In this debut by Jenny L. Howe, Allison is beginning her Ph.D program on medieval literature when her ex from undergrad, Colin, shows up in her cohort, studying the same topic and working as a TA with the same professor. After being burned by him in undergrad, she is less than thrilled to be thrust together with him. This is an enemies-to-lovers and second-chance romance story. Both Colin and Allison have people in their past that have contributed to their drive to prove themselves and succeed, sometimes to the detriment of their relationships. Another facet the author added to this story is that Allison is plus-sized, but it is just a fact about her. She doesn’t feel the need to “fix” herself or “come to terms with it to love herself” like you sometimes see in books. Jenny does a fantastic job showing a character who loves herself, and Allison is a well-written character with many facets that make the story relatable and interesting. With the story’s setting being in academia, it is the perfect story to read when it comes out in the fall at the start of the school year

I struggled to get into The Make-up test. I just did not feel like I was able to get intersted in the story. I just never really connected with the romance and the side characters were just awful. I really liked the main character though. And seeing how she grew in the story was kept me reading.

Set against a background of English literature, this is a friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-rivals-to…

Plus-sized Allison has always been ridiculed by her father and had to develop a tough skin to pursue her dream of a PHD in English literature. When she’s accepted to a program with a professor she’s always looked up to, it seems as though her luck is changing- that is until her ex-boyfriend is assigned as her collaborator and only one of them will win a place on her team at the end of the course.

Colin is ashamed for the way he ended his relationship with Allison and is determined to make reparations and maybe even get a second chance with the one who got away.

This is a fun read with plenty of bickering, overcoming prejudice, and forgiveness. I would have liked less backstory, but overall an enjoyable read.

I loved reading Allison and Colin's story, and how each of them grew in their time apart to be better together by the end. Allison's struggles with her father were particularly relatable since I've had some issues with mine in recent years. Really enjoyed this and hope it finds success once published!

This book had everything going for it! Cute cover, enemies to lovers, academic setting - a gold mine! Unfortunately, it didn't deliver on my high expectations, but I still enjoyed the read and the experience. I would be interested in reading more from this author !

This book is a wonderful second chance romance between a gorgeous, intelligent, plus size woman and a cute nerdy guy in her graduate school program. The catch, they dated in undergrad. What will happen between the two now that they are thrown back together in their small program? Can they get over the reason they ended their relationship in the first place? Read it and find out! You won’t regret it!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Overall rating: 3.5/5

Nothing grabs my attention faster than an illustrated cover with the main couple and some lovers-to-rivals-to-lovers trope. I will also preface that I am not the biggest fan of the second chance trope, most likely because most books I've read have not done that greatest execution with it. This was a pretty quick and easy read tbh. The first half seemed a bit slow, but the last 200 pages of the book really did capture my attention.

I loved the representation in this book, specifically, body positivity, and I could see parts of myself in Allison (ahem the daddy issues...). Colin was alright, but he still was pretty sketchy for what he did towards the end of the book. Now that I think about it, he probably was a walking red flag. A little questionable and sus to me not gonna lie.... Overall, I found the characters to be alright - but man, did I sigh so much when that miscommunication came in towards the last 100 something pages. Never my favorite literary device used to create conflict in books.

This book was simply just okay for me. It had some redeeming moments like the cute banter and that grand gesture scene at the end. I did also feel quite valid and seen as this revolved around grad school students. This book did not quite do it for me, but I still found it enjoyable to read to an extent. I am more than 110% sure this will be quite popular for the masses - and it should!

I liked the representation that this book brought, both in characters and topics. It made the book stand out and also revealed hardships to readers that may not have experienced them before. Allison had to deal with a lot of crap from classmates and her family. I enjoyed reading a little about medieval literature too.

I’m always down for a good rivals to lovers story, especially if they started as lovers. The academic setting greatly appealed to me as well. Unfortunately, this book’s romance just fell flat for me. I couldn’t engage the story and root for Colin and Allison’s relationship like I thought I would. It got to the point where I considered DNFing it, and would have had I not needed to review it. Collin was bland to me and overly prideful. Also, for the most part, Allison was unlikable. Was she super vulnerable after having been hurt before? Yes, and those feelings were totally valid! However, for the entire book she’s always jumping to the worst conclusions and cutting people out when she decides they’re moving against or away from her.

The Make-Up Test (points for such a clever title!) is a second-chance romance which deals with forgiveness and second chance in more than one relationship. Colin and Allison have a romantic history that they need to navigate as they become re-acquainted in grad school, but Allison also has a strained relationship with her father as well as a best friend who she's beginning to feel estranged from. In all of these cases, Allison finds that she needs to also be more forgiving of herself and to communicate her own needs better. The parallels were very nicely done, though each relationship had its own unique resolution. The setting of this book took me straight back to my own grad school days which was an added bonus. It was great to see a smart woman in an academic setting succeeding in her chosen field.

