Thank you Net Galley for the Audio Arc for my honest feedback!

How to Plot a Payback was such a cute Rom-com and I enjoyed it a lot. I found myself laughing out loud while listening to it at work. The characters were witty and lovable. The grumpy-sunshine trope is a favorite of mine so I loved Finn soo much! If you are into light reads that have humor and whit that has you chuckling, this one is for you! The book was easy to read and overall well done. The cover is also soo cute and I will def have to have it on my shelves!

4 stars - A cute read that I really enjoyed, this book is like sinking into a hot bath and relaxing. It is well written, and the pace was well done. It was funny in places although not laugh out loud I still really enjoyed it. My only comment is that there is a level of suspension of disbelief throughout and the payback portion doesn't kick in as early as I would have liked. I still loved it though.

I ended up enjoying this more than I expected to! It’s a bit tough to get onboard with Finn’s grudges against Lavender — as a grown man, he could afford to put some of the perceived slights into perspective — but it’s fun to watch him bumble his way through the “payback” and ultimately find his way to love. With one significant exception, I found myself surprisingly charmed by Lavender. I enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine dynamic here and thought the backdrop of the TV show worked to make this a more original take on the trope. I think the side characters/relationships could have been better developed, and I wish the turn from “enemies” to lovers didn’t happen quite so abruptly. I also REALLY wish we had gotten to see more of the reimagined version of Neighbours instead of it only being alluded to at the end.

I saw the cover and instantly knew I needed to read this. It’s a fun twist on a grumpy x sunshine trope and a lot of the grump assuming incorrectly about the sunshine. Lavender is so wholesome and Finn has a heart of gold and together their chemistry just built so well. I loved it and liked the narrators a lot as well!

This was a cute, lighthearted read. I enjoyed the lighthearted humor that Melissa Ferguson is so good at in her books. Unfortunately, the chemistry between the main characters was really lacking for me, and I found some of the antics to be a little outlandish for my taste. I have read every book by this author and I’ve enjoyed most of them, unfortunately this one is just not one of my favorites. It was cute, easy to read book if that is what you’re in the mood for.

I listen to this one on audio and appreciated that there was a male and female narrator for each point of view. I thought the narrators were good, but the male narrator did get overdramatic with some scenes. Overall, it is a good listen.

I was not a huge fan of this book. It is based off of a grudge that the MMC has for the FMC for years and so he hates her. You literally get 80% through the book before anything romantic happens. There were a few funny parts, but other than that I didn't feel a connection or even tension with them. We went from him hating her to him being in love overnight. It is an enemies to lovers, closed door romance for anyone looking for spice. Like I said, even the romance it does have is super minimal and feels very disconnected.

This is my second book by this author.

I liked this one, it was a cute rom-com. I appreciated the side characters more than the main characters though. I found Finn to be a little much in his hatred for Lavender and even though they work through that, it was kind of annoying to listen to in the beginning

I am a sucker for a quirky old person character and this book had many which I loved!

The audio was good but I liked the female narrator better than the male. .

Finn Masters gets his dream screenwriting job on a famous tv show 'neighbours' but the only issue is that the person who has been ruining his life since high school is the lead, Lavender Rose. So he decides to plot paybacks through the scripts.
This story is just like you think it would be. He is grumpy or I would say he doesnt like Lavender because she keeps ruining his life, and he just wants to stay away from her. She is a total sunshine who doesnt like to hurt people, a total people pleaser but somehow unknowingly opposite to Finn. This made their interactions so much fun to read , I chuckled a more than few times during my walk.
I love reading books set on movie or tv show sets and its done really well in this book. The writing is good and flowly, the characters are so good from Finn's neighbour to the producer.
I loved this book and am already looking forward to the next book from the author.

