Spotlight & Giveaway: Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot by Preeti Chhibber

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Preeti Chhibber to HJ!

Hi Preeti and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot!

 
Hello my fellow romance nerds!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Payal Mehta has had a crush on local-Adonis Jonathan Slate for most of her high school career, and after an embarrassing series of events involving vomit (his) on shoes (hers), he asks her to lunch to apologize and she thinks it’s finally happening. They’re going to date. He asks her if she has a boyfriend, and mentally freaking out, she tells him she doesn’t. And then he says, “I have to introduce you to my Indian friend.”

Unknown to Payal, Jonathan operates under the impression that he can’t be with her because he’s white and she’s Indian. This is unacceptable. After her best friends tell her she needs to move on, Payal decides to enlist the help of her academic rival, Philip Kim, to help her with Operation Fix Racism With Love. Philip reluctantly agrees with the promise that Payal will give him all the credit on their shared Psychology project.

Will Payal realize that the one she’s been looking for has been snarking at her all along? Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot is a lot of things—it’s a romantic comedy, it’s an enemies-to-lovers, but at its heart, it’s a book about learning you are enough as you are, that you don’t need to cut yourself into pieces to be palatable.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Oh my god, if he had ruined Taco Bell for me, I would kill him.

“Okay. I’m in. But first we work on this project and then I will help you plan this disaster of a romantic comedy.”
“As long as it’s not a tragedy, am I right?” I raised my hand for a high five, and that asshole left me hanging.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The inciting incident is loosely inspired by a very real interaction I had when I was in college, so I may have used spite as fuel to get this book written.
• One of my goals with the book was to write a character who really loved her self and her culture, until an external character triggers her to question that part of herself.
• There is a segment of the Indian-American community that has a deep, abiding love for Taco Bell. There’s an amazing essay on the topic (https://www.foodbeast.com/news/indian-american-love-for-taco-bell/) but I knew I had to include it as a setting for the awful ‘date’ Payal and Jon go on.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

They are longstanding nemeses. I think it’s clear there’s a mutual respect there, as well. I don’t want to get into spoiler territory, but it’s clear that from Philip’s side at least, he’s intrigued by Payal as much as he’s frustrated by her.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I will always blush writing a kissing scene, ha! But I think what surprised me was how uncomfortable it was writing the scenes where Payal had to lie to herself, twisting herself into knots to seem like she could handle getting through her plan of ‘fixing racism with love’ . (Her extremely flawed and bad idea plan, to be clear.)

“Actually, a lot of Indian parents are super cool and would be totally fine with it.”
There was a quick shift of surprise across his face. “Oh, sorry — I, uh, assumed your parents wouldn’t be. Because…” he trailed off awkwardly. I winced internally. I didn’t want this to be awkward. I wanted it to go smoothly!
“No, you’re right in this case,” I said. “My mom definitely thinks I’m at my friend Div’s.”
Jon put a hand against his chest and laughed. My heart felt like it got dinged. Maybe ot get a step forward, I’d have to move backward just a tiny bit.

Readers should read this book….

If you love an enemies-to-lovers! A hatemance! A battle of foes who also might kiss!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I also write comics in my other life, so right now I have a Marvel Unlimited series publishing called “House of Harkness” — it’s an alternative world where Wanda Maximoff is a 16-year-old student at a magical boarding school and the life and love that goes along with that. (Art by Jodi Nishijima, colors by Ian Herring, and lettered by Ariana Maher)
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A print copy of PAYAL MEHTA’S ROMANCE REVENGE PLOT by Preeti Chhibber

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Payal’s plan is a result of her feeling like she didn’t have control over her own life — what are constructive ways we can deal with that feeling? OR In the spirit of Payal and Philip, who are some of your favorite enemies-to-lovers?

