3.5 Stars
Allison loves to win and she's good at it, but that doesn't make grad school any easier, especially when you throw in her ex-boyfriend as her main competition, the ex-boyfriend that she has lost to in the past and that broke her heart. Then you add in trouble with her personal relationships; growing apart from her best friend, her mother-daughter relationship with her mother, and the troubled, almost non-existent relationship with her abusive father.

I wanted to love this more than I did, but there is so much that I liked. I struggled with about the first quarter of the book, but in the second half, I had a hard time making myself stop reading to take care of life things. I really enjoyed the author's style of writing, she is witty and fun, without losing the depth of character. However, I had a hard time relating to the characters and especially the academia portion (refer to the first fav quote, that's me with any of the school stuff). I think the style of character and story is important, I think it was well written. The sensitive subjects that were tackled were handled sensitively and were really well done. One of my favorite parts, without giving anything away, was in Chapter 15, in relation to "I think Chaucer would have appreciated it", I was dying laughing.

I wanted so badly to fall in love with this book but I just... couldn't.
Second Chance books are usually hit or miss for me but I was excited to read about literature grad students with a plus sized female lead. Sadly, I couldn't connect to any character in this book.

I found Allison and Colin mostly childish and hard to root for. I appreciated everything Colin did to fix his past mistakes with Allison, but a lot of what he did rubbed me the wrong way. I also thought this book slugged along in some parts and made it hard to keep reading.

My biggest complaint though is how Allison's dad was "redeemed" at the end because of what one of his coworkers told Allison at the end. He was awful to her and an emotionally abusive dad and even though what that woman said didn't totally redeem him to Allison, I hated that it was even something said.

We meet Allison as she begins her first year of grad school and is surprised to see her former college boyfriend, Colin (who was two years ahead of her), in her classes. Colin had "stolen" an award from Allison two years ago in college and broken up with her as well. Now, he's in her graduate program and her competition to be the research assistant for Professor Frances. Both Allison and Colin are assigned as teaching assistants to the professor and she will have to chose one of them to mentor. Allison lives with her best friend Sophie and feels like their lives are drifting apart. She doesn't tell Sophie about Colin being back in her life, since Allison had a hard time recovering from their college breakup. Allison also has issues with her Dad, he never showed interest in her pursuits of education and was critical of her size. Of course, Allison and Colin find their way back together. When they are preparing their final presentations that will determine who becomes the mentee, Allison leaves the room when the title of Colin's presentation is the same as her, she sees history repeating itself and leaves immediately. Good story!

This book was good, but certainly not without flaws. While our heroine is relatively well-developed, the hero apparently has little past or valid backstory to consider. And a bit of that might have redeemed him. There is also a deep lack of communication between two characters written to be book-smart, and the inclusion of an unnecessary and untimely redemptive arc I didn’t enjoy.

I did like and appreciate the setting of academia and the representation of a plus-sized main character. She was written well-enough that it fell away most of the time, but other characters were able to portray that your acceptance of your own body is deeply personal but not always or often a shared experience.

Overall, I would attempt another work by this author, even knowing this missed the mark for me in a few ways.

* I was honored to read an ARC of this book via
NetGalley and the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.*

Colin and Allison used to date, until Colin swooped in and won a writing contest over her. They’re reunited in grad school and Allison does her best to avoid him… until they’re paired up to TA the same class. Will they get a second chance at love? I really enjoyed the fact that Allison was a fat woman but it wasn’t the only thing about her. I also really felt for her in regards to her relationship with her father. The romance was lacking a bit for me, but overall it was a great book.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how Allison was relatable to me as I am overweight and have had issues with family member fat shaming me. I love the banter back and forth between Alison and Colin. The book had me laughing and crying in some parts. I can’t wait to read more of her books. I’m hoping there will be a second book in this series. I want to learn more about Allison and Colin’s story.

(3.5 Stars!)

An amusing second chance romance filled with pining, friendly competition, and corgi that steals the show

In the Make-Up Test, Allison Avery finds herself battling against her ex and academic rival for a spot in a prestigious literature Ph.D. program. Of course, drama ensues.

