I was greatly anticipating this read based on the summary.

Allison graduated from university and has made her way to her dream graduate program--pursuing her PhD in medieval literature. She's survived the undergrad years, the competition for a slot in grad school, and the betrayal and ugly break up with her boyfriend from undergrad, Colin.

So it's a surprise to find Colin in her PhD cohort. An unpleasant surprise. She's still harbouring bitterness from his almost snatching her dream from her and from the harshness of their eventual break up. Having him around is unsettling and upsetting, even more so when they find themselves a TA's for the same professor and eventually in competition for the spot as advisee to this professor. Their competitive natures bring them into direct competition. But something feels a little different this time. Colin is not behaving the way Allison expects and it throws her off her game.

The academic setting is well delineated and I enjoyed the details of academia and the literary references throughout. It's a good setting and a very satisfying one.

It is great to see full bodied MC representation and one where the MC is comfortable and the body positivity is well delineated, without toxicity. The attraction between the MC's felt real and at no point was Allison's body shape or size treated any way other than respectfully and positively. That really is refreshing.

Colin and Allison are both flawed characters but they feel real and relatable.. They've been part of toxic family dynamics that have scarred them both and made them hide their vulnerability under layers of protection, sometimes in ways that damage their current relationships or sabotage what could be intimate friendships. Trust is a huge theme in this book and they both find themselves betraying it and being betrayed by it.

Colin is engaging and nerdy but definitely had to grow on me. Allison's POV made me distrust him initially and I was quite infuriated with him at points in the book and side eyeing the idea of any sort of redemption arc. But there is something compelling and engaging about him so by the end I defiantly toned down the side eye. There are some reveals that are painful and the twist, although something I expected, was overall fairly satisfying.

They are both delightfully nerdy characters and their discourse on their literary assignments was quite interesting to read. I really liked that the book laid out some of the themes in their research and interests. .

Overall this is a second chance romance, a bit of lovers to enemies to lovers, a book that goes into toxic family dynamics and self doubt and imposter syndrome in academia. Overall a good read.

my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this Digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved the body positivity in this book and how exceptionally well Jenny LHowe included it seamlessly into the story without harping on it. Allison loved her body and wasn't going to let any toxicity into her life that could or would impact her well being. As a reader I absolutely loved that about her and the depth of her character made all of her choices along the way incredibly relatable and well received (at least on my end !!! )

I did struggle a little with the pacing at the start of the book finding it difficult to get sucked in and consumed into this book, as I did feel the starting dragged just slightly. Though the remaining 2/3rds of the book went at a much better pace.

I loved the second chance romance and did find myself judging Colin near the end yelling at the e-reader cursing that he wasn't worth any redemption arc in the story that would be served (eek I'm so sorry Colin!) in the end I absolutely loved how Howe was even able to prove me wrong and that everyone deserves a second chance !

First off, I love a plus size main character who is not just her size. Allison is a fully developed character with an interesting family dynamic and a love story that is exciting without being too over the top.

I loved having this set in grad school with competition looming - though sometimes it seemed like the competition was over the top. I liked the history between the characters and thoroughly enjoyed the ending.

Colin was nerdy and sweet, and not described as some Greek god character, which made him more realistic to me. This was a sweet, quick read. Enjoy!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of one of my new favorite books! I love love LOVE rivals to lovers, especially when it's between two ex-lovers who are vying for the same TA position. As someone who is entering grad school, this book was a lot of fun but still highlighted some more of the realistic aspects of being a PhD student/candidate. TW for parental death, fat-shaming/fatphobia, and abuse (emotional). The characters are wonderfully flawed and while their flaws irritated me to some degree (as flaws typically do), I understood them. Not the biggest fan of Colin, I will have to say, but that may just be personal preference and a general pickiness when naming favorite fictional males, especially in romance. I am completely drawn to academia and the way Jenny L. Howe writes it and how Howe sheds light on academia in the liberal arts is such an interesting concept I am so sad to see hasn't been reflected in romance/rom coms up until now (or maybe my bubble has just been severely limited)! Looking forward to Jenny L. Howe's next book as this was a great debut.

