Synopsis: Think 13 going on 30, but rather 26 going on 42. A woman stumbles across a wishing machine after an especially terrible night out, and wishes that she can “skip to the good part” of her life. When she wakes the next morning she is in a new life that she has no recollection of.
Pros: I thought this was a very sweet women’s fiction story. It had great characters, funny moments and an overall nice message about appreciating the good and bad moments in life.
Cons: This is by a British author so I didn’t always ‘get’ the humor or references, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and would recommend it when it’s released in November!
Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the early copy!

I loved this book so much! Big meets 13 Going on Thirty and I'm here for it! After a very rough night (disappointing day at work, fight with best friend, weird date), twenty-six-year-old Lucy makes a wish on a machine to skip to the "good part" of her life, where her career and romantic life are "sorted." She wakes the next morning with a strange man in her bed and wrinkles she never had before. She's 42 and married with two kids! She has no idea how to care for children, run a company, or work the weird "future" car but eventually starts to love her new life and all the people in it and wonders if she wants to go back to her old life after all. The characters in this book were so charming, as is the case for all of this author's book. I especially adored Felix. He stole every scene he was in. I am such a huge fan of Sophie Cousens and am already excited for her next book!

I loved this book! Lucy was such a fun heroine and the way the story was told was so charming and delightful. I’m a sucker for time travel and British chick-lit so this was right up my alley, and exactly what I needed to read

Wow! This is such an amazing book, definitely a 5-star read for me!

The main character is done living her life as it is with a dead-end job, and she wishes that she can skip to “the good part” (cue the AJR song). Well, she gets her wish and what she experiences is so interesting and fun to read about.

I absolutely loved getting to read about some of the inventions the author dreamt up for the future. The characters are so well-developed. I especially loved little Felix 🥰

Besides a few typos (which are common in ARCs), the writing of the entire book was absolutely beautiful. Can’t wait to see what this author thinks up next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC in return for an honest review.

⭐️: 3/5

26-year-old Lucy Young is tired of waiting to get to the good part of her life, so when she comes across a wishing machine on the way home from another disastrous date, she wishes she could skip ahead to when she’s achieved everything she wanted. When she wakes up the next morning, it’s 16 years later, she has a husband and two kids, and her dream career. Unsure about whether she actually skipped ahead 16 years or if she just forgot parts of her life, she tries to embrace her new life and new relationships while trying to figure out how to go back, and furthermore, if she even wants to.

This is the second book I’ve read of this “skipping ahead in life,” Thirteen Going on Thirty theme in the past few months, and it’s…honestly not my favorite. I love Sophie Cousen’s books, especially This Time Next Year, and I definitely found this one entertaining and relatable at times (although Lucy could be particularly and annoyingly bad at just…things, even for a romcom FMC), but the ongoing theme that time-jump books have of just the anxiety and inner monologue of the main character panicking about how to live their new life and having no idea what’s going on in this future timeline just make me feel so claustrophobic for some reason, and also irritated with all the self-pity that usually goes along with it. Add in the fact that I can’t stop my brain from going through the whole scenario of “what happens to the future timeline if they go back? Are they basically killing everyone in the future timeline?? That’s so fucking tragic!” And they’re just…not my favorite trope. It’s hard to do or say anything new with them, and this one was no exception.

Thank you to @netgalley and @putnambooks for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

This gives me all the 13 Going on 30 vibes.

This was such a fun story. I liked how it was different--not just boy meets girl and fall in love. Lucy starts 26 and jumps 16 years in the future. She has a husband and kids she doesn't know and a whole career that's new to her.

This book dealt with some harder topics so don't let the cartoon cover fool you. Check out the TW.

I've been reading all the British rom com books this month and loving it! I adore Sophie Cousens and will continue to read all her books!

4/5 stars!

When it feels like her life is in shambles, Lucy stumbles upon a wishing machine and asks to skip to “the good part” of life. She then wakes up in a strange bed with no recollection of the last 16 years.

I love Sophie Cousen’s storytelling. It took some time for me to get into this one, but I enjoyed it more once Lucy was navigating her future life. It was entertaining to see Lucy fumble with motherhood and trying to explain her memory loss to her son Felix. I also loved the slow reveal of her and Sam’s love story as Lucy tries to remember the previous years.

This is a heartwarming read that reminds us that you can’t have the good parts without a little bit of bad along the way. It’s a story of growth and more women’s fiction than romance and I highly recommend.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @putnambooks for an early copy of The Good Part by Sophie Cousens. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐/5
Release date: November 7th, 2023

Blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112976344-the-good-part?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=PbEl2zn3r6&rank=1

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

I was drawn by the blurb for this book, which has some 13 going on 30 vibes, but I found the main character Lucy quite unlikeable. For someone who went from 26 years old to her forties, I still kind of expected some sort of maturity. I mean, she’s an adult but the way she was reacting to things in her new life was quite immature for a 26-year-old living in a forty-something body. Yes, her new life and the sudden change were shocking, but she skipped all the bad parts and relevant experiences in her life. She had no chemistry with her husband since the current version of herself hasn’t made any connection with him, and she knows nothing about her current job since she lacked the experience. I struggled reading this and the only character that kept me going was Felix, by far the best character here.

This was quite a letdown for me as I loved Cousen’s previous books.

Absolutely adored this book! Funny, sweet, heartfelt… reminiscent of 13 going on 30, but with its own spin. I loved the vulnerability of the main character throughout her journey. The author made me laugh out loud with her portrayal of the confusion of waking up in a future life… I loved it!

