In Sophie Cousens latest novel you follow Lucy Young a young woman fed up with all of life’s trials truly wishing to get to the good part. Lucy after experiencing a terrible night stumbles into a store and makes a wish to just as the title implied get to the good part. The next morning she awakes and is there. Sleeping beside a gorgeous man and waking up to two beautiful children she at first is in complete denial. Her husband and closest friends think she’s lost memories and only her son is in on the secret that she is not his mom but a former version of who his mom was. Slowly she begins to fall in love with the good part of her life and just as she has she is faced with the decision to go back and live life to get to this point with no guarantees of things not being altered or staying and gaining all the missing memories. The question really is, is life worth it if not fully lived? A great novel that makes you reflect on the daily things or times less enjoyable.

Lucy at age twenty six is going through a rough patch in her life when comes upon a wishing machine where she wishes to be at “the good part” of her life. The next day she wakes up and is suddenly in her forties, married with kids and a job she could only have dreamed of having. Is this the life she has always wanted or is she missing out on a huge chunk of her life? Will Lucy embrace this new life or wish she could go back to the past?

I absolutely loved the message that this book spread. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the whole time traveling thing but I really enjoyed it!! I found myself reflecting on my own life throughout the book as I followed Lucy throughout her story. I loved the theme that every part of your life is beautiful and can be hard at times, but it’s those experiences that make you who you are. I loved how this book discussed hard experiences that people may go through in real life and it made the book feel so real. There is some romance in it but I would definitely classify it more as women’s fiction. The characters were all so likable and I enjoyed seeing all the types of relationships Lucy had including both her personal relationships and her work relationships. I really loved Sophie Cousens writing and would definitely recommend this book!!

I loved this book! I have unintentionally been reading books with a time travel element lately, and this was a great one! Lucy is a twenty-something single woman struggling with work satisfaction, financial issues, dating disappointments, and weird roommates in an apartment that's falling apart. I laughed out loud a ton, especially at the beginning of this book, about the way the author described Lucy's life circumstances. After a particularly disastrous night, Lucy finds a "wishing machine" ("Big" anyone??) and wishes she could skip to the "good part" of her life. The next morning, Lucy wakes up in a strange bed and discovers she has skipped 16 years into the future, where she has a great career, she's happily married and has two kids. Adjusting to this new life is challenging, since she doesn't remember anything that led her to that point in her life. She soon finds out that life isn't always great, and even in the good part of your life, there are still sad and difficult moments. I don't always love how kids are portrayed in books (not usually super interesting) but I really loved Felix and his interactions with his mom. So glad I got to read this book early due to receiving an ARC from Netgalley. It will be released November 7!

#netgalley #thegoodpart #summerreading #summerreads

Really, really loved this concept. As a 26 year old, I totally related to Lucy and it was really insightful to see life's possibilities, but also realize that it's important to live in the present.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing me with an eARC of The Good Part in exchange for my honest review!

As someone who loved two of Sophie Cousens's other books, Just Haven't Met You Yet and Before I Do, I must admit that I wasn't as high on The Good Part as I wanted to be. Not to say I didn't enjoy it, because I did, but it also didn't stand out from all that much from other books I've read that have dealt with similar character-driven journeys that revolve around people growing up and learning to appreciate their lives. Maybe I'm especially feeling this way after recently reading Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale, which handles that sort of material in a fashion that I found to be much more moving. Plus, both Cassandra in Reverse and The Good Part deploy magical-realism time-travel. Once I reached the climax of The Good Part, it compel me more, but everything beforehand just felt formulaic. At least it's got the Cousens charm going for it.

Overall, The Good Part may not be a favorite of mine from Cousens's bibliography, but I'm still glad I gave it a try. I'll continue to dive into more of her work.

This was a delightful read! Strong 13 Going on 30 vibes, which I loved. Lucy is such a relatable character and her story and struggles and choices were so endearing. Such a great message and I always appreciate the reminder that life is hard, and it's the hard, messy parts that make you appreciate the good. All of it makes life worth living. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to share more about it as it gets closer to pub date!

I really adored this book! Lucy finds herself launched 16 years into the future - a future that includes a dreamboat of a husband, two children, and a more successful career than she could’ve hoped for. The book follows Lucy on her journey to relearn herself and her life, while learning to cope with the unexpected loss of the last 16 years. This book made me laugh more than once, and really made me think about how interesting it would be to jump forward to “the good part of life” whatever that may look like! I highly recommend this book with its refreshing sprinkle of magical realism on the rom com genre.

