Book 38 of 2023 - ☑️! Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam & Sophie Cousens for an ARC of The Good Part in exchange for my honest review.

When I saw The Good Part on NetGalley, I was instantly drawn to it - a rom-com with time-travel as an element, and the main character works in television? SIGN. ME. UP.

Though this was the first Sophie Cousens book I’ve read, I went in with some high expectations from the description, and it certainly did not disappoint. 26 year old Lucy has just been promoted in title from Runner to Junior Researcher, though her job hasn’t changed much and the salary isn’t helping. She lives with 3 roommates, one of whom, is her best friend, but it’s constant chaos at the flat with roommates using the tub to make bone broth, and strange leaks that cause the ceiling to stain. She can’t get to the good part of her life fast enough…until she does, and then it was too fast. After making a wish via a special washing machine with a woman who [SPOILER: could maybe have the spirit of William Shakespeare in her? /END SPOILER] nearby, she fast forwards 16 years and she’s 42 - married and with 2 kids, she tries to live her life in “the good part,” but can’t put the pieces of what happened in between. When faced with the decision of if she should stay in the good part or back to her 26 year old life where the best and some low lows are to come - what will she choose?

I really enjoyed this book - with inspiration from 13 Going on 30 (as noted by the author), I also felt some tidbits of Back to the Future and another personal favorite of mine - Jumanji. Cousens’ writing is wonderful - there were plenty of laugh out loud parts, along with some moments that made me teary-eyed. Having been to London, I felt an extra bit of excitement and connection when I could recognize the areas of town that were mentioned.

Though it’s marketed as a rom-com, I would say the romance sort of takes a backseat to the rest of the story, which I’m OK with at this juncture, so I’d say 1.5/5 on the 🌶️ scale and 5/5 ⭐️ overall. It’s definitely worth the read when it’s released on 11/7/23! 📺 🕰️ 🧳

#TheGoodPart #NetGalley

oh my, 4.5 beautiful stars 🥹❤️ what a beautiful story by Sophie Cousens! I was of course drawn in by the 13 going on 30 vibes, but this was a wonderful spin on it. I don't think I've ever quite understood the "women's fiction" genre until this book. While romance was very much part of this book (a very minuscule part), it wasn't the central focus. But I loved it all the same!

Lucy is a 26-year old human-equivalent of a struggle bus. She's broke, recently promoted (but unappreciated at work), painfully single, and living with a flat full of certified weirdos 😂 She's poses the question that most(?) of us past our quarter life crises have probably asked ourselves at least once: Can we skip to the good part? But unlike us, Lucy not only gets her wish granted, she gets it all: a sweet (and hot?!🔥) husband, beautiful kids, her dream job and house. The only problem, she has no memories of any of it. The age Cousens chose for Lucy (and the time gap/jump of 16 years) was just right for this novel. While my heart was hurting for Lucy, the book was so perfectly balanced with the right amount of humor, sweetness, and longing to figure out how the hell Counsens is going to wrap up things up nicely for these characters I've grown attached to in a short amount of time. Let me tell ya, I was not disappointed. 🥹 Do yourself a favor and pick this one up!

"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." 🫶🏼

Thank you to Netgalley & Putnam for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens is such a delightful time travel novel that it had me reading into the night. There were laugh out loud moments. Love, Family and Friendship is the theme throughout the book.
Be careful what you wish for because it may come true. That is exactly what happened to Lucy.
She wanted to go to the good part of her life because her young life had too many problems. Lucy jumps 16 years later in her life and meets her husband, Sam and her two children. What a surprise, she is totally confused.
Lucy soon realizes that it isn’t much fun loosing 16 years of her life and she needs to go back and experience all those years.
This is the first Sophie Cousens book I have read and she has such a way with words that I will read more of her books. The book will be released November 7th 2023. If you like time travel books, you will love this one.
I was given an ARC from NetGalley and Penguin Group. All opinions are mine.
The Good Part #NetGalley

I've reading all of Sophie Cousens previous books and this one is her best yet. We have Lucy who is not happy with the way her life is going and makes a wish to fast forward to the good part. It was a little slow at times but overall I enjoyed it. If you loved 13 going 30 you will enjoyed this book. Thanks to NetGalley for advanced copy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The Good Part releases on November 7th, 2023
3.5/5 Stars

