Lovers to enemies to academic rivals to lovers again, second chance romance. New England academia. Medieval literature. Corgis. Happy For Now.

It touched on some sensitive is like grief, body shaming, dementia.

I really enjoyed this. I do wish we got Colin’s POV and Sophie’s approval.

Tropes:
▪️ Academic Rivals to Lovers
▪️ Second Chance Romance
▪️ Slow Burn


Let me start off by listing the GOOD things about this book. First, the cover is what got me (yes, yes, I know 🙄 'don't judge a book by it's cover'!) But I mean LOOK AT IT?! She's not all skinny and petite and he isn't muscular and broad. That's what instantly got me. I loved the message of all inclusive body positivity. The interactions of Allison with her best friend, Sophie and her new friends were super cute. Another thing, I loved was the last like 10% of the book, where Colin tries to win her back. and unfortunately, that's it.

I stopped this story multiple times and it took me longer to read than others and it was because I didn't feel the chemistry between both MC's. I understand that they are medieval lit majors wanting to become professors in have a thriving career in academia but there was more focus on the medieval lit studies instead of the characters. A little over the halfway point, I was like ok, now we're getting somewhere and we just didn't. Some of the flashbacks were kind of everywhere, the ending seemed rush, and it just fell flat for me.


*Thank You Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

Thank you St. Martin Press and NetGalley for the eARC! All opinions expressed are my own. This review does NOT contain any spoilers. :)

☆☆☆☆ Overall

Allison and Colin’s chemistry, their personal growth, their banter - ugh. It’s so delicious. The snarkiness, the fighting, the true angst in the ‘lovers to enemies to friends to lovers’ (AKA idiots to lovers <3) is done so well here.

If you’re looking for past-lovers turned academic rivals, look no further. These two are hardheaded, literature loving and I really like how much of their backstories we get. I want to be friends with all of the characters, but with Colin, honestly, he isn’t my favorite and outside of his relationship with Allison, I don’t particularly like him. Also, the miscommunication trope is okay sometimes, but I am definitely pro-immediate resolution. Parts of this book hurt my heart and not necessarily in the best way, yknow?

Overall, I liked this book so much, especially Howe’s writing style and the fat representation we got with Allison. (Definitely do NOT enjoy the fatphobia, but only because it is difficult for me to read as a fat person. I know it’s there for a reason, and it’s not something we should ignore, it just. Hurt.)

i hate allison, she was so entitled and a shitty friend and she lies for no reason, and then there was the big miscommunication near the end and just ugh. what a painful read

Thanks to SMP and NetGalley for the ARC. This was one I was really excited about and it ended up being really cute. While both characters annoyed me in their own ways for a while there in some parts, I'm a sucker for a HEA so I powered through and was happy to see them work through the miscommunication and personal dilemmas to come together for their second chance at love. I do feel the ending was wrapped up a little quickly though. But otherwise, I would recommend it if you're looking for a cute rivals-to-lovers in an academic setting for a second chance love story.

Parts of the Make-Up Test shine. As an English nerd, I loved the discussions of medieval texts and the description of the different people who made up Claymore's English Lit PhD program. Avery was confident in her body, and that was great to read. However, beyond those aspects of the novel, much of it fell flat. As much as the story tried to prove that Avery and Collin had grown as individuals and as a couple, I was never convinced.

I have such mixed opinions about this book. I was worried as I trudged through the first half. It felt like the chapters were talking in circles - "I shouldn't like Colin. But he just did a cute and thoughtful thing. But I shouldn't like Colin." I wanted more literary talk, teaching and relationship building with Allison's fellow classmates and BFF Sophie. I could definitely see the troupe of characters introduced becoming their own spin off. I do believe the book was at its finest when Allison would rip the bandaid and speak her truth. I also liked the shock factor/twist. My hesitation is mostly with the love story and the character Colin - red flags went off with him. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I can tell the author knows her lit and I think that's pretty...lit. (I HAD TO, SORRY)

The Make-Up Test by Jenny L Howe

I love a good cartoon cover as much as the next gal, but the synopsis moved this book to the top of my TBR queue.

