3.5 stars

Overall, I enjoyed Work in Progress. I loved the premise and liked the characters for the most part. I loved the group of old ladies the most. They brought warmth to the story and provided a lot of hilarity. I adored the main hero, Robbie, who was a sweetheart. There was a lot of miscommunication between Alice and Robbie, which I didn't love, and I was often baffled by Alice's behavior. Lastly, all the literary references made my bookloving heart happy. Work in Progress is a solid romance debut. I am glad I read it.

For any woman in their mid 20s to 30s who feel lost. 4.5 ⭐️

Alice Cooper has had a tough few months. In an effort to find herself and escape her wallowing, she books a 3 week tour of the UK! Books, food, history and female friendship? Just what Alice needs! Except when she turns up, it’s a gaggle of old ladies and the rudest grumpiest Scotsman as a tour guide. Things don’t always go to plan, but sometimes life is what happens when we’re busy making plans.

Thoughts and Spoilers:

I ADORED this book. It took me a little bit to get into (mostly because I’ve been on a fantasy kick right now) but once I was in I was struggling to put it down. This book was genuinely hilarious to me. The amount of times I was silently shaking with laughter trying not to wake up the boyf? Too many times to count! The dynamics between Alice and Robbie was so fun. The witty flirty banter and verbal sparring? Every time she made up another name to call him I cackled. Though I’m usually a fan of dual POV, I loved that this was only in Alice’s POV because as the reader you sense the longing from Robbie but can tell that Alice is a little clueless to how deep Robbie feels. Plus Alice’s internal monologue is genuinely hilarious! In regards to Alice feeling lost or behind cause life hasn’t gone to plan, I thought her journey was so beautiful. Slowly finding happiness in unexpected ways and finding herself again.

The found family aspect with Alice and the ladies was especially lovely! Alice doesn’t dive too deep into her own family life and relationship with her mom, but you can sense that she needs more support and she gets it from all these quirky characters! I also find sometimes when authors write characters from different countries/cultures, they can become a caricature, but I didn’t feel that way while reading this and I say that as an American dating a man from the UK! I may also be biased cause of my relationship but I swear some parts of this book, was like looking inside my brain!

Thank you Harper Collins and NetGalley for an ARC! All opinions are my own!

This is a really fun, enemies to lovers rom-com with an entertaining storyline and laugh-out-loud banter. When Alice needs a fresh start, she books a literary bus tour through the UK. But instead of the hip 20-somethings she's expecting, she finds a group of octogenarians and a hot bus driver. I especially loved the other women on the tour and wish there had been more time getting to know them. Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the advance digital copy!

This has such a strong opening. I love when travel-frazzled Alice Cooper “meets” the snarky, Scottish man, Robbie, in the airport. All she wants is to start her three week UK vacation, but nothing is going as she planned. Instead of being on a bus tour with people her own age, she finds herself with a bunch of elderly women led by…who else…the rude Robbie!

Alice and Robbie’s chemistry just jumps off the page. So good. They have the perfect banter, too. I enjoyed their blossoming love story. It is very believable. Plus, the meddling, but sweet older ladies and their stories and advice are all wonderful.

Thank you to Avon Books for the advanced readers copy and final copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A warm, sexy, laugh-out-loud rom-com about a woman who, desperate for a fresh start, books a literary bus tour across the UK that consists of a lively group of elderly ladies plus one infuriatingly handsome Scottish driver. - from Amazon

Sometimes a book comes along and you don't know you need it until it is read or listened to, this is one of those books. I laughed out loud several times and said oh no a couple of times. It was a great, easy, fast read and I enjoyed it so much! The characters are ones you want to meet and become best friends with. Not to mention the trip itself, that is something I need to add to the bucket list! Not the oh no parts, just the fun getting to know these women parts. Thank you Kat Mackenzie for writing a book I needed to read. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I was totally torn about this book! The premise was really fun and overarching themes and setting complimented the romance. I giggled a lot and had a great time, there were just some things I couldn’t look past that made me really think about how I would rate this book.

