This is a second chance enemies to lovers romance. I enjoyed the characters and the academic (medieval literature) aspects to the story as well as how some of the heavy issues (ie ill family members, dysfunctional family dynamics) were handled. I also liked how the plus sized rep in this story was positive. The only thing I would have liked to seen more of was the exploration of growth of some of the characters a bit more.

The first half of this book felt a little long to me. But after that, I was pretty invested in the characters and I wanted to see what happened to them.
I think if you want a second chance romance, literature focused version of The Love Hypothesis, you would like this.
Colin and Allison were kind of opposites attract but they balanced each other out. I liked them together.

Something I really like in second chance romance is when after the couple initially broke up, we see how they have grown and become better and grow back together.

I liked her best friend Sophie. Jed was awful and I don’t feel bad at all for what happened.

The conflict was difficult because it could’ve been easily avoided. But that’s usual. They need to work on their communication like most book couples. If he’d talked to her before or if she had let him finish talking, everything would’ve been fine.

I liked the ending. It was cute. Seemed a little rushed though and I hate when authors don’t include an epilogue. 😭

This one is hard for me to rate. For most of the book I didn't love it, but also didn't hate it. The characters weren't particularly likable, but I could tell that they were making an effort to be better. Also, there were a lot of references to medieval literature which does not interest me, so I thought maybe this book would be enjoyed more by someone who is interested in that.

However, everything went downhill for me when we got to the dreaded third act break up. I am not a fan of these in romance, but can usually excuse that authors feel some form of conflict is needed. In this case, all the conflict did for me was prove that these two characters hadn't actually changed much and they probably would not make it in real life.

Thank you to St.Martin’s Press for a copy of The Make-Up Test for review. I was really excited for this one but sadly it did not work out for me. The dialogue was a little wooden and seemed forced and Colin was one of the worst people I’ve read in a while. His relationship to Allison just made no sense to me and a lot of his actions were so self centred that I could not believe anyone found him charming. I did also find that Allison brought up her size quite a bit, not so much in a bad way but enough times that it seems the character or the author made a point to mention it repeatedly for no reason. Love to see plus sized main characters but it doesn’t need to be hammered into every page. The side characters were very fun so if the author continues the series with one of them as main character, I would probably give that a try.

Allison has finally been accepted in her dream PhD program in literature. She's elated, until she finds out her ex-boyfriend, Colin, is also part of the program and chosen as well to act as TA to a professor she has been admiring for years. Will they be able to put the past behind?
This is a good enemies to lovers/grad school/second chance romance. Although I found the writing to be a touch clumsy at times (it felt like going through a list of characteristics and descriptions, especially in the beginning), I'm glad I powered through. It does touch base on a few rough topics (fat shaming and emotional abuse), and I did find Allison to be a bit immature at times, but it still was a cute and fun beach read.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe is a body positive second chance romance that I couldn’t put down! Exes Allison and Colin are competing against each other for a huge academic opportunity after both being assigned as TAs to the same professor. The dynamic between the two was perfect and I loved the vibes. Highly recommend!

The Make-Up Test is a fun, cerebral, slow-burn of a rom-com set in academia centering around two graduate students and rivals who battle it out for a coveted PhD program. This is a second chance romance full of misunderstandings, miscommunications and so much love. It was lovely to follow Allison and Colin and the cast of characters around them. I especially enjoyed the cohort get togethers and Allison’s fashion-forward roommate.

Howe’s writing is engaging and sharp, balancing humor and romance with difficult topics like acceptance, familial guilt and transitions. I especially enjoyed how the topic of body positivity was addressed. This was a pleasant debut that will be sure to turn heads.

(Trigger warnings: Fatphobia and emotional abuse by a parent)

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Jenny L. Howe for an advance copy.

I was so excited by the concept of this book, but for me it didn’t live up to it.

It’s a tale of enemies to lovers, but so much is based on the main character’s inability to think about anyone but herself. She made it hard for me to get through this book that I wanted to love so much.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this book and the characters! Having the back drop of this book be grad school where the focus is Medieval literature was a thrill as Medieval lit was the focus of my senior thesis. This book was fun and sweet.

This was a really pleasant book. I love the academic aspect of the book and the fat representation as well. While I did not like the love interest, the main character’s journey throughout the book carried the story.

I love a good enemies to lovers and this one didn't disappoint. To make it even better, it folded in a second chance romance along with it.

Allison and Colin can't stay away from each other - - yet they always seem to be competing with each other. It's the competition that seems to come between them. Over the course of the book you get insight into both of Allison and Colin's backgrounds. It helps to better understand their struggles and motivations. I enjoyed the different feel of this story. It's set at grad school with some flashback information to when Allison and Colin first met in college. Their relationship has never been conventional but it's always been real.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

With hints of Olivia Dade's body positivity but set in an academic environment, I had really high hopes for this book. There were some really wonderful plot points. I loved the glimpses into Allison's love of books and all things medieval. The grad school setting felt realistic and engaging. What I did not like was Colin! Their relationship DID feel accurate but overall he came off as an entitled white guy in grad school using the genius of those around him to further his career. I appreciated his character arc overall however and did like the way the author handled him at the end but I just did not enjoy his character.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of "The Make=Up Test", written by Jenny L. Howe. It was released on September 13th, 2022.

Overall, I rated this novel a 3/5 stars.