3.5/5 Stars

The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe reunites ex-lovers and PH. D candidates, Allison, and Colin as they vie for the same position. I enjoyed all the characters in this book. I think Allison showed a lot of immaturity, much like myself at that age. I did connect with her regarding the relationship with her father. I only wish the story dug deeper into the relationships and was a little less about the curriculum. Overall, I enjoyed the it, I was just left wanting a little more.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

As someone who has gone to grad school, from the very first sentence of this book I knew that I was in the safe hands of an author who was going to truthfully portray what it's like to be in academia, and I was not wrong. The plot follows Allison Avery who, to her surprise, not only finds herself in her dream PhD program alongside her ex Colin, but also stuck TAing with him for the same class and competing for a research placement. What follows is a sweet and emotional rivals-to-lovers, second chance story, with complex side-plots involving fat-shaming/fatphobia, emotional abuse from a parent, and parental death. For me, the strongest aspects of this book were the depiction of what it's like to be a graduate student and the relationship between Allison and both of her parents. Not only does Howe precisely illustrate through Allison the weird competitiveness, the tendency to isolate, the fear of having to teach, and of course the always present imposter syndrome that is grad school, but she also gets at the inside-baseball humor of academia and student life. With the parents, I really liked that Howe wrote a story where Allison didn't have to forgive or forget her father's behavior but rather that she was able to stand up for herself and say "this is fucked up and that's how I feel!". We have an over tendency to see forgiveness as morally right or a sign of being "healed" but it's not and it's completely ok to not want to forgive someone, especially someone like Jed! In addition, I also appreciated the arc of Allison's relationship with her mother. Where the book falters for me is Colin, particularly in the final chapters. I will admit I have an extreme sensitivity to academic men behaving badly and I simply do not think that Allison had anything to apologize for in the way she reacted to his actions -- she was entirely justified and he was a diabolical idiot. I do think this is one of those cases where having a dual POV would have helped to make Colin a bit more sympathetic, as having his inner dialogue might have shored up some of his reasoning or at the very least provided a perspective other than Allison's to view him through. I just felt that in the end, Allison deserved better...sorry Colin!

Overall The Make-Up Test is easily the best portrayal of academia I have read in romance and, while sweet and funny, depicts some heavy subjects in a thoughtful way. It's a great debut, and I look forward to reading more of Howe's books in the future!

The Make-Up Test is a smart, funny and sincere look at competition and failure in romantic relationships, relating to the world as a plus size woman, and coming of age in an academic setting. Jenny L. Howe’s debut novel is funny and relatable and even educational as it provides a peek into the process Allison will endure to become a professor. The characters are flawed, but learning and very realistic. I loved Howe’s flowing writing style, and can’t wait to pick up her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

This was a great debut set in the world of academics. I loved it and I can’t wait to see what this author does next as this was so good.

The Make-Up Test is an academic rivals to lovers/second-chance contemporary romance following two exes who are reunited when they attend the same Ph.D. program. The MC Allison is obsessed with medieval literature and is a go-getter who has had goals to be in academia from an early age. Things become tough personally for Allison when she is paired with her ex to be a co-TA for an undergrad literature course.

Although the love interest seemed sweet, I did have qualms with his miscommunication and reasoning for some of his actions both when they dated 2 years prior and during the events of the novel. The book wrapped up quickly before I fully got behind the main couple reuniting.

I enjoyed the easy to follow writing and the medieval literature topics interspersed throughout the book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley to be able to read an ARC of this book.

I couldn’t put this down! Academic rivals to lovers was is automatic must-read for me, and this book didn’t disappoint. Allison was such a rich, relatable protagonist, and I loved her zeal for medieval literature. It made me want to try Chaucer again (which is saying something).

I struggled with Colin a bit more. I understand why this was a single point of view book, but that did result in me not sympathizing with his motives for most of the novel. That said, the stakes on their rivalry were real, which I really appreciate.

