Fantastic! Fabulous! Yes!
The Make-Up Test is a wonderful story of second chances. Allison and Colin are exes but they have an undeniable chemistry between them. When the two are brought back together in pursuit of their academic and career dreams, the sparks fly off the page. This body positive romance is one I won't soon forget!

I love a enemies to lovers with old history between them. I also enjoyed the academia background. Very fast read and entertaining.

I’m sorry but I can not read another page. According to my app I’m 13% into this book and I just can not get into it. Allison Avery and Colin Benjamin are two super unlikable characters.

So far it seems like Colin has only enrolled in this college because he knows he can steam roll Allison and she’s actually letting him get under her skin! I’m reading and silently urging her to tell him to F#%! Off!! She hasn’t. She’s just letting him walk all over her! Her descriptions of him are not attractive or interesting or charming like she says. I don’t get it.

I’m going to do what I would suggest Allison do and I’m closing the book. I’m done.

My sincere thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe and give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

This second chance romance takes place in a graduate school setting. Colin and Allison had a relationship previously that didn't end well. Now they are working together for the same professor and competing for the same assignment that will further their careers in academia. I liked that they were not the typical couple found in most romance novels. Allison is plus sized, and Colin is described as tall, lanky, and even bony. They each have insecurities that interfere with their day-to-day work and relationship.

Unfortunately, even though there were some sweet parts, I just didn't connect with these characters. I was bored with a lot of the book and found myself skimming through some of it. I wanted to like this. I normally love books set in school settings. It was just ok for me.

The Make Up Test was a very fun read and I loved the setting in a prestigious literary college. The characters were very well written and intelligent, but without being snooty. They are very competitive and you will be rooting hard for their love to succeed. I loved this fresh new rom-com and will absolutely be on the look out for this authors next book!

What’s up:
- Enermies to lovers
- Second chance romance
- Rivalry in the academia world

What worked for me:
- The first antagonistic interactions between Colin and Allison were hilarious and amazing. I loved every single one of them. It was incredible how competitive they were against each other.
- Allison and Colin were whole characters with fears, dreams, strengths, defeats and a history that made you sympathize with them.
- You can see the growth of each characters. Despite their struggles, you can evidence Allison giving new chances to live, to experiences, to acceptance and to love.

This book was so interesting. I feel like it's pretty rare for a book to dive so deeply into the setting of academia. I really enjoyed the different parts of the Ph.D. program that were explored, as well as the interactions between the different cohorts. I'm not a huge fan of second-chance romance so it was definitely more difficult for me to fully immerse myself in this book at first. I liked that we got to learn and experience the educational experience that they were going through. Their breakup definitely made more heartbreaking sense when you got to see more of Colin's backstory and inner turmoil. I think that this book definitely had some parts that were hard to bear, especially Allison's relationship with her dad and also just general fatphobia from characters. I think Allison also needed to resolve more of her own internal fatphobia, but I think that she and Colin are perfect for each other.
Thank you to Jenny L. Howe, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to receive an ARC for The Make-Up Test.

I don't know how I feel about this book. As a grad student in the thick of writing my thesis I'm the prime demographic yet the immaturity of the characters didn't fit the life stage. The largest issue Allison and Colin had was that they did not know how to communicate so they just ignored the hard topics. And then, at the end, they never properly communicate -- it's their professor who clears up the confusion.

I wish there was more of a redemption arc for both of them but there was too much unresolved immaturity for me to invest in them.

Unfortunately ended up DNFing this one - could not connect with the main character. Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for the copy of this book!

I adored The Makeup Test. Allison and Colin had such amazing chemistry between them and the setting at an Ivy League graduate program truly gave the relationship stakes. Read this if you like enemies to lovers, academic rivals, and second chance romance as tropes.

I enjoyed this book. It was a mix between second chance love and enemies to lovers. Loved that the MC was plus size and she was very comfortable in her own body even though there was some fat shaming from a family member. Very nice read.

I wanted to love this book but it just didn’t land for me. I almost quit reading at 85% in a fit of anger. I liked the grad school setting, fat positive vibe, and diverse representation. The grad school setting was especially done well. I enjoyed the open door sex scenes. I did not like how immature either of the main characters acted. I was very frustrated with both of them which is why I almost quit reading.

Thanks to NetGalley & St, Martin's Press for access to a digital arc of this book.

Okay, first and foremost I have to say, three cheers for a book with a plus-size heroine, better yet a romance book, in which her size is NOT at the center of the relationship struggle. Praise! Amen! We stan so hard!