I'm a fan of Melissa Furgeson; loved Meet Me in the Margins and enjoyed Famous for a Living, so I was looking forward to this book. It just didn't deliver in the same way. I listened to the audio book and enjoyed the narrators: the man reminded me of a young Rupert Evrett and the woman of Juno Temple, so I had those figures in mind when listening. I appreciated the ways in which Finn's true character broke through his revenge seeking, but both characters seemed a bit naive and immature. The biggest problem with this book was the show, Neighbors. First, Neighbors is a very famous decades long running show in England/Australia. Secondly, there is no way a show with a plot, as outlined in thai book, would ever be the number one show in the country for 10 years! If you are going to spend soooo much time talking about a show, it has to be more smartly drawn than this one. Lavender was of the quirky manic pixie dream girl variety. I did like the chemistry between the leads. I would definitely read another book by Furgeson, I just think Hollywood was a little off base for her. Not her best. But definitely would recommend anyone to read Meet Me in the Margins, it was so cute and I loved "living" in the pivlishing world with thos MCs.
Thanks to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am sorry to say that I didn’t enjoy the audio version of this book at all. Too much drama, negativity and yelling. I had to force myself to listen to it. Maybe the print copy would have been better.

Sadly I just could not get into this one. I may retry as a ebook, as I did not enjoy the narrators, but it’s not super high on my list of priorities. I have loved this author in the past but this one just wasn’t working for me.

This was one of those instances where it wasn't the book, it was me. And as much as I wanted to love this one, I DNF'd at about halfway through. I just didn't care for the characters and I couldn't see any chemistry there. Plus - who holds onto multiple grudges for decades...especially when your life has worked out pretty well?

I started reading this one with the audiobook, and while I was really amused by the male narrator, his voice didn't really fit the character? Would listen to him read a grocery list, but could not listen to him read this book. And I KNOW I'm in the minority with that one.

This book might be for others, but it just didn't work for me! All the same - adorable cover and I absolutely can't wait to see what Ferguson comes up with next!

4⭐️

I really enjoyed this audiobook! It was the perfect listen - was light, funny, and entertaining!

I really enjoyed this fun, unique romcom! The characters were three dimensional and I loved the way the reader’s understanding and perception of them changes as the book progresses. The audiobook narrators did an excellent job capturing the voices and personalities of each character!

This book was so funny, with such a wholesome love story. It was filled with slow-burn romance, feel-good story, humor, drama, and more. The only thing that bothered me was Finn's childish payback (But I know it's part of the story), once he got over it, the story was better. The audio narration of the book was done very well.

Finn Masters lands his dream job writing for Neighbors, one of Hollywood's longest running sitcoms. The only problem with that? The leading lady is Lavender Rhodes. His nemesis. Does she know this? Nope. Now, as they are working on the show together, Finn realizes it's the perfect time for payback. Only every thing Finn tries backfires, and he begins to see Lavender in a new light.

I loved every single moment of this story. From the funny ways Finn tries to inflict payback on Lavender, to the silly things Lavender does thinking she's being altruistic, only to end up needs her friends to help her out. The voices for the characters also made for easy listening! This plot line was new and so fun!

I just love this author. Her books always just bring such joy, and this one is no different. I listened in one sitting. Defiintely recommend.

How to Plot a Payback… what can I say? This book is HILARIOUS. I laughed so hard. And so often. It was very much needed. Told from Finn and Lavender’s perspectives, it is the story of two people with a not so pretty history who end up working together and finding that they can actually have a very pretty future. Well worth the read! You should check it out!

I really liked the audiobook and I don’t think I would’ve finished this book if I read a physical copy. The narrators did a great job.

The story itself was a bit meh. There was no real conflict as the main issue of getting payback was short lived and underwhelming. I honestly can’t believe a grown adult could be holding onto a 15yr grudge from 6th grade. Finn blamed a lot of his shortcomings on Lavender when it was never really her fault.

Both characters were irritating in their own way and I couldn’t really see the chemistry. Finn was a major hater against Lavender and then all of a sudden he’s in love with her. Lavender went from not really knowing him except from her childhood and friendly to being in love with him. It was too sudden for me.

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a free eARC in exchange for my honest review*

How to Plot a Payback was just okay. If you love dogs you will probably enjoy this romcom. There was no smut, but certainly a lot of pet mishaps. It was cute at first, but then it got old. This was a sweet and very innocent book. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book!