I honestly enjoyed this book so much. Being plus size "fat", it's always been a touchy subject for me. After reading this, I truly see myself in a better light and embrace myself in whatever stage I'm in.. even if I'm fat! Shape doesn't define you. The main character is truly inspiring and relatable. I loved every bit. Several times I giggled out loud and multiple times I got teary eyed. Such an inspiring and moving story, but in a light hearted way. Wonderful for others in the fat community seeking to find their self-love and confidence to realize they're "striking"! I've never felt more seen in my life. If you're part of the fat community trying to break fat phobia and your own insecurities to just truly LIVE, you need to read this.

I received this ARC from NetGalley to read and review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

This was an adorable read. As a plus-sized person myself, I'm loving the representation and I can see parts of myself, and I appreciate the works.


With that being said, it's a little choppy. It can be fixed absolutely - but the pacing needs to be analyzed again. Thank you net galley :)

It was a pleasure reading On the Plus Side! It’s rare to find a story, centered around a plus size character, that accurately depicts the experience of living in a larger body and finding yourself. I loved the emphasis on Everly’s career and creative ambitions. Her feelings and her mother’s fears resonated with my experience. This was a delightful read and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to enjoy this arc!

Did I love this book? Yes! Did I still give it 4 stars? Yes. But not for any bad reason! It’s a great story about finding yourself and finally learning to go after what you want in life. The only reason it got 4 stars is because I am not the biggest fan of the writing style but that’s my own opinion! Read Everly’s story and decide for you self! I promise you won’t regret it!

This was a cute plus size rom com and the premise was interesting with the reality show and the main character learns to have confidence in herself and in her work and learn to stand up for herself. The romance was hot and the behind the shenanigans of the reality show where they manufacture drama for views was spot on. Great fast read and I enjoyed it.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was a little apprehensive of this book. Sometimes books about fat people spend the whole book arguing that fat people deserve to live or harp on making the protagonist love their body, and while those are valiant causes, sometimes I just want to read a romance that doesn't mention how teeny tiny the protagonist is, not get into a huge debate about the politics of people's bodies. And then it's also grumpy sunshine?? I loved this read!

This was a super cute story with a lot of great elements! I loved the representation and the different characters. The reality show sub-plot was interesting and a great vehicle for a lot of the plot points. The cinnamon roll MC was a fantastic book boyfriend. I would have adored his POV in the book - even though I understand the choice to make the story about the FMC, front and center.

There was a lot going on in the FMC journey to find her voice and establish herself. I probably could have done without one or two of the sub-plots that ended up congesting some of the story line to me and keeping some areas more surface level than I would have liked. I LOVED the fact that there isn't a second-act break-up. That the two MCs are a solid team while dealing with the main conflict point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC for me to read and review. Definitely a solid contemporary romance read!

Maybe a 3.5 star read, but not strong enough for me to feel confident rounding up.

I thought this was a much stronger showing from Jenny L. Howe! Everly, our FMC, was so likable, you couldn’t help but root for her journey.

Our MMC, Logan, was - I wouldn’t say charming - but he felt solid and assured in a way I really enjoyed in contrast to the other cast of characters.

Any drama doesn’t feel fabricated out of thin air for the sake of drama, you could see the through-line throughout the book.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC!

I really enjoyed this book! It was the fasted I read a book in a few months because I could not put it down.

First of all, I feel as though Everly depicted my experience in the world as a fat person. Everly tried to disappear and hide her body with dark and shapeless clothes, which started at a young age due to her mother's actions. The growth that Everly felt with her mother felt so real that it made me want to reach out to my mother and talk about her own body image concerns. Watching Everly grow into a person who felt she could celebrate her body or be confident was a nice change.
In the beginning of the story, there was a focus on Everly wanting to be the best version of herself she could be, and in doing so, was able to attract Logan. Although Logan's character did not have a lot of depth, I feel as though this allowed Everly to be in the spotlight of her own story, which feels very appropriate.
Some of the plot points felt like a stretch, (such as the final conflict) but the story was more character driven.
The writing style was easy to read and I often found myself lost in the story. I will definitely be reading more books by this author and be seeking out more novels that depict plus sized characters (male and female!).

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

I requested to read and review this book for free from St. Martin Publishing Company. This book brings out many emotionsabout how we perceive our bodies and how others see us. I think it was a great read for onea that need to hear a little more about not being the "right size". This book makes you want to feel good about whatever size you are. There is some drama in the book that involves Evenly, Logan and the whole team of On the Plus Side. There is also romance and maybe a little mystery I might say. This is for a mature reader but can be read anywhere!

On the Plus Side is heartfelt, charming, and unexpectedly deep in its exploration of living life as a plus-size person in a world that can often expect you to change yourself to fit into what everyone else thinks you should be.

Everly is nominated to be on 'On the Plus Side,' a show that showcases plus-size bodies and their journeys to embrace themselves (think Queer Eye and What Not to Wear). She has been holding herself back after the loss of her grandmother, blending in rather than being herself. We get to see her transformation not only outwardly via clothes but also inwardly in her realization of how much she has let go of her dreams. In the process of being involved in the show, she manages to find herself falling for the grumpy, plaid-wearing cameraman, Logan, who sees so much more than Everly realizes.

