I was really excited about this one, but I got turned off pretty quickly by the foreword and felt like it just sort of overexplained things. I love to see representation of plus-size characters on the page, but there was just something about the stance it took that made me less excited to read this. So sorry that this one wasn't for me!

On the Plus Size is basically my catnip - a plus-size main character, reality show setting, and delightfully grumpy love interest are some of my favorite tropes. And on top of that, there wasn't a third act break up, which makes me so happy. This story felt believable with just the right amount of drama. I will definitely continue to read whatever Jenny L. Howe puts out into the world!

Since Everly's grandmother passed away, she has lived a quiet life. One of the bright spots is her favorite reality makeover show, On the Plus Side. Everly loves to read all the fan forums about the show, even if she can never bring herself to participate. Then, she finds out that someone has secretly nominated Everly to be one of the stars of the next season of On the Plus Side. All of the sudden, Everly's life is thrown upside down and on display every week on tv. Pushed out of her comfort zone, Everly increasingly turns to one of the show's cameramen, Logan, and finds they may have a surprising connection. Just as the show seems to be putting her life back on track to reach her dreams, the executive producer makes a choice that threatens all of the progress that Everly made, and the one relationship that has become the center of her life.

This was an engaging and well-crafted story, featuring strong characters and exploring interesting themes around confidence, family dynamics, and trust.

Highly recommended!

Thank you St Martins Press for the review copy of On the Plus Side by Jenny L Howe. This would be a great read for fans of the Charm Offensive and One to Watch, it was a fun combination for me of those two books while still being it's own story. I really enjoyed this book and what worked for me other than the general themes of body acceptance was that this book really was about Everly's own self-growth and confidence, how finding "your people" who are your genuine cheerleaders, who see you, can be transformative.

I also loved the chemistry with Logan, the secondary characters with Everly's friends and OTPS mentors, and I appreciated the blending of art and creativity with Everyl's story (her work, her goals, her ways of expressing herself, of connecting with people who understood her). There are some nice notes on grief as well that are nice depth without weighing the story down.

I’m so torn about my feelings for this book. I loved the premise; I was such a huge What Not To Wear Fan, and enjoyed Queer Eye as well, and the similarities of those shows in this was great. I also really liked the romance, and especially appreciated that there was not a third act breakup.

Unfortunately I don’t think this authors writing is for me. I am a plus sized woman who is always looking for more books with plus sized representation, and I just simply do not like the way she writes her characters. Which is 100% a personal thing, I am sure other people see themselves in her characters and that’s incredible, but is not the case for me. Because of this, I did not care for Everly. I hoped it would change as the story went on, but it did not.

I think there’s too much going on with the story. Some things would have been fine but something about them just went too far. The tattoo storyline was fine, but why was an apprenticeship necessary? Logan’s business plan was fine, but why were there numerous mentions of Brian his business partner, just for him to never actually be in the book? The Collective was a cool idea, which then just got brushed over. It felt rushed at times, because I think there was just too much that was trying to happen.

I think readers of The Make-Up Test will appreciate the quick appearance of Allison and Colin in this book. As soon as I read ‘cardigan’ I immediately realized it was them.

While this story was only okay for me, I can see that even one week before it officially releases it has hundreds of positive reviews, and I honestly am happy to see that. I hope that if you pick this up, it works better for you than it did for me.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This has What NOT to Wear Vibes (I swear the show On the Plus Side is Based off it)- but for a strictly plus size audience. It's a cute and fun read, but I did feel as if the chemistry between Everly and James/Logan was somewhat forced.

I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a plus size ripped rom-com and where there was growth and character development, it also felt as if it was full of fluff?

Maybe it was just my mood at the time, but I had hoped for a bit more from it!

On the Plus Side is a fun read! I'm not a huge fan of reality television in my daily TV-watching but I still enjoyed the premise of Everly being on her favorite show and meeting Logan in that fashion. This book was cute from beginning to end, and Everly and Logan were a sweet pair of grumpy x sunshine-ish, and I enjoyed their relationship and how it grew both on and off camera. I would recommend this one looking for a fun, easy romcom.

As a big girl myself, I felt the fat representation was pretty well executed; however, my only issue was Everly having to go through this big journey to gain her self-confidence. Just because she's on a show that helps her organize her life a bit, doesn't mean she couldn't have been confident in her own body from page one. I know this is a story a lot of fat people live through, myself included, but it would be nice to see some fat FMCs who were confident in themselves from the beginning without the help of some outer entity.

