I was so excited to pick up this rivals to lovers romance with a side of second chance, knowing that this premise promises tension galore, but I don't think this romance entirely delivered. While I really enjoyed reading the flashbacks, I wasn't too interested in returning to the present day. Colin could be a rather frustrating character to follow whose growth we hardly witness or can comprehend, and I did not enjoy the grand gesture at the end of the book, nor that part of the book featured miscommunication. Lastly, often times, the conversation around medieval times or the pre-1800 lit took me out of the story as they did not exactly align with my interests.

On the other hand, it is evident the author handled the plus size representation with care. I think her writing had an easy flow to it. I appreciated reading about a setting we do not often see in romance - graduate school.

This adult contemporary romance takes place in academia with a plus-sized main character with a passion for medieval literature!

I really enjoyed the academic setting, and with so many STEM-related books coming out, it was a nice little change that gives fun representation to other academics! The academic rivals aspect in this book was certainly interesting since it followed the lovers to rivals to lovers to rivals to lovers again path instead of the more typical and simplified rivals to lovers path. What made this path so complicated was the abundance of miscommunication between characters, which seemed to be a large part of their personalities, especially Colin's. I can't blame Allison for her reactions to Colin's academic actions as I would've been taken aback as well, but I would've liked to see better communication from Colin's end as he seemed to act without explaining well and it made their relationship messier than it needed to be. Admittedly, I can't say I'm a fan of Colin as a character and it made it a little harder to like him and Allison together.

I loved Allison as a character and her persistence in following her dreams. I was even more delighted to see the author largely based on herself! Watching Allison invest in herself made her easier to root for, especially when her familial problems persisted. I love seeing a character set boundaries and goals and Allison certainly delivered. Her growth is really what stood out to me in this book. The writing style was great and overall I really enjoyed the book and think it's a great debut!

I. Loved. This. Book.

It is SO refreshing to see the heroine be fat-and unapologetic about it. I also love the author reclaiming “fat” -yes it’s a descriptor, but it doesn’t have to be negative. It was a piece of who Allison was, but it wasn’t her whole existence. My goodness, more of this from EVERYONE PLEASE! And more from this author. Highly recommend.

Overall I liked this book! It was a long slow burn that didn’t really get going until about halfway through for me. I enjoyed their academic rivalry, but it felt really repetitive and not as enjoyable to me as I thought it would. The ending also left me wanting more. I also thought fatness was brought up as a plot point too often for my taste. As a fat woman, I understood where she was coming from, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

“She was a library, full of stories and words and definitions”

This book is beautiful. It’s real and raw and messy and beautiful. Allison Avery is a PhD candidate with a focus on medieval literature, and her very worst ex-boyfriend shows up to try to steal her dream spot—again. At the same time, Allison’s navigating growing apart from her best friend, making new friends in her cohort, and managing her parents’ expectations for her. The Make-Up Test handles a variety of situations with such kindness towards its main character.

I’m just a little bit biased, since it feels like the book was written about an alternate universe version of me, but I loved nearly everything about this book. I especially love the way it handles fat representation in a way that actually, you know, represents fat people. Allison doesn’t hate herself or her body, and while she has times when she’s frustrated by society’s view of her body, she never feels the need or acts on a desire to make herself smaller to fit in. Her fatness is never fetishized or made into a moral failing in the narration—it’s just a fact of her body and her experience in the world.

I also love that every thread isn’t tied neatly in a bow. Early in the novel, Allison expresses a love for stories that leave the characters in a place where they can continue to grow, and that’s exactly what she gives us. The big questions are answered, so the ending doesn’t feel unsatisfying, but every character and relationship has room to grow and change. It’s a book I’ll reread several times and still be thinking about long after I’m done.

