The Good Part is a tender, heartwarming story, which is both funny and touching at the same time. It will pull at your heartstrings as you ponder the question, if in life you could, would you want to move past the hard work in life and jump to the good part?

Lucy Young is a struggling senior television producer who lives in a dilapidated, run-down apartment with water issues, with her best friend and other careless, inconsiderate roommates. She has no money and is barely acknowledged by her boss. She is miserable.

To make matters worse, this morning as she wakes up to a wet bed because water is pouring down into her room, she discovers on the way to work that her best friend has decided to move out offering to have her come with her and she will cover part of her rent. But Lucy is too proud to take her up on the offer. Even more depressed, she spends her day at a job in which she is so capable of but never given a chance and after work goes on a date which turns out to be an absolute disaster.

As she stumbles home, she sees an old woman standing near a machine machine. She tells her to make a wish but be careful what you wish for! Lucy thinks this is silly, but she puts the coin in the machine. Her wish? To jump ahead to the good part of her life, in which she is not struggling anymore.

The next day, she awakens in a beautiful bedroom next to the most handsome man she has ever seen. And she herself is older! In the other room, she hears a baby crying and when she gets up, she discovers a young boy. She has no idea what has happened. The only thing she can remember is putting the coin in the machine. Her past life is a mystery.

After trying to hide her secret, and her son knowing something is wrong and deciding she is an alien in his mother’s body, she confesses to her whom she now knows is her husband that she can’t remember her life. And as Lucy discovers what her life has become, she now can’t help but wonder how she became the person she is now.

As she tries to adjust to her new reality with her business partner thinking she’s going through menopause and watching her parents who have of course aged and seeing who they have become, she starts to discover pieces of her life, some good and some heartbreaking which have occurred over the years.

And as she begins to fall in love with this man and her children, she must decide…should she try and find a way back to the past? Or stay here not ever feeling the true emotions when she is told about incidents in her life which are only stories to her, with no memory of the feelings which had occurred. And if she goes back, is there a guarantee she gets the same future? Will she even remember her beautiful family?

The Good Part is wonderfully written and thought out. You will certainly laugh at the antics Lucy gets herself into, but your heart will break as you learn and she herself learns no life is ever perfect and no matter the bad, there truly are good parts all along the journey.

Thank you #NetGalley #G.P.Putnam’sSons # SophieCousens #TheGoodPart for the advanced copy.

Sophie Cousens wrote this novel in a way that pulls your heartstrings. I cried so much reading this on the subway where I was loudly sniffling, wiping tears away from my face. It was the best kind of cry. The protagonist, Lucy, went through so many grown up things within this novel: abrupt change, grief, and childcare. I have personally dealt with that in my life and to me, I really felt seen in this novel. I loved it!

We've all wondered what it would be like when we got our lives together, got to the good part, and this novel is an incredibly funny, touching impression of that exact circumstance. This really makes you think while you enjoy the story, as you imagine your own "good part" of your life, and what would you do if you found yourself there overnight?

Sophie Cousens never disappoints with a book that will make you both tear up and get goose bumps. I loved it!

I just loved this book!

We've all been there, right? Slogging through your 20s - single, broke, nothing seems to be on the right track? Our main character Lucy was just this way and found a way to make a wish to get to "the good part". She wakes up 16 years later in an entirely new place. The story then follows her as she feels out this new reality. It's very much a book that will have you asking "What would I do?" and "How would I react?" It's sweet and profound and sometimes heartbreaking.

I had only read one other Cousens novel and I did not connect with it. This is a great example of why you should give authors a second chance!

4 stars
Time travel a hint of fantasy contemporary romance is a genre that I absolutely love! The fmc , Lucy, wants to skip to the best part of her life where she lives the life of her dreams, but fr becareful what you wish for! The characters are funny and enjoyable and if you love a fast romance read that has a hint of humor, this one is for you!
Thank you netgalley and Putnam for this e-ARC inexchange for an honest review!