Not my usual reading choice but I really liked this book. Being deliciously plump myself, I found it refreshing to see a relationship between a supposed “hunk” and a girl who had been put about her weight, even by her father. Characters were not without their flaws but both grew throughout the novel. I recommend a read. I received this book as an ARC but my opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had mixed emotions with this book. The first half was slow for me but the second half did pick up and I found myself excited to read it.

I tried so hard to love Colin and their relationship , but I just couldn’t 😩 he was a walking red flag. However, the grand gesture was cute and very on point for them.

This book didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but I’m excited to see what other books Jenny releases ☺️

'The Make-Up Test' is entertaining and a fast read. I promise you will have a great time reading this book, the recipe is almost perfect, it has second-chance romance, rivals to lovers in an academic setting. I love a good story where the characters are career-driven, which was my favorite thing about this book.

Well wasn’t that just so enjoyable. Always love a good enemies to lovers troupe and once you throw in medieval literature, teaching …. Sold.

Just so adorable! Even if you get really mad at Avery and her stubbornness!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I appreciated Allison’s growth throughout this book, but the romantic relationship just did not move me. I had a lot of trouble connecting to Colin. I did love all the literature references and felt that Allison’s relationship with her dad (or lack thereof, and how she handled that) was a high point of the book. I also really enjoyed the complexities of her relationship with Sophie and how growing up can affect your closest friendships. However, I read this for the romance and that was the least interesting plot line.

I was waffling between 3-4 stars, so let’s call it a 3.5!

I really enjoyed this second chance romance set in academia. It was also fun to experience the world of literature and a PhD program through Allison’s eyes as that is foreign to me. A unique storyline with fun details and some complex relationships.

What pulled me back was the confusion about when this was happening - the vague pandemic references threw me off.

Additionally, Colin’s “devil’s advocate” nature was cute at the beginning but as the story went on it drove me crazy. But maybe that is actually a good thing because his character was believable?

I enjoyed this debut novel and have already added the author’s next book to my TBR on Goodreads.

One of my new favorite reads! The Make-Up Test is sweet, romantic, and intelligent. I loved the banter and relationship. Best of all the fat rep was sensitive and inclusive.

Allison land a TA job for a professor, and finds out that there will be another TA as well-her college ex. To make matters worse, she finds out about an amazing research opportunity, but theres only one spot and she must complete with Colin for it. And he may the only person who likes to win more than her!

I loved this book. I love a good enemies to lovers trope (And also second chance romance). I was rooting for these two thru the tension of the competition.

Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review

I really liked Alison in this book. I thought she was a wonderful well written character. She came off like the kind of girl you would want to hang out with. She would be a great study partner but also the person to turn to when your significant other broke up with you. She came off very relatable and very lovable. I loved that a major plot point in the book regarding her father, did not involve forgiving for things that should not be forgiven.

Colin, was not my favorite male love interest. I felt that he was very shallow as a character and while he had moments that were meant to make him a more well rounded character, he just came off as a placeholder almost. I loved their academic rivalry, but the reasons they broke up the first time or the reasons why he did some things, just made me sad that Allison forgave him so easily. I was angry for her when the climax of the plot occurred. I cannot remember the last time I hated a male love interest that much in a romance book. I eventually grew to indifference for him, but I do respect that he is a flawed love interest and not the stereotypical perfect man trope that often occurs in romance novels,

I think it is a solid romance read and I loved the representation in the book as well as the fact they covered multiple heavy topics, such as plus size shaming, parental abuse, and the reality of how cutthroat academia can be. I also loved the nerdy vibe of the book with all the medieval literature references. Overall if you like a second chance romance, this is a fun, light, and quick read.

Rating: 3 stars

The Make-Up Test is a very enjoyable and heartwarming read for lovers of the second-chance romance trope! There's academia, a plus sized lead, and enough competition between the main characters to go around.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I felt like the first half moved very slow and some elements of the story could've been accelerated. Once I got to the halfway mark, the story started to pick up and I found myself enjoying the book a lot more. This book deals with some heavier topics like parental abuse but, the author handled it in a respectful way that I felt did not distract from the rest of the story. If that is a topic you like to avoid, this book may not be for you.

I found myself wanting more background on the characters past, we seemed to only get glimpses. Considering this was a second chance romance, I feel that context might've been relevant to the reader to understand why Allison and Colin made the choices they did. It was hard to like both characters at times. The secondary characters were not as developed as I felt they could've been. The author did a wonderful job at writing a real life example of what its like to reconnect with an old lover who broke your heart. The theme of redemption was also very well written. I enjoyed that aspect of the book very much.

This book is a cute read however, not one I feel I would revisit. 3 stars out of 5 for me! Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of the Make-up Test.

This story was impeccably written, the characters were authentic and fun to read. I loved the body representation and perspective.

I am not a big fan of the second chance romance and didn’t realize that was the primary plot.