If you could magically skip ahead to the good part of your life, would you? Would you bypass the messiness we all have to go through to get there?

This is the question posited by Sophie Cousens’ newest book The Good Part. Lucy is 26 years old and full of creative ideas, working for a TV production studio where none of them are asked for or appreciated. Her best friend and roommate Zoya has just told her that she’s planning to move out of their rather sad London flatshare in search of greener pastures, and Lucy’s latest disastrous date has only furthered her belief that there aren’t any good guys out there to find.

Disillusioned and a little bit drunk one night, she escapes the rain and enters a small shop where a mysterious kindly old woman with a Scottish lilt sees Lucy eyeing the arcade style wishing machine at the back. Seeing Lucy’s state of discouragement, she offers her the penny and ten-pence piece she needs to make a wish.

Lucy’s wish? I wish I could skip to the good part, where my life is sorted. There’s a bit more to her wish, but that’s the gist. A few clinks of the machine and one pressed coin later that says YOUR WISH IS GRANTED, and Lucy wakes up to a whole new life - only she’s bypassed sixteen years of it!

I don’t want to say too much about the new life she wakes up to and the havoc it wreaks for her and those around her to be missing sixteen years of memories, but I will say that it’s a fun, bittersweet and fascinating journey to experience with her! The most touching and sweet parts are watching her learn to interact with and fall in love with a husband and children she’s never known. I particularly adored her relationship with her son, Felix, whose lines are some of the best in the book, but her relationship with her husband Sam stole my heart too!

So here’s the conundrum, if one is inclined to be philosophical for a moment: you’ve now seen “the good part” you wanted. Do you give up the sixteen years you missed and continue in this new reality, hoping the memories you’ve missed come back, or do you go back and live the life you’ve missed, hoping it leads you back to this same place?

My honest answer: I have no idea. I’m just glad I don’t have to make that decision! What does Lucy choose? You’ll have to read and find out - I can only say it’s worth it to do so! My one and only minor complaint is that I feel a little conflicted about the ending, but it was still good.

I adore Sophie Cousens’ writing, and this story embodies everything I love about it. There’s warmth and humor, but there are also moments of true melancholy, and I appreciate that I can experience a whole range of emotions in her books.

The author’s note mentions the classic movies Big, The Family Man, 13 Going on 30, and Freaky Friday as inspirations for this book, and while you’ll certainly find the time switch elements of those, this is a story whose charms stand solely on their own. I highly recommend it!

★★★★ ½

I really enjoyed this book! I read it in one sitting. I connected with the characters and was cheering them on. I would definitely recommend this book!

I loved everything about this book. Truly, everything. It made me cry at multiple points and I loved that it was a romance but it was also focused on friendships and how important every moment of life is. As someone who is sometimes wishing she could get to the "good parts" of life, this was a really important reminder that every moment can be the good part.

I felt that this was very relatable, and I loved the way that Lucy reacted to the sudden changes in her life, because it felt realistic. Who wouldn't freak out if they suddenly went from 26 to 42 and didn't recognize their life? I know I would.

I loved Sam as her romantic partner, and how it was obvious they loved each other even through the hard times. Everyone needs a Sam in their lives.

Everyone should give this book a try, even if you aren't a fan of the time travel trope. I think this one nails it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Group for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

♡ 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨 ♡
•felix and amy
•mr. finkley
•alien mummy
•the opposites
•croissants
•the mom with the baby and toddler 🥹
•“said the actress to the bishop”

“𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙪𝙥 𝙤𝙣, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚. 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚.”

this book!! i loved it so much!! all of the nostalgia with the feels from movies like 13 going on 30, big, and freaky friday! if you enjoyed those movies, you’ll probably enjoy this!!

lucy going from 26 to 42 was hilarious!! i’d probably freak out a bit too especially going from pre-kid body to mom body. being a mom, this was totally relatable. i thought her reactions were completely realistic especially as she had no memories at all. i loved her navigation through motherhood and marriage.

the romance was super sweet — like your favorite blanket that is always there for you. but the star of this book for me was the lucy/felix relationship. the banter between mother and son was hilarious. felix’s understanding of his mom’s situation absolutely warmed my heart. our children know us so well!!

i loved the ending and i think it was necessary for lucy’s journey. i can’t say anything more without spoiling it, so if you’ve read this book and want my thoughts on the ending, feel free to message me. i cannot wait to see what amazing story sophie brings us next.

romance: fade to black

thank you to putnam for an advanced copy. my thoughts are my own.

