Thank you, NetGalley for the arc!
Okay, let me start off by saying I totally get why people do and will love this book. It was fun, cute, and entertaining. I was actually laughing out loud at a few parts. But, I felt like I got to a point in the book where I could predict the rest of it, and I didn’t want to have to go through all the lessons the character was learning because it got cheesy for me, so I did end up DNFing at about 64%.

I received an advanced reader copy of On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe from Netgalley.

Simply put I loved loved loved this book. OTPS is probably one of if not my favorite romance novel that I have read this year. I did not want this book to end yet I could not put it down. The chemistry between the two main characters is so tangible that I often found myself grinning ear to ear as I read. While quirky and funny, this book was also emotional and tugged at my heart. More than once i will admit to tearing up. LGBTQ+ and body positive affirming, this book is bound to be a hit. I cannot wait until it comes out in December so can add a physical copy to my bookshelves!

On the Plus Side by Jenny Howe was a quick, enjoyable read. I liked the premise, but I thought it was a bit preachy at some points, but overall it was a good way to pass an afternoon.

3.25 stars. I did like On the Plus Side more as I went through it, and there were things that I enjoyed about it, but it ultimately was just fine for me.

On the Plus Side follows Everly, who is nominated to be on a reality TV show called On the Plus Side, a mash-up of What Not to Wear and Queer Eye where all of the participants are fat. She's lurked on fan forums for the first two seasons, but now she's on the show. The book follows her journey on the show, as she works to achieve goals to feel like herself again and embrace her art, through marketing and design (she works at a marketing firm, but as an executive assistant rather than a designer) and by designing her first tattoo. She's also crushing on her hot coworker, but she seems to be developing some kind of connection to Logan, the cameraman for the show.

I'll start with the things I liked. First of all, there was no third act break-up! We love to see it! There was other conflict that was resolved by Everly and Logan sticking together and also enlisting the help of their friends! Incredible!

I also loved the positive fat representation. Everly's struggles and successes, her experiences being fat-shamed or the passive-aggressive comments she got from her mother, the hosts being fat as well -- it was really nice to be in a world where there was real representation that was celebrated in the context of the show. And we get a lot of insight into Everly's relationship with her mother, and we see some of the work they do to repair the brokenness.

And I did like Logan. He's a brooding, flannel-wearing, blue-eyed hunky cameraman who we get to watch open up to Everly. And he knows how to operate a washing machine 😏 What's not to love?

Now for the cons. Remember how I said I liked Logan? What I didn't like was the number of times that he was described as "lumbersexual." What does that even mean?

There's a plot line throughout that has to do with the way that Everly is being portrayed in the final cuts of the episodes where she feels like the storyline she wants to tell is being ignored by the showrunner, even when she goes to her and complains. While it lends itself to a satisfying ending, it's a whole lot of gaslighting of Everly, and Logan is a big piece of that gaslighting, because he has a strong mentor-mentee relationship with the showrunner and he just can't believe that she'd do anything less than perfectly authentic and honest and not purely ratings-driven. It just sucked to read, because you as the reader can piece together what's happening, and it feels like Logan should have been able to also.

All in all, On the Plus Side was... fine? The last third of the book was more enjoyable than the first two thirds, and while parts of the book felt off, it's got positive representation and a very satisfying just deserts kind of ending.

Content warnings for fatphobia, previous experiences with parental abuse, animal death (past, but it was still sad), death of a grandparent, strained child-parent relationship.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an eARC of On the Plus Side in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to love this one, it is so nice that we are starting to get main characters who are plus size, but unfortunately I did not finish this book. I had a hard time getting in to it and I wasn't liking Everly which made it hard for me to continue reading. I think others will love this book, it just wasn't for me.

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!