn’t stick with me - solid three stars.

I really thought I would love this more. I liked it. The characters were likable. The drama was believable. I loved that there was fat rep and it didn't feel like a fetish thing. But it seemed so sad for me. Allison and Jed's relationship was so abusive and that her mom was just turning a blind eye made me upset. When my birth father was a jerk to me, my mother never spoke ill of him, but she didn't gaslight me into a relationship. I think this guilt was a bigger part of this story than it should have. And where Allison had the growth arc that she needed, I felt she was constantly fighting for it and that made this a longer, more drawn out book.
I did enjoy the writing so I definitely read something else by Howe, but I just felt like this one fell a little flat.

The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe is a delightful read for fans of lighthearted, emotional, and swoony rom-coms who will appreciate the witty banter, academic rivalry, and romance between two complex characters as they navigate love, growth, and their passion for literature.

A perfectly cute debut from Jenny Howe. I was drawn in from the educational aspect. A rom com, some suspense, exes to enemies to lovers type trope. Throw in a bit of spice of course and things can get heated between Allison and her ex Colin, TAs in their PhD program and now competing for a research trip opportunity. What could possibly go wrong? I love the relatability of Allison and the all too real emotions with heartbreak and encountering an ex again. I liked how Howe took this in a tougher direction with the issues behind Colin and Allison's history. It was refreshing to have a slightly different narrative than the typical romcom style.

When I received this as an ARC it was not the time to read it, I just couldn't get into it. But I wanted to give it another go so I borrowed it from the library and this time I did enjoy it. I loved the banter, the character development and the representation! Thank you NetGalley for introducing me to this gem of a novel

Great book. I enjoyed Reading it. The characters and plot were interesting life like and easy to connect with.

I couldn’t get into this. I wasn’t a fan of the hero and I couldn’t connect with the setting/story/characters at all.

This was a great read. I love the body positivity by the heroine. The romance was delightful. It’s centering and cute.

Enemies to lovers meets second chance romance, a nice combo with characters as sweet as these. Add in a little plus-size representation that was handled well, this was a cute, heart-warming rom-com. Unfortunately, I did not feel the chemistry between the two characters - I enjoyed them individually but did not feel their bond as much as I would have liked. This may be in part due to the frequent "miscommunications" as those are distracting from the actual progression of the relationship. Overall a cute story and I would read another by Jenny Howe after reading this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for my gifted copy - all thoughts are my own.

This was such a cute second-chance romance! I loved every second of it, especially the tension between the two characters!

enemies to lovers to rivals to lovers all in one book! grad school setting, something we don't see a lot of.

Rivals to lovers and medieval kit and body positive fat rep? You can’t go wrong. Highly recommended!!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for sending this book for review
consideration. All opinions are my own.

Allison Avery is elated to learn she had been accepted into the PhD program at Claymore University to study medieval literature under a professor she's admired for years. Much to her disappointment, she discovers that her ex-boyfriend, Collin Benjamin has been accepted into the same program. Just as she is trying to balance other areas of her life helping her ailing father, the last thing she wanted was to compete with Colin again. The competition to impress their instructor becomes just as challenging as graduate school itself. Their competitive nature is put to the test when they learn there is only one spot for a coveted research trip opportunity overseas.

This was a nice debut into the rom-com genre but did lack a bit of both. The romantic aspect struggled as the relationship between Allison and Collin took a painfully long road to reconciliation of any kind just to work together let alone reunite what "may have been" from their undergrad days at Brown University. The story between Allison and her father, Jed, fat-shaming her was uncomfortable and seemed almost like an unnecessary side note. It seems that Allison has accepted her full-figure and has the confidence to succeed that her weight barely needs any focus.

I rounded up this novel for its earnest attempt as it might be appealing to some people. It just didn't impress me.

I hate enemies to lovers books that include hijinks and immature behavior towards each other. I struggled to finish this and was totally let down

Exes to lovers and I am here for it. Allison Avery learns that she has been accepted into her dream Ph.D. program and is thrilled. Until she finds out that someone else was accepted also...her ex, Colin! The heat is on in the classroom and between them when they battle it out against each other. I enjoyed the second chances aspect also. This body includes body sensitivity in a way that is classy and done well.

This was a fun, if slightly forgettable romance. There were some literary allusions that went over my head (and I consider myself pretty well-read) but all in all it didn't take much away from my enjoyment of the story.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I think we can all appreciate the spectacular job that Ms. Howe has done for plus-sized representation.

I, like many others, have grown up reading about the perfect, skinny heroine who survives an ordeal and gets the guy. Ms. Lowe took my perfect, skinny heroine and gave me someone real, raw and incredibly relatable.

Enemies to lovers against the academic background was brilliant! I am not a fan of second-chance romances but this worked only because of how loveable the characters were.

Anyone who can make Scrabble sexy is a winner in my books!

I do believe the author can mature slightly in terms of her writing and less reliance on the noncommunication trope. That being said I think she has great potential.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review. You can follow me on IG @JessicaReadsIt.

The Makeup Test was definitely a heart warming story. I laugh, I cried and I didn’t want to put the book down.
Jenny Howe is definitely on my favorite authors list!

I should start off by saying I loved the plus size rep!
I just had a very hard time feeling the connection between the pair which made me feel very indifferent about the book as a whole.

it was cute debut but it won't be a memorable read.