I had very high hopes for this book but for some reason it just fell a little flat for me. I did not connect with the characters like I thought I would.

When Everly is nominated for a makeover show (think What Not to Wear meets Queer Eye), she leaves her swing dresses behind for curve-hugging fashions. In this grump meets sunshine romance, there is body positivity and queer representation.

On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe follows Everly Winters, who is content to live life on the sidelines and crush on her co-worker from afar. However, when someone secretly nominates her for her favorite TV show, On the Plus Side, a Queer Eye-esque show with the goal of helping plus sized people gain confidence and happiness, Everly's safe life she's built instantly starts changing. This overwhelming, but incredible, experience comes with two wonderful hosts and a cameraman to whom she seems to grow closer and closer.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. As someone who did not love Howe's previous novel, The Make-Up Test, I went into this book a bit apprehensively. However, this novel is a tremendous improvement from Howe's debut. The characters are more layered, interesting, and funny. The relationship build between Logan and Everly feels natural and comfortable and the premise is entertaining and creative.

There were a few areas that could be a bit stronger. The pacing was a little bit slow and the entire ending with the show (keeping this spoiler free) felt very unrealistic. In all, this book was cute and a nice easy read. The improvement from Howe's previous book to this one makes me excited to see what she'll write next. 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC.

What a fun book! I really enjoyed Howe's debut novel, so I decided to give this one a try. While reading, I almost felt like an audience member of the TV series the main character is taking part in, On the Plus Side. I found myself rooting for her more as an individual character than as part of a couple. While I did find the romance cute, I think I would've appreciated a bit more development time for the couple. I felt almost thrown into it, and I personally would've liked a bit more build up. I did however really enjoy reading about Everly's journey of rediscovery and regaining her confidence and achieving her goals, and I think she was an absolutely wonderful main character.

Thank you for creating a story for plus size girlies! It was refreshing and well done…and I can’t wait to read more!

I found this book compulsively readable. I enjoyed the characters and the plot just seemed to move along at a very nice clip... As with all romance, I had to suspend disbelief a bit, however I also just love these kinds of stories.

I found this to be a great follow-up to Jenny L. Howe's previous book and an overall fun read.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced readers copy of this book. I think it will be very well received when it is published in December!

This book was a breath of fresh air! I wish more books had top notch plus size representation like this one. Before I even started to read the actual book, I just want to point out and say that I really appreciated how Jenny addressed all the content warnings. I also really liked that she mentioned that she would use the word fat to describe the FMC because fat is not a bad word.
I really enjoyed how relatable Everly was. I could see a lot of myself in her character and for that I found her quite likeable. The romance in this book was really sweet! I could have done with a little bit MORE steam and a touch more conflict in my opinion. The heavier topics in this book were addressed with the appropriate amount of concern and care.
Overall this is a good read for anyone living in a plus size body looking for some good representation!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc for an honest review.

"Prepare to be swept away by the heartwarming journey of self-discovery and love in 'On the Plus Side' by Jenny Howe. Everly, the plus-sized protagonist, shines as she confronts her insecurities and embraces her true self on the beloved reality TV show she adores. Alongside her personal growth, Howe masterfully explores the complexities of family relationships and delivers a delightful love story that will leave readers with a warm and fuzzy feeling. Though there are a few steamy scenes, they are tastefully written, adding a touch of spice without crossing any uncomfortable boundaries. While there was one scene that didn't quite resonate, the overall emotional depth of the book makes it a truly captivating read. 'On the Plus Side' is an empowering and heartwarming novel that celebrates self-acceptance and the unexpected journeys that lead to love."

I love seeing plus size representation! The book was so relatable; very well done. The romance had a perfect blend of heavier topics within. Overall I really liked the character growth of Everly.

This was a fun easy read that left me feeling empowered!

I read this in one sitting, it was so intriguing I just couldn't put it down.

The message of body positivity was expressed very well.

The honesty put onto the page of being a fat woman was so nice to see.

And I enjoyed the romance a lot, such a sweet love story.

Overall this was a great read and I highly recommend to anyone!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book ahead of release in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this! This was such a quick and easy read! I was able to read this in one day. I will definitely be reading more by Jenny L. Howe! I loved the body-positivity and self-love that is present in the story. I really enjoyed the characters and the TV show setting. I found Everly to be extremely likable. The relationship was so believable and I truly enjoyed getting to see it develop. If you are looking for a book with body-positivity and a relationship you cannot help but root for I absolutely recommend “On The Plus Side.”