Overall, I thought this was a great debut and a thoughtful novel. I tend to struggle with second chance romances especially when they break up as adults, but this one had some solid moments and reflective instances.

What I Liked:

- I found Allison to be a strong main character. At times a bit abrasive, she stands up for herself quite a bit and is a strong boss babe in her own right. The way her relationship with her dad is written is so good and relatable. The conflict of wanting to separate from a family member who has done more harm than good versus the guilt of not maintaining a relationship was poignant.

-Surprisingly spicy. I wasn't expected an open door romance, so don't let the cover fool you!

-I enjoyed that the relationship between Allison and Colin was constantly written as new them versus old them and what they've done to grow in this new relationship together. A lot of times with second chance romances, the MCs only talk about the longing and not the growth since being apart. However, that's not the case here and it's a breath of fresh air.

What I Struggled With:

-The random mentions of the pandemic took me out of the reading multiple times. This romance is, I guess, set in the future as they mentioned the pandemic happened while Allison was in high school while she is not in her PhD graduate program. It felt weird and kind of irrelevant.

- Sometimes it felt like there was a lot going on at once with this read. Between Colin's grandfather, Allison's father, Allison's relationship with her friend Sophie, Allison's mom's financial situation, Colin and Allison's TA job, and other plot points, I never felt settled in any of it. Not sure whether I was supposed to cry, laugh, or swoon while reading.

- The twist in the end was frustrating. Miscommunication trope anyone? Not sure it was the best reasoning behind a 3rd act breakup. Too simple and easily explained. And it also made me just really dislike Colin who I was really trying to like but struggled to throughout.

This book definitely gave me The Love Hypothesis vibes and I can see people enjoying Howe's debut in the same way! Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for an advance ebook copy of The Make-Up Test in exchange for my honest review!

This was a delightful book to read! The academic rivalry paired with the second chance romance was the perfect concoction for a tension filled yet tender romance. I loved Allison's character and her backstory. I loved how confident she was in her academic prowess and that her body was just her body, not some crux to carry. I loved the fact that Colin was described as having no butt and looking like a veritable noodle. His annoying tendencies really made me giggle and enjoy the banter and arguments between the two of them. A really fun book!

The Make-up Test automatically appealed to me due to two of my favorite tropes, second chance and rivals to lovers, plus the main mc is a plus-size individual. Allison Avery and Colin Benjamin met each other as undergraduates and they ended up breaking up for a mysterious reason to the reader. This reason comes to light when the two end up meeting again in graduate school. The two of them are vying for the same spot under the mentorship of a Medieval literature professor.

Allison has gone through a lot to get to this point in her career. Not only is pursuing higher academic degrees difficult, but she also has a rough family life with an emotionally abusive father. He constantly criticized her career path and her weight. As a plus-size person, too, I loved how Allison was comfortable in her own skin where it is a part of her, but it does not define her. On the other hand, Colin was an interesting character as I believe the intent was, that he was “bad” before and now changed, but I did not quite see it. Other readers may have a different opinion, but I just did not quite see the core part of him changed.

As for their competition, there is a lot of telling and not showing. Colin is assumed to be a slacker in his studies and he does not work hard yet wants to get ahead. He does, however, excel in the classroom where the students love him. This is directly contrasted to Alison who works incredibly hard behind the scenes but cannot seem to gain the respect of the students. There are moments where it seems that readers are supposed to sympathize with Colin throughout this process, but I just could not understand it even a little. In fact, the more I read about Colin, the more I disliked him, and then I ended up not liking Alison for even pining for him.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the author’s writing style as it was easy to follow while also remaining interesting. There are some nice descriptions where it was easy to follow along and there was a nice mix of simplicity the complex. I enjoyed Allison’s internal growth, but I am not fully on board with her relationships with others, her father, her best friend, and Colin as I do not connect to how all of these played out. Colin as an individual never redeemed himself for me and just was not for me. While I did not enjoy this solely as a romance, I did enjoy experiencing this new author and would gladly read more from her in the future.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin, for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Allison and Collin were college ex's who split ways bitterly after he won an award Allison was going after, and he never told her he was also going after. Feeling betrayed they split never to speak again. So when he turns up in her PHD program years later in her same field of study Allison is weary of Collin's motives. At first their oil and water, enemies trying to one up each other, but when they call a truce a bomb is dropped by their advisor. Only one student can more forward with this advisor and the competition starts up all over again. But when a family emergency calls Allison away, Colin is surprisingly there for her and their old feelings from college come rising to the surface. Can they make their romance work the second time around? Or will Colin and Allison's story end up just like it did in college?