There is reality show drama, workplace issues, family dynamics, and a cast of supporting characters that are all vibrant and have clear personalities all their own. And the banter between Logan and Everly is so much fun. The dialogue sounds real and sharp, and the slow unfolding of their relationship is executed perfectly. I love that the major conflicts are actually addressed and communicated clearly, instead of falling into a miscommunication trope.

Everly's character arc was a joy to read. The nuances of living life as a plus-size person (as well as the focus on learning how to reclaim your dreams and stop hiding) were handled with care. On the Plus Side serves up smiles, laughs, and a look at how to make changes in your life without losing yourself or your values in the process.

This is basically Dumplin' for adults, or a mash-up of Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade and Queer Eye. I really enjoy romance books about reality tv, and this is a great one. I found it very hard to put down, and it was such a feelgood read despite Everly dealing with fatphobia as well.

I really enjoyed this second romance from Jenny L. Howe. On the Plus Side has a much different setting - rather than the academic setting of The Make-Up Test, On the Plus Side (OTPS) is all about a reality TV show that sounds like Queer Eye meets What Not to Wear meets something else entirely. The reality show is all about helping plus sized people not only find a look they love but also make progress in their careers, explore their dreams, and overall find more happiness and fulfillment. FMC Everly is a serious fan of the show, and is shocked when the famous hosts, Jazzy and Stanton, show up to surprise her at work. Everly hasn't felt like herself in a while, ever since her beloved grandmother died, and she's put herself and her dreams on hold as a result. She works as a receptionist in a graphic design firm but doesn't want to take the leap to put her actual graphic design degree to use, and she's happy to have a crush on her hot co-worker James from a safe distance and do nothing about it. She has no fat friends in real life, and the only other fat person she knew was her grandmother, whose death hit her really hard. She agrees to go on the show because she's been so impressed with previous seasons and guests, and she's ready to start thinking about her art and her future in a different way. She's surprised to see that the experience of being on the show is not quite what she expected based on her years as a dedicated viewer, but she's vibing pretty hard with grumpy camera man Logan, who assures her that she showrunner has her best interests at heart. I really liked Everly and found her really relatable. While I think the positive fat representation was really important and powerful, I also think that Everly will resonate for anyone, fat or straight sized, who has ever felt a little bit stuck and unsure how to move in the direction they want. There's a lot of fatphobia that gets dealt with here, so a content warning for that, but I thought it was handled in a sensitive and productive way.

I really enjoyed this book. I saw so much of myself in Everly, in how she felt about herself, how she dealt with her mother, how she felt at work - she’s so relatable. And who doesn’t love a lumberjack love interest? No one. Literally everyone loves lumberjacks. Yum.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This was a delightful read with such fun characters. Everly was realistic with many insecurities and she was relatable. (I know someone who is very much like her ) Her chemistry with Logan was sparkling!
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Give me a romcom any day of the week but make it relatable and quirky and I’ll fly through it same day.
3.75 stars
The confidence factor had me a little on the fence -needing the support of another for confident and finally getting to believing in yourself.
Overall this was really cute

I loved this story! It had charm, romance, laughs and a bit of a thrill. I found myself smiling throughout and didn't want it to end! I loved Everlys character and despite her low self-esteem at times, she shined so bright! I think her character is quite relatable and readers will like that!

I really enjoyed Everly’s growth in the story. Well done. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

Thank you Jenny for this ARC. I am a huge fan of you as a person, so it’s an honor to read anything you might send my way.

On the plus side follows Everly being filmed for On The plus Side - a tv show that helps plus size woman rediscover their passions and fashion. In the process Everly realizes that maybe her favorite tv show has a few secrets of its own, and falls for its grumpy camera man Logan.

Overall I enjoyed this book. Some of the character past trauma felt a little forced or out of place, but I really like how the tv show aspect of it was handled.

📕 𝒪𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒫𝓁𝓊𝓈 𝒮𝒾𝒹𝑒
✍️ 𝒷𝓎 𝒥𝑒𝓃𝓃𝓎 𝐿. 𝐻𝑜𝓌𝑒


An overweight 20-something who’s lost her zest for life agrees to appear on her favorite reality tv show for plus sized people in an attempt to rediscover her true self and the happiness her life has been missing in this grumpy/sunshine, BBW romance.

Everly is too loud, too big, and simply too much for most people so she has been living her life in the shadows, hiding her true self away so well that now even she can’t find her. When she’s nominated to appear on her favorite reality TV show, On the Plus Side, Everly jumps at the chance to get some much needed lifestyle advice from her favorite plus sized heroes in an attempt to turn her life around and do what makes her happy. In the midst of filming, Everly and the show’s camera man, Logan, develop a mutual attraction. They both must walk a fine line in the hopes of keeping their budding relationship off the show and out of the public eye.

Written from the third person perspective and filled with valid and relatable subject matter, this one was cute and funny and will be the perfect romance for someone but managed to miss the mark for me. I typically love a BBW romance, but was put off by Everly’s lack of self confidence in this work. The way Everly attaches her self worth to someone else’s opinion of her and ultimate requires a team of people to help rediscover her lost confidence simply didn’t appeal to me. Logan, the love interest, was a likable, animal loving, plaid wearing “lumbersexual” but the romantic encounters themselves didn’t hold my interest or have me hoping for more. Ultimately, a sweet read with a cute premise but with characters I found myself unable to relate to and not enough spice in the romance to keep me invested. 🌟🌟🌟💫 (3.5/5)