After Jenny L. Howe's excellent debut romance in 2022, I couldn't wait to read her next book. On the Plus Side is the story of 24-year-old Everly, who works in an administrative position at a design firm, even though she has artistic aspirations herself. After her father died many years ago, Everly started gaining weight, and her mother couldn't deal with it. Her grandmother, however, was her saving grace. She encouraged Everly to be herself, regardless of her plus-size body, and the message resonated with Everly. But when her grandmother died, Everly saw herself as "too much" and an object of scorn from fat-shamers. Her response was to make herself--her career, wardrobe, and personal life--as small and drab as possible.

But Everly is a huge fan of a TV reality show, also called On the Plus Side, where people who don't fit the standard mold are showcased, encouraged, and helped to shoot for their dreams. Soon--too soon, I thought--we learn that Everly has been recruited to appear on the show for several weeks, her nominator remaining anonymous. I would have liked a bit more background about Everly to create more depth. Her experience on the show has many benefits for Everly, along with some unpleasant surprises, but nothing that will surprise fans of TV reality shows. Her love interest is perfect--again, too perfect, I felt. There are usually some late roadblocks in a romance that threaten to break up the couple that anyone can see are right for each other, but the only roadblocks here come from the production company.

The story has its fun moments, but I don't think it held up to its high-concept plot. The body inclusivity theme is effective, but perhaps emphasized a bit too often. I much preferred and would highly recommend Howe's debut romance, The Make-up Test.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to rate this ARC.

After reading, On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe, I am at a loss on how to rate this story as a whole. My thoughts are all over the place so I think this review will be a breakdown of my thoughts with a smattering of highlights.

Let’s start with a short synopsis of the book. Everly Winters is a fat, seemingly middle of the road woman who works a very middle of the road reception job at a marketing firm. The story opens on her mooning over a hot coworker and we get a bit of a clue in that she chooses her job more out of safety and fear of rejection rather than a burning desire to answer phones. Basically, she’s basic because she’s choosing to be that way.
Everly is also a huge fan of a reality based tv show called “On the Plus Side” that showcases two plus sized hosts who choose ordinary fat people and shake up their lives. (The premise of the show is reminiscent of the real life “What Not to Wear” but centering on plus size people). Everly soon learns that she was nominated for the show and then is surprised by the hosts and crew at her job because she was chosen for season three.
Soon, Everly is thrust into a not so middle of the road adventure that has her confronting many social and personal demons, all while fostering a budding romance and learning to allow herself to take up space in this world. As much space as she needs, no matter the thoughts of others.

Now for my thoughts. I am going to first say that I am a fat woman, (and a loud one) so this review is coming from a place of seeing myself within this story and this main character. I am going to try to do my thoughts justice by listing them.
1. I thought the fat representation was honest and complex and I enjoyed it immensely. There was no back-peddling, no squirming around calling a spade, a spade. And that felt refreshing and real. Everly fought with her thoughts on how her clothing fit, how others perceived her because of her size (both physically and personality) and on her own identity.

“As she spoke, Everly tugged on the middle of her buttoned black cardigan to add a tad more room to the waist. Stupidly, she’d put it through the dryer last weekend and now it hugged her curves more than she’d hoped. But as she fussed with the buttons (her kingdom for some that didn’t gape at her breasts), Jazzy Germaine’s favorite line from On the Plus Side echoed in Everly’s head. ‘People see you the way you see yourself.’ “
“She wasn’t ready for her daydreams to become reality. She’d only be disappointed. Or worse, get her heart stomped on.”
“Becca hadn’t hesitated to chase her dreams, while Everly didn’t let herself have any.”
“Everly’s mother, half of social media, random passerby on the street, everyone had their own ideas about how someone who looked and acted like Everly should exist in the world. And navigating it all — insisting that she had the right to live exactly as she was — was exhausting. It was easier to blend in. Be quiet.”

2. I enjoyed the layers of interpersonal struggles with supporting characters that Everly had. I was able to gain a true sense of who Everly was and her moral compass throughout the story by watching as she dealt with her fat-phobic mother. Her “nice” male coworker (who had no boundaries), her dealings with the shows pushy and manipulative showrunner. All of these characters and the interactions that Everly had with them helped me to connect and root for the character growth, or really just the emergence of her true self, and had me believing in her story completely.

