I missed listening to all of this book before it was archived so I ended up reading it.

This was a cute quick read. I loved the plot of this book and I think it was excellent! Finn was giving Goob from Meet the Robinsons and I am so here for it! This was is enemies to lovers, only one of them knows they are enemies and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Overall a light and fun book.


Thank you to Netgally for providing this ARC.

Melissa Ferguson returns with an irresistible rom-com that will have you laughing out loud!

2024 is the year of romantic comedies, and How to Plot a Payback is a standout addition to the genre! Hilarious, addictive, and utterly charming, this novel encompasses your favorite sitcoms and rom-coms while bringing its unique flair. With flawless execution, Melissa Ferguson delivers her best work, crafting characters that are impossible not to adore!

"Whereas I’ve clung to every rotten moment, she lets trespasses slip through her fingers like sand. Whereas I’ve spent countless nights staring down at my journal, writing down my woes, she spends her nights looking up, counting the stars. I grumble, she cheers. I grimace, she smiles with eyes as bright as the sun. Somehow I have become darkness, and she is light. And of course, darkness cannot mix with the light." ~ Melissa Ferguson

I don’t know why, but I’ve always read Melissa Ferguson’s characters with a British accent, so discovering that the protagonists in How to Plot a Payback were British was an exciting surprise. Finn and Lavender shine as the show's stars, their character arcs expertly penned to the point where they practically leaped off the page. Every story has two sides, so the dual POV provided more hilarity as their lives collided.

How to Plot a Payback? More like How to Plot the Worst Revenge, haha! Finn’s antics to "get back" at Lavender were both comical and endearing. As the saying goes, “He who seeks revenge better dig two graves.” Poor Finn could not catch a break. I could feel his frustration and conflicting emotions seep between the lines as he wrestled with the transgressions made against him and his growing admiration for his lifelong nemesis. Nevertheless, through his plotting and Lavender’s kindness, readers will learn that sometimes the worst things that happen to us actually move us in a better direction. It may seem like your life is over at the time, but overall, our “worst” moments can become blessings in disguise.

"If there’s one thing I’ve learned of late, it’s that dreams can shift, can change. They grow and evolve into new and different dreams—sometimes fashioned by outside forces, sometimes by change of heart. I’ve learned, from you actually, how my dreams could change due to external forces. And it’s not a bad thing. But this time, it’s a mix. Because you are my bigger dream now. I don’t care what I’m writing, so long as I get to share my days with you.” ~ Melissa Ferguson

Finn was a brilliant leading man, but Lavender stole the spotlight with her unexpected complexity and heart. From the minute I met her with ten dogs wrapped around her legs, I knew I couldn't hate Lavender. She was the opposite of your typical Hollywood Starlet and, as Finn finds out, impossible not to fall in love with. The culmination of Finn and Lavender’s journey is nothing short of brilliant. And let’s not forget Bernie and Miles, the canine companions who bound into each scene with tails wagging, ready to take the attention off their owners.

If you enjoy a good laugh and a silly sitcom or rom-com, How to Plot a Payback must be at the top of your to-read list!

*Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with a pre-release copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.*

This was such a cute story! I feel like fans of Friends or similar sitcoms would especially appreciate this plot. The pacing felt a bit off, since we went from plotting payback to deeply in love, and it took a while for me to get invested in the story. The first chapter is 36 minutes, and it really just lays the groundwork for the plot. Once you hit chapter three, though, it is really engaging!

Marked as DNF 5/3/24 | I am learning my lesson brutally this month not to pick up enemies to lovers books. I can’t stand people hating each other in the beginning anymore. These chapters were also long and boring. Less work talky talky, more romance. Totally arbitrary, but it felt weird staring with the guy’s POV…

I’m also learning that while I love Steve west and Fiona Hardingham in the Scorpio races, I literally don’t like them anywhere else.

I was interested at the beginning at the idea but this listen fell a little flat for me in the end. I just didn't find that the characters grew enough for me throughout. There wasn't enough tension built and they just seemed very immature. I did enjoy the voices of the narrators though.

