A good book about body positivity and loving yourself. I thoroughly enjoyed her journey and opening up to love despite past hurts. They were just lovely together and I really loved seeing them confront their fears and hurts together and overcoming them!

This book follows the main character as she is the star of a show called on the plus side. The main character has a lot of insecurities that she works through during the show. I liked the concept and thought the story was cute. However, it was a tad bit boring and I felt the romance aspect was not genuine and came off pushed. I think the book would’ve been nice if it didn’t focus on romance at all and just about self love. Overall a cute and quick read!

Everly feels like too much in multiple ways, but she is actually just right, and so is her book. I loved the connection between her sunshine and grumpy Logan. Their banter and their steamy scenes were great. Side characters were lovable, the villain was surprising, and the conclusion was perfect. A definite one-to-read.

This one gets an upward-leaning 3.5 stars because while I did enjoy it, it was not as much as I was hoping I would even it I can't pinpoint a specific reason why.
Everly Winters has let her mom destroy her self-confidence so she lives in a way that will ensure she never stands out. Until the hosts for her favorite makeover show On the Plus Side show up at her work and tell her she's the new guest. Her life gets turned upside down and she's being pushed to test her limits and break out of her shell, but the showrunner has a story she wants to tell and it's not exactly the one Everly wants or needs. She'll have to have to trust in herself and the new relationships she's opened up to in order to make her voice be heard and achieve what she truly wants.
I love the body positivity and the overall message of loving yourself for how great you are without letting others get you down, even if it does feel like it's getting pushed a little too hard at times. I also enjoyed Howe's reframing of the word fat so that it loses its negativity.
Overall, I think the message sold me on the story more than the characters and that's why I'm not rating it higher.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the positive read!

I picked this up because of the plus size representation and am glad I did. It was cute, funny, and lighthearted. A perfect read if you've just finished an extra heavy book. I loved Everly and Colton. Their dynamic really drew me in. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*A review will be added on social media and good reads after the SMP review boycott is over*

For lovers of romances set on reality shows, this book could not be more perfect. On The Plus Side follows Everly, a woman who has recently been nominated to appear on her favorite reality make over show focusing on plus sized participants, and leaves with more than she bargained for. She quickly strikes up a romance with the show's camerman, Logan, and gains the confidence to pursue what she really wants out of life.

Reality TV based romances are somehow a niche of mine that I love. I think On the Plus Side does a phenomenal job of showing the reality behind the television production, while still helping the reader feel immersed in the show, production, and relationships. The inclusion of forum posts, production notes, and articles really help to give the reader greater context for everything going on without info dumping a lot of information in the readers' laps.

Lastly, something I have to admire about this romance is there is no third act break up for the central couple. It's a trope that is still seen far too often, and I'm always pleased and delighted to see an author not only find a way to maintain the usual romance formula without a break up, but do it well. This was a great read.

I loved this book. The author created a character that made me laugh and cry at the same time. The author wrote a very thoughtful author's note explaining the character's relationship with her mother and apologized if it was triggering. The situations that Everly found herself in on the show horrified and amused me. And the ending was perfect!!

I'm really glad that I didn't read other reviews prior to reading this as I might have missed this fun but inspired read. I used to be a serious reality TV junkie (no longer watch much TV at all nowadays) and On The Plus Side is probably one I would have loved. Seeing people who looked like me learning to live their best lives sounds like a winner. But as this story shows you, there are always people in the background trying to change your story. Such us true in real life. Other people's perceptions of you color how you view yourself and learning to be you is not always easy. I got my 2024 word from this story and I'm grateful. My only issue is feeling like Everly needed a man to complete her.

This book was so cute, heart warming and also important in it talking about body positivity and plus sized people.
Giving it a solid 4.3/5
The characters were great, I only scored it slightly lower because Everly was at times really annoying, especially towards her mom.
But definitely felt like I was watching a Queer Eye episode and I loved every minute reading the book.
Definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a different kind of read.

Note: thanks publishers and netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange of an unbiased review.

3.5 stars!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an early copy of this book.

This book was good! The first half sort of read like a women’s fiction until the romance picked up around the 50-60% mark.
I loved the female main character’s development and she was really relatable! It’s nice to see different body types represented in female leads!
The ending did feel a little bit rushed, it would’ve been nice to see more of a resolution than what we saw but other than that the storyline was enjoyable and easy to follow!

OMG I related to this book SO. HARD. I absolutely loved it from beginning to end, which is not normal for me when it comes to romance, if only because I'm a bit too cynical to suspend my disbelief as much as the genre requires. But Howe captures the experience of feeling like too much and not enough at the same time so well, I couldn't help but buy in. Even better, the writing and plot did not disappoint. Consider me a fan. I'm putting Howe on my must-read list from here on out!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As far as romance novels about plus-size FMCs go, this one was on the less annoying end of the spectrum. I'm a bigger girlie, I get the struggle. And I want to see more women like myself be the star of the show. But so often I feel like they're just pandering.

