Lucy Young is twenty-six and tired. Tired of fetching coffees for senior TV producers, sick of going on disastrous dates, and done with living in a damp flat with roommates who never buy toilet paper. When Lucy stumbles upon a wishing machine after one particularly painful night she thinks nothing of it and makes a wish. Let me skip to the good part of my life. When she wakes the next morning to a handsome man, a ring on her finger, a high-powered job, and two storybook-perfect children, Lucy can’t believe this is real—especially when she looks in the mirror, and staring back is her own forty-something face. Has she really skipped ahead like she’s always wanted, or has she simply forgotten a huge chunk of her life? As Lucy begins to embrace new relationships and the perks of maturity, she’ll have to ask herself: Can she go back to her previous life, and if so, can she stand to leave the good part behind?

Wow did I love this book! I think it's Sophie Cousens best work by far! I stayed up way too late to finish it and then it left me in all the feels. I can relate to Lucy so hard. I may not be in my 20's anymore, but I do often ask myself when the good stuff is going to happen. When am I going to fall in love? When am I gonna FEEL like an adult. Am I ever going to feel financially secure? Lucy was such a hilarious main character trying to navigate the future. I loved how Cousens integrated futuristic life choices into the book. Sam was such a swoon-worthy husband and the secondary characters overall were so perfect. I mean Felix, her son, *Chefs Kiss* Hilarious! There was also some serious undertones in this book which tugged at my heartstrings. I even cried. You will be flipping through the pages wanting to know which life Lucy ends up in permanently!

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 11/7!

The Good Part is simultaneously stressful, funny and swoony. Seems like a lot, right? Lucy is a hot mess 26 year old who, on the worst of bad days, wishes to skip to "the good part". When she wakes up, Big style, 16 years later, she has to figure her life out all over again. I was so nervous about her skip. I loved her family and her life. I was so invested.

I binged on a rainy morning partly out of anxiousness for what would happen and largely because I needed to know. Cousens is brilliant and I am so thankful that we get to read her books.

Great book - I feel as if I have read this type of situation or watched it via movies but Sophie Cousens does a good job making it her own. It's a fun read with a bit of the magic era. I would recommend to fans of her previous books. I will read books from Sophie again for sure! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fans of movies like Tom Hanks Big or 13 going on 30 will find this plot very familiar. Twenty six year old Lucy is fed up with her life and wishes to Skip To The Good Part and wakes up 16 years later…

Can you love the life you have if you can’t remember how you got it?

The side characters were my favorite part of this story, especially little Felix. Her husband, Sam, also stood out as a likable character. I think Lucy’s reaction to her 42 year old body was over the top and her maternal skills were trauma inducing. Changing a diaper should be a breeze for someone who handled a tub full of cow bones with aplomb.

UM?! This book was so good like wow I could cry. I can’t even gather all my thoughts together properly because I’m so emotional and thinking too much about life and that scene in The Office when Andy is like “I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” Like 😭 that’s the theme of this book and it’s so freaking GOOD and emotional and will make you think and appreciate the world and your own life so much.

Gonna be a top read of the year for me!!

As a big 13 going on 30 fan, I adored this! It was so good as a more mature version of that same plot line. And as someone in their mid 40s I can attest to being smack dab in the GOOD PART. One of my favorites by Cousens!

This Time Next Year was one of my favorite books and I was so excited to receive an ARC of The Good Part! This was a feel good British 13 going on 30/Freaky Friday situation that did NOT disappoint. With this type of story the main character always has a hard time adjusting to the new life they are given but this sweet story reminds us all to appreciate what we have and that no decision is ever easy.

