This podcaster's love story is about to go wildly off-script...
Experiments in Offline Dating
Romance
Avon
August 25th, 2026
Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook
384
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!
Enemies-to-Lovers with a twist… or an accent…
I’m a sucker for an enemies-to-lovers romance any day of the week. Throw in an accent that promises to lead me around (fictional) Ireland? Done and done. “Experiments in Offline Dating” seems to have been made especially for me with all the delicious tropes I love. Sometimes you just have to find a book that lets you lean in to everything that makes you happy, and it seems that while Kat Mackenzie was writing a book she loved, she wrote one I’d love, too.
How is it possible to go on this many bad dates?!
“This is a show in which I conduct an ongoing experiment exploring the tumultuous, befuddling world of love and dating, in a tireless search to bring answers to the scientific world at large. And also for listener entertainment.”
“Experiments in Offline Dating” starts with the premise of a podcaster who has spent the last year going on dates planned from dating apps. Spoiler alert! None of them went well. Undeterred by these lackluster social experiments, Maya doubles down: rather than trying more dating apps that are leading nowhere, she’ll register to be setup by a professional matchmaker in Ireland at the annual Matchmaking Festival.
Chaos.
Maya has such an analytical, structured mind. She lives by rules specifically designed to allow her to be successful in social settings, and modifies her thought process through each interaction as if it were one long social experiment. She’s a scientist of human nature.
Tadhg (pronounced “tige” like “tiger” without the r) is a right grump. He’s kind of miserable, and just wants to be left alone with his sheep. How fortunate for him that he’s voluntold to go on a blind date with Maya! More chaos ensues and it goes probably worse than you’d expect.
The Softer Side
There’s no way to avoid the humor that makes “Experiments in Offline Dating” a rom-com. Mackenzie layers each chapter with more and more comedic moments that are sure to add some laugh lines to your temples throughout your reading experience. Not only do Maya and Tadhg NOT hit it off on their blind date, but unfortunately they end up stuck together on the most awkward of road trips. Total nonsense.
Underneath the smiles and snark, though, are a lot of very soft and tender moments that I fear might be overlooked. Mackenzie finds a beautiful balance of casual intimacy that lives in the shadows of the dating marathon’s spotlight. The softer moments, the joy in the quiet spaces where Maya and Tadhg don’t have to be ‘on’ are the times that feel the most real, the most human.
Maya may be introduced to a great many men on the Emerald Isle, but the most tender and delicate moments are found with Tadhg, and they are what kept me turning the pages quicker and quicker.
“Sometimes love comes hard, and sometimes love comes easy….”
Final Thoughts
There are billions of people in this world, and the true beauty of humanity is that we are all different. There are no two of us alike. Everyone’s actions and reactions to situations are different. It’s difficult to put yourself in someone’s shoes, even when you’ve got all the information at your fingertips. You can assume you know how things will go, but you know what happens when you assume….
“Experiments in Offline Dating” feels like a very personal book. There are a lot of laughs, but there are also a lot of moments of introspection and personal growth.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys witty banter, strong sexual tension, and ‘we can’t do this’ vibes. I think you’ll all end up falling for Maya and Tadhg (and probably Jackie Kelly, too!) just like I did.
I’m Val, and I’m excited to share my love of books with you! I’m a sassy Sour Patch kid from New Jersey, dog mom to Chance the beagle, and much like the rest of the Hive, I’m a coffee lover (I think it’s a requirement to be here). The first book I remember reading voluntarily involved a boy wizard who lived in the cupboard under the stairs, and I’ve been chasing magic ever since. I love Happily Ever Afters, and I love love. My favorite genres are romance and rom-coms, fantasy, and young adult/new adult. If I’m not reading, I’m probably kayaking, watching the Great British Baking Show, or discovering a new craft beer.
