An enormous thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and of course, Sophie Cousens for providing me with an eARC of this novel. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own.

Wow. I absolutely ADORED this book. It was so emotionally beautiful, I cried multiple times while reading.

The characters were phenomenal, I loved Lucy and she was so relatable. Who hasn’t had the urge to just skip a chunk of your life or get to a moment where you feel more together in your life?

The journey in this book was wonderful and I loved all of the side characters way too much. Felix, Sam, all of her coworkers. I was so torn through so much of this book.

The ending was even better than I could’ve hoped for, it left me tearing up and so hopeful for Lucy and her life. I adored this book and will forever read anything Cousens comes out with!

Thank you to Penguin Group PUTNAM for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sophie Cousens has done it again. The magical realism element in this story is absolutely beautiful. In the acknowledgement Sophie mentioned that one of the movies that inspired this book was 13 Going on 30. One of my favorite parts of that movie is how genuine Jenna's emotions feel throughout, and the same is absolutely true for Lucy. Also, this is one of the first books with children that I've read where I LOVE the children. So that's a win! Also, I think I like Sophie's version of the future. I definitely like her version of a love story.

Reading The Good Part is like slipping into a perfectly-prepared bath: every bit as comforting and delightful as you hoped. Actually, it's like slipping into a perfectly-prepared bath and then someone unexpectedly brings you a tray with a great book and your favorite snack.

Having read some of Cousens' other books, I was expecting The Good Part to feature a thoughtful, angsty heroine and a few unlikely coincidences. We get those, but The Good Part feels more substantial than the average rom com. Most of it takes place in the main character, Lucy's, future life as an executive, wife, and mother, and she's dealing with problems beyond the happily-ever-after: maintaining a marriage, balancing work and motherhood, and living a life filled with the joys and sorrows that accrue to us all eventually but that, at 26, she has not anticipated.

And it's so well done! Lucy struggles, but not in a cringe-y way. The plot is wonderfully full, with attention devoted to Lucy's friendships, career, parents, children, and husband - all of which hinges on her personal evolution in a way that kept me really wondering what her happy ending would look like - and the ending itself is satisfying. A delightful read.

cw: child loss (off page)

REVIEW
cw: death, memory loss, grief, anxiety, mention of cheating 
Lucy Young is a struggling junior TV researcher living in a chaotic flatshare and barely able to afford to eat. After a disastrous night out, she makes a wish to skip ahead to the good part: financial and job security and a long-term relationship. When she wakes up, she's skipped ahead sixteen years. 
I really loved this book! It started off a bit like '13 Going On 30', except it was 26 going on 42, and consequently, with much more emotional and physical baggage. The moments straight after she first woke up were absolutely hilarious. I could vividly imagine them like watching a movie. I won't spoil the life she wakes up to, but it was full of amazing characters, so much warmth, but also incredibly hard losses. I laughed and sobbed in equal measure. I really loved Lucy, and her relationships with Felix and Sam were the highlights of this book for me. Felix's astute questions and Sam's gentle, patient, and caregiving were truly wonderful. I also loved Leonard. The final few chapters had me sobbing uncontrollably, both sad and happy tears. Seriously, I needed to rehydrate! I really, really hope someone makes this into a movie because it was such an incredibly poignant but also often hilarious look at life.
A truly magical and inspirational romance.  

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥
Emotional Rating: 🙈💓🙄💓😒🙈💓😂🙈💓😂😊😬🤦🏻‍♀️😂💓🥰😂💓💔😢💔💓👏🏻😒😬🙈💓😬💓😍💓💔🙈💓🙈😂🙈😂💓😢💔🙈😢💔😢💓🥰💓😂💓😬😢💓😂🙈🥰💓🤔😊👏🏻🥰💓🥰💓😢💔💓😊🙈💓😭🥰💓🙈😬💓👏🏻💓🥰👏🏻😂🥰😭💓😢💓😭💓👏🏻🥰


*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review. The Good Part is published on 5th October in the UK*
Favourite Quotes:

"...maybe bones need to be broken for you to suck out the marrow of life. We are lucky, we are here , when others are not. I wear the gray in my hair as a badge of honor, the privilege of aging.”

“There’s not a room you could be in and not add value,”

"... Maybe there aren’t any shortcuts in life. Maybe you have to live it all, because it makes you who you are.”

