Lucy Young is 26 and waiting for her life to begin. She lives with four friends in a cheap apartment, so there is always something going on. But there is also always someone in the bathroom, someone else eating Lucy’s cereal, and there is never any toilet paper (although, it’s in London, so it’s loo roll). And when the upstairs neighbor’s bathroom floor leaks, water rains down onto Lucy’s bed.

She works in television, just getting a promotion to junior researcher. Lucy is excited to start her new job, but everyone at the office still relies on her to be the runner, since she was so good at it and the new guy isn’t trained yet. And when her after work drinks with friends ends badly, with Lucy alone, lacking funds for a cab, her phone dead, and having to walk home in inadequate shoes, she stumbles into a news agents just to try to catch her breath. What she finds is a wishing machine. The woman working offers her a couple of coins for the machine, and Lucy finds herself wishing her life would skip ahead, to the good part. No more job struggles, no more bad dates, no more soggy bedding. The machine told her that her wish was granted, and Lucy made her way home.

When Lucy wakes up the next morning, her bed is dry. Except that it’s not her bed. The sheets and blankets are far higher quality than she’s used to. And there is a very handsome man in the bed with her. She sneaks into the bathroom, realizing she is wearing someone else’s pajamas. But it’s when she looks in the mirror that she gets the greatest shock. It’s her face, but somehow it looks much older. As she puts the puzzle pieces together, she realizes that she has skipped 16 years into her future, and she has a husband, two kids, a house, and a powerful television job. And she doesn’t remember any of it.

Lucy tries to fake it through the first day, thinking that her memory will come back at some point, but it doesn’t. Her son Felix thinks that she is an alien and asks her to bring her real mom back. When she finally breaks down and tells her husband Sam that she can’t remember the last 16 years, he calmly schedules a doctor’s appointment for her. But all the test they run on Lucy don’t come up with a reason for her amnesia. Felix is the one who believes her. He thinks she came through a portal and that they just need to find the portal again to send her back. Then he can get his mom back. But finding that wishing machine again isn’t so easy. Lucy has to learn to live this life, as it’s the only one she has.

At first, Lucy struggles. Taking care of two kids is not easy. But as the days slip by, Lucy figures out how to set herself up for better days. She gets to know Sam and finds that she really likes him. And since she has no memory of their hard times, she brings a lightness to the relationship that had been missing for a while. And while Lucy finds herself falling in love with her husband and kids, she can’t help but feel like she missed out on something, skipping all those years. She missed meeting her husband in a karaoke bar, their first kiss, their first fight. She missed out on their wedding, on being pregnant, on the birth of their children. She wants those years back. But as the days in her future tick by, is that portal to her past slowing closing?

The Good Part is a romance about how much sweeter the good days in life are when you’ve made it through dark days. It’s about how love can survive anything thrown at it, if the people involved want it to enough. It’s about learning to live each day to its fullest, not knowing what the future will bring.

This is a classic rom com combined with Big, or any of a half dozen other time traveling films. It’s a little obvious how it will all turn out, but the journey to get there is very sweet. The relationship that Lucy develops with Felix is utterly adorable, and there are several big surprises along the way. I listened to The Good Part on audio, and I thought narrator Kerry Gilbert did an excellent job with Lucy’s confusion, with the twists, and with Sam’s Scottish accent. I really loved The Good Part. It’s a powerful reminder to celebrate life’s moments, good and bad, and not to skip anything.

Egalleys for The Good Part were provided by G.P. Putnam’s Sons through NetGalley, with many thanks, but I bought the audio book myself.

"The Good Part" by Sophie Cousens
Feel Good Magical Realism!
Genre: Magical Realism/Contemporary Romance

So, I know you are all familiar with the stereotypical struggling twenty something year old trying to find their place in the world. They have no money, so-so roommates, a lousy job, and the dating scene is not so great. Lucy Young, the MFC of The Good Part, has all of this, so when she comes across a wishing machine she wishes to "skip to the good part" of her life. Sure enough, the next day she wakes up 16 years later with a handsome husband, her dream job, and two adorable children. Everyone around her thinks she has amnesia, but she truly believes she has skipped ahead in her life because of the wishing machine. However, she also has missed out on a big portion (some good, some not so good) of her life and even if she can learn how to live this way and fill in some of the gaps, does it really have the same meaning if you haven't gone through all those other life experiences to get there? Would someone choose to miss out on all that time just to get to "the good part?" I don't know? Would you? I think that's what this book is trying to get people to think about.

