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
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
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
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
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: Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, 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 of parent, Death, Medical content, Dementia, and Grief
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: Grief, Sexism, Fatphobia, Dementia, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
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
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