This was a sweet, quick and easy read but it still managed to feel a little flat for me. I struggled to find a connection with Lucy and at times found her behavior quite selfish. Sam and Felix and a couple of Lucy's close friends were quite enjoyable characters. Overall, The Good Part may not be a favorite rom com of mine, but I'm still glad I was the given the opportunity to read it as an ARC.

This is EXACTLY the kind of fun story I needed. I loved the inner thoughts Lucy has right after realizing her wish worked. I love that she has a hottie-hot hubby right after that terrible Dale encounter 😏 By chapter 7 I knew I was going to love this one & it was going to become one of my favorites!
This book made me feel things D E E P L Y. I loved the ending; I don’t think anything felt ‘missing’ & it just has you wishing for the very freaking best. Lucy and Felix have the best relationship; I love how truthful and outspoken Felix is. They just have so much FUN. I will forever recommend this book to others & cannot wait for it to come out because I KNOW people are going to love it.

I also have a harder time enjoying books with England verbiage (loo, pot, nappy etc) which this book has a lot of.

Gotta give it to Cousens for providing us with an absolutely hilarious love story. I love when a book makes me laugh out loud. Loved the idea of time travel and the realistic way it was portrayed. Just gave the story a perspective we could respect and embrace. It moved from fairytale to real life and that’s why I enjoyed it so much!

Sophie wishes to skip to the good part of her life, but is there ever a truly “good part?”

This was so much better than I expected. I’m not a huge fan of time travel, but this was laugh out loud funny and ugly cry emotional.

There were a couple of parts that went over my head as a non-Brit—but that could just be me. This was my first time reading a novel by Sophie Cousens, but it definitely will not be my last! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced reading copy.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest.

This was such a great read! Don't hesitate to pick it up. I loved the growth.

When Lucy despairs over the state of her personal and professional lives, she wishes for the fast track to “the good part” of her life. Her wish is granted and she finds herself in the midst of her future life—one with a husband and kids and a job, about all of which she knows nothing at all. There’s humor and food for thought as Lucy works through what it means to experience the different phases of her life. The Good Part is so many things—funny, thoughtful, insightful and heartwarming. Recommended!

3.5 Magical Stars. The Good Part tells a story about a woman who is unsatisfied with her life and wants to skip to the good part. She wakes up 16 years in the future married with two kids and has the job of her dreams.

This book made me think of the movie 13 ongoing on 30. So if you liked that movie, you will love this book plot. I thought this book was a cute and funny rom-com. I will definitely check out more work from this author.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Lucy wishes that she could just skip to the good part of her life, and the next day wakes up in her body 16 years later. She's married, has 2 kids, and has her dream job, but then has to ask herself - did I miss the good part?

I loved getting to see her fall in love with Sam in her new life and I loved seeing her build a relationship with Felix.

While the book is definitely a story that has been told before, I didn't hate it. I was also so invested with her and Sam that I just wanted her to stay 16 years in the future to ensure that she got to stay with him & with Felix!!

Overall- it was just okay for me in the end.

Thank you to Netgalley & Putnam books for my copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced.

This was a laugh out loud, swoony romance that kept me thoroughly entertained. What a fun and heartfelt read.

So much fun for fans of Freaky Friday, 13 Going on 30, 17 Again. Just a delight.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A fun return for Sophie Cousens with The Good Part. Who hasn't wished they could skip over the hard parts of their life and jump to the good part? But does good necessarily mean easy? Not exactly for Lucy Young. This book gives "13 Going on 30" vibes with a deeply emotional look at happiness. I'm usually not a fan of this plot-style but admit I truly enjoyed it and do recommend to readers. My only criticism is the unrealistic evolution of technology and the Jetson's era that happened in only 16 years.

Quick and fun read!

The Good Part tells the story of a woman in her mid 20’s that’s ready to skip ahead to the “good part” of her life. When she wakes up 16 years in the future she struggles to get her bearings.

This was a very interesting book premise. I thought it was well written and the characters were enjoyable. Sophie Cousens captured the gut sinking feelings that come with aging, parenthood, marriage and friendship.

The last 3rd of the book felt really rushed and the resolution was a bit underdeveloped. I recommend this to readers that enjoy suspending belief and touch of mysticism in their stories.