I thought this book was really cute and also included a life lesson. I thoroughly enjoyed Lucy and I could definitely relate to her. Sometimes I find myself wishing away difficult parts of my life, A certain ex boyfriend who wasted my time, a bad break up, going through custody battles with kids involved, etc... but would I actually want to skip all of them??? Really, truthfully I think the answer would be, no. I think ideally I would maybe like to be able to change certain moments and maybe some people too. But I feel like you live and you learn and that's how you grow to become the person that you are supposed to be. I loved all the characters in this book. Her kids were hilarious (her oldest was convinced she was abducted by aliens or came through a portal)! Haha. That's just hilarious to me. Her friends were amazing and very supportive of her. Even her parents and co-workers were all very interesting. And I loved seeing Lucy find herself and reconnect and rekindle the love with her husband she couldn't remember - it definitely had that rom-com movie feel that I love so much. I'm a sucker for a rom-com always! Is the story kind of predictable where you probably know how it's going to turn out, Maybe, but it just all makes you feel so good! It was like reading a Hallmark movie! Those movies are always so predictable but they make you feel good. They are heartwarming stories. So if you enjoy those you will definitely enjoy this book! Thank you to Netgalley, the Publisher and Sophie Cousens for allowing me to read/review this ARC. All my opinions are my own. Happy reading y'all!

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens is a captivating read that grabbed my attention from the first page and didn’t let go. I've been through my own share of twists and turns in life and found the themes of personal growth, love, and the choices we make to be especially resonant. The story unfolds in a way that feels both familiar and fresh—Cousens’ writing is warm, witty, and insightful. She draws you into Lily’s journey as she navigates a crossroads in her life. The emotional depth of the characters and their relationships kept me thinking long after I closed the book. I felt connected to Lily’s internal struggles, and it was one of those rare books that left me reflecting on what truly matters in life. There was a nice mix of lighthearted moments and deeper insights. This book reminded me of why I love to read—it felt like a friend I didn’t want to say goodbye to. I’m already looking forward to more from this author!

Loved this — it was like comfort food. Both light and happy and so touching, with a plot I couldn’t stop plowing through — despite wanting to savor the story — as I was dying to know the main character’s decision.

Loved this book! Sophie Counsens is so talented, and always comes up with fresh stories.

I normally read romance with so much more spice, but I didn't even miss it with this book. I definitely felt the Y2K movie vibes from this book. I loved the time travel piece that kept me guessing. Super cute book with a great ending.

If I'm being honest, I had my reservations about this book. The plot sounded super interesting, but I was worried it could be executed poorly. Thankfully, this book was well written - even if the ending was a bit rushed - and I truly enjoyed it.

I wish that the ending had been fleshed out more - especially from an epilogue standpoint - but maybe that's just me being greedy as a reader. I will say that I was expecting more romance; I wasn't disappointed, necessarily, but it just wasn't what I was expecting.

All in all - and I'm sorry this review isn't more fleshed out - I think this book is a solid read for anyone looking for a feel-good story with all the feels.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Sophie Cousens for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for this free reader in exchange for an honest review. I simply adored this book! I regret waiting so long to read it and keeping it on my shelf for so long. Very much in the vein of Freaky Friday, 13 going on 30, this book follows a similar story. What resonated more with me wasn't just choices made or not, but this time the main character is fully immersed in a lovely family so the going back was harder to imagine. It was well written and just a darling book.

That's a funny, romcom book. I enjoyed the main female lead the most. I enjoy the plot and how the character kind of made it awkward but hilarious. I found that the main guy fit the female perfectly, but also included stuff where they need to work on. The storyline was both entertaining and hilarious.

