Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this title. All opinions are my own and are honestly given.

When Evelyn Winters unexpectedly finds herself as a guest on her favorite makeover show, she imagines that maybe her time on On the Plus Side will help her gain confidence with her art and with her handsome co-worker. But when she finds herself making a connection with the show’s grumpy, straight-talking cameraman, Everly has to reconsider what (and who) she really wants.

On the Plus Side was sweet and fun, and I enjoyed reading about Everly’s relationship with Logan and her quest to rediscover what made her happy after the death of her grandmother. I did sometimes wish for a little bit more depth from the characters and would love to see more traditionally-pubbed books where plus-sized heroines are already confident and secure, but, overall, I enjoyed Howe’s writing style and the characters. I would recommend this book to patrons and think it would make a great book club book. 3.75 stars.

Okay, this book does such a nice job of positive plus-size representation! The book follows the MC Everly as she stars as one of the four contestants in a plus-size focussed makeover reality show, and the book does an amazing job balancing the plotlines of (1) her passion/dream career, (2) discussions about her mental health, (3) her friendships and family and romantic relationships, (4) the (re-)evolution of her self-confidence, and (5) the drama and ethical issues with the reality show itself. The representation and the character development in this book were so real and representative and relatable ❤️ if you like to read any contemporary romance/women's fiction, I'd recommend this book!

TWs - fatphobia, fatphobia by a parent as a result of their own internalized fatphobia, parent abandoning a kid (past), death of a close grandparent due to cancer (past + discussions), death of a family pet (past), emotionally abusive parents (past)

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I enjoyed this book so much! The story between Everly and Logan had me kicking my feet while reading, it was sooooo cute! I also really appreciated that she wanted to grow and change for herself and not focus on the relationship. I know it's a romance novel, but I love that her life isn't instantly better just because of a man. She worked hard and made her life better and that just happened to include a man. If I could change anything I would just want to know more about Logan from the beginning. Overall a great read that I would definitely recommend.

“I don’t need anyone’s permission to be myself.”

This is something that Everly’s grandmother taught her before she passed, and I think it sums up the theme of the book. On The Plus Side is about a fat woman who has lost her spark, and in her desire for safety and stability, has chosen to make herself smaller, less noticeable, to take up less space. But when she is chosen as a guest on the titular reality makeover show, Everly starts to rediscover the fire and verve with which she used to live her life.

I greatly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it, especially to anyone who is interested in body positive stories about a heroine who already loves herself and her body. In fact, it was really refreshing to read a romance with a fat heroine who is comfortable in her skin and not constantly castigating herself, for whom weight loss is not a concern at all. At the same time, it doesn’t shy away from the fatphobia that’s engrained in our society and that fat people routinely face.

As such, as a fat woman, I found a lot of Everly’s story to be very relatable, from the sorts of fashion struggles fat people face to her relationship with her mom. So much of this story rang very true for me, and it made me cheer Everly along as she found her way back to herself, to the old, loud, bombastic Everly that she wanted to be again. It’s such an upbeat story filled with fun characters. Jazzy and Stanton are particular standouts for me, and I wish they were real and also my best friends. I love them so much. 🥲

I spent this book wishing On The Plus Side were a real show so I could spend all my time watching the hell out of it. Howe does a great job at making it feel like a show that could realistically exist, and touching on a lot of the behind the scenes realities of these sorts of productions. As a framing device, the On The Plus Side show works really well to move the plot along and introduce unique conflicts to the narrative. I won’t say too much to avoid spoilers, but the show is more than just a backdrop to the love story, and I really appreciated that.

The progression of Everly’s romance with her hunky cameraman is very satisfying and realistic. Logan is grumpy in a very cute way, imo. It’s really easy for grumpy romantic heroes to just kind of be assholes, but that’s definitely not the case here. I wanted to hug the broody lumberjack all the time. I love Everly and Logan’s dynamic and how encouraging they are with one another. It feels like relationship goals without it just being a perfect, frictionless romance. Their banter is very cute, especially as it allows Everly to show off her cleverness. She’s really just a very funny person and I liked following her around.

All in all, I enjoyed this book from start to finish. It was one of those I always looked forward to getting back to when I had to put it down for a moment. It’s an upbeat, fun read, and I’m so glad I got to experience it! I look forward to more of Howe’s work bringing amazing fat characters to the page!