This book was cute. I loved seeing a plus sized main character who was confident in herself. We've got a lot of classic tropes here, second chance romance, enemies to lovers, even a little workplace romance. If you like an academic setting you will love this. I knew it was an important part of the story, but the medieval literature was hard to digest. I found myself skimming it a bit. I also hated that all of this angst and rivalry came from a miscommunication, my least favorite trope. The secondary characters were a mixed bag. Some of the grad school friends were classic, but I found her best friend in the story lacking. One thing I thought the author did very well was the cutting off of family situation. Her parents are hard on her. Her dad is honestly the WOAT especially when it comes to her weight and Allison makes the conscious decision to let him go from her life. But then the mom comes in and sides with the dad who isn't even married to the mom anymore and is essentially using the mom. I wish she made the mother figure a little more substance and not so cliche.

Overall I'd rate this 3.5. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 9/13!

From rivals to lovers. Two college ex’s go from battling against eachother to getting along and becoming friends again. This book was filled with some not so harmful lies and truths.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read The Make Up Test by Jenny Howe in exchange for my honest feedback.

There's a good second-chance romance here, but the story offers so much more than that. It's a peek into academia (a very detailed peek, which may or may not be up every reader's alley), a story about new adults making that post-college transition to "real life", and an exploration of complicated and sometimes toxic family relationships.

I really liked Allison. She was kind, smart, and thoughtful, but also very real, with flaws and foibles and blind spots. She was genuinely trying to do her best and I was on her side almost instantly. This, of course, made me deeply suspicious of Colin. He definitely had a lot of work to do in order to be a worthy partner. The tension between them was SO stressful and, while he has some good qualities, I'm not sure he's fully atoned to my satisfaction. But I'm willing to trust Allison's judgment!

I appreciated the fat rep in this story. It's a very realistic portrayal of what it's like to navigate the world as a fat woman who is mostly comfortable in her own skin, but is not totally impervious to the suck some people feel entitled to rain down when a woman doesn't meet their physical ideal. I'm happy that it was a non-issue in her relationship with Colin.

I would definitely encourage anyone to pick this up for a fun, substantial read. I think it'll stick with me for a while!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

This one was disappointing. I didn’t like the main characters so it was hard to root for their relationship. Allison is immature with a “woe is me” attitude about everything and her academic competition with Colin felt one-sided. Colin also wasn’t a particularly enjoyable hero and feel like we needed more show than tell of his growth. Appreciated the plus size representation but unfortunately the story overall was a miss for me.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Can you forgive someone for breaking your heart?
That is the question Allison Avery faces when she discovers that her ex, Colin Benjamin is not only in her PhD program, but they will also be co-TAs for Professor Frances in medieval literature studies.

Allison is an intriguing character. She is clearly well read and intelligent, a stand-out in her field of study. However, she lacks confidence at times, particularly in her attempts to engage students in discussions. Then on the flip side, she doesn't hold back in handling her dad and his disrespect. Everything she said toward him had me mentally jumping up and down and wanting to high five her.

As for Colin, it takes some time for her to give him a second chance. We don't learn what caused their breakup but essentially, the two have a communication issue.
Is Allison quick to assume Colin is using her? Yup.
Given his actions and lack of forthcoming about his own issues, could I blame her? No, not entirely.
Colin does win me over, and when conflict arises a second time around, I wanted Allison to put the brakes on and not jump to conclusions like she did.

