I love books that have a main character that is not stereotypical. I thought our main characters were likable and fun to read about their love story!

✨️ Ｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ ✨️

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: On The Plus Side
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Jenny L Howe
𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: 320

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬:
• Reality TV Show
• Plus Size FMC
• Cinnamon Roll MMC
• Friends to Lovers
• Slow Burn

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
This is such a sweet story! It definitely has some Queer Eye vibes! Everly works as a receptionist who has a crush on a coworker but he just seems to be stringing her along. Unknowingly, she is nominated for her favorite tv show, On The Plus Side (by said co-worker). Everly struggles with her self image (thanks to her mom’s nitpicking about her weight/food preferences) and is hoping that this makeover will boost her confidence. While filming she meets Logan, a buff, grumpy, flannel loving cameraman. Sparks seem to fly between them instead of her finding a love interest on the show.

I enjoyed this book couple and while I did feel some sparks between them, it would have been nice to see more from the relationship. At times I thought that Everly was whiny/immature and I really wish that we would have gotten to know Logan on a more personal level. There definitely needed to be more character development/growth. I did feel like the plot got a little crazy for a bit with adding some drama to the script of the show but I just loved how supportive the audience/followers were to Everly. They really rooted for her - it was heartwarming!

Overall, this is a cute read and I would definitely recommend it if you like reality tv (romances). I look forward to reading more books by this author!

3.5 Stars Rounding Up

This book has been on my Netgalley for a bit and I haven’t picked it up. I haven’t been into romance in a minute, so I’m not the right person to review it anymore.

Not the book for me! I ready more than half but just didn't find myself excited to pick it up. I'm sure this would be a great, easy read, but that just isn't what I needed right now, I guess!

I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this work!

Wholesome, cutesy, and swoony. MMC is definitely on the more stereotypical side being lumberjack-y and moody... but a plus for the plus size rep! LOVED the use of the word fat and how it turned what is typically a negatively connotated word and turned it into more of a neutralized term that was just there like the word "the." The twist was something that I appreciated, although I kind of suspected it from the start, but it was a good way to incorporate it into the plot. I also really liked the fact the storyline focused on the character's interests and personality rather than their looks. My only negative is that it dragged in some spots and then flew like the end of a Super Mario Kart race at the end.. so rushed and no accountability! Overall, I'd read Jenny L. Howe again! Thanks for the opportunity!

This was my first book by Jenny, which I thought was fitting since it was her first published book as well, and it already isn’t my last. I’ve continued reading her books since and I’m loving them.

This is a fun reality/dating show story, and I think what I love most is how Everly stands for what she truly wants in life. She constantly redirects the angle of the story to be about finding herself rather than losing herself in a relationship.

That said, I can’t deny how much I love the man she ends up falling for. Logan is a behind-the-scenes man who is willing to step into the limelight for the one woman who captures his attention.

This was a fun read—even more fun through the audiobook—and I definitely recommend it!

Tropes:
- Plus size rep
- Dating/reality show
- Workplace romance
- Celebrity romance (kind of)
- Forced proximity

I really appreciated the balance of character, plot, romance, outside issues that were present in this book. Sometimes romance novels go too far down the angst path, or too far down the convenient-romance path, and this struck a good balance. The main characters had personal growth they needed to achieve that was unrelated to romance, making them well rounded characters. I really appreciate Jenny Howe books for having the plus size characters be more than just that;; they have whole lives and characteristics beyond that., yet they are still affected by being plus size and it's not just swept away quickly. Again, a good balance.

The romance was cuuute, kicky-feet giggly status.

Overall would recommend!

LOVED!!! We love a plus size main character! This book was so fun and fast paced! This confident woman was so inspiring and the romance was so sweet and comforting

2.5⭐️

I really wanted to love this book, especially as a plus size girl myself but I personally could not stand our main character and really had to push through to finish this book. Points for the concept of the story and seeing what it was trying to do.

I wanted to love this book so bad. It had a cute concept and I was all in. Oh! And I loved the Makeup Test by the same author! But this book…..was just not it.