It is a breath of fresh air to read a book that has body positivity representation. I love the show Queer Eye so I obviously loved this book. It was cute and sweet but also is moving and has a deeper meaning.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advance review copy in return for an honest review.

This was fine. I feel like a lot of plus size romances have the same bit (we have to make our plus size character think they need a new style to be desirable) can we please give better storylines to our plus size characters?? Not a vibe.

Thank to NetGalley for letting me read this book.

I love when books have a plus size representation. On the Plus Side did not disappoint. I recommend this read.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. A four star book in my opinion. I liked that Howe has given a fat character the chance to be the star of her story. Representation is so important. I just didn't love the idea of a makeover show for the MC to be part of. It felt a bit fake to me. Overall though the writing is good and it did flow well.

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
*********************************************************
What Not to Wear and Queer Eye meets All the Feels in this sparkling romantic comedy by Jenny L. Howe, in which the new guest on a popular makeover show has her style—and her love life—transformed.
Everly Winters is perfectly happy to navigate life like a good neutral paint colour: appreciated but unnoticed. That’s why she keeps her job as a receptionist rather than exploring a career in art, why she lurks but never posts on the forums for her favourite makeover show, ON THE PLUS SIDE, and why she’s crushing so hard on her forever-unattainable co-worker. When no one notices you, they can’t reject you or insist that you’re too much.
This plan is working perfectly until someone secretly nominates Everly for the next season of ON THE PLUS SIDE. Overwhelmed by the show’s extremely extroverted hosts and how much time she’ll have to spend on screen, she finds comfort in grumpy but honest cameraman Logan Samuel (and his supremely well-sculpted arms). Soon Everly realizes that he’s someone she doesn’t mind being noticed by. In fact, she might even like it.
But when their growing connection is caught on camera, it sends the show’s ratings into a frenzy. Overcoming her own self-doubt and embracing change on national TV is hard enough; can Everly risk heartbreak with the whole world watching?

As a plus-size gal, I always think we are under-represented in novels and on TV shows, especially romance-led ones like The Bachelor...but given how people are trolled on that show, a girl above a size 4 on that show would be so roasted it would take one helluva girl to not quit from the inevitable cruelty and cattiness of her fellow contestants and those online.
This story was lovely to read: a great plot and wonderful characters made it a fun adventure: I could not get the idea in my head that Logan looked like a former "Bachelor" himself Jessie Palmer out of my head but that might be due to my addiction to the Baking CHampionship shows! (He is rather easy on the eyes...and Canadian to boot!)
No matter who you think Logan reminds you of, or what size you are, you will appreciate this well-written novel: it comes out the day after Christmas so give someone who reads an "IOU this Christmas Gift" certificate and have it pre-ordered and delivered to them on Boxing Day. They will appreciate it.
#shortbutsweetreviews

was not a huge fan of this one, which is definitely a bit of a disappointment because i remembering enjoying howe’s the make-up test. something that’s done well is the focus on everly’s personal journey & rediscovery of her self-confidence. but yea, just didn’t really land for me.

#netgalley

loved this romance between a lumbersexual ( a cameraman) and a designer and finding one's voice and some romance along the way. I loved this show and how it helped her grow and try to have better relationships with mom and brother. Loved the romance and sexy times and loved that she brought up consent and forums to discuss the show.

Thank you St-Martin's Publishing Group for the eARC of this.

I enjoyed this! I was left feeling much the same way as I did when I read the author's first book, the Make-Up Test. It was good, and I loved the representation, but I didn't feel like I connected with the characters all that much? I wasn't invested enough to feel swoony about the romance, so I was left with a mostly eh reading experience.

I'm also getting tired of romances with fat main characters always including the MC going on a "journey" to find/regain her confidence. Yes, it's something a lot of fat people go through and the stories should be told, but it'd also be nice to simply have a fat character just BE. It is possible for fat people to simply love themselves and have their confidence and not need to have other people help them "find" it.

That's my own personal soapbox and has less to do with the book. This was fun and cute! Definitely recommend!

Everly is a receptionist for a marketing brand and her life is fine, she has her best friend, her quiet life, and she feels comfortable. She gets chosen to be on her favorite show, On the Plus Side, and it changes her life.

