Everything about the premise of this book sounded fabulous and like just what I wanted to read:
"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." I am always excited for a place based story, older supporting or main characters, humor and banter, and the enemies to lovers trope.

The setting was absolutely delightful. I was charmed by the trip premise and by the women on the tour, and if it had been a general fiction novel without a romance plot I probably would have loved it. Unfortunately though it is a romance, and I found the MCs insufferable. I never understood their intense reaction to each other from the very first meeting. Alice was rude and even nasty at times with little cause (it entirely crossed the banter line) and felt generally immature, and Robbie was stilted and unbelievable. It didn't come across as cute snark (which I usually love) but more of a disproportionate meanness. I saw no reason for the two of them to be attracted to each other. At 31 I'm very close to Alice in age, but felt like I was reading about someone more than a decade younger.

That said, I would try another book by this author. The writing itself was engaging and immersive and it had moments that felt like an Emily Henry novel, which is always a positive for me.

4+ stars for the setting and supporting characters, 1 star for both MMC and FMC.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Such a fun cute read!! This is a perfect summer romcom. I LOVED the banter between the two main characters! And if you're a fan of Bridget Jones, this book is for you!!

Alice Cooper needs to make some changes as she has hit a bit of a rut in her personal and work life. She books a last minute Literary Book Tour in the UK, buys expensive luggage, and flies to Edinburgh to begin her journey of self discovery. She was hoping to spend her time on the bus, not engaging with the other guests, exploring some fantastic places, and certainly not falling for her handsome tour guide, but all things happen for a reason, right? It all begins rather comically and the laughs, second hand embarassment, and flirting that follows is downright engaging and charming. Anyone who has been to Scotland will find themselves nodding along and agreeing with the authors very accurate depictions of first time observations about traveling in the country.

I truly enjoyed this story and now I want to go on a literary book tour, drink copious amounts of tea, spend my evenings in the local pubs with a pint, and find an amazing group of women to bond with. You will not be disappointed when you pick up this book and perhaps you'll soon be booking your own trip! Slainte!

I would have given this book higher stars if the heroine was not such a dolt. She whines, she assumes, she cannot communicate. Poor Robbie, he was such a doll. And the old ladies added so much flair to the entire story. I loved the whole premise and how it was described, wanted to get on a bus your myself.

A solid 3 stars

The idea of this book excited me a lot more than the actual execution of it did. I was so intrigued by the synopsis and wish I had loved the book itself.

On the positive side, I very much enjoyed the women Alice found herself traveling across Europe with. They had so many stories and life experiences to share, and I think they had a wonderful impact on Alice and her life. I also enjoyed the travel and tourism settings and descriptions throughout the book.

The romance side of things didn’t work so well for me. Alice was downright mean to Robbie in the beginning and he wasn’t much better in return. The two of them came across as immature for much of the first half of the book and it made it difficult for me to feel invested in their relationship the rest of the way through. I was much more interested in Alice’s friendships with her fellow travelers than her romance with their guide.

All in all, this one unfortunately just didn’t work all that well for me personally. Based on other reviews, many others did enjoy it and I hope it finds more of the audience who will love it. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 WORK IN PROGRESS ✨️

"You're an unholy terror, but we're friends, and there's nothing I can do to stop that now."

"She's no lady, ma - she's a stinging nettle."

My gosh! This book was such an escape. As a Brit, I found reading about the UK through the eyes of our American FMC Alice absolutely hilarious. Yes our teeth are bad, yes we like fish n chips and yes we have very old buildings. Sorry but the two taps make sense and baked beans ARE a breakfast food 😅

WIP is a cosy adventure in book form. Go on a tour of the UK with these vivacious characters (ala gorgeous descriptive writing by Kat) and watch Alice learn so much from her elderley co-travellers. Add in the steamy scenes, and hilarious banter, with sexy Scottish Robbie and this book is utterly splendid! 🔥🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💕

Out Jan 14th 2025 👌

What a lovely contemporary romance. It is one of the best portraits of relationships and intimacy I’ve encountered, that expresses the depth of feelings without relying on explicit scenes.

I really really enjoyed this book. I had to take breaks from it because I was too consumed by the story. I felt as if I had a personal stake in each and every person who came alive on the page.

Thank you #NetGalley for an advanced digital copy.

Alice and Robbie got off on the way wrong foot in their first encounter. She is in Edinburgh to start a three week literary tour in Scotland, England, and Wales. Robbie, it seems, is the tour guide. Days of antagonist barbs turns to romance. All the while, Alice is finding her true self with the help of the senior tour participants and Robbie.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a charming, enjoyable, and hilarious story! The pages were filled with the romantic tension and the witty banter of the main characters. Self-discovery was another theme of this book! I couldn't stop laughing and applauding Alice as she discovered herself during the entire trip.