I’m a huge fan of the time travel trope/road not taken trope and magical realism, so I just knew I’d enjoy this one! This had so many funny moments, and I found myself laughing out loud. It was also heartwarming as well. I loved Lucy’s and Felix’s discussions, and Sam was the perfect husband!

If you loved the movie 13 Going on 30, you will love this book!!

Sophie Cousens just does not disappoint!

Lucy Young is 26 years old and absolutely tired of the mess that is her life. She's got big dreams of success and love and fabulous ankle boots, but she's stuck in an endless loop of fetching coffee for a boss that won't give her the time of day, dreadful dates with dreadful men, and barely scraping by in a flatshare. After a particularly tough night, she finds herself in a strange corner shop with an antique wishing machine. She wishes to skip to "the good part" of her life and wakes up sixteen years later to find herself married to a man she doesn't recognize and mother to two adorable and terrifying children. She has all the success and wealth that she dreamed of, but she just wants to go back to her youth. Or does she? It's complicated.

This is the second novel that I've read by this author, and I find her books simply delightful. Her sense of humor, in particular, resonates with me and has me giggling all the way through. This book has a lot of heart and tugs on your emotions with poignant moments of friendship, romance, parenthood, and simply trying to navigate life. I had a few tears welling up here and there! I was never bored, and I had a blast reading The Good Part.

Sophie Cousens manages to blend humor, adventure, and the extraordinary ordinariness of human life into a gem of a book that'll have you laughing, smiling, and crying in turn. I'd happily recommend this book to lovers of time-slip stories such as 13 Going on 30 or Oona Out of Order or fans of slice-of-life dramedy.

So, I didn't read the premise or summary before starting this book and it was a completely unexpected DELIGHT of a book. I adored the plot, the characters, the humor and the emotional moments. It really made me think about the important moments in life; life isn't a highlight reel of only the good times, its the totality of all of our experiences that makes life worth living.

The writing is sharp, conversational, witty and the author kept things moving for us. I loved Lucy's relationship with her son Felix and how he helped her find her true self. I bawled at some of their scenes together (doesn't help that I have a little Felix myself!) and loved that he just thought his mum was soooo wonderful. I really liked the scenes with Lucy and Sam also; seeing them fall in love was so adorable. The only thing I wish we had were a few more of the "fleeting memories" that Lucy had to show us what may have happened during the missed 16 years. Some of the blanks were filled in, but I loved those little moments where she remembered a small detail... wish there were just a couple more.

Overall this was such a lovely book and I know it'll have a ton of fans! Thank you so much for the ARC.

The Good Part follows Lucy who is sick of her bad job, going on bad dates, and living in a crappy apartment. One day she makes a wish for a better life. She soon finds out that her wish has been granted. She wakes up in a nice house, has her dream job, is married and has two kids. Soon Lucy starts to want her old life back and will do anything to get it back.

This book was very cute. It had 13 going on 30 vibes. I do feel like this plot was super repetitive. It was also very predictable. I found myself waiting for it to end. I did enjoy it though. But I did not feel like anything about this plot was original at all. But I have read all of Sophie Cousens’s books and I will keep reading them.

3.75 ⭐️

After the disappointment that was Just Haven't Met You Yet, I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. I do think there was a bit too much of a heavy reliance on using “future technology” as a conduit for plot points, but overall the story flowed really well.

I would recommend this book.


**Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.**

What an unexpected by AMAZING read!

