"Life is never sorted. It's just an undulating shit storm of problems and pleasure."

Lucy is a 26-year-old single lady living in London. She's sharing a flat with three other twenty-somethings and has been woken up to a wet mattress due to her upstairs neighbor flooding the bath and the aftereffects dripping through the ceiling more times than she's like to admit. While she'd love to move out and get away from her mooching flatmates, her job on the bottom of the totem pole at a television station barely covers the bills - it's possible she's shamefully dug a pastry out of the trash at work and picked off the pencil shavings when she didn't have money for breakfast. After yet another online date that seemed promising ("He might not be as slim and tanned as his profile picture, but if I squint, he could pass for a short Chris Hemsworth, if Chris Hemsworth had a hangover and a dad bod.") but ended with her fleeing his flat, Lucy feels defeated. When she subsequently enters a nondescript shop to avoid the rain, she stumbles upon a wishing machine. Lucy wishes she could skip to the good part of her life, and the next thing she knows she's waking up in a fancy strange bed next to a sexy but strange man and her reflection reveals an expensive hair cut, crows feet, and a saggier neck. Was her wish legitimately granted - is this house in the 'burbs, this hot hubby, these two kiddos, and this high profile job really her life? And if it is, what the what is she supposed to do now?

This. Book. Is. So. Cute. And fun. And I loved it.

I have to confess that whatever this genre is - female time travel/alternate universe rom-com? - it's my favorite. I loved Oona Out of Order, This Time Tomorrow, and Maybe in Another Life far more than the average reader. But even within this genre, The Good Part stands out as a real gem.

Obviously this is a work of fiction set in the year 2039, but one of my favorite aspects of this book is how plausible and realistic everything about it felt. From Lucy's initial aversion to her sticky, drooling toddler to going on a shopping spree when she realizes she actually has money for the first time in her adult life to having a voice activated car that sounds like Stanley Tucci and won't let her operate it due to her blood alcohol level - the details had me nodding my head as I could see it all play out. I mean, I thoroughly enjoy Blake Crouch books, but I hate that I can't think too hard about many aspects of his books or they simply don't make sense. Not so was the case with The Good Part.

In addition to the "what might a character act like if they were thrown 16 years into the future?" and the "what might day to day life be like in 20139?" aspect both feeling realistic, Cousens wrote characters and their relationships with each other in a rational and logical manner as well. It's understandable that her 7-year old son would know something's amiss immediately and call her "alien mummy" from the start, whereas her husband thought something might be up but didn't think too much about it right away. And Lucy's character development from a 26-year old stuck in a foreign 42-year old body to what she blossomed into at the end of the tale was simply divine.

Not only were the genre, concept, characters, and character development all to my liking, but Cousens gave Lucy the perfect ending as well. Well done!

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
From GP Putnam Sons Publishing: Lucy Young is twenty-six and tired. Tired of fetching coffees for senior TV producers, sick of going on disastrous dates, and done with living in a damp flat with roommates who never buy toilet paper. After another disappointing date, Lucy stumbles upon a wishing machine. Pushing a coin into the slot, Lucy closes her eyes and wishes with all her might: Please, let me skip to the good part of my life.

When she wakes the next morning to a handsome man, a ring on her finger, a high-powered job, and two storybook-perfect children, Lucy can’t believe this is real—especially when she looks in the mirror, and staring back is her own fortysomething face. Has she really skipped ahead like she’s always wanted, or has she simply forgotten a huge chunk of her life? As Lucy begins to embrace new relationships and the perks of maturity, she’ll have to ask herself: Can she go back to her previous life, and if so, can she stand to leave the good part behind?
*************************************
My review:
I love time travel-y/time warp kind of books. The idea of waking up in a different place and time is exciting and scary and intriguing. Lucy wakes up after wishing to skip ahead in her life to the “good part”. The trouble is for most of us, you don’t know what the good part is until it is in the past. She doesn’t remember her husband, her kids, her career, or any of the things that got her to the “good part”. Her young son Felix is probably the most endearing character. He is adorable, intuitive, creative, and just wants his Mum back so he is willing to help the “alien” Mummy fix her memories.

While I wouldn’t necessarily believe someone if they told me that had amnesia of the last 16 years, I appreciated that the people in Lucy’s life did believe her. How would you get through the days if you didn’t remember anything that had gotten you there? Re-falling in love with her husband and earning her children’s trust was well done. I worried so for Lucy in her career…would she lose everything she worked so hard for because she didn’t remember how to create tv shows??

