I went in thinking this would be a fun romance in an academic setting with a positive plus size heroine. Allison Avery and Colin Benjamin are both accepted at the prestigious Claymore University in their PHD program. It is Allison’s dream to study medieval literature and she is thrilled with her assignment to a renowned scholar. Allison didn’t know Colin would be there or that he’d TA for the same professor. Because of circumstances the professor only will have time to fully mentor one and promises to make a decision after observing them. The loser will still continue in the program but under someone else.

Colin and Allison were in a relationship during their undergraduate time at Brown University. They were competitive then and start up just as badly now. Allison is a plus size person who accepts and is happy with herself. That journey isn’t part of this book. (There is still a lot of negative comments about her size coming from others.) I think that this may have worked as a rivals to more romance more than as a second chance. Their background together is problematic. Colin betrayed her on a personal and academic level and then ghosted her. His return now still starts with lies.

This is were I find the negatives in the story. Warning some small spoilers below. One of big side issues in the story is Allison’s relationship with her father. He was emotionally abusive commenting continually on her size and not supporting any of her dreams or aspirations. He would have only fattening foods in the house than comment when she ate that was what she ate. To me Colin is just as abusive as her father. He lies about what he has been doing for the last two years. And even though he eventually tells her he doesn’t tell others in the program about his lies. He pretends to be supportive but is still in competition mode. When he finally explains why he did what he did at Brown he again justifies it as him needing a win and the competition was healthy. That is literally what he does near the later part of the book. Again justifying a very negative action because she should only feel victorious if they truly compete. He could have competed as hard as he wanted without taking anything from her but he doesn’t. Hard NO! She deserves so much better than him.

In a conversation with her mother Allison explain her feelings towards her father and why she hates that her mother pushes for her to forgive. When asking mom why she can’t see how bad he was she replies, “I don’t want to believe that I could love someone who was truly awful.” I don’t think it was the authors intent but I thing Colin is just as awful to Allison as her father was to her.

So for me this wasn’t a happy rom-com. Colin is not worthy of Allison and his pitiful grand gesture is not redeeming. I waited a day to write my review thinking whether this was a 3 or 2 stars. I went on the low end because all of Allison’s relationships are problematic. There are unresolved issues with her BF and roommate, she’s at odds with her mother and they actually love each other and the romance is a non starter. My favorite characters were the Monty the dog, scholar Wendy and fellow PHD student Mandy. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for a review.

Allison is an excellent student and, since she was young, has distinguished herself at every stage at school. She is now in her dream graduate program, hoping to study with one of the country's top medieval literature professors. She is beyond excited when she learns she'll be one of the professor's TAs, until she learns that her former boyfriend Colin, who is as competitive as Allison, is not only in her program but has been selected to be her co-TA. Their rivalry only grows when the professor informs them she has a one-in-a-career research opportunity, but only enough funding for one of them. So Allison and Colin are back at all out war. But when a family emergency leads the two to spend a weekend together, Allison begins to wonder if there is more to the tension between them than just rivalry. Is a second chance in the cards for the two rivals who seem to keep finding themselves in the other's orbit?

This is a great debut romance -- funny, smart, and heartfelt. I'm excited to see what comes next from this author.

Highly recommended!

It has been 14 days since I started this book, but at only 32% I’ve decided to DNF.

The Make-Up Test is described as a second-chance, rivals to lovers romance, but where I stopped, I hadn’t gotten to that part yet. The majority of the story thus far has revolved around the two main characters’ past relationship and how Allison is still upset by how it ended four years later (I believe). Though I’m sure I would have found out what exactly happened between them eventually, I was okay not finding out.

The two exes unexpectedly end up post-grad at the same school and in the same Masters program. All throughout undergrad, Allison dreamed of being mentored by this one professor. Colin, though, hadn’t seemed interested in pursuing that field of interest. Which is why Allison is perturbed to find herself sharing a TA position with him under the tutelage of her dream professor and mentor and competing for the top spot.

Though I only read about 30% of this story, I feel like I should have connected more to the main character. I should have been excited to see the spark ignite between Allison and Colin, but it has just fallen flat for me.

I know there are a bunch of people who have loved this story, but unfortunately, I am not one of them. Please don’t let the fact that I DNF’d this read stop you from giving this story a go! But for me, I just could not get into it.

The Make-Up Test will be published on September 12, 2022.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! Excellent ex trope with so many little twists. Incredible job of having a plus-size main character without making it cheesy or angry, just REAL! AMAZING. Allison Avery is quite likable, She's worked her buns off to get into a PhD program only to be pitted against her terrible ex for the TA spot she wants. It's a lot of will they won't they, they did, they are done or aren't they... I won't give it aways but I am going to say I kind of wish the outcome at the ending was the opposite! I loved Allison like a best friend- such a great book!