<i>I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

This book is very reminiscent of the movies that inspired it (<i>Big</i>, <i>13 Going On 30</i>, etc) but it has its own flair, its own voice. It's very grounded in reality -- though Lucy's future is something to behold! -- with the only bits of magical realism being the machine she uses to make her wish. It's the right balance of whimsy and maybe-this-could-really-happen.

I liked this book, a lot. So many people can relate to Lucy. I know I can! She's a perfectly flawed character. Her group of friends is wonderfully dynamic and diverse. Sam is *chef's kiss* And Felix is absolutely darling.

Everything Lucy gets up to, both as a 26-year-old and as a 42-year-old, is charming and resonant and gross and true. You feel for her and you feel alongside her. I can honestly say I had no idea how this story would end and I loved that!

The reason I didn't rate this 5 stars is because there's some pretty heavy off-screen content that is discussed. I wasn't expecting it. I suppose that's my bad because that's life but the cover and synopsis made me think this would be fairly light-hearted. It isn't so consider yourself warned.

All in all, I will be recommending this book to most of my friends.

I just didn't click with this, unfortunately. I love Sophie Cousens, but I just couldn't get into this one. It's not the book, it's definitely me.

I absolutely loved this book! I enjoyed the time jump plot, romance, and falling in love all over again. Have you ever seen the movies “13 Going On 30” or “The Family Man? This book reminded me of those movies, but even if you’ve never seen either one, you should still read this book.

Lucy is going through a rough spot in life. Water is dripping onto her bed from the ceiling, her friend/roommate is moving out, and she’s in a dead-end job; you get the picture. What if she could move forward to get to “the good part” of her life? What would her future look like? This book takes us there, along with Lucy, to find out whether or not her future life is all that she wants it to be.

I have read a few previous books by this author, and I have to say this one is my favorite because I liked the topic. I sometimes wonder “what if” regarding my decisions and actions in life. I also liked how Lucy’s character developed and realized she had to take control.

While this is a great contemporary romance, it was a little deeper than that, with a nice helping of fantasy and magic thrown in.

Instagram post will go live on 10/23/2023 @read.rest.recharge
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5921706345 (review is live)
StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/9d549481-91e0-48a5-b01d-2d086b1a905f

I love these "wake up in your body, but with an alternative life" stories and this one did not disappoint. It is funny and poignant and a great way to reflect on what we wish for...and what happens if we get it!

There are few things more comforting to me than a Sophie Cousens book, so I was very excited to read The Good Part. It follows Lucy, a 20-something who is quite literally going through it. Her life is a mess, and all she wants is to get to the good part where everything works out for her. Since most of the plot happens when she gets her wish, it's easy to understand why she would want that life, even though choosing that life and skipping forward in time comes with consequences.

As someone who constantly flips back and forth between being terrified of time passing but also wanting to get to the better parts of life without the struggle, I immediately fell for this book. I understood why Lucy would want that future life, but I also understood why living through the struggle might be worth it too. This conflict and having to choose between either skipping 16 years of your life and just living through the good parts, or living through those 16 years and experiencing the pain that comes along with it, was something that really sold the book for me and made me more invested in Lucy's story.

Overall, I really loved this and I was once again not let down by Sophie Cousens. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the eARC!

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens is the story 9f Lucy, a woman in her mid twenties who is tired of the grind, the living with roommates in a nasty flat, living paycheck to paycheck and just life as it is. She stumbled into a shop with a wishing machine and wishes she would get to the Good Part of her life, and wakes up the next morning next to a handsome man, with wonderful children, and in her mid forties with no idea how she got there. Be careful what you wish for! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely love Sophie Cousens. When I first read one of her books, I binged read her entire back list within a week. These books are easy to read and they hook you! The Good Part is no different. I absolutely loved this one as well and can't wait to read more of her books!

I loved this book! I thought it was so well written and heartfelt. I really connected with the characters, though I have to say little Felix was my favorite! If you’re looking for just a solid read from start to finish I highly recommend this book!

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens is absolutely adorable! The story had me sucked in from page one.

Lucy is twenty-six and struggling. She feels stuck and wishes she had a better job and dating prospects. After a night out to celebrate her promotion she comes across a wishing machine where she wishes to get to “the good part of her life”.

In true thirteen going on thirty fashion I was immediately invested in Lucy’s life. Her character was so well written and likable. Sophie Cousens is a must read author for me and The Good Part is not to be missed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I don’t know if I’ve ever resonated with a book as much as I did this one. The way Lucy was feeling at 26 is how I think a lot of us feel in our twenties and sometimes we wish we could just jump to the good part of our lives where we’re not dating and feel settled. This book feels like a good reminder that everything will happen eventually and don’t wish away your life.

Definitely recommend!

This book was soooo good with nostalgic reminders of the movies “Big” and “13 Going On 30”. So relatable and really speaks to the question of one’s life experience, the good, the bad and the ugly, and if we could skip the bad/ugly, should we and what would we be giving up?

Lucy Young as a 26-year-old is tired of being overlooked for promotions, she’s tired of terrible dates and she’s tired of her living arrangements. So following another disastrous date, she comes across a wishing machine in a local store and longs to be able to skip over her current circumstances and get to the good part. She wakes up to a 40-something face, a husband and two kids and working a high-powered job. Did she actually skip ahead or has she just forgotten a large piece of her life? As she begins to settle into her bizarre new life, she finds herself having to make a heart wrenching decision, can/should she go back to her previous life, and if so, can she give up THIS good part.

A wonderful array of characters, and a surprisingly personal look into how we view our circumstances in life at various stages, and how we struggle/adapt to various scenarios…leading to the question, WHICH part is the good part and what makes one part better than the others.

Also, it must be said, a great ending.

Recommended whole-heartedly.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for providing the free early arc of The Good Part for review. The opinions are strictly my own.