The book was a time-jump story somewhat reminiscent of Big meets 13 Going on 30 but the jump is from early adulthood to middle age. The book follows Lucy, a twenty-six year old woman down on her luck in all aspects of her life. After a particularly bad day, she happens upon a wishing machine and wishes to skip over all of the struggle and get to the good part of her life. She wakes up the next day to find that sixteen years have passed and she is married with two children living in a London suburb while running her own TV production company. Her life is seemingly perfect, but will she be able to adapt to her role as a wife, mother, and boss? And is her middle-aged life worth missing those sixteen years?

This story is uplifting and relatively lighthearted, but it could have used a little more substance. While there were a number of significant events in the intervening years that Lucy discovered and had to learn to live with, I didn't feel that there was enough struggle in adapting to her new life. Her husband was a bit too understanding and I thought their conflicts were too easily overcome. I did thoroughly enjoy Lucy's dynamic with her son, Felix, and the development in their relationship throughout the story. I also appreciated that Lucy broke the mold of many time-jump stories by fessing up to her situation right away and liked the creativity in Cousens' storytelling.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and the message that it conveyed. For those looking for a heartwarming read, look no further than this latest Sophie Cousens book.

This was a GREAT book! I thoroughly enjoyed this because it was such a good mix of contemporary romance with some fantasy but not too much. This is giving me very much 13 Going on 30/Freaky Friday/17 Again vibes but in the best way. The concept may not be super original, but we all love a good self-discovery journey from another perspective, so if you enjoyed any of those movies, you'd love this book. There is some time travel going on. I loved the self-discovery journey that Lucy goes on and she is such a loveable and relatable character. I thought the kids were hilarious in their support role. There are moments of belly laughs and emotional ones as well. This book really made me feel all the feels. The magical realism was just enough to where even though we know it is part fantasy, it's not too much to where the reader would find it impossible/annoying., Overall, I'd recommend this book.

This was my first Sophie Cousens book and it will not be the last. This was such a wonderful story.
I loved the humor, I loved Sam and little Felix (Felix was was easily my favorite and loved that he was the one to notice that Mom wasn't the Mom he knows).
I loved how the romance between Lucy and Sam was sort of told in reverse. And I LOVE the ending and knowing everything he said about how they fell in love will come true.

I received an ARC of Sophie Cousens book, The Good Part. Go ahead and preorder your copy. This is the story of Lucy, a tired, financially stressed 26-year-old who stumbles across a wishing machine and wishes to get to the good part of her life. The following day she wakes up next to a handsome man and looks in the mirror at her fortysomething-year-old face with no memory of how she got there and what is happening in her life. This book will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate all the bits of your own life.

Definitely a fun idea! I didn't love the writing as much as I wanted to and it was a little long winded at moments I didn't care about. But overall it's a sweet read!! 13 going on 30, family man, time travel to learn life lessons vibes!

It’s giving Freaky Friday, Big, 13 Going on 30 and seriously classic 90s and 00s banger. I really loved this sweet blend of women’s lit and romance! 4.5/5!

Lucy is 26, she’s single, isn’t moving up at her job, makes only enough money to cover the bare necessities, and lives in a rundown flat that she shares. She has big dreams but worries she won’t achieve them and generally feels stuck. One day she is presented with the opportunity to to make a wish on a wishing machine and asks to get to the good part of her life ~wish granted~

“The next morning” Lucy wakes up, except it’s 16 years in the future, she doesn’t know where she is, there’s a strange man with a wedding ring sleeping beside her, and is that a baby crying in the distance?

I found this concept pretty relatable. At some point or another we all grapple with the question of “what is in store for me” or “surely my life gets better than this” and we wish we could jump ahead to when things feel more certain. However, just like in those time leaping/body switching movies from our youth, there is no “skipping to the good part.” This book was not what I expected, but it felt delightfully well balanced.

FAB! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one - a 26 year old is done struggling with a lackluster life. A career that feels like it’s hit a dead end, dates that go nowhere, barely being able to afford to live. All she wishes is that she can skip to the “good part” of her life…

This book is one I picked up because I felt like I might need it. I resonated with Lucy so much in the beginning of the book. She had a moment where she said “I wish I even knew if my life had a good part” that felt like it was pointed specifically to me.