Aside from that, I enjoyed On the Plus Side.

Thank you to St-Martin's Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed listening to On the Plus Side, narrated by Zura Johnson!

Everly is alright hanging out in her secretary role and commenting on On the Plus Side reddit forums. Nominated for the show, she is thrown into the world of her favorite show. Next step? Rediscovering her art and not letting others define how she should look.

I listened to On the Plus Side over a few days and enjoyed the overall premise. Jenny L. Howe identifies triggers at the beginning and shares the topic of body size is featured (not in a body shaming way). As the book focuses on Everly's self journey, I appreciated the trigger early on to know it wasn't "fat bashing". While this book could be classified as contemporary romance, I'd say it more identifies as "finding yourself" fiction. Everly's inner monologue regarding her mom was truly relatable. Some of the male characters were hard to keep straight and I wish they were more easily differentiated- I quickly had to make notes. While that was a setback, I adored the little reddit thread comments at the end of several chapters.

Thank you Spotify audiobooks and SMP romance for my alc / earc in exchange for my honest review.

I am DNFing this book at 20%. I just couldn’t get past the main character ogling over the two love interest in this book I’m assuming. any time she was around them she always mention their jawline, or their eyes are their scent and I don’t know for this book it was just kind of an ick for me. I also didn’t like how thrown into this world you were you didn’t get any background information really you just got thrown right into it, I think if I continued reading this book, it would be a three star and I am really trying to DNF books sooner if I’m not enjoying them as much as I feel like I should be.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to preface this review but saying that I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, while it was an easy read, I did not either love or hate it - I would say I am indifferent to it. Despite it's aim to allow for more size inclusivity in books of this genre, it fell flat for me. While having laudable aims, it felt like the book tried to do too much - so much so that I didn't have time to connect with any of the characters. The main female character felt whiny, the main male love interest had no depth, and the "antagonist" seemed to come out of nowhere with no motive. While attempting to explore the main character's emotions, it felt like the plot fell by the wayside. I clearly see that I'm in the minority with regards to my opinion on this book, but like I said, while it was an easy read, it did nothing for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Everly Winters is content blending into the woodwork. She's fine with doing the work behind the scenes, but not necessarily getting the credit for it, which is why she remains in her position as a receptionist instead of pursuing her dreams as an artist. Everly also has a crush on one of her co-workers but doesn't have the confidence to pursue anything further with him and continues to let him use her artwork and ideas in his job.

She is anonymously nominated to be a contestant on a show she enjoys watching, "On The Plus Side", to build her confidence in her professional and personal lives. This nomination and experience are eye-opening for Everly, but she finds solace in her friendship with one of the cameramen for the show, Logan. Everly realizes that the crush on her co-worker might be superficial and that her feelings for Logan may be more than platonic.

I love the general message that the author conveyed in the story relating to self-acceptance, building confidence, and standing up for oneself in the times that matter most. I appreciated the author's inclusion of what she called "fat" representation, which is always important. However, the book fell flat for me for at least half of the story. This book didn't engage me as much as I would have liked. It lacked that "it" factor that books have when a reader wants to finish a book, which was disappointing. I'm not sure whether it was the writing, characters, or what, but there wasn't this urge to finish it like I've had with other books.

I also thought that the pacing was slower than I would have liked. I wanted more focus on Everly and Logan, which I didn't get until closer to the end of the story, and the main characters didn't act upon their feelings until at least 50% of the story was done.

The book was marketed as a contemporary romance, but I would say this book is more focused on self-acceptance with some romantic undertones. If this is your cup of tea, feel free to pick this up.

Jenny has a great way of writing plus size heroines that are relatable.

In this one Everly is perfect satisfied with flying under the radar being unnoticed. Until she finds herself on a makeover type show. A bit overwhelmed she ends of finding comfort in someone else, Logan, who is also use to going unnoticed because he’s one of the camera on the show. Their friendship is sweet and I enjoyed their relationship and how it developed. I loved how Everly became confident in herself and her body,

If you’re a reality tv lover definitely give this one a try.

This story was such a delight- I loved Everly- seeing her remember herself and get back in touch with her dreams was so relatable. She was deeply lovable and easy to root for and I loved seeing all of the normalization of fatness in just existing and living her life that Howe pulls to the surface in Everly’s story.

And Logan! Sweet Logan. I loved his grumbly protective side and seeing this love story come together. It was sweet and spicy and I loved seeing the way their relationship grew.

The backdrop of the show was a fun catalyst for the plot- I’m a sucker for a reality show setting and this one was no exception! I can’t wait to make everyone I know read this.