Overall, an amazing debut, and I can’t wait to read whatever Jenny Howe writes next.

I want to shout about this book from the rooftops! Jenny Howe, congratulations on such a wonderful debut! Second chance, lovers to rivals to lovers, grad school setting, a soft, sweet boy (with a bit of edge) and a charming, lovely MC who's both confident and comfortable and proud of who she is, but wrestles with insecurities (as we all do!) in such a relatable way.

Be sure to check content warnings before reading (the author has a fabulous note at the beginning of the book that addresses some of the content). I'm personally wrestling with grief and impending loss of a family member and I'm so glad the author gives the reader a head's up about this content.

5/5! A charming and lovely debut. I can't wait to read Jenny Howe's next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

2.5 ⭐️’s

I really wanted to love this one. It has been on my highly anticipated rom com list for a while. Second chance, academic rivals romance? Sign me up.
While the writing was excellent, with compelling prose and powerful metaphor, the characters and story fell flat for me.
I had the hardest time with Allison’s character. I felt like she had a whiny quality to her…a harried anxiety that just did not sit right with me. I couldn’t empathize with her and just spent the whole book white knuckling my kindle out of frustration.
Colin, the love interest was painted in such a negative light right off the bat that I actually started to believe Allison’s biased POV and her experiences with him (their initial ugly breakup) that lead to the way she saw him. And then the third act conflict truly infuriated me. How could she forgive this? How is this surmountable? Based on miscommunication, the unraveling of their relationship only left me angry and frustrated, disappointed with the way it all lazily rolled back together, abrupt ending and all.
There were also a few pandemic references in this book that I honestly could have just done with out. I don’t want to be reminded of COVID while enjoying an escapist read. It did nothing for the story…so why include it?

Thank you to the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was adorable and a great rendition of the enemies-to- lovers trope. This book bleeds character and research that is authentic, timely, and enjoyable throughout. The peek into medieval literature accompanied by second-chance romance gives the book good pacing, its insightful delineation from typical romance novels, and helps Allison lift off the page. While the romance and Collin's character overall lack the steam and swoon-worthy lines to make this a bestseller, it will still be a standout that fans of Emily Henry’s Book Lovers will definitely be drawn toward. The book addresses fat phobia, academia’s hypocrisy (sexism predominantly) and chosen families with accessible, but detailed nuance. A wonderful four stars.

There is so much great stuff about this book. The glimpse at grad school, the discussion of fatphobia , the unresolved relationship the main character, Allison, has with her dad. The grad school dynamics and Chaucer snippets and did I mention the grad school stuff? I really loved so much about the book. Which is why it’s frustrating that the least successful part of the book for me was the romance. It’s not even that I disliked Colin as a character. But the second chance romance didn’t work for me, and it didn’t seem like a healthy relationship. I wanted Allison to go to therapy so badly throughout the book. Granted, she’s 22 or 23 and is at a big transition point. But so much of what she sought out in Colin didn’t seem to be positive attributes of his so much as what she was lacking from other people. I felt like Allison deserved someone better suited for her, who was better at communicating. I get why she dated Colin in college. And I can even see the draw during the book. But ten years down the line, I’m not convinced that he’s who’s going to make Allison happiest and that instead she clung to the familiar.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am a sucker for grad school/academia romances, so this was right up my alley. If you enjoyed The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood and A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings, then The Make-Up Test is for you!

This second chance romance had intense literary debate, tension, swoon worthy scenes, and complicated relationships. I loved the academic rivalry between Allison and Colin and the whole story kept me wanting more. It had great character development and humour throughout. Howe’s writing style is fantastic and I can’t wait to read more from her in the future.

Thank you NetGalley, Jenny Howe, and St. Martin’s Press for providing this ARC!

