This read had me all over the place. The first half of the book was a little too slow for me. I didn't think I was going to like it. Then I flew through the rest of the book in an evening.
A romance set in the world of academia, we follow our plus size protagonist Allison and her ex Colin as they meet again to compete for a spot in a literature PhD program. It's a little bit of an enemies to lovers/second chance/ slow burn mix. I loved the character development. These two were so frustrating sometimes but you get to see them grow.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I spent the majority of this book screaming about how these characters were not right for each other and too insecure to be together, but Lowe pulled it together enough in the end that it wasn’t a complete disaster. Although, I really wish she hadn’t called the male love interest “bony” quite as often as she did because all I could picture was a skeleton man. 😂

Also, while this definitely read like a debut, I think Lowe has a lot of potential and I love to see the plus size representation!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I wasn't able to finish this one. The male protagonist was such a loser I couldn't root for them to get together at the end. Maybe he improved more than 30% into the book. However, who he was that first 30% was enough.

I love romances set in an education setting. This was one that I was really quick to request. Could not put it down!

In The Make-Up Test, we meet Allison, who is living her dream being in a PhD program for medieval literature underneath a professor she's admired for years. Unexpectedly, she runs into her ex who broke her heart in undergrad, Colin, on the first day. What is he doing here, a medieval lit major, when it wasn't his thing? They're both assigned to TA the same class and have to compete for the one open advisee spot underneath their professor.

Things I liked about this: Allison is plus sized and not ashamed of herself at ALL. She knows who she is and what she wants. I liked her roommate, too.

Things I did not like: Colin Benjamin. Nothing he did or said made me think he was worthy of Allison. I did not like the story line with Allison's dad.

It was not a terrible read, but it was not the best. I'd definitely read more from this author again in the future.

Allison earns admittance to her dream graduate program only to find that her ex-boyfriend, who bested her for an undergraduate academic honor, not only has enrolled in the same program but also will be competing for the sole advising space open with her favorite professor. Are Colin attempts to rekindle their friendship a signal that he has changed or a nefarious attempt to derail her ambitions?

This is a likable romance, especially for readers interested in body-positive characters and nerd culture. The banter/dialogue is a particular strength. Allison’s internal narrative is a bit too repetitive for me, but I don’t read many romances so all the swooning may be a romance trope readers expect. Perhaps unsurprisingly since female empowerment is a central theme of this romance, the female characters are more convincingly delineated than the male ones, especially the secondary male characters, who are flat and one-dimensional. The central conflict is mostly plausible, although I can image some book club debate as to the overall viability of Allison and Colin’s relationship. In short, THE MAKE-UP TEST earns strong marks as a debut romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I read this book and was really hoping for something closer to The Hating Game but this never quite got there. I found Allison annoying at times but also understood her more since one of my best friends is a former PhD candidate for medieval literature. The actions of Colin in competition with Allison were abhorrent especially stealing a prize and a title of her work with no regard for her. He seems to be growing more near the end of the book but I would have dropped his ass long ago. If you want hate to love, this is ok but not the best in the niche.

This was cute! And I loved the representation but I just didn’t vibe with the MMC at ALL. I don’t know what it was but he just wasn’t for me.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC ✨I was honored to be given the opportunity to read this and give my honest thoughts about it.

This book is actually a hard one to rate and review because there were things that were both good/not great about it, in my personal opinion. First of all, I do have to say first & foremost that I loved the representation of having a “bigger” girl as the lead character. As a plus-sized female myself, I related to a lot of her feelings about her body. This aspect alone gets a huge bonus in the rating for me! Something that kind of was off-putting to me though, was some of the writing style (using parenthesis a BUNCH when describing extra details about something), and the amount of times that I just felt like some of the aspects of the story were unnecessarily trying to be too “woke”. You can tell the author is more liberal minded, and that’s perfectly fine 100%. Just felt annoyed about some of the constant pronouns/COVID/political talk. The story could’ve done without it IMO.

I also didn’t really find any of the characters lovable, although I did want Allison to succeed with every fiber in my being. Colin was fine, but he just isn’t really my type so I wasn’t swooning over him or anything. I did like the family dynamics though as I felt that aspect can be super relatable. Allison’s mom reminded me of my mom because she’s always trying to see the best in people too - even when they’re toxic.

