The beginning of this one was so good, then I wasn't sure how I was feeling about it, then the end was so worth it I can't believe I almost put it down. Lucy is in a rut, She's living paycheck to paycheck in a job that she just got a promotion but is continually asked to do her former job. She gets in a fight with a friend and has a disastrous meet up with an online date. When she finds an old fashioned wishing machine, it seems like an ideal wish to skip ahead to when her life seems less brutal than it does now. When she wakes up 16 years in the future and with no memory of what she's missed, the wish seems less ideal. In a battle between going back and staying where she is, she learns about who she's become, the changes that have happened, and coming into her own in a year when she's already done that. It's a lovely tale about the way relationships are built, the way the trials we go through make us who we are, and the tragi-comedy that can be the adventure of parenting.

#arc
#netgalley
#Thegoodpart

I have loved Sophie Cousens' books in the past and was so excited to receive an ARC of her latest novel! I read it in about 2 days, and I realized a very fundamental thing about me, and that is that I don't like time travel plots. I had read this after reading a similar in theme, if not plot, book that also had some weird time travel going on and I just cannot let myself go and believe that this works for me. I don't know why, but other than the time travel I did like the book.

The male lead was (seemingly) great, and I loved the kids in the book. As a mom of 2 tiny tots myself, I found myself really laughing out loud at her very quick foray into motherhood, and how kids just don't care at all if you know what you're doing or not, as long as you do what they want you to do.

Is it me, or are there sooooo many romances and romance-adjacent novels set in London right now? I am sort of getting tired of the setting, to be honest, but I'm assuming this is just a right now trend, and we'll maybe get to explore some other locals in the future.

If you like 13 Going on 30, Freaky Friday, etc- this book would probably be a slam dunk for you. Again, I liked it, I just don't love time travel and it took me until this book to realize that- so I would totally tell people to give it a shot. If you haven't ready anything else by Sophie Cousens, I LOVED Just Haven't Met You Yet.

This book just ticked all the good stuff for me. I completely adored it.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

this book was so cute i really like the consept of the book.is it really worth skipping to the good part of your life?lucy young 26 years old just wants to get to the her good part in life will it be all she dream of ?

I love this author, but this one just dragged a bit and just missed the mark. I enjoyed the premise, but the MC was just too unlikeable for me.

** Thank you NetGalley and Putnam / penguin Random House for the ARC and chance to read and review **

Synopsis:

Lucy is at the point in her life where she feels like she’s barely keeping it together. Broke, unfulfilled and eating croissants out of trash bins, she finds herself in a wishing machine asking to skip to “the good part” in life.

Review:
I was really interested in this book after reading the blurb for it! My sister had read prior Sophie Cousens books and spoke highly of her so I was very excited to have this arc! I thought it was a very very cute read with 13 going on 30 vibes - she wrote all the portions with magical realism so well. I felt it was a quick read and I fell in love with all the characters - especially Felix and Leonard - and wanted more!!! Will definitely be reading more by this author and I definitely recommend this book.

Title: The Good Part, a standalone
Author: Sophie Cousens, 1st time author for me
Publication 11/7/23
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC 🧡! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Lucy Young is a single 26-year-old TV producer gofer going on a string of disastrous dates. Living in a London flat share with multiple roommates, she knows there has to be something better coming. Using a magical wishing machine, she wants to skip to good part of her life- a loving husband, kids, and great job. I couldn't help but think about the movies The Family Man with Nicholas Cage (which the author acknowledges) and The Change Up with Ryan Reynolds when Lucy wakes up 16 years later. The only difference is both men believe the single life is more ideal than having a family. Lucy has to learn to navigate motherhood and being a wife. There were some funny parts with her kids, Sam, and her BFFs Zoya, Roisin, and Faye. This was great Contemporary Women's Fiction with a nice magical element.

Rating 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a beautiful, enjoyable, and emotional read. This really makes you think about all the things life throws at us— the good, the bad, and the ugly— and how all of that makes up what we call life and who we are. Not just the good parts. I understood Lucy’s struggle in the beginning— down on her luck, life sucked, and she just wanted to skip to the good part (I love the AJR reference). Once her wish comes true, life really is good. She has a gorgeous and good husband, and wonderful kids (though Amy is quite the handful). Her son Felix is a godsend and just all one could ask for in a son. She has the job she wanted too. Without her memories though, she stumbles around a bit, and yes, life is good but something is missing. There’s also the sadness of having missed out on everything that took to get to the good part— the first dates, bad dates, the birth of her children, the losses she took— everything. Is it worth sacrificing 16 years of missed time and memories for the life now? Or should she go back and live it? That’s the choice she has to face.

On a side note, I enjoyed all the future technology mentioned. Stanley Tucci as a car voice and being able to pay just with my biometrics. Like yes please!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the early copy!