Loved this writing, the “incidents”, the adventure, and the characters. Being where you are really is the sum of what came before in life. And the “good part” is generally the good part only when you are past it and you can remember with fondness only the positives.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Five stars!! Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnam’s Sons for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.

This had an interesting plot that tugs at your heart and your head. I know that i'm guilty of thinking what if we could be skipping the hard and jumping to the good part, this book does an awesome job of truly exploring what that would mean in life…

I just reviewed The Good Part by Sophie Cousens. #TheGoodPart #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I love books with a good hook, which is probably why mysteries are my favorite. Time travel stories are less reliable for me. The concept of skipping to the 'good part' of your life is interesting, but can the rest of the book live up to the concept?

It absolutely did. I myself feel nostalgic for Lucy's 42-year-old life now. I also thought a lot about my own life - where I've been, where I'm going, what my 16-years-ago self would think of my husband and kids. I cried at the ending and still have questions that are interesting to think about. Like: Lucy's 42-year-old life was improved by seeing it through fresh eyes instead of on autopilot. Will those improvements stick/happen again?

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! I just love Sophie Cousens. Her books are always fun and funny and fast paced. This was such a feel good novel and I think the ending is powerful, even if others wouldn't have made the same choice. The secondary characters are great and I loved all of the London ambiance. Such a great story concept to create a 26 going on 42!

I really enjoyed The Good Part! It reminded me a little bit of the movie, “Big”, in a fun way! I loved the premise and the ending was perfection!

“But maybe there aren’t any shortcuts in life. Maybe you have to live it all, because it makes you who you are.”

I feel like it has been a long time since I have read a book I absolutely loved. I read this book in one day because I enjoyed it so much. Lucy is a good, solid female lead. Not perfect but relatable. I was frustrated for her at the beginning of the book but never with her. I know I’ve felt myself when I was younger that there were parts I would like to skip, even just to feel I had things “more together.” I think the book does a good job of showing we never will have it all together. I’m not sure Sophie had to attack my 41 year old neck 😂 but yes, it is weird to see aging signs even if mine have been gradually and not a jump in time.

I loved Sam and Felix. I loved that there wasn’t some terrible secret or part of her life that she wouldn’t want to stay for. It was a heart wrenching decision, for her and for me as the reader. I don’t want to give away anything so I’ll stop with that.

This book was beautifully executed. It seemed similar to other ideas as the author mentions but definitely is unique in so many ways. If you want something clean and fun and heartwarming and worth the investment of your time, read this book.

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC!

If you love 13 Going on 30 as much as I do, then this book is for you! This was such a fun and refreshing story. I’ll admit the first few chapters were a little slow for me, but I was hooked shortly after! The story was funny, and a magic penny press machine truly spoke to me. I loved the way every played out, and it was resolved so nicely at the end. I felt the urgency, the desperation, the love. We had romance, no spice, but I wasn’t mad about it!

There was a lot of complexity and emotion here that I really enjoyed, and being close to the FMCs age, with a lot of the same fears, really helped the story resonate. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital arc in exchange for my honest review :)

Sophie Cousen is kind of hit or miss for me, I've read most of her books and as far as they go this might have been my favorite one. I thought the plot was an interesting concept and if not for the author I probably wouldn't have picked this one up. Once you got into the book the ending, having the MC return to her timeline, was a bit predictable, in a good way. It would have been nice to have a change in ending as time travel stories go. Also, some of the characters were a bit unlikeable, at least until the end. The Main character was whiny and a bit annoying and it took me longer to get into the book because of that, Michael made me slightly uncomfortable, but I LOVED the children, Felix and his friends were so cute and smart and I thought they brought so much to the story. The upstairs neighbor was a nice surprise. I really hope when she gets to that part of her future Chloe or Zoya or Both survive, Because Im a sucker for unrealistic happy endings. It was also kind of cool to get the authors take on what the future might be like in a super realistic way. Overall, it was a cute story that I did enjoy and if I were to recommend any of Sophies books to someone it would probably be this one.

Charming and brimming with emotion, 26-year old Lucy has a negative bank balance with awful roommates suffering through being the coffee fetcher at her TV job when she comes across a wishing machine and wishes to be at The Good Part of her life. She launches 16 years into her own future--going from her fake-it-before-you-make-it twenties into her forceful-and-thriving forties--with vibes of The Family Man meets 13 Going On 30 as she navigates who she is now and whether the journey toward joy was worth the trade of simply arriving. It's a bittersweet story, and while some of Lucy's choices pulled me out of the book a bit, I can appreciate the reflective nature that "we should be careful what we wish for, we just might get it." I love the way we watch Lucy fall in love with the life she's earned as if seeing it with open eyes for the first time. A good reminder for us all.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sophie Cousens' dose of technology upgrades sprinkled throughout (like twinges of Back To The Future curiosity), her son Felix was a delight (!), and husband, Sam, was a cinnamon roll.

