I love a good college/grad school romance. This book was so much more than that. Add in a little competition, heartbreak, family issues, comedic relief, and a whole lot of personal growth and you have a true winner. Loved this story. 4.25 stars.

I received this arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fun romantic read for anyone with a degree in English or who enjoys books. This was a fun story to read because of the characters in the academia setting. It kept my interest and had some heart. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This book had tropes I both love and one that I hate, but the good outweighed the bad. I love a good academic rivals to lovers, as well as a second (and third) chance romance so I'll forgive the miscommunication in the third act nonsense. I really did enjoy this book!! Allison Avery is the FMC I didn't know I needed. She's far from perfect, but she doesn't shame herself for her shortcomings. Yes, she's overly competitive. She's an overachiever. She jumps to conclusions and even makes worst case scenario lists for everything. But she has no shame in that. It's what makes her so relatable. I'm in love with her journey over the course of this book, especially in regards to her father. There was a few occasions where I felt like the romance with Colin was a little rushed. Overall 4.5 stars!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of those simple reads with some good personal resolutions. I liked that we got to read from a plus sized character!

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I got into it, I was hooked! I love books with college settings so that was a huge plus for me. I enjoyed the twists. and thought the author did a great job keeping the reader engaged and interested.

The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe is a fun and delightful rom-com debut. I've been so excited to read this book ever since it was announced because of it's exes to enemies to lovers trope. Allison and Collin's rivalrous dynamic was perfect and it was very satisfying to see them slowly fall back in love. I also love that the book addresses some more serious topics while still remaining a rom-com. I'm excited to read more books by Jenny L. Howe. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe in exchange for an honest review.

thank you netgalley for an ARC of this book!

this was pretty solid. the characters were both pretty likeable. i liked how slowburn it was but i wish there was more of an explanation for their past together. once they got together, it was pretty fast. overall a fun and easy read!

Allison and Colin used to date in undergrad, but he dumped her after beating her for a prestigious award. They reconnect in their PhD program about medieval literature as they compete for the spot of advisee to their teacher.

This book was so good! I’m a sucker for confident fat main characters and second chance romances and this gave me all of that. I instantly fell in love with Colin (I know we were supposed to hate him but him and his cardigans and cat themed undergarments were so dang endearing) and I think the relationship between them was tense and flirty and fun. I devoured this book in less than a day, which always lends itself to being a highly rated book.

I'm not saying The Make-Up Test is one of my favorite books of 2022 but.... I'm not NOT saying that. This was so sweet and heartfelt and tender, I really cannot rave about this enough. It sucker punched me and I'm worried I'll never quite recover from the emotions I felt when [redacted for spoilers, read the book so you know what I"m talking about!!].

This book grabbed my attention for the plus-size representation. It’s not often plus-size women get representation where a woman is confident with who she is. Clearly other people around her had issues with her body size, but she did her best to stay strong and confident which I admired.

Overall, this book wasn’t a favorite, but it was absolutely worth reading. If you’re into spicy reads, this book was definitely PG, so you won’t get much spice here, but I think if you are interested in education and/or medieval lit this is definitely the book for you.

This book was very promising for me, it's a second chance romance with a rivals to lovers trope and it's set in a prestigious graduate school literature program. However, I had a hard time getting invested in the story but I think that it has a lot of potential. I usually like the second chance romance storylines, but the chemistry between Allison and Colin never quite clicked into place for me before or after their breakup. I did really enjoyed the character development and the way abuse and fat shaming was talked about. It was still an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy to read and review!

I really wanted to like this book. I really tried but it just wasn't for me. I couldn't bring myself to care about Allison and Colin. He wasn't worth the second and third chances she gave him and she was... I don't know, a little too passive for me to root for.

I am sure there are readers who are going to absolutely love this nerdy academia romance but it just wasn't for me.

So you start with applying to grad schools and hoping you get in, add in competition for a spot to complete your dream Ph.D. Then add in that the person you are competing against is your ex…Makes for an interesting story. There some parts I didn’t love, and sometimes I just wanted to reach in and slap both main characters upside the head, but overall I thought it was a good read. The story also moves along very quickly, to make it an easy read. Perfect for if you like second chances. I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Pub date 9/13/2022.