This was a heartfelt second chance, enemies to lovers romance between two PhD grad students who end up competing for one coveted spot in their program. I really enjoyed the Medieval literature focus, both Collin and Allison are pursuing Medieval lit degrees and struggling to be good TAs. I also loved the tension, secret pining, smart, curvy FMC and let's not forget the steamy scrabble scene!! I didn't love how Collin treated Allison (both in the past and present) in order to advance his own career chances. Still I would recommend it for fans of Love in the time of serial killers or The sizzle paradox. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

CW: fat shaming, fat phobia, toxic parental relationship, parental abandonment, death of a parent

Thank you netgalley, St Martins griffin and orangesky audio for the alc and arc in exchange for honest opinion. I really enjoyed this book great debut. Great representation. I was hoping for a bit of spice and felt like the baby toe dipped in the water. It felt a wee bit too long and the miscommunication trope is not a favorite.

3.5 stars

In reading the synopsis of The Make-Up Test, I felt like this was a book meant for me. As a plus-size woman who recently completed grad school and who spent a lot of time undergrad taking classes in medieval literature, Allison felt like she could have easily been my brain twin in so many ways. Howe does a wonderful job of creating a plucky but flawed leading lady who is confident in the body that she is in, but craves personal and academic validation to the point where it impacts her close relationships.

While I loved the academic setting, Allison's character arc, and Howe's voice as an author, this book has one of the worst characterizations for a romance hero in recent memory. So much time is spent on describing how thin, spindly, bony, and knobby Colin Benjamin that it turned me off and honestly made me a bit uncomfortable. On top of that, we learn in the flashbacks that he does several absolutely horrendous things to Allison in the name of academic competition as well as a host of microaggressions that are barely acknowledged. What we got in terms of explanation on his part and eventual forgiveness on her part certainly did not match up and the third act conflict only proves how incapable Colin was at understanding his partner. HIs grand romantic gesture did elevate him a bit in my estimation, but the bar was so freaking low to begin with.

That, along with some weird timeline references surrounding the pandemic and an attempted redemption of a character that would have been better off irredeemable, didn't make The Make-Up Test the knockout that I wanted it to be. However, there are so many elements of Howe's debut that did work for me that I will definitely be picking up her next book as soon as it drops.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Thank you to Jenny L. Howe, St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for the ARC copy of The Make Up Test.

I was excited to try this one because of the good reviews I had seen, and it had some awesome romance writers, like Ali Hazelwood, giving it glowing reviews. In the end though, this book just did not do it for me. It started off promising, but just kept going downhill. I didn’t really connect with either of the main characters. Allison was not very nice to her best friend, and Colin sucked as a book boyfriend. I also didn’t feel invested in their love story at all - it was a lot of Allison saying Colin had changed, but nothing really happened to show that he actually had. I also hateddd the grand gesture at the end, it was so stupid. The whole plot line with Allison’s mom and dad was weird too - why was the mom so obsessed with Jed, and the part where Jed’s secretary comes at the end to add some positive dad vibes just seemed out of place.

Overall, this was just a disappointment. This book releases Sept 12, 2022, so hopefully if you read it, you will have more success and find it more enjoyable than I did.

TW: death of parent, cancer, dementia, fat phobia, emotional abuse, body shaming, complicated parental relationship

Narrated from the single POV of the female MC, this is a second chance romance novel that portrays the love story of two exes, Allison and Colin, who are academic rivals vying for the same teaching assistant position in a medieval literature PhD program.

What I liked:
✨ I appreciated the plus size representation and how comfortable Allison was in her body, despite the body shaming she experienced.
✨ Though I’m not familiar with the medieval literature references in the book, I appreciated how the texts were analyzed for relevant topics of discussion.
✨ The steamy scenes were hot ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 - who knew Scrabble could be so sexy!?
✨ The supporting characters including Allison’s best friend, Sophia, Professor Wendy Frances, Colin’s grandfather, and Allison’s mom stood out to me and I enjoyed reading about them.
✨ I empathized with Allison in regards to her complicated relationship with her father.
✨ The family dynamics of both Allison and Colin added more depth to the story, which I appreciated. I definitely cried towards the end.

What bothered me:
✨ It felt a bit too academic because I don’t have any interest in medieval literature so I didn’t understand most of the references unless they were related to pop culture. But that’s not a flaw, rather a personal preference.
✨ Though I can imagine how tough it must be to be stuck with your ex in such close proximity, there seemed to be too much focus on Colin from page 1 as if nothing else existed in her world but him. At times, it felt like I was talking to a girlfriend who is obsessed with and can’t stop talking about her ex-boyfriend. I wish that there was more separation and a stronger presence of her life outside of Colin.
✨ I have mixed feelings about Colin. Given that we only get to read Allison’s POV, I disliked him when Allison was mad at him but liked him when she was in favor of him. It may have helped if the author had used dual POV to give readers an insight into his thought process behind his actions to make the story more balanced.

Read if you like:
✨ academic settings
✨ medieval literature
✨ rivals to lovers romances
✨ second chance romances
✨ single POV
✨ steamy romances
✨ books with plus size representation and complicated family dynamics

An academic, plus sized rep rom com I didn't know I needed.

