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.

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.

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