Alice joins a spur of the moment trip around the UK that is themed as a literary bus tour after a bad break up. She has been holed up coping with losing her job and her relationship. She wants to take a chance, get out there and have some fun. What she doesn't know as she fights to get her lost luggage and stumbles across the street dumping her purse everywhere is that she is about to board a well-worn in bus with a group of older ladies and a hot Scottish tour guide. Although Robbie is quite literally driving her crazy, Alice is learning so much about herself on the trip. But she is also learning so much about everyone around her.
Such a cozy and humorous found family tale that has stuck with me since I have read it.

Alice decides to do something rash for once and books a bus tour of Britain but not without a few hiccups along the way. Little did she know the man she had a disagreement with in the airport would turn out to be her tour guide, Robbie.
One of my favorite things about the book was Alice’s relationships with the older women on the tour. While most of them were 50 years older than her, over the course of the tour they were able to find common ground and become great friends.
Alice and Robbie’s relationship grew from snarky comments to much more. I wish there had been more of their time together in the book, that I had been able to see their relationship grow more.
Once Alice returned home, I was confused by the Tristan storyline. It didn’t seem necessary and was confused by it.
I loved that she went back to Edinburgh and they were able to get their happily ever after.

Alice has lost it all and decided to take a trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately, from the start, the trip is pretty rough. What she thought was going to be a book trip with other ladies in her age group, is actually full of little old ladies and her brand new nemesis. In this book, you follow along as she let's go of her preconceived notions, and learns about life and love.

I loved everything about this. The humor, the travel, the slow burning love. The group of ladies is full of wonderful characters. They were each full of so much personality without becoming a caricature.

Read this if you love travel, slow burn love interests and lots of mishaps and laughter.


Thank you to netgalley and HarlerCollins for this copy! This was left voluntarily and honestly.

Alice has always wanted to take a tour of the UK, to places she's dreamt of and read about in books. When she finds herself out of a job, and her engagement ring on the hand of her ex's new girlfriend, Alice takes a leap. She'll go on her UK trip, and then she'll know what her next steps are after that.

Her arrival does not go as planned. Layovers drag her flight time from a pleasant 12 hours to 36. Her suitcase has literally exploded, and the woman at the service counter can't be bothered. Then she's interrupted by a grumpy Scottish man, and Alice has had it. She's been walked over and derailed, and heaven help her if she's going to let it happen again.

Except the man's problems are abruptly solved, and he gives her a cheery, evil farewell before leaving her picking up the literal pieces of her luggage. And heaving said pieces out to the city beyond, where her tour bus awaits. A bus that's driven by none other than her Scottish nemesis. A bus advertised as an all women's getaway that is filled with... older women. Senior women. White haired women who have already begun falling asleep.

This trip is nothing like she had planned, and her only source of joy is trying to make Robbie - the bus driver from hell - as miserable as possibles. And the cities and locations she photographs. The historical tours that are actually enjoyable and enlightening. And a few of the women who actually have interesting stories to tell. This trip is nothing like Alice planned, but maybe it's exactly what she needs.

I loved the way the tour destinations were described. It wasn't like the author had simply picked locations and looked them up, but as if she had been there herself. The history tidbits were fun, but not too lengthy, and the locations added to the story in fun and interesting ways.

I loved Alice's growth in the book, and the companionship she found with her tour group. My first adventure with Kat Mackenzie, but an author I'll certainly be on the look for in the future!

3.75🌟
This was a really cute and charming rom-com, about Alice whose life got turned upside down after losing her fiance and job within a short amount of time. Deciding to Eat Pray Love her way through the English countryside, she booked herself a month long guided literary bus tour. Upon arrival, she finds herself among a group of elderly women and a grumpy Scottish tour guide. Throughout her month long soul searching comes life long friendships, a bunch of wisdom and of course romance. The characters in this book were fun and witty and made me want to jump onto a literary bus tour asap!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

"Work in Progress" may be one of my favorite books of the year!

Alice Cooper is going through a crisis. She's lost her boyfriend, job and apartment all within a month. Not knowing what else to do to get her feet back under her, she decides to take a trip and signs up for a bus tour for women through England and Scotland. She hoped the change of scenery would help her make sense of her life and what she wanted to do next. What she hadn't expected was that the other women on the tour would all be old ladies, and the tour guide would be infuriating (and handsome).

