A fast read about reality vs unreality television, that is shows that manufacture drama for ratings focusing on a show about fat women overcoming the stigma of size to find confidence, success, and love in their daily lives. The characters have compelling personalities and highly empathic personalities and bring spirit and angst realistically into the story. There’s also plenty of puppy and kitty love and protection to amp things up. Altogether a charming romance that leaves a reader feeling good.

Everly Winters plays it safe until her favorite show crashes into her office and forces her out of her comfort zone and into the arms of a cameraman. This was such a cute, fun story and I loved how much it talked about self-empowerment. Though I don’t relate to Everly’s struggles with weight, some of her revelations hit me and made me think about my own life. My only challenge was the portrayal of the TV show and how it talks about empowerment…but then you see it’s only selling stories. I wanted more for the audience than a journey being a “narrative” (even though I know that’s how reality TV works). Overall, great for fans of romcoms who also want to do some self-reflection.

Thank you, @stmartinspress and @netgalley, for the review copy!

Synopsis:

Everly Winters is perfectly happy to go through life appreciated but unnoticed, that's why she's still a receptionist instead of exploring a career in art, and why she lurks instead of posting in forums for her favourite makeover show, On the Plus Side, and why she's crushing so hard on her unattainable colleague. Until someone secretly nominates her for the next season of OTPS. Overwhelmed by the extroverted hosts, she finds a surprising friendship with the grump cameraman, Logan. When their growing connection is caught on camera, the shows ratings go into a frenzy. Learning to love herself on national TV is hard enough; can Everly risk heartbreak with the whole world watching?

Review:

I knew I was going to love this book after reading the Author's Note at the *start* of the book where she talks about reclaiming the word "fat". I wish people didn't see it as a bad word because let's be real, some of us are fat - which doesn't mean that we aren't beautiful, smart, athletic or anything else, but people often react in a way that says otherwise. Everly is a beautiful, fierce, FAT and bold FMC and I loved reading about her and following on her journey of finding her *best* self all while falling in love. I enjoyed the hosts of the show, as well as Logan, the perfect grumpy sunshine. I highly recommend this book to everyone, fat or not, because we all need to unlearn the negative associations we've made with fat bodies, and if you've ever felt insecure about anything, you'll be able to relate to the FMC.

I received this copy in exchange for an honest review.

On the Plus Side is a friends to lover, reality show based story that has likeable characters and a good flow to its plot. I enjoyed the chemistry and moments between the main characters and also the supportive squad that they had around them. I also liked that it included plus sized rep and encouragement of liking oneself- body, mind and soul.

This was a fun, cute read. It wasn't anything overly special to me, but I enjoyed it. I think there wasn't enough adventure in it. Probably a mood issue this time.

Due to St. Martins Press refusal to address the remarks made by their employee regarding Palestine, I will not be reviewing this book on social media. This in no way has anything to do with the author. But I refuse to support anything from SMP because of their refusal to address a major issue at hand.

Everly is nominated to be on her favorite makeover show, which she never saw herself doing. She's perfectly happy fading into the background and not being noticed, but this experience will bring her front and centerstage. She then develops a sweet friendship with the cameraman, Logan, who is an absolute sweetheart. Although he appears to be just a big grump, he is supportive, kind, and understanding and they both begin to develop feelings beyond friendship.
I really enjoyed the concept of the story and the message it was trying to convey. It's nice to see more real women being portrayed as the heroine of stories, and getting their happy endings as well. Everly was such an inspirational character and so easy to relate to. The author did a really nice job in focusing not on making Everly's appearance "better", but instead embracing herself and her beauty, both inside and out. Watching Everly find herself and fall in love was such great fun. The story is moving, but also light-hearted and while there are some serious moments, there are plenty of humorous ones to balance it out. This was a well-written entertaining and heartwarming story with endearing characters, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to read it.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a complimentary copy. This is my honest and voluntary review.

On the Plus Size follows Everly Winter as she is cast to be a participant on her favorite reality tv show that makes over fat women. This show is beyond What Not to Wear and Queer Eye. It follows participants for several episodes as they receive help on all facets of their lives. Unexpectedly, Everly gets more than she bargained for when she starts falling for the grumpy camera guy. ⁣

I really enjoyed reading On the Plus Side. The concept for this book/the show is fantastic, and I desperately wish it actually existed. In addition, this book has some of the best fat representation that I have read, especially when it comes to family dynamics. It would be so refreshing to see fat people on television with no context of losing weight, but I digress.

With the exception of a few characters readers are clearly not supposed to like, I liked On the Plus Side‘s characters. In particular, Everly makes a great protagonist. She undergoes a lot of personal growth over the course of the book, allowing her to open herself up to love and the career of her dreams. While I did not love the unnecessary and pointless grumpiness of the male main character, I thought they had great chemistry and loved him going to bat for Everly. He received bonus points in my book for wearing flannel and rescuing elderly dogs. I just wish he had been as well-developed as Everly. ⁣

I did not really find any major faults with this novel. My one big critique is that there were far too many mentions of Schrodinger’s box. It is one of those things that, if you reference more than once, it really sticks out and becomes annoying. There was a handful of references to it, which just seemed weird.

Overall, I really enjoyed On the Plus Side and recommend it. If you love a feel-good book, have not read a book with fat rep that doesn’t include weight loss, or need a reminder of the insane audacity of cishet white men, pick up this novel.

Everly is pretty content going through life unnoticed and not taking big risks. But when someone from her life nominates her for On the Plus Side, a plus-size makeover show, all of that is about to change. As she goes through the season, there is a lot that overwhelms her introverted self. However, she finds comfort in the growing friendship with Logan, the show’s camera man. As that friendship turns into attraction, and as that attraction is caught on camera, more and more attention comes Everly’s way and she’s not sure she can handle it all.

I LOVED this book. A plus size makeover show had potential to go very wrong, but this was executed beautifully. The makeover was not about Everly’s physical appearance, instead the focus was all about growing her confidence to help her life unapologetically. Everly’s relationship with Logan was also amazing. The lack of drama between them was perfect - they really stayed a team even when that huge 3rd act conflict hit and handled it so maturely. Logan himself was so sweet. I also loved the behind the scenes of the reality show and all the side characters associated with the show added an extra layer of fun!

I loved listening to the audiobook which was narrated by Zura Johnson. She was easy to listen to and did a fantastic job bringing the story to life.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Spotify Audiobooks, and NetGalley for the advance copies.

I haven't loved reality show romances in the past but this one was fun and thoughtful with good chemistry and banter and real talk about fatphobia in the world

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the characters - especially the hosts! Jazzy and Stanton were a breath of fresh air. The chemistry between Everly and Logan was fantastic. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed - the conflict came too close to the end. And I wanted to see more interaction between Sady and Everly in the pivotal conflict scenes.

Unfortunate DNF at 14%. I got distracted by other books and feel no desire to go back and see what Everly is up to. I appreciated the premise and the size representation this story gives us, it just felt flat. While I only made it a short amount into the story, the male main character felt flat too. I've read some other reviews and it seems there are some other readers who felt that too. I also didn't love that Everly's mother harps on her size so much. I'm sure this is a very true to life mother/daughter relationship, but it felt a bit too icky and not something I was interested in exploring more.

There were so many moments when I was squealing and kicking my feet, which is rare for me! I laughed and cried during this book. As an animal lover, I fell even harder for Logan when he revealed that part of himself. Everly and Logan’s relationship was absolutely freaking adorable and I’m obsessed. The way Logan loved Everly is EVERYTHING. I want my own Logan 😫

There was the perfect mixture of romance and focus on Everly’s own issues. Everly’s flaws were so relatable and written so well. I seen myself in Everly so many times throughout this. I loved her character development. It felt real and I loved how Logan helped her through it all.

I can’t say enough good things about this novel. It was utter perfection to me. Logan is definitely my newest book boyfriend. And the whole reality TV premise? I loved it.

I loved everything about this so much! Everyone should add this to their tbr or just read this ASAP!

I found this book to be a joyful novel of self discovery and finding your worth. Everly is the biggest fan of On the Plus Side, a smaller streaming show that focuses on Plus size women becoming confident and getting make overs that highlight their personality, not hiding their weight.

Everly is chosen for the third season as the first contestant and she is nervous, excited, and deeply insecure about herself. Throughout the book Everly grows and learn more to embrace herself and her needs.

There is also some romance and some people trying to take advantage of her situation.

