Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie is a charming and hilarious contemporary rom-com, and somehow the author’s debut (4.5/5 stars)

Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie is a charming and hilarious contemporary rom-com, and somehow the author’s debut.

I borrowed the audiobook from the library and listened while following along in my physical review copy. The book is narrated by the same voice actor who reads the Finlay Donovan series, and did a great job here, too. Angela Dawe has such fantastic comedic timing! The book itself is very funny, but the narrator made it even better.

There are some mixed-media elements throughout the book, mainly at the start of a new chapter. Some look like notes in a notebook, like what lesson you might have learned today, or what book you might be reading. Others were lists. I love stuff like that in books.

I really identified with our FMC Alice. I have definitely had what the author called “sh*tty, ratbag ex-partners” in her acknowledgements, and I know what it feels like to question your entire existence and plans for the future. I’m so glad that I am in a much better place nowadays, and also glad that Alice found her way, too.

Found family is one of my favorites, and this book has it in spades. I loved all of the older women that Alice met on the literary bus tour. They were all such distinct characters that I actually got to know better.

I can’t wait to see what else the author writes in the future. Also, this would be a fantastic movie.

Tropes: forced proximity, enemies to lovers, road trip, slow burn, found family

I received a complimentary review copy from Avon. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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