Basically speaking, if a book has Sophie Cousen's name, it was written for me.
Thank you @putnambooks for the #gifted copy! All thoughts are my own.

Two things this book will make me do:
1. Sing ahhhh-ah-ah-ahhh
2. Want to watch 13 Going on Thirty
Lucy is trying so hard to follow what she's passionate about but life seriously sucks. She's not where she wants to live, or in a healthy relationship, or kicking butt at work. Stripped of anything sembling a good night, Lucy stumbles upon a wishing machine and begs to skip to the good parts of life. She wakes up disoriented, older and with a ring on her finger.
While I do love time slips anyway, this one just kinda hit me right. I loved seeing a MC in a marriage - even if the whole memory of their relationship is out the window and down the street. It was such a different romance and it definitely worked for me. Sophie does a great job with Lucy's character, moments of grief and joy, with a great supporting cast backdrop.

Such a good book! Definitely makes you recognize the value of not wishing your life away, not matter how difficult things may feel. There are moments that you do not want to miss, and there are moments that you want to be over. However, all of these moments make up the story of who you are. Lucy realizes that by wishing away part of her life, she missed some of the best parts. Definitely was a book I didn't want to put down, as I wanted to see how things ended up for Lucy and those that were most important to her!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Good Part. This book was so unexpected and refreshing. I loved the Big-like story and found myself torn between the two possible endings. This was such a fun read!

With BIG (antique carnival wishing game), The Family Man (Nicholas Cage at his finest IMO), and 13 Going on 30 vibes, I must say I loved every second I spent with this book! It gave me all the feels. No surprise, since I ADORE everything Sophie Cousens writes for us 🧡

What to expect::
•Time hop to the future, aka “the good part”
•Great friends
•Adorable children
•Hot, supportive new hubby
•Mr. Finkley
•LOL funny moments
•You will for sure be questioning what is the right choice at the end!!
🔥Closed door

What a delight! A resounding 5 stars - Sophie Cousens books are among some of my favorite romance novels, and she delivers a perfect “what if” story in The Good Part.

Amidst Lucy young’s frustration, she stumbles upon a peculiar newsagent store and its intriguing ATM machine known as the "wishing machine." This allows you to voice your desires using a coin. In her desperation, Lucy wishes to skip to the good parts of her life, to escape the her reality.
To her astonishment, her wish is granted. The next morning, she wakes up in a different room, lying beside a handsome man in his early forties who happens to be wearing a wedding band. Did she have a drunken one-night stand with a married man she can't remember? As she gazes into the mirror, she lets out a scream—she has Jennifer Aniston's hair, and she's aged! She even has a Cesarean scar. The same man hurriedly leaves their home, leaving Lucy with an 18-month-old toddler and a 7-year-old boy named Felix, who believes she's an impostor—an alien who replaced his mother. To make matters worse, a photo on the wall confirms her worst nightmare: her wish has propelled her 16 years into the future, where she's married with two kids and a successful career, but devoid of any memories of how she got there..

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of Sophie Cousens' The Good Part. She has recently become an auto read for me and this one did not disappoint. I am still conflicted on the ending, but overall it checked all the boxes. I will definitely be recommending friends to put this on their TBR list.

The Good Part - equal parts whimsical/fantasy, equal parts romantic comedy.

26 year old Lucy is in a rut. Stuck in her career as a tv runner (as someone who is in tv, I loved this theme) - after a particularly crappy day, she ends up at a bodega and makes a wish on a wishing machine. Waking up 16 years later with a hot husband and 2 adorable kids at the top of her career, super confused.

She missed the good part, the part of meeting her husband, falling in love, having her kids, climbing her way to the top and owning her own production company.

Be careful what you wish for.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars

Lucy Young is a 26 year old woman living in London. She has a great set of friends and a job she likes in a career she loves but life is hard with no money and a difficult dating pool. She makes a wish on a convenience store wishing machine to skip to the good part of my life. She wakes up the next morning to a handsome husband and kids aged 42 with no idea what happened over the past 16 years.