Read if you enjoy
*academic rivals
*second chance romance
*enemies to lovers

Allison Avery and Colin Benjamin broke up two years ago, so she is surprised when he is in her graduate-level literature course. I had to take points off because the two of them are both incredibly immature and do not act as though they belong in graduate-level college, but perhaps high school or middle school instead. But I did enjoy the storyline/plot concept otherwise.

The Make-Up Test by Jenny Lowe

Published: September 13, 2022
St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 332
Genre: Romance
KKECReads Rating:
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Jenny L. Howe first started scribbling stories into black-and-white composition notebooks with neon pink pens when she was in junior high and never really stopped. In college, she decided to turn her love of books into a career by pursuing a Ph.D. in literature, where she spent the next few years studying bizarre and entertaining medieval romances. Now, as a professor, she teaches courses in college writing, literature, and children’s media. When she’s not writing and teaching, Jenny spends her time buried under puzzle pieces, cross-stitching her favorite characters, and taking too many pictures of her rescue dogs, Tucker and Dale. The Make-Up Test is her debut novel.

“Sometimes, the right choice hurt far worse than the wrong one.”

Allison is starting her grad school courses, filled with excitement and nerves, ready to prove herself. When she finds out her ex-boyfriend is also in her program, under that same topic, she’s already planning to outshine him.

For a debut, this was well done. There was a lot of conflict and a lot of heavy topics, which was an ambitious play to make.

I found the characters okay. I had a difficult time with the main character, Allison. I wanted to like her- I was a British Literature major and can tend to be very type A, but I found Allison shallow. She didn’t let people talk, and she wasn’t a good listener. She wasn’t a good friend, and she was very immature.

I know she was only 23 and had a lot of past issues to work through, but she wasn’t very likable. I found Colin a well-done lead character; he had great growth and seemed to have learned from past struggles. I enjoyed the side characters; Wendy was excellent.

I did find the plot pretty realistic, grad school is no joke, and life feels extremely overwhelming while trying to stay afloat. And I found Allison’s struggles with teaching accurate and fairly represented. It’s scary facing a room of students feeling unprepared and inadequate. That was honest and raw.

Overall, this one was just okay for me. The plot was fine; the characters were alright. I did love the grad school aspect and the Literature aspect.

I just finished this, just in time for its release! I loved the concept and tropes. I had a bit of a hard time loving Colin, though I was satisfied with their relationship by the end. A cute, academia-based romcom.

This is a great debut novel from Jenny Howe. This story is set in an academic setting, which we need more of, and features two main characters that you can't help but like, well eventually you do with Colin. Personally Colin is not my cup of tea, but the descriptions of him make him sound adorable. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves academia, second chance, rivals to lovers and a good old fashioned romcom.

Competence porn is real! Both the characters are great students, and the academic discussion scenes are wonderful. The hero and heroine meet at Brown, where she's a sophomore and he a senior. The fat rep for her is superb as is the characterization of the hero who is far from the romance novel hero norm. What Howe brings to the table is that the only thing that matters is they each find the other attractive. They spend a good few months together, but then he betrays her and dumps her. Surpise, surpise! When she lands in graduate school, guess who is also a first year in the same department and vying to be the advisee of the same famed professor? He ruined her life in undergrad; is he now going to do the same to her grad school and future academic aspirations? Good examination of the people they were in undergrad versus the people they have grown up to be now. Good growth opportunity for both people, which is what I look for, but as is more and more en vogue in contemporary roms these days, the hero has more work to do.

Review will be published on Cogitations & Meditations later this month at http://keirasoleore.blogspot.com.

So the trick with an exes to lovers romance is that the reader has to WANT the exes to become lovers again. The reason they broke up has to be something that can be overcome. And unfortunately, that wasn’t the case here.

I honestly didn’t like Colin at all. I found him annoying and immature and his growth between when they broke up and present day in the story is pretty much nonexistent. He learned absolutely NOTHING. His reasons for what he did/does are not nearly good enough and I wasn’t rooting for them at all. Based on Allison’s thoughts/comments it doesn’t even seem like he was a very good boyfriend in general before the thing that made them break up so WHY would I want them to be together now??

There were a few other things that, while minor, brought this down for me even more: the author says “sportsball” instead of sports, which is maybe cute once but not every single time; there were random vague mentions of the pandemic that could have EASILY been left out – just why??; the Star Wars prequels are made fun of – this is such a tired joke; and Colin is frequently described as smelling like hair gel or his hair gel is just mentioned in general – does hair gel smell sexy? Again why?

I honestly don’t think the writing is bad and I really liked the grad school setting, but I just couldn’t get past how little I liked our love interest, which is pretty important in a romance. Hopefully others enjoy this more than I did!


Thank you to St Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A sweet second chance romance featuring ex’s competing for their dream job opportunity. I enjoyed the academic setting! Features a plus size MC.

Second chance, enemy to lovers are some of my favorite tropes, and The Make Up Test combines the two seamlessly.

Allison has been accepted into her dream PhD program, studying Medieval Literature. The only problem is, her ex-boyfriend, Colin has also been accepted. Allison is bent on remaining professional and to forget their past together. She has moved on… but has she really?

Allison likes to win and everything becomes a competition. The only problem is, their professor only has room for one TA, and Allison refuses to lose. Every interaction with Colin is a lit fuse, their witty sparing is hilarious and endearing. But time and circumstances have a way of altering views, and leaves Allison wondering if Colin has changed. That maybe this time around it would work between the two. Or would it just get in the way of her dream?

You should definitely one-click this book.