Thursday, March 28, 2024

How to Plot a Payback - Review

How to Plot a Payback

By: Melissa Ferguson

Expected Publication: April 2, 2024 by Thomas Nelson

336 pages

Genre: Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--She’s been muddling his plans for years—now he’s the writer for the beloved character she plays on television, and it’s time for payback. Murders have just become so tedious . Finn Masters has been in the business of murders for five years. Writing murders for the television drama Higher Stakes , that is. And he’s more than ready to move up the corporate ladder until, ideally, he gets his own show about almost anything else. So when an unbelievable offer is presented to him—becoming the supervising producer in none other than the nation’s most popular ongoing sitcom, Neighbors —it’s an opportunity he can’t pass up. Despite the fact that the star of the show and of America’s heart is Lavender Rhodes. And everybody loves her. Except him. And for good reason. Because Lavender Rhodes is generous to everyone. But there’s a figurative price to pay for the fortune she bestows time and time again upon those in need, and the one who always ends up “paying” it, unbeknownst to her, is him. Finally, after she unknowingly destroyed his acting career, accidentally wrecked his relationship with the love of his life, and inadvertently begins to tear his new job to shreds, he’s had enough. He’s now the writer for the beloved character she plays on television. And it’s time for payback.

Melissa Ferguson is a bit up and down for me. I have never out and out-disliked her books, but I go from blown away to meh. I struggled to get into How to Plot a Payback, and I was a little confused partway through. Finn's list of things Lavender has ruined for him was funny but confusing. I must have read through his list wrong because I thought he said he'd had a three-year relationship with Lavender and almost proposed when she suddenly dumped him. But when they met at work, and she didn't even recognize him or his name I was thoroughly confused. Turns out, they went to high school together but haven't seen each other since.

Poor Finn. He was negatively impacted by some major coincidences involving Lavender. And she was completely unaware of them. I loved how the way he perceived her was nearly the exact opposite of who she was. And I also truly loved how every attempt on his part to pay her back in big or small ways always turned out to backfire on him.

Lavender is a sweet person without a bone of malice in her body. She loves those closest to her and cares for them, even to the detriment of herself. I found myself laughing at the shenanigans of her dog Bernie because my sister-in-law recently got a Bernese Mountain dog, and he is absolutely huge and not even a year old. Over a hundred pounds already. Plus his fur is fluffy and all over the place. They've just started obedience school for him, but the lack of obedience so far has me completely picturing the antics that Bernie gets up to.

I loved Melissa Ferguson's Meet Me in the Margins because it felt like a love letter to stories, to writing, to readers. And similarly, How to Plot a Payback was also about the love of writing. Just this time, the medium was film and not books. While I do appreciate a good TV show, I didn't get into the creative process as much with this book as the other I mentioned. I am curious if they could take a show (that seems to be fashioned after Friends) and turn that into a crime/mystery show with the same cast. It seems impossible, but I'd like to see it happen now. Like Friends alternate universe, and Phoebe turns out to be a serial killer.

Favorite quotes:

-She's so good at ruining my life that of course I should've suspected she could ruin my payback.

-"No, Lavender. I very much do not deserve your forgiveness." "Maybe, maybe not," I say, "but that's the beauty of forgiveness. You don't get the say. I do. And I say"--I shrug-- "I forgive you. Life's much too short for me to hang on to resentment, especially as none of us is perfect."

How to Plot a Payback was a good book. I loved the romance. I especially love the story of Finn realizing that Lavender was never the villain he made her out to be. I loved Lavender's goodness. I liked the animals, Miles and Bernie especially. The ode to writing in the film sense versus books was good but not as well done as her previous book Meet Me in the Margins. And I was confused a time or two--probably my own fault, but it still adjusted my experience of the book. How to Plot a Payback gets 4 Stars. Have you read How to Plot a Payback? What did you think? Let me know!