As Lucy lives in her perfect life, she starts to realize she’s missed a lot: time with lost loved ones, times of grief, and times of happiness.

Reading about her life felt nice. This wasn’t a book where she realizes her life is awful. She has a good life - and I liked that. I liked the hope that maybe there’s a “good part” waiting for us, but we have to get through the now - the good, the bad, and the ugly - to truly appreciate it when it arrives.

Lucy Young is in her struggling era - she doesn't have the best job, has no money, not the best roommates, and feels Mike’s behind her friends. At 26, she’s sick of this time in her life and wishes to be in a time when things are better. After a terrible night out, she finds herself in a strange shop with a strange woman and an even stranger machine - one that grants her wish. The next morning she finds she’s been transported 16 years into the future - with no memory of the life she’s missed. She has to come to terms with her life now - the good and the bad - and see if she can get back to where she was.

I absolutely LOVED this book!!! I was obsessed and found myself thinking of it when I wasn’t reading it. I loved Lucy as a character and loved her internal monologue. She was so relatable and funny. Honestly, I loved all the characters. There wasn’t much if anything that I didn’t like about this novel.

Thank you so much to Penguin Group Putnam, NetGalley, and Sophie Cousens for the eARC!

I love Sophie Cousens so I was so excited to be approved for this ARC! The book was great! Lucy wishes to skip to the good part and well...she gets her wish. I loved following her journey 16 years later however I do wish the ending was different. Still a great ending, just my personal wish :).

I very much enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Throughout reading, I had feelings of nostalgia and as she mentioned in her acknowledgements, the classic movies Big, The Family Man, 13 going on 30, all came to mind.

I thought it was going to be your typical, and predictable, "time travel" rom-com but by the end, I felt that I needed to slow my life down and focus on the present. I don't want to look forward 20 years from now and regret not making those prominent memories. Our decisions are what makes us, good and bad, and I want to choose to remember them. The Good Part made me feel good about where I am at and where I'm heading. This is such an amazing feel good book.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP for an early copy for an honest review! Out Nov 7th!

Book review of The Good Part by Sophie Cousens
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you so much to @netgalley for this early release copy. Out November 7, 2023 , so put it on your list to read.

I loved it and it reminded me of the movie 🎬 13 Going on 30 which I watch everytime I see it on TV.

Lucy Young is 26 and struggling to get ahead. They don't take her seriously at work, she has no funds, her apartment she shares is a dump and she's just frustrated. She gets drunk and makes a wish to skip to the good part of her life. She stumbles into bed and wakes up the next morning, next to a hunk....what?
It seems she has skipped ahead 16 years in her life. She's a mom of two, married to a hunk, successful and can't remember how she got her. From her adorable daughter Amy, her snappy but funny son. Felix and her husband, she is overwhelmed. She's trying to get back to her old life and she goes on an adventure to get her life back, all the while settling in to her crazy life now!
I loved all the characters and it was a super cute read.
#crazybooknerd
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#netgalley
#thegoodpart

This is a time leap story and I loved it. Twenty-six year old Lucy Young is having a very bad day and is ready to skip to ‘the good part’ where her life is sorted, where she has a career, a person to love, and a decent roof over her head. This reminded me of the movies 13 Going on Thirty and Freaky Friday and it’s funny and heart-wrenching and now my new favorite Sophie Cousens book.

The story starts out with Lucy barely getting by and working at a dead end job as an errand girl for a TV station. She lives in a rundown flat, with inconsiderate flatmates and a forgetful neighbor upstairs who overflows his bathtub and she’s been on so many awful dates she’s losing hope that she will ever find someone to love. She is walking home after a girls night out followed by a terrible date when she is caught in a downpour and ducks into a market to get out of the rain. It’s there that she sees the Wishing Machine and a kind elderly lady who tells her she looks like she could use a wish and gives her the coins for the machine. The next morning Lucy wakes up lying next to a very handsome man in a beautiful home, with two kids, a successful career in television and no memory of the last sixteen years..

