If you want to laugh and be tickled while reading a book, grab anything by Melissa Ferguson. I love the humor and banter she ads to her characters. I am always entertained. She is becoming a favorite author for sure and I have not read a book of her's I would not recommend.

I'm such a big fan of celebrity romance stories and I knew Melissa Ferguson would deliver such a fun and unique story! This book had me giggling and swooning so many times- I really really enjoyed this one. Thank you so much for the advance copy!

This is rather a unique story.
Humorous and quite filled with sarcasm, a large part of this story is the story of Finn trying to plot a payback for the terribly awful Lavendar, the one and only person who has single-handedly managed to ruin everything important to him. He even has a list to prove it.

Only...as he really gets to know Lavendar, somehow, those grievances....well, they don't really mean as much as they used to.

Only Melissa Ferguson could write a story like this one and pull it off.

Sweet (after the sarcasm, of course) and fun. And yes, even romantic.

Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review, and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Another cute rom com by Melissa Ferguson. This story had me rolling in laughter from the responses to the payback pranks. Finn’s character is a stuffy Englishman whose life and dreams has been repeatedly upended and destroyed by Lavender, who is unknowningly too kind, but sabotages Finn constantly because of her natural personality.
The story does go on for a bit long before the two realize they have an attraction. Then the story is over too quickly.

I am not one to gravitate towards Hollywood stories. But I like Melissa Ferguson and the unique voice of this one drew me in from the beginning. The down to earth nature of the characters juxtaposed with their positions really played well to readability and likeability.

At first I had a hard time with Finn’s motivations, but I feel like as the book progressed I began to understand the justification of his stance. Book club discussion fodder for sure! And Lavender is a character revealed by peeling back her layers and I loved her more and more as Finn fell for her.

Such a fun read that was such a shot of fun in my reading just when I needed it.

A note on the audio: Steve West also narrates the Wilderlore Series, so it was hard to sink into the audio at first. But once I was into the story I was so soothed by his voice. Fiona Hardingham also so beautifully embodied Lavender. It was an engrossing audio experience.

Thanks to Libro.fm and Thomas Nelson for the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I love Fergusons books. they are light and airy and a breath of fresh air. her characters are so well written with great character development. the plot kept me reading and I couldn't put this book down!

I didn’t think I could love a Ferguson title more than Meet Me in the Margins… but here we are. This is the perfect heart warming rom com possible.

Fun read and the characters were well written and funny. I enjoy the enermy-to-lovers trope and this was a quick and light read.

Enjoyable read and great characters. I liked that the focus wasn't on romance or spice, but on the plot itself.

Such a sweet book! Really enjoyed the banter and the fact there was no spice but still so adorable and fun. Will be recommending over and over and over!

Thanks, but no thanks. This is a DNF for me. I am bored and uninterested in the characters. Thanks anyway for the ARC.

This was the first book I read by Melissa Ferguson and I can now say I’m officially a fan! How To Plot a Payback was a funny (laugh out loud funny), sweet and fast paced rom com that gave me major Schitts Creek vibes. I immediately fell in love with the FMC Lavender and I was hooked into her story within the first few chapters. If you love cute and playful romance books then you will adore this book without a doubt! This book made me want to move to a busy city, adopt a dog and spend my days rubbing elbows with charming Hollywood types.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
This was a wonderful book and I'll be purchasing it for the library!

I enjoyed this funny enemies to lovers romance. Finn is a screen writer who’s finally landed his dream job, writing for the show Neighbors. Unfortunately, the woman he considers his nemesis, Lavender Rhodes, stars in the show. They’ve known each other from childhood and Finn has a list of fails/coincidences he considers to be HER fault. He has a chance to get payback, but as all his plots fail he sees Lavender differently.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are cC

How to Plot a Payback is a contemporary romance written by Melissa Ferguson.

Summary: Finn Masters has a problem. He has done absolutely everything he can to advance his career-only to be thwarted by his nemesis Lavender Rhodes.

Now, he has an offer to produce the most popular show on television.

It’s his dream job.

The only problem? The main star is…Lavender Rhodes.

The one person he has been trying to avoid his whole life.

But maybe this isn’t so bad after all.

Just maybe this is Finn’s chance to enact a little bit of payback for all of the grief she’s caused him over the years.

Time for some harmless little payback.

Nothing could go wrong…could it?

My Thoughts: This book was just plain fun.

I love the author’s writing style-it’s so unique and gives such a fun and fresh point of view.

There were so many wacky situations that seemed impossible, and the two main characters were so completely different, but the book is written so well that it all just worked together and was a joy to read.

I would recommend this fun, light, romantic read-I definitely enjoyed it!

I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you!

I had to stop at 47%. Lavender is so unlikable and seems like a 2D character (as they describe her on-screen character, Ashley). The story didn't work for me and I could not finish the book.

Finn Masters and Lavender Rhodes went to school together in England and now find themselves working together in LA. She is the beloved star of Neighbors, one of Hollywood's highest-rated, longest-running sitcoms, and Finn has just been hired to write for the show. What Lavender doesn't realize is that Finn believes she ruined his life way back when and sees this an opportunity to get even with her. Unfortunately for him, his plans backfire one after the other, until he finally begins to realize that maybe Lavender isn't what he always thought she was.

I have read and enjoyed several Melissa Ferguson books in the past, but How to Plot a Payback fell short for me. I thought the plot of Finn carrying his grudge for so many years a bit hard to believe. His ideas to make Lavender look bad were petty and childish. Lavender was a great character and rolled with the punches. The actual romance was also hard to believe considering how much Finn disliked her and for how long. I almost DNFed this one. I know others really enjoyed this one, so if it interests you, give it a try, you might really enjoy this story.

Right off the bat, I had trouble connecting with the writing style. It just did not work for me, which is odd to me because I’ve read other books by this author and enjoyed the writing style. This was just flat and very surface level.

A fun, if not a little over the top silly, rom com. I enjoyed this “imagine the writers room on a Friends-equivalent sitcom” scenario. Melissa Ferguson delivers another good-feels, clean, funny and sweet story.

A Fresh, Fun, Lighthearted RomCom That Animal Lovers Will Adore!

Melissa Ferguson delivers another clean, solid four star story with wonderful characters, a cute storyline and moments that will have readers chuckling as they devour the pages of this new release.

This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting when it came to the enemies-to-lovers trope, but it didn't disappoint nonetheless. Ferguson put her own unique spin not the trope and the tension and depth were still there, even if the banter I expected wasn't. One thing that Ferguson writes well is inner thoughts, sarcasm and slapstick comedic situations, wherein I happily enjoyed many smile-inducing moments.

There's a fantastic cast of side characters that made this story highly entertaining for me including, but not limited to, the four-legged kind! Animal lovers like me will adore the cat-collecting Mrs. Teaberry who quickly became a favorite side character, Bernie the lovable Bernese Mountain dog puppy and Miles, the distinguished Weimaraner.

Also noteworthy was the premise of working on a Hollywood television set, with Finn being a writer/producer and Lavender starring as a leading actress in the tv sitcom he's writing for making the setting for this novel fresh and fun.

While I was hoping for flirting, snark, banter and chemistry from the start, this book is a slow-burn, true to the recent releases from this author. But for readers like me who want it all from the beginning, never fear, it picks up around the two thirds part and has a sweet, rewarding HEA.

Overall, a light read that's worth an afternoon or two and would make a great road-trip or vacation read. I highly recommend the audiobook as well as I listened to it while simultaneously reading my e-copy and adored the narrators (especially the narrator who read Finn's POV) who did a brilliant job of making the characters and comedy come alive.

*I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.