Wow, I really loved this one! Each Cousens book has just gotten better and better, in my opinion, and this is my favorite by far.

If you grew up loving Big and 13 Going on 30, then you’re going to be familiar with this type of plot. What Cousens did here instead of an adolescent wishing to be an adult, this one has the main character go from 26 to 42. I think a big part of the reason I enjoyed this was the fact that it really hit on a personal level. I’m at a stage in my life where I wish I could just fast forward to the good part, where the hard work is finally done. But what about all the good memories and life lessons along the way that I would skip? And life never really does get easier because each stage has its own challenges. I feel like I really read this book at the right time and it was an excellent reminder to be present, live in the moment, and appreciate everything I get to experience in this crazy little life.

As usual, Cousens writing is absolutely hilarious and she has such lovable characters. Compared to her other books, I feel like this one was much heavier. There was so many sad moments throughout the middle of the book that brought tears to my eyes. And the romance! So unique! Sam was an amazing love interest and reading their love story almost in reverse felt so special. The romance was more a subplot to Lucy’s story but a real gem.

If it’s not obvious enough, highly recommend! If you like romcoms with profound themes, magical realism, and time jumping plots then this is absolutely for you

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Putnam Group for a chance to read and review an advanced copy of this book!

My heart is bursting with joy, hope, and warmth as I write this review.

Lucy Young is in her mid-20s, finds herself stuck at a job with little opportunity for growth, and a dating life that is less than desirable. She wakes up one morning 16 years in the future after drunkenly making a wish to breeze straight through to the good part of life. From here, Lucy finds herself navigating a life that is completely foreign and full of surprises.

I absolutely LOVED this book! The story instantly pulled me in, and I could not put it down. Sophie Cousens had me feeling all of Lucy’s emotions—the love, uncertainty, heartache, tension, and her determination rippled through the pages. All the characters were lovable and perfectly placed. This is easily my favorite Sophie Cousens books to date!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Cousens and Penguin Group Putnam for a digital ARC of The Good Part in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own and may not be reproduced (except quoted synopsis).

“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. After another disappointing date, Lucy stumbles upon a wishing machine. Pushing a coin into the slot, Lucy closes her eyes and wishes with all her might: Please, 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 fortysomething 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?”

I fell in love with Sophie Cousens with Just Haven’t Met You Yet. Then she fell from her pedestal just a little bit last you with Before I Do. So I had high hopes that The Good Part would take me back to the magic she gave me in Just Haven’t Met You Yet.

SHEEEEEEEE’S BAAAAAAACKKKK!

Thank you, so much, Sophie for rebounding!

I LOVE the magical/fantasy aspects of this sweet romance. This is a fabulous Fall read that I will definitely be promoting to my followers.

With that said, it wasn’t a completely original concept, but I don’t even care! The characters were so loveable and their story was so sweet. I’ll sign up to read this plot every single time.

I highly recommend!

Big, 13 Going on 30, 17 Again, Peggy Sue Got Married - I’m pretty much a sucker for any “time jump” movie. So when I read the synopsis of The Good Part by Sophie Cousens, I was all in.

Lucy Young is sick of her current lot in life and is ready to “skip to the good part”. And she does - 16-some years ahead where she’s married with kids and working a full blown career. I won’t get into the mechanics of how this happens, but I will say I liked the execution.

Seeing Lucy navigate her “new” life and adapt to her new roles is endearing and frustrating at the same time - but also reminded me of how I didn’t step into motherhood or my career as a fully functioning adult. Lol.

The love story that unfolds is sweet. The heartbreak she doesn’t remember happening is gut-wrenching. And Lucy’s ultimate arrival to the answer of “should she stay or should she go” brought tears to my eyes.

It’s a good one. Don’t miss out on reading it :)

Thank you so much to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the opportunity to review The Good Part by Sophie Cousens.

Sophie Cousens can do no wrong in my eyes, this is another great one by her!

I think if you’re a fan of 13 going on 30, then you’ll like this one. At the end of a bad night, Lucy makes a wish, wishing she can skip to the good part of her life. The next thing she knows 16 years has passed, she’s in her 40s and her life is nothing like she expected it to be.