Lovedddddd this book. I don’t know why I waited so long. I definitely plan to read more from this author. This was a sweet fun read for me.

Sophie Cousens is one of my favorite authors. This book was delightful. I loved the magical realism element and the thought-provoking question about what "the good part" of life really means. Lucy and Sam were wonderful, relatable characters that you couldn't help rooting for. Other characters, such as Felix and Lucy's group of friends, were also fleshed out and wonderful additions to a well-crafted story. I look forward to reading more of Cousens' work.

Stayed up to read this book. I feel it was well written even though the ending was not how I would have wanted it to end. I laughed and some parts tore my heart. The wishing machine was unexpected but I guess that’s what made the story.. I look forward to to reading more books by this author.

Lucy Young makes a wish to skip to the good part.... but was it worth it? Lucy wakes up with a husband, kids and a powerful job. Its everything she's ever wanted but there's so much to the journey that she starts to wonder if it was worth it to skip ahead. This book really makes you think. What would you do in this situation.. what would you wish for. It's a new twist on time travel and I loved it. I liked all the details the author gave to Lucy's everyday life. If you skipped ahead, its not just the big moments you'd miss but the small ones too.

This was an enjoyable and easy read that was actually more thought provoking than I expected. I really loved that while this is considered a romance the other relationships were very front and center and because such integral parts of the story. At first I didn’t know how I felt about the ending but after sitting with it I do think it was done really well.

A sweet story for anyone who has ever struggled to launch their career or love life. This one will give you hope for the future. Loved the friendships and the dynamics between the characters in this one - and some were quite hilarious!

This was such a fun book! A refreshing concept and very well done. I actually believed she just had memory loss until the end. Some emotional parts really leveled out the humor/unseriousness of our FMC in other places.

The epilogue really wrapped up the story beautifully- I was heartbroken to think Sam and Felix and Amy may not even exist after she went back. I know we don’t truly know, but I have to imagine all is well in the end.

One of the most interesting / unique stories I read this year. I would absolutely read more by this author in the future.

I loved this book, probably because The Family Man is one of my favorite movies & this is similar. Relatable characters. The author is hit or miss for me and I’ve already recommended this book to a lot of different friends!

I have read a couple of books with this time travel trope and it is always hard to wrap my head around how this could work. I wanted to just believe she had amnesia and her memories would come back but this is one of those time traveling books, so if that isn't for you then I'd skip this one. We do get some memories from her past but most of it is her getting to know her husband while also trying to figure out how she could get back.

The ending had me feeling two different ways. I don't want to give that away too much but I felt indifferent. I would have a hard time with her decision but I can understand it. I do love the epilogue though!

3.5⭐

I don’t know why i waited so long to read it. It was an interesting time jump but not my favorite ever.

I will be recommending The Good Part to all of my friends. I loved the relatable characters, story line, and the touch of magical realism. It was a super quick read, and I can’t wait for the next book from Sophie Cousens.

Thank you to Sophie Cousens, Penguin Group, Putnam, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

All I could think while reading this book was wow this author must have also grown up on late 80’s and 90’s movies because this instantly screamed reminiscence of Big (zoltar speaks iykyk) which coincidentally is one of my favorite movies. Also peeped a moment that reminded me of the pottery scene in Ghost so yeah, loved that. Only to get to the acknowledgements at the end to find this seemed to indeed be the case. (TYSM FOR THIS NOSTALGIA TRIP SOPHIE!!)

If you were presented with your life at its best and could skip everything in between, would you? Would you risk losing time with those you love and the path you took to get there?

I really wish that I didn’t wait so long to pick this book up. I laughed. I cried. And all the way up to the very end I really didn’t know how it was going to end, or really, which way I wanted it to end. This book exceeded my expectations by a long shot. It definitely was a lot different than I expected but I loved it. There are so many valuable things that can be pulled from Lucy’s journey and I loved every minute of it.

Highly recommend picking this up if you’re looking for a slightly nostalgic magical realism book this fall.