I simply do not think this book has ANY of the vibes you are looking for. This was totally a YA plot slapped onto an adult setting. The characters were terribly immature, made horrible decisions, and were unlikeable. Especially Colin Benjamin. Yes his full name Colin Benjamin nearly every time with his knobby knees and hazel eyes. He was described in the book as a stoic elven figure and I saw god in this Chili’s tonight. He wears cardigans and nothing else. Yes he is described as being buck naked wearing only a cardigan. Hopefully you don’t want to end this book still loving your cardigans. He cries at the end of horror movies because he’s “so happy the villain is caught.”

✨

He stole her accomplishments in the past and came right back to steal them again in the present and made zero smart decisions. There was not one page of this book where I liked that man. The initial description of him was enough for me to understand just how not into him I am. Ichabod Crane. Literally that was our comparison.

He was also just a really shitty person in the past and nothing about present him makes it any better. He actively makes it worse! On several occasions! I hated how in the past he told her to ignore a fatphobic comment at a restaurant and pulled HER out of the restaurant after she defended herself. But in the present he’s her white knight? There was no explanation nor evidence that he made ANY change to that side of his character. It was basically like “he changed.” How? Why? Magic? Deal with the devil?

She actively tried to describe him as “not like other guys” and while I appreciate the sentiment it was incredibly off putting. He seemed neither real nor a good person who I’d want to spend more than five minutes talking to. He has a devil’s advocate personality and that should sun EVERYTHING you need to know about him up. If you were an English major (or other majors but I only speak from my experience), you know the exact type. There’s always at least one in every cohort.

✨

Sexy scrabble was not sexy but come on did you really think it was going to be? I suppose you did since Ali Hazelwood calls it sizzling but again did you really think that was going to be the case? There was *sex* but it was vague and he climaxed off the page and I also just didn’t want to see him getting off so I was happy it was basically closed door. Obviously after the sex scene they had so much sex but it was all summed up. Miss me with that wishy washy “there’s sex but also the book is the complete opposite of sexy” tendency a lot of recent contemporaries have.

✨

Half of this book is talking about and close reading medieval texts like we give two shits and I just really can’t be bothered and that was my favorite section in Brit lit. It really read like you needed to know all of these works coming into the book. It’s interesting in a vacuum but did nothing for half of the book.

The third act breakup was laughably horrible and made me so angry. He straight up fucked her over and made decisions for her AGAIN and was intimidated by her smarts like he was in the past. I short-circuited I really did. His “redemption” was just ridiculous and flat. The romance was half baked and left literally everything to be desired. Or not desired really. I was never turn on.

✨

Overall, the ending absolutely ruined the book even more than I thought possible. There was an attempted redemption of her father that I found wholly expected and unnecessary. I appreciated her dealing with him for some of the book which was nice. I liked the representation of fatness here and I really appreciated Allison’s relationship with her body. The author includes a nice note at the beginning and it felt like a very sincere book if anything. I also liked this line a lot: She wanted to swim in these feelings like a pool of gold.

I loved this book! The characters felt real and engaging and I loved seeing a fat protagonist in romance, which is criminally rare! I also really enjoyed the college setting and the rivalry between Allison and Colin!

I loved this romance! It was refreshing to see a plus-sized main character and Jenny Howe wrote her beautifully.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year because I adore all of the tropes! It has: a second chance romance and academic rivals to lovers. It also has plus size rep and a cardigan wearing hero. I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately it missed the mark for me.

Allison Avery is a hard-working grad student pursuing a TA position with a professor who teaches in her dream field of medieval literature. It seems like everything is falling into place until it’s announced that there will be two TA’s, the second being none other than Allison’s ex, Colin Benjamin. Allison and Colin dated during undergrad but Colin’s competitive nature led to a (much needed imo) breakup.

While I loved Allison and was invested in her journey to cut ties with her toxic father, Colin was not my favourite for the majority of the book. We see Allison and Colin’s relationship play out in flashbacks and I found it hard to forget the Colin of the past when reading about the current version. I would’ve liked to see some actual growth from Colin instead of the heroine insisting that he’s “changed” when readers saw none of it.

