Final Rating: ★★★
FYI: This publication is reader-supported through affiliate links placed in posts (including this one). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I think I’m finally coming out of a reading slump. I blame Spotify’s 15-hour listening limit; it really slowed things down for me in January and sent me book-spiraling. Side-note: I found out this week that they’re coming out with an Audiobook Access tier, which I think is silly and a ploy to get more Premium subscribers. Needless to say, I’ve found myself going back to Libby as a reliable audiobook source. What got me out of my reading slump, however, was a phone book. More information on a phone book below:
The Good Part by Sophie Cousens was a quick read that kept me entertained and on my toes. If you want to read it too (and own a physical copy), you can order it on Amazon at this link.
The premise of the novel is essentially “so can we skip to the good part?“. I generally dislike using genre definitions like “chick lit” or “women’s fiction”, so I would describe this book instead as a contemporary speculative romance. The book follows Lucy Young, a twenty-something who is ready for her life to change for the better. Her wish comes true, and she wakes up transported to her own life in her 40s. We follow her journey exploring her new life and deciding whether she wants to stay in it.
I thought The Good Part was a fun exploration into time travel and alternate lives, without the science-y aspect of speculative fiction. Honestly, most of the book reminded me of 13 Going on 30, so I wasn’t super impressed with the storyline (this was a big part of why I rated the book 3/5). A lot of it seemed familiar and like a modern rehash of the movie (and more nightmarish than heartwarming, but maybe I’m just not into time travel).
As far as characters go, the only one I grew attached to was Felix. I definitely imagined a young Thomas Brodie Sangster, reminiscent of his role in Love Actually, playing him in my mind. However, the other characters, including Lucy herself, were just meh for me. Lucy’s immaturity came through a lot throughout the book (pages-long descriptions of how saggy her skin became and ogling at her new husband…), and I felt like there wasn’t much growth from her by the end of the book.
All in all, I don’t think I would recommend this book unless you’re really into time travel. I think I’ve had my fill with multiverse/time-travel related media for now, so it’s time to switch to something else.
