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.

I enjoyed this book. I really liked Allison’s character although she could be a little bit stubborn at times, but I think she was really relatable. Colin’s character was interesting and I wish we got a dual POV, but I enjoyed seeing his growth from Alison’s flashbacks to the current time in the story. Overall if you love a slow burn, witty, and lovers to enemies to friends to lovers to enemies and finally back to lovers then you will enjoy this!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4794627092

Content warning: Allison's father is emotionally abusive and fatphobic. The author takes care of Allison, but take care of yourself if these things are triggering for you.

The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe is an excellent romance set in academia. Allison and Colin are in the same cohort in a PhD program. This is a second and even third chance romance. It's lovely, and full of hope that people in their early 20s have. ❤️ There are misunderstandings, hurts, and still so much love.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was able to read this for free thanks to Net Galley, although that does not affect my opinion of the actual book. First and foremost, I loved the body positivity message that the author shared before the first chapter even began. This book definitely confused me a bit, with some of the words chosen, but that may just be a ‘me not being smart enough’ thing. I’m sad to say that this ended up being a dnf for me. I kept trying to get into it, but I just couldn’t connect to it as I had hoped I would. I was able to get through about 15% of it before I finally gave up. Maybe I’ll try to read it again another time.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the e-arc.
Medieval literature? Academic setting? High hopes for this one! Too bad there was almost nothing about this book that I liked, including the main characters. The way she lies SO MUCH was so off-putting and the way he schemes to get ahead, really turned me off fairly early on in the book, and lasted throughout. And there was no chemistry between them as far as I could see. I enjoyed the literature aspect, but I'm guessing for non-English lit majors, it was too much. Also, can we just not mention the pandemic at all? This is fiction, you don't always need to bring real-world situations into the story.

This was a Romance with a lot of depth to it. Allison is a PhD candidate and so is her ex-boyfriend/nemesis Colin. She is a fat character who is dealing with a lot of intellectual self-doubt and a very fat-shaming father. It was sometimes hard to watch her miscommunicate and misunderstand so much with Colin, but Allison grows a lot in this book. Colin grows as well, and it's nice to see two characters mature and support each other. You learn a lot about the PhD/academic process while reading this book, and as a former English student, it's clear that the author knows what she's talking about. It was like being back in school again. Some of the discussion about literary theory might not be thrilling to folx who aren't lit majors, but it felt very familiar to me.

There is also a nice subplot with Allison's best friend Sophie; it was good to see how two grown women navigate their changing friendship and lives.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

Well, wasn't this fun!

A second chance romance between two academic rivals? Set in New England academia in the fall? Medieval literature and knights? CORGIS? I mean, say less!

I loved Jenny Howe's writing and how more serious topics (CW for grief, death of a family member, dementia) were woven into the story in a natural way. It felt more real life in the way that when these events happened, the rest of the world didn't stop.

And that ending! All the heart eyes! I don't want to add any spoilers here, but just know that it was very sweet!

That being said, second chance romances are always a bit hot or miss for me because I find it hard to root for a couple that broke up for a legitimate reason (ie, one of the characters emotionally hurt the other character). And true to form, it did take me a while to warm up to Colin. I wish we had been given Colin's POV so we could learn his side of the story earlier on, and not just Allison's memory of the events. I'm also not a fan of the miscommunication trope, and that played HEAVILY in Allison and Colin's romance.

I did still enjoy this author's writing, so I would still encourage you to give this book a try, especially if none of my reasons above really apply to your reading preferences.

I think this was one of my most highly anticipated reads of 2022 but, unfortunately, it never clicked for me. Let's start with what I did like: I liked how much Allison talked about her research and teaching. I thought the way Allison's relationship with her dad played out was very realistic and sad.

Otherwise, this fell flat. Allison and Colin are both very immature, frustrating characters and neither of them truly justify why they need to be in a relationship together. I think the flashbacks to their relationship were supposed to make the reader understand why Allison might be conflicted about whether to start something new or not with Colin, but since she spent a good 75% of the book hating Colin, it didn't quite work. I didn't think Colin really deserved to get back with Allison and there was a really unfortunate miscommunication trope applied in the 3rd act breakup.

I wanted a lot more out of this. I did really like the way Howe wrote and I'm looking forward to checking out more of her books in the future, but this wasn't for me.

I really was looking forward to this novel which I received early access to on Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Nerd romance + deep dive literary analysis + positive fat representation seemed like a winning combo (and I loved the author from her intro). I really enjoyed the main character Allison Avery, a first year PhD student in medieval literature — unfortunately, the other major characters (her college ex-boyfriend Colin, her bestie Sophie, and her parents), came across as somewhat flat to me, so I had a hard time feeling invested in any of the relationships. And while likely very true to life, the casual cruelty/obliviousness of the inspiring, feminist PhD advisor who pits Allison against Colin was off putting. Allison deserved better! The best parts of the book are the details. It made me want to learn to cross stitch and dig back into the Canterbury Tales,

thank you netgalley and st martin's for the eARC of this book!

<b>rating:</b> 3.5 stars

this book is a fun little second chance romance with academic rivals and i really, really enjoyed it!! allison is an interesting, lovable main character and i loved the dynamic she has with colin. from the start you're immediately encaptured in their banter and the heavy history between the two of them, and howe does an incredibly job of establishing this burn between the two of them that keeps your attention throughout the book.

the first 25% of this book is, in my opinion, boring. i wasn't really hooked much despite the author's best attempts at trying to quickly establish characters and the universe, and the book really only picks up after colin & allison finally have THE talk, which is about at the 40% mark. beyond that, the other subplots and character relationships in the book seem to fall a little flat or just aren't given enough page space/context for me to really care about them. a solid example of this is both allison and her dad, which doesn't really get resolved but also does?? which makes no sense, and allison and sophie, who have a weak consolation after a weak argument that does nothing for the plot.

the final kicker into something i didn't quite enjoy is that the third act conflict is, you guessed it, stemmed from miscommunication. throughout this book it seems all the conflicts come from miscommunication between the two characters, and i genuinely hate it because a lot of it is just from allison refusing to hear colin out.... like what?

all in all, i liked this book. it was very much a promising debut for lowe, and i can see many people falling in love with the characters and plot... just not me.