Thank you to Netgalley, Melissa Ferguson and Harper Collins Christian Publishing for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely loved this one! The author really knows how to do enemies to lovers and these two were adorable

How To Plot A Payback by Melissa Ferguson (audiobook narrated by Fiona Hardingham and Steve West)
☀️☀️☀️☀️

This hilarious little romcom captured my heart and made me laugh out loud a whole lot. It's a little ray of sunshine, and a joy to read.

The storyline itself focuses much more on the com than the rom, which only just shows up towards the end, but it was a fun and enjoyable ride to get there. Mirroring the scenarios written for the sitcom, Ferguson seems to pull off an awful lot of wacky situations without losing the reality of the story itself.

Both Finn and Lavender are entertaining characters to read, and their narrators did a truly wonderful job of bringing them to life. I was particularly impressed that Ferguson managed to write Finn's payback plot the way it is without him coming off as too immature.

My few gripes are these:
1) there is a very famous long-running Australian show called Neighbours, so I wish this sitcom had a unique name
2) It was never once acknowledged or discussed that Finn and Lavender's relationship should be reconsidered based on their boss/employee situation - a significant oversight!
3) the resolution Finn comes up with to solve all of their problems with his new show felt a step too far in believability (and overall he got away with too much in that writers room)

What could have been an average story was elevated by funny fast paced writing and an amusing interpretation of standard romance tropes. Ferguson has delivered a delightful story that is the perfect palate cleanser.

I really enjoyed this one! Ferguson is a good writer and this audio was really enjoyable! This is another one that I would recommend!

How to Plot a Payback is such a great read. It was an amazing read with all the tv and murder references. The audio narration was amazing!

Thank you to NetGalley for this read.

As an Australian, I have to admit that I mistakenly thought that I was getting into a story about our beloved "Neighbours." But I quickly realised that I missed the "Hollywood sitcom" description in the blurb!

Finn Masters has a vendetta against Hollywood starlet Lavender Rhodes, who can't seem to stop unwittingly ruining his life. When he lands a gig writing for her hit TV show he'll have to decide how close he'll let her get and whether he had the stomach to plot his payback.

Fiona Hardingham and Shane West are both excellent narrators. Both are able to convincingly do a variety of accents, bringing the cast of characters to life.

I enjoyed the kooky comedy elements of the story. The romance elements were a little less believable. I think I could have been more invested in the couple if they had a little more communication. Overall, this was an enjoyable listen.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the opportunity to review this eARC

Must listen! This one yanked my heart out several times & then put it back together. I didn't read the trigger warnings, so that's my own fault and the story hit too close to home for my own personal experience, yet I still LOVED it! Emma & Charlie were so similar that it shouldn't have worked, but it did. Their story just clicked for me. It was a myriad of emotions portrayed in this book and I felt every emotion that Emma and Charlie felt. The narrator was adequate for me. I struggled with her British accent, but it definitely wasn't a deal breaker. She made up for it with the emotion and expressionism she delivered for Emma and Charlie, so the side characters were an afterthought at the end of the day.

I can't wait for this one to be released!

First, I loved this book so much I bought a copy to put in my Little Free Library. Which is something I never do, I never buy new books to put out but this was had to be shared. I am in love with how cheesy and cute this book is. I need more cute romances that aren't full of spice. This is a super clean romance, perfect for a high schooler that is looking for romance but needs something without spice. I love the deep rooted hate that Finn has for Lavender and how it is woven throughout the story. Although Lavender is misunderstood I like that Finn still tries to hate her. Also the puppies at the beginning are the best. Finn and Lavender are polar opposite but they just work so well together. Easy 5 stars for me.

She’s the star of America’s favorite sitcom. He’s just been hired as a producer/writer of the show- The only problem is, he can’t stand her. For as long as he can remember, Finn Masters has blamed all his lives problems on the famous actress, Lavender Rhodes. After being hired onto the show, he begins to plot his payback. What will happen when these two are forced to work together on the same show.
The start of this book got me hooked but unfortunately it faded.

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. .