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: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Death, Body horror, and Body shaming
Moderate: Child abuse and Dementia
Minor: Cancer
kaydeedickins's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I really wanted to like the story but struggled to connect with the characters. It felt like there were too many details at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Moderate: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, and Fatphobia
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Cancer, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Medical content
jenn_reads's review against another edition
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: Death of parent and Fatphobia
Moderate: Body shaming and Emotional abuse
Minor: Dementia, Medical content, and Cancer
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Death of parent, and Cancer
michcocoop's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Well, I never thought that I’d read a second chance romance that would tempt me to crack open a copy of Beowulf again. Honestly, I never thought anything would do that. But, alas, here we are.
The Make-Up Test is an academic rivals, second chance romance featuring a plus sized heroine and her, I guess, nerdy-hot ex. These two are quite possibly the most competitive people on the planet. This, unsurprisingly causes problems, when they find out they’re both vying for the same spot to study under the foremost expert on medieval literature. They also face further complications when it seems they both still have unresolved feelings floating around.
This book has a lot of great things going for it. The writing is clever and the main characters are well developed. I will admit I was annoyed with our MCs on a few occasions, but since I am not really a competitive person this didn’t surprise me. Overall, I really enjoyed this read. I thought the subplots surrounding the main characters did a good job explaining their motivations. Really my only complaint is that the ending happened very fast. I would have liked an epilogue or even one more short chapter to give the story a more solid resolution. Don’t get me wrong there is an HEA, but I just wanted a bit more.
Pick up if you’re looking for:
- open door but lower heat
- second chance
- academic rivals (PhD candidates)
- slightly sexy scrabble
- pets with cheesy names (please check back after reading to fully appreciate this line item)
- good fat representation
NOTE: I received an eARC of this book through Netgalley, but the thoughts and opinions here are all mine.
The Make-Up Test is an academic rivals, second chance romance featuring a plus sized heroine and her, I guess, nerdy-hot ex. These two are quite possibly the most competitive people on the planet. This, unsurprisingly causes problems, when they find out they’re both vying for the same spot to study under the foremost expert on medieval literature. They also face further complications when it seems they both still have unresolved feelings floating around.
This book has a lot of great things going for it. The writing is clever and the main characters are well developed. I will admit I was annoyed with our MCs on a few occasions, but since I am not really a competitive person this didn’t surprise me. Overall, I really enjoyed this read. I thought the subplots surrounding the main characters did a good job explaining their motivations. Really my only complaint is that the ending happened very fast. I would have liked an epilogue or even one more short chapter to give the story a more solid resolution. Don’t get me wrong there is an HEA, but I just wanted a bit more.
Pick up if you’re looking for:
- open door but lower heat
- second chance
- academic rivals (PhD candidates)
- slightly sexy scrabble
- pets with cheesy names (please check back after reading to fully appreciate this line item)
- good fat representation
NOTE: I received an eARC of this book through Netgalley, but the thoughts and opinions here are all mine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Dementia and Cancer
kbairbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A huge thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for this arc (in exchange for an honest review).
I don’t think I’ve read a college academic rivals to lovers before and that paired with the second chance romance concept was fun! I will say one of the events that happened in the book really knocked me off kilter and I was actively rooting against the male love interest for a while before that was cleared up for me. There is fat phobia in this book and a really terrible father figure as well as a very unsupportive mother which is very triggering but the female main character never had those feelings about herself that I can recall so there is that. I felt very satisfied at the end of the book and find it comical how strong my feelings were during the read. Lovely debut from this author and I look forward to more!
I don’t think I’ve read a college academic rivals to lovers before and that paired with the second chance romance concept was fun! I will say one of the events that happened in the book really knocked me off kilter and I was actively rooting against the male love interest for a while before that was cleared up for me. There is fat phobia in this book and a really terrible father figure as well as a very unsupportive mother which is very triggering but the female main character never had those feelings about herself that I can recall so there is that. I felt very satisfied at the end of the book and find it comical how strong my feelings were during the read. Lovely debut from this author and I look forward to more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Dementia, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Medical content
Moderate: Alcohol
alisonreadsitall's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Allison Avery is living her best life: rooming with her best friend and just started the elite graduate program she's worked so hard to get into. Imagine her surprise when her ex shows up as the other TA competing for a once in a lifetime placement. Being forced to work closely together, will she be able to resist how much he has changed?
Overall, I really liked Allison. She loved herself as a fat woman, and didn't try to make herself smaller (physically or emotionally) to fit in or please others. She was intelligent, confident, and always had a plan for worst case scenarios. However, she suffered from the inability to cope with failure and jumped to false conclusions often driven by her anxiety.
Even though I was annoyed by the lack of communication, there were some hilarious and swoon-worthy moments in between it all. (I can't with the cardigans. 😅)
While I didn't love this one, I really did enjoy it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I'm looking forward to more of what Jenny has up her sleeve as an author!
Tropes: second chance romance, rivalry to lovers, forced proximity
The book will be published September 13, 2022!
Allison Avery is living her best life: rooming with her best friend and just started the elite graduate program she's worked so hard to get into. Imagine her surprise when her ex shows up as the other TA competing for a once in a lifetime placement. Being forced to work closely together, will she be able to resist how much he has changed?
Overall, I really liked Allison. She loved herself as a fat woman, and didn't try to make herself smaller (physically or emotionally) to fit in or please others. She was intelligent, confident, and always had a plan for worst case scenarios. However, she suffered from the inability to cope with failure and jumped to false conclusions often driven by her anxiety.
Spoiler
I have mixed emotions about Allison and Colin together, because honestly, their communication was just terrible. Yes, Colin was in the wrong in their previous relationship, but Allison always jumped to the worse conclusions to protect herself without allowing his explanations.While I didn't love this one, I really did enjoy it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I'm looking forward to more of what Jenny has up her sleeve as an author!
Tropes: second chance romance, rivalry to lovers, forced proximity
The book will be published September 13, 2022!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer
bookwormbullet's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer and Medical content
katiehasanxiety's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I wanted to love this, I really, really wanted to love this. But I didn’t like either of the characters. And how you gonna have a fat heroine, describe the hero as skinny and bony, and then mention her putting on his cardigan??? What? In? The? Sisterhood? Of? The? Traveling? Pants?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, and Fatphobia
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