On the Plus Side

I just finished On the Plus Side by Jenny L Howe and here are my thoughts.


Everly Winters blends into the backdrop. She's an artist who works as a receptionist, she wears neutral colors and lives above her brother's garage. It's all perfectly mediocre. That is until someone nominates her to go on her favorite makeover show, On the Plus side. She spends more time in the fandom message boards, than doing anything else.

This could just be the kick Everly needs to get her life into the fast lane. The problem is, the producer wants to portray this love triangle and Everly is not comfortable with it, especially since the cameraman seems to look at her and really see her. She doesn't want to hide who she is when he's around. Can she figure herself out without the idea of love getting in her way?

I loved this book. Everly is my kind of MC. She's smart and quick witted. I love that she learns to fall back in love with herself. It was magical to watch. I really enjoyed the concept of the show too. Makeovers for people with a fuller figure to love themselves as they are. They don't just get you a new haircut and some clothes, they help you expand into whatever areas in your life that need a little nudge. For Everly, it was her career. It was so cute, watching the build up with Logan, the grumpy cameraman. I love that he is an animal lover and has his own body issues.

I wasn't a fan of when she found out who nominated her and why. It didn't feel natural to me and a little far-fetched. That was literally my only gripe with the book. Everything else was amazing. I loved the banter between Everly and everyone she came into contact with. She is a class act in my opinion.

I loved the ending. It wrapped up perfectly for me and I could definitely be up for a sequel one day. Would love to see how their lives turn out. This one was definitely on my top 10 of 2023!

5 stars. Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my gifted copy

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