I found this book to be quite draggy and boring. The story wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be, but maybe it’s not supposed to be? It also could be that this just isn’t my type of genre.

I always find Sophie Cousens’ books to have such interesting plots and I really don’t know how she does it. I kept getting further and further into the book and I genuinely did not know how I wanted Lucy’s story to play out. She basically wakes up in her future life where she seemingly has it all together with a good job and a great husband and two kids but she cannot remember the last 16 years of her life. Of course you would want to figure out how to get back but the more time she spent in that future life the more I was thinking that it wouldn’t be awful to stay there.

I always thought my 30s is when I would thrive and that the 20s are for figuring it out and this book gave me a newfound appreciation for my 20s and just living live and being fine with it not being at the “good part” yet.

Thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this! A little bit 13 Going on 30, a little bit Big. Down on her luck 26-year-old Lucy makes a wish to get to "the good part" of her life and wakes up the next morning 16 years later, married with children, and no memory of those missing years. The story was hilarious in parts, especially the first day she's alone with the kids. 7-year-old Felix is the star of the book - he was so funny and I loved the interactions between him and Lucy. The way Lucy and Sam's backstory is told in reverse was a great concept so you get to see how they fell in love, with all the heartwarming and heartbreaking moments along the way. A beautiful story, highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for all a free, advanced reader copy of this novel for reviewing purposes. WOW! Where do I even begin? I adored this book. I have read other novels by Sophie Cousens that I have enjoyed, which is what made me decide to request an ARC from NetGalley. "The Good Part" is hands down my favorite book by Cousens to date. It was one of my quickest reads of the year because it was so cute and engaging. In Cousens' own words, think "Big" and "13 Going on 30." Cousens infused so much heart into this book, it is truly a winner.

Love! Love! Love! I think all of us wonder what our life would look like in the future! This book was so much fun (and sad at times) discovering a life that wasn’t remembered. I loved all of the unique characters especially Felix!!! Five stars!!! #NetGalley #TheGoodPart

This was another wonderful read by the talented Sophie Cousens. I've read every single book of hers so far and none of them has disappointed me just yet. A contemplative, funny, and feel-good type of book. Thank you for the opportunity to be among one of the first readers of this book!

I really loved this book. It was so well thought out and the story flowed effortlessly. Experiencing with Lucy what life would be like if we were to "skip to the good part" is nothing I had thought about before but I love the direction that the author went with it. The side characters enriched the story so much and the ending was so satisfying.

There are some swear works sprinkled throughout but I didn't find it overly distracting. The intimate scenes were closed door and discreet.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book to read and review.

Lucy is 26, struggling, and tired. When she is at her wits end, she finds a wishing game and makes a wish to skip to the “good part of my life”. The next morning, she wakes up and she has everything she ever thought she wanted, but she doesn’t remember the last 16 years of her life.

As Lucy embraces the life she has, she wants to know if she can go back to her previous life, but she wonders if she can leave the good part behind.

Cartoon covers can throw me for a loop because I expect them to be light and fluffy rom coms. This was an amazing book, and I loved it, but it was not light and fluffy! I am loving time loop and time jumping books lately. I have read a few this year and have loved them all.

This book was just amazing. I knew I was in for being devastated, and this one gave me all the feels at certain points. Even though I was prepared, I still got teary eyed. This book was so beautiful and well written. I thought initially that it might be a tad over descriptive, but as I got into the story it really worked and I appreciated it.

It was so easy to relate to Lucy. I loved how at one point she was questioning how parents can even work because her daughter threw up at daycare. Yup. The struggle is real and sometimes, more often then not, carefully laid plans get thrown for a loop.

If you are looking for a heartwarming book, that will make you smile, and cry, then check this one out.

Thank you so much to G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Penguin Group, and Netgalley, @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A solid 3+ stars. For fans of Freaky Friday/13 going on 30, the main character Sophie is in the thick of her 20s- lackluster job getting coffee for those in the industry she wants to be in, having to go on crappy dates in search of someone more special, and living in a flat with less than stellar roommates, all while worrying about whether charges on her debit will go through. When she is granted a wish on an especially lackluster day, it is easy to wish to skip to "the good part" and she wakes up in her 40s with two young children.

