I have been looking forward to this book ever since I heard about it on Twitter, and it definitely did not disappoint! Love this imperfect heroine who is just trying her best to get through grad school. The academic setting and feel makes me so nostalgic for my English major days, then the depiction of imposter syndrome hits me in the gut. The way Allison describes how being smart was who she was and how she didn't know herself without it? Ugh. Right in the feels.
I also loved the love interest and how much it was obvious he was still in love with Allison from the beginning of the novel. Second chance romances are not normally my jam, but this one was so sweet and the competitive aspects in the beginning just made the payoff all the more satisfying. The writing in this novel is beautiful and made me cry more than once. Congrats to Jenny on your debut, I can't wait to have a physical copy in my hands.

Definitely was not a bad book, but at the end of the day it is not one that I will remember for a long time. I was not really a fan of the romance between the two. I cared about Allison and wanted her to succeed to the point where I think she deserves better than Colin. Honestly, I think Colin should have stayed an ex. I also just feel like we missed a lot of context between Alison and her mom. All we really know is that her mom was with an abusive guy (Allison’s father Jed) and her mom pressures her to have a relationship with Jed. Also, why is there no ending for Sophie?

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved the academic setting and that the characters were not your average Barbie and Ken. Didn’t love the obvious agendas or the immaturity of the *phd* student. If a character is consistently critically thinning, why would she not use that skill on her relationship too?

First of all, I really appreciate the author’s note at the beginning that talks about Allison and her relationship to her body as a fat woman, etc. I think it’s really important in a book with a marginalized main character that will involve trauma involving that marginalization to add info to prepare the reader and I appreciate that the author did so here.

That said, this book was so much fun! I always love a second chance romance, but I do get nervous when the original romance had been toxic, which seemed to be the case with our two main characters here. I think it’s really easy for characters to fall back into that toxicity and it not to be addressed as a problem by the author. SO MANY ROMANCES come across as super toxic from an outside perspective, and I was really worried that was going to happen here. However, Lowe did a great job of towing the line in a way that acknowledged when something was bad so that it could get fixed. There was also a lot of time spent away from the romance between Allison and Colin, so the reader got to experience Allison’s life outside of just that one person. From her complicated relationship with her best friend and her parents to her trying to establish a place in her grad program and cohort, Allison felt like a well-rounded character. The competition aspect between her and Colin had a good balance of being fun to read while also making me nervous as to how it’d impact their relationship with one another. I laughed, I cried, and at the end I was so glad that I had the chance to read it!

This was a sweet romance- I like the author’s voice and the way she built her scene. But I just didn’t like our protagonist. Allison was so smart and so capable and so confident- but also so bitter and so cynical and so reactive. It was hard to see her swing between loving and hating so quickly, when her hate seemed to be her defining personality trait. I’d like to read more from this author- I thought her writing was great.

Representation matters and Jenny L. Howe did a delicious job in creating a character who is plus sized and not only accept it, she thrives with body positivity while still maintaining moments of self-consciousness. Allison is a wonderful character, a blend of chic, academic know-it-all, competitive and resilient. Lanky ol' Colin, often misguided but he not only brings out Allison's competitive side, he brings out the best in her. They truly compliment each other. The book is heavy on the literature aspect (which was quite interesting, it made me yearn to sit in on a college course again) and it touches on white feminism, fat shaming and family issues/pressure. Although Allison's competitive nature grated on my nerves at times, knowing her background helped understand why she is the way that she is. For a twenty-something, Allison deals with her family situation in such a mature manner, she is honest, empathetic and learns how to draw a line. The tension between Allison and Colin felt natural and their romantic scenes were much appreciated as at no point do we see Colin fetishize Allison or focus on her weight. Overall, this was a fantastic debut novel!

I have tried at least 3 times to finish this book. Unfortunately, I just can’t get into it. It seemed like a cute premise but it just doesn’t capture me like I was hoping.

The perfect summer beach read! This was a great quick romance read with a love/hate relationship with one of the main characters, Colin. Allison and Colin are past lovers who are surprised to encounter one another again in graduate school. Allison had not seen him since the day he dumped her and is now not so sure how she feels about being in the same class with him. This is a rollercoaster of emotions between the two characters and lots of competition to see who can be the best. I gave this 3 stars because it was a great, fun quick read that I would definitely recommend, however not my favorite fun romance that I have read.

