I enjoyed this 2nd chance romance a lot. It was fun to see the main character struggling with teaching and growing and improving throughout the book. I enjoyed the tension and was begging for the characters to get together. It was fun trying to see how they were going to comeback to each other.

A sweet second chance romance set in the world of academia? Yes please.

Allison and Colin dated in college until he suddenly ended their relationship. However, when they end up in the same Ph.D program AND end up as TAs for the same professor they become rivals. That rivalry is taken one step further when the professor shares she can only take on one of them as an advisee. However, as they work together, they remember more and more why they dated in the first place.

I appreciated the author’s note prior to reading this about her intentions for including heavy topics to include fat shaming and fatphobia, and I thought those topics were handled beautifully. While reading Allison’s experiences, especially with her father, were challenging to read at times, reading the author’s note made those scenes feel so important and impactful. Allson was such a strong main character who managed to overcome so much trauma. Her growth throughout the book was incredible and I loved how she really found herself and came into her own here. I thought the romance was believable - it took a while for Allison and Colin to shift from rivalry to really trusting each other enough to try their relationship again. I appreciated the slower burn here because it felt needed. Overall, this was a great debut and I look forward to reading more from Jenny Howe.

Thank you to SMP Romance and OrangeSky Audio for the advance copies.

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me a chance to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The Make-Up Test was lack luster. The main conflict was off putting to me, and could have easily been avoided had the two characters just talked to each other as adults. But, I guess then there wouldn’t have been a book. It wasn’t easy to connect with Allison, I think my problem with Allison lies with her lying about how successful her TA’ing was going. It just rubbed me the wrong way. Colin was terrible. The ending left a bad taste in my mouth. I just wished this book lived up to the hype. We need more body positivity books, while this book nailed that, the rest of the story just fell flat for me.

2.5-3 stars. I was expecting more from The Make-Up Test, as I often found it a little cheesy. Overall, this was a cute, quick read that I think many people will enjoy if their in the mood for a second chance romance. I also really appreciated the author’s note at the beginning of the book!

I want to thank NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for an audiobook ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

I do not doubt that many people will probably like this romance. It's got a pining hero, with a second chance romance, and it's set in academia (a hot topic nowadays). I actually liked how the hero read on the page, it was the major conflict of the book that I had a problem with. Not only did I have a problem with this conflict, but the book also didn't agree with me and so... we didn't get along. The problem is that the conflict is not just a part of the plot, is central to the whole plot, and so I couldn't escape the thing I felt worked the least in this book. On top of all that, the third act conflict is just a rehash of the main issue without (in my opinion) a satisfactory solution! The book makes it seem like the heroine is the one who has made a mistake or needs to apologize which I thought was BS. These two shouldn't be together, in a real professional setting this hero would be my mortal enemy and it could have all been prevented with a "hey, I'm working on X... is that okay?" urgghhshsh.

The audiobook narrator takes a little time to find her stride, but she does, and I really do like how she read the male parts.

The Make-Up Test is described as ONE TO WATCH meets BEACH READ in the synopsis, and I agree wholeheartedly. I empathize with the MC Allison as she is a more-to-love character navigating positive body image among others' opinions. This book is a second-chance, enemies-to-lovers, and rivals-to-lover romance novel. It made me relieve my graduate school days and the stress of being a teaching assistant while balancing school and work. The banter between Allison and Colin was so great, and I felt their chemistry. This book does cover sensitive issues such as body shaming, psychological and verbal abuse, parental neglect, and dementia which are all realistic. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a great job. I recommend checking out this book!

Thank you, St. Martin's Griffin and OrangeSky Audio, for my gifted copies.

Sigh. Yet another book with a cute rom com cover that’s not a cute rom com. The writing is fine (which is why I gave it four stars), but this character angsts over everything. This feels more like women’s fiction than romance. Some readers may enjoy it, but it’s not for me. DNF.

I had such high hopes for this one.  A second chance romance set in academia? Yes please. 
What I got was not exactly that. 

She spent so much time angry at him for doing totally normal things that fell into his job responsibilities.  He took the classes he was TA-ing seriously, well he must be undermining her.  He throws credit to her for ideas that came out of a private conversation in front of the students and their professor; well he must have forgotten that he was directing praise toward her.

Yes, they had a kind of ugly break up in undergrad but I would hope that people have grown since then.  I just never really saw it from her and it started to tank my mood for the entire book.  She has a complicated relationship with both of her parents and I found myself not really caring when what was clear was going to happen with her dad, did.

