When fate strands Paige Parker at O'Hare airport, Amy Andrews begins a delightful and frequently laugh-out-loud romantic comedy with a sweet revenge twist. This isn't merely about finding love; it's about finding it amidst a whirlwind of well-meant (and occasionally chaotic) payback schemes. The clever setup, wherein Paige befriends two other rejected women to start 'The Karma Club,' sets the reader instantly on hook for mischief and camaraderie.

Paige, our heroine, is likable immediately. Her early annoyance at being stranded soon turns to adventurous spontaneity as she leaps at the far-fetched scheme. When fate (or a very strategically thrown dart on a map) deposits her in Cornwall and on the doorstep of moody Olly Prendergast, the tale really takes flight. Olly, the movie star dad's son and self-imposed recluse who is brooding over his own heartbreak, is the ideal contrast to Paige's energetic personality. His surly nature and need for alone time are continually thwarted by Paige's entrance and insistence on shaking things up in his life.

The author is a master at crafting laugh-out-loud moments as Paige works her way through the different phases of the payback plan. From being introduced to a specific pet hamster and adopting a very boisterous dog to Paige's unrepentant ability for making joyful messes in Olly's spotless house, the comedic situations are intricately woven into the story. These episodes are not intended merely as comedy relief; they are used to erode Olly's defenses and coaxed him out of his shell.

But 'The Payback Plan' is not all fun and games. With more interaction with Olly, the author expertly strips away the layers of his surly demeanor to reveal a sensitive and reflective man underneath. The blossoming of their relationship is natural, growing from irritation to a hot smoldering attraction which both cannot help. The chemistry between Paige and Olly is undeniable, and it is what makes their eventual relationship credible and fulfilling.

Paige's internal struggle provides an extra layer of depth to the narrative. Paired with her blossoming feelings for Olly and her commitment to The Karma Club and her secret, Paige's emotional arc is as appealing as the humor. This internal conflict heightens the stakes and keeps the narrative from crossing over into farce.

While the premise of a revenge plot turned romance might seem unconventional, the author handles it with a light touch and plenty of heart. The Cornish setting adds a touch of picturesque charm to the story, providing a lovely backdrop for Paige and Olly's evolving relationship.

Overall, 'The Payback Plan' is a fun and enjoyable read. Amy Andrews provides an excellent mix of humour, warm moments, and unshakeable chemistry. Paige and Olly's transition from payback to passion is one that will hold the reader and is satisfying, making this a sweet romantic comedy that will have readers smiling long after finishing the last page. If you're after a light-hearted romance with an interesting premise and characters that will stay with you, then this book is a winner.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood books for the chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly this book had me in hysterics. If you’re looking for something funny, spicy, with HEA that stems from revenge, then you’ll love this!

A refreshing take on an enemies to lovers tale - and a revenge plot gone wrong!

When four strangers meet in an airport and plot to take revenge on the men who scorned them, things will go according to plan… right?! Wrong!

This book is laugh out loud funny with relatable characters and a good storyline. I’m interested to see what happens with the three characters remaining!

This was such a cute and amusing book! Book 1 of The Karma Club series, we start off meeting 4 strangers stranded at O’Hare airport. 1 table, several bottles of Prosecco, and many desserts later and we have a pact to humiliate those that humiliated them. Paige is returning to the UK where she’s set up to stay with Olly, the son of the movie star. Olly is quiet and respectful while Paige is bright and colorful. Kind of a grumpy meets sunshine situation. Loved reading this. Hope I get to read more about the other girls!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood for providing me an e-arc in change for a honest review.
Loved booked one of the Karma Club, really enjoyed getting to know the girls this series will focus on, this one starting with Paige and Olly.
I really enjoyed this book, it has a comedy hint whilst also touching on some tough topics.
Highly recommend as a great summer read, looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I had no idea how much I would enjoy this book! It started off a little slow however, once the action gets going I feel in love with it. The story is simpIe: three women (strangers at first) share betrayal, heartbreak and a plan to create havoc for the men who scorned them. Paige and Oliver are center stage in this book and the craziness ensues once Paige enters through the doors of Oliver's house. I could not stop laughing at the antics Paige pulls to drive Oliver crazy. Yet, even with every crazy thing she does, somehow the payback plan begins to change into something completely different. Paige might drive Oliver crazy, but she also ends up helping him more than he knew he needed and vice versa. Once I was invested in the book, I could not put it down and I needed to know how Paige and Oliver's relationship would end. There are some intense moments toward the end so be ready waiting to see how the happily-ever-after comes about for them. Loved it, definitely recommend it!

