Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book. It was very cutesy and took quite a long time for the predictable to happen but I laughed a ton so it was a great read. Reminded me a lot of Bridget Jones.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Work in Progress was such a delightful book! I loved following Alice and Robbie through a whirlwind of adventures. All of the characters were so unique and the twists and turns of the plot always had me turning the pages late into the night. I wish this book tour through the UK was real! It would be a dream adventure!

Really enjoyed this jet-setting romance set all across the UK. Alice Cooper’s life is crumbling & her very annoying tour guide and a gaggle of old ladies help get her back on track. It’s a great enemies to lovers but it’s also so relatable feeling like you’re approaching your 30s and your life is not going how you thought it might. I loved the “old ladies” of the bus and the trip itself sounded dreamy. My only qualm is there wasn’t a map to show the destinations they traveled too. It would be fun to plot it out on google maps and copy the itinerary. This is fairly closed door so that will be a great fit for a broader audience. Definitely recommend. Can’t wait to see what else this author writes.

Oh I absolutely ADORED this book!! This book has everything: a nonprofit working dc resident (hi, me), a book tour full of debates of Darcy vs heathcliff and discussions of Jamie Fraser, a gaggle of older ladies who make you giggle and cry, lists tracked and lessons learned, and the sheer absurdity of Scottish banter!!

Alice Cooper (a name so set for jokes) is in a rut, and on a drunken night decides to book a flight and tour around the UK- except everything seems dreadfully dismal from the get go, with damaged luggage and flight delays, to an infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) Scot who just so happens to be the tour guide, and a tour group made up of women twice her age when she was expecting otherwise. But as the journey goes, Alice and the ladies grow close- and we get each of their stories.

To me, that is the best part of the book- the deep connections Alice and her new friends are able to make once she chooses to get vulnerable. From elegant motherly figure Helena, to kind of out of it but always so sure of herself Flossie, to quintessential German (and nude pickleballer) Berrta, to lively 98 year old Doris and her support dog Percy, to fellow nonprofiters and all around great married couple Lorna and Madge, to prickly but intensely caring Agatha. Each woman gets a moment to impart wisdom, share her story, and help push Alice to be the woman she should be, even if that is different than what she expects of herself!!

And on the other hand, the romance is sizzling- with all the total BURNS that Alice and Robbie give to each other. They hide their feelings in messing with each other, and oh boy is it just a delightful bit of fun!!

Thank you so much to Kay Mackenzie, Harper Collins, and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!

Alice has been having a really rough time, losing her job, fiancé, and place to live all at once. But her character makes it really hard to want great things for her. She's really judgmental (sometimes literally based solely on someone's name - in the case of Tristan, whose name she hated until she saw that he was really attractive and then she LOVED his name) and she doesn't really listen. She doesn't seem to really want to try most of the time, and kinda continually sees herself as a victim of circumstance over and over without accepting her role in her decisions.

Robbie, the Scot, was not really appealing either. His accent came and went throughout the novel which was distracting and he quickly flipped how he felt about Alice the second she became a damsel in distress. Also, the relationship he had with his mom felt weird. He kept calling her gorgeous when he answered the phone and talked about her nightgown. It felt... ugh. If one of the biggest miscommunication tropes is based off Alice thinking her was talking to his girlfriend when really it's his mom.... that may not be the flex you think it is.

I was continuously annoyed by how Alice kept derailing the whole tour for the rest of the book club. If I had been on the tour, I would have wanted a refund based on how the guide was singularly focused on one individual the whole time and kept having to change plans for her. It felt weird. But I know that I could never write a novel and it did move through an actual story, even if I didn't like it. Probably a 2.5, but I'll round to 3.

Work in Progress is such a funny and warm romance novel, perfect for anyone who loves traveling and classic literature. Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for the advance copy!

Alice Cooper impulsively books a 3-week, literary bus tour in the UK after finding out her ex-fiancé was cheating on her. She arrives for the bus tour after an extremely long and nightmare-ish travel day to find that the bus tour is filled with octogenarians and one Scottish driver/tour guide, Robbie. Will Alice's days be filled with bickering with Robbie or will she open herself to adventure and new experiences?

I have mixed feelings about this book but would give it 3.5 stars. Going to start with the positives. The banter between Alice and Robbie were comical and Robbie's backstory is pretty swoon worthy. Parts of this book made me laugh out loud, I absolutely loved the women on the tour, their quirkiness, and the life lessons they passed onto Alice. It was very sweet, and heart felt. I think I would've enjoyed this book a lot more if it was just literary fiction and just take out the romance all together. Now the negatives. Alice as a character was not very enjoyable, especially in the first few chapters, I almost put the book down and stopped reading the book because she was acting so dang entitled. I'm glad I finished the book even though I'm not a classic literature gal.

If you love classic literature and want a bus tour through the UK, this book is for you. The banter and side characters are top notch.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

I received an ARC copy of this book through NetGalley.