Another heartfelt story from Sophie Cousens that will have readers feeling sentimental and reflective on staying present in their lives as they live them. I could so deeply relate to Lucy's feelings of wanting to get to the "good part" of life. Through a series of...interesting events, Lucy gets what so many have dreamed about– a glimpse into what her life will look like in 16 years. Watching Lucy navigate motherhood and her dream job (with no memory of how she got there) is comical, if not a bit stressful at points. As she grows closer to the family she can't remember, you almost root for Lucy to stay in her future life, and not risk history changing its course. However, Cousens reminds readers that in order to get to the "good part", you have to embrace the messiness that only being an adult trying to find their way can provide.

•The Good Part 🕰️•

📚Genre: rom-com
🤔Rating: 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺(5/5)
#️⃣ of pages: 368
👯‍♀️ read if you like: 13 Going on 30, Freaky Friday, “Maybe in Another Life”, magical realism, time travel
🗓️Publishing Date: November 7, 2023

👍🏼:
•I love time traveling books! Enjoyed watching Sam and Lucy’s love story play out in reverse
•just love this trope in general
•easy to read & fly through

👎🏼:
•nothing negative! At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to love the ending, but it ended up even better than I could have expected!

Overall…
Not me with another 5 star rom-com 😨😱 let me just say….I LOVED this book. I am a huge fan of Sophie c & have read everything she’s written, but this is my new favorite. I felt all the emotions, was pulling for the characters & felt satisfied at the end. This book made me laugh, smile and cry. It was such a refreshing change of pace and is just a feel good book. I think I’ll buy a physical copy when it’s released and read it again…that’s how much I loved it!
Be careful what you wish for….. like Skipping to the “good part” 🫶🏼10000/10 recommend.

Special thanks to NetGalley for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review!

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Lucy at 26 is struggling in both her career and personal life and after a really bad day and night ends up wishing on a wishing machine (think the movie BIG) that she could just skip to the good part of her life, when she has everything together.

Next thing she knows she wakes up next to a handsome sweet man, has 2 children, and discovers she has lost 16 years. Although the concept of this book is familiar I loved the way this story is told. Watching Lucy get to know her husband again, and his response to his new younger acting wife is adorable and gives us some life lessons as well, and Lucys relationship with her 7 year old son just makes the book. I found something to love about all the characters in this lovely story and it is now my favorite Sophie Cousens story.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Is life ever sorted? Is there a “good part” or are they all “good parts”?

This book was so incredibly cute and funny. I think this would make SUCH a cute movie (I pictured a Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones type as the main character). Please- to the powers that be- make this into a movie!

This book was also unexpectedly sad but heartwarming. I loved how the power of friendships and how important family is came through in this book, too. I could tell the author must have children of her own, because just describing being a mother was so spot on. (And how people without kids act, too.) The trials and tribulations of being a mother of young children will make you feel so seen if you’re in the same boat.

While the main character wishes to skip to the “good part” of her life, when everything is “sorted”, it’s more about her learning if there ever really is a time that’s true, and if it is worth it to miss 16 years of your life to get there. I loved the messages that no one’s life is ever perfect at any time, and just because things were seemingly great at the moment doesn’t mean bad things never happened in the past. It made me question if I were to ever go through heartbreaking loss- is it better to not remember it, or does that loss make up a part of who you are? Do the “not good parts” of your life make up a fundamental part of you?

📖 Read if 📖 :
✔️ You loved “13 going on 30”
✔️ You love heartwarming and laugh-out-loud stories
✔️ You’re a mother (new or inexperienced) of younger children (any age children really)
✔️ You want a reminder to be grateful of everything that’s happened in your life- good and bad

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first Sophie Cousens book… but it definitely won’t be my last! Lucy, who seems to be hitting every pot hole in the road & tied to back luck..suddenly finds herself in another predicament after a morning full of eating pastries out of the trash bin & a online date gone wrong. That’s when she finds a wish machine & wishes for the part of life that doesn’t seem so sticky. Next thing she knows, she is met with a sense of reality that makes no sense at all.
This book is quirky, funny, and downright precious!!!
Thank you to Penguin Group & NetGalley for a copy of this book for my honest opinion.
One of my top reads of 2023