I generally don't love a Hollywood romance, but this was lighthearted and fun! This is a super low spice romcom with enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and a workplace romance!

How to Plot a Payback by Melissa Ferguson was an enemies to lovers, second chance trope that I thought I would be here for but I really wasn't. I am usually not a fan of these two tropes but thought I would give it a try with the Hollywood setting that I thought might make this romcom different.

I felt that the grumpy sunshine trope was overly done and too extreme. Both main characters were super dramatic (perhaps because of the Hollywood aspect) but again, this was overly done. I did not care for the characters because of this and found myself speeding up the audiobook to see how the story ended but then feeling quiet underwhelmed when it was over.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing | Thomas Nelson Fiction for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This is a delightful read for fans of light-hearted, clean romance and Hollywood-inspired stories, particularly those who enjoy the "grumpy sunshine" trope, where a witty and charming hero navigates the ups and downs of love and career in the glamorous world of television.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for providing me with an audio-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
If you are fan of Grumpy x Sunshine romance, this one might be for you. These characters lean pretty heavily into the grumpy x sunshine trope. Both of the main characters definitely have some flaws but the author clearly made one side's character development more pronounced- I would have appreciated more development from the FMC on the page.
I also wonder if I would have like this one a bit better if I read it on the page instead of listening to the audiobook. Specifically, the narration of the MMC POV was way to dramatic for my personal taste and kind of pulled me out of the story every so often, especially when when he was voicing the boss character, and when the FMC would be getting on his nerves and he would be expressing how everything made him feel. Granted this might just be a me thing because it is pretty clear that the writing (aka the way the author wrote the male POV) is on the more dramatic side but I think the slightly over the top narration just pushed it a bit too far for me.
2.5 stars

I am not one to gravitate towards Hollywood stories. But I like Melissa Ferguson and the unique voice of this one drew me in from the beginning. The down to earth nature of the characters juxtaposed with their positions really played well to readability and likeability.

At first I had a hard time with Finn’s motivations, but I feel like as the book progressed I began to understand the justification of his stance. Book club discussion fodder for sure! And Lavender is a character revealed by peeling back her layers and I loved her more and more as Finn fell for her.

Such a fun read that was such a shot of fun in my reading just when I needed it.

A note on the audio: Steve West also narrates the Wilderlore Series, so it was hard to sink into the audio at first. But once I was into the story I was so soothed by his voice. Fiona Hardingham also so beautifully embodied Lavender. It was an engrossing audio experience.

Thanks to Libro.fm and Thomas Nelson for the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

How to Plot a Payback was a cute story but I was lacking some of the chemistry between the two MC’s. The narration was fine and I had an okay time, but I probably woundnt read again or recommend unfortunately.

I loved this author’s previous work, and I wanted to get into this one, but ultimately I DNF’d. I found the main character a bit too frustrating to deal with.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was really cute! A lot of shenanigans, romance, and dogs!! There was a lot of humor and light hearted fun so nothing heavy. I loved the old couples that he lived around and all of the animals throughout. I liked the setting of a sitcom and the writer/actress dynamic. Very cute!

I did enjoy the storyline although this book was not necessarily a romance for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not my cup of tea.
This was advertised as a romance but it's not quite in that category, so expectations about this book were already wrong before I started listening to it. For it to be a romance I think it should have more chemistry and partnership between the characters.
The writing seems to be good and flow well. The characters just let me down.
I'll be trying other books from Melissa Ferguson.

Melissa Ferguson's How to Plot a Payback is an absolute delight! This rom-com leans heavily on the comedy, with witty dialogue and lovable characters that had me giggling throughout. As a high school senior, I'm always looking for fresh and exciting plots, and this book delivered just that.

The story revolves around Finn, who believes Lavender is a terrible person bent on ruining lives. He's forced to work with her as her producer and slowly realizes that she's not so bad after all. Lavender, on the other hand, is sweet and sunshiney, a true people pleaser. Their interactions are both funny and heartwarming, making for a cute and enjoyable read.

The writing flows effortlessly, making it easy to get through the book quickly. There are plenty of funny lines and adorable scenes that could have been cringey but instead were super cute. The plot twists Finn comes up with for the show are particularly hilarious and add a lot of charm to the story.

Overall, How to Plot a Payback is a fun and heartwarming book that's perfect if you want something light and enjoyable. While the ending felt a bit rushed, the journey was totally worth it. Highly recommend for a quick, feel-good read!

