Who remembers "What Not to Wear" on TLC? I LOVED it- that show back in the day. So this book brought all the feels, but with an inclusive spin...a plus sized version and I LOVED it. Everly was selected for On the Plus Side, a reality documentary show about plus sized individuals finding their voice and confidence through a fashion makeover, but also confidence building experiences and life changing events. But how much is real and how much is scripted? Everly is about to find out! Add Logan, the cameraman who falls for her and we have a winner of a romance. Bits of twists and turns keep the reader engaged until the very end, which is tied up beautifully.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #St. Martins Press for the ARC.

3.5 stars rounding up to 4.

This was a quick enjoyable read. I appreciated the focus of how it feels to be fat in a world designed for not-so-fat people. This was a very relatable concept for me as I've struggled with many of the same thoughts and feelings that are pointed out in this book. I loved the overall plot, and the romance between Everly and Logan (and no third act break up! 🙌).

That said, I was a little put off at times by Everly's character. It felt like she victimized herself just a little too much for my liking. For example, there's a scene where Everly is thinking about how she can't make fun of clothes with her best friend because Becca would insist Everly looks good in it because "that was the only way she knew how to deal with their size difference. Instead of acknowledging that Everly was fat, Becca tried to deny it out of existence." How presumptuous to think you know exactly what your best friend in thinking without actually talking to her about it...

Everly comes off as a bit immature in this book to me as she assumes what the people in her life are thinking and their intentions rather than having open and honest conversations with them. By the end, I felt that Everly had grown some and was better with having these conversations, but it basically took the show screwing her over to get there.

So while Everly herself frustrated me a bit, I felt the overall book was still enjoyable.

Read if you like:
✔️ Plus-sized representation
✔️ Grumpy x Sunshine tropes
✔️ No third-act breakup up
✔️ Character growth
✔️ Dog Daddies

3 out of 5 Stars.

Thank you to Jenny L. Howe, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for an eARC of On the Plus Side!

I was so interested in this book because it has plus size representation and a message of loving/accepting yourself no matter what, but unfortunately this book just wasn't for me.

Things I liked:

The characters: Everly is so relatable and I loved that Logan is a lumberjack, but also not your typical jacked, stunningly gorgeous love interest. The characters were real and their real life experiences felt authentic.

The pacing: The story moved along at a decent clip. I felt like big events were scattered throughout and the author did a great job developing the relationships of the characters.

The writing itself: It fit the story and genre.

Things I wasn't a big fan of:

The way plus size was repped: There are so many more books coming out with plus size rep. It is so encouraging and I definitely see how this book be a source of inspiration for some people. I just felt like the whole premise of a fat person (using this term as the author would - NOT derogatorily, but working to claim the word back as a descriptor and nothing more) going on a makeover show almost defeats the purpose of accepting one's self.

Some of the sub plots: It seemed like Everly had much too much going on for one single eight week makeover show. Her bigger goals seemed on point: Display her art at the Cape Cod Collective and work towards a promotion at work. But then there was her smaller goal of getting a tattoo and then possibly getting a tattoo artist apprenticeship. The smaller goals seemed forced, random, and did not really fit with Everly's vibe. in my opinion.

Overall I thought this was a decent book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a rom com with plus size representation. I am interested to read other books from Howe since she focuses on plus size rep and do think I would like another book of hers not based around a makeover show!

“On The Plus Side” by Jenny L. Howe tells the story of Everly Winters, who was nominated for a reality television makeover show On the Plus Side. Logan Samuel is the rescue dog loving, plaid-wearing cameraman of her dreams.

This romcom novel is similar to Olivia Dade works (and other authors) in which newspaper articles, online fan forums, show transcripts, etc., are used to build the narrative. I like this pastiche storytelling, although I do wonder if it’s a bit lazy for getting information to the reader or helping to provide complexity for the story.
There is an almost love triangle that had me very nervous. Who is she going to pick?! I actually would have liked it to play out a bit more (how the show producers planned) than how the plot developed, if only because I thought Howe did an amazing job of creating true dramatic tension between two potential love interests.

I was less a fan of the villainous mother who turns out to be less bad more misguided. First, I don’t really like mom = bad. But I like that more than authors who want to create meanies then step back from that characterization. Everly’s mom is not bad because of her lifelong critique of her daughter’s figure, she’s just misguided because she wants her daughter to be skinny to be more accepted by the public. Howe does a decent job of making it clear this justification is still not acceptable, but I wanted the heart-to-heart to be more explicit with daughter making clear her comments were/are terrible.