The setting and adventures that took place in the story were fun and exciting! I love everything travel related, especially travel related romance, and this bus tour was a whole adventure. I’m a classical literature fan so imagining myself on a literature related bus tour through the U.K. with this crew was a treat in itself. The pacing was perfect for a travel novel, we spent a decent amount of time in each place and it never felt rushed as travel romances sometimes do.

The secondary cast of characters were a hoot and I loved that they were all little old ladies. It was really heartwarming to see how they embraced Alice and how they shared their wisdom with her. One of my favorite things about this book was when Alice would have a bonding moment with one of the ladies that provided her with some insight on where her life was heading or what she should do next.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get over how immature our lead Alice came off from the first chapter. She’d get mad over the silliest things and pouted a lot which made it a challenge to relate to her. I think this was a missed opportunity for character growth from her. I would’ve loved to have seen her character mature over the span of the novel but it seemed like she never really grew up. I’m also not a big fan of the miscommunication trope, and there was A LOT of that happening here. Way too many assumptions on Alice’s part!

The ending was really cute and tied the story up in a nice bow, which I did enjoy. I loved that I wasn’t sure who she would end up with at the end of the book. I could’ve seen it going a few different ways and was rooting SO hard for one particular character to end up with her! I won’t spoil the ending but I did love the little bit of suspense at the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager- Avon for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie didn't disappoint!
I couldn’t stop inhaling this book.
A sweet and heartwarming rom-com.
An unforgettable journey. These characters with their witty banter and amazing personalities I absolutely adored their journey.
A wonderful slow-burn, enemies to lovers story set against the stunning backdrop of the UK.
A charming story about self-discovery, and finding love when you least expect it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for an Advanced Reader Copy

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 1/14/2025. What's a girl to do when her life goes down in flames? Alice Cooper has lost her fiancé, her job, and her self-confidence is missing, presumed dead. Somewhere between the tears and comfort food, she ends up going the way of a Hallmark Movie heroine and books herself a three week tour of the UK. To my delight, she goes a step cooler than most of those heroines and books a Women-only LITERARY tour. Of course, the booking is the easy part and her first 48 hours of travel and arrival are something from a comedy-horror movie - including the hot Scots tour guide Robbie who knows exactly how to piss her off and the fact that women-only also translates into over-60. Cue a rollicking rom-com ride with lots of banter, hate to lust to love, wisdom of the ages, and some of the most gorgeously described scenery and food EVER. Seriously. I nearly booked my own three week tour after I finished this book based solely on how wonderful Kat Mackenzie paints the trip. (Still tempted, bet I could... Hey, Kat, hook a girl up?) I am not sure where I would find a busload of feisty senior citizens, though.

Because they are absolutely key to this book, you see. For all the fun barbed conversations with Robbie and Alice working through her crap and some delicious sexual tension, you also have her bonding with these disparate women. This group is the epitome of "I ain't dead yet!" and I love them just as much as Alice does by the end of the book. As much as finding love again is important to Alice's journey, it is equally important for her to learn about herself and relearn how to connect to others, how to accept help, how to be vulnerable, how to LIVE. I loved it so much.

Alice herself took a little warming up to because of her rather unflattering first chapter or three but, when you learn more about her, you realize that she's just a human with flaws and bumps and less-than-gracious responses to things. Anxiety and control issues will do that. She's also smart and hard-working and quick-tongued (sometimes nastily so) and funny and stubborn and really sweet and grateful. By using only Alice's POV, Mackenzie took a risk and it paid off. We got to watch the internal workings of a woman hurting and lashing out as she heals and grows.

Seriously, though, can we have that tour scheduled now, Kat Mackenzie? I want those Bedfordshire clangers and scones and clotted cream and meat pies and...

Six months after she lost everything, her job, her fiance, and her apartment, Alice Cooper goes on a spontaneous trip to the UK for a women's only, guided tour. After her arrival, unfortunate things keep happening to her, her trip is filled with nothing but old women, and it doesn't help that her tour guide who seems to be dead set on making sure that she continues to have the worst trip. However, as the trip progresses, she grows closer to the women that she is with, and even closer to her tour guide.

First of all, the setting was spectacular. I loved the cozy feeling that I got every time we went to a new stop on the tour. Mackenzie did such a great job with her descriptions of each scene and the history that was talked about at each stop was also fantastic and lead me to learn so much and added to my enjoyment of this story.