First, thank you to the publisher and author for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. It gave me all the good feels, similar to books by Emily Henry. Happy, feel good books around likeable characters that are easy to connect to. I also read Sophie Cousens' This Time Next Year and quite enjoyed it so I was very excited for the opportunity to read her newest novel. I liked The Good Part even more. It is about 26 year old Lucy, who is tired of her life. She isn't advancing in her career, just ended a relationship, and wishes she could afford to move out of her shared apartment. One night after a bad date, she wishes on a fortune teller machine that she could just skip ahead to the good part of her life when work, marriage, and housing are all settled. Lucy wakes up in her 40's living the good part, but aware that she doesn't belong there and missed out on a decade of her life. As she finds herself in this new phase, she must decide if she wants to stay in the good part or go back and live every moment, the bad and the good.
This was one of the books that I didn't want to put down and would love to go back and read again. So enjoyable.
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Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC!

Sophie Cousens book is like an alternative version of 13 going on 30. The main character Lucy is 26 and is sick and tired of pinching pennies and having her friends help her out. She just got a promotion at her job in the TV business but is still doing her same job duties as before and gets ignored by her boss when she tries to pitch her ideas on her first day of her new job title. Her friends are all successful and she feels like the odd one out and wants to skip to the good part of her life. On this particular day, Lucy ends up having a terrible day and just wants more than anything to know her hard work will be worth it in the end. She makes a wish with an old timer machine and the next morning she wakes up 16 years later in the future.

I liked this book. I felt it was entertaining at parts and slow at others. Not heavy on the romance but a great message about be careful of what you wish for and enjoy life while you can. I’d definitely recommend.

Yet another fun read by Sophie! The premise of this book was so good! In the author's note Sophie mentions that she did a lot of research including watching 13 going on 30 and Freaky Friday and that really makes sense. Those movies are so nostalgic for me so I was really excited going into this book.

The first couple chapters were so hard to get into but once Lucy went to the future things really picked up. I loved that things weren't easy and she had to work really hard to figure out how to live in her new world (while also juggling a high powered career, marriage and two small children). I don't have kids but just reading the descriptions of trying to stay on top of all the family admin + school and work logistics + unexpectedly sick children and loss of childcare was very overwhelming and I had so much empathy for Lucy who was throw into this life when really she was still a poor and single 26 year old inside. I loved the work that Lucy to put in to re-fall in love with her husband and re-earn her older child's trust, those were the parts that really stood out to me and made me like the book.

The ending was a surprise but I really enjoyed it, I know that Sophie has a book turned movie in the works already but I can totally see this working out as a movie as well! *fingers crossed*

Sophie Cousens returns with a delightful and thought-provoking new novel. In keeping with This Time Next Year and Just Haven't Met You Yet, she sprinkles some magic throughout the pages of The Good Part. Lucy Young is 26 and struggling, with her apartment, her finances, her love life... After a particularly bad date, she finds a wishing machine and asks it to fast-forward her life to the good part. She wakes up 16 years later with an attractive husband and a dream job, but is it worth skipping what it took to get there? This novel had the perfect combination of humor and poignancy. I especially loved Lucy's relationship with her son.

I really enjoyed this book, I couldn't put it down. I thought the characters were adorable and the story was interesting. I loved the nod to Big by having the street be named Baskin, and I really enjoyed how it was like Big but also completely its own story. The pace of the story was very good, and I felt like I got to know the characters pretty well. There were a few things that felt a bit unfinished, like I wasn't entirely sure why Lucy's mom's cataract surgery was brought up more than once but ultimately didn't end up mattering, but that's not really a huge issue. In the end I thought the book was really good, and it didn't end the way I thought it would. I think this would be a good book for a book club, because it could inspire a lot of conversation. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC!

Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”





Love love love love this

THE GOOD PART is an absolute joy to read—I seriously never wanted this book to end! It follows 26-year-old Lucy, who is ready to skip to the "good part" of her life, because she's certain that she isn't in it now. She's struggling to move up in her job, is tired of going on disastrous dates, and is sick of living in an apartment that's practically crumbling, with flatmates that never seem to pitch in and help. One night, Lucy stumbles upon a wishing machine, and makes her wish—to skip to the good part. To her surprise, she wakes up the next morning with a handsome, supportive husband, the job of her dreams, and two adorable children. Now 42, has Lucy really skipped ahead to the life she's always wanted, or has she just forgotten a huge chunk of the years that came before it? And should she go back to the life she had before, even if it means facing the risk of leaving "the good part" behind?