This book has the miscommunication trope in the third act. I adored the grand gesture Colin did to win back Allison but it felt too rushed for me. I needed more grovelling to get on board with Allison forgiving him.

Overall, this book has some fun tropes but my dislike for the hero overshadowed it. I spent the entire book focused on Allison’s personal journey and not the romance, which fell flat.

2.5 stars

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

3.5 stars

I love a good second chance novel and at first I wasn't sure if that's where this one was going. Avery is finally starting her PhD program in medieval literature, which is a dream come true until she finds out that her ex is starting the exact same program. Which is a huge shock since he was so not interested in this kind of lit when they were together. Who she hasn't seen since he dumped here 2 years prior, after making her feel humiliated when he swooped in on an award she'd been working towards her whole college career.

But it soon becomes obvious something has changed about Colin since then. Which unfortunately for Avery, she has to find out a little as she goes when they both are assigned to TA with the same professor. The author did a really great job at balancing the revelations of Colin's past shitty behavior with the revelations of his current ways he's changed.

I really appreciated Avery and her relationship with her body. She is a fat woman and likes who she is, how she dresses, and how she looks. She has past trauma around this because of how her father treated and verbally abused her in her childhood, but she hasn't let it impact her body image. However, the relationship with her father is so not great to the point of potentially cutting him off. That relationship is portrayed very well, but oof, protect yourself if you're not up to reading about that!

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the romance. I will say there is a tad too much of medieval literature, I glossed over it when it got too much!

There is one unfortunate use of gender essentialist joke that was totally unnecessary: "Allison responded by noting his (obviously) small manhood, causing him to spin around, his face to the color of a tomato." I did not catch anything else like this but I do wish this was removed as it would not impact the book or this specific section at all.

CW: past history of body shaming, death off page, parental verbal abuse, dementia

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the eARC of The Make Up Test by Jenny L. Howe.

The Make-Up Test follows Allison on her journey to be the highest achieving person in any room and on her way to becoming a college professor. While I enjoyed the academia setting, I will admit sometimes struggled with the jargon surrounding class Allison and Colin were TAs for.

Also, I'll be honest I didn't understand the "spark" between Allison and Colin which was of course a huge part of the novel. It just suddenly happened and then that was that. I felt like it didn't ever build for me.

The best part of the book for me was Allison navigating her relationship with her father and the pressures her mother put on her surrounding it. I found myself rereading those passages and shaking my head with understanding and frustration for her.

Overall, I'd give this 3 stars.

Let me start off by saying - UCal Berkeley has never been any way shape or form , the name for UC Berkeley or Cal.

Big. Pet. Peeve.

Secondly - a lot of the technicalities of being a grad PHD program were so unrealistic.

With that said - the emotional toil that these characters went through as they grew up was beautifully written . The human experience was well put.

I think this book could’ve been developed a bit more. All of the issues were told but not showed. I never quite felt the problems and I wanted to really feel engrossed in the book.

I loved this second chance romance without unrealistic drama. It was so genuine in the awkward interactions and anger and biased views . I loved how in tune with each other they were. It was sweet.

Overall , I wanted to see more of everything; dive in a little deeper to really get those emotions going.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, st. Martin’s Press and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Delightful, hilarious, quirky, funny story.

A strong premise: a strong female lead who doesn't conform to the ideal body image begins a PhD program and finds that her ex is also enrolled. I enjoyed the first chapter (fun asides on academic jargon -- hegemonic IS overused!-- and amusing literary references), but the wheels fell off quite quickly. By the third chapter, I was forcing myself to continue reading.