Allison is a self-described plus size woman who has just started her PhD program at her dream school. Life is finally fitting into place when she discovers her ex-boyfriend and rival is competing for the same research position as her. This book is a slow burn with the right amount of spice. It's a second chance and enemies to lovers dream.

As a plus size girl myself, I enjoyed the parallelism to my own life when Allison was discussing her experiences with her weight. Her struggles with school and balancing her own perfectionism had me relating even more with the character. This book definitely goes to the top of my favorites books of all time.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book. I will definitely be picking this book up in print when it is released in September!

I requested to read and review this book for free from St. Martin Griffin Publishing Company. This book takes a sensitive subject such as weight and makes it ok to be ok with who you are. It's a straight forward a count how many women see themselves. This story has romance drama and mystery. Sometimes are insecurities hurt and heal past relationships. Can two people who hurt each other deeply find forgiveness with each other? Can we trust ourselves to know what is right? Colin has trust issues but can he find someone to help him with it? Allison is a take charge type of gal focusing on the goal. Will see be open up to new possibilities? This book is for a mature reader and can be read anywhere.

This review is based on an ARC, so may not entirely match the published version

I mostly review children’s books, but picked this one based on the cover, and I am glad I did. Not only is it a sweet, cute romance, there aren’t many fiction books that outline the stress and difficulty of graduate school, nor are there many fiction books focused on medieval literature. This manages to do an excellent job of both. It is a relatively fast, fun read and would be an excellent “beach book”-or dissertation break one.

i LOVED this book! it was my first read from jenny howe and will not be my last. academic rivals is such an elite trope and add in a relationship reconciliation and it was perfection! i relate to alison so much and seeing how she works through her relationship with her body and family trouble, was beautiful. i also have started doing WCS with friends! Overall, amazing story and i loved it!

I went into this thinking that I would love it. However, the awkward writing style and unlikable characters made it very hard to read.

This is a cute romance set in the academic world. I loved the literary references and the college/post-grad setting, but found parts of the story superficial and hard to believe. For example, Colin as the male lead is inexplicably interested in Allison again, after their previous break up. Allison is charming and seems to like his devotion to cardigans (not for me) but there's not enough context to give credibility to their second-chance love story. She seems better than him, so it was hard to see why she would give him another chance. Lastly, and maybe this is just me, but unless a reference to the pandemic is necessary to the plot or character development, could we not talk about it? Covid is exhausting without creeping into our escapist rom-coms. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book!

3.5 rounded up to a four- some of the school stuff just bored me and I skimmed a lot of it. I would have liked more showing that the love interest had changed more, what he does towards the end of the book, while Allison later finds out isn’t as horrible as she first thought, was still pretty horrible considering he could have spent a minute to explain beforehand. I liked how they dealt with the father’s death and how she felt seemed natural considering their relationship, and I’m glad she came to a resolution on that issue with her mom.

I think both Allison and Colin have grown since their first time dating, I’m just not sure that it’s enough for a long term relationship unless they both actively continue to grow.

I've gone back and forth between 2.5 and 3 stars for this book, but for the sake of the rating, I'll settle on 3. The book was fine, and I was interested enough to want to finish it. My biggest issue was with the character Allison and what I think is a distorted view of competition. I don't want to spoil the book or one of the big plot issues, but Allison mentions being competitive several times, but also cannot get past someone beating her out for an award in undergrad. As someone who is also extremely competitive, I understand the desire to win and be the best. But I also know that losing is a big part of competition, and while I will never be unbothered by a loss, I know that you have to take your losses and move on and try to use them to be better in the future. I felt like Allison could not do that and instead dwelled and felt like she deserved the awards and accolades without thinking that someone else might deserve them, too.

Part of my issue with this book might be that I kept forgetting that these students, even though they were in advanced programs, were still in their very early 20s. I think I expected them to act as though they were older, and that's on me.

Overall, I was propelled to finish the book and loved the academia setting. A few tweaks could've made this a 5 star read for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I really wanted to love this but I was a little bored. It was a cute story and I love the premise but it just left me wanting a little more out of it.