I was confused by the characterization of Everly as someone who used to live big but then has tried to make herself smaller (metaphorically) in recent years. The timeline and reasons for this just seemed a bit off to me for someone who is described as giving zero f*cks then, within the span of a couple years, wears beige and awkwardly tries to fade into the background of her life.

For all of that, I did have fun with this book and have wanted to pick up Jenny L. Howe’s debut novel for some time. This was an entertaining book and I will pick up “The Make-Up Test” soon. 3.5/5

This story fet like such a special one to me. As a plus size person I felt represented by this story and Everly’s growth from wanting to feel invisible to coming into her own. Her journey of self discovery was so inspiring. I also loved the male love interest. Logan started as that grumpy hero everyone loves but you got to see little glimpses of how much he was enjoying evenly before they ever got together. All of the side characters were great as well! The tv hosts were real and funny and so understanding. The family growth was also lovely. Overall I think this book will stick with me for awhile

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are mine.

This is a sweet, fun and beautiful story. I really liked the characters, and the premise of the book, I am always attracted to stories of reality TV shows, this one made me laugh so much,

Everly is such a real heroine and Logan is a dream, he made me swoon so hard, their connection is perfect, but what I like most is the message about the value of people beyond the physical. Highly recommended

Reality TV has such a pull for some reason. Even for people who don't necessarily enjoy watching it, it's interesting to get a behind the scenes look at that world. This book was so much fun to read, the female MC was so realistic and relatable, and it was impossible to not fall for Logan, the love interest. Great for fans of the show Queer Eye, and the movie or book of Dumplin.

• happy to see a grumpy-sunshine where the main conflict near the end is both protagonists against the problem, not each other via miscommunication, etc.
• unfortunately forgettable love interest, sorry buddy
• i saw some of the criticisms but i honestly felt like everly’s insecurity over pursuing art as a full-time career are completely founded

What a great book. The premise was great, the characters were even better. Everly was such a special character to read about and to follow. Her story from self-doubt to self-recognition was special to witness. I felt a special connection to Everly as I got to know her thought the book, it was lovely to watch her blossom into her full potential. I loved the connection between Logan and Everly and really felt a sense of connection between the two characters. A favourite part of mine, is reading about them marching hand-in-hand into Sady's office. So sweet. I loved that they were both able to flourish into their full selves around each other. The reason behind the sanctuary - gut wretching. I cried going to sleep that night after reading Logans story. I won't spoil it but wow!

I thought the reality TV aspect of the story was fun and something that most who read the story would be able to fully emerse themselves into. It's totally pop culture, relatable and added to Everly's growth of doing hard things.


Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of the book for an honest review.

On the Plus Side is my second novel by Jenny Howe after enjoying The Make-up Test last year. The story takes pieces of What Not to Wear, which was a show in the U.S. where people nominated their loved one and the hosts then throw out their entire wardrobe and start again with a new look, and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, where a nominee would get an entire make-over from the five hosts (one for fashion, one for food, one for interior design, one for culture, and one for grooming). In this novel, the show is called “On the Plus Side” which takes elements from both real shows and adds plus-size hosts. Everly Winters blends in rather than stands out. This is very relatable to many people that are plus size, me included, as there are different standards that do not normally apply to everyone else.

Once Everly is filming with the show, she is very overwhelmed and finds comfort in Logan, the cameraman. The writing is read more as an emotional journey for Everly with some romance rather than a full romance novel. It does feel off balance if you go into it expected a romance-centered story as it can feel flat when compared to the other elements of the story. Howe works hard to not have Everly’s size be her main trait, but I do wish there was a little more growth for other parts of her personality. There are some, but the plus-size aspect is the dominating feature. Logan was a great love-interest as he was an interesting character and had a great connection with Everly. As for the actual writing, there are a few lines, such as saying that she is a badass and not a princess, throughout the novel where it wasn’t ones that I agreed with as I think it didn’t need to make some words negative to get the point across. Overall, I loved the plus-size representation and how easy it was to connect with the story. There are a few elements that I think could have been improved, but I did enjoy Howe’s work and cannot wait to read more.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

The characters were thought out well. I didn't necessarily love the plot but, loved the overall idea of the story.

This was pretty cute! The concept was fun and I enjoyed the body positivity message.

There wasn't a communication-related third act conflict, which is always a positive, and the final conflict (though awful) felt like it fit within the overall plot of the story pretty naturally. This conflict was resolved quickly enough though that the overall ending almost felt anticlimatic? I thought there was going to be another chapter or two when I reached the epilogue, though I guess most loose ends were tied up.