The friendships that blossomed were amazing and the funny moments were sprinkled everywhere throughout this book. On the tour, we learn more about all of the ladies and their backgrounds and more of their stories, showing some of what led them to where they are now. Everything was just so heart warming.

The relationship between Robbie and Alice was fantastic. Initially, it started off rough, and when they had met again afterwards, the two of them continued to hate (but not really) each other and exchanged hilarious comments, until they no longer hated each other. Alice was just a mess, but in a good way. So much happened to her before the trip, and again throughout the trip, she just needed a break, which she definitely got with Robbie, who helped her out when she needed it, and helped her forget her troubles while on the trip. And Robbie, dear sweet Robbie, was just an angel and was the perfect compliment to Alice.

Final rating: 4.25 stars
Thank you to Kat Mackenzie, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

I went into this book pretty blind, I saw Scotland and book tour and was like yes please. This book was so good, I’m so happy I was allowed to get an early copy to read before release thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers. The book made me laugh and cry and so many emotions in between. I will be recommending this book to everyone!

You could pick apart the things in this book that are a little outlandish, improbable, or a stretch (when has a romcom not been a bit of a stretch?) but the message is what is loud and clear: Don’t plan out your whole life to a template of expections at the cost of all of your happiness and finding your true passion.

Yes, this is a romcom—an enemies-to-lovers trope at that— but it’s so much more. While much of the story is spent on Alice and Robbie and their frustrating metaphorical and eventually literal dance, another romance sweeps you off your feet in the form a white haired brigade of grannies. However improbable the chances of Alice finding a one-man tour company overseas, one that operates out of a single old school bus, the story is equally spent on the amazing friendships that Alice begins to make as it is on potential romance.

I want to be Helena‘s daughter or even her project!

Thank you to Kat Mackenzie, NetGalley, and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book for my unbiased review.

3.5 Stars! Overall liked this cute rom com of “enemies” to lovers set in Scotland. It was really hard for me to like Alice in the beginning - but she grew on me. I thought Robbie was adorable and perfect. But what I really loved was the relationships and friendships Alice built with her tour group! So precious and appreciated that this was a book tour!

In this cute, slow-burn romance, Alice Cooper has had her life fall apart. Between her lack of a job and her cheating ex now being engaged to the woman he cheated with (using HER engagement ring no less!), she is stressed. Add in a hell of a flight itinerary after her flight was cancelled, she is not pleased to discover that her luggage was crushed. After an antagonistic interaction at the counter with not just the attendant but also a sexy Scot, she is running late for her literary tour of the British Isle. When she discovers that not only is her tour entirely made up of old ladies to her 29 years, but also is led by the infuriating sexy Scot, hilarity ensues.

The quips traded by the main characters are hilarious. The old ladies are delightful, and the scenery is well explained.

Overall, it is a very cute romance.

I would recommend the print/e-book version over the audiobook just because the information at the beginning of each chapter comes across better in written form, but the narration was great, aside from a mother and son sounding the same.

Thank you to Net Galley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the DRC! All opinions are my own.

☆☆☆.5

after losing both her job and finding out that her ex fiancé proposed to a new woman with the same ring, alice books a non-refundable literary tour of the UK in a desperate attempt to find some perspective. when she arrives, the tour turns out to be nothing like she expected: the other “globe-trotting ladies” are all in their eighties or nineties, the tour bus does not come with amenities, and the bus driver/tour leader, robbie, happens to be the most infuriatingly attractive man alice has ever seen (emphasis on infuriating). work in progress is equal parts romance and heartfelt adventure. the side characters are well-developed and will tug at your heartstrings just as much as the romance between robbie & alice.

i don’t love the miscommunication trope, but i don’t mind it when it’s done intentionally and well. and while it did improve during the later half of the story, the trope just felt a bit much during the first half of work in progress. alice seemed hellbent on not hearing what robbie or the older ladies had to say for any reason, which was frustrating to read. i understand that it’s a defense mechanism and that it was central to her character development, but i just personally felt that it went on for too long. additionally, i do feel that there was a lot of telling rather than showing in this book. many chapters would end with alice just summarizing what happened throughout the rest of the day rather than the reader actually getting to experience the events alongside alice. and while i don’t need spice to enjoy a romance, i will say that i expected a bit more than what i got given that the novel was described as a “sexy” romcom. this reads more as cracked door romance. aside from those things, i really enjoyed work in progress!

review is currently live on goodreads (linked below) and will be shared to bookstagram (also linked below) and amazon on release day, january 14th 2025.

