Reality TV but with a plus sized twist. I love the character growth that went along with the romance. The characters are relatable and the topics covered make this story relevant.

# On the Plus Side
# 3/25/2024 ~ 3/26/2024
# 4.0 / 5.0

verly’s life isn’t going exactly how she wanted until she is surprised with being in her favorite show On the Plus Side. Through this experience she gains confidence, works toward her goals, finds herself, and maybe even finds love. I’d recommend if you are looking for a book about self discovery and loving yourself for who you are.

I really wanted to like this book. I was so excited for a strong plus size lead. Unfortunately it fell quite flat. The plot lacked enough action to keep the reader moving forward. I just didn’t want to keep reading. I didn’t feel like I cared about what came of Everly.

I love a romance with a plus size female main character, and this was no exception! super sweet and romantic I truly enjoyed

I wanted to love this one. The pacing was soooo slow and the build up of romantic tension was equally as glacial.

I also felt like the same topics were hashed and re-hashed to death.

I love the fat MC and the whole premise of the story, but the execution of the story needed a little kick start.

I love stories with reality TV plotlines, and this one hit all the marks. The idea of a makeover show for plus-sized contestants is unique and appealing, and the main character, Everly, is so endearing. I also enjoyed the grumpy-sunshine romance. I'm excited to see what else this author brings to the table!

Will I ever get enough of romance novels about reality TV? Probably not. (Ironically, I don't really watch a ton of reality TV. Maybe this is why I love these types of novels so much.) Add in a plus size heroine and I'm sold.

I was fully invested in our main character, Everly's, entire journey in reclaiming her fearlessness, confidence, and freedom. Despite it being an emotional journey, and Everly having to experience fatphobia amongst other things, I did find most of this book to just feel good. Jenny L. Howe's mission and reclaiming of the word fat as just another descriptor word without any negative connotation was so refreshing.

I also have to mention our male love interest because swoooooon. Logan is kind and funny and just all around hot. I love that we got to the nitty gritty of his feelings, his passions, and his goals. He was just as much a main character to me as Everly was. Whenever they were together, or whenever Everly was talking about him, I couldn't help but feel giddy. I loved their relationship and was very happy with the ending.

Wow, what an incredible journey! 📚✨ From the first page to the last, I was completely immersed in the world the author created. The characters felt so real, their struggles and triumphs resonated deeply with me. I couldn't put it down! Highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an unforgettable read.

Another wonderful story from Jenny Howe. The fat representation is great and it was fun to read. She's becoming an easy auto-read author for me.

I love a good plus size FMC, so I was excited to get this book to review! I didn't think this book was bad, I thought the concept was good. If I had purchased, I might not have finished it because I did get bored. However, I pushed through because I wanted to give an honest review. The ending was cute and it was a quick read.

DNF @ 15%

My toxic trait as a reader is that I have a hard time with insecure main characters. I know that in doing the show Everly will find the strength that’s been in her all along or whatever, but I just can’t force myself through the rest of the book to get there.

Generally, I liked the idea of the reality TV show. I think I needed to see more positive moments from the hosts so that I could see why Everly loved it so much. It felt like the community surrounding the show was a much larger aspect than the show itself, which made it hard to connect to the situation Everly was in.

It had some cute moments and I may end up coming back to read it by audio, but it's just too slow to read it with my eyes.

The concept for this book is an absolute delight and i loved it. As someone who grew up watching makeover shows, it hit me in a both nostalgic and grown up spot. I really enjoyed how much Everly was allowed to grow and how it felt very organic. I appreciated how much thought went into developing the show and related characters. The banter was super fun and there was a solid spice level. Overall, a super fun read!

This has such great representation of the plus size community and is just a really good story. I was rooting for Everly and Logan the whole time but also toward the end I had a moment of OMG noooooo, which I feel made this book even better in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everly Winters was anonymously nominated by someone in her life for her favourite show - ‘On the Plus Side’. She has really connected with the plus-sized makeover as she has felt herself fading into the background for years. She is looking forward to the opportunity to step out of her comfort zone to reclaim who she knows herself to be.