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Can't Wait for A Casualty of the Hearth

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

A Casualty of the Heart

By: Rachel Kelley Stones

Expected Publication: May 7, 2024 by Covenant Communications

240 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Her first London Season has arrived, but Clare Compton is far from enthusiastic. In fact, she finds the experience positively nauseating, and when her first ball ends in disaster, the consequences threaten to upend her entire Season. She wants nothing more than to retreat to her country home away from Society’s judgmental stares. Instead, respite comes from a most unexpected source. Patrick Milton, Clare’s childhood enemy, offers a cunning he will serve as her escort for the final five weeks of festivities to help repair Clare’s reputation. The plan seems foolproof. But can she repair her reputation without forfeiting her heart?

Patrick has more than Clare’s welfare in mind when he proposes his ruse. He needs to stay close to the ballrooms of the ton, where he can keep an eye on his wayward twin brother—and serving as Clare’s escort offers the perfect pretense, with the added advantage of saving himself from matrimonial matchmakers. But as the weeks fly by in a whirlwind of candlelit ballrooms and dizzying dances, Patrick’s scheme takes on a life of its own, forcing the now friends to navigate feelings they never expected.

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!

Monday, March 25, 2024

2024 Series Enders Reading Challenge - March Wrap Up

Time for our Monthly Wrap Up for the 2024 Series Enders Reading Challenge hosted by Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know and Holly @ Words Fueled by Love!

Neither Sandy nor Holly finished any series enders this month.

Which series enders did you finish? Link the up below. Don't forget to include the title, your name, & your blog name (Ex: Requiem - Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know) Also, the March giveaway runs from March 25th - April 25th. On April 25th we will use random.org and the linky entries from the entire year to pull a grand prize winner.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Sunday Post - 03/24/24

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

I missed last Sunday Post because Saturday I spent the day helping my parents move, and that's when I normally prep my Sunday Post. I won't review the week two weeks ago as I usually would when I miss a Sunday Post this time. Honeslty, I just don't have the energy at the moment. I did take a blog break that week so there's not much blog wise to recap anyway. This past week Big Boy ended up running fever all day Monday. I didn't think much of it until his temperature got up to 104.4. I did call the afterhours number for our pediatrician's office. I absolutely love the doctor I spoke to and he told me exactly what he thought it was and the pattern he expected the virus to follow (which it did exactly as he said). We did go to the doctor to be checked out on Tuesday. No surprises there. Wednesday, he was perfectly normal. Thursday, we spent the day at my parent's new house. It's so nice having them much closer to us and their house is really nice too. Friday was our last day of school before spring break. Unfortunately, Baby Boy ended up running fever. I assume he got big brother's sickness...considering he drank after him twice while was sick before I could stop him, I wasn't surprised at all. Saturday, my big kids left with my parents to go to Gatlinburg, TN. My parents love being able to take them, and they love going. It's a special trip between them all. I'm so thankful for my parents having such a close relationship with my kids.

THE PAST WEEK:

Tuesday: Top Ten Spring 2024 TBR List
Wednesday: Can't Wait for A Thousand Broken Pieces (A Thousand Boy Kisses, # 2) by Tillie Cole
Thursday: Review of With a Little Luck (Fortuna Beach, # 2) by Marissa Meyer (4 Stars)
Friday: Homeschool Friday - I Survived: The Wellington Avalanche, 1910 (I Survived, # 22) by Lauren Tarshis (4 Stars)

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: 2024 Series Enders Reading Challenge - March Wrap Up
Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday?
Wednesday: Can't Wait for Wednesday?
Thursday: Review How to Plot Payback by Melissa Ferguson

Don’t forget to link up for the 2024 Series Enders Reading Challenge! You have until December 15th, 2024 to sign up. Each month there will be a giveaway for those participating with an end of the year giveaway too! Click on the picture below or the link above to find out more!