Kat Mackenzie’s Work in Progress is the kind of romance that quietly pulls you in and doesn’t let go. Alice and Robbie are perfectly flawed, deeply human characters who leap off the page and into your heart. Their enemies-to-lovers start is full of fiery tension and sharp exchanges, setting the stage for a relationship that evolves into something tender and profound.

Alice’s drive to rebuild her life and Robbie’s struggle to let down his guard make them both relatable and easy to root for. Their imperfections only add to the authenticity of their story, and every step they take toward each other feels hard-earned and beautifully messy.

Mackenzie’s writing shines in the way she captures not just the romance, but the personal growth and healing both characters experience along the way. The chemistry between Alice and Robbie is undeniable, and their banter—filled with wit, friction, and unspoken longing—had me hooked from start to finish.

If you love slow-burn romances with flawed but lovable leads, emotional depth, and a dash of enemies-to-lovers spice, Work in Progress is a must-read. This story is a heartfelt reminder that love, much like life, is always a work in progress.

This is a book that just begs to be made into an good movie or better yet a miniseries so that no character is left out and every bit of the adventure is included.

There are so many wonderful layers to this story that truly bridges the romance and women's fiction genres. There is such wonder s3x-ual tension between the leads in the book from their very first meeting until the end. And I love that this book is about more that a meet cute, delayed get together, riding the bus off into the sunset, the which is so over done these days. This book involves a wonderfully written single point of view story told entirely though Alice Cooper's perspective that allows you to stay voiced as a reader and really fall into Alice's thoughts and growth. .

Alice Cooper has had a rough go of it in the past few months, and is in The UK for a Bucket List Bus Tour of Literary England and Scotland to escape for a while, but in the best rom com fashion this trip turns out not to be a trip to avoid reality but a way to confront it though the misunderstandings, miscommunications, and mistakes that only a road trip can offer. This bus trip Is filled with most wonderful group of senior women who each offer something powerful in their lived experience, compassion and humor to help Alice while stealing every scene they are. If you loved The Best Exotic Marigold, Calender Girls, or When you see a movie with Maggie Smith, Judi Bench or Kathy Bates you know it will be a fabulous journey, then you will not want to miss this heartfelt and humorous romance that will have you looking to see if there is a Boducia Tournyou can book.

This is not my last book by Kat Mackenzie. Her writing is beautifully vivid, delightfully complex, and excitingingly nuanced. This is want in a grown up romance -- a journey filled with heart and human experience!

Thank you NetGalley, and Avon Books for sharing an arc of this book with me.

Work in Progress is heartwarming and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Poor Alice Cooper has THE WORST luck ever, but it made for a really entertaining read. I love the relationships that were fostered between the women in this story and how they continued on even after the trip had finished. And of course, seeing Alice go from being in a personal, professional, and emotional funk to taking steps towards being happy in her life was so satisfying. The romance in this was really sweet, I loved the banter between Alice and Robbie and their grand gesture at the end was so cute. It was pretty wild to me that she felt such strong feelings for Robbie, but then still went on multiple dates with Tristan when she got back to the United States. BUT I guess it helped her realize even when life was exactly how she had pictured it being (how she wanted it to be), it wasn't perfect for her because Tristan wasn't Robbie. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I really enjoyed this book! I could totally relate to Alice and what she was going through in her life. I felt for her every time something wild or unexpected happened to her. I also enjoyed the cast of supporting characters! It was also interesting to read and learn about different historical sites in the UK.

The banter between the main characters was great, it was fun to witness them go from bickering to something a bit more. They were perfect foils for each other.

If you’ve seen my other reviews involving books in Scotland, I am OBSESSED with books in Scotland (probably because I’m obsessed with Scotland but anyways…)
This did not disappoint.

Our FMC, Alice Cooper (cue the ‘School’s Out’ childhood trauma) takes a trip to Scotland for a literary tour bus after she’s hit rock bottom in life (see fiancé leaving her, getting fired from her dream job, etc, etc). She realizes as she hops on the bus that the tour is filled with elderly ladies and a grumpy, but so so attractive, tour guide.

This book serves:
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿hilarious, witty banter
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿a beautiful tour of the UK (mainly Scotland)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿wise elderly ladies laying down some straight up wisdom
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿excellent character growth for both our main characters

Sometimes a book comes along at just the right moment, and Work in Progress was exactly that for me. HUGE thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for sending me an advanced reader copy—it was everything I didn’t know I needed and more!