I feel awful giving this book a low rating because there was very important messaging here but unfortunately the story just didn't hold it up.  The writing was solid and this was this author's debut but sadly I did not enjoy the majority of this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Jenny L. Howe delivers an absolutely nerd-tastic enemies-to-lovers academia romance debut! Allison and Colin dated in undergrad, but when he won a prestigious award out from under her, their relationship imploded. Now, they are back in battle at Claymore University, fighting for the mentorship of THE premier medievalist in the field. But a family emergency and a late-night road trip weaken the walls that she erected as she realizes that Colin 2.0 is a far cry from the Colin 1.0 who broke her heart two years before. The love she felt for him two years ago is still there, and tapping back into it would be almost too easy. Unable to resist, they fall headlong back into a relationship, but will their budding second chance survive the competition with so much on the line?

Stacey Glemboski is a gem of a narrator, and she delivers a fabulous performance. I found myself cleaning and doing chores I'd put off (and off and off) in order to keep listening.

My little English Lit heart was pitter-pattering out of my chest, and I had a hard time not racing downstairs to grab my own copy of Chaucer as Allison and Colin battled it out literary interpretation. Howe, a professor herself, captures the environment of academia incredibly well, along with the imposter syndrome that often plagues students pursuing higher educations.

The other thing? Allison is a plus-sized character. Issues surrounding fatphobia are introduced, but Howe handles them with care. Allison's dad is incredibly problematic, and there are other instances where Allison is on the receiving end of hurtful comments. (Howe even provides content warnings at the beginning of the book, so that's amazing!)

This is one of those reads where you immediately think “it’s perfect - for the RIGHT person”

Sooooo much of this book includes academia (higher literature) and is more new adult in nature. I think it’s done well, but the audience for this book does feel narrow.

Of course I love body positivity, a bit of enemies to lovers / second chance romance AND that strong, speak her mind FMC. I would say there’s a lot less character development than a normal romance.

I haven’t seen a lot of positive early reviews for The Make-Up test but I enjoyed it! The narration was great which really helps with any book.

Colin and Allison dated in undergrad where they broke up her sophomore year. They’re thrown together again in graduate school after two years apart when they’re assigned the same TA professor. Colin definitely had some growing up and personal development to work on, but I could see and feel how he cared for Allison. He definitely made mistakes, but she made a few too. I’m far from a medievalist, but I enjoyed his sweet romantic gesture at the end too. Colin 2.0 is mentioned, but I’m not sure Allison 2.0 is. They definitely seemed to work together on growing their relationship through a myriad of challenges

I will definitely check out future books by Howe! .

An emotional roller coaster has you swinging from chuckling to tears, but also a fair amount of frustration. The main character is both a strong independent PHD student and an insecure woman mostly due to the abusive relationship with her father over her weight. She strives to overachieve and compete with people even when a competition isn't necessary in order to feel that she is enough as is she is. The storyline is both compelling and frustrating. I love the growth that the main character, Allison, shows throughout the book as she really comes into her own, but her insecurities with her relationships with her best friend, father, mother, academic instructor, peers, students and everyone in between are a hiccup in her growth that she is incredibly slow to overcome. The romance is mix of second chances and enemies to lovers and can I just say that dude is a jackass. He screws her over in undergrad school then shows up and low key undermines her again in a field that he dismissed as frivolous when they were both in undergraduate school and yet is now pursuing. The narrator did an outstanding job of bringing the characters to life and I am looking forward to listening to more of their narrations in the future. Overall, the writing was well done, the characters well developed. The basic core of the connection to the story is the realism of the characters and their emotions. although I can't say that I loved the male lead. Overall, I found the story entertaining and it definitely pulled emotions from me so I am calling it a successful listen! It's great to see plus sized women getting better treatment and I will look forward to more writing from this author.

Allie is in graduate school and upset that she needs to see and be in class with her ex-boyfriend. Colin comes across as smarmy, obnoxious and full of himself. When I first started listening, I thought he was going to the the villain and Allie would fall in love with someone else.

But in reality, we have two insecure people who don’t treat each other right who somehow get back together. There is not much to like about either character. They are constantly trying to look smart and prove their worth. I was not really rooting for either of them.

Also, I listened to this and I found a couple of pop culture references that were strange. At one point she is talking about Hamilton and references the Schuyler sister. She pronounces it Shoo-ler. Then we are once again reminded of how Collin has to correct everyone’s grammar in an obnoxious way like Stannis Baratheon. What does that have to do with Stannis Baratheon.

This one just didn’t work for me. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This book sounded so good, so why did I dislike it so much? Oh right, because I hated the main characters.