Content: open-door, which is not my thing, but these scenes were moderately easy to skip through

This book was so incredibly hysterical. I was dying laughing throughout the whole thing. A beautifully written couple and plus-size representation you can never have too much of.
On the Plus Side follows Everly Winters as she navigates a life on camera for her favorite reality TV show: On the Plus Side. She has goals of her own and has been fine for way too long. An opportunity for the push she needs on the show of her dreams? What more could she have ever asked for? The show brings a lot to her life that she never expected, a lumberjack cameraman was definitely one of them.
Everly… I just loved her. She was so relatable, smart, and funny; her chemistry with herself was really beautiful. I loved seeing her character grow and being with her through her career development and personal relationships. I could see not just myself but a lot of women in her. She’s probably one of my most admirable book characters if I’m honest.
And Logan… wow, he was a treat that's hard to beat. I LOVED him. He understood Everly and their connection was so sweet and so beautiful. They had a very seamless fit into each other’s lives that, even in books, is hard to work out. Obsessed.
I really loved the rest of the cast too. Jazzy and Stanton, while I wasn’t sure how I felt about them at first, became really exciting to have around. Jazzy was so funny and the best fashion advisor a girl could ask for whereas Stanton had a truly inspiring personality, especially for a side character. I loved them both deeply by the end.

I loved pretty much everything about this romance. Above all else, I loved that there was no indication that Everly needed to change who she was, tone herself down, change her body, or accept other peoples' judgements about her. Instead the focus was on finding her voice and reclaiming the self-confidence and self-worth that she lost after her grandmother died 4 years prior.

Ever since her grandma's death, Everly's life has shrunk. So slowly that she hardly noticed it was happening, she lost her verve and her joy. With her grandma as her greatest cheerleader, she used to be outsized and bold, not afraid to be noticed or to pursue her passion for art. The reality TV show, On the Plus Side, with its focus on plus-size people and its mission to give them a voice and more visibility, initially seems to be the perfect way to help her. It's only as she gets deeper into filming that she starts to question the producer's actual goals and her method of achieving them.

At first, I wasn't sure that this should be characterized as a romance, since the focus of the book was so firmly on Everly, but by the end of the book, it was clear that Logan and her growing relationship with him were an important part of the story. I loved his protectiveness of her and his insistence that she is an amazing woman with a light that cannot be ignored. He was so supportive and sweet and his love for his dogs just melted my heart. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

as a plus size woman who is very insecure about my size, this book was perfect for inspiring positivity showing you that you are worth more than the size of your jeans, I love size positive reads, and will be happy to see more books from Jenny Howe.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. There were parts I really enjoyed but other parts that gave me the ick lol.

I loved the main character, Everly, I thought she was sweet and well written. I really enjoyed the first part of the book where we get to see some of the first few reality show days of filming and how everything works. I really liked the hosts of the show and how joyful and supportive everyone was.

The love interest was not developed at all, I didn't think they had much chemistry and while I get how their feelings for each other could have developed I feel like we didn't actually get to see it happen, it just was, so I wasn't really feeling it. I skipped all the spicy scenes which is usually a sign I'm not feeling the romance and I definitely wasn't in this case. There was nothing wrong with it but tbh I think the book would've been better if it was just about Everly finding herself and her joy.

Taking the romance out also would've helped with another issue which is that I felt this book was too long for what it was.

Overall, I'm glad to have given it a chance and there are some parts I really liked, but it's not something I'd really recommend to romance readers. If you're looking for a book specifically about self love and growth and are willing to live with the lame romance you could be happy with this.

Advanced copy provided by Netgalley

Everly, a receptionist has the hots for her coworker James. Everly spent lots of her free time on forums connected to, On the Plus Side a lifestyle makeover show. While Everly was at work one day the cast of OTPS show bursted into her office to let her know she would be featured on her favorite show. Logan, the camera man has caught her eye. Everly starts filming and is full of nerves. Everly wanted nothing more but to setup an art booth at the Collective. I feel like the FMC is looking for something to fill a void. Will the show Everly reach her full potential? Give this a read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

***** I have received and read an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for giving my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.*****

Cute and easy read, and it's always nice to see plus size characters as more than a best friend role.

It's nothing new, but it's one that's nice to read anyway.

Dumplin' 2.0 with Queer Eye and a dash of spice.
This is very cute and enjoyable read. I love to see plus size representation in books, although pretty surface level characterizations. Learning to stand up for yourself and what is right, is always a good read.

I loved this premise! I related to the character so much. I didn’t love how it ended so happily ever after actually! The reality show piece was great I thought!