I really liked this book. I also read Jenny Howe’s first book. I love that she takes fat characters and makes them fully fleshed out. I felt very seen reading this book. Some of the passages could have literally been taken from my life. About being too much. Feeling like you have to hide. Like you don’t know how to be you anymore.

I’ll continue to read anything Jenny puts out. A great story, and a quick read. I read it in one sitting!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for sending me a free e-arc. I am giving this review honestly and freely.

Overall, this story was just a huge chiefs kiss. The main characters were written excellently and just seeing the growth in them was so inspiring. This book had given me exactly what I expected and then some.

I knew exactly what I was getting into when I signed up for this story, but I don’t think I was fully prepared for how this book wasn’t fully lighthearted. I felt the main characters pain though my own, same with her joys. Seeing her grow more into herself was like a breath of fresh air. There was things that Everly went though that was just heartbreaking and I knew it was coming after starting the book, but not before. Just keep in mind that this won’t be a breezy lighthearted romance.

I am a bit disappointed about the side characters, they kind of fell flat. Some of them had a little more depth, but other than that, they felt like they were only there for Everly and to push the story along.

All and all, I really did enjoy this read. This isn’t the first book I’ve read from this author and it certainly won’t be the last. This was a fun read with a touch of realism with struggles bigger people can face. It was a little bit lengthy, but I feel it was necessary to fully wrap up all the loose ends that was brought up. I’d recommend this read wholeheartedly.

On the Plus Side follows Everly as she finds herself nominated for her favorite plus size makeover show, which the book is named after. Everly has spent years withdrawing into herself to not be "too much". Too loud, too boisterous, take up too much space. Her art career has stalled following her grandmother's death, 4 years prior to the start of the book. She has a crush on this guy at work, James, but doesn't want to ruin their work friendship by acting on it.

One day, she's greeted at the office doors by the two hosts of her favorite show - OTPS - and their very grumpy but hot cameraman, Logan.

Follow along as Everly relearns and explores who she is and what she wants in life - and who she wants in life, along the way.

On the Plus Side will leave you with a new OTP.

Free ARC received from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for a review - thank you!

On The Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe is an absolute gem! The characters are engaging and you find yourself rooting for Every and Logan throughout. OTPS is the reality show we all need with the current climate on social media. My only issue with the novel was the spelling of Sadys name, which I read as Sadly through the book. 🤣 I loved this novel! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This was, much like Jenny L. Howe's debut, absolutely perfect; it's definitely a new favourite of mine! The fat representation was extremely realistic and relatable, very well done, just like in "The Make-Up Test," and the romance was super well done as well! I loved how the author tackled heavier topics like grief and family and self-expectations, and countered them with lighter humorous themes. The setting of the book was also super fun! I loved the reality tv show style of the book, and watching Everly find herself again was great. And Everly and Logan! My favourites! Their chemistry was amazing, and Howe wrote the romance absolutely spectacularly (love to see a man obsessed). Overall, this is a funny, cute, steamy, emotional, and probably my favourite romance of the year so far!

This is my new favorite plus-size romance book.

Ever.

And I read a lot of them!

Jenny truly has mastered the art of balance in her books—while demonstrating the struggles that fat women go through she also does it without being overwhelming, super negative, and triggering. This book fosters a feeling of community. You truly feel connected to Everly, the main character, and her wins feel like yours—because we’ve all been in her shoes.

This book follows Everly, a plus-size receptionist who longs to be an artist that lives a life trapped in time. She’s stuck in a rut of complacency and hiding ever since the loss of her grandmother, her plus-size role model. We see Everly struggle with her sense of self, her relationship with her mother, her career, her crush on her coworker, and her life direction until she’s nominated for a plus-size makeover TV show, On the Plus Side. We see Everly’s life go through a whirlwind, swept up in the hilarious cast of characters that are the TV hosts…and the grumpy cameraman, Logan. This book is not just about a fat woman falling in love—which is amazing in its own rite—this is a moving piece of literature about a fat woman’s growth, about her journey to find herself—and maybe the love of her life on the way.

Thank you, Jenny, for writing this book—from a girl who feels just like Everly.

This is very cute and enjoyable read. I love to see plus size representation in books and that's mostly why I picked this up. I loved Everly and Colton, their dynamic and relationship was so entertaining .Will be picking up more from the author.

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