This was such an enjoyable read and was a delight! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

The Good Part was the book I needed to read in my twenties! This book was so good and had such a great message about not rushing through the hard parts. Lucy is 26 and frustrated with her life feels like her job is going nowhere and she's been on too many bad dates to count. Her friends are all progressing in ways she isn't yet and is afraid of being left behind. One night she stumbles into a store after a night out with friends and uses a wishing machine asking it to skip her ahead to the "good part" of her life when she's met who she's supposed to be with and her career is figured out. The next day she wakes up 16 years in the future married with 2 kids and running her own company with no memories of how her life got there. Of course nothing is as settled as it seems and while she likes the life she's found herself in she's realizing that missing the journey to get there takes away from the enjoyment and it just doesn't feel like her life. She has to decide if she wants to find a way back or stay where she is with the life she always wanted. I enjoy Sophie Cousens's writing so much and really loved this book and was really close to giving it a 5 star review but just a few small things prevented me from doing that. I would for sure recommend this book and will continue to read whatever she writes. I want to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

📚📚Book Review📚📚

> The Good Part by Sophie Cousens is absolute perfection. I read this book a while ago, but did not want to do a review until closer to its publication date (November 7,2023). I love, love, love this book. All of it- I love Lucy, her husband, her friends, and her child. I love how sweet, funny, relatable, and charming the story was. I love the unique take on Big, Thirteen Going on Thirty, Freaky Friday, 17 Again and the like. I even loved the heartbreaking choice Lucy had to make toward the end of the book, which absolutely gutted me. Buy this book (or add it to your library holds!) and read it. You won’t regret it. This is absolutely one of my favorite books this year!!

The highest compliment I can give a book is that it was there when I needed it. The Good Part was the exact book I needed at the exact moment I needed it ❤️ It was such a wonderful reminder about life & what “the good part” really is… I am not ashamed to say that I was openly weeping at my son’s soccer practice as I finished it earlier this evening. It is entertaining, fun, & like all of Sophie Cousens’ books, the secondary characters burst off the page. All of that, and it was deeply meaningful & moving. This one has secured a spot on my top books of the year for sure. Thank you @putnambooks for allowing me to read an ARC!

Lucy Young is a 26-year old woman who feels frustrated with her life. She is tired of her job. She is sick of going on bad dates. She is fed up with living with roommates who cannot buy basic supplies!

Lucy goes on another disastrous date. She passes a wishing machine. Lucy inserts a coin and wishes to "skip to the good part of my life."

When she wakes up, she is next to a handsome man. She is married. She has a successful career. She has two children.

When she looks in the mirror, Lucy is 40 years old! She cannot believe she has skipped through all of these years.

After navigating new relationships and life, Lucy needs to decide if she wants to return to being 26 or staying at 40.

This was an enjoyable, heartwarming book. Although I do not like time travel books, we all wonder about the what-ifs.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my review.

This was a cute book. It’s about a girl that’s just having it rough with dating and life is just kicking her ass you know? She comes across a wish machine and wishes to skip to the good part. And she does. But she has to figure out how to get back or if she even wants to go back. It made me laugh and was cute little romcom

Thank you, GP Putnam Sons and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of The Good Part.

This was my first Sophie Cousens novel, but I'll definitely be reading more! All of the parts of The Good Part were good. It gave me total Big (1988 Tom Hanks film - gee, I'm showing my age, although I was just a little tike at the time!) vibes. I was rooting for our MC, Lucy, to get everything she wanted and more. I was rooting for her future family to keep the mom and wife that had just landed in their world. I was rooting for Lucy to stay in this future of hers, but at the same time, I was rooting for Lucy to find her way back to being 26 so she could live through all the incredible moments that she fast-forwarded through. The Good Part is the feel-good novel of the season that needs to be in everyone's shopping cart.

Lucy Young is 26 and not living her best life. She has a job with potential growth as a production runner, a room in an apartment that leaks, an always empty toilet paper roll, and no joy in the romance department. After a horrifyingly disastrous date, Lucy finds herself taking shelter from the rain at a newsstand shop. When making a wish to skip to the good part of her life in a wishing machine at the newsstand, Lucy awakens next to a super hot man in a luxurious house. Confusion sets in when he asks her to step in and take care of their kids until the nanny gets there. Lucy eventually tells those closest to her what has happened and is faced with the option of returning to 26 or staying in the good part. I think she makes the right decision as difficult as it may have been. I hope you pick this novel up and get all the same feelings that it made me feel. I didn't want this one to end.

