I LOVE reality tv, like I am a shameless slut for it. I’m not kidding! So, this was my catnip! I had so much fun with this romcom.

I need more fat main characters who are framed as HOT. I need to kick fatphobia and diet culture to the motherf@$*^ curb!!! This book was a great contributor to fat representation, especially in steamy open-door romance!

-workplace conflicts
-fraught family dynamics
-so much banter between Logan and Everly (they have a grumpy sunshine dynamic, which is also my catnip hahaha)
-reality tv production drama
-pets named after food

CW: fatphobia, body shaming, grief, cancer, death, animal death, abuse

As a plus sized woman , I appreciate the rep in this fun rom com . This book was a very cute plus sized rom com. Liked the reality tv premise though this has been done before .
A fun book . I liked the characters and always love seeing plus size !

A cut and lovely story with excellent size representation. It reminds me of Dumplin' but that is fine because we need more books like this out there.

Jenny L. Howe is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her stories include relatable characters, deep arcs, and are written in a style that you can nom nom nom so easily. In On The Plus Side, she dives into a subject that can make some people feel uncomfortable, but it made me feel seen. She explains immediately her use of the word ‘fat’ and by the end of the book I was not only comfortable with the word, I was owning it.

WHAT I LOVED MOST:
The Reality Show. It was so fun to follow along on Everly’s journey through the show, and have the insider's view of a show similar to Queer Eye. The hosts were so loveable and loyal.
Grumpy Guy in Flannel. Need I say more? Logan’s grumpiness, makes his softer, sexier moments with the Everly Hawwwwwwwwwwwt.
Slow Burn. The banter and little cues from these lovebirds create the sweetest slow burn. I think I died when he mouthed words to her.
Dogs! Um, dogs and dog lovers. And cock-blocking dogs for the win!
Everything Everyy. Her story rings so true to me. Being in her mind, watching her grow, truly meant the world to me. I was asked in a IG story recently, “What book changed you?” THIS ONE. Thank you Jenny L. Howe.

FAVORITE QUOTES:
“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.”
“Even when she was at her most confident, “pretty” and “fat” felt like polar opposites.”
“And the way you talked about my body, the way you looked at me, tried to hide me, tried to teach me to hide myself, that hurt. That damaged me.”
“You can’t love yourself until you can actually be yourself.”

If you have ever cringed at the word fat, felt like you have to make yourself smaller, felt like people around you wanted to ignore your fatness, or wanted to help you become skinnier, this book is for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and Jenny L. Howe for the e-ARC. I appreciated the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review.

I loved the premise of this book, a curvy girl finding the confidence to go after what she wants despite her weight.

I had a couple of problems with the book:
1) I didn't like the writing style. Something about it just put me off.
2) the FMC was hard to relate to. She was extremely immature and just also a meh character.
3) the MMC was completely forgettable. I honestly can't even remember his name.

What I did like:
1) The plot starts on page 1. She was bombarded by the hosts of her favorite show right off the bat
2) It reminded me of Queer Eye. I absolutely adore the Fab 5!
3) Reminds all of us that we should go for what we want in life and not give a s**t what we look like.

I enjoyed reading On the Plus Side so much! It was a fast read for me and finished in two days. Funny and relatable, I adored the Everly. I loved how the story focused on Everly relearning to love herself and gaining her confidence. Although this is a romance, I felt the romance was a supporting character. The star for me was the main character and her personal journey.

I am not a reality tv fan so that wasn't my favorite but it was well done here. The plus size representation is what drew me to read this and after reading this book, Jenny Howe has a new fan. Great Job!

I found this book while poking around on NetGalley looking for something new to read. The bright cover with an obviously fat heroine caught my attention and I requested it without even reading the blurb. Jenny L. Howe is a new to me author, but honestly, the cover and title were enough to make me want to jump right in. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

As the two stars indicate, it was okay. Y'all, I wanted to love this book. I did. But, every time Everly wanted to disappear into the background, I died a little more inside. Yes, a lot of fat people, especially women, have journeys of self-acceptance that involve harsh words and awkward family relationships, unrequited love, and secrets and dreams they'd rather not talk about on national television, but come on. In the year of the Barbie Movie, 2023, isn't it time we move past that narrative?

This book was a very cute plus sized rom com. I honestly love reality TV settings as it usually shows the main character gaining confidence. Our FMC was very enjoyable but I did not really enjoy our MMC. It is always very nice to see a plus sized woman being loved.

I will say I did not enjoy the writing too much. The type of writing made it boring at times which truly affected the pacing.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I honestly enjoyed this book so much. Being plus size "fat", it's always been a touchy subject for me. After reading this, I truly see myself in a better light and embrace myself in whatever stage I'm in.. even if I'm fat! Shape doesn't define you. The main character is truly inspiring and relatable. I loved every bit. Several times I giggled out loud and multiple times I got teary eyed. Such an inspiring and moving story, but in a light hearted way. Wonderful for others in the fat community seeking to find their self-love and confidence to realize they're "striking"! I've never felt more seen in my life. If you're part of the fat community trying to break fat phobia and your own insecurities to just truly LIVE, you need to read this.

I received this ARC from NetGalley to read and review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

This was an adorable read. As a plus-sized person myself, I'm loving the representation and I can see parts of myself, and I appreciate the works.