CW: emotionally abusive parent, death of a parent, fat-shaming/fatphobia, getting brutally fucked over twice by your ex (and not in a hot way)

Okay, I know I've been generous with my romance ratings lately, but hear me out: y'all like The Hating Game and The Love Hypothesis, right? How about we take the two main elements of those books - enemies-to-lovers competing for a respected position in their field + an academia setting - and add a second chance romance between an intelligent, ambitious plus-sized heroine who's comfortable in her skin and her ultra bright, cutthroat but sensitive ex-boyfriend, and a competition between the two exes for the lone spot in a prestigious medieval literature PhD program? Does The Make-Up Test have your attention yet?

Good, because this book is just as good as it sounds. It pleasantly surprised me. Both books I just referenced set a high bar for their respective tropes, and The Make-Up Test easily matched, if not surpassed those bars. It's a fun romcom with a lot of depth and it's a stand-out in the genre. It's filled with medieval literature references that, if you didn't pay attention much in your high school English classes like me or if you're just not familiar with that niche genre, you'll be lost. But nonetheless, I was fascinated by the references and I fell into a rabbit hole researching everything that was mentioned.

I love how Allison doesn't let her body define her; she's unapologetically proud of her curves and stays calm and strong against bullies. She's a respectable, iconic heroine with healthy self-esteem and a brilliant mind and you'll wish you could be friends with her. She's someone with some much love and light in her heart and deserves a partner who treats her well. Which, oh boy...

I should warn y'all - Colin's, uhh... how should I phrase this? Colin's a dick. He's a pretentious, obnoxious, candy-ass little dick and there's a high probability you'll DNF this early on or dislike this book because of him. Personally, despite how his character development rounds him out to a kindhearted, gentle lover at the end, I still hate him and he's the petty reason why I'm giving this a 4.5 instead of a full 5. Not sorry. Fuck this guy.

Also, this was Howe's debut?! Stop. Hands down, my favorite part of this book was the writing - it's so meticulously crafted and polished, the humor is easy, the characters are empathetic and strong, and the conflict is natural and believable. If anything, this makes me incredibly hyped for her second book. Add her to your "auto-buy" list ASAP! She's an author to watch out for.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 5

Thank you so much St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Pub date: September 13, 2022

I really, really wanted to like this book. But I just didn’t.

The sincerity of the author’s note preceding this book makes me think that she’s probably someone I would get along with well in person. Yet, as an author… I don’t think she’s for me.

I struggled the most with the overall writing quality. Most of the time all the characters, even the main character, fell flat. The whole “show, don’t tell” motto is sometimes overstated, but this book desperately needs it applied. As the reader, I’m told tidbits about the characters. Things they’ve done, said, felt. What they like, what they don’t. But we don’t see this exhibited by the characters’ choices of action or speech much of the time. And the few moments where we are given an almost-taste of depth, the writing style jolted me completely out the story. There are so many instances of a fact being given in parentheses, like an aside to the reader, that I never could lose myself in the book. I was constantly being reminded that I was being told a story. These moments are so egregious that, more than once, it even occurred multiple times on the same page.

But beyond the writing, what about the story itself? Girl and boy meet, boy breaks girl’s heart, and after some time, they meet again, not quite who they were before, and that is where we begin.

I like the premise. Time and life experience shapes everyone, but sometimes so much more than you expect. Especially because, as is true in this book, time and life experience don’t stop happening. The characters are still experiencing big life moments. Still learning. Or at least, we’re told they are. I really wanted to watch a romance blossom with those parameters. But it was more that the characters are antagonistic, and then they’re together. Yay, I guess? I never did really figure out why I was supposed to root for this.

On a more personal note, while I like that this book did at least attempt to acknowledge important topics such as sexism, racism, LGBTQ+ issues, body issues, representation, etc., it was, to put it kindly, very forced, and often very awkwardly brought up. These are all issues I’m passionate about too, but I wanted to hide from the second hand embarrassment at times.

So why two stars instead of one, if I disliked so much? Because there’s glimmers of something good here, and if you’re not bothered by the other things like I am, this may have potential for some readers. Had these things been fleshed out, it’s likely I would have felt very differently. I liked the specificity of the main character’s interest in literature. I liked the topic of dealing with a parent who isn’t a good parent. I liked the idea of how friendships and romantic relationships can change or fail and it’s not always because one character is horrible. I liked that who someone is isn’t always who they will be.

