Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this book. Honestly, I consumed this book so quickly that I finished it in mere hours. You just fall in law with characters and the author made them feel so real! The plus-size representation was so refreshing and there was no weight-loss journey as Everly learns to love herself. Her thoughts and insecurities were spot on to how I've thought about myself. I know this is all about Everly but I was dying or hoping to have a little bit of Logan's POV and having a certain someone grovel.

This book follows Everly Winters who is a plus-sized sweetie that has lost her confidence and learns to love herself as well as to pursue her dreams of being an artist. She is nominated to be on her favorite show and she tries her best to focus on loving herself and trying to find the girl she used to be. However, she falls hard for someone she didn't expect. I loved Everly's quick-wittiness and the banter she has with Logan. They just feel so right and I'm not going to lie I needed more interactions between them!!!

I loved that our FMC was Plus Sized and was on a Plus Sized reality tv show with Queer Eye vibes. Tons of body positivity and self love. I just couldn't connect with the story unfortunately. I enjoyed it but it wasn't my favorite book or anything like that. Solid 3/5 for me.

Great book. Fun story and developments , characters that are relatable and fun. The story is really interesting and keeps you well immerse on the book.

Oh my goodness I loved this so much!
The story follows Everly, a plus sized woman who is doing her best to avoid notice in everything she does. When she is selected to be on a reality show, she gets the makeover, career help, and confidence boost she needs to become her best self. And while she's at it she falls in love with cameraman Logan. When the showrunner starts editing for ratings instead of remaining genuine, everything comes to a head.

I loved the characters in this book. I read How's first book and didn't love it but this makes up for that in spades.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this!

I wanted to like this as a plus sized or fat women, but I didn't. Parts of the book I found myself reading a passage thinking was this really necessary like her best friend psoriasis explanation for no reason. Parts I really enjoyed but overall I couldn't wait for the book to be over with because it was predictable. It also felt overly preachy at times any the fat agenda and that got grating.

Everly's saga ultimately uses participation in a make-over reality show to examine different sources of personal grief. Her tale is a mix of funny, poignant, absurd experiences that resonate as emotionally authentic and layered. Some of the main characters' naivete seems more consistent with contemporary older YA and New Adult romance, which is the reason for my 4-star rating. (As a contemporary adult romance it's a 3-star for me.) Fans of behind-the-scenes content, dating shows, and self-help platforms, along with doom scrolling comments sections and forums should enjoy this timely (self-)love story.

What a fun read!! On the Plus Side felt like the best of TLC’s What Not to Wear mixed with Dr. Phil and a sprinkle of the bachelorette. I love living in a time where more and more varieties of people are being represented in the media we consume!

This story follows our main character, Everly, as she is cast as the newest lead for a plus-size makeover show. It was face paced, had likable/relatable characters, and was just fun to read all while still hitting difficult topics like grief, body shaming, and complex family dynamics.

The only thing I wish I would have gotten more from this book is more build up. I felt like Everly and her love interest seemed to get together more abruptly than I would have preferred. BUT they do have great quick witted banter throughout the book and you really can’t help but to root for them!

Overall such a fun read and would absolutely recommend to a friend!

Wow! I wasn't sure if I'd like this book when I picked it up, but wowzers! I sure did!
A bombshell of a book! Howe has really outdone herself.
Many surprises throughout this novel and some that aren't quite so good. And of course we have the really sweet ones too.
Everly was fantastic and I really enjoyed getting to know her! A beautiful girl inside and out that I really loved and admired among many other things.
There were times that she made me laugh out loud and times I felt like I was seeing myself in her.
Fat people can be beautiful and inspiring at the same time. Everly just had to believe in herself. Something that I myself have a hard time doing for myself
There were times that I didn't like Everly's mom even though I knew she was just trying to "help." I kinda dislike people like that. They're NOT "helping."
Then we have sweet Logan. A man that I genuinely liked and came to love as much as Everly herself.
We also learn who your true friends are in this story. Those are very few and far between, so please keep a hold of them if you can and only if God allows it. I'm finding this out the hard way indeed. Friends are gems.
I finished this book in a day because it was so good.
I give this journey of life novel 5 stars. The author has done a fantabulous job with the tough subjects. Especially Everly herself. She is a the most wonderful and unique character to be sure. She's truly inspiring and didn't know it. I loved watching her grow.
My favorite quote;
And for the first time in years she was comfortable in herself, inside and out. Maybe Everly was too much. But for her, and the people who loved her, she was just enough. Yay Everly! This is why I loved her so much!
However, there was one thing that I didn't really care for but yet I'd never do it myself cause I hate needles of any kind.
I wanted to add this quote.
It was something that Everly wanted to show people who she was and how far she'd come.
“It’s beautiful.” Her mother pointed at the screen. “You drew this?”“In collaboration with the tattoo artist.” Everly ran her finger over the design. “It represents freedom. How I want to be myself and stop hiding. Get out of my cage, so to speak.”
Evelyn's journey was and will always be near and dear to my heart.
Didn't much care for the F word but absolutely loved what the moral of the story was. I'm keeping this novel at 5 stars however because I just can't say enough that I truly enjoyed it.
I saw a lot of Everly in myself. Way to go Everly!!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
✅Cinnamon bun hero
✅Plus size FMC

Everly starts the book off with minimal to no confidence and hides behind an anonymous username on the online forums for her favorite make-over show, ON THE PLUS SIDE. Everly gets nominated for the show and learns it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be.

It took me awhile to get into this I think it was chapter 12 that I finally got hooked. Before that I was kinda bored. I grew to love Everly thought and saw lots of myself in her. There were a couple quotes that stood out to me and that I resonated with.