"The Good Part" by Sophie Cousens is a delightful and heartwarming romantic novel that earns a solid four-star rating. This book combines humor, emotion, and charming characters to create an engaging and enjoyable reading experience. If you're a fan of contemporary romance with a touch of humor and a lot of heart, this book is definitely worth a read. It's a solid four-star recommendation for those looking for a feel-good and enjoyable story.

Thank you to NetGalley for introducing me to Sophie Cousens and for the opportunity to read The Good Part.

I am so intriqued by time travel and love reading books with this premise. So, needless to say I have read many books that deal with the concept and I loved the way Cousens handled it. I found Lucy, the main character, to be very relatable as a twenty-something woman, tired of the struggles of her life. When she wishes to skip to the good part, she is transported into her life 16 years later, in a beautiful house, with a handsome, loving husband and two small children. As she settles into this life she learns that she has succeed professionally and has maintained relationships with her best friends. However, she does learn of a couple of very sad things that happened in her life, and I think these were handled beautifully.

I loved seeing Lucy fall in love with her husband all over again and learning how to be a parent. Her relationship with her son, Felix, was endearing and funny. Additionally, Lucy's relationship with her friends and co-workers were all very well portrayed and I absolutely loved the ending!

Because time travel is such a foreign concept it's hard to read about it without thinking "but what if" or "that wouldn't happen". Putting all of that aside, the book was enjoyable, hilarious and heartwarming. I will definitely read another book by this author!

#thegoodpart by @sophie_cousens
This books dedication is “To my 26 year old self. Hang in there, hun”
This book is about 26 year old Lucy just trying to get ahead with her life, job and living situation. Her friends are finding their place in the world and she feels frustrated and let down by how things are going.
After a particularly “par the course” night for her, she finds an arcade game to make a wish. She wishes to be at “the good part” of her life. Just like movies that have these wishes to be “big” or “older”, Lucy wakes up 16 years in the future.
Does she choose to stay, or will she be able to go back and continue from 26 forward? Read and find out.
I was lucky to get this advanced copy from @netgalley . I really enjoyed it and look forward to getting to other books written by the author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this book! Solid 4.5 stars. I loved the storyline of jumping from mid-twenties to early forties, with a husband and 2 kids. I could picture myself in her position, and I loved reading about her adapting to parenthood. I had no idea how it would all resolve, and I was pleased with the ending.

I don’t even know how to fully process this book yet! It got me thinking so much and took me on such a journey with the main character, Lucy. It made me actually laugh out loud along with tear up! I didn’t like Lucy at the beginning, but by the end I was rooting for her and couldn’t stand the thought she might not end up happily ever after! Everyone needs to read this book! Big lessons for all to learn!

"can we skip to the good part!" overall, this was a cute and sweet story. it had very likeable characters, I loved their friendships. It was a fairly quick read as well, easily can be read in one sitting.

Thanks to NetGalley, G.P.Putnam’s Sons and Sophie Cousens for the ARC copy of the book.

Lucy is a 26 year old barely scraping by in her career and work life, and she's ready to skip ahead...to the good part. She gets that wish granted when she stumbles upon a wishing machine that pushes her 16 years into the future.

I loved the premise of this book, how many of us wish we could skip through the tough parts and see the part where it gets really good? I really enjoyed the dynamic between Felix and Lucy as she is learning to navigate through this new life. I also enjoyed the complexity of Sam's character and his conflicting feelings for Lucy.
I struggled with the ending, I see why it ended the way that it did, but I did find myself racing through the last chapters to find out Lucy's decision only to be a bit disappointed.

Overall, I would recommend this book, especially if you're a fan of time-travel and magical realism.