I’m not usually a big fan of time travel or anything not-real so I was a bit nervous heading into this book. Happy to say it worked out quite well! Sophie Cousens is an excellent writer and I flew through this book. I loved the family centered storyline. The conversations with Felix were adorable and relatable. Watching the main character fall in love with her husband was heartwarming and beautiful. I will say everyone was slightly less concerned with the memory loss than I would have been but hey! it’s fiction after all!

This was a modern version Groundhog Day meets time travel romance. It is adorable in its weirdness and I really enjoyed this book. I love the concept of seeing what your life would be 20 years from now, would you want to stay there or go back? Would you want to know? I think my favorite part was the kids, I love how they are always the voice of reason in supernatural events.

4.5 stars rounded to 5

Lucy Young's life is in shambles - her job's a dead end, her flat's a disaster, and her love life is non-existent. In an effort to fix it all, she makes a wish to skip to the good part of her life. The next morning, she awakes 15+ years older with a husband, two kids, and her dream job.

This book had a really interesting premise! The wish machine reminded me of the movie BIG and from that moment on I was hooked on the story. It takes place in London and, I will admit, I spent the first four chapters reading in a terrible British accent in my head. That got exhausting but it was fun nonetheless.

It took me a minute to get into the story, but once I did, I was hooked. So much so that I found myself thinking about the book throughout my day.

This was so well written, and played out much like a movie. I cried for most of the ending, if only because the decision that Lucy made was heart-wrenching for me.

While categorized as a romance novel, that's not really what it is. It's more of a women's literature/fiction due to the major themes of self discovery and life lessons. It was a wonderful story full of beautiful lessons about life. Definitely recommend.

Thanks to @netgalley and @putnambooks for the advanced copy of the newest book by @sophie_cousens, The Good Part. I LOVED this one and was hooked from the beginning. I think I was satisfied with how it ended - which doesn’t happen often.

26-Year old Lucy Young makes a wish on a wishing machine to skip the hard part of her life and just get to the good part. She wakes up the next morning 16 years in the future with no memory of how she got there. But she wakes to a handsome man whose her husband and two sweet kids.

This book comes out in November and it’s the perfect rom-com ♥️

I cannot say enough good things about this book! I have become so picky with my reading lately because so many books either resemble each other or the writing isn’t on par. But...The Good Part has great writing and is an interestingly fun story! I just can’t get enough of Sophie’s writing, every single book I’ve read by her I’ve loved! I almost recommend going into this book blind so you don’t even have any inkling what this book is about, but either way, if you love a fun romance this is a great choice.

The Good Part
By Sophie Cousens
Pub Date Nov. 7, 2023
G.P. Putnam
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
* Romance, Contemporary, Time Travel
Great story! I laughed so often through this book. My favorite character is Little Felix who tries to help the imposter mother find her way back to her original timeline.
I Enjoyed reading this book so much and I highly recommend it. Favorite book so far by Cousens.
4 stars

I do not have the words to explain how much and how deeply I connected to this book. I cried a couple of times and that is truly rarer than you'd think for me.

The premise in and of itself is what made me want to read it, and if you've read the synopsis, that is exactly what this story is. I've seen similar concepts in the movies referenced here, of course, but I don't think I've ever read a book even slightly similar to this, and so I was very giddy and excited about the prospect of this read.
And well, it was everything I wanted, everything I needed, and even more.

I adored the main character so much. She was so human, so real and relatable. I mean, everything was relatable in this story, but her journey and conflicts in particular are so easy to connect with. Her friends, her life, her frustrations and dreams... it hit home for me.

Then we get to the future, to the "good part". And I was actually very surprised here, because I thought this would be one of those situations where it all seems perfect on the surface but it's really bad deep down. The husband would be hot but boring or nasty, for example. And.... no. No, no. It really was so good, so nice, so beautiful. He was one of my absolute favorite heroes I've ever read and I truly cannot get enough of him, I need so much more. The children were adorable and her relationship with them was so sweet and cute. I loved this family so much.

Not everything was that good, of course. By gaining things, we also lose things. There's loss, sadness, hardships, change... just a different kind of issues in a different stage of life. But overall... there's a lot of happiness, accomplishments and improvements, as well.
Our girl's journey includes hard decisions that made me think and reflect a lot, and to be honest, I am not sure what my own choices would be in her place.

I do have to say, the ending was way too much of an open-ending for my taste, which makes me conflicted on the rating. I was left very unsatisfied, and I understand the reason for it, but that is the one thing I hate in stories.