“Oh yeah, she let me keep everything.’ Everly snorted. At the sound, her mother’s eyes jumped to Everly, her face scrunched in distaste. But for once, Everly didn’t choke her laugh back or try to hide it.”
“She’d learned that James was one of those people whose niceness was dangerous. They didn’t understand boundaries and it could make the signals they sent wildly unclear. Flirty and nice weren’t the same.”
“As if the only way for Everly to be happy and feel good about herself was to have as many guys chasing her as possible.”

3. My issue was the romance. In my opinion, it fell flat. It was almost too real of a romance? If that even makes any sense at all. There wasn’t enough of that tingle or enough depth to truly push me into rooting for them. Honestly, it felt kind of like a cop out in way. Let me explain, this entire story shines a light on a very real thing that happens to those of us who are loud and bright personalities that are also fat. We feel like too much and are told we are too much by the world. Told this from our families, our friends and then our own thoughts. We take up too much space physically, so we need to be quiet in our personalities. On the Plus Side gives the reader a look into the inner struggles of someone who is told this and what it’s like to break away from those constraining thoughts and come into your full self. SHE DIDN’T NEED A ROMANCE TO GET THERE. The guy was fine. He was a cinnamon roll, he was supportive and communicative. He did all the right things, also kind of annoying because of it. But, I would have rather seen Everly Winters walk through things without leaning on the fact that someone loved her romantically. I can see how it helped move the story along but, eh.

My conclusions are complicated. I really enjoyed the representation and the feelings of being seen through this book. I did not care for it as a romance. I thought it was almost something and had great little bits in between. Here are a few of my favorite quotes to end this review.

“I was too exhausted and scared to do the Collective without my grandmother. If she had been my mirror. Now I was staring at an empty wall. I didn’t know where I fit anymore. The art that had made me so proud looked silly. Weird. I was too afraid people wouldn’t understand what I was doing. I knew it would break my grandmother’s heart to see me quit, to see me give in to my fears, but it felt safer. Disappearing is safer… then there’s never the chance that I might be all the things I’m afraid I am: too weird, too loud, too awkward… too much.”

“Some words should not be recorded. They should exist in one moment and then poof, disappear. They should be captured only in memories that would never quite get at the truth of them.”

“He was the first guy I dated who ever truly made me feel like he understood me.’ A soft smile spread over Becca’s face. ‘ And it wasn’t the big things, like when he proposed to me using that graphic novel, or when he brought Cream Cheese home despite how much that cat hates him. It was the tiniest moments. Like how he makes sure to find out if an animal dies before we watch any movie, because he knows I will completely fall apart. Or how he does meal prep the week of my period because he knows my anxiety spikes and I can’t make decisions. None of my quirks, the things that feel messy to me, were ever flaws to him. They were just part of who I was. And he’s always loved all of me.”

“I have plans to smother him with his cat tonight while he sleeps.”

“No. Different was the wrong word. More was how she felt; more like herself.”

On the Plus Side is a story about Evelyn, a plus size woman who goes on a reality show to help get her confidence back and become comfortable with herself. I love the representation of a FMC in a bigger body. It is hard to find many “main stream” books or tv shows with this representation. A lot of what Everly went through throughout the book is relatable to anyone in a larger body. However, I struggled to get into this book. The story started off so fast paced, and I found it a little hard to follow. As the characters and story lines became more established, I became more invested. I recommend this book if you like cute romcoms without too much conflict between the main character and her love interest. Also, it’s a good read for anyone looking for more plus size representation. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I enjoyed the positive representation that is present in this novel. I suspect I am somewhat a target demographic being a fat / plus sized woman. If I was a new reader or new on my journey towards self acceptance I could see this as being a positive read and step on the way.

However the plot just wasn’t there for me. It was too long and trying to do too much. The romance was completely meh to me - I didn’t believe it or feel it for one second. Which kind of ruined the whole thing! It was a big heavy handed with the “message” of self acceptance and I didn’t feel like there was any depth at all to any of the characters.

I did like the themes it explored but it was a bit simple for me.

On The Plus Side not only gave me such strong emotions about plus size characters in fiction, but also gave me a chance to reflect on my own life and experience as a plus-sized woman in a straight-sized world. I saw myself in Everly in so many ways, and I felt what she felt in so many ways. On The Plus Side explores bodily differences, self-confidence and self-worth, and love in all its forms. Everly was a relatively basic character that offered relatable experiences that would appease most that read this novel, yet she was unique enough to keep interest.