Lets start with Colin, the insecure little twat. He was terrible. He needed constant validation from others - mostly from Allison -, his main personality trait was liking and wearing cardigans, and he treated Allison terrible. Not only was his reason for breaking up with her for the first time completely selfish, he never even groveled. I found him pathetic.

Allison wasn't as bad as him, but she wasn't a good character either. She lacked any kind of self-respect and constantly let everyone in her life walk all over her. I wanted her to go through some character development and to get stronger, but by the end of the book she was just as weak as she was in the first place. She even apologised to Colin for something that wasn't her fault at all, but apparently the author doesn't want the reader to hate Colin and therefore tried to made it seem like he wasn't the one who was in the wrong. The author failed, by the way.

I also didn't feel like it was necessary to include mentions of the pandemic into the book since it didn't affect the plot in any way. I just personally don't want to be reminded that the world is a terrible place at the moment when I read a romance if it isn't absolutely necessary.

Since I listened to the audiobook I feel like I should probably mention that I didn't really like the narrator. Her general narration was fine, but the voice she did for Colin wasn't good and probably played into my dislike for him as well.

Should you revisit an old relationship when it ended so terribly? That’s the crux of the story. Will they or won’t they? Can old hurts be forgiven? Allison and Collin met and dated in college until Collin turned out to be a serious heartbreaker in the meanest soul sucking way. Allison is moving on with her life, mostly comfortable with who and where she is in her career. She’s starting her dream Phd program and who shows up, but HIM. They are colleagues and in competition for the one coveted spot working with Allisons dream professor. Collin has stolen so much from her and she is not willing to lose this opportunity, but he is a tough competitor and will stop at nothing to get he position and to get her back into his life. Honestly, I found that for a women who is seemingly so confident in some ways, so very weak when it came to Collin. And Collin, mostly a pompous jerk of a guy who seemed only to care about what he wanted and how he felt. Through a lot of miscommunication, some whining and a some eventual growth they find their way to a HEA.

This book was cute, but wasn’t overwhelming. It was not one of those, I can’t wait to read at the end of the day or during nap time kind of books, but at the same time, I did enjoy it. The characters were cute, the storyline was enjoyable and the interactions between the characters were fun. It was an enjoyable read, just not one that I can rave about. Overall a great message about loving yourself, and giving people the chance to grow and change.

Allison is in her dream Ph. D. program after years of hard work. She is on cloud-9 until she discovers that her ex-boyfriend, Colin, was accepted to the same program. When they find themselves working (and competing) for the attention of the same professor, Allison refuses to let Colin win. After a family emergency, she begins to wonder if they would be better off working together - and maybe getting back together.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copies.

3.5 stars

Profane cross-stitches, dogs, good friends/food & books = so many of my favorite things in one book!

I really enjoyed the FMC, Allison, that she stood up for herself, and was a plus-size woman. She was strong, didn't do what was expected of her if she didn't want to and it was fabulous. However, I really didn't love the second-chance romance with her ex, Colin. It did not feel like he changed at all from their past and the miscommunication!!! Are they in university or high school?!

It probably didn't help that I have no interest in medieval literature and that was a huge part of the book.

All that aside, the writing and narration of the audiobook were very well done. I'll definitely be giving Howe's next book a shot!

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press & OrangeSky Audio for advance copies in exchange for an honest review!

I listened to the audio version and while I liked the narrator, I did not like the book. The author focused so much on the main character’s weight that the story was boring. I didn’t like the characters and I stopped reading after 30%. I’m sure others will love it but this was not the book for me.

The rivals and their battle were just too much for me. I loved the actual writing but hated the characters. I felt like I couldn’t trust Allison Avery’s judgement of Colin. Claymore was hers. The last “once-in-a-lifetime” moment ended up being not all bad. Colin got some points there, but I just couldn’t get past the fact that Allison let Colin back in. When they were having the get together with the other TAs in the beginning of the book (listened to the audio), I felt like Colin was so cringey touching her and trying to take up for her. At that point, I thought Allison was smart. Later in the book, I started to like Colin when he was with his family because I could see he was just TRYING TO MAKE THEM HAPPY. UGH! Another moment was—- Spoilerrrrr——— Allison’s DAD! Ughhh I loved the writing here. I loved the way we hated her dad. How could a dad be so awful to his daughter? How could a father almost hate their daughter because they were plus size??? Ugh did this make Allison any stronger? i didn’t feel like Allison had enough character development or growth with that issue because her father dies. I’m just so torn with this book!

I absolutely hated Colin so much that it took me out of this book. Also, don’t want to give spoilers, but I was so aggravated that we’re somehow supposed to blame Allison for his shortcomings.