Synopsis: Everly is the receptionist at a marketing/design firm when the hosts of her favorite plus-size lifestyle and makeover show surprise her at work ready to feature her on the show and makeover her life! Suddenly the crush she has on the hot designer at work is a huge feature of the show’s spin on her when she wanted to work on herself and her art. With the help of the shows two hosts and the grump cameraman who has stolen her heart, Everly finds what she was looking for (and more!), and overturns everything in the process.

Review: This story was cute and sweet, but there were a few holes in the plot lines. It was a bit repetitive at times with how much Everly doubted herself that it turned me off a bit from her. Plus the romance was slightly rushed and unrealistic. But I did like how the story was told from Everly’s perspective and through threads from the online forum for the show.

All in all, it was good not great, and if someone was looking for a romance, I’d suggest something else over this one.

This was a fun read! I enjoyed the development of Everly and Logan's story. Overall, it wasn't a bad follow-up to Howe's debut, The Make-Up Test.

In solidarity with my reader community, I will not be reviewing St. Martin's Press titles (including their imprints: St. Martin's Griffin) until they address the racism that was allowed to occur in their organization.

Reality shows are still a powerful influence on our society. As the world strives to be more accepting of others and embracing differences, reality shows are testing the waters with a diverse cast. In On the Plus Side, a makeover type show focuses on more than clothes and romance. Everly Winters has spent the last few years trying to make her life small as a counterbalance to her large size and personality. When she learns that someone has nominated her for On the Plus Side she is thrilled and terrified. Jenny L. Howe creates a romance full of self discovery, duel romance possibilities, and friendship. The behind the scene look at creating reality television is fascinating. This is Howe's second romantic comedy and there are two more scheduled for publishing in the winter. I am eager to keep reading her works.

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