Amy Andrews is a new author for me. I was attracted to this book by the plot, I liked the basic premise of this book, the first in the Karma Club series - it sounded like fun & the sort of book I enjoy reading. The opening chapter “In the Beginning” sets the scene for the series: 4 single women in their twenties, Paige, Sienna, Astrid & Bella, meet at snowbound O’Hare Airport in Chicago on their way home for Christmas & quickly bond over Prosecco as they share their bad experiences at the hands of their former partners. They resolve to exact revenge on their exes, forming the Just Desserts WhatsApp group (named for the airport cafe where they’d met) to share their experiences & progress. Paige (FMC) is to plague Oliver, who is Bella’s ex; his crime was to dump her by text on the morning of their wedding. Bella arranges for her new best friend to stay with Oliver at his home in Cornwall, which is handy as Paige is on her way home to England to see her family for Christmas.

The story proper begins with Paige arriving at Oliver’s Cornish home, complete with a cage containing her nephew’s pet hamster & various items of mismatched luggage which contain the tools of her trade: for her day job as a virtual assistant & for her new pastime - to plague Oliver & make his life miserable! She’s clearly put a lot of thought & planning into her campaign with Oliver, & there are a lot of lol moments as the story unfolds. I loved that Paige actually manages to create some edible food amidst all the chaos she creates in Oliver’s pristine kitchen! Paige finds herself settling into the village & making friends with locals, including the local Women’s Institute who are regulars at her favourite cafe in the village & a stray dog - which follows her home from the beach & unleashes all sorts of mayhem. However, it wasn’t in the plan that Paige & Oliver might actually enjoy each other’s company.

I found the characters to be believable & well rounded, I liked Paige & Oliver & enjoyed getting to know them & their story as it developed with all the twists & turns. It lived up to my expectations, & more. It was very funny, but also sensitive in its handling of issues around the failed relationships of the characters;, which led each of them to build walls to protect their heart. However I should just mention that if you are someone who is easily embarrassed I wouldn’t recommend reading this book in a public place as you may find you embarrass yourself by laughing too much!!!

It’s a great story & I’d recommend this book as a holiday read & to anyone in need of some light reading. I will now read more of Amy Andrews’ books, & I am also looking forward to the next instalment of The Karma Club - although that is by a different author.

Just finished The Payback Plan by Amy Andrews and I'm obsessed! This book is the perfect mix of fun, heartfelt, and empowering. Imagine a snowstorm, an airport, and four strangers bonding over bad exes – that's how The Karma Club is born. Their plan for revenge? Absolutely wild and completely entertaining.
Paige's story really grabbed me. Her journey of healing felt so authentic and relatable. It's not about erasing the past but learning to live fully in the present. Watching her take back her power was fantastic.
The friendship between these women is the heart of the story. Seeing them connect and support each other, despite their differences, was so refreshing. It's the kind of strong female bond I crave in my romance reads.
Yes, their payback scheme is a recipe for chaos, especially when Paige ends up in Cornwall with the grumpy but intriguing Olly. Their interactions were full of humour and undeniable chemistry. I was completely invested in seeing how their story unfolded.
If you love sweet and empowering reads with fantastic female friendships, definitely pick this one up. I'm already counting down the days until the next book in The Karma Club series!

This is a charming read with an undeniably cute ending, leaving a warm feeling as the story wraps up. However, I found myself struggling to fully enjoy it due to a significant breach of "girl code" that occurred early on. The violation of such an important friendship boundary left a lingering discomfort throughout the book, overshadowing some of the sweeter moments. While the conclusion was heartwarming, I couldn't quite get past that central issue, which made it hard to fully embrace the characters and their journey.

Holiday travel can be stressful- but for Paige, Astrid, Sienna and Bella, it can be life changing. Admist the chaos, 4 ladies find a single table and become fast friends. While they wait out the storm, there is plenty of dessert, wine and sharing of past drama. Each lady has a tale of being wronged by an ex, and they devise a plan. All four will work to bring about revenge for another girl in the group, and this book focuses on Paige and her plan for Oliver. She starts off bringing every annoyance she can think of into his life, but begins questioning the plan the more time she spends with him…

⭐️⭐️

While I personally wouldn’t recommend this read, I do want to add the disclaimer that I seem to be in the minority of reviews so far.

I first want to highlight a few aspects I did enjoy—the animal sidekick characters with large personalities, the size inclusivity of a FMC that isn’t seemingly a size zero, and the small town vibes.

The plot of this book was exciting and seemed right up my alley, but it ultimately fell short for me and I was left a smidge bored while reading. The connection between the four girls seemed like the friendship version of insta-love and I didn’t buy the “bestie” relationship from an airport run-in. What’s more is that despite the spicy scenes, the chemistry between Oliver and Paige felt forced. Without being interested in the primary romance, it was quite difficult to enjoy this story. The other books that will be a part of this series were teased in this plot, but I wonder if this would’ve been more interesting to have explored in a single multi-POV story. I am somewhat intrigued by how the different revenge stories will go, but I doubt if I will actually go looking to read them once they’ve been published.