I really enjoyed experiencing her "date" her husband Sam and fall in love all over again - a great reminder to nuture the original spark. I also loved how she developed a special relationship with her son Finn, all while having to start fresh with him (7 year olds cannot be fooled). The book captures both time periods of life well and made me realize the nostalgia for the younger decades isn't necessarily 100% warranted, there are always positives and negatives to every life stage- enjoy the one you are in! The only reason this didn't get to a 4 star review for me was the fact it felt it took a little while to get to "the good part" as it moved a little slow at times post wish.

I had some Oona Out of Order vibes - but this had less time traveling/magical realism.

If you enjoyed stories like Big or Family man you will enjoy this story too. In this story, the character Lucy decides that she wants to skip all her struggling in life and get to her good parts of living and she gets her wish from a magic machine.

However as she lives her new life she sees how her change has effected everyone else around her, including learning she has a husband and children she doesn't even remember at all. As Lucy lives this life she becomes upset that someone has to tell her what she forgot and that she feels she has short changed herself from experiencing some of the best parts of her life, so she has to decide if she wants to stay or go back, and once she goes back there is no guarentee that everything will turn out the same.

I always like these kind of stories because they show that living a different life comes with their own complications and that there is always something you give up when you make that change. In this story its missing out on important parts of your life because you don't want to go through hard times and by staying in the new life you end up giving up something precious.

I found the plot wonderful and the characters endearing especially Felix and Sam who truly loved Lucy's new life character.

I want to thank PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for an advance copy of this second chance story.

Sophie Cousens is about to be in the Library Reads HOF and it is well deserved. If you love movies like 13 Going on 30 and Sliding Doors and then The Good Part is for you. Fast read with equal helpings of fun and emotion.

WHY did I wait so long to pick this one up? I’ve had the ARC forever but for whatever reason, I didn’t pick it up. What a mistake, because this was a beautiful story and I loved every moment of it. I especially loved the message of it. It was very funny as well. I laughed out loud numerous times. Sophie Cousens has become one of my favorite writers. It was a privilege to be able to read an early copy of this book. It was excellent. It made me laugh and it made me cry. What more can I say? Read this book - you will love it too!

Sophie Cousens is on my auto buy list — I find her books to be funny, thoughtful, real, and immersive. This one is no different.

Lucy is a single 26 year old struggling in the TV industry and down on her luck. After a particularly bad day, she makes a wish to get to the good part of her life and wakes up in her early 40s with a successful career, husband and kids.

This book came at the right time for me, and spoke to the experiences that I’ve been having as a working mom. I have moments where I wish I was still younger and freer, but then realize how anxious and insecure I was during some of those times! Other times I’m grateful where I am in life because I understand myself so much better now and couldn’t have gotten here without going through some of the growing pains.

Sophie Cousens delves into Lucy’s mid-20s and early 40s in an insightful way that made me really anxious about what Lucy would choose at the end. I was invested in not only Lucy’s relationship with Sam, her husband, but also her kids and her friends.

I couldn’t put the book down! I found myself laughing, nodding, crying. Highly recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam and Sophie Cousens for the ARC.

Can we skip to the good part?

Sophie Cousens was already an auto-read author for me but the fact that she had me both laughing out loud and then crying profusely through the last 20% of this book further solidified her position on my TBR shelf forever. The author took her inspiration from some iconic 90s/00’s movies like Freaky Friday and 13 Going on 30 and came up with the best time travel novel I’ve read this year. Lucy Young is an aspiring TV exec who wishes on a wishing machine to skip to the good part of her life after a fight with her BFF/roommates, a drunken night out, and a failed dating app encounter. Fast forward 16 years and Lucy’s not sure she made the right decision to skip to the part of her life where she’s got everything together. The magical realism aspects of this story are done incredibly well. Anyone who has struggled through the awkwardness of their 20s when everyone seems to be in a little bit different stage of life and you’re just trying to figure out your place in the world will appreciate this novel. I wish I could have given Lucy a big hug and a few words of encouragement before she made that wish! Cousens tackles some messy topics with tender care. All of the characters have profoundly human and endearing qualities. One thing that struck me the most was her experience as a mother. There are really, really hard parenting moments but also so much joy and both exist at the same time. Sam was also the most patient and loving husband and father and I absolutely adored their love story in reverse.

