The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe is a fun and delightful rom-com debut. I've been so excited to read this book ever since it was announced because of it's exes to enemies to lovers trope. Allison and Collin's rivalrous dynamic was perfect and it was very satisfying to see them slowly fall back in love. I also love that the book addresses some more serious topics while still remaining a rom-com. I'm excited to read more books by Jenny L. Howe. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe in exchange for an honest review.

thank you netgalley for an ARC of this book!

this was pretty solid. the characters were both pretty likeable. i liked how slowburn it was but i wish there was more of an explanation for their past together. once they got together, it was pretty fast. overall a fun and easy read!

Allison and Colin used to date in undergrad, but he dumped her after beating her for a prestigious award. They reconnect in their PhD program about medieval literature as they compete for the spot of advisee to their teacher.

This book was so good! I’m a sucker for confident fat main characters and second chance romances and this gave me all of that. I instantly fell in love with Colin (I know we were supposed to hate him but him and his cardigans and cat themed undergarments were so dang endearing) and I think the relationship between them was tense and flirty and fun. I devoured this book in less than a day, which always lends itself to being a highly rated book.

I'm not saying The Make-Up Test is one of my favorite books of 2022 but.... I'm not NOT saying that. This was so sweet and heartfelt and tender, I really cannot rave about this enough. It sucker punched me and I'm worried I'll never quite recover from the emotions I felt when [redacted for spoilers, read the book so you know what I"m talking about!!].

This book grabbed my attention for the plus-size representation. It’s not often plus-size women get representation where a woman is confident with who she is. Clearly other people around her had issues with her body size, but she did her best to stay strong and confident which I admired.

Overall, this book wasn’t a favorite, but it was absolutely worth reading. If you’re into spicy reads, this book was definitely PG, so you won’t get much spice here, but I think if you are interested in education and/or medieval lit this is definitely the book for you.

This book was very promising for me, it's a second chance romance with a rivals to lovers trope and it's set in a prestigious graduate school literature program. However, I had a hard time getting invested in the story but I think that it has a lot of potential. I usually like the second chance romance storylines, but the chemistry between Allison and Colin never quite clicked into place for me before or after their breakup. I did really enjoyed the character development and the way abuse and fat shaming was talked about. It was still an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy to read and review!

I really wanted to like this book. I really tried but it just wasn't for me. I couldn't bring myself to care about Allison and Colin. He wasn't worth the second and third chances she gave him and she was... I don't know, a little too passive for me to root for.

I am sure there are readers who are going to absolutely love this nerdy academia romance but it just wasn't for me.

So you start with applying to grad schools and hoping you get in, add in competition for a spot to complete your dream Ph.D. Then add in that the person you are competing against is your ex…Makes for an interesting story. There some parts I didn’t love, and sometimes I just wanted to reach in and slap both main characters upside the head, but overall I thought it was a good read. The story also moves along very quickly, to make it an easy read. Perfect for if you like second chances. I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Pub date 9/13/2022.

I was really excited about reading this books but since there was a plus size lead, I was disappointed I didn’t really like it. It was a slow read for me, and I just didn’t connect with the romantic relationship, and I found the male lead a bit annoying . 2.5 stars for me

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Jenny L. Howe for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is a cute story, but I did have some problems with it.

I love second-chance romances and this one was cute, but not perfect. I feel like it tried to show how Colin, the love interest, changed over time, but it was hard to believe because it didn’t really explain a lot. However, I thought his relationship with Allison was cute and I enjoyed reading about it and their competitiveness.

I really enjoyed the plus size representation with Allison and the confusing relationship she has with her father. It was nice seeing how she accomplished things for herself and how passionate she is.

One of my main problems with this novel was some of the writing is weird. There are some weird phrases and I didn’t enjoy the “flashbacks” to COVID and the pandemic. I also didn’t really like the last 20% of the novel and all of the miscommunication that happened between the two main characters.

This book is fun, but not perfect. However, I recommend it for people looking for a charming romance!

Full Disclosure: I received this advance reading copy of the book from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, in exchange for my honest review.

“‘We’re a menace,’…’Or maybe we’re magic.’”

Any literature lover will adore the magic of this book! From the very beginning, one can’t help but root for the book’s protagonist, Allison. Confident and full of intellect and wisdom, Allison spars with her former ex-boyfriend, Colin, who ends up attending the same PhD program as her. As the story progresses, the reader discovers what issues led to their breakup years before and how those same issues could hinder their academic (and romantic!) relationship.

Overall, I would rate this book 4.25/5 stars, because I found the dialogue and storyline entertaining. All literature references (from Harry Potter to The Canterbury Tales) was also researched well. My only qualm would be the ultimate “betrayal” that occurs towards the end of the book. While Allison’s feelings are totally valid and sound; the betrayal could have been completely avoided through proper communication. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this heart-warming novel.