Stranded in an airport with nothing but time, three women swap heartbreak horror stories and form The Karma Club—a mission to settle scores and reclaim their power. Paige’s target? Olly Prendergast: celebrity-adjacent recluse, infamous for ghosting his fiancée via text. Her mission? Make his life chaos. But the more time she spends infiltrating his peaceful Cornish world, the more her fake plan feels like something dangerously real. With hilarious antics, heart-melting moments, and an unexpected emotional twist, this story proves that karma isn’t just about payback—it might just bring you home.

I enjoyed the story. My primary issue was the writing style and some of the jokes. To me, it felt like it tried really hard to be funny, but ultimately those moments fell flat for me. 2.75 stars.

My Initial Thoughts

I was drawn to this one, because I seem to have a thing for female revenge club reads this year, and being a romance over a thriller it could only mean one thing right! The cover also adds intrigue because look at that little hamster randomly there, which makes sense a few chapters in. I found that the writing really took me a while to get used to, there is so many long complicated words just randomly there, that I had to use my kindles dictionary more than ever.

Plot

The plot is very slow burn, and you can feel the tensions in the words your reading. I loved Paige and all the trouble she caused, I mean a hamster, crumbs and then Casper. It had me giggling at Oliver so much and how he reacted to her and her randomness, including the violin, omg, that had me creasing up. I look deeper in plots sometimes and the way Paige had try to deal with her past and photos, but then Olly just tells her something that everyone in that situation needs to hear. Moral of the plot line, its your life and you need to do you, not letting anyone dim your soul and turn of your light.

Characters

I loved the characters in this book, even though Olly did the unthinkable to Bella he’s kinda like a cinnamon roll MMC and really a softie in his core. I loved the Just Desserts girls, and I cant wait to carry on this series and find out how the others dish out karma.

Recommend

If you are after a Rom-Com full of ways to cause inconvenience to your housemate then this will be the series for you to get lots of giggles from.

Favourite Quotes

“ He’d missed Paige. Despite the chaos – the tea bags, the mug rings, the menagerie – it had been good having her in his life.”

“What was the harm in creating a little mischief for these men? For too long, too many men had been allowed to get away with stuff. Maybe they owed womankind a little cosmic rebalancing.”

“Those pants should come with a public health warning. You could have someone’s eye out with those.”

Favourite Chapter/s

My favourite chapters were 8,10,12,17 and the Epilogue.

Summed up in one sentence

Payback going not quite to plan and falling into the love of your life instead.

Overall Wrap up

I did enjoy this, I just wasn’t overly keen on the writing style. There was to many words that were completely out of place and made it difficult to keep the flow when reading. I loved the characters and especially the role the animals had to play in the Karma game.

Stars & Spice – 2.75 Stars and 1 Chilli Spice.
Book Information – The Payback Plan by Amy Andrews.

Genre – Rom-Com.

Pages – 317 pages.

Tropes –
Forced proximity.
Grumpy x sunshine.
Revenge gone wrong.

Available on Kindle Unlimited – Yes.

Available Formats – Available on kindle, audiobook, paperback and hardback.

Publishing Information – Published on 26th April by Boldwood Books.

Format in Which I Read – Kindle.

Where my copy come From – Love Book Tours and Netgallery.

POVs – Dual POV – Oliver and Paige.

Single/Dual/Multiple Timelines – Single timeline.

1st or 3rd Person – 3rd person.

HEA, HFN or Cliff hanger – HEA.

Series or Standalone – Start of an interconnected standalone series.

Trigger Warnings – Please check content warnings before reading aif necessary and please always remember that your mental health matters.

Book Review 📖

When the payback plan goes wrong. She was supposed to do a revenge payback to her friend’s ex after leaving her at the altar by text. But did she expect to fall for the enemy? Hell no.

This is an amazing hilarious/spicy with enemies to lovers tropes you want to read as soon as possible.

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author : Amy Andrews
Publisher : Boldwood books
Pages : 317
Genre : Romcom Spicy Romance


#bookreview #arcreview #arcreviewer #bookrecommendation #aprilrelease #romanceofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #spicyromancelovers #netgalley

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Droping by to start with the stars.
Full review coming soon, detailed and all.
I need time to write everything down

The Karma Club consists of Paige, Bella, Astrid and Sienna, who meet at the airport when flights are grounded. After too much cake and cocktails the four get talking and discover they all have ex's who screwed them over one way or another and then decide to take another's ex to seek some revenge on. I absolutely loved this premise and can't wait to see how all four stories pan out.

