Melissa Ferguson does it again! How to Plot a Payback is a sweet and funny read that just leaves you feeling happy and blissful.

I actually recently read a similar story - a grudge held for years, forced proximity through the movie industry, etc.. and I loved the premise but thought it lacked substance (that book just had the MC's sleeping together constantly). With this book, Ferguson added the substance that book lacked.

I LOVED the parallel between how the MC's handled transgressions. One with payback, the other with grace. I also loved how the characters felt like real people with misunderstandings and flaws and fears and also growth and depth.

I will read everything Melissa Ferguson puts out because she nails clean rom-com stories every time.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Sweet and funny with adorable dogs and a touch of ridiculousness- this one would make a great movie 😄 great comedic timing too

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The characters were fun and loveable. I loved Lavender and her personality. Finn is the grumpy yet soft guy we all love.

This book wasn’t giving me anything new but it was still a super cute book and if you’re in the mood for a lighthearted romance, this is for you.

When the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself to successful Hollywood screenwriter Finn Masters, he jumps at the chance for change and successfully negotiates a job for his mentor, as well. Finn knows he’ll need a friend in his new job.

Despite the pay raise and prestige of writing for a famous producer of a wildly successful long-running sitcom, Finn will enter the orbit of his nemesis. For over a decade, Lavender Rhodes has inadvertently caused every life disaster Finn experiences—starting with breaking his ankle (causing his broken ankle, not literally snapping it in two) right before the school play back in England and stealing his role while he suffered multiple surgeries.

Lavender’s list of iniquities takes up almost an entire sheet of paper. This could be his breakout opportunity if Finn can ignore America’s darling and keep his nose to the grindstone.

Unfortunately, Finn discovers why everyone loves Lavender—she’s down-to-earth, genuinely kind, and upbeat. But she’s still causing career problems for him. Within weeks, he gets fired. Things only get worse.

Finn goes on the offensive and plots a series of perfect paybacks. Only each attempt at a payback goes horribly wrong, and forces Finn to realize his feelings for Lavender have changed dramatically.

Why I Love This Book

Ferguson knows how to plot a perfect rom-com—even one based on revenge. Readers will love the hopelessly optimistic Lavender, especially once they understand her journey. Finn’s attempts to avoid Lavender (or even liking her) will make the reader laugh out loud. Ferguson proves the impossible can happen with proximity, compassion, and friendship.

Fans of Emma St. Clair will love this book.

There's just one person that Finn Masters blames for the major mishaps in his life-star of the hit television series "Neighbors", one Lavender Rhodes. Offered his dream job of writing for the "Neighbors" series, he figures he can avoid Lavender by sticking to the writer's room and avoiding the set. It is only after several chance meetings that the light finally dawns on Lavender that she knows Finn from her school days back in England where she carelessly left a stage trapdoor open and Finn fell breaking his ankle which required surgery. This on the eve of Finn's stage debut. Lavender takes his place, is seen by a talent scout in the audience and the rest is history. She moves to L.A. and becomes a star and he gives up acting to become a script writer, now also living in L.A.
Now that Finn is writing the scripts for Lavender's show, he decides to exact some revenge for all the times she has caused him trauma-which he has documented in a notebook!f But scripts are for actors and real life writes its own scripts and Finn realizes that Lavender isn't the career wrecking person he thought she was. Mix in an uncontrollable Bernese Mountain dog puppy, a seniors' living complex and watch the relationship morph from hate to something quite different!

A rom com set in Hollywood should have been a slam dunk for me, but unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. The main characters begin the novel unlikable to an almost cartoonish degree, and while they do improve slightly by the end, it's not enough. The premise is interesting, but the details of the television show that Finn and Lavender work on are wildly unrealistic even by Hollywood standards. The romance between them is predictable, which I didn't mind, but also relatively unsatisfying as there's very little spice to it. I really wanted to like this book, but in the end I found it frustrating and disappointing.

This was so good! I loved the premise of an actress who has no clue the main man has a lifelong hatred of her. They are forced together and, of course, are a perfect fit. The writing was excellent and I was always squeezing in time to read. It’s all closed door - no spice on the page except for a few “heated kisses”.

Well, thank you Melissa Ferguson! What a dang delight! If you're a fan of grumpy vs. sunshine, slow-burn romance, and PUPPIES...you will love this. So FUNNY and a perfectly sweet romance. Loved the lead characters. Their enemies-to-lovers vibe was giving Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox. If I had any critique, it would be that I was hoping for something that went slightly deeper...but honest to goodness, I had a blast and it was a great antidote to the winter doldrums. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for the ARC.

