
Experiments in Offline Dating
A Novel
Kat Mackenzie(Author)
Avon Books (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 24. September 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-0-06-344950-3 (ISBN)
Description
A sharp-witted enemies-to-lovers romcom about a podcaster who embarks on a matchmaking tour of Ireland and gets trapped with a grump who pushes all of her buttons.
Maya Davis is chronically terrible at dating. So much so that she's turned her catastrophic dating experiments into a full-time job. Hellbent on dating "offline" for her second podcast season, Maya travels to Ireland to meet the world-renowned local matchmaker, and gets set up on a slew of horribly funny meet-ups that are exactly the type of comedy gold she was looking for.
At the town's annual Matchmaking Festival, Maya wins a blind date with a surly local sheep farmer. But while she's had every bad date in the book, nothing could have prepared her for the apocalyptic, full-body-cringe that is the worst date of her life!
All she wants to do is forget it ever happened, but when the mischievous matchmaker talks her into a whirlwind dating adventure, he fails to mention that it's with the one person in Ireland that she just can't stand - her blind date catastrophe!
Trapped together, Maya and Tadhg journey across picturesque landscapes and green countryside until their constant verbal sparring feels increasingly like chemistry. And the more time they spend together, the more Maya begins to wonder if perhaps she's not so catastrophic at love after all.
Brimming with humor and delicious tension, this heartfelt travel romance is the perfect escape!
Tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity
Grumpy hero
Maya Davis is chronically terrible at dating. So much so that she's turned her catastrophic dating experiments into a full-time job. Hellbent on dating "offline" for her second podcast season, Maya travels to Ireland to meet the world-renowned local matchmaker, and gets set up on a slew of horribly funny meet-ups that are exactly the type of comedy gold she was looking for.
At the town's annual Matchmaking Festival, Maya wins a blind date with a surly local sheep farmer. But while she's had every bad date in the book, nothing could have prepared her for the apocalyptic, full-body-cringe that is the worst date of her life!
All she wants to do is forget it ever happened, but when the mischievous matchmaker talks her into a whirlwind dating adventure, he fails to mention that it's with the one person in Ireland that she just can't stand - her blind date catastrophe!
Trapped together, Maya and Tadhg journey across picturesque landscapes and green countryside until their constant verbal sparring feels increasingly like chemistry. And the more time they spend together, the more Maya begins to wonder if perhaps she's not so catastrophic at love after all.
Brimming with humor and delicious tension, this heartfelt travel romance is the perfect escape!
Tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity
Grumpy hero
Reviews / Votes
"A laugh out loud, delight of a book. Kat Mackenzie made me feel like a tourist in my own country." - Elliot Fletcher, author of WHISKY BUSINESS on WORK IN PROGRESS"Anglophiles and armchair travelers will adore this." - Publishers Weekly on Work in Progress
"Work in Progress delivers one of the best enemies-to-lovers storylines I have come across, making me eager to read more by this author."
- Novels Alive (5-star review)
"Mackenzie's outstanding, sweet debut will find many fans with its broad appeal... Readers will enjoy the abundant gentle humor, intergenerational friendships, and armchair travel-as well as the slow burn of a tasteful romance." - Booklist (starred review) on Work in Progress
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
~9 small charts/graphs throughout
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
295 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-344950-3 (9780063449503)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
approx. 08/2026
HarperCollins
€12.93
Not yet available
Person
Kat Mackenzie is an American who just happened to find herself living abroad for ten years and accidentally traveling to over forty countries in an attempt to taste all the food. She holds degrees from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Oxford but has discovered that they serve her best collecting dust on the shelf while she pens comedy-forward stories about women who travel.