The writing is distracting and overdone: cliched descriptions of libraries with "soft honey brown" paneling, strange mixed metaphors ("A scream formed at the pit of Allison's stomach"), awkward romantic moments ("As they gripped each other with a need that left them frenzied, a sense of closeness overwhelmed Allison"), and jarring dismissals of literature the heroine is supposed to love ("Beowulf ran through her head. Most of it was about heroism, masculinity, and blah, blah, blah"). Um, WHAT ABOUT GRENDEL'S MOTHER?! Sadly, I also found the male lead pretentious and unlikeable ("Cardigans are my look"?).

I wish this author all the best on future books and hope she's able to realize the potential of her ideas.

Allison Avery has been accepted into her dream PhD program at Claymore University. She will be studying medieval literature under a professor she has admired for years. Grad School comes with challenges: classes are harder, distance is growing between her and her best friend, her student's rarely participate in active discussions... oh and her ex-boyfriend, Colin Benjamin, also happens to be in the same program. Both end up competing for the single TA spot and the opportunity of a career changing research trip.

I devoured this book so quickly. I once imagined studying literature and this book is perfect for anybody who loves to read and understand the deeper meaning in texts. Allison is a little intense. She desperately wants to win and takes a lot of things very personally. However, this is a common feeling many have as we put a lot of self worth in achievements. She is incredibly smart, passionate about literature and owns who she is. The body positive vibe throughout was a nice touch. It didn't take away from anything, just made Allison a more relatable human to many readers. I also really liked reading about her tense family relations. Again, a subject many can identify with and helped the reader understand how passionately she threw herself into literature and became consumed with securing things she wanted.

Colin Benjamin was an interesting character. I didn't fall in love with him but I definitely saw growth in him and enjoyed his storylines. I don't think the romance however, is the main focus of this book. Instead it is about Allison overcoming her personal struggles and people who have made her feel small over the years to truly own who she is. This book made me want to go back to college, take classes and study literature. And stop apologizing for the space I take up in the world. Can't wait to see what other delights Jenny Howe writes!

Shout out to Monterey Jack - the cutest corgi!

PS. Only true negative thing I felt was the covid-19 references felt jarring. They did not do anything for the storyline and felt thrown in simply to acknowledge the pandemic had happened. Personally felt they are not necessary.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for an ARC of this book! I’ve willingly read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.

THE MAKE-UP TEST had a lot going on, in the very best way possible. There was a second-chance/enemies back to lovers romance, fraught family relationships, and academic ambition and competition. I’m very comfortable in the academic world, so all of this combined to portray, what I felt was, a very realistic portrayal of post-college life and the inevitable maturation a lot of us go through.

The story follows Allison during her first semester of graduate school where she finds herself once again competing for a position that would give her a leg up in the competitive world of academia against her ex-boyfriend, Colin, the same ex-boyfriend who had “stolen” an award for her during their undergraduate studies. And though Allison is determined to avoid Colin at all costs, every interaction they have indicates that the Colin she fell in love with years ago has changed for the better.

While the novel was, at times, heavy with Medieval Literature references, there were so many plot lines that were relatable, especially Allison’s relationship with her unsupportive and verbally abusive father. What might have been the biggest thing to stick in my mind about THE MAKE-UP TEST, however, had probably the smallest part in the story—Allison is plus-sized but has a very healthy respect for her body and the way it looks even when, at multiple points, she is made to feel bad about it. This felt revolutionary when reading a book starring a plus-sized main character, and I loved Jenny L. Howe’s author’s note explaining her thought process in making this choice.

This was a great debut from Howe and I’m looking forward to seeing more!

Second chance romances tend to be hit or miss for me, but this one was a solid hit!

Allison is finally achieving her dreams of getting her PhD and everything is going well (or as well as it can go), until she discovers her ex, Colin, has gotten into the same program at the same school. To make matters worse, they are assigned the same class to be teacher's assistants for and there's an opportunity for only one of them to participate in an academic research trip. However, Allison is used to competing with Colin and she's not going to let him break her heart or take away her opportunities again.