Lucy is just tired and struggling! She puts a coin in a wishing machine and wishes to skip to the good part of her life. She wakes up with a handsome husband at her side and two perfect children! She has an amazing job… the problem is, she skipped it all and can’t remember any of it. Now the big question… can she go back, and does she want to?!

This book brought me back to all of my favorite movies growing up! 13 Going on 30, Never Been Kissed, 17 Again… I loved this one so much. My favorite character has to be her little boy, Felix! He knows she is an imposter and he wants his REAL mom back.

This was the first book I’ve read from Sophie Cousens and it won’t be the last. Thanks so much to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

Thank You to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Sophie Cousens for this ARC! This book had the perfect amount of comedy and nostalgia. This book was super relatable because of the ages presented and helped shine light on what some of us go through personally. Teared up multiple times and fell in love with the characters! Another great book from Sophie Cousens!

If you love 13 Going On 30, this is a must for your next read! This sweet story about love, life, and the choices that get you to where you’re going is the perfect reminder that every step in life is important and we shouldn’t always be wishing to get to “the good part”.

Beautifully written! My only complaint is that there wasn’t more 😅🥰

Thanks to Putnam for the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. The Good Part came out in the UK a few weeks ago and is now available in the US - I think it’s a really fun read and hope you’ll check it out if this review sounds like your cup of tea.
Lucy is in her 20s, working hard but not making much headway in her career, and her bank account is struggling, too. On the long walk home from a night out (with a random date that didn’t go very well, too), Lucy finds a “Wishing Game” in a convenience store and uses the coins of the woman in charge to send a wish to skip to the good part of life. You know, the part where you have put in the time in your career and are starting to be recognized for your efforts, and you aren’t stressing about cab fare to get home from a bad date. I was so swept up in the story that I couldn’t put this one down. The end was not what I expected, but I still enjoyed it. As the author says in her acknowledgements, “all these ‘live in the moment,’ ‘it’s all the good part,’ ‘value every day’ sentiments are easier said than done” - which is a lovely note we can all be reminded of more often.
Would you ever want to skip to a different age? I feel like I’d like to go back to my early thirties and make some different decisions… but honestly, I can’t imagine actually re-living a lot of that time.

The Good Part reminded me of 13 Going on 30. A girl who wants to just skip to “the good part.” Lucy is having a rough go of it at 26. She’s constantly broke, going on bad date after date, and her ceiling leaks. So when she stumbles upon an old wishing machine one night she wishes to be in a spot in life that’s just easier, when she has it all together, and more settled. As they say “be careful what you wish for” because that’s just what Lucy gets. She wakes up in her 30s, married, with two kids, and all the things she wished for but maybe having it all isn’t exactly what she wants. I enjoyed this book and liked how the “time travel” storyline was portrayed throughout. Shout out to Felix for being the best character! A fun, emotional, romantic, cute, etc read!

As soon as I finished, I wanted to start it all over again! I don’t often say that. Such an enjoyable read!
Lucy is disheartened by her life in her twenties – working hard and getting nowhere, bad dates, dumpy apartment. She makes a wish on an old arcade wishing machine (inspired by the movie Big with Tom Hanks). She wants to skip to the good part of her life. Imagine waking up to find sixteen years have passed you by! Suddenly Lucy finds she’s married, has two children, and is a successful TV executive. The world has changed, and she has no memory of the missing years. As she adjusts to this life she’s been dropped into, she begins to question if the wishing machine worked or if she simply has amnesia.
How Lucy maneuvers through her new circumstances is entertaining. I loved the rich characters. Watching Lucy falling in love with her husband and children is especially heartwarming. Toward the end I couldn’t decide if I wanted Lucy to go back in time or stay where she was. I had to see what her decision would be! This novel makes readers consider how experiencing the good and bad makes us who we become, and the necessity of going through it.
This was my first novel by Sophie Cousens. I MUST read more by this author!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for an arc of The Good Part. The opinions are my own.

Lucy is 26 and totally over her life as it is. A leaky ceiling that gets her bedding and pillows wet (gross), roommates with no boundaries, only a couple dollars in her bank account, a dismal dating life of losers, and is totally unappreciated at her job. She wishes she could just skip to the good part where every pays off and was worth it. Lucky for Lucy, she stumbles upon a wish machine in the back of a twenty-four-hour newsagent after one of her worst dates yet, for only a penny and a ten-pence.

Lucy makes her wish to skip to the good part, where her life is all sorted. Not broke. Not single. And not stuck. And she gets just that, waking up 16 years later with a house, a husband, a closet bigger than her whole 26 year old bedroom, and kick ass job.

