Scan barcode
hcgambrell's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I hate when a romance novel is driven by lies and jumping to conclusions that could have been easily avoided if a character had just stayed in the room a few seconds longer. So even though this is a romance in an academic setting (literature, at that!) and features a fat romantic lead, this was just not the book for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer and Dementia
Minor: Vomit
garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
I really wanted to like this one. I agreed with the author's social and political opinions sprinkled throughout. Especially the fat positivity. And I should've been able to relate quite a bit with the fmc. But there was something missing and I just couldn't connect to her, or see anything appealing in the mmc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Dementia, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Grief, and Dysphoria
dogoodwithbooks's review
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
CW: fatphobia, death/loss
I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of The Make-Up Test in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Plus-size main character and an academia setting? Sign me up! When I discovered this gem on NetGalley, I knew that this was a book I had to read and review firsthand. I was lucky to get this through Read Now as soon as it was listed on NetGalley.
The Make-Up Test tells the story of Allison Avery, a first-year Ph.D. student at Claymore University, who has to compete for the highly coveted medieval literature advisee position under Professor Wendy Frances against her ex-boyfriend, Colin Benjamin.
Fortunately, I fell in love with this book at the first page. You’re immediately drawn into the plot of the book with the dynamics between Allison and Colin. With such a refreshing and unique plot, I found myself easily going through this book and enjoying every page. It’s also an added bonus that this book has great pacing. I never once thought that this book felt too rushed or gone too slow.
Considering that this book was about a confident, plus-sized woman, I felt that this was the main thing I loved about this book. I really saw myself in Allison, trying to be successful in life while also being comfortable in her own skin. Since I don’t always read about plus-sized women being sought after by love interests or as the main character in the books I read, I found myself rooting for Allison throughout this book.
With this, if you’re looking for a fresh perspective in the romance genre, I would highly recommend getting this book when it releases in September.
I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of The Make-Up Test in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Plus-size main character and an academia setting? Sign me up! When I discovered this gem on NetGalley, I knew that this was a book I had to read and review firsthand. I was lucky to get this through Read Now as soon as it was listed on NetGalley.
The Make-Up Test tells the story of Allison Avery, a first-year Ph.D. student at Claymore University, who has to compete for the highly coveted medieval literature advisee position under Professor Wendy Frances against her ex-boyfriend, Colin Benjamin.
Fortunately, I fell in love with this book at the first page. You’re immediately drawn into the plot of the book with the dynamics between Allison and Colin. With such a refreshing and unique plot, I found myself easily going through this book and enjoying every page. It’s also an added bonus that this book has great pacing. I never once thought that this book felt too rushed or gone too slow.
Considering that this book was about a confident, plus-sized woman, I felt that this was the main thing I loved about this book. I really saw myself in Allison, trying to be successful in life while also being comfortable in her own skin. Since I don’t always read about plus-sized women being sought after by love interests or as the main character in the books I read, I found myself rooting for Allison throughout this book.
With this, if you’re looking for a fresh perspective in the romance genre, I would highly recommend getting this book when it releases in September.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Dementia
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
*3.5⭐️
This was a very hard book to review. On the one hand, I really liked Alison’s story. Hearing about the world of academia from a medieval lit enthusiast’s brain was great. I also thought the complexities of her relationships with her parents and her body image were really interesting. On the other hand, this book didn’t really prove to me that Colin didn’t suck. I mean, there were a lot of great romantic moments between them, especially the last few pages of the book, but I wasn’t convinced that Colin wouldn’t betray her eventually. In my mind, I started to compare Colin and her dad, and then the character Sophie said that too and I felt validated that the main couple wasn’t right for each other. I think maybe they could have been if we had seen more of his change or if the third act conflict hadn’t been his fault, but I still feel unsettled by their lack of communication and their unhealthy rivalry.
I am rounding this up because I really did like the book and I’m excited to read more Jenny L. Howe’s books in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Jenny L. Howe for providing me access to this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse and Dementia
Minor: Cancer
alisaurus1892's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia, Dementia, and Death of parent
ciscoatthedisco's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Dementia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Vomit and Pandemic/Epidemic
jenn_reads's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The setting was really stressful and the love interest was obnoxious, I have no idea what the main character sees in him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming and Emotional abuse
Minor: Cancer, Medical content, and Dementia
kalynaobyrne's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I have mixed thoughts on this book. There were some parts I liked and some I didn’t. The last 15% of this book was very frustrating. Honestly, I think Colin still had a lot of red flags by the end and honestly there’s no way Colin and Allison lasted long term in my opinion. This book just fell a little flat for me. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. It was very average to me.
Overall, this was a 3.5 for me. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Dementia
ktdakotareads's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Death, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Out September 13, 2022 [Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!]
Rating: 4/5 stars
Allison has big plans for her new graduate program—get a great mentor, become a great professor, and earn a spot as a leading scholar of medieval literature. But she doesn’t account for her ex-boyfriend—and academic rival—being back in the picture for all of it…
A rom-com featuring plus size/fat representation, literature academia, and a corgi puppy? Suffice to say I could not get my hands on this one fast enough. And I’ll be honest—I related to Allison and her lived experiences, insecurities, and self-imposed perfectionism a little *too* much, but it made me enjoy this book all the more.
First, the less great—I did think the book felt a hair too slow in parts, and I wanted fewer internal-monologues-stressing-about-situations and more situations-to-stress-over, if that makes sense. I wasn’t bored, exactly, I just didn’t feel like enough had happened for me to be fully invested in the characters until close to the 2/3 mark.
That said, once I got invested, I got really invested, which is what led to sobbing at 1am as I stayed up way too late to finish reading. Colin went from insufferable to an absolute gem very quickly (it’s amazing what communication will do) and Allison’s character growth was really lovely to watch. In short, not a perfect book, but a really wonderful debut, and I can’t wait to see what Jenny Howe writes next!
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: fat representation, academia nerdiness, puppies.
CW: Emotional abuse (including abusive parent/child relationships); loss/illness of loved ones; fatphobia; sexism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexism, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent