This book is about Finn a writer and Lavender who is a film star. The story explores Finns missed moments in life which he blames on Lavender. Until Finn gets a job on neighbours which happens to star …
The story was funny and enjoyable,
I felt at times I was waiting for something to make me want to carry on listening. Thank you to Melissa and Net galley for allowing me to listen in exchange for an honest review.

What if you had an archenemy but they didn’t know they were your nemesis? What if they went through life constantly throwing obstacles at you without even realizing it? What if all the bad things in your life can be traced back to this person and you know that going near them will only cause you harm or heartache? But then what if you had the chance of a lifetime but it meant working with this person? Would you take it??

If you are Finn Masters, a Hollywood screenwriter, and all you have dreamed about is being the showrunner on a successful sitcom, well you would hesitate for about two seconds and then jump in with both feet. Finn is now going to become the head writer on the hit comedy tv show Neighbors (think Friends but with only half of them) which has been on air for almost ten years and needs a bit of fresh blood. The problem is that the leading lady, Lavender Rhodes, is the one person who has caused all the drama in Finn’s life, and she doesn’t even realize it. So Finn is determined to keep his distance from the beautiful actress but it proves impossible and Finn finds himself, kind of, maybe falling for Lavender, much to his horror.

Initially, as I started reading, I was a bit turned off by Finn's vehemence against Lavender and felt like he was being a little juvenile, but I was reminded of something that Sarah MacLean said on the Fated Mates episode about Enemies to Lovers and how you need to feel like the two characters (or at least one of them) really do hate each other in order for a real payoff. And Finn really did hate Lavender; she was the stand in for all the things that had gone wrong in his life but when he eventually figured that out (because duh, romance novel) and realized he actually loves her, it gave all the feels.

I listened to this audiobook and the narrators were excellent; I’ve really come to love dual narration, it makes such a huge difference when you are trying to connect to the characters. There are also some cute old people and doggies in here, so extra points for that.

Melissa Ferguson writes some of the funniest rom coms I’ve read. Thank you @tnzfiction @uplit and @ourfriendlyfarmhouse for my early finished copy of HOW TO PLOT A PAYBACK, which publishes this week!

Two British characters- one uber famous thanks to a last minute cast change (meet Lavender), and one that keeps powering up the TV screenwriting ladder (meet Finn).

Two paths that no matter how hard Finn tries, he can’t seem to avoid the crossing. Especially when he accepts a job at Neighbors, the long-standing TV show Lavender has been staring in for the past 10 years…yes, it does sound a little like a Friends timeline, right??

Throw in the sweetest pack of dogs- these are my favorite characters for sure! They are adorable! And some fantastic supporting characters and you’ve got a cozy little read that’s perfect to throw in your bag on the way to the beach on Spring Break!

This is a very cute romcom about an actress and a new writer on her show who happens to be a blast from the past. I listened to this audiobook and it started off slow for me, the first 30% was hard to get through, but once the action started it was sweet. If you like sweet, clean romances, enemies to lovers, and 30 Rock, you will love this book.

Thank you to netgalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to listen to an advanced listener's copy in exchange for an honest review.

I appreciate the opportunity to have received and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. However, I found it challenging to connect with the story due to its scattered writing style. The author seemed intent on incorporating extensive detail and using an abundance of words, which, for me, hindered the pacing and flow of the narrative. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the book. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing | Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing the copy.

The Narrators made an AMAZING job! It was so much fun to read a book about a Sit Com, it made the story so dynamic and fun to hear! Also, can we talk about the cover? its beautiful! I can’t wait to buy my physical copy! Dog lovers are gonna love this book.

Dual POV, forced proximity, workplace and slow burn! I liked that it feels like I’m on set with them. I hope Finn would have learned earlier in life that we are the only ones to blame if our life sucks, it’s not always someone else’s fault, other than that, I appreciate the enemies to lovers vibes (even tho is just one sided). I love how nice and gentle Lavender is! Her good vibes protected her over and over again from things going wrong for her! It doesn’t feel like a romance tho, I feel like it’s more of just a comedy because it lacks romantic elements for most of the book.

I had an amazing time reading this book and I’m so grateful I got to read this ARC! Thank you to HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Thomas Nelson Fiction and Melissa Ferguson for the gifted Audiobook ARC provided through NetGalley! It was an amazing experience and I’m so happy to share my honest review

Lavender Rhodes star of hugely popular “Neighbors” television series is Finn Masters nemesis. (Unbeknownst to Lavender) after years of her ruining Finn’s life he decides to plot a payback. This book is laugh out loud funny. Finn cannot successfully get back at Lavender for the things she did because he is just too nice, and so is Lavender. Loved all the twist and turns in the plot. There are so many great characters that make this book an absolute delight.
I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were perfect. Absolutely loved the British accents. It truly felt like I was listening a movie. I was so sad when it was over. 41/2⭐️

Lavender Rose is a superstar. Nice, kind,
everyone lovers her besides Finn. Finn had a list of things everything Lavender did wrong to him in his life. After some miscommunications and a blossoming friendship. Love finds a way.

I can honestly say I really really didn’t like Lavender. She was obnoxious and so full of herself. It seemed so much like she want to help but honestly I just wanted her to fail once. She was too “perfect” and nothing bothered her. She didn’t relate to me at all. Also Finn was to forgiving. It was way too easy for him to forget all the crap he went through.

Happy endings are great but this book just didn’t feel genuine. The characters definitely did not mesh well in my head which is a big bummer.

I do want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the arc.

How do you pause an audio book?...it's something I haven't learned yet, every time I pause it I have a hard time listening to where I left off, so I go back several chapters
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and since I started it or re started it again yesterday I couldn't put it down/pause it
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the banter, the way Lavander has no idea that Finn hates her and like every revenge backfire and ends up putting him in more complicated situations to get out of, is... so much! so that it becomes impossible to let go... I even heard it in one, as I suppose people without obsession with audio books read, think
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I'm also going to blame the excellent narration work of Fiona Hardingham and Steve West
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Let's imagine an English Jennifer Aniston on the set of a series where she acts with her best friends, called "Neighbors", the most successful sitcom in the U S for ten years
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Until the general producer decides to hire a writer from a murder mystery series to renew the plot. Only this writer has an old grudge against the main actress and no matter how much he tries to overcome it, he finds himself, again trapped around her... and the only why out of it is planning small revenges to do justice but every time something unexpected happens leaving him hanging again in an more unexpected situations
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If you are a fan of Friends, Jennifer Aniston, movie stars, Hollywood and plot twist that you don't see coming, this is the perfect book and my favorite by Melissa Ferguson
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Thanks to Melissa Ferguson and Harpers Collins Thomas Nelson Publishing for give me a copy of this beautiful audio book in exchange for my honest opinion

I have enjoyed other books by this author. However, I’m not a fan of British characters. So not quite having understood that I was very confused when both narrators had English accents.

It was a quick read for me. I had amazing time listening to the audiobook ARC and instantly fell in love with the characters of the book.
The author has penned down the characters in such a charming way that the plotline felt more interesting and beautiful. I love the writing style too.

I can totally see this book be turned into a TV show and I would totally watch it and devourer it's completely. It's enemies to Neighbors?.... I love all the characters and can picture them so clearly in my head. I love a good Rom-Com!

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

In all fairness, I have to say that the narration was amazing. Not only were they both extremely talented but they also happened to have accents that I could listen to read the telephone book and I would most likely enjoy it. They’re talented enough to make it funny too.

Now for the book. Honestly, despite my love for the narration, I believe this book would have worked better for me if I had actually read it. I believe I would have picked up on visual cues that I did not pick up on through listening until much later. These things greatly slowed the pacing down for me so that I honestly didn’t feel as though the plot didn’t begin to find cohesion and the pace didn’t begin to pickup until well after halfway through.

Let’s talk characters. You know those books filled with side characters that make you feel as though you’ve been dropped into a community and you know everyone? This is not that kind of book. I’m not putting it down! Hear me out. It wouldn’t work for this kind of book. It is a book that takes place in a Hollywood setting where people leave their jobs to go elsewhere and it is part of the feel of the book that some characters are established while others aren’t.

Overall, I liked it. It was cute. Funny. Very different from what I’ve seen lately. I would definitely recommend it.

If only the first three-quarters of this book had been as enjoyable to me as the last! Finn is a successful writer at a detective show, lured away to write for the long-running, gigantically successful sitcom Neighbors (if that sounds like a knockoff of something else, I think it’s intended). Problem is, the lead female star of this show, Lavender, grew up with him in the UK and is the subject of a long list of grievances re: things she has supposedly done to ruin his life, from taking his rightful lead in the school play, which launched her acting career and destined him to become a lowly writer, all the way through that time she was responsible for him splitting up with his girlfriend just before he was about to propose. He’s going to pay her back, through a series of poorly thought out, juvenile stunts baked into the scripts of these shows. Really?!

This whole premise was so silly and petty to me that I had a hard time relating much to Finn’s character, or rooting for him. And Lavender was so sunny, lovely (she’s prone to trying to rescue not just one dog in need, but all of them) and blissfully unaware — and when she was, kind and forgiving — that it was a bit hard to relate to her as well. She was very lovable, but it was hard to understand what she could possibly see in grumpy, vindictive Finn until we got to about that three-quarter mark, got to see him a bit more in his home environment, and got a sense of the community he had built and all he had going for him as a person. Up until then, the concept that there was going to be any kind of romance in this rom-com was baffling to me. In that last quarter, I very much enjoyed Finn’s neighbors, how they related to him and Lavender, and the fun ending that sees the leads embarking on a new adventure.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook! #NetGalley #HarperCollinsChristianPublishing #ThomasNelsonFiction #MelissaFerguson

This book was gold. It was hilarious and was a version of the "one person says something offhand, and the other person holds a grudge and hates them for life" trope that I had never seen before. Her accidently causing everything in his life to go wrong so much so that even his revenge plans backfire was adorable and funny. There is no third act breakup (I hate those), and they use the miscommunication trope in a way that actually makes sense. The characters were well rounded and had a lot of chemistry. I listened to this as an audiobook and think the narrators did an amazing job. Their emotion and inflection were perfect, and it was exactly how I think the characters should have sounded. I will not be able to stop thinking about this book for weeks.

I had a hard time connecting to this story. I'm not sure if it was the writing style or maybe the audio version. I loved the British voices but I just couldn't get into the story sadly. I found myself zoning out a lot and having to go back and re-listen to parts. The story premise sounded great great and different than a lot of the other rom-coms. I'm disappointed I didn't love it. I might have to try it again in the written version instead.

I think this book is fun and playful but at some points it was hard to take seriously. Overall, I enjoyed my time reading.

This had a bit of a slow start for me. I liked it enough but ultimately it lacked the oomph. I began to become a tad bitter at the thought of Fin and his list. He was very wishy washy about the whole thing. And that ending, it felt very rushed and didn’t feel believable.
Ultimately, it was entertaining. I mean, I finished it, didn’t I? I just don’t have to own a shelf copy. 🤷🏼‍♀️
I’d give this a 2.75 star rating which doesn’t mean I hated it. Please, pick it up and make up your own mind. 😉

I typically love Melissa Ferguson books, but I had a hard time connecting with this book. Enemies to lovers trope takes you through the lives of Finn Masters, a screen writer and his childhood enemy, Lavender Rhodes, who is a celebrity on a popular TV show. Finn’s reasons for disliking Lavender might have been reasonable at one time, but her first grievance against him happened years prior. Overall, I had a hard time connecting with the main characters. Now, I will say all of the dogs were really cute and Finn’s neighbors were pretty funny!

Overall, How to Plot a Payback is a sweet story that in the end did leave me with a smile.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrators both did a great job!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley, for an audiobook ARC in return for my honest review.

I’m going to say the thing no book nerd should say because of course it’s going to jinx me. I am on such an awesome streak with books right now! *immediately lights sage to try to dispel any jinxy vibes* Folks, How to Plot a Payback is adorable. Super sweet enemies to lovers banter and cuteness. Finn, a TV writer, gets the opportunity of a lifetime to produce on the world’s most famous sitcom (basically FRIENDS). Only downfall is the lead actress is his nemesis- not that she knows about that title. Unbeknownst to her Lavender Rhodes has altered Finn’s life on multiple occasions. He blames her for physical injury, job losses, and a breakup with a woman he planned to propose to. Hell bent on revenge Finn decides to use his position as producer and writer to make Lavender’s life miserable. If only she would stop being so likeable and lovely.

I enjoyed this audiobook so much. Not only were the narrators top notch but the story was fantastic. Finn and Lavender had an awesome backstory and organic development. They were funny, charming, flawed, dog people (obviously a bonus), and just super cute.