Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: fatshaming, fat phobia, emotional abuse/toxic relationship with a parent, sick parent/death of parent, dementia, anxiety, discussions of past depression

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f second chance romance
-academic rivals to lovers
-an adorable corgi
-dorks falling for each other
-grad school romance
-fat rep

This book is heavy and deals with a lot of heavy topics, but it does so with care. As a fat person I love seeing more fat rep in books and this had it in spades. It was difficult to read about Allison's relationship with her father. He bullied/emotionally abused her for so long about her weight, but it was also so beautiful to see her standup for herself. Her relationship with her mom was complicated by all of this and it just felt so real and authentic and I thought handled so well. Hard to read at times because of how true this all is. Please protect your hearts friends.

Honestly a lot of this book felt like Allison overcoming the people in her life that made her feel small. Her father, and in his own way Colin the first time they dated. I enjoyed how their rivalry pushed the other but it also didn't bring out the best in either of them even in the second chance aspect. Second chance romances are difficult. You have two people who have broken up for a reason and then are back in each other's circle and you need to see that growth that will assure the reader this time it will work.

Allison had clear growth throughout the book, leaning into her teaching, finding joy in her program and she struggled as we all do as we get older. What our relationships with our friends look like and what our relationships with our parents will look like. Colin was sweet and I adored their banter and how much of a nerd both of them were. Allison and Colin were similar in a lot of the ways that matter. But the danger with single POV is that its harder too see the other person's especially in second chance POV and motivations for making certain choices. I don't feel like anything was missing by not having Colin's POV but it was harder to see any changes in him or whether he realized what went wrong the first time around and how he was making a lot of the same mistakes again.

It's hard to say that Colin changed in the book and I struggled even more because Alison's best friend clearly did not support the romance either. All of the relationships in the book were messy/flawed in an authentic way, but I felt for Allison and wished she had someone to lean on at what is clearly a turning point in her life. These are two flawed people who hopefully will figure out their issues, with a flawed romance, things are definitely not wrapped up in neat bow. i like to think they got their HFN but I just don't know. I kind of wish we got an epilogue or see what happened after that last chapter. As a fiction read this was an amazing book, but as a romance I'm torn.

Steam: 3 (very light steam, more peek around the door)

Disclaimer: I am social media mutuals with the author

DNF @ 43%. There were things I really liked about this, like getting an inside look into the TA life and some amazingly satisfying boundary-setting by the heroine — I was in awe of her strength to put herself first when it came to some fatmisic and neglectful behaviour from her dad, even when she was getting pushback from her mom and attempts to guilt-trap her because of her dad’s failing health. Just wow — that kind of thing is so important to see yet I imagine really hard to do.

I just didn’t really like what happened when the heroine and hero were together… from what I’ve read so far, what the hero did (applying for and then winning an award the heroine was hoping for) doesn’t sound great, but it also seems like he probably had a reason. (It also seems like it would have been hard to tell her he wanted to apply and she might have steamrolled him, though still not an excuse for poor communication.) And I think part of the heroine’s problem is that he didn’t tell her he was applying until she found out he won, but she keeps talking about him stealing it from her and it became hard for me to sympathize — he didn’t bribe anyone or cheat; he applied for it and won.

Another problem was that present-day Colin is competitive but always friendly, while Allison is not, and that’s what we see as a reader. Her (accidentally but then joyfully) drawing on his cardigan with a pen; lying about her tutorials to their advisor; always trying to one-up him in class. (I was cringing at their debate in front of a class they’re supposed to be TA-ing.) And then there were other little things too, like her lie in Two Truths and a Lie being that she’s swum with dolphins twice (she’s only swum with them once!), and a story about how a goat followed them home from the petting zoo and they just ran from the goat without calling the petting zoo and letting them know their goat was running loose and where he was. There was a lot of academic language (maybe too much for me) and I want to see an intelligent woman who is confident and knows her stuff, but you can do that without being performative and trying to show others up.

The Make-Up Test by J. Howe, published by St. Martin's Press is the debut novel by this author. I love giving new author's a try and I was not disappointed. A great read, some length, but has a captivating stotyline, the right pace for me and the writing is great. 4,5 stars.

I'm not saying that Jenny L. Howe's The Make-Up Test single-handedly warmed my frozen cynical heart... but I'm not NOT saying that, either? OKAY FINE I SOBBED OVER MY KINDLE AT 1 AM WHEN [REDACTED] SHOWS UP IN [REDACTED] AT THE END IS THAT WHAT YOU ALL WANT TO HEAR? IS IT?
And this is my attempt at writing a serious, professional review instead of just *keyboard smash* —that was my first review draft.

Jenny Howe's THE MAKE-UP TEST is the warm, witty, laugh-out-loud delight of my dreams. Allison Avery is whip-smart, heart achingly vulnerable, and permanently residing in my heart. Colin Benjamin is the cardigan clad, self-aware love interest with perfectly mussed hair we all deserve. The academic setting is vibrant and fresh at every corner, the cast wields side-splitting one-liners, the fat and mental health representation deserves a standing ovation, and the themes on family and embracing your path in adulthood are timely and poignant. Howe's words will have you hugging this book and rushing to embroider your favorite lines on a throw pillow. A soon-to-be insta-buy author for all.