I loved this book so much! I thought this was a great take on the "time travel" premise, and I really appreciated the overall message of appreciating your life as it currently is and realizing that each part of it can be great in its own way. The book truly shines in its depictions of all the different relationships in Lucy's life—I so enjoyed reading about Lucy's bonds with her close friend group, her husband, her coworkers, her parents, her children. They were all so well-developed and meaningful! I also just loved reading about Lucy's journey in general. She'd suffered hardships and losses, faced uncertainty and felt lost, but she was still building a life she was proud of, growing so much as a person, and developing really special relationships with the people she loved. I could have read countless more chapters of her story! But, I did think it ended at a good place. Overall, THE GOOD PART is such a warm, comforting read I could see myself coming back to again and again! This is my first Sophie Cousens novel, but I can't wait to read more of her writing. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

- The premise of this is very much from the movies Big and 13 Going on 30. The MC wants to skip the crappy parts of her 20s and get to the good part of her life. I definitely remember having those feelings at some point!
- While I enjoyed parts of it, I really felt like the story was too predictable. I did get teary at one point though!
- It’s a cute book, but I would only read it if you read a lot of books each year!

Loved the concept of 13 Going On 30 applied to later in life. It also reminded me a lot of the Midnight Library and Oona Out of Order! I enjoyed the overall message of appreciating your life at the current moment and not constantly looking forward to how things might be better in the future (or the past!). There were times that it was a little slow but I ended up finishing it one day.

This was such a great read. I was initially attracted to this book because it gave me 13 going on 30 vibes. I was delighted to find how much depth the story had. While it was entertaining and engaging, I was impressed with how Sophie handled difficult topics (loss and grief). This was beautifully written and emotionally balanced. I really enjoyed this book and will absolutely recommend it!

4.5 stars. If you’re a fan of movies like 13 going on 30 and Freaky Friday, then The Good Part is the book for you. Lucy is in her twenties and life just isn’t going her way. She’s dating crappy guys, living with crazy roomies, and is at the bottom of the hierarchy at work. So on a drunken night when she accidentally stumbles into a “wishing machine” she wishes to skip to the good part. Lo and behold she wakes up 16 years later, married, with kids, and a successful career.

The Good Part was absolutely delightful. I’ve never read Cousens before, but I’ve officially fallen in love with her writing, her characters, and her wit. There were some moments when Lucy made some questionable decisions, and I found myself simultaneously feeling anxiety but also laughing. And if eliciting that type of emotion in their readers isn’t the mark of a spectacular writer, then I don’t know what is. Hands down my favorite character was Felix, and I pretty much laughed every time he spoke. I would consider The Good Part to be classified as women’s fiction with a touch of romance. But the book is more about Lucy finding herself than it is about finding love. Truly, I enjoyed this one so much. And it has officially made me excited to be able to read more from Cousens.

Thank you to Cousens, Putnam, and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I must say that if you’re in a reading slump, this book will cure that! Sophie Cousens’ new book The Good Part is about Lucy, a 26 year old girl from England who wishes to “Skip to the good part” of her life. She wakes up 16 years later to a wonderful full and complete life but she doesn’t remember how she got there or about the losses she endured on the way there. All she last remembers is making her wish to skip to the good part. This book is like the movie 13 going on 30 with Jennifer Garner in the most amazing ways! I couldn’t put it down! Everything was so on point! The character development, the plot and storyline, the details. I haven’t a single bad thing to say about this book! I am so thrilled to have been given the opportunity to read this book early and I am even more thrilled that I truly loved it from beginning to end! I can not recommend this book more! Especially to all my fellow 90’s babies out there! It will give you a little dejavu I am definitely addding Sophie Cousens to my list of favorite authors and can’t wait for more! Thank you so much!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sophie Cousens for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Good Part in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Lucy is a 26 year old tv producer runner and she is tired of being at the bottom of the totem pole. When her date goes bad, she ends up making a wish at a wishing machine to skip to the good part of life. The next morning, she wakes up next to her now husband and she has a great job and two kids. She is unsure of what has happened, but she confides in her "husband" and they start this journey of learning each other again. Her son, Felix, wants to help her find the wishing machine so that his mommy can come back. They end up at a place where the wishing machine is and Lucy has a choice. To stay where she is, or go back and risk not having the life she has gotten to see.

I loved this story and thought that it was such a super easy read. The idea that she could see what life she was supposed to have an choose if she wanted to stay or not was crazy and I will say that I was very shocked at the decision she made. Felix was my favorite character and I loved how much he loved Lucy even though she was not like his normal mommy.