The Payback Plan focuses on Paige, who is in England to seek some revenge on Bella's ex Oliver. Some of the things she came up with to drive Olly mad had me laughing out loud (sign me up to Hamster Facts asap! 😂) But of course the path to revenge is never smooth when you realise that someone isn't all that bad after all and feelings get thrown into the mix!

Amy Andrews is a new author for me. I was attracted to this book by the plot, I liked the basic premise of this book, the first in the Karma Club series - it sounded like fun & the sort of book I enjoy reading. The opening chapter “In the Beginning” sets the scene for the series: 4 single women in their twenties, Paige, Sienna, Astrid & Bella, meet at snowbound O’Hare Airport in Chicago on their way home for Christmas & quickly bond over Prosecco as they share their bad experiences at the hands of their former partners. They resolve to exact revenge on their exes, forming the Just Desserts WhatsApp group (named for the airport cafe where they’d met) to share their experiences & progress. Paige (FMC) is to plague Oliver, who is Bella’s ex; his crime was to dump her by text on the morning of their wedding. Bella arranges for her new best friend to stay with Oliver at his home in Cornwall, which is handy as Paige is on her way home to England to see her family for Christmas.

The story proper begins with Paige arriving at Oliver’s Cornish home, complete with a cage containing her nephew’s pet hamster & various items of mismatched luggage which contain the tools of her trade: for her day job as a virtual assistant & for her new pastime - to plague Oliver & make his life miserable! She’s clearly put a lot of thought & planning into her campaign with Oliver, & there are a lot of lol moments as the story unfolds. I loved that Paige actually manages to create some edible food amidst all the chaos she creates in Oliver’s pristine kitchen! Paige finds herself settling into the village & making friends with locals, including the local Women’s Institute who are regulars at her favourite cafe in the village & a stray dog - which follows her home from the beach & unleashes all sorts of mayhem. However, it wasn’t in the plan that Paige & Oliver might actually enjoy each other’s company.

I found the characters to be believable & well rounded, I liked Paige & Oliver & enjoyed getting to know them & their story as it developed with all the twists & turns. It lived up to my expectations, & more. It was very funny, but also sensitive in its handling of issues around the failed relationships of the characters;, which led each of them to build walls to protect their heart. However I should just mention that if you are someone who is easily embarrassed I wouldn’t recommend reading this book in a public place as you may find you embarrass yourself by laughing too much!!!

It’s a great story & I’d recommend this book as a holiday read & to anyone in need of some light reading. I will now read more of Amy Andrews’ books, & I am also looking forward to the next instalment of The Karma Club - although that is by a different author.

Review posted on Amazon 28/04/25, link below

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R6ID8VKTUUMRL/ref=pe_111708471_1111884441_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

‘What if we… took it upon ourselves to exact some… revenge?’

The Payback Plan starts off the Karma Club series, a group of books written by different authors but set in the same world and with the same characters. The books star one of four heroines, Paige, Bella, Sienna, and Astrid, four women who met at a desserts shop in the airport O'Hare and realized they all had horrible exes. Drunk off sugar and alcohol they come up with the plan for each one to take the other's ex and exact a revenge plan, nothing too serious, just enough to severely aggravate the ex. Paige picks Bella's ex Oliver, he texted her the day of their wedding and called it off. Paige's plan is to stay with Oliver for two months in Cornwall and be a deranged Mary Poppins like character to drive him nuts. However, as she gets to know the slightly uptight, and walled up emotionally guarded son of a famous actor, she finally starts to feel like herself again, after her own emotionally fraught four years of trying to heal after her ex posted revenge porn photos and videos of her.

She was going to Cornwall to live in the house of a famous dead British actor to mess up his son’s charmed life. She certainly hadn’t had that on her bingo card for next year.

This was along the lines of a quick beach read, there's some emotional base to the characters, Paige withdrawing into herself after her ex exposed her so horribly and finally coming out of her shell and Oliver letting go of the expectations, pressure, and pain of growing up in the public eye and with a narcissist father. Your mileage will vary with the humor of Paige's antics, making a mess of Oliver's neat as a pin kitchen, bringing a hamster and stray dog into his living space, and generally creating goofy havoc. It wasn't really my sense of humor but some of it lead to cute byplay between the two. These antics were mostly their relationship development, there wasn't much depth to hang your reading expectations on but if you're looking for something quick and cutesy, this would do.

And the last couple of months, she’d allowed herself to be that woman again. To be herself again.

The latter second half has them kissing and then the guilt of betraying Bella, you'll still get an opendoor scene as they can't fully fight their feelings. There's a third act breakup where Paige flies off the handle a bit about how Oliver's public profile affects her for some dramatics and Oliver has to simmer down after learning the real reason Paige was staying with him before you get the eventual HEA. There wasn't much depth but there was some cute, drama, and a set-up that leads you to wonder how the other members of the Karma Club are faring.

A fun read, the story of Paige and Olly. She is only statistic him to get revenge, but as they start to get to know each other it gets complicated.
I liked the setting in Cornwall and look forward to the next books in this series.

Confession time: Been a fan of this author since 2019. Still, it was her Sydney Smoke Rugby series that clenched the deal as an "ATF" , author to follow.

This, unfortunately, despite the sweetness of Ollie's interaction with "Casper" and "Pavarotti" did not clench the deal. Nor did Paige's colorful punny t-shirts or playful bots. Felt that their romance was surface level as his physical attraction was clearly stated as was hers but not see much more than that.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Boldwood Books, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#ThePaybackPlan #NetGalley

Get ready for a hilarious and heartwarming story filled with tension and laughter!

If you’ve ever felt the urge to get back at an ex for getting on your bad side… this book is perfect for you. Take lessons people because our fmc, Paige definitely knows how to press some buttons.

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The story starts out with Paige bumping into a few girls while waiting for a delayed flight. Tired and frustrated, she grabs a seat at a table that just so happens to have three other women who have something slightly in common with her— horrible exes who double crossed each of them. After connecting through similar trauma, they each decide their exes need a little bit of their own medicine… enter in “The Payback Plan.”

Each girl is paired with a different ex and Paige gets matched with Oliver, her new friend, Bella’s ex-fiancé. After leaving Bella high and dry at the alter on their wedding day—and OVER TEXT at that—the girls decide Paige will be the one to exact the perfect revenge on Oliver. Making up a ruse that Paige needs a place to stay while in the area, Bella asks Oliver if Paige can stay with him for a few months… and since Oliver still holds guilt over how he left Bella, he feels obligated to say yes.

Knowing that Oliver is a major neat freak, Paige comes crashing into his life leaving behind a trail of bread crumbs and coffee rings on his bars. But as she slowly gets to know Oliver more, she realizes there is always two sides to the story, and he might have deeper reasons for why he acted the way he did.

Follow these two as they learn to navigate their growing feelings for each other and step out of their comfort zones to really LIVE their life. And realize that sometimes what’s initially meant for ill intent, can turn into one of the best things that could ever happen to you.

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“𝘼𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙄’𝙢 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.”

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The only reason I didn’t rate this book 5 stars is because I had a hard time connecting with the writing style. The lingo was a little difficult to catch on to, and I wasn’t a fan of the third person POV. Other than that, the book was phenomenal, and I can’t wait to read the next one in the series!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for allowing me to read this arc. These are all my honest opinions in this review.

The Payback Plan by Amy Andrews.
The karma club book 1.
I loved the cover and blurb of this book. This was a fun and lighthearted read. I got into it straight away. I loved Paige. I loved how Paige was messing up Oliver stuff. Hilarious. I loved the chemistry between them. I absolutely loved it. I loved the writing style and the story. I read this book in two sittings. I loved how the plan came together. This is definitely a must read.

This is a first time read for me by this author and is a delightful blend of charm, chemistry, and irresistible tension.
Andrews delivers at creating a balance between humor and heart, making the book a fun and engaging read from start to finish.
The book is full of humor, heart, and just the right amount of steam, all while exploring themes of personal growth, love, and taking risks.

The Karma Club series is about four women who meet by chance and decide to give karma a helping hand for each other, with unexpected results. Paige's target is Olly, the man who jilted Bella. The humour is immediate and keeps giving as Paige engineers her dose of karma, but becomes drawn into Olly's world in an unforeseen way. I like the couple and their complexities, the animal characters and the mix of laughter and spicy romance. It's a great start to the series, but a satisfying standalone read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.