NEW BOOKS:

The Book Swap

By: Tessa Bickers

Publication: September 3, 2024 by Graydon House

336 pages

Genre: Adult, Contemporary

( Goodreads | Amazon *Current on sale )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Still reeling from a recent tragedy, Erin Connolly knows she needs to start living, but has no idea how. When she accidentally donates her favorite book—a heavily annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird containing a memento she can’t be without—to a local Little Free Library, she’s devastated. But then the book turns up a week later, back in the library with fresh notes in the margins, along with an invitation in a copy of Great Expectations to meet her newfound pen pal.

A life-changing conversation, written only in the margins of beloved classic books, begins between Erin and her Mystery Man. Following each other through the pages of their favorite novels as the book exchange continues, they both begin to open up, falling into a friendship…and maybe something more.

But Erin and her pen pal have a shared history that neither of them has guessed. Faced with painful reminders of the past—and the one person she swore never to forgive—Erin finds herself at a crossroads. One that could change her life forever.

A book-lovers dream! References to the following classics can be found in The Book Swap.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
WUTHERING HEIGHTS
MANSFIELD PARK
THE GREAT GATSBY
MIDDLEMARCH
BELOVED
ON THE ROAD
THE BELL JAR

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!

Friday, March 22, 2024

Homeschool Friday - I Survived the Wellington Avalanche 1910

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

I Survived the Wellington Avalanche, 1910 (I Survived, # 22)

By: Lauren Tarshis

Publication: September 6, 2022 by Scholastic Inc.

144 pages

Genre: Children's, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Adventure

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The Wellington snow slide of 1910 was―and still is―the deadliest avalanche in America’s history. Lauren Tarshis's story of one child surviving the frozen nightmare pounds with page-turning action and heartwarming hope. The snow came down faster than train crews could clear the tracks, piling up in drifts 20 feet high. At the Wellington train depot in the Cascade Mountains, two trains sat stranded, blocked in by snow slides to the east and west. Some passengers braved the storm to hike off the mountain, but many had no choice but to wait out the storm. But the storm didn’t stop. One day passed, then two, three . . . six days. The snow turned to rain. Then, just after midnight on March 1, a lightning storm struck the mountain, sending a ten-foot-high wave of snow barreling down the mountain. The trains tumbled 150 feet. 96 people were dead. The Wellington avalanche forever changed railroad engineering. New York Times bestselling author Lauren Tarshis tells the tale of one girl who survived, emerging from the snow forever changed herself.

Since I started homeschooling my kids, I have been looking for ways to increase the time we spend on books while also trying to get my 6-year-old son interested in reading. Audiobooks have helped us a lot. We mostly listen to them in the car while we're jetting around running errands. And it helps to cut down screen time and boredom in the car. I'd seen the I Survived series, but this was the first one I got for us to listen to. And it was a good choice.

Lauren Tarshis starts this book at the actual avalanche to build intensity and suspense. And then she backtracks seven days. Our main character is Janie, who is an orphan being used by a crime boss to run stolen goods for him. She doesn't have many choices as she has no other family or means of providing for herself. Her handler gets arrested, and Janie uses this opportunity to try to escape like her friend Bash did a while back.

The other passengers think it is odd for a young girl to be riding the train unaccompanied, and several take Janie under their wing. She befriends a young boy about her age named Frederick. She still has the stolen jewels on her, and she hasn't figured out what to do with them yet.

My kids asked me if Janie was a real person. Because this was my first experience with the series, I didn't think so, but I wasn't sure. Lauren Tarshis does explain what was fact and what was fiction in her author's note at the end of the book, which we listened to as well. I wanted my kids to hear about how much work goes into creating a story like this in hopes that they might learn that things they might think are easy aren't always so.

My son did ask me to find a book with a male main character for our next book, and I think I've found just the one. Even with Janie being a girl, her storyline of jewel thief would appeal to readers of both genders. My children (minus the three-year-old) certainly enjoyed the story. I give I Survived: The Wellington Avalanche, 1910 4 Stars. Have you read (or listened to) this book? If so, what do you think? Let me know!