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. .

Finn Masters gets his dream screenwriting job on a famous tv show 'neighbours' but the only issue is that the person who has been ruining his life since high school is the lead, Lavender Rose. So he decides to plot paybacks through the scripts.
This story is just like you think it would be. He is grumpy or I would say he doesnt like Lavender because she keeps ruining his life, and he just wants to stay away from her. She is a total sunshine who doesnt like to hurt people, a total people pleaser but somehow unknowingly opposite to Finn. This made their interactions so much fun to read , I chuckled a more than few times during my walk.
I love reading books set on movie or tv show sets and its done really well in this book. The writing is good and flowly, the characters are so good from Finn's neighbour to the producer.
I loved this book and am already looking forward to the next book from the author.

I'm a fan of Melissa Furgeson; loved Meet Me in the Margins and enjoyed Famous for a Living, so I was looking forward to this book. It just didn't deliver in the same way. I listened to the audio book and enjoyed the narrators: the man reminded me of a young Rupert Evrett and the woman of Juno Temple, so I had those figures in mind when listening. I appreciated the ways in which Finn's true character broke through his revenge seeking, but both characters seemed a bit naive and immature. The biggest problem with this book was the show, Neighbors. First, Neighbors is a very famous decades long running show in England/Australia. Secondly, there is no way a show with a plot, as outlined in thai book, would ever be the number one show in the country for 10 years! If you are going to spend soooo much time talking about a show, it has to be more smartly drawn than this one. Lavender was of the quirky manic pixie dream girl variety. I did like the chemistry between the leads. I would definitely read another book by Furgeson, I just think Hollywood was a little off base for her. Not her best. But definitely would recommend anyone to read Meet Me in the Margins, it was so cute and I loved "living" in the pivlishing world with thos MCs.
Thanks to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am sorry to say that I didn’t enjoy the audio version of this book at all. Too much drama, negativity and yelling. I had to force myself to listen to it. Maybe the print copy would have been better.