Overall, as a plus sized women i felt seen in this book, but not because of having the same body type, but having had alot of the same thoughts and feelings in my life as Everly is working through.

Rating ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Spice 🌶 🌶 🌶

This was my first book by this author and definitely wont be my last! This was exactly the sweet, heartwarming and empowering book I'd hoped it would be. I loved the premise of this book. I have watched so many of those makeover shows and this was such a great take on it. I really rooted for Everly and how she saw the show as her opportunity to take back her own life and grow into the person she wanted to be. I adored her dynamic with Logan. Their banter and the palpable attraction between the two radiated from the pages. I was really drawn into the plot. I found it well paced and I thought the resolution was perfectly done and made sense for all the characters involved.

This was a perfect little grumpy sunshine rom com that had such a beautiful message about loving yourself where you are instead of where you think you should be.

Everly has been picked to be on the newest season of On the Plus Side after being secretly nominated. On the Plus Side is a reality makeover show featuring fat people. She wants to find the courage to be unapologetically herself and go after her artistic dreams again after years of “disappearing” as a way to deal with a toxic relationship with her mother.

Along the way to that freedom, Everly becomes friends with the two hosts, Jazzy and Stanton, who show her that she is enough and fat is not a flaw. The grumpy cameraman, Logan, becomes her loudest fan and they start falling for each other.

I really love this one. Jenny L. Howe’s writing is just lovely here. Everly is a strong FMC that doesn’t minimize herself because she is fat. She has spades of body positivity that was so nice to read. There is not enough body positivity in books and how it was written as conversations between Everly and Logan showed that being fat isn’t a handicap. I loved that Everly found her way and was embraced by Logan, the hosts, her best friend and the rest of her family. The book was an excellent representation of strong leads, communication, and empowerment and it had me tearing up at times. The chemistry between Everly and Logan didn’t hurt either. 😍

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. On the Plus Side is out now.

I am so thrilled to have had the opportunity to view an ARC—my very first—of Jenny’s upcoming novel. Melissa and I are not quiet about our love of this author and her work, and this book was everything we had been hoping for and so much more. This one checks all the boxes for me: reality tv setting, witty dialogue, dogs 🤣, strong female lead on a journey of self-discovery, and a completely endearing cinnamon roll love interest who melted my heart at every turn. The past several months have been a bit more stressful for me personally, as I am about to start a new job in just a couple of weeks, and this story was exactly what I needed as a reminder that while change can be scary and hard, it can also be the best thing to ever happen to you. Everly found her voice, was bold, and decided to put herself first—something I am trying to do a lot more lately, unapologetically. I cannot wait until this book releases in December, and hope you add it to your list, as it was just the cup of cocoa with a shot of whiskey that my heart needed.

BEAUTIFUL. GORGEOUS. STUNNING. POWERFUL.

The journey I took while reading this book was enlightening and also so therapeutic. Everly has always been fat. And she’s had the unfortunate and all too common comments from her mom that tend to break her down, even though it shouldn’t. She loves the show On the Plus Side and is nominated to star on it.

She goes forward with the show and upon going through the motions, she grows familiar with the camera man, Logan. And let me tell you, he is GORGEOUS. And also such a MAN. I love him.

Their journey is simply the sweetest thing I’ve ever read and this is my favorite book of 2024.

Thank you Jenny Howe for writing it!

I really enjoyed Jenny L. Howe's On the Plus Side.

This is an easy romance read that includes everything from plus size representation, self-love, steamy romances, witty banter, and a bonus of it all being set on a reality tv show!

The whole book deals with really digging deep and figuring out who you are on the inside, not just about the outside. And I really enjoyed the way Howe wrote this journey for the main character.

Highly recommend!

"On the Plus Side" tells the story of Everly Winters, a plus-size woman who lands a spot on a popular makeover reality show. Although some of the plot is predictable, this story had funny dialogue, heartwarming romance, and what I believe to be an empowering message. It takes themes of body image, self-acceptance, and finding love. Jenny Howe's writing becomes a comfort and a story I will tend to reach for repeatedly. We need more covers and voices like this heard. If you are looking for a rom-com that talks about heavy items in a lighthearted way this is the book for you.

Tropes:
Reality Makeover TV Show
Grumpy/Sunshine
Slow Burn
Forced Proximity

Arc received from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.