Enemies to lovers, second chance romance, academia setting, witty banter, and a plus size female main character completely at home in her own skin…what could be better?

This book had me hooked from the start and kept me engaged. The witty banter, the fierce competitiveness, and the slow burn second chance romance was everything I needed and more.

I felt like I could relate to Allison and how she was feeling throughout this book, and the conflicts she dealt with were so real and relatable.

Excellent work Jenny L. Howe. I can’t wait to see what you write next.

Fans of enemies to lovers, second chance romance, and academia settings will really enjoy this book.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Full review will be posted on Instagram @beyondtheinkedpage and my blog beyondtheinkedpage.ca closer to release date.

I really enjoyed the academic setting in this book. And, while many of the medieval literature references flew by me, I still enjoyed the academic banter, and how book smart both of the main characters were. It was really fun to read a female character who is so passionate about such a niche academic subject. I also think I would have rated this higher had some of the side plots been fleshed out a little more, and not so nicely tied up in bows by the end. But I really did enjoy some of the side characters quite a bit. There’s also a cute corgi…so there’s that.

I really did want to love this book. It had everything I like in a contemporary romance! Rivals to lovers, second chances, plus it takes place in an academic grad-school setting. But the farther I got into it, it ended up being just okay for me. There were many points where I found it to be predictable, and repetitive, and honestly both of the main characters really, really annoyed me at times. Collin with his consistent bad decision making, and Allison with her consistent lying and jumping to conclusions made it hard for me to really like either of them. However, none of it was enough to prompt me to give up. It’s a solid three star read for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC.

Allison is a grad student with a competitive streak a mile wide, but she's thrown for a loop when Colin - her ex-boyfriend, first heartbreak, and the only person who's ever competed against her and won - shows up in her graduate program, vying for her long-desired mentorship.

I expected to love this book. It's common for academics (and other professionals) to date within their fields, and balancing support, competition, and professional collegiality between personal enemies is fertile ground for a novel. But from the beginning, it didn't sit right with me. At first, I felt compassion for Allison's youthful lack of perspective about her relationships and academic career. Then - at the 28% mark - we learned about the terrible thing Colin did that ended their relationship: he dared to compete against her for a prestigious award, and he won. Allison's personality went downhill from there. She became increasingly whiny and entitled, consistently blaming other people for her feelings and, instead of addressing the issue with them (or alone, in a therapist's office) alternately avoiding and railing at her friends and family.

Of course, fiction is driven by imperfect protagonists, and there have certainly been more difficult main characters than this one. The book is well-written and Allison's relationships with her parents and her roommate are interesting and well-drawn. My interest might have won out over my annoyance, but the main impetus for the novel - the second-chance romance at its heart - fell flat. Allison's feelings for Colin were portrayed as a combination of intellectual contempt and sexual heat, while he was clearly drawn to her intelligence and ambition. Their relationship's failure the first time around was, in this light, no surprise, and I wasn't interested in seeing a second match-up.

[DNF at 65%. I received a complimentary ARC from NetGalley; opinions are my own.]

If you have gone through the highs and lows of academia, have a penchant for King Arthur, are a plus-sized person with complicated family relationships, and like nerdy men who wear cat socks– this is absolutely the book for you.

I’d like to write a poem to this book; lines worthy of the complexity and charm of the characters. Words that somehow capture the rollercoaster of emotions, the strong swooning and the crying catharsis. I cannot give it poetry– so instead this review will do.

The short of it: I highly recommend this book. I stayed up until 4:30am the first night I was reading it because I could not put it down. I read it in between work moments on my phone the next day, needing to know how it ends. I re-read the ending again on my kindle to make sure I’ve absorbed it properly as one whole (rather than in phone size bits).

I was instantly charmed by the characters. I knew I would deeply relate to MC Allison (hence, why I immediately requested this book the moment I heard about it), but was surprised by how much I related to the love interest too. This book was very well paced, with a snappy introduction to characters to make you like them, and a slower unfolding of all their complexities, faults, and strengths.