I really loved the premise of this novel! This is the first academic rivals book I've read that's A) set in a college setting and B) also a second chance romance. I loved how the college setting allowed for a different type of dynamic that isn't always shown in teen academic rivals books. The soft academia vibes of this novel were really fun to get into and I loved hearing Allison and Colin talk about all their literary favorites in this book. I think this novel would have been really interesting in a dual-POV, but it still worked well as a single-POV novel. Ultimately, I gave this novel 4 stars because I wish that Colin and Allison's relationship had felt a little more natural and genuine to me. Allison recaps via flashbacks the moments that she and Colin spent together while they were dating 3 years ago, but because the two only dated for 6 months, it was hard to believe at times that they held such strong feelings for each other after all this time (especially given how douche-y Colin acted at times).

This book has everything I love in a fun rom com read. It’s sweet and sexy and fun, but there are added details like conversations about medieval literature and cross stitched obscenities. Reading as Allison navigates her way through relationship rupture and repair as a woman who already knows her value is incredibly refreshing. The author’s note in the beginning of the book sent me into the story excited to see how the main character would be portrayed. We need more writing and characters like this.



I received an advanced reader copy of the book for free. This review is my honest opinion that I’m writing voluntarily.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Allison Avery is living her best life: rooming with her best friend and just started the elite graduate program she's worked so hard to get into. Imagine her surprise when her ex shows up as the other TA competing for a once in a lifetime placement. Being forced to work closely together, will she be able to resist how much he has changed?

Overall, I really liked Allison. She loved herself as a fat woman, and didn't try to make herself smaller (physically or emotionally) to fit in or please others. She was intelligent, confident, and always had a plan for worst case scenarios. However, she suffered from the inability to cope with failure and jumped to false conclusions often driven by her anxiety.

I have mixed emotions about Allison and Colin together, because honestly, their communication was just terrible. Yes, Colin was in the wrong in their previous relationship, but Allison always jumped to the worse conclusions to protect herself without allowing his explanations. Even though I was annoyed by the lack of communication, there were some hilarious and swoon-worthy moments in between it all. (I can't with the cardigans. 😅)

While I didn't love this one, I really did enjoy it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I'm looking forward to more of what Jenny has up her sleeve as an author!

Tropes: second chance romance, rivalry to lovers, forced proximity

CW: fat-phobia, emotional abuse/toxic relationship with parent

The book will be published September 13, 2022!

I love a good romcom! This was perfection. Such a fun read. I also love that the main character is a PhD student! Love a hard working woman.

Finally, a book about a bigger girl that is comfortable with herself and happy with who she is! As a plus sized woman, it’s so nice to feel represented in books. It’s rare that we see a main character who is plus sized, is confident in herself, and embraces her sexuality with no shame and that’s exactly what Allison does. Yes, there are times when her weight is commented on by others. And YES, it does sting at times. But she ultimately doesn’t care because she loves who she is. Colin is the perfect counterpart for Allison. Intelligent, witty, funny.. he’s a perfect match for her. I loved this book so much.

This book was so cuteeee. I genuinely enjoyed every second of it. It was so beautiful and entertaining, I completely lost track of time while reading it.
I love academic rivals to lovers!!! and this delivered in every instance for me!
Can’t wait to read more from Jenny:)

I overall really enjoyed this one, I love when stories take place in an academia setting. I also liked that the characters had real true flaws and I loved how Allison was always willing to put bullies in their place. I know in my own life, I am sometimes afraid to speak up in the moment or I don't know what to say in the moment and later on play it back in my head with what I should have said. I loved how bold Allison was, however I did feel at times she was a bit immature and the book dragged a bit in the begginning.

First, thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the early access copy.

This is not the book I thought it would be at all- in a good way!
It was lovers to enemies to lovers and back again. Jenny L. Howe did a great job of highlighting the flaws in the characters, especially Colin. The many many many character flaws that were highlighted throughout the story made the character development that much stronger. The way Colin (And Allison) are able to see the growth over the corse of the story just made it that much more realistic, and true to heart.