“Let yourself be seen.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Touches on topics like parental abandonment, fatphobia, body shaming, and death of family members and pets. Contains some explicit sexual content.

“On the Plus Side” follows Everly Winters, who is currently a receptionist but aspiring to be a designer in marketing some day, as she is selected to be the subject of her all-time favorite reality TV show: On the Plus Side. This show follows plus-sized participants and helps them find themselves and reach their goals. Everly had never imagined in a million years that could be her, yet here she is. Will she find herself in the process or will she just shut off the world as she’s been doing for the past couple of years after an important loss in her life?

I absolutely loved this book. It caught my attention right off the bat and I loved all the characters. The spark between the main love interest was slow but worthwhile and honestly made sense. The one thing is I was left wanting so much more by the end, I just wasn’t ready to let go of this story quite yet—the ending all felt too sudden for me.

That being said, this book is for the girlies that enjoy reality TV shows—think Queer Eye meets plus-size representation. This book was just highly entertaining all throughout.

ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: December 26, 2023

I wanted really badly to enjoy this one because the premise sounded super cute, but the main character was just not enjoyable to read. Her whole backstory didn’t make a lot of sense, and the mmc fell so fast for her, but why even? We barely saw any true interaction between them other than him filming her a few times, and then he’s in love? Even after they began their relationship, we barely learned anything about Logan other than his love for dogs.

This one was a miss for me.

3.5 stars
Note: I previously received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and set it aside during the SMP boycott. My review is now based on the final copy.
I can’t remember what it was exactly that I didn’t gel with On the Plus Side the first time, but with a major exception related to genre trends, I found this to be a pleasant reading experience.
As a fat woman, I’m glad there are more authors coming into the romance genre to destigmatize fatness and promote body positivity, with Howe being no exception in this department. The concept of the titular reality show On the Plus Side highlights the positives of the body positivity movement more broadly, with it being important to make space for representation, while also crossing over with the drawbacks of reality television and the producers/network being willing to exploit their “talent” in order to achieve their goals.
And I see a lot of myself in Everly. She’s rather unassuming and prefers to slip by unnoticed, and going on TV is an outlet for her to build her confidence. I admire how she grows in this area, being able to advocate for herself both in her personal life and when she gets into tough situations courtesy of the show’s producers.
But as a romance, I had some mixed feelings. This is the most “women’s fiction” of Howe’s books (which already tend to skew that way anyway, as they’re all single POV), with Everly’s arc being more important than the romance, although the romance is fairly complementary with how it contributes to her growth. However, as an individual, Logan is such a tangential presence, and sometimes his job for the show comes into play, but not as much as I feel like it should have. For all that the MMC in Howe’s debut was complex and even divisive for some readers, at least he had substance…and given my low tolerance for BS from even fictional men, that’s saying something.
However, in spite of my minor disappointment in this regard, I feel like the positives (mostly) outweigh the negatives. Provided you know to expect a more “women’s fiction” angle going in, it’s a solid read and one I’d recommend to readers looking for romcoms with fat rep.

This review was previously withheld due to the Speak Up SMP boycott.


On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe is a grumpy/sunshine plus-size romance with some forced proximity and a great message.

On the Plus Side is not only the name of the book, it’s the name of a fictional plus-size makeover show that’s part What Not to Wear and part Queer Eye and when the FMC, Everly, gets nominated for the show, it completely changes her life for the better. She learns to stop hiding herself and to stop making herself smaller for the comfort of other people. She learns to go after what she wants. And most importantly of all, she learns to be herself again.

I absolutely adored Everly’s journey throughout the book because I saw so much of myself in her story. I related to the fatphobic comments from relatives, feeling like I needed to hide myself and shrink myself because the people around me thought I was too much, using my clothes as a way to blend in. Trying to find your way back to yourself is not easy but Everly showed us it’s necessary. She shows us that we are deserving of love even if we find it difficult to love ourselves.