I love enemies-to-lovers. But I love friends-to-lovers more. This rivals-to-lovers felt like the best elements of both tropes. They were not hated enemies, not really. They were believable lovers, even after their snarky banter. The downfall of enemies-to-lovers is sometimes disbelief in the relationship: how can two people who genuinely hate and hurt each other fall in love? I rooted for this romance, even through the really sticky parts (oof, there were some hurtful exchanges), because of the way the conflict was created. This was not miscommunication based on shaky reasons or petty childishness. The root of their miscommunication was trauma, guilt, fear, insecurity; complex emotions that make even the best of us make mistakes.

Even the “villains” of the story were deeper than surface level simplicity. The treatment of every major character felt rooted in humanity, all its flaws and beauty. Nobody was a mustache twirling stereotype (except perhaps, one character at Allison’s school, but having gone through academia myself, that character type unfortunately does exist). Much of the conflict for our MCs was through themselves; their villains were flaws that kept them from communicating and being honest when they should.

The ending had me sobbing, again, from how I related to both the MC and the love interest’s family issues. The comforting words side characters said to MC made me run for my journal to copy them down for myself.

On top of all that, there was genuine laugh moments, swoon moments that made me clutch the book to my chest and just breathe, and an ending that made me grin through my tears.

My only critique is a small one: the cover and title. It is absolutely in line with the genre right now and it's colorful and cute. Part of me wants something Epic instead; a romantic painting a la the Pre-Raphaelites. I want the complexity of the book captured by John William Waterhouse. It is so much more than a “make up test”. It is a story of trials and tribulations, of pain and joy, and deserves a knightly cover just as rich as the story. However I do admit the cover’s cuteness did draw me in at first and I adore seeing a plus size woman on a cover.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC! This is a book I will be purchasing for myself when it releases. I need it in my hands IRL.

The storyline is to slow building for me. I stopped at 13% DNF.


******************************I received an ARC for an honest option from NetGalley************************************

Based on the tropes, second chance and academic rivals, I thought I would love this book. I wanted to love this book. My favorite part of the story was the FMC, Allison. She is flawed, but she's multi-dimensional and continues to grow throughout. She is confident in her body and I loved reading her perspective as a plus sized woman. And as someone who enjoyed medieval literature, her passion was contagious. However, there was so much that happened in the last 25% of the book, I felt like the author was rushing to tie all the loose ends. Instead of it ending neatly, it felt like everything was one big knot.

I also never connected with Colin, the MMC. His behavior was erratic and there wasn't much development to their relationship, just a few conversations here and there that were more awkward than anything. There was mainly flashbacks to their history than real development on their relationship. Colin was also supposed to be older than Allison, but he just seemed whiney and desperate.

If you are looking for an academic rivals trope and enjoy second romances, then this is probably for you. It just wasn't for me!

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

I'm extremally gratefully for the ARC from the publisher. Unfortunately I had to mark the book as DNF on my list after ~100 pages. I was fully looking forward to it because enemy to lovers is in my top 3 favorite tropes within fiction. Plus seeing a plus-sized representation as main character/love interest is great! Knowing it was a second-chance romance though with an crappy ex, it killed a lot of the excitement for me. I found the story dry and the characters unlikable.

There's no indicators for any content warnings (CW) either without digging through reviews on sites like Goodreads; which also makes reading a challenge for some people. The CW's for this book that I was able to find are: fat shaming, fat phobia, emotional abuse/toxic relationship with a parent, sick parent/death of parent, dementia, anxiety, discussions of past depression.

2/5 stars for the first ~100 pages

Allison Avery loves to be the best. She’s in her PhD program living her dream—that is until she learns her co-TA for the medieval lit professor is her ex, Colin, and suddenly these exes have sparks flying as the two compete for their dream job. I have some mixed feelings about The Make-Up Test. For 75% of the book, I was really invested. I liked the growth and the reconnection of these two. Allison especially was a very special character. She feels really real. She’s flawed and hurt and just trying. I almost said I don’t like her, but really it’s just she’s just not afraid to be selfish and fights for herself. At times I think some of her stubbornness came off as immature but really she felt genuine. And I liked how much effort Colin put into being a support for her. When he was sensitive and vulnerable with her too, the moments felt really special too, and the banter was really strong in this second chance/enemies to lovers story. What I didn’t like though was the third act conflict. I feel like it was a miscommunication that could’ve been cleared up so much earlier and it just felt frustrating for where the story was at. Also, it felt frustrating that it felt like it kept coming down to him being intimidated by her level of intelligence, especially because when they were good and when they were really reconnecting, they felt so strong. Still, I loved the academic setting, the side characters were really strong and I think Allison was a great character to follow. It’s a bingeable romance.

