REVIEW: The Good Part by Sophie Cousens

In The Good Part by Sophie Cousens, If we’re being honest with ourselves, hasn’t everyone had a moment where they just wish to skip over the tougher bits of life and get to the good part? Goodness knows Lucy Young has thought that enough over the past few years. Stuck in a trying job with even more trying flatmates and no money to speak of this is *not* how she thought things would be at age twenty-six. So, when her promotion at work from runner to junior TV researcher doesn’t improve things and Lucy has the baddest of bad days, who can blame her when she comes across a so-called wishing machine and gives it a go. To her surprise, she realizes someone out in the universe hears her plea to get to the good part of her life. It’s just that in doing so, she ends up waking in a strange house next to a strange man (her supposed husband) with (supposedly her) two kids just down the hall.

‘If I’m being offered a chance to see what my future holds, maybe I should embrace it.’

Jumping from your mid-twenties to your early forties requires some adjustments, Lucy quickly learns. And not just the physical aspects. Although those are daunting enough. She doesn’t feel mentally prepared or equipped to become a mum seemingly overnight. And as she searches for answers to how she skipped ahead sixteen years, Lucy also has to navigate her marriage (!!!) and an important career that’s at a critical make-or-break stage. It’s a lot for one woman to handle. Thankfully, as she takes on one challenge at a time, the people she’s evidently surrounded herself with over the years have her back. Which honestly makes it that much more difficult when Lucy asks herself if she had the chance to go back to her “real” life, could she leave all of this behind?

‘Life isn’t supposed to be lived in the wrong order like this.’

A delightful mix of romance, women’s fiction, and magical realism–with some relatable humor sprinkled in–THE GOOD PART was a smart, heartfelt story by the one and only Sophie Cousens.

‘I know then, whatever plane of the space-time continuum I am living in, right now, there is nowhere else I want to be.’

CW: View Spoiler »Grief, loss of child, dementia. « Hide Spoiler

Sophie Cousens will have readers wondering whether Lucy, THE GOOD PART’s heroine, actually jumped ahead sixteen years into the future or if there’s a more logical explanation for it. Could she have amnesia or some other medical reason? Or was there really magic at play? In addition to her time jump issue, this book also explored the nuances of Lucy’s relationships as well as what it meant to find her place and become comfortable in her own skin.

Oh, Lucy. From page one, Cousens painted a picture of the harried twenty-six-year-old as being unhappy with nearly every aspect of her life. Funny as some of the scenarios were, I think most readers will understand why she would take a chance on a wishing machine to get to the “good part” of her life. But can you imagine the shock and utter confusion waking up in a completely different home and in a totally different year? Lucy did her best. And, okay, some days her best was a little, ahem, lacking. But for the most part, she stumbled her way through family life with her kids and husband–all total strangers at first–trying to support them while figuring out what truly happened. And if she was stuck there permanently.

The secondary cast was very important in Lucy’s life. From her close group of girlfriends to her loving parents to her workmates, they helped her put things into perspective as much as possible. Aside from her son Alex, and her former neighbor Mr. Finkley, my favorite was her husband Sam. *swoon* I can’t imagine how Lucy would’ve made it through without his love and guidance. It was a challenging situation for them. And Cousens didn’t hold back on the real, gritty emotions they both sorted through. But watching everything between them unfold, from the sweet, tender scenes to the steamier ones, it just solidified how genuinely wonderful Sam was and how well he and Lucy fit as a couple.

QOTD: If you had the chance to time travel, would you? If so, would it be into the past or to the future?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: November 7th, 2023 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |

By the New York Times bestselling author of Just Haven’t Met You Yet, a downtrodden twenty-six-year-old wakes up to the life she’s always wanted, but is it really a dream come true?

At twenty-six, Lucy Young is tired. Tired of fetching coffees for senior TV producers, tired of going on disastrous dates, and definitely tired of living in a damp flat share with flatmates who never buy toilet roll. She could quit her job for a better living, but she’s not ready to give up on her dreams. Not just yet. After another diabolical date lands her in a sudden storm and no money for bus fare, Lucy finds herself seeking shelter in a tiny shop, where she stumbles upon a curious wishing machine. Pushing her last coin into the slot, Lucy closes her eyes and wishes with everything she’s got: 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 storybook perfect little boy and baby girl, Lucy can’t believe this is real—especially when she looks in the mirror, and staring back is her own forty-something face. Has she really skipped ahead to the future she’s always wanted, or has she simply forgotten a huge chunk of her life? And as Lucy begins to embrace this new life and new relationships, she’ll have to ask herself: Can she go back, and if so, does she want to?