I wish I had read How to Plot a Payback by Melissa Ferguson in the physical book, instead of the audiobook because the male narrator’s voice did not work for me. I find this makes it difficult to adequately evaluate the book. This is a light hearted romance. I’ve gotten used to reading romance stories that have some depth to them. There’s a place for this kind, I’m sure, I just don’t know that I am the target audience. This is my first book by this author but I own a couple and so I’ll see if it’s her style or this story.
.
The story involves two Brits who end up in Hollywood, one as a screenwriter and the other a beloved sit-com actress. These two went to school together and have some history. It’s a cute story that I would probably had enjoyed more in print.
.
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Christian Publishing for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Finn Masters and Lavender Rhodes went to school together in England and now find themselves working together in LA. She is the beloved star of Neighbors, one of Hollywood's highest-rated, longest-running sitcoms, and Finn has just been hired to write for the show. What Lavender doesn't realize is that Finn believes she ruined his life way back when and sees this an opportunity to get even with her. Unfortunately for him, his plans backfire one after the other, until he finally begins to realize that maybe Lavender isn't what he always thought she was.

I have read and enjoyed several Melissa Ferguson books in the past, but How to Plot a Payback fell short for me. I thought the plot of Finn carrying his grudge for so many years a bit hard to believe. His ideas to make Lavender look bad were petty and childish. Lavender was a great character and rolled with the punches. The actual romance was also hard to believe considering how much Finn disliked her and for how long. I almost DNFed this one. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Fiona Hardingham and Steve West and they did a nice job with the characters, but it just fell flat for me. I know others really enjoyed this one, so if it interests you, give it a try, you might really enjoy this story.

This didn't work for me as a romance, but I did like a lot of the story line and behind the scenes of tv show stuff.

3.5
Finn knows how to hold a grudge! His antics get out of control as he plots Lavenders payback, going way back to grade school when she first wronged him. My favorite part of this book is how sweet Lavender is. What I didn't love? Open door scenes take away from the book. They don't make the characters feel connected more emotionally and don't add much to the plot. It feels like page filler.

Lavender Rhodes has ruined Finn’s life. It was all inadvertent, and she doesn’t even realize the effect she’s had on him, but still. Finn’s doing pretty well on his own despite that, but then he gets offered a job writing for TV’s favorite sitcom. It’s an incredible opportunity. One he can’t refuse, even though he really wants to. Lavender is the star of said sitcom, and Finn prefers to stay as far away from her as possible. He isn’t going to let her ruin another aspect of his life, though, and taking the job might even bring up some interesting opportunities for a little payback…

You know who needs to read a book called “How to Plot a Payback”? Finn. He is absolutely dreadful at it. All his “payback” attempts are elementary and just blow up in his face. He also feels incredibly guilty after each one, leading him to realize maybe he doesn’t hate Lavender as much as he thought he did. This is 70% of the book, by the way.

These two don’t get together until the last third, and by then I was not invested in their relationship. Once Finn realizes his feelings for Lavender, he tells himself he won’t get involved no matter how badly he wants to because Lavender deserves to be with someone who wasn’t just trying to ruin her life last week. Fair point, but Finn goes back on his promise not even 30 minutes later. In order to help Lavender escape hanging out with her supposed best friend, he lies and says they have a date. Lavender then decides to follow through with said date, and instead of establishing boundaries, Finn lets her. By that night, they are making out. Seriously, Finn?? It’s giving me the ick.

Lavender wasn’t any better. Despite her being the hottest thing in Hollywood, she wants to stay grounded. Her efforts are too try hard, though. Being a stereotypical celebrity is annoying, sure, but so is being so anti-stereotype that it’s essentially your only personality trait. Lavender is so laid back, in fact, that when she discovers Finn’s whole payback plot, she instantly forgives him. YUP. Instead of making him grovel and beg for forgiveness, she’s simply like, “That was so funny! Let’s make out!” The self respect is lacking.

I couldn’t take anything in this book seriously, but it wasn’t fun enough to be campy, either. A disappointing 1.5 Star novel.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to listen to the audiobook before it got archived!
I will make sure to get a copy or the audio version, myself to give a review on my socials.

Cute little romcom, it’ll make you giggle a bit. Some scenes were cringy, but it was overall just a cute read.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. My problem was the fact that Finn is so petty, that even when he warms up, it feels a bit quick. I wanted the write more about the plot, ect, but I just cannot let this go. I literally rolled my eyes at his solution for Em at the end of the story. I’m sure some will absolutely adore this story, and good for them. I just couldn’t give it a higher score.
**Thank you Netgalley for this arc.**