The Good Part feels a bit different than her other books, there’s magical realism, which I’ll be honest, is not my favorite. I was reading this book and loving it, and just thinking I’m probably going to hate the end because how does it all come together in a realistic way, and I won’t spoil how, but I’ll say she did it!

I found myself conflicted/ emotional for Lucy in the end, not sure what choice she should make or what choice I would make it. I loved all of the characters, especially the children, and overall just really enjoyed the storytelling in this book. I only think Sophie is so funny, there’s so much subtle humor in this book that I just know would come through in a conversation with her.

The Good Part comes out on Nov 7, 2023! Thank you Putnam for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I honestly kept loosing interest in this book, but eventually finished it. I didn’t care much for the work subplot but the family and friends part were good.

At 26, Lucy's life isn't going the way she hoped. Her career has stalled, she's living in a flatshare with inconsiderate roommates, and her love life is non-existent. She just wishes she could get to the good part already. Then, she just happens to wake up 16 years in the future next to a husband she's never met and two small children she can't remember.

I love time slip novels, and Sophie Cousens has more than one cute one under her belt. She admits that there were many cinematic influences for this one: Big, 13 Going on 30, The Family Man, and even Freaky Friday. With the professional comeuppances of 13 Going on 30 and the emotional poignancy of The Family Man, this was an enjoyable read.

Thank you, Net Galley, for this advanced manuscript copy.

What if you could skip to the good part of your life? With strings attached, of course. Wishes and time travel almost exclusively guarantee some complications.

Sophie Cousens is one of my favorite authors and this book completely encapsulates every reason why. Of all her books this might be my very favorite. It has humor, emotion, and lovely characters all paired with a unique concept that makes this story stand out. I laughed out loud, I definitely teared up a few times, and I went back and forth on what Lucy should do in this one just like I did with Audrey while reading Before I Do.

This was just an all around fun, interesting, and thought provoking read! I absolutely loved Lucy’s story and I will be thinking about this one for awhile in the best possible way.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC!

This book was wonderful. I loved the depiction of wishing for the “good part” while you’re going through the worst, only to realize the worst is what makes us complete. This book had me both laughing and crying and I loved the love story told in reverse.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the E-ARC. It took me a minute to get into this book but when I did I enjoyed it. It had total 13 going on 30 vibes and I was down for it. It was a fast read.

I'm not usually a big fan of time traveling, but I really enjoyed this book! There was a depth and weight to the situations the main character found herself in that I wasn't expecting. I also wasn't sure how it was going to end, so I was hooked from start to finish. The main character was very likeable. I also really loved her son and husband from her future life.

Let's skip to the "good" part of life. Don't we all want that?

Lucy is tired of her life. She makes a wish and before she knows it she's in the "good" part of what her life holds. Now that she's there she's not sure what it entails.

I enjoyed this book!

Lucy is tired of the daily struggles she has as a 26 year old, and just wants to skip to the good part of her life.
I really enjoyed this sweet and thought provoking book. It is my first Sophie Cousens book, but definitely not my last.

I love, love, love this trope, so I definitely loved the premise of this story!

26-year-old Lucy was hilariously relatable. She’s so familiar with failure, that when she wakes up 42 and thriving, one of the things she struggles to reconcile the most is her success.

As for Sam? O.m.g. I can’t pick just one thing that made him so attractive - his fierce loyalty, his protective side or the fact that Lucy truly was his best friend? Regardless, if she had to face all of the struggles that she’d supposedly faced in those 16 years, she couldn’t have had a better partner to face them with.

Felix definitely deserves an honorable mention. He was so stinkin’ adorable and almost exactly like Lucy in his ways, which for whatever reason she fails to see.

I both loved and hated the ending. But, I smiled to myself when I read the last line, knowing that Lucy was heading out to lead the life that she truly deserved!