Here’s the premise: a young woman facing major life changes (relatable, much?) impulsively books a three-week literary sightseeing tour in England. But instead of the expected Jane Austen-obsessed besties or swooning romantics, she finds herself in a group of women of a certain age - think Bridget Jones meets Golden Girls! And the cherry on top? The tour guide is a grumpy yet swoon-worthy Scottish man. What ensues is sheer chaos—and pure delight.

I laughed until my cheeks hurt, giggled like a schoolgirl late into the night, grinned ear to ear at the quirky, heartfelt moments, and even got misty-eyed once or twice. This slow-burn romance has some of the best banter I’ve ever read in a romance. It’s sharp, clever, and brimming with warmth -it’s everything I want in a rom-com. You will root for these characters with your whole heart.

Work in Progress is the perfect escape, filled with laugh-out-loud humor, unforgettable characters, and a love story that will leave you swooning.

First off thank you NetGalley, Kat Mackenzie, and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

Any book that combines book nerds, travel and romance is going to be a hit in my eyes. I loved reading about all the book themed travel spots Alice got to visit! The list and tallies she kept were amusing and gave the book a little extra touch of something different. While this book was a romance, I think the main takeaway I got from this book was the friendships she built while on her UK journey as well as her personal growth after a hard breakup and string of bad luck. All the ladies were hilarious in their own way and provided Alice with stories that helped her grow as a person and reflect on what she wanted in life. Robbie went from enemy tour guide to holiday romance in a series of hilarious incidents that made you want to laugh out loud or die of embarrassment right along with Alice.

Overall I enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what else this author writes in the future!

This book is like Chicken Soup for the Soul. My favorite aspect of this story were the old ladies, their wise stories, and the lightheartedness and silliness they gave to us readers. This was the perfect cozy read that filled my heart with warmth and made me smile the whole way through!

I would say technically 3.5 stars.

I hate that the author basically set up first 5 chapters for me to dislike Alice. Then as you get on with the tour, you got to know each of the people on the tour and their backstory and what Alice can learn from them. I will say that I really feel like I'm on that tour with the descriptions and stuff, but at times it was a bit much. I did skim thru parts of that. I do like the chemistry between Alice and Robbie, which makes up for the lulls. I can skip the ties back to Bridget Jones though, she's so much her own person with her own strong will. I love Helena that saw straight thru Alice, which leads to the grand gesture, at the end.

Thanks to Avon & Harper Voyager & NetGalley for the ARC

Alice's recent life events and trip may have started out as a (to borrow her own words) "colossal poop tornado," but this book and ensuing adventure were anything but that! I bonded with Alice right away with her love of all things UK based. And a 3 week literary women's only bus tour that goes all through the UK?! Does such a thing exist? If so, sign me up!

I enjoyed everything about this book. From the beginning of each chapter having a lesson, reading list and Bridget Jones Tally to the quirky lot of characters and their literary UK based excursions. And Kat Mackenzie's writing? Remarkable! I was consistently highlighting phrases that I loved.

The enemies to lovers trope is one of my favorites; Alice and Robbie played it to perfection. Their witty dialogue and retorts and Alice's inner monologue had me constantly chuckling. Her nicknames to him that ranged from Voldemort to Beelzebub to Mr. Mussolini had me LOLing 😂 And though there weren't any super explicit scenes, the steamy bits in this book were absolute 🔥 🥵 (and I'm telling you once again it's due to Kat's incredible writing skills!) I've never rooted harder for such an angsty but fun pair of characters. Robbie is just 🥰 I know I'm always a goner for an Irishman or a Scot so my fate was probably already sealed from page 1 right along with Alice's.

I need to add in just how much I absolutely adored all the ladies on this trip. Everyone brought something to the table, and they were all such wonderfully written characters. Alice at one point compared being with them to being "wrapped up in a big cozy British blanket with good advice." To which Helena responded, "Well, between us we've got about 500 years of experience." That certainly sums it up well. ❣️

🔸 I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.🔸
🔹 Thank you to Net Galley, Avon and Harper Voyage, and Kat Mackenzie for this eARC.🔹
🎉 Publication date: January 14, 2025.

I absolutely loved this book! I read a lot and I love a lot of books but not like I loved this one. It is hilarious at times and poignant at others. Alice was dumped by her fiancé and spiraled into depression. In attempt to feel better, she books a literary bus tour. She didn't expect to lose her luggage, find it only to be flattened, fall down in front of everyone and for the fellow participants to be all older women. She particularly didn't appreciate the snarky Scottish tour guide, at first. The story involves learning from the history of the lives of the other women and the history of the authors studied. While it is definitely has humor, this book is much deeper and more meaningful that first glance might show. I'm grateful for Net Galley and the opportunity to to read this book in exchange for an honest review.