This book was just “ok”. It was an easy read, but the characters felt extremely immature. I honestly don’t know why Allison would want to be with a person who treated her that way — yes, second chances are great, but I truly hated Colin.

There was so much of The Make-up test by Jenny L Howe that I enjoyed and think will appeal to readers— from academic rivals-to-lovers, second chance romance and relatable characters. I enjoyed the character development side of the plot, especially around Allison’s academic progression and family relationships. While there was quite a bit to like, personally I didn’t love the story for several reasons. Though my review won’t be massively positive, I truly believe so many people will love and connect with this book!

My main issue is I just did not buy Allison and Colin as a couple— the chemistry felt forced and contrived at many points. It might have been that I just could not picture Colin in a romantic situation or I didn’t like how he treated Allison in a few key moments, but I just was not rooting for them in a couple. For me to highly rate a romance book, I have to 100% root for the couple and believe in their relationship, and I just didn’t feel like they were meant to be.

While this wasn’t my favourite and I wouldn’t rush to read more of the authors books, I truly believe this book will be a five star read for many readers even if it wasn’t for me!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this book! It’s so refreshing to have a fat MC who’s entire story doesn’t revolve around her weight, or wanting to lose weight, or being insecure about her weight. Outside of that, the story was unique and well written, albeit a bit slow at times. I would definitely read more from this author! Special thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I always struggle when I don’t love an author’s debut, and unfortunately The Make-Up Test was a letdown for me. The concept of the book was so cute - I love a good academia romance, especially since my husband and met in a doctorate program. I love a workplace type romance. My main issue with the novel is that it reads quite young; if you took away the excessive drinking it would feel like high school seniors instead of graduate students. There was an immaturity both to Allison and Colin (running out of lectures you’re supposed to be TAing for, flat out lying to one another). I also think that leads to my next frustration, is instead of miscommunications or misunderstandings, these two characters flat out lie. Allison lies about her recitation, she lies to her best friend for months - it’s hard to excuse this type of behavior. I also think the “second-chance” romance here was a tough sell because Colin and Allison had been together for 8 months, and so recently. She spends the first half of the book really leaning into why he was awful, what she hated about him, how he had deceived her and ruined her life. When we find out Allison had to redo a semester due to their breakup, that seems like such an enormous obstacle to overcome and unfortunately we have such a small period of time in the book for them to get back to being in love before they have one last obstacle and somehow getting back together. Perhaps stretching the timeline and giving Colin and Allison a chance to truly have growth this would have felt more complete. I hate that I did not enjoy this! Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. I really liked Allison’s character although she could be a little bit stubborn at times, but I think she was really relatable. Colin’s character was interesting and I wish we got a dual POV, but I enjoyed seeing his growth from Alison’s flashbacks to the current time in the story. Overall if you love a slow burn, witty, and lovers to enemies to friends to lovers to enemies and finally back to lovers then you will enjoy this!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4794627092

Content warning: Allison's father is emotionally abusive and fatphobic. The author takes care of Allison, but take care of yourself if these things are triggering for you.

The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe is an excellent romance set in academia. Allison and Colin are in the same cohort in a PhD program. This is a second and even third chance romance. It's lovely, and full of hope that people in their early 20s have. ❤️ There are misunderstandings, hurts, and still so much love.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was able to read this for free thanks to Net Galley, although that does not affect my opinion of the actual book. First and foremost, I loved the body positivity message that the author shared before the first chapter even began. This book definitely confused me a bit, with some of the words chosen, but that may just be a ‘me not being smart enough’ thing. I’m sad to say that this ended up being a dnf for me. I kept trying to get into it, but I just couldn’t connect to it as I had hoped I would. I was able to get through about 15% of it before I finally gave up. Maybe I’ll try to read it again another time.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the e-arc.
Medieval literature? Academic setting? High hopes for this one! Too bad there was almost nothing about this book that I liked, including the main characters. The way she lies SO MUCH was so off-putting and the way he schemes to get ahead, really turned me off fairly early on in the book, and lasted throughout. And there was no chemistry between them as far as I could see. I enjoyed the literature aspect, but I'm guessing for non-English lit majors, it was too much. Also, can we just not mention the pandemic at all? This is fiction, you don't always need to bring real-world situations into the story.

This was a Romance with a lot of depth to it. Allison is a PhD candidate and so is her ex-boyfriend/nemesis Colin. She is a fat character who is dealing with a lot of intellectual self-doubt and a very fat-shaming father. It was sometimes hard to watch her miscommunicate and misunderstand so much with Colin, but Allison grows a lot in this book. Colin grows as well, and it's nice to see two characters mature and support each other. You learn a lot about the PhD/academic process while reading this book, and as a former English student, it's clear that the author knows what she's talking about. It was like being back in school again. Some of the discussion about literary theory might not be thrilling to folx who aren't lit majors, but it felt very familiar to me.

There is also a nice subplot with Allison's best friend Sophie; it was good to see how two grown women navigate their changing friendship and lives.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.