TL;DR: This was the start to a rom-com series that wasn’t for me- but I can see other people connecting and enjoying the light reads.

I laughed so much through this unique romcom! Paige has been hiding in her own life for the past four years, but her luck changes in an airport one day. She meets three other women who have recently had bad break-ups. They decide to get some payback on those rotten men, and they each take another's ex to irritate. Paige's choice, Oliver, is not a bad guy, according to his former fiance, so Paige merely intends to shake up his ordered world for a while. This plan involves an unusually expressive hamster, a stray dog, and a ridiculous amount of crumbs. It is absolutely hilarious! Paige is very intelligent, and she turns every situation to her advantage. Oliver has no idea what has hit him. But they slowly get to know each other amidst the chaos, and neither can deny the attraction between them. And neither can deny that they are making each other's lives better. I loved their banter and their honest conversations. I loved the pets and the secondary characters. Mostly, though, I enjoyed the craziness and surprises. I am really looking forward to the other books in the series because I have to know what happens with the other ladies.

This is the first book in the karma club series and focuses on Paige and Oliver. The story starts with four women meeting in a dessert shop in an airport, and after several proseccos and desserts, they make a pact to take Payback on each of their exes.
This is a great start to the series, I loved both Ollie and Paige and how they both managed to bring the best out in each, so much that the fine line between love and hate definitely got blurred! The story was heartwarming and really funny in parts, and even though what Ollie had done was awful, it was for the right reasons! I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Boldwood Books for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Four strangers meet in a snowstorm and find they have one thing in common - a horrible ex. They plan to get revenge on each of the men but it doesn’t go quite to plan.

The idea is really good, especially as a interconnected series written by four different authors. This book deals with Paige and Olly (Belles ex - left her at the alter). I really enjoyed it, but found there was a little too much conflict at the end of it.

Can’t wait to read the next book and find out what happened to Belle.

ARC review
Publication date: 26 Apr 25

"The Payback Plan" by Amy Andrews is the first book in "The Karma Club" series.

Thank you Boldwood Books for the advance reader copy via Netgalley.
Opinions from this review are completely my own.

Page Parker is stranded at O'Hare airport during a snow storm and she meets three strangers with which she quickly bonds tales of betrayal and heartbreak.
The women decide to make a revenge plan on their exes.
So Paige finds herself in Conrnwell with Olly Pendergast, a grumpy recluse, responsible for jilting his fiancé on their wedding day with a text message.

This was a funny and also heartwarming read.
I enjoyed the way Paige tried to bring karma to Olly, even if not all her plans worked.
The first part was fun and lighthearted, but there are also some serious issues treated in the book.
The story is told in dual POV, which I like in books, as we get to know the characters better this way.
Olly started as a grump, but along the way we find out more about his past and the reason why he left Bella.
Even if they were attracted to each other from the start, the romance develops slowly and they go through some issues before the happy ending.

I would recommend this book if you like books with forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine characters, humour and a bit of spice.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advanced reader copy of this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

It starts with the main character in this book Paige getting stuck at an airport due to weather conditions and sharing a table with 3 other women. After chatting and getting to know each other over Prosecco, they realised they all had awful experiences with their ex boyfriends and form a plan for payback - each woman picking another’s ex to mess with.

Paige ends up with Bella’s ex Oliver but the payback plan doesn’t quite go as expected.

I really liked the characters of Paige and Oliver. Paige was instantly likeable - the kind of girl I want to be friends with! Oliver was written well as the son of a famous actor - posh, rich and slightly entitled. I liked learning more about each of them and understanding more about their backgrounds.

The only thing I wanted was more about the other women and their payback stories but then I realised there are other books in the Karma Club series following these.

Overall I found it a lovely, easy to read book which I struggled to put down! I’m definitely going to read the other Karma Club books and more from Amy Andrews!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ARC Review

This is Book One in The Karma Club series. A WHOLE Series about girls getting their revenge on their exes, sign me up!

This book follows Paige's revenge on Oliver, and whilst very tame, it ticked all of the boxes to get under his skin.
This was a little spicy, cute and I really enjoyed Oliver and Paige together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the gifted copy.

Thank you Netgalley, Boldwood Books and Amy Andrews for this eArc! I will be giving my honest review.

This was a delightful first book in a new series (The Karma Club) where 4 women (Sienna, Paige, Astrid & Bella) serendipitously meet at an airport after delayed flights. They end up sharing stories of their atrocious exes and concoct plans for revenge. It was such a Meet-Cute but for friends.
This story centers on Paige who is causing mischief for Bella’s ex Olly who left her at the altar with only a text. So Olly out of guilt agrees to put up Bella’s friend Paige who unbeknownst to him is coming for payback. She wreaks havoc in the house using animals, a violin, a burner phone and a variety of other ways.
This plot definitely gave vibes reminiscent of First Wives Club meets Horrible Bosses meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. (Some of my favorites)
Side note: I also really enjoyed the ongoing banter over if Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not.

Overall this was so fun and quirky. I loved the female friendship & shenanigans. The author’s humor is so witty and relatable you feel like you’d have a blast over drinks. I’m very much looking forward to the other installments of this series!