While medieval literature isn't my cup of tea, it is clear the author is knowledgeable about the subject, and I loved how the two main characters used their passion for this subject to grow closer together.

Overall, a fun hate-to-love second chance romance.

This is the first book that I've read where the main character is not a slim, Victorias Secret model body type. I love that about this book, and feeling included. I didn't like however, how the parents in the book made it seem like Allison (the main character) was so horrible for being plus size. The comments made.. it was so hard for me to imagine a parent being so volatile against their own child. This also was written in narrative POV, which isn't my favorite. At some points, I found myself reading for dialogue and not context. This was an enemies to lovers romance, and a second chance romance. I can appreciate that the plot of the book was more than just the romance- there is an actual story behind it. I enjoyed reading it, and seeing the slow burn tension of former lovers turned "enemies" find their way back to one another. I'm so relieved that this wasn't some "jock falls in love with the lonely plus sized girl" trope, it was just two smart, average people who find their ways to one another.

brief synopsis: Allison arrives at her English PhD program, and her ex-boyfriend Collin is in her cohort. they must TA together while competing against each other for a mentorship slot that involves travel and co-writing an article.
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I agree with the reviews that find both characters to be unlikable. I’m thrilled that Allison offers fat representation but also don’t understand how Collin’s supposed bony shoulders and body could be attractive. the setting and general atmosphere made it a 5-star read for me rather than the characters.
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I finished my PhD in history a little over a year ago, and this book reinforces my sense of pride for that. I wanted chick lit that takes place in academia for several years now, and this is that. it gets academia right, like LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood meets BY THE BOOK by Julie Sonneborn.
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content warnings for fat-phobia and parental death. on top of wonderful plotting that serves as a realistic love letter to academia, MAKE UP TEST includes layers of adjusting to adult life after college, complicated familial relationships, & fat empowerment. this chick lit (a label that I personally find empowering) has real depth.
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since the characters graduated Brown U for AB, author invented a grad school between East Providence and Barrington, RI, which HAPPENS TO BE MY HOME TOWN!!!!! if 7yr ago (when I was a first year grad student) someone told me about a PhD humanities rom com taking place essentially in Barrington (EP border!) I would’ve literally thought I was dreaming!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a review. Thanks!

I really, really enjoyed this book!

If you enjoy: rivals/frenemies to lovers, second chances, pining, and found family, you'll enjoy this book.
If you do NOT enjoy: assumptions & miscommunications that lead to avoidable fights/drama, then you might find yourself frustrated (but since that's a pretty common part of rivals to lovers, you're probably not surprised).

If you are a history, especially medieval history, nerd - you will probably enjoy this too! Looking at you, SCAdians.

I appreciate that this book has a fat MC and while the author isn't afraid to remind the reader throughout the novel, it isn't the center of every single interaction with the MC. You won't forget it but you also won't find it so constant that it breaks you out of the scene (you know, in the "she breasted boobily down the stairs" sense of not being constant. It's a big part of the MC's relation to herself and her body of course, but in a peaceful, loving way for her current self.) The world won't let her forget that she's fat and that obviously affects her life from bus seats to college desks.

I also really appreciate a rom-com set in that weird in-between life stage of between undergrad and what comes after ("real life"). Because yes they are graduate students, but it's still that weird growing and self-discovery stage and even learning how to be in relationships. How to navigate those relationships shifting and changing as people and their goals shift & change.

This took me a while to read, but that has nothing to do with the book & everything to do with the fact that my life exploded around me & I needed to put this down until I was ready to read something lighthearted.

Y’all, I absolutely adored this book.

I was hooked early on, as we first get introduced to Colin, the main character’s ex. While Allison goes on about how much she hates this guy and how he ruined her plans, we get scenes of him wearing socks with cats on them and descriptions of how he wears cardigans practically 24/7 because they make him feel safe.

He’s so cute.