3.5/5 stars

(Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this E-book in exchange for an honest review.)

(3.75 stars) What a lovely debut from Jenny L. Howe! It has everything I love: an academic setting, lovers-to-enemies-to-rivals-to lovers, positive plus-size rep, medieval literary references, and a baby corgi(!!!). Parts of this book brought me back to my own grad school experience, balancing dating and school and family and friendships and the struggle it was to hold everything together without falling apart. I enjoyed that this was as much of a coming-of-age story, in its own way, as it was a rom-com.

I thought the fat rep in this book was done beautifully. Although Allison experiences fat-shaming and fat-phobic comments, her story isn’t defined by her size and she is never fetishized for her figure by the male characters. And Colin is such a unique male protagonist, playing against nearly every male stereotype in romance (he’s described—lovingly—as awkward, lanky, nervous, and geeky). These characters were fully imagined, flawed, and vibrant.

I did feel the book ran a little long, often getting caught up in insignificant details or sparking ideas that were never followed through (for example, Colin describes his cardigans early on as “shielding him from the world” or something, and Allison wonders why he feels that way, but we never find out the source of his specific insecurity). Some of the chapters could have been consolidated or even eliminated entirely. Because of that, the ending felt a bit rushed; I wish we had gotten an epilogue allowing us to see these protagonists really thriving after all they’ve been through (both prior to the book and during it).

Overall, though, this was a fantastic debut novel and I recommend it for romance readers who enjoy academia, low steam, and satisfying second-chance romances!

What a fun, sweet, quirky read! I love the enemy to lover trope so this book was right up my ally. I’m excited to read more by this author!

this book was such a fun read! i went into this with pretty high expectations and im so happy it met all of them.
I loved the academic rivals to lovers and second chance romance aspects in it as those are two of my favorite tropes in romance and it didn't feel forced at all it was so natural and enjoyable.
I loved Allison as the main character and I found myself relating to her in some instances and i really saw myself in her.
AND THE ROMANCE i highlighted so many quotes and scenes Alison and Colin had the best chemistry I've read in so so long and they just made me so happy
I cannot recommend this book enough it really is one of my favorite romance reads of this year

I loved Allison. She is a woman who has been through so much, but she knows that she is enough. Sometimes she struggles to say it, but when she does she stands up for herself. She knows her worth and will let you know too. I loved Allison and Colin being Ph.D candidates for literacy and especially with the emphasis on medieval literature because I was definitely learning so much while reading their thoughts and discussions while teaching students and learning themselves. I loved Colin's feelings for Allison and Allison was the fat rep I think we need in books. The love wasn't about loving her curves or anything that truly associates her as a fat person, which Allison is proud of. The love is about Allison the human being. I love the journey that they shared to get back together again. I do think Colin suffered from the miscommunication trope and even though it was explained as his way coping, I think the conflict at the end was almost unbelievable due to their history. Honestly as Allison I don't know if I would have forgiven him either way because if he had just said one thing before their big presentations it could all have been avoided and he should have known how she would have been upset. Otherwise before that scene I think Colin made huge strides to be a better person than he was in undergrad.

Couldn’t get through it. Couldn’t get through it. Couldn’t get through it. Couldn’t get through it. Couldn’t get through it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Allison Avery is a plus sized, brilliant woman whose competitive nature means she loves to win. But when the man who broke her heart back in college, and her biggest competitor when it came to academia, shows up in her grad school problem, she’s in for a competition she never bargained for.

I adored this book. As a plus sized individual, nothing makes me happier than seeing myself represented in media. This book did a lovely job of portraying the struggle of being “fat” in society and the way society treats those individuals in a realistic way. It touches on fatphobia, whether blatant or subtle and how it can come from any angle or anyone, including those who are supposed to love you most. This book also does a good job of touching on the subject of toxic parents and how a person does not deserve attention and love just because they’re your parent.