With that being said, it's a little choppy. It can be fixed absolutely - but the pacing needs to be analyzed again. Thank you net galley :)

It was a pleasure reading On the Plus Side! It’s rare to find a story, centered around a plus size character, that accurately depicts the experience of living in a larger body and finding yourself. I loved the emphasis on Everly’s career and creative ambitions. Her feelings and her mother’s fears resonated with my experience. This was a delightful read and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to enjoy this arc!

Did I love this book? Yes! Did I still give it 4 stars? Yes. But not for any bad reason! It’s a great story about finding yourself and finally learning to go after what you want in life. The only reason it got 4 stars is because I am not the biggest fan of the writing style but that’s my own opinion! Read Everly’s story and decide for you self! I promise you won’t regret it!

This was a cute plus size rom com and the premise was interesting with the reality show and the main character learns to have confidence in herself and in her work and learn to stand up for herself. The romance was hot and the behind the shenanigans of the reality show where they manufacture drama for views was spot on. Great fast read and I enjoyed it.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was a little apprehensive of this book. Sometimes books about fat people spend the whole book arguing that fat people deserve to live or harp on making the protagonist love their body, and while those are valiant causes, sometimes I just want to read a romance that doesn't mention how teeny tiny the protagonist is, not get into a huge debate about the politics of people's bodies. And then it's also grumpy sunshine?? I loved this read!

This was a super cute story with a lot of great elements! I loved the representation and the different characters. The reality show sub-plot was interesting and a great vehicle for a lot of the plot points. The cinnamon roll MC was a fantastic book boyfriend. I would have adored his POV in the book - even though I understand the choice to make the story about the FMC, front and center.

There was a lot going on in the FMC journey to find her voice and establish herself. I probably could have done without one or two of the sub-plots that ended up congesting some of the story line to me and keeping some areas more surface level than I would have liked. I LOVED the fact that there isn't a second-act break-up. That the two MCs are a solid team while dealing with the main conflict point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC for me to read and review. Definitely a solid contemporary romance read!

Maybe a 3.5 star read, but not strong enough for me to feel confident rounding up.

I thought this was a much stronger showing from Jenny L. Howe! Everly, our FMC, was so likable, you couldn’t help but root for her journey.

Our MMC, Logan, was - I wouldn’t say charming - but he felt solid and assured in a way I really enjoyed in contrast to the other cast of characters.

Any drama doesn’t feel fabricated out of thin air for the sake of drama, you could see the through-line throughout the book.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC!

I really enjoyed this book! It was the fasted I read a book in a few months because I could not put it down.

First of all, I feel as though Everly depicted my experience in the world as a fat person. Everly tried to disappear and hide her body with dark and shapeless clothes, which started at a young age due to her mother's actions. The growth that Everly felt with her mother felt so real that it made me want to reach out to my mother and talk about her own body image concerns. Watching Everly grow into a person who felt she could celebrate her body or be confident was a nice change.
In the beginning of the story, there was a focus on Everly wanting to be the best version of herself she could be, and in doing so, was able to attract Logan. Although Logan's character did not have a lot of depth, I feel as though this allowed Everly to be in the spotlight of her own story, which feels very appropriate.
Some of the plot points felt like a stretch, (such as the final conflict) but the story was more character driven.
The writing style was easy to read and I often found myself lost in the story. I will definitely be reading more books by this author and be seeking out more novels that depict plus sized characters (male and female!).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I requested to read and review this book for free from St. Martin Publishing Company. This book brings out many emotionsabout how we perceive our bodies and how others see us. I think it was a great read for onea that need to hear a little more about not being the "right size". This book makes you want to feel good about whatever size you are. There is some drama in the book that involves Evenly, Logan and the whole team of On the Plus Side. There is also romance and maybe a little mystery I might say. This is for a mature reader but can be read anywhere!

On the Plus Side is heartfelt, charming, and unexpectedly deep in its exploration of living life as a plus-size person in a world that can often expect you to change yourself to fit into what everyone else thinks you should be.

Everly is nominated to be on 'On the Plus Side,' a show that showcases plus-size bodies and their journeys to embrace themselves (think Queer Eye and What Not to Wear). She has been holding herself back after the loss of her grandmother, blending in rather than being herself. We get to see her transformation not only outwardly via clothes but also inwardly in her realization of how much she has let go of her dreams. In the process of being involved in the show, she manages to find herself falling for the grumpy, plaid-wearing cameraman, Logan, who sees so much more than Everly realizes.

There is reality show drama, workplace issues, family dynamics, and a cast of supporting characters that are all vibrant and have clear personalities all their own. And the banter between Logan and Everly is so much fun. The dialogue sounds real and sharp, and the slow unfolding of their relationship is executed perfectly. I love that the major conflicts are actually addressed and communicated clearly, instead of falling into a miscommunication trope.

Everly's character arc was a joy to read. The nuances of living life as a plus-size person (as well as the focus on learning how to reclaim your dreams and stop hiding) were handled with care. On the Plus Side serves up smiles, laughs, and a look at how to make changes in your life without losing yourself or your values in the process.

This is basically Dumplin' for adults, or a mash-up of Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade and Queer Eye. I really enjoy romance books about reality tv, and this is a great one. I found it very hard to put down, and it was such a feelgood read despite Everly dealing with fatphobia as well.