This was my first Sophie Cousens novel and I loved it. It was LOL funny and sweet. I loved Lucy, Sam and Felix. Every interaction with Felix was charming.

Funny coincidence that I read back to back time travel books (The Unmaking of June Farrow). I highly recommend The Good Part for a fun quick read.

This book made me feel all feels, I laughed, I smiled and boy did I cry!

This was everything I expected it to be. It really gave me the nostalgia feel of when I was curled up watching Rom-Coms like 13 going on 30.

If you could skip over your late 20s and 30s to get to the good part of your life, would you? That is what Lucy had to decide when she went to sleep as a 26 year old and woke up as a 42 year old who barely recognized herself in the mirror.

I would not categorize The Good Part as a romance, it’s really more of a contemporary coming of age story with a touch of fantasy. I thought the writing was solid, and the plot was smart, relatable, and thought provoking. The characters were wonderful. Her husband Sam was perfect, and her son Felix was one of the highlights of the book. I enjoyed Lucy’s inner dialogue, and felt she could be me or any one of my friends, because who hasn’t been frustrated with where they are in life and wishing things were different?

This was my first Sophie Cousins, but it will not be my last! I read it very quickly, and would recommend it to anyone who wants a contemporary story that has a bit of romance but more so will make you ponder life and remind you to enjoy every season.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens is a time slip what if kind of a novel. Lucy just wants to skip to the good part of her life. The life where everything is sorted out and each days seems so planned. She wants this so much she wishes on a wishing machine and wakes up 16 years in the future. The problem is do you want to get to your destination without taking the journey?

I am a huge Sophie Cousens fan and this story did not disappoint. Lucy was so likable and the family she woke up to delightful. It was fun to see she still had her friends and many of her dreams had come true. It was interesting to think about waking up and being a mom. A job that is hard, but even harder to step into. The characters in the story were so endearing and helped to make me so invested in the story

I was fascinated with the premise of what if you skipped through everything in between. So many times, that is what we think we want. But do we really? I love how the author brought such depth to the story.
I loved how The Good Part was thoughtful, funny and filled with delightful characters! I want to read it again! I highly recommend The Good Part by Sophie Cousens.

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a review.

This book was fantastic! My only con is the age shaming going from 26 to 42. I mean if it were 16 to 42 I’d get it but 26 to 42 isn’t that different. Also (spoiler alert) I kinda was hoping she’d have chosen to stay. But it was great book annd premise and I was interested the whole time.

Thank you Putnam for the digital ARC and PRHAudio for the audiobook. I started with the audiobook and read the last half on my Kindle. The Good Part is like the movies 13 Going on 30 and Big mixed together into a women's fiction romcom. I'd say this one leans more toward women's fiction because the focus is on Lucy, but there is some romance involved as well. This book really makes you think about life and what matters most. Lucy jumps from age 26 to 42. As someone who is slightly older than 42, I thought it was perfect the way Lucy reacts to her new body and her lifestyle in general. Skipping 16 years would make the change to being a 40-something wife & mom a drastic change. There were some very tender moments with her friends, with Sam, and with cute and smart Felix. I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and the audiobook is great.

The Good Part tells a story of what happens when a twenty something year old wishes to get to the better, more settled part of her life. That part of her life happens to be the beginning of middle age. There have been stories told before of teens wanting to be an adult, but this was an interesting take of an unsure young adult wanting to be an adult that has their life together. I'm sure most young adults can relate to feeling lost in their careers and relationships. Time can feel against you. I thought the mostly interesting part came towards the end - if you could skip all the hard times to get to the good part, would you do it, or would not actually living through those hard parts cause you to miss out on feeling them. Would you regret skipping the bad stuff? It would be interesting to discuss this story with a book club, and hear what each person would choose and why.

The story had romantic parts but didn't feel like a romance but more like a general fiction book. I would recommend it to women mostly but men would enjoy it too - it's one of my favorite reads of 2023 and I think back on it often!