Overall, I give a 3/5 stars 🌟 the ending was wonderful.

Allison and Colin have always competed in class. When they dated in their undergrad it helped with their passion for each other as well……until it doesn’t. Two years after a messy break up Colin and Allison are once again competing for a coveted spot in their graduate medievalist lit program. As the competition heats up, so does their feelings for each other but will the past repeat itself? Or will they be able to overcome their grudges to found something new?

This was cute and a fun plus size rep book. Though I honestly think that I personally would not enjoy a man like Colin I can appreciate a man that apologizes and a couple that grows together and learns.

Hmmm...I have a lot of conflicting feelings on this one. I loved the English lit academia backdrop and feeling your way through the transition from undergrad to graduate school. I really liked seeing Allison's academic process develop and change.

However, the biggest draw back for me was a really important one: I didn't believe these two as a couple. They just didn't feel like a couple DESTINED for each other, which is what I want out of a romance. I just couldn't piece together why they would want to get back together since neither of them seemed to have changed that much.

Overall, this is a 2.5 star read for me. As much as I wanted to love it, it just fell flat in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this advanced reader copy.

This book is set on a prestigious graduate school campus and its pages are filled with second chance romance with a competitor to lovers angle. Colin and Allison dated in undergrad and were the epitome of rivals, their relationship ended when Colin dumped Alison and her heart took a blow. Two years later they are in the same cohort with the same professor vying for a coveted research position. Their competitive sides definitely become a huge part of the plot and the unlikely romance that blossoms between them.

So from the get go I was very invested with this story I sat down and read it in a day because I loved the academic setting and the couple going from lovers to rivals back to lovers. This had so much going for it and I was all in on seeing their second chance romance really take off… but Colin. He’s kind of the worst.

He does some really bad and shady stuff to Alison. There’s no arguing that point but I really feel like he’s not worth it. Especially by the end I truly didn’t want her to end up with him at all. I really detested the guy and the endless descriptions of his knobby knees. He stole her intellectual property and repeatedly acted in ways that under minded her education and career prospects. I didn’t want to see her forgive him for essentially treating her badly in their first relationship then he came back two years later and did similar stuff to her again.

In this case I have to say that three time are not the charm. If someone ends a relationship once there’s probably a reason (even if it’s not a good one), but the continued break up and get back together isn’t a healthy dynamic for most people, let alone two people who clearly don’t handle their stress well. Whoever is Colin’s therapist he needs a better one who doesn’t let him plagiarize his girlfriends work without explaining it to her first at the very least.

For the average person who knows literally nothing about medieval literature I still didn’t think as a reader she should have forgiven him for taking her idea. Obviously later on Allison realizes he took it in “a different direction” and she cites the books he used versus the books she would have used but for most people that doesn’t mean a whole lot. He still looks like a terrible person, even if he only borrowed her title for his presentation. I’m sure to people in that field of study they would nod their heads and be able to explain the differences but to someone without that knowledge it just didn’t sit well with me.

Allisons relationship with Sophie is a complex one. They both bonded as roommates in undergrad over being plus sized (hooray for representation) but beyond that their friendship wasn’t developed enough in present day for me to care about Sophie. She isn’t in the book a ton and when she is they are usually arguing. For instance if I was having a small get together with my classmates and had prepared food and beverages and my roommate decided to invite her colleagues over and they consumed everything and just shrugged it off I would have lost my mind. Allison is fuming when it happens but she never brings it up to Sophie that that was a crappy thing to do, it’s just brushed under the rug. I don’t think either of them are very good friends to each other at all.

This one is a little more nitpicks but I really didn’t like the inclusion of the pandemic in the story. This is still such a big part of a lot of peoples lives and having it just sprinkled in for context just felt off. The pandemic didn’t have anything to do with the overarching plot so little comments about her carrying a mask in her purse or how awful school was online didn’t add the character depth I think the author was going for.

I was really excited for this book because it had a great premise and representation but I really didn’t like Colin. He didn’t change enough and the flashbacks of their relationship made me cringe. In the past he would correct peoples grammar and he treated Allison poorly. That’s not a very good love interest and not someone I was rooting for. When Sophie said “I don’t want to see you make the same mistakes your mom did with your dad” I felt that in my soul. He treats her poorly and she forgives him and I could see the character falling into the same cycle of abuse as her mom.