The main themes of this book focus on the impact of perfectionism on relationships and how it is okay to strive for self-improvement rather than being “the best” in any field, which I thought was really nice to see play out in the character development of Allison and Colin. As the two compete academically for the attention of their professor, readers get to see a little more into their characters and how their self worth is rooted in this perfectionism.

I also really enjoyed how this book handled certain topics, such as the death of an abusive family member and the mix of emotions that comes from that. Without going too far into spoilers territory, I appreciated that this book showed that there isn’t just one way to grieve and that death does not erase all the bad things someone has done, even if they are family.

However, I will say that this book is very academic and may be a bit hard to follow along if you don’t know what this book is talking about. I felt, especially near the beginning, that my not knowing some of the terms and phrases written in this book was hindering my understanding of it, and I was a bit nervous until this book started focusing on the characters and their growth rather than their academic pursuits.

I definitely cried during this book and really felt for the main character during her lowest point. It was easy to get emotional for these characters and their story, and I can’t wait for this book to be released so I can see everyone else’s reactions to it!

The concept was good. But the execution was kind of boring for me. I kept waiting for something more to happen, but just felt like the characters were difficult and hard to like. I needed more. Thank you for letting me try this!

I am frustrated by this book. Why am I frustrated you ask? It's because we have a badass fat main character who is lovely and is literally gaslit the entire book by everyone.

So we have our main character, Allison, who has worked her ass off to get to grad school without the support of one of her parents and after being totally bullshitted and taken advantage of by her college ex. Allison ends up in this prestigious grad program studying medieval literature and guess who the frick ends up having to pair with her as a teacher's assistant? If you guessed or shitty fucking ex-boyfriend who totally stole her award in college and then dumped her, you'd be right.

Enter Colin. Colin is a lanky selfish white boy who likes cardigans. It's pretty much what we learned about him beyond the fact that he has the emotional maturity of a child and is absolutely incapable of not thinking about himself. At some point near the end of this book we learn that Colin is the son of a single mom and that he's really close to his grandpa but for the vast majority of this book Colin is a piece of garbage and the author doesn't give us any redeeming qualities about Colin. There's just a point where Allison just forgives him for being trash and they end up dating again and keeps talking about how oh he has empathy now and he's not selfish and his ego isn't that bad etc but Collins actions don't ever really show that.

So not only is Allison basically in competition with Colin for a advisee position with her most sought after professor for the entirety of this book, she also spends the entire book getting her boundaries crossed by both of her parents. I don't know if this is because I literally was just dealing with this myself and having one parent send me news about the other parent even after being told not to, but I was so mad for Allison. She deserved better.

Her dad is a fat phobic abusive piece of garbage and he gets sick in this book and her mom wants her to just forgive him. Even though her parents are divorced and her dad treats her mom just as poorly, her mom continues to protect her dad's feelings and emotions and give excuses for him when he is literally being emotionally abusive to Allison. Someone being sick or dying does not negate if they were a shitty person when they were alive and it doesn't mean that anyone has to forgive them.

My biggest issue with this whole book though is that at the end of it Allison starts to think that she did something wrong when no one in her life gave her any clues that they could be trusted. She sits there and thinks that she could have done more she could have done less or she could have done this or that but in reality the people in her life continued the same behavior and expect a different results. It's not her fault that she makes assumptions based on their behavior and the way that that behavior has happened in the past. I really wish that Colin would have taken more responsibility for his actions and his shittiness had not been just wiped away. I hate that this book ends and you get a like two minute warning of Colin being somewhat redeemable but then that's the end of the book. You don't ever actually get a chance to forgive him or like him at all.

Then we have some truly abhorrent secondary characters. Not limited to Allison's dad but also one of the guys in her grad student group is grade a piece of garbage and I hate that he is praised and not called out on his behavior from anyone of authority for the entirety of this book. There is also a tertiary character who is a piece of garbage who just decides that he won't be an asshole one day and assumes that that makes all of his past behavior better. I feel like I'm using the word garbage a lot because the men in this book are literal trash. Allison and her roommate and their dog were the only redeemable characters in this book. And maybe the professor but I don't know about that one.