I felt myself so enthralled with the writing and the storyline of this book that I literally finished it in a matter of hours. It was well written and a very unique storyline, one I had not encountered before.

The romance was delicious! Tension, flirting, rivalry, second chances, spice… all of that and more in the story between Allison and Collin. Fans of second chance romances, tension and rivalry will love this book.

A great read! Well written, funny, witty, romantic and an overall joy to read.

This had my favorite Enemies to Lovers Trope in it, with a bit of Rivals to Lovers as well! This book was so good!!!!! I mean, if Ali Hazelwood loved it, I knew it would be great! The book was set in an academic setting, which is one of my favorites. I loved it had a plus-sized queen in it! I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow, St. Martin's Press is killing it with the romances lately! I finished Marlowe Banks, Redesigned before this one, and I'm midway through Something in the Heir right now. Anyway, The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe is an absolutely adorable rom-com about academic rivals. The story revolves around Allison, whose ex Colin are both studying in the medieval literature PhD program at Claymore University. Small word, huh? But not only are they classmates, they've both been provisionally selected to be graduate assistants to the same professor. And they have a few weeks to prove themselves before she picks one of them to take the position for real.

Here is a cute excerpt from Chapter 1:

"Allison bit the inside of her cheek to keep from reacting. It should be illegal for Colin Benjamin to wear cute socks. Or do anything cute, for that matter. The only adjectives reserved for him should be words like irritating, maddening, vexatious.
Behind glasses with thick, maroon frames, his hazel eyes slid toward her, and his hand reached for his dark blond hair. He kept the top long and the sides shaved, and despite all the gel that glued it back from his brow, Allison knew the strands were soft like silk.
The thought turned her stomach. To dismiss it, she thrust her arm into the air."

Overall, The Make-Up Test is an adorable rivals-to-lovers rom-com that feels like a mash-up of The Love Hypothesis and The Hating Game. One highlight of this book is how it gave me all of the feels. There were laugh-out-loud moments, feel-like-crying moments, and everything in between. Another highlight of this book is the academia setting. I love how the two main characters are rivals in a literature PhD program, which is a setting I haven't seen before. I hope that the author will write more of these. I will definitely read them! If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of rom-coms in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in September!

Second Chance Romance
Academic / Rivals Romance
Body Representation

The premise and tropes of the book really appealed to me - I love an academic setting and like to see representation of different people / experiences in my reads. Enemies to lovers is a preferred trope, and I appreciate a rivals angle.

While I really liked a lot of the pieces, as they came together as a whole didn’t mesh for me personally. To be fair I sometimes struggle with a read if I can’t connect with at least one of the main characters. I didn’t find that connection with either Alison or Colin in this case, I didn’t find either to be particularly likeable or relatable for me.

When this happens I have a harder time staying in the moment of the story and getting swept up. I think that for me, I would have liked to see some more maturity from both mains. As a highlight I did love seeing some plus size representation and representation for someone dealing with difficult family / family dynamics.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read an early copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Second chance romances aren't really my usual go-to, but this book was very enjoyable! I was drawn to this book because of the fat protagonist and the academic setting. Both aspects were covered really well in this book in a very thoughtful and real way. I think if the romance genre is your go-to then this book is a delightful read that should be added to your TBR.

The romance in this book was fun and their chemistry continued to build. I thought the story was cute, but for me I think the characters were a little much. Allison really didn’t have much character growth and although I understood why she was the she was , I found her frustrating and unlikeable. Collin was a tad more tolerable for me and felt he truly grew the most . I liked the concept of the enemies to lovers and second chance romance, but I thought that both Allison & Collin could have been less intense

I enjoyed this book! At times it felt a little repetitive, but overall I liked reading it.
Things I particularly liked:
- Allison. She was a whole person and a confident fat girl who accepted and loved herself. As a fat girl myself, I saw a lot of myself and a lot of what I aspire to be in Allison
- Messy, real relationships. Not just of our FMC and MMC, but Allison and Sophie, Allison and her dad. It felt real.

Things I didn't like:
- The repetitive nature of the story. Colin did thing in past - Colin does thing in present. Repeat
- Almost too real relationships? I wanted juuuuust a little more escapism, but that's just me.