And of course, it wouldn’t be a romance review without mention of the Book Boyfriend. Logan is the grumpy cameraman for the makeover show and he is easily one of my favorite Book Boyfriends. He really * sees * Everly and the way their relationship develops is swoonworthy. I already want to reread the book just so I can relive their lovestory.

This was my first book by Jenny L. Howe and it certainly won’t be the last. Her upcoming book, How to Get a Life in Ten Dates, is out 12/10/24 and I can’t wait to read it!

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Representation in the rom com space is so important. While I do not personally love that a central premise is a makeover (even if centered in body positivity), I am glad that there's a protagonist finding love at any size.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Rating: 3/5

Thank you to SMP and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jenny Howe is an author I want to love, but I just can’t seem to fully get on board with her work. After her debut, I had higher hopes for her second novel, but unfortunately, this one fell flat for me.

I appreciated the concept of the book was fun, and I enjoyed the diversity in the cast and the plus-size representation. However, despite Everly's journey of self-growth, the narrative often felt like one step forward, two steps back. Every time she made progress, the next page or two would focus on her self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy, which became frustratingly repetitive.

We kept often circling back to the same themes without much forward momentum. The reality show aspect, while intriguing in concept, was hard to follow and didn’t feel fully developed. There was simply too much happening, which made the plot feel scattered rather than cohesive. As for Logan, he seemed like a good guy—or at least we were told he was—but his character lacked depth. We didn’t get to know him well enough to fully invest in him or his relationship with Everly.
Overall, while the story had potential and moments of charm, it ultimately didn’t come together in a way that resonated with me.

"On the Plus Side" by Jenny L. Howe is a refreshing and heartwarming contemporary romance that celebrates self-acceptance, body positivity, and the journey to love oneself. The story follows the protagonist, who navigates the complexities of modern dating while grappling with her own insecurities about her body.

Howe’s writing is witty and engaging, bringing humor and relatability to the narrative. The characters are well-developed, with distinct personalities that resonate deeply. The protagonist’s journey towards self-love and confidence is both inspiring and realistic, making her experiences relatable to readers of all backgrounds.

The romance unfolds in a charming and believable way, showcasing the challenges and joys of finding love in a world that often prioritizes superficial ideals. Howe skillfully tackles themes of body image, societal expectations, and the importance of surrounding oneself with supportive friends and family.

The pacing is well-balanced, with a mix of lighthearted moments and poignant reflections that keep readers invested in the story. The dialogue is sharp and often humorous, adding depth to the relationships and making the characters feel like old friends.

Overall, "On the Plus Side" is a delightful and empowering read that will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled with self-acceptance or sought love in a judgmental world. Jenny L. Howe has crafted a novel that is both fun and meaningful, making it a must-read for fans of contemporary romance and those looking for an uplifting story.

I was interested in reading this as a plus size romcom fan, but this was… something. I know it is a makeover show, based on What Not to Wear, but that also killed this for me. The pacing was all over the place, and the overall story was… not great.

I think this story will help so many women feel seen and appreciated!

3.5-4 stars
Everly has spent her entire life trying to blend into the background so she won’t be criticized for anything, mostly her weight. When she unexpectedly becomes the new star of her favorite reality show, On The Plus Side, she is thrust into the spotlight as the hosts help her to overcome her fears and embrace herself. As she moves through the filming process, she becomes friends to one of the cameramen, Logan. When the showrunners attempt to make her life seem like something it’s not, Everly must decide whether she wants to fade into the background, or stand up for what she wants.

Overall, this was a cute story. It wasn’t anything overly amazing (to me). I appreciated how it showed the behind the scenes of what probably does happen on most reality tv sets and how things can easily get twisted. I also enjoyed Everly’s character arc and how the hosts were truly there to make sure she was seen.

However, I didn’t feel like the relationship between Everly and Logan was organic. It felt forced for the sake of the story and the spice was definitely not needed.

I think there are people who will absolutely devour this book, especially with the plus size representation that Jenny put in here!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and #netgalley for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.