I LOVED this book! Thank you for the ARC - it was one of my favorites in a long time! I am unsure about magical realism, but this was done so well. It is much deeper than your typical romcom - I loved the substance!

This book was one of the best by Sophie Cousens. The characters were so relatable and the element of magic was very well intertwined in the story. The one thing I would have changed was the ending. I would’ve liked the chapter to end on the main character’s eyes locking at the pub where they first met. The ending being the girls deciding to go to the pic gave the right idea but it was a bit dry. The last chapter could’ve been the MMC’s POV when he first saw Lucy.

One of my favorite writers is back with another “what if” story reminiscent of the movie Big.

Such a sweet, what if story of Lucy, who wakes up and finds herself transported to a fulfilled life with a husband, two kids and an amazing job. Of course, not everything can be as perfect as you wish.

Unfortunately, she can’t remember anything prior to this life and doesn’t truly know who she is. Is it worth it to live the life you’ve always wanted, or should you learn and let life live on its own?

I found this book very enjoyable right from the start! Books sometimes don’t keep my interest, but I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to the main characters.

This was such a good book! Time travel stories can be very iffy for me but this one was done so well. It was emotional and poignant. Really enjoyed the concept of this one.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!

This story explores the idea of skipping the journey and getting to the "best part" of your life. I found it such a great story idea. I liked that the author made it as close to real life as possible. It was a great example of do we take for granted the day to day that make the "best part" the actual best. Do we actually appreciate our accomplishments without the hard work in the middle? I thought the main character went through a great character development. This story made me appreciate the little things in my life more.

Lucy Young is 26 years old with debt, struggling to make rent, and has not got her big promotion. She would love to get paid to create and produce TV shows. This all changes when she wishes that she could just skip to the best part of her life. In the process she ends up skipping 10 years in the future. She has two kids and a great husband. Her job and wardrobe are amazing! Yet she has no clue what this version of her does in her day to day. Let alone what her big idea for a new show that she is supposed to pitch at work that day. All of which leads to a major learning curve. Will Lucy decide to stay 10 years ahead or go back to the beginnings of her dreams?

Content: Swearing, s*x scenes, death of a child

Read if you enjoy:
Unique stories
Timeline jumps
Character development
Falling in love with a future husband

When Lucy wakes up sixteen years in the future with everything she thought she wanted, it isn't exactly what she wished for. Discovering her new life and catching up on the past, Lucy had to decide whether to skip to the good part or live it all and risk the unknown.

I really loved this book - such a clever and creative concept that stirred up a lot of emotion and deep questions. The characters were all interesting and likable. One criticism is I found Lucy quite immature for 26. Oftentimes it felt like she was more of a teenager (especially in the first few days of her “leap”). I see how it was necessary to demarcate the differences in her life, but it became a bit tedious. Additionally, I didn’t quite understand the role her parents played in the story - it felt like we didn’t get closure there and the story would’ve been unaffected if they were less involved.

Overall really liked this one, solid 4/5 stars.

i’m not the biggest fan of the time jump trope in books but this one did it well. i really liked the main female character she felt relatable and real

Lucy, 26, has found herself in a rut. She is not enjoying her life as it is and when finding herself in front of a wish machine, she ultimately wishes to skip to the "good part" of her life.

What a wonderful story. I have often found myself wishing to skip ahead to what I might believe would be the "good part" of my life. Reading Lucy's story inspires us to take a look at our life and find all of the goods around us day to day! I felt like I was feeling all the emotions along with Lucy. I do know some inspiration was taken from 13 Going on 30 as Sophie Cousins cited. I watched this movie with my mom growing up and I still love it to this day! Being in my 20s this story felt very personal to me and helped me to take note of the beauty of life all around me in the good moments and even the hard moments.

Thank you to Penguin Putnam books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was just “meh” for me. I felt like I was reading it because I had to finish it instead of reading it because I wanted to finish it. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was.

Would you , if given the chance, bypass all the hardships, pain, joy and finding love to advance to the best years of your life? Sophie Cousens , The Good Part, has written an excellent novel of what we would miss if we chose to skip all the paths that lead to the good part of our life. I have found a new author to add to my TBR that combines all the things I enjoy reading. Her development of characters, the setting of the novel and the emotions just wrap you up and demand that you read this alongside a good cup of tea. Thank you #Netgalley #PenguinRandomHouse for allowing me to read this book.

We have all thought that we would like to skip life’s hard parts sometime. Lucy makes that wish and wakes up 16 years later. This story was heart felt and will have you feeling every emotion. Lucy is relatable and Felix is adorable. Audio was great too!
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️/5
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this! I always love a witty romantic com and this was just that. I enjoyed the main character and all the fun side characters.