I really liked the main theme of this book... a woman spontaneously whisks herself off to a 3-week women-only bus tour of the UK to find herself and get her priorities in order after a bad breakup and job loss. It actually sounds like something I would do. The rocker in me also loved that her name was Alice Cooper. I also loved that the other ladies were older women, newly retired to 96, as this demographic is often left out of mainstream books these days. I wanted even more of their back stories like Helena and Flossie's came out. I did find Alice to sort of annoying. She professed herself to be this strong independent single woman, but she came off as quite whiny and entitled throughout the book and actually quite helpless many times. I didn't care for the damsel in distress scenes. The whole ankle sprain thing was laughable... any time I sprained an ankle, it was months before I could wear a dress shoe, let alone spiked high heels. It just made her come off as a drama queen. Robbie was the strong Scottish MMC I was looking for. Sarcastic and burly, smart, and with a heart of gold.

3.5 stars rounded up because now I definitely want to recreate their tour on a vacation of my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I received this book from Net Galley and the publisher for a review (many thanks).
Things I enjoyed immensely...
Scotland (made me want to take Robbie's tour), the Bridget Jones Tally at the start of each chapter (made me want to reread), the banter with all the characters.

What I'm surprised didn't work for me, as it is usually exactly what I love (townies! odd side characters!), was the other ladies on the tour. I had a hard time keeping track of who was who and connecting with them. At times the book also felt too sweet and or silly.

Overall, it kept me entertained and wanting to plan a trip to Scotland so although not all parts of it worked for me, I know it will for others.

Slow burn romance but worth the wait! I love the banter between the two main characters. The different personalities on the tour were great as well!

Wow, wow, wow! Was not sure what to expect going into this book but it absolutely blew me away!

It was definitely giving romcom in the best ways that had me laughing out loud, yet it also had those emotional touching moments that had me crying and waiting to see what the outcome was going to be!

Alice Cooper is on a train wreck express right now after her 6 year relationship ending because of cheating, she lost her job, and she now feels like her life is not where it should be at her age. She decides to book a spontaneous trip to the UK on a book tour, ready to change her perspective on her life.

A bus full of old women with all kinds of personalities, backgrounds coming together, with the tour guide, Robbie, she immediately can’t get a long with, Alice doesn’t know how she’s going to last 3 weeks.

The tension between Alice and Robbie is thick, and their bantering only deepens as they spend more time together along the journey. At the end, Alice has learned so much and changed, but she is also faced with some very difficult choices when the man she’s falling for lives across the Atlantic Ocean.

Rivals to lovers, funny old women with stories to tell, a book tour that any book lover would love to experience, and a story about a woman who literally was a work in progress growing and becoming someone she finally recognizes is what Work In Progress is all about!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Kat Mackenzie for this incredible book in exchange for my honest review!

Work in Progress was an absolute joy to read, and I am disappointed that it is a debut novel only in the sense that it means there is no back-catalogue of Kat Mckenzie novels for me to read next. Work in Progress is a fast-paced enemies-to-lovers journey around Great Britain, but it's also a story about female friendships across generations. I cannot wait to read what Kat Mackenzie writes next!

This is a story that is going to stay with me. Alice’s life as she knows it has fallen apart and she decided to be spontaneous for once and books herself a tour around the UK for three weeks. And it definitely doesn’t start off as she had hoped. She absolutely does not get along with her bus driver/tour guide. I love how she doesn’t back down. The way they needle at each other is comical and as they swing from enemies to something like friends it becomes more so. There were times in this story that I laughed out loud and others that left a hollow feeling in my chest. I felt like I was seeing the sights along with them and wish I’d had a guide as entertaining and knowledgeable as Robbie when I traveled.