If you like heartwarming stories filled with self-discovery and kids as supporting characters, this one’s for you. I could not put it down.

Some content warnings for the death of a friend, memory loss, and loss of an infant.

Best read while listening to The Good Part by AJR.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

4.5/5

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and Netgalley for my gifted e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first EVER Sophie Cousens book and I just know that it won't be the last. This book just sucked me in with the first chapter and I finished it alarmingly quickly. I really did reach for my kindle whenever I have spare time just to keep reading. As a twenty six years old myself who have wished multiple times in the past three years to be able to skip to the "good part" in your life, and to see if everything I went through is adding up to something for future me, I believed that me finding this book was the universe's way to tell me something. I had a great time reading this book (even though I cried on three separate times), highly recommend!

What if you could just skip to the good part? This story reminded me of 2 great movies - The Family Man and Big (in a good way!) Another good read from Sophie Cousens.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
 
In this story we meet Lucy a 26-year-old stuck in a job that isn’t taking her seriously, living in a flat with three roommates two of which don’t respect her or have common roommate etiquette, with an upstairs neighbor that continues to overflow the bathtub that leaks into her room soaking her mattress.
After a disastrous night out and no money to get back home she finds herself in a newsagent store where she sees a an old wishing machine, and wishes to skip to the good part in her life.

When she wakes up the next day she’s in bed with a man that claims to be her husband, living in a beautiful house, with two kids that keep calling her mom, a career she’s always dreamed of and yet she can’t help but wonder did she really wish herself to the good part of her life or did she completely forget the last 16 years of her life?

To say I loved this book would be an understatement, I finished this book in less than 24 hours, and I was sad only because I wanted more. As a twenty something myself this book hit home, and I just couldn’t put it down.
In this kind of story it’s important to have a strong main character that can carry this kind of story, and I’m happy to say I loved Lucy, she wasn’t perfect but she was believable especially when it comes to her making decisions in this new life she finds herself in, its understandable to make those ‘oh no girl what are you doing’ moments, as we see in the beginning of her trying to navigate herself in this new life but as the story goes on she begins to find some kind of handle in some situations, but even then it isn’t one hundred percent perfect. I don’t expect her to automatically know how to handle a baby and a toddler while also handling her career (and new technology), I just needed her to feel real because it makes the story more believable which for me makes the story more enjoyable.

I especially loved the supporting characters two of my favorites are Felix the child wise beyond his years, and Sam the loving and supporting husband that rolled with the punches when his wife tells him she potentially traveled through time or possibly forgot the last 16 year of her life. To see Lucy falling in love with Sam just made me swoon, is falling in love with your husband again after losing your memory/traveling through time a trope? Because if it’s not it should be.
 
It’s a great book to make you understand that while we want to skip to the good part in our lives, they don’t feel so rewarding unless you’ve lived through them/fought for them. Anything can change in 16 years both good and bad but it’s important breathe in and out and enjoy the now.

Solid five star read.

I think I have a new favourite Sophie Cousens book! No secret I am a fan of all her books, but my gosh was this one fun and will definitely stick with me. I truly enjoyed every minute of this book and I like pondering what I would do if I were Lucy in this situation.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Twenty-six-year-old Lucy Young is tired of her career, love life, and flatmates, none of which are coming anything close to what she imagined. When she stumbles upon a wishing machine, she makes a wish to skip to the good part of her life. Suddenly, Lucy finds herself a married 40-year-old with two kids living the life she imagined. Did she skip ahead or just forget? And if she could go back, would she?

The Good Part is a heartfelt romance reminding you of the value of all your experiences, both good and bad. Completely overwhelmed by being a working mom, Lucy struggles with impostor syndrome, finding she can't magically jump into a more mature life. For it's in the living of our lives that we have become who we are today.  While I enjoyed the deeper themes of Cousen's novel, I found Lucy annoyingly immature, which was supposed to be funny but I found it more irritating than anything.

I loved, loved, loved this book! As someone who is 31 and constantly wondering when I will finally meet the one or when my life will really start, I felt where Lucy was coming from.

When she finally gets to her so called "good part" she realizes that the every day is the good part and that life is happening to you all the time, never waste it.

What I loved most about this was the love letter to female friendship. What kept drawing Lucy back to her present was her friendship for Zoya. Such a great read, bravo Sophie!