I have to put some caveats here before I get too into critique. There are things I really loved about this book but for me, as a late-twenties female getting a PhD in pre-modern history and only a year or two away from joining the job market, I was sensitive to some of the frustrating academic culture and misogynistic themes that came up throughout this book. No doubt that colored my opinions, and the way that these issues were allowed to pervade the vast majority of the test was frustrating. That said, even though I think ti was later than it could have been, the redemption arc of this story was satisfying and the familial feelings created around the FMC were really lovely. It captured one of the best parts of grad school with that

What's it about (in a nutshell):
The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe is a romantic comedy about what happens when a young woman, Allison, and her ex find out they are in the same college and doctoral program and are paired with the same mentor.
Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
The setting is one I am very familiar with, so I'm excited about that. Otherwise, it sounds like it could be a lot of fun, and I love a good enemies-to-lovers story.
Actual Reading Experience:
There was surprising depth to this story as Allison worked through her guilt over not wanting her father in her life. He has always been critical of her for things she has no control over, and she realizes that there just isn't room for that kind of toxicity in her life. But, as those things go, separating his life from hers proves impossible. All those scenes were very relatable, and I could feel her pain as if it were my own.
Characters:
The characters are developed adequately enough, but they aren't that likable, which is difficult because this is a genre where I want characters I can like. Allison is very insecure, and though that fits completely from a psychological perspective considering her relationship with her father, it is challenging to rally around. It manifests itself through over-achieving, lying, and overreacting before she has all the facts. I found this very frustrating to be immersed in.
Narration & Pacing:
The story is written in 3rd person with a focus on Allison, and this narration style led to an often slow-pace mired down in too many details. I would argue that the amount of detail could easily have been halved, and the story would have flowed much faster without losing any meaning or emotions.
Setting:
I loved the setting! I was back in a world I hadn't been part of for a long time. I didn't get an advanced degree in English, but I earned my Bachelor's in it, and this story reminded me so much of those days. English majors tend to be a close-knit group. We love bouncing interpretations off each other and competing for the best GPA.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you love romcoms in an academic setting and with many layers of emotion, The Make-Up Test is one you won't want to miss.

I wish I had liked this more. I mean, come on, a self proclaimed fat heroine with a corgi? You'd think this book was written for me! I just couldn't get past the repeated immature, even toxic behavior by both of our main characters. There's a reason I usually steer clear of young/new adult, and I think this is it. This is a second chance story, and I don't know that I can truly see where the characters actually grew from the behaviors and issues that caused them to break up the first time around. I didn't necessarily dislike the characters, but their trust and communication need a LOT of work if this relationship is to have a HEA.

I did appreciate the author's inclusion of a fat heroine, I liked that the hero wasn't a perfect Henry Cavill-esque specimen, and I appreciated how she incorporated some heavier topics into the story. I'd absolutely give this author another read, this particular book just wasn't for me.

The Make-Up Test did not work for me!

To reference common tropes: I was on the fence about there being a second-chance romance involved, but because this was also academic rivals, I was excited going into the book.

I want to start my review with the love interest; Colin was pretty terrible. I don't think he deserved a second chance at all, any 'character development' he had made seemed fabricated. Also, I am so sorry, but I hated imagining a love interest who solely wears cardigans...

Allison was not too bad. At times she was very immature!! But, in regards to the plus size representation, I think it was great how despite facing some uncomfortable moments, she never wanted to change herself.

There were a few cute scenes that redeemed the book a tad, but even the ending did not quite hit the mark. The pandemic references throughout were also highly distracting. Unfortunately after reading it, I've decided to give it 2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC! Happy release week!

The Make-Up Test is about a woman, Allison, who wanted to study medieval literature her whole life and landed a spot in a very prestigious grad school to pursue her dreams. Until her ex-boyfriend showed up in the same program, reigniting their feud and bringing out her competitive edge. Second chance romances are always a win for me and this was no exception. While the references in the book to Beowulf and Canterbury Tales gave me bad flashbacks from high school, I loved how well researched this book was, down to exact passages of classic literature. And woven within the enemies to lovers, second chance romance were story lines of Allison’s complicated relationship with her father, her overcoming her insecurities due to her weight and her struggles with moving on with life after college and growing apart from her best friend. All done in a sensitive and realistic way, showing that people can grow and mature and surprise you. Overall, this was a really cute read.

2.5

This book sounded so cute. But I didn't really enjoy this one. I found the main character very annoying. She was so stuck on things that happened in the past, it kind of ruined things for me. I understand she went through a bad break up. But like MOVE ON GIRL!!! Leave the past in the past. Don't let the past effect what you are doing in the present. I thought this was suppose to be more of a romance book, but that part was lacking for me. I do however, love how they showed a woman pursuing her dreams. But this one was just missed the mark for me.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Jenny L. Howe for the ARC of this book. All opinion's are my own.

Lovers to Enemies to Lovers, workplace romance, close confines, road trip, all the tropes that make a book a charming romantic read. The main character, Allison, is a likeable character, but I especially like that she is a plus size woman who is mostly comfortable in her own skin. The academia is a bit thick, but otherwise turns this into a smart substantial read.

Unfortunately, The Make-Up Test was a miss for me. I DNF'd at 25% and was not invested in the story. I thought there was a bit too much filler and there wasn't anything to hook me into the plot. I wish I had loved it, but unfortunately this book was not for me.