I was really excited about reading this books but since there was a plus size lead, I was disappointed I didn’t really like it. It was a slow read for me, and I just didn’t connect with the romantic relationship, and I found the male lead a bit annoying . 2.5 stars for me

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Jenny L. Howe for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is a cute story, but I did have some problems with it.

I love second-chance romances and this one was cute, but not perfect. I feel like it tried to show how Colin, the love interest, changed over time, but it was hard to believe because it didn’t really explain a lot. However, I thought his relationship with Allison was cute and I enjoyed reading about it and their competitiveness.

I really enjoyed the plus size representation with Allison and the confusing relationship she has with her father. It was nice seeing how she accomplished things for herself and how passionate she is.

One of my main problems with this novel was some of the writing is weird. There are some weird phrases and I didn’t enjoy the “flashbacks” to COVID and the pandemic. I also didn’t really like the last 20% of the novel and all of the miscommunication that happened between the two main characters.

This book is fun, but not perfect. However, I recommend it for people looking for a charming romance!

Full Disclosure: I received this advance reading copy of the book from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, in exchange for my honest review.

“‘We’re a menace,’…’Or maybe we’re magic.’”

Any literature lover will adore the magic of this book! From the very beginning, one can’t help but root for the book’s protagonist, Allison. Confident and full of intellect and wisdom, Allison spars with her former ex-boyfriend, Colin, who ends up attending the same PhD program as her. As the story progresses, the reader discovers what issues led to their breakup years before and how those same issues could hinder their academic (and romantic!) relationship.

Overall, I would rate this book 4.25/5 stars, because I found the dialogue and storyline entertaining. All literature references (from Harry Potter to The Canterbury Tales) was also researched well. My only qualm would be the ultimate “betrayal” that occurs towards the end of the book. While Allison’s feelings are totally valid and sound; the betrayal could have been completely avoided through proper communication. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this heart-warming novel.

This book was just “ok”. It was an easy read, but the characters felt extremely immature. I honestly don’t know why Allison would want to be with a person who treated her that way — yes, second chances are great, but I truly hated Colin.

There was so much of The Make-up test by Jenny L Howe that I enjoyed and think will appeal to readers— from academic rivals-to-lovers, second chance romance and relatable characters. I enjoyed the character development side of the plot, especially around Allison’s academic progression and family relationships. While there was quite a bit to like, personally I didn’t love the story for several reasons. Though my review won’t be massively positive, I truly believe so many people will love and connect with this book!

My main issue is I just did not buy Allison and Colin as a couple— the chemistry felt forced and contrived at many points. It might have been that I just could not picture Colin in a romantic situation or I didn’t like how he treated Allison in a few key moments, but I just was not rooting for them in a couple. For me to highly rate a romance book, I have to 100% root for the couple and believe in their relationship, and I just didn’t feel like they were meant to be.

While this wasn’t my favourite and I wouldn’t rush to read more of the authors books, I truly believe this book will be a five star read for many readers even if it wasn’t for me!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this book! It’s so refreshing to have a fat MC who’s entire story doesn’t revolve around her weight, or wanting to lose weight, or being insecure about her weight. Outside of that, the story was unique and well written, albeit a bit slow at times. I would definitely read more from this author! Special thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I always struggle when I don’t love an author’s debut, and unfortunately The Make-Up Test was a letdown for me. The concept of the book was so cute - I love a good academia romance, especially since my husband and met in a doctorate program. I love a workplace type romance. My main issue with the novel is that it reads quite young; if you took away the excessive drinking it would feel like high school seniors instead of graduate students. There was an immaturity both to Allison and Colin (running out of lectures you’re supposed to be TAing for, flat out lying to one another). I also think that leads to my next frustration, is instead of miscommunications or misunderstandings, these two characters flat out lie. Allison lies about her recitation, she lies to her best friend for months - it’s hard to excuse this type of behavior. I also think the “second-chance” romance here was a tough sell because Colin and Allison had been together for 8 months, and so recently. She spends the first half of the book really leaning into why he was awful, what she hated about him, how he had deceived her and ruined her life. When we find out Allison had to redo a semester due to their breakup, that seems like such an enormous obstacle to overcome and unfortunately we have such a small period of time in the book for them to get back to being in love before they have one last obstacle and somehow getting back together. Perhaps stretching the timeline and giving Colin and Allison a chance to truly have growth this would have felt more complete. I hate that I did not enjoy this! Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.