NOTE: ARC received in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As a modern, 26 year old woman, Lucy is living in a crummy flat share with too many other people, her “go-for” job in TV hasn’t allowed her to climb up the career ladder like her other university friends and her love life is sadly lacking. After a particularly difficult day, including an argument with her best friend, not having enough money to take a taxi or the subway home in the pouring rain and an unfortunate “date” with an app match, Lucy stumbles into a small market to try to dry off. Inside, she meets the proprietor, a small, elderly Scottish woman who show’s her an old arcade machine which can grant wishes…as long as you sincerely want them enough. Tired, drenched and defeated, Lucy asks the machine to get her to the good part of her life….when she’s achieved professional success and happily settled with the love of her life. Out pops a slip of paper that reads “your wish has been granted” and the next thing Lucy knows, she wakes up at age 42, married to a great man, with 2 cute kids and partner in a successful children’s TV production company. She’s jumped to the good part of her life but she’s lost 16 years and remembers nothing that happened during them. She’s physically 42 year old Lucy but, in her head, shes’ 26. As she not always successfully navigates this new world, Lucy begins to fall in love with it. But, what if she has a chance to undo the time travel….will she say goodbye to her new world to return to the struggles of her old world or will she stay and continue to fall in love with her husband, kids and career? Charming, funny and bittersweet…it’s a great story.

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens

Lucy is your typical twenty something that feels like a disaster and just wants to skip to the part where life is put together. She makes a wish and wakes up the next morning and it… came true?!

This book made me laugh, I teared up a bit, and loved the whole thing! Best Sophie Cousens book that I have read.

Lucy is twenty-six years old and living in a flat in London. She’s dealing with crazy roommates, a leaky ceiling, constant dating disasters, and feeling undervalued and unappreciated at work despite her recent promotion.

She wants to “skip to the good part” when everything in her life falls into place. One fateful evening, she stumbles into a corner store and makes a wish on a curious “wishing machine” in the back of the store.

Lucy wakes up the next morning as a 42 year old married mother of two. Stunned and incredulous, Lucy struggles to understand what exactly has happened. She tries to get to know her husband, her kids, track down her friends, and get to know the ins and outs of her new career-all the while expecting to wake up from this incredibly vivid dream.

Lucy also begins to realize that even the “good part” has unexpected challenges and sorrows that she can scarcely imagine. Can she embrace this new life or should she return to the past and take her chances?

I’ve always been a fan of Sophie Cousens and this book is easily her best novel yet. This novel has so much heart. Cousens has a way of capturing Lucy’s journey and making it so real and accessible for all of us-because Lucy’s journey IS our own as we struggle to find our own way to the good part of life. The characters throughout are nuanced and complex and I particularly loved Lucy’s core group of girlfriends.

Cousens has created something really beautiful here. Definitely all the stars. Read this book immediately!

As a full time working mom in the middle of the messy good part of my life, some parts of this were REALLY challenging to read-the parts that remind me of why I pick up a book to escape! :) It really is the good part, though, and this was a great reminder of that gift, as were all of the challenges leading up to it. That life is beautiful and it shouldn’t be taken for granted.

A perfect read if you’re a fan of 13 going on 30 or The Family Man.

Man, Lucy annoyed me for a good chunk of this book but I fell in love with her future family. No spoilers except I wish we got to follow a different path for the ending.

Really enjoyed this book! It reminded me of all my favorite classic rom-com films of the 90’s and early 00’s with a fantasy/magical realism twist - Big, 13 Going on 30, The Family Man, Back the Future, Freak Friday. And if you read the author’s note, these cinematic time travel classics were also on the author’s mind! I loved Lucy and her friends, Sam, Felix, and Amy, and learning about all of the things that Lucy missed in her 16 year time leap. Lucy and Sam had great chemistry that kept me hooked, and I loved the relationship between Lucy and Felix.

My only gripes are that Amy is apparently supposed to be 18 months old. At times, the author writes her as an infant, which really threw me off. There also seemed to be some continuity issues with Lucy’s parents - first they were on a trip, in between trips, staying at Lucy’s house, and the conversations didn’t seem to match up.