There’s a lot of humor as we watch Lucy in her future life when she sees her 42 year old self in the mirror and when she’s trying to figure out how to drive her high tech car and make important decisions at her job as a high powered TV Producer. But there are also some sad moments and you might want some tissues nearby for those. Her husband Sam is so sweet and I loved their relationship. There’s baby Amy and son, Felix who is hilarious, especially when Lucy is trying to help him with his science project. The story deals with some tough topics along with the theme of appreciating life’s journey, with its ups and downs. Lucy has to decide whether to stay in the future or go back and I wasn't able to guess which she would choose.

I laughed and I cried as I rooted for Lucy. This is a wonderful story and I recommend it for readers looking for a feel good story with depth and a side of romance. Thank you to the author, NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s for an advanced copy of the book.

How I love your style! I laughed and pondered and agonized and vibed with Lucy all the way to the last 3 chapters, never knowing I would be gutted and forced to sob uncontrollably from there on! What a beautiful treatise on family, on the choices we make and the ones we don't, on love and laughter and parenting. I loved this book. Truly. It was just so so good. 💜💜💜📚

4.5/5
This book surprised me! As a lover of 90s/early 2000s teen cinema (Princess Diaries, Bring It On, Mean Girls, She's All That, 10 Things I Hate About You, Freaky Friday) because I was a preteen when a lot of these came out, this gave big 13 going on 30 vibes, which I ate RIGHT up.

I really connected with Lucy and her group of girlfriends. They were all very well-developed and you could feel how deep the friendship ran between them. As someone approaching middle-age faster than I expected, so many of the observations and quips by Lucy (and co.) were spot on--I found myself thinking "I've thought this too!" so many times. I felt very seen lol. I appreciated the magical realism with the time travel piece and the fact that Cousens' wasn't afraid to make fun of the trope herself with some tongue-in-cheek comments every once in a while.

I didn't expect to enjoy the family life portion of it as much as I did but I couldn't help falling in love Sam as a partner and the kids as Lucy got to know them better. I really enjoyed that while we saw how great Lucy's life was in some ways 16 years down the road, Cousens' never tried to sell it as this perfect promised land--there was grief, and growth, and hard work. This book did a fantastic job of showing us that the figuring sh*t out part of life is just as important as the more "together" phase that comes afterwards. It really reminded me to appreciate the freedoms I still have as a young adult and to not miss out on my present by spending too much time imagining my future.

The plot and pacing were excellent throughout, I never felt that anything was rushed or too slow. It felt like I was reading the script for a 90s movie and I loved it. The writing was excellent and I loved the character development with each of the characters, including Lucy's besties and her parents. My one gripe was that Lucy’s colleagues in her future were too caricatured --esp Michael--which was disappointing. But I also recognize, you only have so much time with some of these characters.

Overall, I loved this read. I kept wanting to come back to it when I wasn't reading it and that's always a good sign, isn't it? I will defintiely be reading some of Cousens' other work now! Pick this up if you want a quick, light read with just a touch of that 90s magic ✨

Sophie Cousens never disappoints! In The Good Part she has written a humorous yet poignant tale about young adulthood and middle age. Very insightful.

Overview: Lucy is a 26-year old who has hit (what feels like) rock bottom in all aspects of her life. After a fateful encounter with a wishing machine, she wishes with all her heart that she could skip over all her struggles and jump to the good part in her life. Lucy wakes up the next day to find that 16 years has passed and that she now seemingly has a perfect life as a successful television executive with a handsome husband and two kids….

Thoughts: Sophie Cousens continues to demonstrate why she is one of my favorite contemporary authors by delivering yet another story that will tug on your heartstrings, all while making you contemplate what makes life worth living for. Although her gamble of using the “time jump” device could have easily become gimmicky, Cousens manages to incorporate this device masterfully. From depicting Lucy’s journey of becoming a mother to her charming son Felix, to her falling in love with her gorgeous husband Sam, this book was an absolute delight. And that epilogue?! Such a simple, yet beautiful, ending that made me unexpectedly teary-eyed…

Take home message: The Good Part is a magical and poignant story that will inspire you to live life to the fullest, struggles and all. Unequivocally one of my favorite reads of the year.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC!