I wish I had liked this more. I mean, come on, a self proclaimed fat heroine with a corgi? You'd think this book was written for me! I just couldn't get past the repeated immature, even toxic behavior by both of our main characters. There's a reason I usually steer clear of young/new adult, and I think this is it. This is a second chance story, and I don't know that I can truly see where the characters actually grew from the behaviors and issues that caused them to break up the first time around. I didn't necessarily dislike the characters, but their trust and communication need a LOT of work if this relationship is to have a HEA.

I did appreciate the author's inclusion of a fat heroine, I liked that the hero wasn't a perfect Henry Cavill-esque specimen, and I appreciated how she incorporated some heavier topics into the story. I'd absolutely give this author another read, this particular book just wasn't for me.

The Make-Up Test did not work for me!

To reference common tropes: I was on the fence about there being a second-chance romance involved, but because this was also academic rivals, I was excited going into the book.

I want to start my review with the love interest; Colin was pretty terrible. I don't think he deserved a second chance at all, any 'character development' he had made seemed fabricated. Also, I am so sorry, but I hated imagining a love interest who solely wears cardigans...

Allison was not too bad. At times she was very immature!! But, in regards to the plus size representation, I think it was great how despite facing some uncomfortable moments, she never wanted to change herself.

There were a few cute scenes that redeemed the book a tad, but even the ending did not quite hit the mark. The pandemic references throughout were also highly distracting. Unfortunately after reading it, I've decided to give it 2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC! Happy release week!

The Make-Up Test is about a woman, Allison, who wanted to study medieval literature her whole life and landed a spot in a very prestigious grad school to pursue her dreams. Until her ex-boyfriend showed up in the same program, reigniting their feud and bringing out her competitive edge. Second chance romances are always a win for me and this was no exception. While the references in the book to Beowulf and Canterbury Tales gave me bad flashbacks from high school, I loved how well researched this book was, down to exact passages of classic literature. And woven within the enemies to lovers, second chance romance were story lines of Allison’s complicated relationship with her father, her overcoming her insecurities due to her weight and her struggles with moving on with life after college and growing apart from her best friend. All done in a sensitive and realistic way, showing that people can grow and mature and surprise you. Overall, this was a really cute read.

2.5

This book sounded so cute. But I didn't really enjoy this one. I found the main character very annoying. She was so stuck on things that happened in the past, it kind of ruined things for me. I understand she went through a bad break up. But like MOVE ON GIRL!!! Leave the past in the past. Don't let the past effect what you are doing in the present. I thought this was suppose to be more of a romance book, but that part was lacking for me. I do however, love how they showed a woman pursuing her dreams. But this one was just missed the mark for me.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Jenny L. Howe for the ARC of this book. All opinion's are my own.

Lovers to Enemies to Lovers, workplace romance, close confines, road trip, all the tropes that make a book a charming romantic read. The main character, Allison, is a likeable character, but I especially like that she is a plus size woman who is mostly comfortable in her own skin. The academia is a bit thick, but otherwise turns this into a smart substantial read.

Unfortunately, The Make-Up Test was a miss for me. I DNF'd at 25% and was not invested in the story. I thought there was a bit too much filler and there wasn't anything to hook me into the plot. I wish I had loved it, but unfortunately this book was not for me.

Jenny L. Howe is a delight, and so is this book! I absolutely adored the fat representation and the academia setting. There are so few books with good body diversity, and I can't wait to read more of Howe's!

Good second chance romance with hot competition. A good escape read.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have to say, I always find second chance romance tropes hard to read through. There is always a reason why you broke it off. And I find it hard to believe that the couple can reunite again after having so many problems in the past. But I am always willing to give it a shot just in case it can change my mind.

I hate to say it, but this book was not for me. I really tried to give this book a try. But I found myself hating the characters as I kept on reading the book. They had way too many issues with each other that it made no sense for them to get together again. I really tried to figure out why they would give it a try again. They truly did not repair their problems; it was just a brush over. Never repaired.

And don’t get me started on the betrayal that happened toward the end. It was so maddening that she was willing to forgive him. I literally cannot read this book at all.

This book wasn't my favorite, however I did love parts about it.
Woman and the competitive nature in academics and working hard to make something of herself and her future, with all the struggles along the way.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the ARC of The Make-Up Test in exchange for my honest review.

The Make-Up Test was high on my list of anticipated releases this year, so I was thrilled to receive both a physical and digital ARC to review.

In her debut Jenny L. Howe tell a story about former lovers, now rivals that' contains lovely fat rep, discussions about academia and career goals, knights in shining armor and a dog named after cheese. The Make-Up test is a second chance, slow burn romance that also tenderly explores parental relationships and setting healthy boundaries in life.

You will enjoy this book if you like:
- second chance romance
- slow burn romance
- fat rep
- academic rivals to lovers
- banter
- heavy academic settings

One thing that I particularly enjoyed in Howe's debut was the confident, casual fat representation that it contained. Allison is fat. She knows it and she really doesn't feel the need to change. This isn't a book focussed on changing her or making her feel better about herself. There is some fat shaming, but it's also used to show that Allison is confident with herself and it's others that need to change their view/attitude. I've read books where much of the plot has to do with the fat MC's body/weight and I think those books are incredibly important, but so are novels such as this that show that fat people deserve love, and romance and adventures that are not centered around their physical appearance.

This books is funny, and spicy, but it is also very very heavy at moments. It deals with difficult relationships with parents and familial grief. I truly loved how Howe explored these topics in The Make-Up Test. I thought that Allisons difficult relationship with her father really added a complexity to her character but also the narrative overall. There are moments in this book that sincerely broke my heart, but the writing and emotions it was able to provoke has me excited to read what Howe publishes in the future.

I will say, at some points the characters in this book are hard to love. Allison has good intentions but at times she can't seem to get out of her own way. Every time she lied or stretched the truth I wanted to scream. Colin is hard to root for as a love interest at times and he both unknowingly and knowingly hurts Allison in ways that could make a reader hesitate. As I neared the end I wasn't sure if I was rooting for them to be together honestly. But then I took a step back. Romance isn't always perfect, in fact it rarely is. I think what this book reminded me was that romance and people are messy, but perhaps the biggest sign of love is choosing to keeping going and work through it all together.

Allison has been accepted to the doctorate program of her dreams. Things are looking up for Allison- finally! Until her ex Colin Benjamin had to come along and ruin it. Colin and Allison end up acting as a TA to the same professor- who can only take one of them on as an advisee at the end of the semester. The competition is on and both are playing dirty- nothing is off limits, including their romantic past and inside knowledge of each other. As they battle to be the best TA, can Colin and Allison ever find their way back to each other?

I loved the banter from The Make-Up Test! Allison and Colin have great chemistry the entire time. Both Colin and Allison are dealing with family issues and health scares in their family, which eventually inspires them to stop competing against each other. I loved Allison’s spirit and how she worked relentlessly toward her dreams despite the many obstacles in her way. Of course, the cute animals were a great bonus! The conflict in the conclusion felt a little forced, though I was firmly on one character's side the entire time. I would recommend this to readers who love romance in academia, inclusive writing, and lovers to enemies…to lovers (my favorite!). I can’t wait to read what Jenny Howe write next! Thank you to Jenny L. Howe, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, Wordpress blog, and Barnes & Noble etc

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
This read was fun and cute but not a home run for me.
I really enjoyed reading a romance set in graduate school and especially loved how the author wove in plenty of detail related to the academic area the MCs are pursuing- medieval lit. Side characters had enough going on not to seem superfluous. And the chemistry with the MCs was good, as was the work the heroine did to come to terms with her fraught relationship with her father.
But I just couldn’t love this book. The main issue for me was the hero- while the heroine seems to think he’s grown, and her certainly made some strides, I just cannot get past the power imbalances present and the toxic nature of their first and second time giving things a go. I don’t really care what made him do it, he’s an idiot and I wanted better for the heroine than someone whose first instinct is to close off when under stress and to steal her work. Meh.

Things I liked:
- The academic rivals/academic setting
- Enemies to lovers trope
- Unique character details

Things I didn't like:
- The rest.

I didn't feel the connection between these two and I think if they were a real couple, they wouldn't last. I kind of hated the MMC and I don't think he changed enough from who he was to who he is for her to forgive him, let alone fall for him. This shouldn't have been a love story, it should've been women's fiction and focused on Allison finding herself, WITHOUT a man.

This was such a sweet and sassy, enemies to lovers, second chance, workplace competition, slow burn romance.

Love the plus size rep I'm a curvy girl too. I hate the pear shape name too. #banfoodlabelsforpeople I think I fail at hashtags.

Her mmc is constantly competing for the spot she wants and making it all about him but will it be different from college now that they are in the same phD program.

Man, getting your heart broken, getting over it, then having to work near/with said person is impossible to either not catch feelings again or kill them. Which will she choose🤣

Tw: there is someone who should be providing unconditional love that is a horribly oblivious fatshamer. Like could care less about her feelings or her for that matter 

✨ Saw a comedian on my feed the other day that was saying "I'm fat and people usually whisper like aw but you're beautiful. Yea I know I'm beautiful I didn't say I was ugly!" When did fat become synonymous with ugly and unacceptable. ((Cough fashion industry))

We accept everyone's differences as long as they are a certain size stfu. #moveonfromthattoxicity #toxicdump

Thank you stmartinspress and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

When I read the description of The Make-Up Test, I was interested because of the academic setting and the plus-size MC. I was leery of the second chance romance because I do not really care for the trope.
I really wanted to like this book but it dragged for me and I almost did not finish it. The writing itself is great and super descriptive. I felt like I was really in the moment several times.
My biggest problem with this book was Colin Benjamin. The ex and love interest. He was the most giant douche in the past and still kind of like that in the present. He did not have many redeeming qualities. I feel like Allison put up with them due to her relationship with her father. She is used to being treated like crap. She states that she does not like how her dad acted towards her mom but she seems to take it from Colin with no issue. She is a strong, female character in the beginning and she really can hold her own with others. Colin swoops in and repeats mistakes he made in the past because she makes him feel inferior. She then blames herself for not giving him the benefit. It made me upset that she let him treat her the same as before.
I again will give props to the author because she really does bring realism to these characters. Maybe too much, lol.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jenny Howe, and St Martin's Press for the e-ARC of this book. The opinions are all my own.

Personally, I didn’t like this. The whole reason I picked this up was because Ali Hazelwood did a blurb. I can see the appeal, this one just wasn’t for me.

I don’t like second/third chance romances. I didn’t like Colin. I actually think he’s a jerk and toxic. I liked Allison more, but how she “deals” with Colin- not a fan. Wasn’t attached to any of the characters- maybe only Monty. He was not incorporated nearly enough.

I didn’t understand/follow a good chunk of the literature references (even with my British Lit class background). That might have made this more fun.

A little more triggering than I anticipated. My dad had the same thing Jed had, threw me off a little.

1 spicy scene that was slightly explicit- also really quick. Other rounds were mentioned but skirted over.

Academic setting. Handful of funny scenes.
Novel read really easy, like I said I personally just didn’t like the storyline.

18+ check content warnings

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this digital ARC.

I think this was my very first Second Chance Trope that I've read and while I enjoyed the book for what it offered, I realized that I don't love second chance romances.

Allison and Colin are both academia students who are Teacher Assistants for the same Professor. Which means they are ultimately competing for a spot for a once in a lifetime research trip. They are also exes and have a very rocky history which makes the competition even that more important to Allison.

What I loved: Fat positive narrative - we need more books that embrace people in all sizes, shapes, and colors. I loved that they showed Allison's family as toxic and she refused to be a victim.

What I didn't love: Truly not much - except the idea of getting back together with an ex who damaged badly.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Allison Avery has spent her life trying to be the best so that she could achieve her dream job. She loves Medieval Literature and how romance come together. Into her life at college came Collin. How they met was funny. They studied, dated and fell in love. Till he won an award that she wanted and they broke up. Avery trying to get her life on track. Collin trying to get his life together. Thrown back together, can they let the past go and move forward or are they doomed to repeat the past. First everything needs to be put on the line. Only then can they move forward.

I can always appreciate a nerdy romance between two academies and a plus-sized main character. I enjoyed Allison's narration of her story I would have liked to have heard Collins's point of view.

Both characters had pretty significant flaws in character I did enjoy their banter between them. I feel like most of the situation could have been fixed if Allison had listened and allowed people to explain to them she could have saved herself some time

However, her father is the worst and I wish they left him as the villain throughout the story. her mother doesn't care how her father treats her and would instead her daughter is a punching bag her ex is upset - I wish that were leaned on more and less about the father's toxic behaviour.

The sex scenes were spicy enough spicier than I was expecting. Considering that Allison's father is the worst, I have to appreciate how Allison deals with the haters and those that give her grief about her size.

I appreciate that her size wasn't the focal point of this romance. I enjoyed reading this book