This was a fun book to read. I loved the plot of being the scenes of a popular tv show. I also liked how Finn had the vendetta against Lavender, since childhood and how it carried throughout his life.
The story was easy to follow along. I enjoyed it.

This is another winner by Melissa Ferguson! I love a good enemies to lovers trope and this one was so well done. Lavender and Finn were such a fun pair. They balance each other well and their character development was very satisfying. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance, enemies to lovers, and celebrity dating stories!

Great read that starts off somewhat flat but smooths out into an exceptionally good read.

The plot has Finn bearing a huge grudge, and he's not subtle about that. Lavender is a huge Pollyanna, sharing sunshine without listening to those whom she tries to help. No nuance in the characters to start, and for the first part of the book, I contemplated whether to finish or not.

But as the story develops, the talented author smooths down the edges of her characters, and they become individuals the reader really cares about. At some point in the narrative arc, I became committed to learning how the story would end -- and it ends beautifully! Lots of warmth and encouragement in this book.

You will want to read this one -- pub date is April 2, 2024. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishers (!) for a compelling story, lovely romance, and a scintillating plot line.

Cute, quick read! Love Melissa Ferguson's other books and enjoyed this one as well! The characters were alright, but I enjoy her writing.

Thank you NetGalley and Melissa Ferguson!

This one just wasn’t for me. I don’t know if it was the story line or the characters but I just didn’t vibe with it. It took forever to read and actually finish and it was one of those books where you wonder what you just read after finishing it. I’m sure it’s a good book for someone out there, but it just wasn’t for me. That being said, I’m not typically into books with blissfully unaware women characters. Like please, wake up and stand your ground. But like I said, I’m sure someone will enjoy this as the romcom it is.

What happens when two people meet but seem destined to live parallel lives? This is a good light read about how we can affect each other without ever having known. Finn wants to be enemies but forgot to tell Lavender about his plans. Typical storylines for the star crossed lovers but with an element of authenticity that makes you keep reading.

I got some mixed feelings regarding this book. It was a cute rom com novel, that I struggled to connect in the beginning. Just the characters presentation in the beginning was very surface level and I didn’t like any of them. I thought that Finn was childish and petty and Lavender just too much and all over the place. Side characters were pretty much nonexistent, except the dogs which were adorable!
Don’t get me wrong, it was not all bad! There were loads of funny moments throughout the book and towards the end I felt like the characters developed as well (tiny bit).
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. The opinions expressed above are completely honest and my own thoughts.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I initially picked up this book because I liked the cover and the premise and I was looking for a light rom com read. I'm a fan of friendly enemies to lovers stories.

It was a quick and cute read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I never cringed over how Finn plotted revenge, the antics were interesting but never so mean that I disliked him, the build up to their romance was natural and the side characters (especially Miles, Bernine and Finn's adorable neighbors) added in the perfect amount of detail. I thought i knew what the big breakup would be but even that was done in a way that fit the characters and left me liking everyone in the end.

I will definitely read other books by Melissa Ferguson in the future and this is a great book I'd recommend to my friends.

How to Plot a Payback was a fun read, but I had one critical problem with it. The characters HATED eachother. For about 200 pages...UTTER HATE. Then, on a dime, we were madly in love?

I feel like we missed a few pages that would have gotten us there - this was truly something lacking for me.

Unfortunately, my first DNF with this author! Which makes me so sad!

Ferguson brings Hollywood vividly to life--all the good and allllllll the bad. I found myself in too deep at times and struggled to pull myself out--a surprise, as I went into the read expecting humor, witty sarcasm, and banter as I've experienced in her other reads. Alas; there was certainly witty sarcasm, but also a lot of bitterness on Finn's part. I struggled to connect with him (and, later, Lavender--and oh! The flashbacks to vapid Lavender Brown in _Harry Potter_), as well as determine which MC was talking at times.

Alas and alack.

I may try again post-release and hope the final version delineates more clearly between the two narrators.

(On a side note, for those readers who pick this up based on publisher Thomas Nelson: As with at least one other Ferguson book published by TN, at least as far as I read in HtPaP, there was no faith element involved.)

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson so I was pumped when I got this ARC from NetGalley! I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to reading more of Melissa’s work!

I've been a huge fan of most of Melissa Ferguson's romantic comedy, so I was really surprised when How to Plot a Payback wasn't a favorite. Perhaps I just read it when I wasn't in the right mood for a romcom, or perhaps the Hollywood setting wasn't for me, but it took me awhile to get into. And as much as I loved aspects of the main characters, I struggled to understand why they chose the friends they did, and how all the parts of their personalities fit together.

I smiled at some parts and I awwed at others. It just wasn't a title I'm going to be gushing about to my friends.