Stranded at a snow bound airport Page unexpectedly meets three other young women. Bonding over drinks and desserts, they each reveal their tales of heartbreak and dastardly exes. A plan is born, each of them would take revenge on one of the other’s exes, nothing too drastic, just some karma.

Paige takes on Oliver Prendergast - rich, handsome and the son of a deceased Hollywood star. His crime? He jilted Bella by text on the morning of their wedding. To enable the plan to begin Bella asks Oliver if Paige can stay at his house for a short while, reminding him that he ‘owes’ her. Paige has great plans for chaos – let payback commence!

A fun, enjoyable read with great characters. I really liked how, as Paige and Oliver got to know each other, their interactions helped them both to grow and understand each other as well as helping them to let go of their pasts. One drawback for me was finding out a little of what was happening in the other plans as it gave the story away a little. Will it affect my reading of the other books – time will tell!

Firstly, Thank you Netgalley and Amy Andrews for my ARC of The Payback Plan in return for my honest review.

The Payback Plan is centred around a group of women whom were screwed over by their exes, the plan is revenge. Book 1 centres around Paige and Oliver in Cornwall.

This book took me a bit to get into it, but after about 100 pages I wanted to know what happened and how she planned to mess up Oliver’s life.

The book is easy to read with some LOL moments (Hamster Facts) . The love story is nothing new- forced proximity,
Grumpy x sunshine so if you’re looking for a brain break this is great for you.

Some parts of the story felt a bit clunky, and rushed . Also, I didn’t particularly enjoy Oliver’s POV at times. I was hoping for an explosive ending with Oliver, Paige and Bella (his ex) to truly get payback.

Will I read the rest of the series? Potentially, I am curious to see how the other girls get karma.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

I highly enjoyed the premise of this book. It was a light and easy read although it did deal with heavy topics.

I think my only issue was Oliver’s pov. He came off as very cliche man when it came to his thoughts and not in the best kind of way. I could have done without his chapters.

Olive and Paige had great banter and were very loveable.

I absolutely loved this book!! I loved how Oliver and Paige’s relationship developed while they both became better versions of themselves. Looking forward to more books from this author!

This is an ARC review. I want to thank Amy Andrews and Boldwood Books for allowing me the chance to read this book ahead of release day! Meeting three hurt women at the Chicago airport who enact a revenge plan against their ex’s was the exact hilarious story I needed to read today! It was so funny I read this in a mass binge. Nothing would get in the way of learning how Paige and her girls handled her building affection for Oliver. The Just Desserts group is a female group I could get behind and join myself. Well of course besides getting revenge on my ex. Strong female lead and group of new strong female friends was such a good premise for this book. Especially since I am a sicker for a good enemies to lovers book. The way Paige attempted to make Oliver’s life a living hell in his own home and Oliver took everything with a crazy amount of patience and understanding. Their love story was absolutely wonderful to be able to see both of them become the best versions of themselves and find who they truly are was the best cherry on top.

What an interesting premise!
When a group of strangers meet by chance at an airport, they decide to take revenge on the men who wronged them. The twist? They each take on the ex of one of the other women. After all, what could possibly go wrong...
I really enjoyed Paige and Oliver's story. It was funny and sweet, and their banter was hilarious. Obviously, the real MVP was the hamster.
Can't wait for the next installment in the series!

I have mixed feelings about this book. Oliver’s relationship with the hamster was the absolute highlight of the book- I absolutely LOVED those parts. However, if that’s what my favorite part was in a romance novel…that’s not supposed to happen.

Knowing that the rest of the series will follow the other friends is interesting though, and I’ll definitely continue on with their stories. It was a very quick read, with a dual POV.

Don't read this if you are from or live in Cornwall!

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC. This is a romance novel, primarily set in sunny Cornwall. Except, the setting of Cornwall is somewhat dubious. Whilst it definitely captured the mizzly winter months well, the main thing that got me is that there is definitely not an M&S in St Ives. Whilst this isn't that big of a deal, this type of thing along with other small things (West Country accent anyone?) bugged me! Thankfully, these were minimal. Cornish resident bug bears aside, on to the rest of the book...

Paige moves into the residence of Oliver Prendergast, son of a famed actor, and the ex-fiance of a jilted woman she met at the airport. I actually surprisingly enjoyed the story itself, with Paige aiming to irritate Oliver to no end, moving in under the pretence of needing somewhere to stay for a couple of months. I did find myself getting annoyed with how overly loyal Paige was to this woman she has met once, but I think that can definitely be overlooked.

Overall, a decent, easy read.

First of all, I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Amy Andrews for the opportunity to receive and read this ARC!

I really enjoyed this story and really loved the characters. I do have to say, it was a little bit hard for me to get into the beginning of the story, but after the first few chapters I was definitely hooked. I really enjoyed Paige as a character, and really loved the romance aspect of the story. I think it was the perfect amount of spice and sweet romance. I would absolutely recommend anyone to read this book, and I'm so glad I was able to get an advanced copy.