I truly wanted to love On the Plus Side as the concept seemed really wonderful - unfortunately the execution fell flat. While I loved the overall message of self love - the characters read really young to me and the major conflicts felt very unrealistic.

Thank you very much for the ARC.

Finally a new book by a very talented writer! Her romance stories are such a breath of fresh air!
Howe does not disappoint! If you loved The Make-Up Test you’ll love everything about her newest title On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe.
Talk about an absolute cute, sweet and funny story! This book was everything!
I loved all of the characters, I loved the banter between Everly and Logan, I loved all of the amazing references, all of it was just perfect.
I was instantly charmed by the characters. I know she is going to be such a relatable MC. This book was very well paced, with a great introduction to characters to make you like them, and a slower unfolding of all their complexities, faults, and strengths.
It was so easy to fall in love with Everly from the first chapter because she is so effortlessly relatable. The main character is lovable, and even though she is flawed, you can't help but root for her anyway.
A smart, funny and heartwarming story. That stole my heart while reading the synopsis.
I loved this book. It was sweet and romantic and the perfect book to get lost in.
It’s official…… Jenny L. Howe is an auto-buy author!

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

💜On the Plus Side by Jenny Howe releases on December 26th!! Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💜

🧡Reality TV Show Setting (Everly, the Star and Logan, lead Cameraman!!)
💜Relatable and Realistic Fat Representation (unapologetic 👏🏼)
🧡Opposites Attract (She believes she can be ‘too much’ and he speaks in gruffs and penetrating glares)
💜Slow burn, friends first, then a man obsessed (here.for.it)
🧡Ren Faires!, Pizza dates, rescue pups, and tattoos
💜Not ✨changing✨but rediscovering yourself

All the stars!! I loved that Everly was an OG super fan of the reality show who gets cast in season 3; her self-exploration journey didn’t focus on ‘improving or changing’ her but allowed her the opportunity to rediscover her passions, such as art and graphic design, that had been set aside. The emphasis was on feeling good about herself ✨exactly as she was✨.

Let’s talk about the romance…. Oh, Jenny, you’ve created a Cinnabon hero with Logan that had my heart doing cartwheels. Bearded, plaid-obsessed, blue-eyed dog daddy. Protective, patient, supportive, ‘feral on Everly’s behalf’. Quiet ✨until✨ he’s in the bedroom!! #takeallmymoney
These two had great chemistry and banter which eventually spills into the show and created a huge fan base. I loved how Everly and Logan clearly communicated about their comfort levels and the relationship conflict was external 🙌🏼. It was so much fun rooting for their HEA! Romance readers need to pick this book up next week 💋.

I'm a huge sucker about books about television shows, and this did not disappoint.

Since her grandmother passed away, Everly has hidden so much of her true self away, choosing to make herself less noticeable and smaller and sacrificing her dreams because she thinks that will bring her safety and a better life. While she doesn't shy away from being plus-sized and very much embraces her identity as fat, much of the novel is her journey to embracing the louder, less apologetic side of herself again--through a reality makeover TV show.

Everly is such a relatable main character. While I'm not plus-sized myself, this is only one aspect of Everly's character and journey and should not deter anyone from reading this book. Howe also makes these discussions surrounding Everly's journey so universal that anyone should be able to relate to Everly's struggles of identity and finding her place again. While Everly's infatuation and relationship with Logan did happen a bit fast for me, I honestly loved their dynamic. (I love a grumpy man who is secretly full of sunshine.)

Anyways, Howe is definitely an author I'll be watching!

Loved the fact that heavy set which I am can find love! Would love a follow story by this author about plus size ladies. Very rewarding

As a fat girl, I’m always going to be happy to see romances with fat people as the main characters. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for me to love this book. I was bored for a lot of the first part of the book. The last quarter was better but not enough to make me love it.

4.75ish stars

I’m quickly becoming a very big fan of this writer and the representation of diverse characters, and especially body types, that she includes in her books. I really enjoyed the story and character development here as well as the romantic relationship profession (including that the final conflict wasn’t exclusively about their romance). I appreciated the well-rounded nature of the protagonist and that she wasn’t inherently uncomfortable with her body or simply trying to change it. I also enjoyed her insistence on her story being about more than just a romance. It will seem obvious to compare this novel to One to Watch, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s accurate and wonderful. For someone who really doesn’t watch reality TV, I’m apparently a fan of stories that try to depict that world in books. Who would’ve thought?