As the show starts airing, she is not comfortable with how she is being portrayed. Will she be able to stay true to herself while all of the cameras are on her.

I wanted to like this one soooooo bad. I absolutely loved the premise of it, but in execution it really fell flat for me. Everly was painfully annoying, the writing was repetitive, and every character was so surface level. I love a reality tv book. I love a plus-sized FMC, but this one was not ittttt.

On the Plus Side is a reality TV romcom featuring plus-size Everly and gruff cameraman Logan. After living a life of working to belong in the background, Everly finds herself chosen to get a makeover on her favorite TV show titled On the Plus Side. I thought this was a good book with fun and relatable characters. I liked how Everly and Logan's relationship developed both in and out of the TV show and how supportive he was. I would've liked him to be more developed on his own outside of his relationship with Everly, but overall, he was likeable and I loved how supportive he was. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a body positive romance who also loves reality TV/ makeover shows.

4⭐ on 🎧

Review withheld due to St Martin's Press boycott please see Readersforaccountability on Instagram for specific requests

I have mixed feelings about this one. I so badly wanted to like this, reading the summary it seemed to have similar vibes to One to Watch (which I loved) but it didn’t quite live up to expectations. Everly (2 of the last 3 books I’ve read had this name for the main character…weird), gets submitted to be on the reality TV show On The Plus Size (think a plus size Queer Eye). She hopes to get her mojo back with the show and over the course of filming also finds love. I didn’t really like Everly, which for the premise of this book, I think that’s a pretty big issue.

I would love to see On The Plus Side be a series with each book following a different cast of the show and the same staff (with one exception of course) following them around on their love story. What made this book so good was that it dealt with fat phobia and well meaning but inherently traumatizing comments so well. Everly isnt trying to change anything about herself except maybe a fun makeover of getting her hair done and buying new clothes, she is not trying to lose weight, she is not trying to dress for her body shape or minimize her problem areas, she is just trying not to hide anymore or take up less space. I loved that. I loved her brother and sister in law/best friend who support her through everything, I loved Logan and all the dogs. It was a great take on a plus size romance that just felt natural and just ok for existing, a nice change of pace.

If you are looking for a book that features a plus size protagonist, a swoon worthy love interest with physical insecurities of his own, and a supportive community of lovable side characters, then look no further than Jenny L Howe’s On The Plus Side.

Everly Winters had no idea she was secretly nominated for her favorite reality show, On The Plus Side. But when she learns she has been chosen out of thousands of applicants, she hopes the experience will serve as a catalyst to finding her authentic self. Will Everly regain her confidence in the spotlight, or will it push her further into hiding?

Jenny Howe deserves a standing ovation for her latest book, On The Plus Side. Despite being a romantic comedy, Howe uses her pen to highlighting the way the world views and treats plus size women all while pinpointing the shortcomings and failures of reality television. This was a smart, funny, and thought provoking read that left me thinking about it for weeks after.

Special thanks to Netgalley, St Martin’s Press, and Jenny L Howe for gifting me a copy of On The Plus Side in exchange for my honest review. I loved this book so much, I immediately reached out to the author. I am a new fan of all things Jenny L Howe and will be acquiring all of her books from this point forward!

Give me a reality TV setting and body positivity - and I am in! Overall, I really enjoyed this romance - we get the ultimate cinnamon roll of a man to help our leading lady out during uncomfortable situations; he was truly the best part of the novel and I was excited to read scenes that included him in them (yes, even the non-spicy scenes).

However, I will say this one felt a bit slow for me - and our heroine's evolution was a bit lacking. While she ultimately did stand up for herself, I felt there were some insecurities that were never addressed (like, it's okay to be an administrative assistant!) and left to linger by the end of the book.

I did prefer Howe's The Make-Up Test more, but still really enjoyed On the Plus Side and will continue to read her novels!