 
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Excerpt from Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot:

Philip Kim was seriously sort of my . . . nemesis. That sounds dra- matic, but it was also true. There was a reason I’d asked if Philip was going to be at Rachel’s party. Actually, a lot of reasons. Our enmity started four years ago. We’d had a single class together every semes- ter since freshman year, and from that very first day, we’d known. It was ninth grade and I was working on a terrible still life in art class when this short Korean kid with spiky hair, a thin scar under his right eye, and a bomber jacket at least two sizes too big came over to my canvas, sneered, and said, “I bet I finish my landscape before you finish your still life. And I’ll get a better grade.”

At the time I was more confused than anything—who was this guy? I asked him as much, and with—trust me—a lot of ego, he replied, “Philip Kim.”

I did remember looking back at his canvas and being pretty sure of my success. It was supposed to be the beach near our school, I think? The fact that it was questionable gave me some confidence. So I took the bet. And I lost . . . but only because when I reached for my paints, they were gone. Philip had hidden them. And I learned a lesson. There was no playing fair with Philip Kim.

Then there was sophomore-year world history. We both did diorama projects on the French Revolution, but mine was so good it basically decapitated his. Okay, I built a mini fake guillotine and maybe I put his tiny marshmallow Robespierre in it and then ate the head. Anyway, it’s gone on like that for the last three and a half years: sabotage, drama, and a semi-constant war. That he started.

This year, our single class together was psych. He was the only one who could ever beat my grades, and it was driving me bananas19. I narrowed my eyes at him as he loped to my desk, all arms and angles. Philip still had the bomber jacket, but he’d grown enough that it fit him now. The scar under his eye had faded to a light line, and his hair was longer and disheveled, hanging over his forehead and nearly hiding his ears. Unfortunately, his personality hadn’t changed much. He caught my eye and smirked. He actually smirked. Could he be more annoying? But as I watched, he tripped a little, and I snickered. There was an awkwardness to his gait these days that I relished. Philip wasn’t so short anymore. He was probably hitting near six feet, if I was being more generous than I needed to be—but he had one of those teenage-boy bodies that grew too fast . . . like he hadn’t quite gotten the hang of using his limbs yet. He looked like a baby lamb walking through the aisle toward me. He sat down in the recently vacated desk in front of me and turned sideways.

“Mehta.”

“Philip.” I hoped I was emanating a sense of cool disinterest.

He looked at me strangely, his dark eyes assessing. “Are you constipated?”

I threw my pencil at him.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

This laugh-out-loud debut romance introduces perfectly imperfect Payal Mehta, whose plan to get her longtime crush to finally notice her is destined for success, but only if she ignores her budding feelings for her archnemesis…

Payal Mehta has had a crush on popular, athletic, all-around perfect Jonathan Slate ever since he smiled at her in freshman–year Spanish class. At a party during spring break of her junior year, Payal finally works up the courage to ask Jon to hang out. However, her romantic plans are derailed when he vomits on her Keds. Twice. But when Jon offers to take her out to lunch as an apology, Payal is convinced this is the start of their love story.

Over chalupas and burritos at Taco Bell, Payal’s best jokes are landing as planned. Jon is basically choking on his Coke—and then it happens. “Do you have a boyfriend?” Payal is (finally) about to get the guy. And then he tries to set her up with his Indian friend. Payal’s best friends, Neil Patel and Divya Bhatt, are just as mad about the microagression as Payal is, but they think she’s a little too hung up on him.

Determined to teach Jon a lesson by making him fall for her, Payal ropes in her archnemesis, Philip Kim, to help. It’s the perfect plan. Minus Philip’s snarky, annoying quips and lack of faith in its success. But as Payal lies to the people she loves, hides the too-Indian parts of herself in front of her crush, and learns that maybe Philip isn’t the worst, she starts to wonder if what she’s been looking for has been scowling at her all along…
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Meet the Author:

Preeti Chhibber is an acclaimed author living in Atlanta, Georgia. She’s usually writing the stories she wants to read starring her favorite characters, like Spider-Man, Luke Skywalker, and Payal Mehta, among others. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading a ridiculous amount of YA, jumping into brand-new fandoms, or food-traveling her way through different countries. She’s also the co-host of the Desi Geek Girls and the Official Marvel Podcast, where she geeks out on the regular. You can learn more about Preeti and her work at PreetiChhibber.com.
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