This was a cute read about a couple with a disastrous relationship that are forced to come back together again after 2 years to not only work together but compete against eachother for an academic position. While it was enjoyable to read, I think it would have been better served to be a dual POV book with chapters from Colins perspective as well. I feel like we didn’t really get to know him, and tbh he really seemed to suck the first time they dated, snd could have used a little more redemption to turn into the Colin 2.0 he supposedly is now

I received this book as an ARC from netgalley.
This book is a romcom of enemies-to-lovers and second chance. We meet a very lovable woman main character Allison, a heavier set academic woman with a fiery personality. Her journey for a second chance love with her ex Colin is full of emotional term-oil and an extreme attraction that can't be denied.

What I liked about the book:
I loved that the main character is not a tiny perfectly shaped miniature woman. We get to ready about a woman who is real sized.
I also love that the male main character is not also plus sized but a thinner "bonier" man.
I loved the way the author really went head first into family relationships and how some can be very toxic for mental health. How you don't have to keep them in your life just because they are blood.
I absolutely adore second chance romance.
I like how she tackles the growing strains of adult relationships, how friendships shift and chance.

What I didn't like about the book:
While the premise of the book is cute, I must admit I found many parts of the book long and drawn out. The author warns you of her love for medieval literature before the book begins. But, even with the warning I wasn't expecting lengthy histories and information that wasn't important to the overall plot. If you're a reader who doesn't care for those details then you might be skim reading some of this book.
This book definitely includes a lot of white shaming, if you're a white male who enjoys college you might not like this book.
The internal dialogue of this book was endless, I had to search for actual dialogue. I spent half the book in her head.
I had a hard time finding the main male character attractive when he was explained in sharp elbows, boney, and slender. It's just not my thing.
The Romance is fade-to-black.

Overall, some people will love this book and others will find it long and boring. It's probably and either or. I think most who love this book belong in a specific niche.

Absolutely a great read! I loved this book so much! Thank you for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved every bit of it!

This book is absolutely amazing. I really enjoyed the characterization of the FMC. I thought she was relatable, funny, and witty—I would recommend this to anyone. Love love love. One of my fav books of the year!

Allison and Colin have been in competition for scholarly awards for years. Now they are competing for a position as a research assistant in Medieval Literature, both on track to being professors. They were once romantically involved until Colin broke Allison’s heart. Now he’s trying to get her back.
This is a sweet story with plus size female main character who deals with a distant and insulting father.

Allison is working towards her Ph.D in medieval literature and unfortunately her college ex boyfriend Colin is in the same program. What is worse is that they are assigned to be TA’s for the same professor. To top that they find out they will have to compete for the spot and the chance to take a big trip with the professor. Will working together bring them closer or push them further apart.

I was not a fan of Colin. He did not come across as trustworthy.

This was a good book but I think I would have liked it better if Colin was more trustworthy or if I liked medieval literature. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

📚 ARC Review 📚

The Make-Up Test
Pub date: September 13, 2022
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.7)

This is for all the Lit/English teachers out there!!!

Short synopsis:
Allison and Colin are college exes and they find themselves battling each other in a prestigious Ph. D. program in medieval literature. These two are known for being extremely competitive with each other, and it only gets worse when they find out they’re both assigned their TA positions with the same professor. Will all this forced proximity lead to more drama or a second chance romance??

~Review~
I enjoyed this book! It seemed to really drag up until Chapter 20 though, but after that I wanted to find out how it all wrapped up!

I think if you enjoy Ali Hazelwoods books, then you would be a fan of this book! Most of us love a powerful lead woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind.

Allison & Colin are strong minded people who are not afraid to speak their truth. They have a questionable past which makes for an interesting read about their current relationship. However, they are not my favorite characters ever. I found their competitive nature with each other pretty toxic and frustrating.

Overall, this was a decent read! I would recommend you mark September 13 in your calendar if you found the above information slightly intriguing!

Read if you enjoy:
✏️ Second chance romance
✏️ Enemies to lovers
✏️ Toxic families
✏️ Ali Hazelwood books
✏️ Work place romance
✏️ Academia

In this lovers to academic rivals to lovers romance, Allison and Colin compete for a coveted PhD TA role. And by competing, I mean engaging in sexy sparring of words and remembering why they once fell in love. It's a fun, quick read and even more entertaining if you're interested in the world of academia.