Robbie has been leading these tours for the last three years and loves what he does. But he's never met anyone so unwilling to ask for or receive help before as Alice Cooper it. And the more they butt heads, the more he likes her.

All their crossed wires lead to some hilarious misunderstandings, while the bonds Alice makes with her unlikely new best friends are heartwarming. The witty banter between Alice and Robbie was wonderful too. There were just so many things to like about this story, which had me laughing out loud at times, and wiping away a tear at others.

Well done, Kat Mackenzie!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

dnf at 14%

i truly tried reading this book but was so put off by the main character, alice, that i could not get myself to continue. meet alice, a nearly 30 year old woman who is going through a rough time after losing her job and her ex-fiance. she joins a bus tour around britain, hoping to make new friends around her age, and instead is upset to find out that the bus is filled with elderly, mostly retired women and one seemingly grumpy tour guide who alice is incredibly hostile too. i was just so irritated with how immaturely the fmc was acting. at nearly 30 years old, she's yelling and screaming, and so rude to robbie, the mmc, that i could not continue and felt secondhand embarrassment reading. overall, not for me, and not a book i would recommend.

This was such a fun little ride. Alice Cooper decides to impulsively set off on a tour of Scotland after a nasty breakup (and her ex-fiance's rebound). Along the way she encounters Robbie, the tour guide that she can't stand but also can't escape. It was so much fun seeing Robbie and Alice's love story develop as they became friends and then more. Alice's discovery of herself with the help of the women she's on the tour with was most enjoyable. This one hit hard as I just turned 30 and felt like I really related to Alice.

It was a little silly but that just made for a fun, enjoyable read.

Thank you to Avon for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like it would be fitting to start my review with a British-ism, so here it goes: this book was not my cup of tea.
I've lived in Edinburgh and traveled around Scotland a bunch, and I absolutely loved the travel bits of the book, but I absolutely could not get over how much I hated the dislike-to-love romantic plot of the book. It gave me oodles of second-hand embarassment, to the point where I could only read a couple of chapters at a time before cringing and needing to put it down. Now, I'm sure this is someone's cup of tea! But maybe this was like a hibiscus, and I definitely prefer an earl grey.
I cannot emphasize enough how much the author clearly loves Scotland and the UK, and you could definitely feel that through her writing.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this eARC!

Work in Progress is a fun, romantic, and mildly steamy adventure in love. I enjoyed Kat Mackenzie's writing, and the illustration she managed to do of the beautiful setting.

I did not finish this book. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the main characters and was therefore not drawn into the story enough.

This was a charming read, though it leaned a bit too heavily into overly sweet and whimsical territory. Alice, fresh off a messy breakup, impulsively books a non-refundable three-week bus tour around the UK, where she's surprised to find herself surrounded by quirky, stereotypical elderly ladies. While the characterizations could feel exaggerated, the humor and heartfelt moments of connection made the group dynamics enjoyable, and Alice’s budding romance with the gruff Scottish tour leader Robbie brought a lot of fun and warmth. Although the historical facts at each stop occasionally bogged down the pacing, the scenic UK backdrop—especially in Scotland—added charm to the journey. Overall it was a fine read

I loved every second of this story line. Alice and Robbie are such a fun pair. The ladies also added an element that made the story so much more enjoyable to read. I loved reading a little bit of UK history through the book tour. I loved that Robbie referred to Alice as Alice Cooper (her full name), and how he would always push her buttons.

Honestly if you want humorous book that keeps you on your toes, I highly recommend this. Kate did a phenomenal job at writing this and made me feel like I was on the book tour as well.

Thank you HarperCollins Publishers, NetGalley, and Kat Mackenzie for the ARC of this book! This was such a funny book to read, and I appreciated the fact that it was so much more than a romance novel! It was funny, there was friendship, and there were amazing scenes of travel and funny mishaps along the way!

After it seems her life and plans are ruined, Alice decides that it is finally time to start living her dreams and putting herself out there. She signs up for a literary-themed bus trip across the UK as a way to get outside of her comfort zone, but as soon as she gets there, she realizes that this is not what she signed up for. This tour appears to be only for old ladies, and Alice does not want any part in this. Additionally, the tour guide, Robbie, is a classic Scottish male character, a bit of a caricature at times, but is the thorne in Alice’s side.