I felt a kinship with Allison. She’s a big girl BUT that’s not a focal point of the story! MINDBLOWING. She’s fat and the author doesn’t mention it every other page?! Incredible. I loved that Howe was able to show the readers that Allison is so much more than a body in a story. She felt like a real person, and one who deserves the whole damn world. Don’t try to change my mind. I’d die for Allison.

I loved the side characters as well. They all had such personality, and added so much to the story line.

The plot was concise and imaginative! I don’t normally gravitate to an academic romance setting but I learned a lot about academic lit, especially Beowulf.

What a wonderful read! I loved the plus-sized main character and of course, ALL the literary aspects. It was a great novel about worth, second chances, and chasing dreams. It would make a great book club read!

WOW. I liked this book so much, it's almost too difficult to put it into words. But of course, I will do it anyway--because words are my love language.

I saw myself in Allison in a way that I have never connected with a character before.
A girl starting her first year of a phd program driven by her love of academia, but afraid she isn't cut out for the world of teaching. check.
Parents who love her, but always have that look in their eyes like they are painfully aware of how much space she takes up. check.
Loves musicals, corgis, and bodice ripping romances. check, check, check.
Had her ex show up on the first day of her graduate program....god, I hope not.

This book had my heart from the moment that I read the synopsis and I spent the first couple of chapters waiting with bated breath, and hoping that it would live up to what I had built it up to be in my head. I was so pleasantly surprised with this book. The characters capture exactly what it is like to be a small fish in a new professional world, from the insecurities, to the constant comparisons, to the imposter syndrome. It was so easy to fall in love with Allison from the first chapter because she is so effortlessly relatable. She is out here doing her best and trying to prove to herself and to everyone that she can do it.

And Colin. COLIN. Dear lord, that boy took the breath right out of my lungs. I have never been a fan of second-chance romances...but maybe I need to revise that opinion. The way that their past, present, and future was engrained in the characters' thoughts and actions made this book utterly perfect. Colin felt different from a lot of book boyfriends because he was flawed and vulnerable, but still funny and charming. The lovers-to-enemies-to-rivals arc was *chefs kiss* and I thought it was so so so well done.

I have very few critiques of this book. One, that I can pinpoint but will not elaborate for fear of spoiling the book, is the attempted redemption arc at the end of the book. It felt unnecessary, only because the FMC spent so much time coming to terms with her feelings and realizing that it's okay for her to feel that way, and then that moment in the end undermines her journey a little bit. I don't think this is a major detriment to the book, it just struck me as a little bit unnecessary.

Overall, this book was fabulous. Truly fabulous. It was easily one of my favorite reads of the year. It kept me thoroughly entertained, made me laugh and cry, and caused extreme FOMO that my cohort is only two people. I can't emphasize enough how much I enjoyed this book and cannot wait to buy it as soon as it comes out.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an e-copy of THE MAKE-UP TEST to review.

I really wanted to love this book because of the enemies-to-lovers trope, academia and the main character embracing her body. Unfortunately, it was a letdown for me.

I checked out some of the other reviews on NetGalley and I see a few stating they "just could not get behind Colin" and were upset Allison gave him a second chance.

I could NOT get behind Allison. She never, ever, not once give Colin a chance to explain himself. The more I type, the angrier I get for …. Colin.

She was so, so, so competitive with Colin. Honestly, I'm not sure why HE gave HER a second chance.

He made a lot of mistakes too, but I'm baffled at what Allison, herself, saw in him. The entire story she complained about Colin. If she didn't like him, why didn't she find somebody else?

I totally understood all of her father issues and how that translated to her insecurities about her body.

But she could not let the competitiveness with Colin keep her from sabotaging things. At the end - you all know what I'm talking about - WHY didn't she at least listen to him explain himself?

Nonetheless, I appreciated Allison did not spend any of the book trying to lose weight. That in itself was a refreshing plot point.

I rate THE MAKE-UP TEST two out of five stars.

I really appreciated the use of the word “fat” in this book. It’s always plus sized or mid sized or pear shaped (i hate that term just as much as Allison.) Fat is not a bad word!

Unfortunately, that’s about all I liked about it. I could not connect with the characters and I especially could not get behind Collin.

Maybe second chance romances just aren’t for me.