I thoroughly enjoyed the perspective of this novel- being able to see the story through Everly, through the show, and through the online forums was a wonderful way to break up the traditional layout of most fiction novels.

My one concern about the plot is the number of times Everly seems to switch up what she wants to do. First, it's her art in general (the convention), then it's the design team at her current job, then a tattoo artist, and finally working with Logan's sanctuary project. I'm no stranger to being indecisive, but the switches made it difficult for me, as a reader, to mentally want Everly to accomplish everything. The tattoo arc was a little out of left field comparatively to her other options.

I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for the following review.

The good parts of this book are probably obvious from the cover -- plus-size representation, body acceptance message, and the like. I did genuinely enjoy the main character's story arc and appreciated the slow-burn relationship unfolding.

What bothered me -- the reason I'm not giving this 4 or 5 stars -- is that the messaging was just TOO heavyhanded (if you'll pardon the word choice). Like, I GET IT. I don't think we boost fat acceptance by talking constantly about wanting more fat acceptance. Everly's struggles around her self-conception were relatable but just too tryhard for my tastes. And because the fat acceptance message was the central theme, rather than the story itself, this book was a very slow read for me.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the story but wanted this book to be more plot driven (and, tbh, much steamier) than it was.

The first read of mine from this author and I was completely blown-away! On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe is the story readers didn’t know they needed: find love and be your authentic self, no matter what size you are.

Meet Everly Winters. After the loss of her grandmother, she prefers to blend in versus standing out. This changes when she is nominated for her favourite show, On the Plus Side. She’s going to get a makeover on reality TV makeover and embark on a journey of self-love and regaining her ability to stand out. Along the way she meets Logan. He’s the grumpy cameraman on the show, but Everly didn’t come her to find love… did she?

I read this in one sitting because Everly became my bestie, and you can’t leave your bestie when they need you. And Everly needed me to stick with her story until the end. So I did. I’m “too much” too (to the wrong people). I found it incredible how Howe used the concept of reality television to provide an alternative perspective on fat representation and how a person wants to present themselves to the world.

Howe spoke on heavier topics (grief, self-expectations, etc.) and countered them with grace and humorous themes that leaned toward the lighter side. The fat representation was very well-done and I found it to be extremely realistic and relatable. As someone who spent over a decade working in the fashion industry, I can attest to the fatmisia. Across the globe I have witnessed a systematized discrimination or antagonism directed against fat bodies, and it’s a disgusting practice.

The romance was written so well… chef’s kiss. It was steamy (had me blushing more than a little), funny, emotional, and be in my top reads for this year. How it made me feel stuck with me and honestly, this is a new favourite and I cannot wait to add a physical copy to my home library. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun book that really focused on body positively. It was cute and an easy read. It did have a bit of predictability though, but I still enjoyed it!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a reality TV junkie I LOVE make over shows. I love that this book was around a TV show that was all about self love and empowerment - Queer Eye for the Straight Guy meets What not to Wear - two of my favorite shows. Everly Winters was an amazing lead and her growth throughout the book was just so amazing. Learning to love herself and trust herself again with her dreams of being an artist, her job and her love life was so amazing. I loved how she fell in love with Logan slowly and they had such great chemistry and communication and out right hilarious moments.
I adored Logan. I loved the representation of a hero that isn't Alpha Macho and perfect. But he is perfect in his love of Everly and his dogs and his job and how he stood up for what is right.
I loved the twists and turns of the taping of the show and how it didn't have the blow up between her and Logan that I thought was coming. She trusted him even when things weren't looking good. That type of love /respect and mature relationship is so refreshing in a rom-com. I think the cliché thing would have been to have them breakup over what she thought happened with the dressing room but it didn't and I was so happy. It made this a 4 to 4 1/2 star book for me because I love that they really fell and love and trusted each other not to break up at the first sign of trouble. It shows her growth that she knew she could trust him.
I really enjoyed the body positivity and self love aspects of this book. The work for your goals and love your self message was so great. This is just a feel good book and was an amazing read.
I would highly recommend to lovers of Olivia Dade books, reality TV, cinnamon roll lumbersexuals and books with an amazing feel good message.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's for letting me review this book.