Allison is currently in the graduate program of her dreams, and when she gets assigned to TA under the professor she admires the most, only to be paired with the guy who broke her heart and her trust when they were both undergrads. They hate flirt and compete to best the other, and when their professor and advisor tells them she can only take one of them to advise and go on a dream research trip, they both take it as an all out competition war they must win. Can they resist the chemistry they still have, or will their competitiveness keep them from a second chance at love

Both characters were so likeable and real, the academic setting was the perfect back drop, I really felt the chemistry and banter between Colin and Allison. They both worked through some issues and trauma which i appreciated. My one problem comes with the way the friendship between Allison and her best friend Sophie was portrayed.

There is so much to love here- Our MC’s are broken and fallible in the best ways, as they learn to trust themselves and each other, but my worry here, is that there is an extremely niche audience for this book. While this plus-sized English lit major bookworm found a lot of herself in our heroine, not everyone will be comfortable with the constant barrage of Medieval Lit references and academic language. Thanks to the chemistry between Colin and Allison, this one garners a solid 3.5 stars. Thank you to #NetGalley and St Martins press for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review!

As you may have gathered from the title and cover, The Make-Up Test is an academic rivals to lovers romance for fans of books such as Beach Read. Although I never really fell in love with the author's writing style, the characters, premise and tropes were all very lovable, making this a truly enjoyable read. I highly recommend it to contemporary romance readers. 3.5/5 stars
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

The Make-up Test was a great romance filled with academia, representation, and a roller coaster of emotions.

The book started out slowly, but as it picked up the pace and I started to learn more about the characters, it was hard to put down. Allison is a loveable character who doesn’t like change, loves being alone, and can hold a grudge like no other. I love Allison’s character arc in this book and I appreciated the fact that they are giving romance representation of plus-size characters. Colin, at first, seems like an awful character. But as you get to know him, he sort of grows on you and actually has an epic turning point in this story. All of the side characters blended well with the main characters and helped support the story.

If you love medieval times, academia, lovers to enemies to lovers, and a well balanced romance (with a dash of spice) then this book is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing company for the ARC.

I love books set in academia, so I was looking forward for reading The Make-Up Test, but unfortunately, it missed the mark for me. While I did enjoy the setting, I didn’t find the romance between Allison and Colin to be particularly inspiring. In fact, I don’t think Colin deserved all the chances Allison gave him. There were so many misunderstandings that could have been cleared up by a simple conversation, which does not lead to an enjoyable reading experience for me. The writing was good, but some of the author’s choices didn’t sit right with me.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly didn't anticipate it taking this long for me to review this title, but apparently it's difficult to assemble my incoherent screams into a coherent review. I loved this book. SO MUCH. It *almost* had me wanting to go to grad school. Almost I say that because my desire to go to grad school usually comes on the heels of a downward spiral and me being convinced that another degree would solve all my problems.

A fat MC, who I couldn't help but love. The romance? Swoon-worthy.

THE TENSION.

THE DYNAMIC.

LOVERS. TO ENEMIES. THEN TO SOMETHING LIKE RIVALS. THEN BACK TO LOVERS.

Look. Just read this.

Loved this! Such a great setting with the academia! Twists and turns I did not fully expect in a romance, but loved them, they were so cute and made the book exciting!

The Make-Up Test was the perfect combination of fun, romance and drama.
In this story about second chances, we get to meet characters that feel real and that have flaws and worries. I do not usually read stories about plus-sized characters, because well… there are not many. And even when I am not plus-sized I, by no means, have a perfect body and it its nice and even necessary to read about characters like this.
I am kind of a fan of second-chance romance and I loved the chemistry between Allison and Colin, I was rooting for them and my heart was a bit broken when things were wrong. Nevertheless, everything is resolved in the end and it do believe it was a good ending.
The academic setting was interesting and original, especially the medieval aspect of it. The pace was good and it was easy to read. All of this made me finish the book in just a couple of days and for me that is pretty fast.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and I will definitely keep an eye out for Jenny’s upcoming books.

Academic Rivals plus second chance romance with a plus sized FMC.

Things I loved:
- The absolute nerdiness of our main characters and
- the way both MCs fight stereotypes of the beauty standard within romance novels
- Every moment of referencing medieval lit

Things that were meh:
- the pacing.
- it felt a little too long
- the side stories weren't super important to me

Solid 3.5 stars. The Make-Up Test felt like a combination of Love Hypothesis and Beach Read. We get a second chance romance and literary academic rivals in grad school moment with Allison and Collin. As someone just out of college it was refreshing to find a book where the characters are actually my age - rather than in their upper twenties. Overall this book had some great fat/plus size representation and underlying themes about family dynamics. While it was an an enjoyable read - it did take me a while to get into - and at times had me questioning if Collin and Allison were really meant to be together - especially in the last few chapters of the book.
Thank you to st. martin’s press and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to like this book, but it just fell really flat for me. I read the first third and then skimmed some and read the end. I found the characters to be really unlikeable and immature, and the story felt pretty predictable to me. I know this is the author’s debut and I would be willing to read what else she comes out with. But unfortunately this one really was not for me.