On the Plus Side felt like it had some bite to it, though. Mostly you see that in Everly's relationship with her mother. But, that felt real in a way that doesn't usually happen. It's also a unique spin on a reality show themed rom-com to have the FMC fall in love with a crew member instead of a co-star.

This was a sweet, low-stakes romance novel that I think is perfect if you don't want something stressful.

Simply obsessed with this book!!! The color scheme of the cover, the plus size rep (done exquisitely and not cringey), the TWO MMC love interests, the reality show vibes (What Not To Wear meets Queer Eye), the Reddit-esque message board/forum (that made me laugh out loud so many times)

Simply put the vibes of this book were hilarious and immaculate.

4.5⭐️

Happy pub week @jennylhowe 🧡

Special thanks to NetGalley @stmartinspress and St Martin’s Griffin for the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion

#ontheplusside #jennylhowe #stmartinspress

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of On the Plus Side to review!
In Jenny L. Howe's second novel we follow a woman named Everly who has just been chosen as the next guest on her favorite reality TV show that can best be described as a combination of What Not to Wear and Queer Eye for plus-sized women (with the show being conveniently titled On the Plus Side). As they start filming Everly begins to experiencing everything that the show promises for their guests: an updated wardrobe, more confidence, and advice on how to make her dream career a reality. However, as the show progresses, Everly is promised more than just acceptance and style but also a potential new relationship with the shows primary cameraman Logan. This is a super cute romance full of love, personality, and learning how to accept yourself unconditionally.
I really liked everything that On the Plus Side had to offer! I loved the reality TV show aspect and as someone who also grew up watching What Not to Wear I could picture so many of the scenes perfectly in my mind. I thought Everly was a great main character and although I initially liked James a lot more than I liked Logan, Logan ended up growing on me in the end. In the beginning James was always very friendly while Logan was basically the complete opposite so it was hard to become interested in the love-interest that I knew I was supposed to be interested in at first because I had a hard time really seeing what was wrong with James. Although both of Jenny Howe's books have plus-size representation, in The Make-Up Test the representation was just an aspect of the main character's appearance while this book included the plus-size representation as a far more integrated aspect of the book. Because of this, I really ended up liking the representation in this book because it felt very educational to someone who doesn't know nearly enough about plus-size discrimination. I also really liked a lot of the open and honest conversations that Everly had with the other characters about her body and how her size often affected her self-confidence and self-worth, among other things. In the end, I thought this was a really great book and I'm looking forward to continuing to read more of Jenny Howe's books in the future.

This book was a really fun read! I grew up loving What Not to Wear and this book feels like a healthy take on What Not to Wear and Queer Eye combined. On the Plus Side (the TV show within the book) takes Everly on her own adventure in learning to come out of her shell. While she starts to become more comfortable with herself, the show isn’t showing her journey, but instead is playing up a showmance with her coworker! Everly really learns who she is with help from the cohosts of On the Plus Side and the handsome cameraman, Logan. The plot of this was just perfect! Some of the writing and repetitiveness was not for me, but I really enjoyed the originality! 4⭐️, 2🌶

I loved this unique and fresh story! I really connected with Everly and loved reading about her experience growing comfortable and confident with herself while in the public eye.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC of this novel. I thought this was super cute and I really enjoyed the confidence evolution of Everly. It felt like a real person reclaiming themselves and an interesting look at some reality TV and how it is not quite reality. The relationship with Logan is very sweet and I loved the end of it. Give this a read! 4 stars.

DNFd at 21%.

Objectively this book is really good and I liked the writing style. Just not for me right now. I didn't feel connected to the characters or anything.

*Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley earlier this month. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to read and review it before its release.

Rate: 4-Starts
Spice: 1.5 Chili Peppers

I really enjoyed this book. As a plus-sized woman, it is always nice to see representation and Ms. Howe did it well. I really enjoyed how Everly bloomed in this book and how she found herself again. From quiet and unsure to funny, sexy, confident, and assured she became. I love her relationship with her brother and sister-in-law/best friend and Logan, wow, and o boy, did I love Logan and how thoughtful and understanding he was and how he wasn’t so blind that he couldn’t see the wrong in what was happening despite trying to be loyal.

Everly relationship with her mom is unfortunately true for so many of us. Even when our moms are plus-size too, they don’t always go about protecting us in ways that don’t hurt us. I hated James and I’m really glad that was a non-triangle.

The spice was minimal and glossed over a lot hence the 1.5 peppers.
This was a cute book and I really enjoyed reading it.

I loved this book! Has it all, characters you root for, relationship growth and evolution, reality tv drama, dogs, and more.

On the Plus Side centers around Everly, with her getting ambushed to participate on a more inclusive version of what not to wear. She's been in a bit of a rut but will the show pull her out? Nothing quite like she expected.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.