The Good Part was one of my favourite reads of 2023 and I think it's Cousens' best work to date (I have read all of her books). As a 40+ yo I really related to the main message in this book: time is going too fast and we shouldn't simply wish it away! I loved all the characters and the Cousens' writing is quintessentially British and fun. I'll be recommending this book 100% to all my friends.

Lucy Young is trying, and somewhat failing, to make it through life in the mid-twenties. She is in a crappy flat share with a couple of questionable people, ends up getting in a fight with one of her best friends, and has a dubious encounter with a man from a dating app all in one night. At the end of that terrible night she finds herself in front of a wishing machines, desperately hoping for a chance to skip ahead to the good part of life. When she wakes the next day, her whole life has changed.

I found this book to be completely adorable and was unable to put it down once I started! I loved the character of Lucy and how much growth she has when she confronts the consequences of her actions. I found it to be charming and a heart warming story. I found myself laughing out loud and crying tears at the end, which all good books should do. I highly recommend to everyone, especially if you like uplifting books that involve perspective shifts and happy endings!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

I enjoyed this one. Suspend disbelief and enjoy the story. Loved the characters and at times it reminded me of Sophie Kinsella. Will definitely read more from this author.

4 ⭐️- my favorite Sophie Cousen book yet!! I loved the story line— I feel like wanting to get to the “good part” of life is something we all struggle with, so it was so easy to connect with Lucy. I loved seeing her grow closer to her kids she didn’t remember, while also realizing that life is also the journey- such a cute read, would highly highly recommend!!

At first, I was not liking this books. It felt too much like 13 going on 30. But the further I got the more I loved it and the characters. I would read more books by this Author.

4.5 stars — This is a brilliantly written women’s fiction novel disguised as a rom-com with a flair of fantasy that needs to be made into a movie ASAP!

Tired of being single and sharing a flat, waiting for her big break and scraping to barely get by, 26-year-old Lucy can’t resist taking her feelings of failure out on her closest friends who seem to easily come by all the luck, love, and success that she’s beginning to believe she’ll never share. Stumbling home from the bar, soaked in self-pity, she gambles on an old wishing machine in the back of a convenience store. What’s she got to lose? I wish to skip ahead to the good part of my life, where my life is sorted, she begs. Out pops the pressed metal — YOUR WISH IS GRANTED.

Fast forward sixteen years (the next morning), a confused 42-year-old Lucy wakes up in a plush bed, in a suburban home, with a doting husband and two adorable children. Now a big-time television network producer in a technology-driven world, sharing a life and a decade of history with a complete(ly sexy) stranger, and absolutely zero recollection of how she got here or all the years that passed literally overnight. Thrown into the deep end of a career, marriage, and motherhood Lucy has to quickly learn how to interact with people who seem to depend on her while processing the love and grief surfacing from sixteen years of hidden memories.

"Is that what life is — missing out in your twenties because you have no money, then missing out in your forties because you have no time?"

Whether you are reading this in your twenties or your forties, you will find it incredibly hard not to relate with both versions of Lucy. So, let me ask you…if given the option, do you skip the pain and stay rooted in this beautiful future hoping that your happiest memories return, our return to endure your youth and cherish its joyful moments hoping that it leads you back to this exact spot? And which does Lucy choose?

Cousens expertly weaves together humor and heartache in this story. The emotionally tender moments with her husband, Sam, and her son, Felix, shattered me in all the best ways. I wanted more!

Thank you to Penguin Putnam books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re in the mood for a thoughtful contemporary romance, you’ll love 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵. This is my first book by Sophie Cousens and I throughly enjoyed it! Part 𝘉𝘪𝘨 meets 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘯 (two favorite movies of mine), this story perfectly captures all the messy emotions of life in your 20’s.

I LOVE books with time travel elements such as Emma Straub’s 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸. When they are done well, these types of stories are so satisfying! Lucy is a young woman who wishes she had a better job, a better apartment, better luck at relationships…until one rainy evening when she stumbles into a tiny shop with a wishing machine. Suddenly, it’s 16 years into her future.

Everything Lucy had hoped for seems to have come true in her future life. She has a handsome, loving husband, two children, a beautiful home and a successful career in television production. The problem? She can’t remember any memories of her current life.

I loved how Lucy didn’t try to hide her scary and very confusing predicament from her husband or her young son. Her family and friends all try their best to help her remember the details of her present life. But even though Lucy begins to develop a loving connection with her husband Sam and with her children, she realizes this version of her life might not be the right path for her.

I couldn’t put this book down and I loved how the conclusion was not at all what I expected. This is a very touching and funny book that teaches us that everything happens for a reason. Don’t wish your life away and enjoy the present!