This was a nice and charming read! I liked Allison’s character and how she knew her worth and wouldn’t let herself change for anyone. I found it difficult to get super interested in parts of the plot, especially as I don’t know much about medieval literature, but I still really liked Allison and Colin’s relationship throughout the book!

Allison Avery and Colin Benjamin’s college relationship was full of as much competition as love until it came to a crashing end. Now, Allison is thrilled to be in the grad school program at Claymore University, studying medieval literature from a professor she has long admired. Her years of dreaming and hard work have finally paid off! The last thing she expects to see is Colin, accepted to the same problem and being mentored by the same professor. When the professor announces a career-changing research opportunity with only one spot for the two of them, their rivalry comes back in full force. Will the love follow?

This was an OK romance story; I wanted to like it more than I actually did. <spoiler>I was really confused by the competition that broke them up the first time. It was open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Colin, as a senior, beating Allison, as a sophomore, completely destroyed her chances of winning this super-important competition, and she couldn’t just … try again her junior or senior year?</spoiler> Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, but I didn’t really ever feel that this relationship needed a second chance. The side story with Allison’s dad was extremely predictable.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy of the Make-Up Test.
I cannot explain in words of how much I loved this book. I devoured this so fast it would be unfair to call that time a sitting. I loved everything about it and can't wait until September 13 so I can pick up a physical copy.
Our story follows Allison who is just trying to achieve her dream of becoming a professor when she is forced to TA her dream class with her ex.
I am not a huge fan of second chance romance, but this book has me doubting because it was so great. My favorite part of the book was Allison she was so relatable and fun. All the relationships were done proper justice. I honestly have nothing to complain about it was simply fantastic and one of my favorite reads of the year.
I will most definitely pick up anything from Jenny L. Howe in the future.

I don’t read romance books with the second chance trope often, because I’ve found in the past that I often struggle to feel the connection between the main characters, because their past and their feelings didn’t occur on page. This book did a really good job showing the past relationship between the two main characters.

By explaining so much of Allison and Colin’s previous relationship, I feel like it didn’t show them fixing the relationship as well as I would have liked, in certain aspects. While some texts were shown, mostly about working together, other moments just mentioned when they had texted and I would have liked to have seen that, to see them reconnecting that way and not just been told that it had happened so briefly. But that really is a personal opinion, I’m nosey and like seeing people bonding via text. Of course it was shown when they connected in other ways throughout the book.

I appreciated the inclusion of family in this book. Especially since it wasn’t just a big, happy family storyline like so many other books. It’s real that people don’t always get along with their parents, and I loved that the author didn’t shy away from that. However, I feel like the scene with the secretary took away from that. I understand that it was in there to show that things aren’t always the way it seems and can be better than a person assumes, and honestly, it disappointed me. I feel like it’s so rare to read about a toxic parent and the main character standing up to them, and that doesn’t need to have a ‘happy spin’ to it. It felt so much more real before that.

I didn’t think Allison had a good relationship with her mom, like she claimed. Her mom was obviously better to her then her dad was, but that was a low bar. I didn’t like how she spoke to her when they talked, and she massively crossed boundaries when it came to Allison’s relationship with her dad.

However, I really admired how Allison stood up for herself. I’m general, not only to her parents. She didn’t just let people say what they wanted without her telling them how it made her feel, and that was great.

So all of that being said, you can see that I rated this 3 stars and the biggest reason why is that I don’t think Allison and Colin are people that should be together. I did like them both as characters, but I think they’re toxic for each other. The way they deal with situations in their lives is very different, which is okay, but (for me) it made them incompatible. If you can’t even tell the person you love how you feel, then why are you with them? If you aren’t open to both talking to someone, and listening to them, that’s not someone you should be with. That really bothered me. So unfortunately, I couldn’t love this book because it’s a romance book where I didn’t like the romance.

I enjoyed the academia and teaching inclusion. I feel like that’s something I don’t see often, and it was interesting to read about. The book seemed to end a bit abruptly, but it did have a happy ending, which of course is always enjoyable. I am intrigued to read more by this author, because I did like her writing style.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin & NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!