“What we wear for only a few people to see says more about us than the costumes we put on for the rest of the world.”

“It’s hard to feel human when everyone’s fixated on your size.”


I love both of the quotes. They both hit super close to home and made me think. Furthermore I absolutely loved Logan and Everlys relationship. I love how through her own growth and acceptance of herself she was able to help him with his insecurities.

“How do you expect me to act when you kiss me like that, then run away?”
“Like what?”
“Spectacularly.”

-body positivity, self love, close proximity
-Everly has to work closely with grumpy and infuriating camera man and assistant producer Logan
-Everly ends up on the tv show of her dreams and is about to get the upgrades of make up, hair, fashion, and of life
-portions of the book felt a bit lengthy
-shoutout to Logan’s dogs and all the cute dog content 🤭
-their relationship developed nicely and they were so compatible
-thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC

4.0⭐️

It was such a breath of fresh air to hear the word fat and have it not be something negative. To have it just be a descriptor, without the scorn usually placed behind it, making it something ugly and awful.

I used to have a friend, when I said I was fat would say, “No, you’re beautiful.” I never said I was ugly. Just fat. It’s a word, describing my body.

Everly is fat. She is also striking, and kind, and honestly a character I would love to read more of. She is someone you cheer for, that you want to defend and want to be their best friend. She means a lot, to a lot of people.

Logan is gruff, in plaid, kind and maybe hides a little embarrassment of his own about certain aspects of himself, which is not something you usually see in a leading man in a romance novel. And boy is he wonderful.

The show in the book? Seemed like the best idea in the beginning, but in reading the book you might find yourself flailing and almost tossing your book or ereader across the room in anger.

No eReaders were harmed in the reading of this book…

This was a sweet read, cute, and warm and ugh I just want to bathe myself in it. Is that weird? Probably.

This book had a bit of a slow start for me and I felt like it took the first 50-75 pages before I was invested in any of the characters. Once I was though I couldn’t put it down. The story was told so well and broke a lot of the predictable stereotypes I can struggle with in romance books. I’ll definitely be recommending this one!

I'm pretty sure this book changed my life. I know that sounds incredibly dramatic but I don't have any other words to describe how this book made me feel.

As someone in the plus sized community, we've started to get more representation (which is amazing) but what Jenny Howe did differently than other books I've read, is she brought in thoughts, fears, and experiences that I've experienced in my life.

Liked a boy who didn't like me back? Check.
Turned into a squid with more arms than needed, causing everything to fall? Check.
Battled with self doubt and self love issues? Check, check, and triple check.

I loved the journey that Everly went on through this book. It was relatable (which is sometimes hard to find with a plus size character), was realistic, and made me feel like I was part of her journey. But most importantly it made me feel like I could have her journey, her journey of self love and self acceptance. I can not recommend this book enough!

On the Plus Side follows Everly Winters on a journey back to herself as she participates in a reality tv show. Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story was charming and full of plot and detail. I liked the premise and the characters were charming. The writing was strong and the dialogue was realistic.

At times, I found Everly to be an unreliable narrator and her framing of things to be redundant. Her growth was noticeable and seemed authentic. I enjoyed her voice around body image and her confidence.

My only other critique is that it was a bit too long and at times felt redundant. I think it could have been 25% shorter and left as strong and important an impact.

If you enjoy reflection, change and a hot office romance, I recommend you pick this up!

I love loved loved this book so much! The story follows Everly, a plus sized woman who is nominated to be on her favorite reality TV show “On the Plus Side.” Everly goes on a journey to stop hiding who she is, confront issues with her family relationships, and although she isn’t looking for love, a certain love story unfolds that is just all the sweet goodness. There are a couple of spicy scenes but not too graphic in my opinion. In all fairness my only complaint about this book is one of the spicy scenes mentioned an “ick” for me. Other than that, this was a very emotional, heartwarming read.

I love Everly. She truly inspired me like her grandma did to her. I want to be “Striking!” And Logan, oh my goodness. I need a man like him in my life asap. I loved that Everly advocated for herself and let it be known when something bothered her and I love how Logan was right there with her to support her. I loved all the characters that were meant to be loved and i disliked the characters that were meant to be disliked (Sdy & Jms, I’m side-eyeing you big time.) Loved how descriptive it was that i was able to imagine in it all as i was reading. I wish a Sundae’s Sanctuary really existed! I’m not going to lie, i love me some good smut and felt like maybe there could have been a bit more of it.

I had a little trouble getting into this book, so I set it aside. But I picked it up again and decided to plug through and ended up really liking it. The main character (Everly- great name!) is confident and body positive. She's had some setbacks but she's ready to reset and focus on her artistic aspirations. The grumpy hero Logan was sweet; I like the way he "heard" her and adjusted his camera work to accommodate her wishes.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for a review- in short I loved this one! It reminded me a bit of “One to Watch” but I loved the concept of this show even more. I liked that romance wasn’t Everlys end all and how organic the relationship felt. It was a truly cute book about personal growth. Def recommend this one!

Yes yes YESSSS I loved this story so much! Plus sized representation without fetishizing is SO NEEDED and this was so well done! I loved the build of the story, the added Hollywood Glam of the show and the behind the scenes relationships within the show. I really connected with the MC and loved watching her grow into her best self, or should I say...return to her best self. Extra thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for offering me this ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion :)

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this fun book. Great concept, and what I thought was going to be pretty predictable (which is just fine!) had a turn of events at the end that made me enjoy it even more. I enjoyed seeing Everly find her voice and love for herself, that rippled out to her making her dreams a reality. 3.75 stars.