The Good Part opens with Lucy despairing about her living situation, love life, and job. One typical crappy night she happens into a store with a wishing machine. She wishes to skip to the good part of her life. AND IT WORKS! She wakes up next to a gorgeous older man, 2 kids, and a dream job. Theo only problem is she can't remember how it all happened.

I truly enjoyed this book. I loved all the characters. I thought the writing was easy to read and quite funny at parts, I loved loved loved Sam! I mean that man did all the right things - he's was perfect. The way the story unfolded really kept me interested the entire time.

For fans of 13 going on 30, freaky friday, click and other 90s classic movies this one is for you!

4.5 stars!

The Good Part was a beautifully executed dive into what it means to be happy. The characters were complex and relatable. Many of us have felt like Lucy, tired of feeling stuck and ready to just skip to the good part. Of course, it is what happens along the way that makes it good. Sophie Cousins has done it again. I’d recommend The Good Part to anyone looking to appreciate their life a little more, even the not so good parts.

{Book Review} The Good Part by Sophie Cousens

I’ve been a huge fan of Sophie Cousens books since I first read her book THIS TIME NEXT YEAR and I think her newest book, THE GOOD PART might equal my love for the first of hers I’ve read. Thank you @putnambooks for the review copy!

THE GOOD PART by Sophie Cousens explores a little magical realism of what it would be like to wake up 15 years in the future having skipped the struggle of finding career satisfaction as well as love. When Lucy makes a wish to skip to the good part of her life, she wakes up with everything she’s always wanted—a husband, two children, a successful career, and a beautiful home life. But she is struggling because she has no clue how she got here and if this is just a fleeting moment or fever dream.

She is also struggling because there are some facets of her past that have not found themselves in her future. I love this storyline because I feel like I am also struggling a little bit with wanting to skip to certain good parts that I hope are in my future so I thought how Cousens did this was absolutely perfect. I think she nailed Lucy’s emotional struggle and feelings of being torn on which part of her life she wants. She realizes how much of a fantastic life she has in her future but is torn with missing out on the emotions of experiencing how she got there and living those memories.

When I finished this book, I immediately wanted to restart it. I absolutely loved everything about this book; the writing, the characters, the story, her precocious son, and everything in between. I think the most adorable part was watching her get a crush on her husband that she’s had for a number of years.

I think if you are struggling or curious or in that part of your life that you want to skip to the ‘good part‘ you should absolutely read this book. It was such a beautiful exploration of life, human condition, and everything in between.

I loved this book! It was a quick, heartwarming, and funny read in the vein of 13 Going on 30. My first by Sophie Cousens - but definitely not my last. The love story was sweet but the romance wasn't the center of the story, which was refreshing. In my opinion this was much more about friendship, family, and finding yourself.

This is more touching than I expected! I also didn't expect that Sophie Cousens would touch on grief and loss and the difficulty of juggling parenting, relationships, and work (which, as a new parent, I greatly appreciated). I could have used more from the ending, but overall I found Lucy's journey worth taking.

Thank you Netgalley and PRHaudio for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!!

I love any book by Sophie, and this was no exception! The narrator made it easy to listen to at 2.0 speed. I love going into a book blind, and then coming to the part where the title makes perfect sense. This was more of a women’s fiction book than a romance, but I still loved it. I wasn’t sure how I wanted this to end, but it had the perfect ending.

Lucy is 26 years old and *over it.* She's tired of her shared flat, leaky ceiling, being the coffee girl at work, and terrible dates. After a particularly bad evening, she stumbles on a wishing machine and wishes to skip to "the good part" of her life. To her surprise, she wakes up in her 40s, married and with two kids.

I loved seeing her figure out her way through this life she wasn't prepared for with a husband and kids and a job she knew nothing about. I was really torn on how I wanted it to end. I honestly could have used more in the ending! I love a good time travel situation. For fans of This Time Tomorrow, Oona Out of Order, and The Midnight Library. I was expecting a RomCom but it was so much more!

Thank you, NetGalley, Putnam Books, and Penguin Group for the ARC in exchange for my review!