The Make-Up Test captures the lovers to enemies to academic rivals to reluctant friends to lovers perfectly. It also really helped that despite Allison's mixed feelings about Colin, he really came across as someone trying to get back in her good graces. Especially as we learn that he seems more respectful and caring about her than he was two years ago when he shattered her dreams and broke her heart.

So I spent most of this book alternating between WHAT IS/WAS COLIN THINKING? (really wanted his POV) and WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE TWO? It was definitely a roller coaster, especially because after a few chapters, I became convinced that Colin had come up with a plan to win Allison over to get-back together with her. I definitely reread some of Colin's appearances to find textual support for this theory.

Even though I really liked this, there were a few parts that didn't happen that I wished did. First, I was waiting for a best friend vs ex confrontation. As much as I like Colin, I don't think The Make-Up Test ever let him see what exactly he did to Allison two years ago. We got to see why he did what he did, but I don't think he ever got to understand the consequences of his actions besides the obvious: losing Allison.

Other than that, this book was great! Especially for Jenny L. Howe's debut! It was also neat seeing an English-based academia romance (even though I adore the STEM academia and just STEM gal romance in general). All in all, if you like academic rivals to lovers, second chance romance, or a strong female lead (especially one who is plus-sized but the story does not let that be her only personality trait), this is the book for you!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC of this delightful book!

3.5/5 stars

There are a lot of things to love about The Make Up Test! It was funny, smart, and the love for medieval literature absolutely comes and enriches the text. I absolutely loved the open, earnest body positivity in the book, and I loved how authentic and comfortable Allison and Colin's relationship was. The book delves into the complex issues of dating and academics in an interesting and heartfelt way and by the end of the book I was rooting for both of them to succeed.
My only reservation was that I would have liked a little more resolution to the relationship at the end of the book. Colin makes some choices that hurt Allison, and while (in typical romance fashion) the situation was not as it seemed to our heroine, I struggled with the reasons his choice came between them. Miscommunication is one thing, but a deliberate lack of communication that leads to someone you care about getting hurt is another. I struggled with Colin's logistics in handling things the way he did and how easily Allison forgave him. As a reader, I didn't feel the confidence Allison felt that it was all an unavoidable mistake caused by her own lack of faith, and I struggled with rooting for their relationship in the end in a way I wished I hadn't, because so much of the banter and relationship building moments were so good. That said, I think this was a mostly personal qualm as a reader accentuated by the character reconciliation being so close to the end of the book.
Altogether though, I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to see what Jenny Howe does next!

CW: fatphobia, death/loss

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of The Make-Up Test in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Plus-size main character and an academia setting? Sign me up! When I discovered this gem on NetGalley, I knew that this was a book I had to read and review firsthand. I was lucky to get this through Read Now as soon as it was listed on NetGalley.

The Make-Up Test tells the story of Allison Avery, a first-year Ph.D. student at Claymore University, who has to compete for the highly coveted medieval literature advisee position under Professor Wendy Frances against her ex-boyfriend, Colin Benjamin.

Fortunately, I fell in love with this book at the first page. You’re immediately drawn into the plot of the book with the dynamics between Allison and Colin. With such a refreshing and unique plot, I found myself easily going through this book and enjoying every page. It’s also an added bonus that this book has great pacing. I never once thought that this book felt too rushed or gone too slow.

Considering that this book was about a confident, plus-sized woman, I felt that this was the main thing I loved about this book. I really saw myself in Allison, trying to be successful in life while also being comfortable in her own skin. Since I don’t always read about plus-sized women being sought after by love interests or as the main character in the books I read, I found myself rooting for Allison throughout this book.

With this, if you’re looking for a fresh perspective in the romance genre, I would highly recommend getting this book when it releases in September.

I was so ready for this academic to lovers romance. These troupes are one of my favorites and I iked the synopsis of this one. Avery and Colin were great together and I really felt their chemistry. The plot and setting are fun.
Overall I liked this one and I would definitely check out more from this author!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.