maggies's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.0
A good audiobook for a travel day, but the primary romance didn't really make a lot of sense to me. I mostly enjoyed Allison's emotional journeys with her parents and best friend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity
dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition
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, Death of parent, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Dementia
donnicakelsey's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
+plus-sized heroine
+academic rivals
+second-chance romance
I wanted to love this book. The premise had me hooked. I especially loved this section from the author's note: "The word fat doesn't have to be ugly. But to make that so, we need to disempower it. I believe that stories are such a crucial first step to this. Fat people are more than their bodies. We deserve happily-ever-afters, both romantic and otherwise. I am so thrilled that I get to give Allison one."
After reading that, I was locked in, but this wasn't a happily-ever-after. There is nothing Jenny L. Howe wrote that made me believe, Allison, our leading lady, wasn't settling. Nothing in this book made me think the love interest, Colin, wasn't a complete douchebag. I hated this character, and there's no way he deserved a second-chance-at-love with Allison.
Throughout the book, which I forced myself to complete (though I strongly contemplated DNF'ing around 30%) I was hoping Allison grew a backbone, gave Colin the middle finger and kept it moving, focusing on her academic goals. Realistically, I know women who let men walk over them or easily excuse their behavior because they had a reason, but I didn't want that for this character. So, I found myself getting increasingly frustrated at the relationship and the immaturity of these characters.
+academic rivals
+second-chance romance
I wanted to love this book. The premise had me hooked. I especially loved this section from the author's note: "The word fat doesn't have to be ugly. But to make that so, we need to disempower it. I believe that stories are such a crucial first step to this. Fat people are more than their bodies. We deserve happily-ever-afters, both romantic and otherwise. I am so thrilled that I get to give Allison one."
After reading that, I was locked in, but this wasn't a happily-ever-after. There is nothing Jenny L. Howe wrote that made me believe, Allison, our leading lady, wasn't settling. Nothing in this book made me think the love interest, Colin, wasn't a complete douchebag. I hated this character, and there's no way he deserved a second-chance-at-love with Allison.
Throughout the book, which I forced myself to complete (though I strongly contemplated DNF'ing around 30%) I was hoping Allison grew a backbone, gave Colin the middle finger and kept it moving, focusing on her academic goals. Realistically, I know women who let men walk over them or easily excuse their behavior because they had a reason, but I didn't want that for this character. So, I found myself getting increasingly frustrated at the relationship and the immaturity of these characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia and Death of parent
doublebassgirl's review against another edition
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse
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
alisaurus1892's review against another edition
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
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
levesc17's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
Lovely representation of a fat MC- I felt so seen! The emotional notes of this book hit 20 something life perfectly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia and Death of parent
Minor: Medical content and Body shaming
ciscoatthedisco's review against another edition
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: Dementia, Fatphobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Vomit and Pandemic/Epidemic
maddysbooks_'s review against another edition
funny
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
4.0
this was such a cute rom-com. i love a good second chance romance, and i’ve especially been into academic romances so i really enjoyed this.
i loved how flawed both the main characters were and how we were able to see them grow and develop from things they’ve done in the past. it made the characters seem so much more well thought out and realistic.
i thought the romance between colin and alison was so sweet and i really liked that colin wasn’t described as your typical book boyfriend, he was a lot nerdier than that which was adorable.
i thought that alison’s relationship with her body and the way she viewed herself was really well done as well.
the only thing i wish we saw more of was sophie and alison’s friendship bc i liked the dynamic between the two of them and i wish there was more of it in the story. but other than that i really really enjoyed this book.
i loved how flawed both the main characters were and how we were able to see them grow and develop from things they’ve done in the past. it made the characters seem so much more well thought out and realistic.
i thought the romance between colin and alison was so sweet and i really liked that colin wasn’t described as your typical book boyfriend, he was a lot nerdier than that which was adorable.
i thought that alison’s relationship with her body and the way she viewed herself was really well done as well.
the only thing i wish we saw more of was sophie and alison’s friendship bc i liked the dynamic between the two of them and i wish there was more of it in the story. but other than that i really really enjoyed this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia