Super cute grumpy/sunshine, enemies (for him at least) to lovers workplace romance. Lavender is a super popular actress who just wants to be seen as a normal person, not someone to be treated differently. Finn is the only person to treat her as such, why? Well because she’s been accidentally ruining his life since they were children. Through misguided attempts of revenge that spiral out of control very quickly Finn realizes Lavender might actually be the treasure everyone believes that she is. The witty dialogue, adorably uncontrollable puppy, best friends and overprotective elderly neighbors this book is funny, heartwarming and just a cozy read.

HOW TO PLOT A PAYBACK is another laugh out loud romcom by MELISSA FERGUSON, which also gives us much food for thought as we see how bitterness and unforgiveness has affected Finn Masters, who blames famous sitcom star, Lavender Rhodes, for ruining his life, right from their school days.
Lavender, on the other hand, with her kind and empathetic nature, is quite oblivious to his dislike of her and his payback attempts do not have the desired effect.
Bring in the cast of a ten year old sitcom, script writers, elderly fans, romance, dogs, cats, ehickens and much more, and you will be hooked!…..
I really enjoyed this delightful read and highly recommend the novel to anyone with a sense of humour.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review are completelymy own.

If you haven’t read Melissa Ferguson’s books, you need to start! I will request/buy (usually both) every book she writes.
This book is adorable. I loved Finn and Lavender together. All of their misadventures had me laughing out loud and coming back for more. I also enjoyed the writer and actress dynamic, it lent really well to the attempted paybacks. Definitely snag this one when it is available in spring of 2024!
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice Level: 🌶️/5
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

SO GOOD! I truly loved “How to plot a payback”, it was the perfect romcom, and I’m so excited for the day it comes out as a movie (Manifesting😉)! It’s light and fun, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and has great MC’s. Some chick lit books have such big conflict/tension that it makes the whole thing seem cliche and forced, but Melissa makes this story have just enough tension to remain interesting, but moves the story along unforcedly.

Big thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts included are my own

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No spice!

Ideal Cast:
⭐️Lavender: Lilly James (Big LJ kick as of late)
⭐️Finn: Andrew Garfield
⭐️Paula: Annabelle Apsion
⭐️Sonya: Keke Palmer
⭐️Kye: Glen Powell

I went on to read this on a very cold and windy day- and I have to say it still made me feel fuzzy. I LOVED Finn and his grumpy golden retriever vibes - my guy was not well equipped for that payback 😂 and lavender was the sunshine to
His grumpy. I loved how he kept discovering things about her that squashed his animosity towards her . All around a solid romcom

I wanted to love this book, but while it was a unique plot, the story ended too quickly with not enough chemistry between the two main characters. All in all it was a light read, just not a lot of impact for me.
Thank you for the ARC provided to me.

Amazing, sweet, why-are-they-so-cute-together-crying.
Lavender is the happy relaxing woman I think I would be if I had financial stability.
Finn is a grumpy genius completely in love with her.

Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the ARC!

Another winner of a book! I absolutely adored this story from Melissa Ferguson. I am a sucker for an enemies to lovers romance, and this one had me swooning by the end! I loved that I could root for both main characters, and the dual perspectives made everything even more fun!

I love stories about Hollywood and television and behind the scenes drama, so this was a perfect fit for me. I also found Ferguson’s writing really hilarious and fun! I am so glad I got to read this, and look forward to reading more of Ferguson’s work in the future!

Thank you again for the ARC!

This book is so adorable! I loved the characters. Finn Masters has kept a list of everything that Lavender Rhoads has ruined in his life, starting with the moment she took his place in their high school play and wound up in Hollywood as a result. But, when the chance of a lifetime comes in the form of writing for the TV show, he can't pass it up. Even if it means writing for Lavender's character.
This book is such a cute romcom, with likeable characters and funny mishaps. I enjoyed the grump/sunshine storyline. If you are looking for a book that will brighten your day, pick this one up!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

4++ stars

Adorable read. Smiled a ton. Lavender and Finn are adorable.

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

I enjoyed the escapism this book gave me - the ideas of tv stars and public profile jobs was a great way to end my day. I’m not sure I enjoyed the slow burn that this book had. I found myself wanting to skip ahead, just to see where the climax was. I did find the climax of the book a bit small and wished there was more oomph in it. I felt like there were a few characters in there that weren’t really relevant.

Overall, I enjoyed the main characters, the idea of a tv show setting and especially how many dogs were in the book!

I was drawn to this book because of the cover. I enjoyed the storyline and kept reading to see how the story would come together, but I did find the writing choppy and hard to follow. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute, fun rom-com. It's a grumpy/sunshine trope with a (very) slow burn romance. The characters were likeable and the story was well done.

It took me a while to get into this book as the slow burn was definitely slow, I almost DNF because it wasn't gripping me. However, I persevered and was definitely rewarded with this super sweet rom-com.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Netgallery and Thomas Nelson Publishers.

This book is fun romantic comedy. Once I started it I could not put it down. This is the first Melissa Ferguson book I have read. The main characters were interesting and engaging. This book was funny and was a slow burn. I found this book to be more comedy than romance. I really enjoyed this book.

Melissa Ferguson does it again! Sucks you into the characters and the storyline and you fall in love with the characters!

Finn Masters is writing for a successful crime/ drama and had aspirations when he was younger of being an actor. However, there was one person that just got into his way Lavender Rhodes who he grew up with in England. Lavender has taken everything from him starting with his play at school where he was the lead and Lavender getting the agent that swept her away to LA. Finn and Lavender are as different from any other two people. Finn is organized and put together whereas Lavender is all over the place, which infuriates Finn to no end. Finn ends up taking a job on the successful comedy Neighbors that Lavender is a main star. Can Finn survive Lavender and her quirky personality?

I absolutely got sucked into this book and loved the storyline along with the character development.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy!

Super cute!!! Melissa Ferguson’s romcoms lean more on the com than the rom, and this book is no different, delivering chuckles and giggle with an effortless writing voice, witty dialogue, and a cast of lovable characters. I was totally on board as soon as I read the premise, especially since it’s a storyline I haven’t already read more than a dozen times (give me all the fresh plots please!). You could say this is a grump/sunshine (although he’s really not all that grumpy), enemies-to-lovers (although the hard feelings are only one sided and misguided at that), slow burn, but I just call it a cute little romp of a book.

Rom-com, grumpy/sunshine, feel-good read! Surprisingly funny with good banter. however lacked chemistry between the MC's as well as tension.

This book was cute, but I didn’t love it as much as some others by Melissa. The formatting was off on the ARC, so I think that contributed, but I struggled to follow it sometimes.

Ultimately, I was somewhat invested in the story- although it felt like it resolved very quickly & the story never really climaxed. Was there any real conflict? The “payback” plot seemed to become irrelevant very quickly. Idk. This just didn’t connect for me the way others have.

Title: How to Plot a Payback
Author: Melissa Ferguson
Rating: 4/5

Thank you to @netgalley and Thomas Nelson Publishers. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really, really enjoyed this one! Melissa Ferguson is an auto-buy author for me, and this book was another winner. I loved the characters and the setting! A romance between an actress and a script writer was cute and unique, especially with the tropes in this story. I loved the whole backstory of the MC and FMC’s hilariously unfortunate relationship. These characters aren’t exactly what you think either!

This was a truly funny, heartwarming romcom. I enjoyed this one as much as Meet Me in the Margins, which is my favorite Melissa Ferguson!

Read this one if you like:

-Grumpy/sunshine
-Slow burn
-Almost Enemies to lovers
-Puppies

Highly recommend! This would also be a fun book club book.

Coming Soon: Releasing April 2024

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read