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

Tired of a thankless job, crappy apartment, horrible dates, and terrible roommates, Lucy Young wishes on a wishing machine to fast forward to the good part of her life. When wakes up 16 years in the future with a family, job, and life that she always hoped for she has to decide if it is worth staying.

This story reminded me of Big, 13 Going on 30, etc. I loved Sophie's humor and how she had to create relationships with people who already felt they had a relationship with her (kids, husband, friends, coworkers, etc). I very much enjoyed this book, but was hoping for a slightly different ending. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and think it's worth a read.

Thank you NetGalley at the publisher for this arc! It was a cute take on 13 going on 30. It started off a little slow for me but then I LOVED it. It was heartwarming, funny and it made you think. I really enjoyed it. The future part was my favorite. Sam ❤️ the kids ❤️ There was a whole lot of good parts in The Good Part.

When 26-year-old Lucy Young wakes up in her mid-40s after wishing to skip to the good part of her life— AKA the part where she doesn’t have to dig pastries out of wastebaskets, go on horrendous online dates or live in a chaotic flat with a leaky ceiling— she’ll learn some BIG life lessons as she searches for a way to get back to her real life.

4.5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

This book, THIS BOOK!

With its 13 Going on 30 vibes, funny banter, and heartfelt life lessons, The Good Part is one of those stories that sneaks its way into your heart and leaves you with all the warm, fuzzy feelings.

This was my first Sophie Cousens book, but I’m happy to say that I’m officially a fan and will be adding her other books to my TBR!

Don’t skip this one— Every part is the good part!

Four stars. Wonderful characters and plot. Fun Rom Com!! Will be recommending and reading anything in the future from this author. Thank you for the title.

4.5 stars!
If you like “13 going on 30”, READ THIS BOOK! This is definitely more women’s lit than rom com as she wakes up married in the future, but it has the bits of romance as she falls in love with Sam all over again! @sophie_cousens writes with such heart and humor, I will always read what she writes! My personal favorite character was her son, Felix. Usually, authors like to throw in a precocious kid, but Felix is just plain awesome! He instantly knows something isn’t right and I love seeing their relationship grow. If I had kids, I’d want a Felix for sure. This was just a feel good story about finding oneself and believing in oneself. I definitely recommend checking this one out when it comes out November 7th!

Cute characters and a story that will keep you hoping and reading. I loved the concept and it was very well written

Lucy is in her 20s, sick of her job and a string of terrible dates. She just wants to skip to the good part. So when she finds herself in a random shop with a wishing machine during a storm, she knows exactly what to wish for. When she wakes up she has the perfect job, husband and two kids. Now she’s trying to manage this new stage of life, but can’t help wondering what she missed in skipping to the good part. This gave me great memories of Big and 13 Going On 30 and in combination with Sophie Cousens’ great writing I definitely recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Good Part by Sophie Cousens!

Lucy Young is 26. She lives in a flat with 3 others and is still working as a runner at a television studio even though she was recently promoted to researcher. She's pretty much broke and her dating life is a disaster. After a particularly terrible day at work, a disagreement with her best friend and an awful date she stumbles upon a wishing machine and thinks why not. Lucy wishes she could just skip ahead to the time in her life where things are sorted... She wants to find her person and be in a great place in her career. Life would be so much easier that way, right?

Lucy wakes up the next morning and to her surprise it's 16 years later. She's married, the mom of 2 children, and the head of her own television studio. This is great or is it?! Lucy has no memory of her lost years and only the things that happened prior to her wish. While her wish came true and her life is finally "sorted" she has no clue what she had to endure in-between. As Lucy scrambles to make sense of her present she wonders if she should have stayed in the past.

I rather enjoy time jump stories and this one was no exception. I loved seeing how Lucy navigated her new life while also trying to reconcile the time she lost. This novel was different in that they didn't make Lucy go through this situation alone. I liked that she was transparent with her husband and friends about her leap and even more so they didn't treat her like she was crazy.

Overall this was an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend.

**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. So the time loop, time travel tropes have been aplenty as of late and I thought this would follow the same equation of the others I’ve read recently. But it was so much more - deeper into life lessons and concepts such as fate vs. free will. I was sucked in at about 30% and really enjoyed the characters and storyline equally! Just enough suspense and emotion to make this feel like “more than just a beach read.”