✨𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝐖✨

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬

Thanks to @putnambooks @netgalley for the e-ARC! I absolutely loved this one! 🧡

👍🏼: Lucy, a 26 year old struggling in her current career and lifestyle, wishes she could “skip to the good part” & wakes up in her “perfect life” with her dream career and family. I loved every minute of this one! I am a total sucker for time travel, magical realism & this one gave me all the 13 going on 30 and 17 again vibes (movies I adore) - there are so many lovable characters in this one and Lucy’s ride is such a heart warming and fun one. I also love the idea of appreciating your journey in life including all the highs and lows! We are often times wishing for something better in the future instead of appreciating the moments we are in 🧡

👎🏼: This trope did it for me, but I know it’s not for everyone! You definitely have to go in open-ended & enjoy the unrealistic fun!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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#thegoodpart #sophiecousens #newbookrelease #putnambooks #fivestarreview #magicalrealism #romancebookreview

The Good Part is a tender, heartwarming story, which is both funny and touching at the same time. It will pull at your heartstrings as you ponder the question, if in life you could, would you want to move past the hard work in life and jump to the good part?

Lucy Young is a struggling senior television producer who lives in a dilapidated, run-down apartment with water issues, with her best friend and other careless, inconsiderate roommates. She has no money and is barely acknowledged by her boss. She is miserable.

To make matters worse, this morning as she wakes up to a wet bed because water is pouring down into her room, she discovers on the way to work that her best friend has decided to move out offering to have her come with her and she will cover part of her rent. But Lucy is too proud to take her up on the offer. Even more depressed, she spends her day at a job in which she is so capable of but never given a chance and after work goes on a date which turns out to be an absolute disaster.

As she stumbles home, she sees an old woman standing near a machine machine. She tells her to make a wish but be careful what you wish for! Lucy thinks this is silly, but she puts the coin in the machine. Her wish? To jump ahead to the good part of her life, in which she is not struggling anymore.

The next day, she awakens in a beautiful bedroom next to the most handsome man she has ever seen. And she herself is older! In the other room, she hears a baby crying and when she gets up, she discovers a young boy. She has no idea what has happened. The only thing she can remember is putting the coin in the machine. Her past life is a mystery.

After trying to hide her secret, and her son knowing something is wrong and deciding she is an alien in his mother’s body, she confesses to her whom she now knows is her husband that she can’t remember her life. And as Lucy discovers what her life has become, she now can’t help but wonder how she became the person she is now.

As she tries to adjust to her new reality with her business partner thinking she’s going through menopause and watching her parents who have of course aged and seeing who they have become, she starts to discover pieces of her life, some good and some heartbreaking which have occurred over the years.

And as she begins to fall in love with this man and her children, she must decide…should she try and find a way back to the past? Or stay here not ever feeling the true emotions when she is told about incidents in her life which are only stories to her, with no memory of the feelings which had occurred. And if she goes back, is there a guarantee she gets the same future? Will she even remember her beautiful family?

The Good Part is wonderfully written and thought out. You will certainly laugh at the antics Lucy gets herself into, but your heart will break as you learn and she herself learns no life is ever perfect and no matter the bad, there truly are good parts all along the journey.

Thank you #NetGalley #G.P.Putnam’sSons # SophieCousens #TheGoodPart for the advanced copy.

Sophie Cousens wrote this novel in a way that pulls your heartstrings. I cried so much reading this on the subway where I was loudly sniffling, wiping tears away from my face. It was the best kind of cry. The protagonist, Lucy, went through so many grown up things within this novel: abrupt change, grief, and childcare. I have personally dealt with that in my life and to me, I really felt seen in this novel. I loved it!

We've all wondered what it would be like when we got our lives together, got to the good part, and this novel is an incredibly funny, touching impression of that exact circumstance. This really makes you think while you enjoy the story, as you imagine your own "good part" of your life, and what would you do if you found yourself there overnight?

Sophie Cousens never disappoints with a book that will make you both tear up and get goose bumps. I loved it!