Their tour provides us with hilarious moments, beautiful scenes of the countryside of the UK, and so many wonderful scenes of friendship and camaraderie. Despite the fact that Alice did not want to go on the “old lady trip”, she finds wonderful companions and amazing stories in each and every one of them. I also loved to see Alice and Robbie’s relationship grow, but I found their lack of communication towards the end infuriating. While this seems to be a common theme in many books, it just didn’t seem to fit with the themes of growing and changing that the book had been focusing on this whole time.

This book was a little overly cute at times, but it was such a funny read that I would recommend it to any fan of fiction, including those who are not romance fans! I think the best part was seeing the development of female friendships, especially cross-generational friendships. This was a very unique book, and I thought it was such a silly read!

This is an amazing example of opposites attract! They had such a fun and banter filled love story! The older women on the tour gives such a fun little extra interest to the story! A fun romance for sure!

A rom-com about Alice who needs a new start so she ends up going on a literary bus tour that goes throught the UK and their is a group of ladies who are seniors but we also have a Scottish driver that is attractive. Want to find out more then make sure to pick up this captivating read. This was written so well and I loved all of the characters in it. I loved that it took place in the UK. Overall, I highly enjoyed this one and would recommend it to any reader who loves romance. Thank you to Avon Books for the paperback read and to NetGalley and Avon for the ebook in exchange of my honest review of Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie.

I enjoyed this book, but sometimes it felt too cute. The story is about Alice, who buys a non-refundable ticket for a three-week bus tour around the UK after a terrible breakup. She buys the ticket when she is a bit drunk, which was a funny start to the story.

The bus is full of older women, which surprised Alice because she thought more young people would be on the trip. The ladies are interesting but sometimes their characters feel too simple - there's a bird-watching German lady, a sweet old woman with her dog, and others. I liked how they all became friends during the journey, even though they are so different.

The book describes many famous places in the UK, and I learned some interesting facts about them. The Scottish places were my favorites! But sometimes there was too much history information that made the story slow.

Robbie is the only man on the tour - he's the Scottish bus driver and guide. He and Alice hate each other at first, and they argue all the time with clever insults. Their arguments are really funny to read! Alice is chaotic and always finding trouble, while Robbie is organized and calm. They are very different but perfect for each other. Their love story was the best part of the book for me.

The book has funny moments and some touching parts too. It's a good read for holiday time, even if some things are a bit predictable.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

I loved this one so much! The cover was adorable and every single character found a place in my heart. I absolutely adored Alice Cooper and every single person she met on her UK bus tour. The chemistry (romantic and friendship) was off the charts and so well written. Now on to look up every other book Kat Mackenzie has written right now!

Alice always lived her life in an orderly manner, with lists and limits and her dreams on hold to keep a job she didn't really like and a man who seemed good on paper. When she loses both the man and the job, she does the first impulsive thing she's ever done and heads on a UK literary tour. Except the tour isn't with young, adventurous women who will inspire her, it's with a bunch of fluffy-haired octogenarians. And the tour guide happens to be a devilishly handsome Scottish driver who makes her blood boil from the moment they first meet. But who better to help Alice find her way than women who have already done it? Who says octogenarians can't be inspiring? And why can't she let the handsome driver make her blood boil for more pleasurable reasons?

It's a fun, if slightly, predictable plot that puts the spotlight on the ways that Alice learns to let things go and embrace the positives in her life. There is excellent banter from memorable characters that pull you into the story in charmingly relatable ways. It's not just the main characters that get the chance to shine, every single one of the older ladies also brings something to the story.

Alice and Robbie clash adorably, with their fights lacking any true malice even in their most antagonistic moments. You know they're perfect for each other, and so do they as soon as they stop trying to pretend otherwise. I loved the many ways that Mackenzie allows them to explore who they are as a couple and apart even when, and perhaps because of, the limited time they actually spend together. It shows that they really did think things through and are in it for the long haul.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the wonderful read!

3.5 stars for this funny, sweet book. Alice and Robbie and the tour group ladies were all great characters, and I loved reading bits and pieces about the scenery and the places they visited. However, a few things bothered me about the story: first, the author never addressed why Robbie was so rude to Alice in the first scene of the book - based on his behavior and attitude throughout the rest of the book, it seems very uncharacteristic. Second, as much as I enjoyed the story, it didn't really pull me in - I wasn't dying to pick it up again each day to continue. Somehow some stronger emotion was missing to make me feel invested in the characters and the outcome.