This was a cute rom-com that was easy to read. Alice reminded me of Bridget Jones, which she points out herself in her journal entries at the beginning of every chapter. It was cute without being too much. A solid 4 stars.

This book was a great read! The story had a great pace and the characters were well developed. It was very easy to get sucked into the story and in just a few sittings, I was done reading the book!

Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie was such a fun read and had me laughing out loud. I liked the growth of Alice from the beginning of the book to the end. I would highly recommend this unique book.

Alice had her life plan fall apart. A break up and losing her job lands her in a rut. She decides to shake things up and book a last minute literary bus tour for women in the UK. Of course nothing happens as planned as she arrives (after many delays) to find the group is old ladies led by a handsome Scottish tour guide (Robbie) who gets on her nerves from the get go. They embark on a 3 week adventure. There are a variety of quirky characters who build strong relationships with Alice and help her feel less lonely in life. Robbie helps her realize life plans don’t always work out. They have a sweet romance after much bickering. There were a lot of beautiful descriptions of the historical tour sites that I don’t feel I was able to fully appreciate as not being a history buff or familiar with many of the sites. I enjoyed this read but didn’t feel deeply connected to the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon/Harper Voyager, and the author for the ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and author Kat Mackenzie for the ARC! Here is my honest review:

Wow. I REALLY loved this book. The banter, the rivals to lovers, the HILARIOUS old ladies. I laughed. I cried. And now I want to go touring around England and Scotland with a bus full of old ladies. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while!

In the beginning, I was a bit frustrated at Alice’s treatment of Robbie and her outlook on the trip. However, around 25%, I really started to get into it and fall in love with the characters and the story. I read from the 25% mark to the end in one day because I was so hooked!

I thought this premise sounded so outlandish, I had to request it. It was a greet story. Very cute and pretty funny. I really enjoyed it!

🌟Book Review🌟

“Work in Progress” by Kat Mackenzie is “My Life in Ruins” meets “Leap Year” in this Scottish Bus Tour romance.

This is an adult contemporary romance following Alice Cooper, a woman struggling to rebuild her life after a series of setbacks, including being dumped by her ex-fiancé Hunter and losing her job six months ago. Looking for a change of scenery, Alice embarks on a three-week literary bus tour across the U.K. Upon arrival in Edinburgh, she’s frazzled by lost luggage and an infuriating encounter with Robbie Brodie, a rugged and rude Scotsman—who, to her dismay, turns out to be the tour guide. To make matters worse, the tour group is composed entirely of women in their eighties, it’s a bit far from the lively, empowering trip she envisioned.

While the story boasts a strong premise—classic rom-com misunderstandings in a picturesque setting—the execution falls short in certain areas. The humor is undeniably a highlight, with laugh-out-loud moments early on that capture Alice’s chaotic life, from her “colossal poop tornado” self-assessments to her frantic, slapstick dash to make the bus. The inclusion of Bridget Jones-style tally entries at the beginning of each chapter adds to the quirky charm.

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

While I liked this book, I felt it was too long and the main character wasn’t super likable. It was a fun read but could maybe use some editing.

I never thought I would say that a closed door romance was spicy but I didn’t need to use my imagination all that much with this one which I liked! But what made it even better was the banter!

The setting of this story sold me instantly. What I didn’t expect was the hilariousness that would ensue. I laughed out loud more times than I ever imagined I would. There were quite a few references to Bridget Jones, which I’ve never read, so those were lost on me. I did really enjoy the lists that Alice made. I also loved the progression from the meet ugly (far from a meet cute) between Alice and Robbie, the kilt wearing tour guide, to something more.

I was lucky enough to get arc ebook of this book. It’s a fun romantic adventure. I laughed. I fell in love. I want to move to Scotland.

After Alice’s well planned life is derailed when her fiance leaves her and she loses her job, she spontaneously books a literary bus tour across the UK. Things continue not to go as planned when she realizes that the rest of the tour is comprised of all elderly women, and led by a handsome, yet infuriating tour guide.

This book started out rough for me, but I loved it by the end. When the book started out, I really didn’t think I was going to like the main character, Alice. It was obvious that she was going through a rough patch, but I still found her to be judgmental toward the older ladies on the tour, and bit immature in her interactions with Robbie, the tour guide. Eventually, as I learned more about her, and as she began to bond with the rest of the characters, her personality began to shine through.

One of the things I loved most was the backdrop of each of the places they visited along the tour, making me wish I was along for the ride. I also absolutely loved the supporting cast of characters. It was wonderful to learn about their unique personalities and to see how they connected with and inspired Alice throughout her journey of self discovery.

It was also fun to watch the romance blossom between Alice and Robbie. It was a slow and satisfying build that perfectly rounded out the story.

Overall, I loved it! Thank you so much to Net Galley and Harper Collins for an advanced copy of this book!