And the dog. He was my favourite character. But dogs will always have an unfair advantage with me for that title.

A sweet and thoughtful look at an early career academic with a focus on medieval literature and an unfortunate tendency to escalate her problems into Worst Case Scenarios. This, of course, includes her rivalry with her ex, who pulled some pretty shady dealings during their undergrad years, shady dealings that now lead the heroine to assume the worst at nearly every turn. As the pair grows as scholars and teachers (and simply as adults), they rekindle the spark they felt in their younger years, wondering if their competitive habits weren't so much a product of enmity as they were a means of connecting with one another.

I found Allison's first fumbling attempts at teaching deeply relatable, being thrust into a classroom and expected to "get it right" with little guidance. I also deeply appreciated having two main characters who weren't given conventionally assumed physical characteristics. She wasn't tiny. He wasn't buff. I loved that. And I loved the balance of seeing a fat woman own her body with confidence, while also acknowledging that constantly maintaining that confidence amid of sea of negative messages from others is virtually impossible.

The choice to set the book several years post-pandemic (with specific references to the pandemic) was interesting, though it made me wonder what else had changed about society and technology and politics and even the landscape of teaching 5 years from now. The references could've been removed and the story could've unfolded in the fake non-pandemic world of roughly "now" like a lot of books hitting the shelves, so the choice made me curious about the intent of including it, without deliberately creating a 5-years-in-the-future world or otherwise integrating the pandemic into the story. As writers, I feel like we're all asking these questions about how we set our "contemporary" stories, and I appreciated seeing someone take a stab at this particular choice.

Other highlights include a realistic look at the inevitable shifting of friendships as adult lives evolve, a load of fun and insightful references to medieval literature, and a pair of fabulous dogs.

I like this book but I don’t love it. As I read, it felt like someone who really loved medieval literature studied rom coms and figured out how to combine the two. There were so many things that felt forced. Pasta bouncing someone’s glasses askew? A scar from Scrabble? There were some things that were just repeated too much. Clearly Allison went to Brown, as mentioned in every chapter or multiple times in each (presumably). She’s fat and has a bad relationship with Jed. Got it. Several times over. She hates Colin, she loves Colin, she hates him and then loves him again. Got it. She’s doing a PhD at a prestigious school, also got it. She’s a brain twin with Sophie, mentioned too many times to be cute. The ending was way too cheesy and everything was just tied up too neatly. Allison did not come off as someone I would like by the end of the book. She felt too immature and bratty. Colin can also be summed up by saying he’s a white man who wears glasses and cardigans… all the time. I did like the explanations of grad school - as someone who also as a PhD I felt they were really realistic.

the make-up test by jenny l. howe.
3.5/5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4!


thank you netgalley and st martins press for this eARC!

this book immediately caught my attention with the second chance lovers trope and academic rivals as well. i found Allison to be a lovable character with her enjoyment for reading, passion for wanting to become a professor, and being so independent at a similar age to mine! i loved how the book had an mc that is plus size without the focus of her losing weight or hating her body! i loved the side characters Sophie and Mandy as well! on the other hand, i found Colin to be quite unbearable at times. i noticed nearly all the male characters in the book were annoying honestly.

Colin’s character annoyed me a lot which if you read this, i’m sure you will understand what moments i’m talking about, but i won’t give away details. i honestly did not gain much interest as i thought i would within the book until about 40% in and i think a large part of that had to do with allison and colin’s pettiness. you could obviously tell there was tension between them, but at times it was super toxic and a bit immature. the writing is great so that really pushed me to keep reading and as well as knowing this would be a slow burnish book. i am also not a fan of the miscommunication trope!

overall i loved the grad school setting and the elements explored for this book! i just did not love all of the elements brought to the page. i would consider this to be a great debut novel to read! i would read another book from this author!