Still, it was such a good read that I absolutely recommend to everyone. I am so thankful for this book.

I wasn’t sure about the concept of this book, but it brought me to tears. The end was was actually what I wanted it to be, even though it was still unexpected. A must read and a reminder that all of life can be the good part!

Rounding up to 5 stars. I needed something light; once I started reading The Good Part I was hooked and have been doing little else until I finished. It really makes you want to think about wishes. I see this as being a very interesting book club discussion book; it's going to be a book people want to talk about.

The ceiling in Lucy's flat is raining on her while she is sleeping in her bed; her flatmates are immature and her boss give direction for her to keep doing menial tasks (even though she has just been promoted). And then she makes a wish to skip to the good part.

I adored Felix. I definitely would love to read an extra 50 pages of chats between Felix and Lucy!

Thank you to NetGalley, especially for introducing me to (new to me) author Sophie Cousens! I'll definitely be looking for some of her prior works. Also thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the Advance Read Copy of The Good Part in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to author Sophie Cousens and publisher Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for approving my ARC request. Publication date is Nov 7, 2023.

This book was so cute. I had such a fun vibe to it. I feel like I will read anything by this author. At this point every book is a 5/5 by her.

Sophie Cousens does it again! A charming, (mostly) light read with some extra depth. I enjoyed Lucy’s journey from living with flat mates, scraping by financially, and trying to make it in her dream industry to her skipping to “the good part.” I loved her friendships and relationship as she navigates the highs and lows of every stage of life. Cousens remains a must-read author for me!

The Good Part follows Lucy, who is having a hard time both at work and in her personal life at the age of 26. On a hard night, she comes across a wishing machine and wishes that she could go to “the good part” of her life.

I absolutely adored this book. From the moment I began reading it I was hooked and could not put it down. I loved the characters (especially Felix) and the time travel storyline. It was filled with so many different emotions and the story has a great message. I didn’t want it to end!

The Good Part comes out November 7th, and I highly recommend picking it up!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Lucy Young is tired of adulting. Life's not easy as a twenty-something. One day, she wishes to just fast-forward to "the good part" of life and skip the hard stuff. And voilà, the next day she wakes up, and WISH GRANTED. Except it's a little weird, because she doesn't recognize the man she wakes up next to, or these crazy children that are supposed to be hers.

This is a wonderful book that had me in stitches. Her son Felix is awesome. It was fun to watch Lucy and her husbands love story in reverse. Wonderful premise, wonderful characters, loved this!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

the good part follows the premise of big and 13 going on 30, a little magic and you are in the best part of your life. lucy is in her late 20s with roommates and her life seemingly not going anywhere. after one truly terrible day, she finds a machine that grants her wish: to skip to the good part of her life.this was a little slow moving at parts for me but a good overall message of appreciating your messy life.

I knew I had to jump on this train when everyone was giving it so much hype. I loved the way that the story went and how the characters dealt with those twists and turns.

13 going on 30 meets Big. 26 year old Chloe wishes to skip to the “good part” of life and ends up waking up at age 42. The story focuses on dealing with the feelings of not feeling like you’re where you should be at a given age and putting pressure on yourself to feel happy and successful. Overall a feel good story about appreciating each phase of your life.

Sophie Cousens does it again! She creates characters you laugh with, cry with, and root for! I read this book it less that 24 hours because I couldn't wait to see what was in store for Lucy.

This book was hilarious, romantic, and makes you appreciate all of the best days, sad days, all all those in between. If you grew up with the movie 13 Going on 30, you will devour this equally fantastic grown-up version of a similar story. This is Cousens' best yet! I can wait to reread.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this wonderful book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Such a fun premise for a story, and very well carried out! A 26-year-old woman is just plain sick and tired of her life. Work, romance, friends, her living situation -- she just wants to skip to "the good part." She makes a wish to do so, and amazingly, her wish comes true. She wakes up one day in a new life, years into the future, where she is forty, married, and successful. But what about what came before? And will she want that back? I look forward to recommending this book.

This was my favorite Sophie Cousens novel yet! A real gem. If you loved The Midnight Library you will love this book.

Reminiscent of the book 'in five years' by Rebecca Serle or better yet - "13 going on 30" but 25 ish going on 45 ish.. Lucy skips ahead in life to 'the good part' when stumbling upon a wishing machine. This book held my attention the whole time and was enjoyable. Had some real substance to it. However , this shouldn't be marketed as a romance - more women's fiction.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.