"𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳."



It's ROUND 2 of Melissa Ferguson for the week!

And this time, it's her NEWEST addition to the book world!

I'll start with 100% honesty, it took me a teensy bit to get in, into this book. But once I did get into it, I really enjoyed it!

I wasn't a huge fan of our MMC towards the middle of the book (I mean, I think that was on purpose) - but he was just taking some of the revenge stuff a bit too far.

And it really made me feel for Lavender. I know what it's like to be a genuinely good person, and still have someone(s) out there not like you for one reason for another. And not even being aware that you're having some kind of effect on someone else's life.

As always, a huge thank you to @thomasnelson and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review!
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I really enjoyed this cute rom com. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, and this one made me laugh so hard. Lavender is so quirky. I loved her, she was so relatable. Finn was grumpy, but I liked him too. I would highly recommend this book!

Honestly, this was a cute book. I believe that the narrators that they chose for this book are really good. I gave it three stars. The story flowed really well. The only con that was a little overwhelming was that there was no climax or big bad situation where the has to chose. I felt like there was wasn’t a big problem to resolve. Overall, the It’s cute romance. There was no smut and it’s okay. I love that in this book. They included dogs. I’d recommend this book. It’s a cute grumpy x sunshine.


Thank you NetGañley and the publisher for this arc

How to Plot a Payback is a fun romp through grumpy sunshine. Finn Masters has one lot in life, and that is Lavender Rhodes. Lavender has been ruining Finn’s life one circumstance at a time since stealing his big stage debut as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream back in school. Now they’re both living their very separate lives and dreams in Los Angeles — far from their childhood village in the UK. Actor turned talented writer Finn avoids glittering sitcom star Lavender with every grouchy ounce of his being. When the perfect, unexpected job presents itself that puts Lavender in his orbit on the daily, Finn can’t decline. We’re taken on a lighthearted romp, heavy on the friendships, easy on the romance, and ever so delightfully fun.

This was such a cute read!! If you’re looking for a lighthearted, clean and witty romance, you will love this one.

- Quick Read
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Enemies to lovers
- Clean read (zero spice or language)
- Hollywood vibes (reminded me of Friends)

This was a listen for me, and the narrators were perfect!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for the audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my gosh, this rom-com was absolutely delightful! From start to finish, I was laughing out loud at the hilarious hijinks and clever quips exchanged between the totally charming leads. The plot was so original - I've never come across anything quite like it before. As a sucker for the grumpy/sunshine and enemies to lovers tropes, my heart was so full. This story was an absolute blast from beginning to end. I devoured every word and didn't want it to end! It was such a feel-good, lighthearted read - just what you need for summer. I can't recommend it enough if you're looking for something fun, romantic and sure to put a smile on your face!

I thought this was going to be a cute enemies to lovers romcom that I was super in for. And I actually really enjoyed the first few chapters and found them pretty funny. But it took entirely too long to get to the point. Finn spends basically the entire front half of the book complaining about how he hates Lavender because he is a petty, small man who can't get over something that happened when they were CHILDREN and is now doing better than he is in their 30s. Talk about being overly focused on someone else's life. It's a concept that's better suited to a stalker thriller. There's even a scene where he sits down to write a list of all the ways she's done wrong that he misses a date, and this is somehow Lavender's fault. And then after taking half the book to decide he wants payback, that lasts all of 5 minutes before it backfires and then he decides that he feels bad. And then...all of a sudden they're on a fake date. No slow burn or starting to like each other -just bam. From there things just start to move really fast, going to liking each other, to problem, to resolved in a matter of a couple hours of listening.
That being said, I thought the reading of the audiobook by the voice actors was so great! It is literally the reason I stuck around long enough to finish the book.

Melissa Ferguson is amazing and how she comes up with the dreamiest plots, I'll never know. I loved the book and the audio was fantastic. A must for anyone looking for a summer book to escape into.

Thank you NetGalley for this audiobook

Enemies to lovers except only one person knows they're enemies and the other has just being trying to do good in a way that has caused pure chaos in the other's life. A dream set up honestly, more than a few laughs and an adorable finish. Both the narrators were amazing and I loved listening to this on my roadtrip!

The premise of this book is super cute. The execution faltered, however. The pacing was a bit off and there was a lack of character depth. I liked the characters ok--but they were bland overall. In addition, the audio version did nothing to add to the character connection. There was no warmth or vivacity whatsoever.

How to Plot a Payback is a cute romcom about an actress and screenwriter. The two characters are quirky, with completely separate takes on the world and the situation between them. It was quite a funny story, watching things unravel between the characters.

This is a closed door romance, so it is great for all romcom readers, including the readers who prefer mild spice levels. The plot is intriguing without the spice, which makes this an easy read for all romcom lovers (even if you typically like more spice).

I listened to the audiobook, which had two narrators, one for each POV. The narrators did an excellent job bringing the characters to life. I listened at 1.75x speed, with 1.75x - 2x speed being my normal audiobook speed.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for this advanced audiobook copy.

This was so cute!! I had a really great time with both of these characters! I was given the audio book ARC and the narrators were fantastic! They were so good at bringing these characters to life!! I really hope there is a spinoff sequel about Kai one day, I would love to see where he ends up!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins publishing for my audio book ARC!!!

I thought this book was super cute! It’s a sweet and wholesome slow burn romance that starts out as a guy plotting his revenge for the woman he blames for ruining his life. She doesn’t know that he has a vendetta against him and they end up falling for each other! Overall I’d recommend and I’m excited to read more of her books!

Not My favourite Melissa Ferguson book. The characters weren't very realistic and were a bit annoying. The voice actors did match the characters but not necessarily in a good way.

The story sounded fun, but I found that I didn’t particularly like Finn or Lavender.

I read Ferguson’s Meet Me in the Margins and adored it. I found it charming & beautiful.

But I unfortunately found none of that same charm in this book. I wasn’t invested in the characters, which made for a bit of a dull read.

Talk about grumpy x sunshine- Lavender is sunshine personified. I loved this one! I love almost anything that is entertainment industry adjacent, so this was right up my alley. One of my favorite parts of a good enemies to lovers is the character growth that comes with their falling in love, and the MCs had such great communication! This was also laugh-out-loud funny. Loved this!

The narration was also engaging and really fantastic. Lavender and Finn were brought to life in a very vibrant way and it added such a fun layer to a great book.

This sweet, clean romcom was a wonderfully light and easy listen.

Lavender Rhodes seems to always show up at the wrong times in Finn Masters’ life. She’s his bad-luck charm, and he’s determined to stay as far away from her as possible…until he gets offered the job of a lifetime writing for the sitcom she stars in.

Perfect for fans of:

💕Enemies to lovers
🎬Hollywood romances
🐶Furbaby characters
🏡Found family

The fictional sitcom at the center of this show,called “Neighbours”, has a lot of “Friends” vibes too, which is a lot of fun, and I love the way Ferguson makes Finn’s real-life neighbours such important secondary characters.

Do you like 90s and early 2000s romantic comedies?
Think like Pretty Woman, Bridget Jones Diary, How to Lose a Guy in 10 days; this book feels like watching those romantic comedies with the (mostly) clueless heroine (FMC) and the broody hero (MMC) which, if isn't clear, I absolutely love
I love how this book is hilariously realistic and yet relatable at the same time

I love how somehow this book has a guy as the main character which I understand there's always a male main character in every book but it's also usually told from the girl's POV especially in a romance book
But this somehow feels like we're seeing it from Finn Master's perspective
I love how even if he thinks he hates and resents Lavender Rhodes, ultimately he's a really good guy

Every character in this book is lovable and realistic
I love how the plot plays out (which I won't touch so I don't give away spoilers)
This is one of the best audiobook (especially in audiobook format) that I listened to
Dare I say, I think audiobook is a perfect medium for this story

I'm giving it a 4 out of 5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley, Melissa Ferguson, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Super cute and fun! Loved the characters and the Hollywood aspects of the book! Bernie the dog was also fabulous! Great romcom I highly recommend. This is one of my favorites of Melissa’s books!

The narrator was good. The plot was basic but still fun to listen to. The relationship got cuter as time went on but in the beginning it sucked.