Is this everything Lucy ever dreamed where she finds peace, or will she discover that you must be careful of what you wish for, as life is never quite sorted whatever stage you're at?

"I’ll take the heartache and the horror and the losses too, the fear of not knowing how it will all come to be, because that is life, in all its glorious, messy technicolor. And I know I am so lucky to be here, and that every breath I take is the good part."

I loved the characters that were incorporated, especially Sam and Felix. Same had me swooning and giggling. I'm not saying you would've caught me blushing and kicking my feet but...

Felix was so sweet and made me laugh out loud multiple times. He was so suave about his mom being an alien lol.

This book was a combo of so many movies I grew up with such as Big, 13 Going On 30, 17 Again, Freaky Friday, etc. Sophie did a great job combing some of the qualities to create a totally unique story. It also reminded me a lot of The Midnight Library, which was a treat.

I am 25 and this book totally hit the nail on the head of feeling so lost at this age. Should I have everything figured out? I don't feel like a "real" adult, but I'm also no longer a young adult anymore I suppose. This book put a bandaid on my stress and gave it a comforting cup of tea.

4.5⭐️ for the million emotions this book made me feel.

This was s000000000 GOOD!!! major tears! Reading this book gave me the same feelings I get when reading Dolly Alderton's work of nostalgia and yearning and heartache but also simultaneously feeling proud and grateful?? I can't explain it!

Cried several times and just overall fell so in love with the characters.

The FRIENDSHIPS?!!! SAM?!!! FELIX? (
Would especially highly recommend to anyone in their mid 20's! The perfect book for people feeling like they're "still figuring life out." Also would be a great read for working moms!

That being said, I'm not in my mid 20's and not a mom and still adored it. I mean, aren't we *all* still trying to figure life out?
Thank you @netgalley, the author, and @penguinrandomhouse for the ARC and @PRHaudio for the ALC! A

This book was such a sweet read, I really enjoyed it! Sophie Cousens writes great storylines that pull at your heartstrings and this one definitely did just that. I really liked the characters in this one and the 13 Going On 30 vibes it had with the time travel! This book covered relationships, grief, pursing passions, and the unconditional love of friends and family. It all came together in such a wonderful way and the ending was perfect. Highly recommend!!

Thank you @putnambooks for the arc copy of this novel!

I loved this story by Sophie Cousens. I think most people who find themselves stuck in a rut in their lives wish they could skip to "the good part" to know how things turn out. Lucy does just that when she discovers an old wishing machine and finds herself many years in the future with a nice home, a husband, and two children. She can't remember how any of these things came into her life, even though her family treats her as if she has always been there. She has to face the dilemma of staying in the future where she has begun to form relationships or going back to the past and starting over. This was a really wonderful story with lots to think about. I highly recommend it. Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

The Good Part
Author Sophie Cousens
Publishing day review!

Thank you, @pg7dda and @netgalley, for my #giftedearc, and @librofm and @penguinaudio, for my #giftedaudiobook! Narrator Kerry Gilbert read Sophie Cousens's lastest perfectly!

I love switching up my genres and diving into something a little lighter sometimes! I listened to The Good Part on Sunday, and I absolutely loved it! I also loved Cousens's This Time Next Year, which I read when it was a @gmabookclub pick.

With Big, The Family Man, and 13 Going on 30 vibes, Lucy Young, at 26, is not yet living her best life and is just fed up with her bizarre roommates, her boss who only appreciates Lucy for her tea and pastry runs, her disastrous dating experiences, and her empty bank account. So, when she happens upon a wishing machine, yes... she wishes that she could just skip to the good part.

And like Josh Baskin, Jack Campbell, and Jenna Rink, Lucy wakes up the next morning in her 40- something body with a husband, two kids, her dream job, an incredible home filled with designer dresses and shoes, and everything else that she's always wanted. It's absolutely crazy and she can't wrap her head around it, and she actually does tell her husband what she thinks is going on... which is such a "good part."

I loved listening to how Lucy was flung right into the sometimes hilarious chaos of parenting two children and into the hot seat of a major work crisis at her TV production company, and then learning about how she and her husband met, fell in love, and about their life together. I also loved to learn about how her friendships grew and matured over the years. Life can change so much in 15+ years.

But can she ever go back to her previous life and actually live all those years in between? What if she doesn't want to miss what's in between? And if she can, will she be guaranteed that she'll actually get to this good part where all her dreams have come true? Well, you'll have to read it to find out. I promise you won't be disappointed.

4.5 stars!

I really liked this book. It reminded me of 13 going on a 30 so much. I loved her son Felix and enjoyed her group of friends. Reading about she and her husband, Sam, navigate their “new” relationship was interesting to read. I was curious how it was going to end and I actually really liked how it was resolved. If you are a 13 going on 30s fan, you will be fond of this book too!