Good For You by Camille Pagán (ARC Review)

Good for You by Camille Pagán
Published by Lake Union Publishing, Amazon Publishing on March 1, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 256
Format: eBook
Source: ARC

A warm and witty love story about making the most of life's not-so-little curveballs by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of Life and Other Near-Death Experiences.

Aly Jackson has waited her whole life to become editor in chief of All Good magazine. But six months into the job, she overhears her coworkers belittling her. Aly's clapback? A very public, career-jeopardizing meltdown. To undo the mess, she agrees to a monthlong unpaid leave.

Reluctant but determined to turn misfortune into opportunity, Aly retreats to the Lake Michigan beach house her brother, Luke, left to her when he died nearly a year earlier. Except when Aly arrives, she discovers Luke's slacker best friend, Wyatt, inherited the place, too.

Wyatt is unkempt, unmotivated, and totally uninterested in Aly's desire to sell. Yet as battle lines are drawn, Aly wonders whether she and this wild card have more than Luke in common. But is she willing to swap her lifelong dreams for a shot at healing her broken heart?

I’ve been a long time fan of Pagán’s work. One of my absolute favorites of her work is I’m Fine and Neither Are You but Good For You came in swinging as a fierce contender for my affections! A relatively quick read at just over 250 pages, it still packs an emotional punch that I wasn’t expecting from the cute, summery cover. Pagán filled these pages with grief, longing, and a hope that sticks with you long after you’ve read the final page.

Aly was an incredibly relatable character. Aly’s… isms are so much like my own that it made reading her story a challenging experience. Rewarding, but challenging! I wanted to wrap her up and keep her safe from the world and her inner demons. And throw her in encourage her to go to therapy.

Since this was a single POV story, readers don’t spend as much time getting to know Wyatt. What I saw of him, I really enjoyed! I’m a sucker for a somewhat gruff cinnamon roll that is over the moon for the heroine. 

I love the quick pacing for most of the book but there is one area that held back my rating. Because this was a fast read we missed out on the early time interactions between Aly and Wyatt. Wyatt’s transformation happened so quickly that it prevented his grief from having the same impact as Aly’s. The two were grieving differently and I hoped for a smoother transition. There was another quick transformation and reconciliation later in the book that I didn’t care for. It needed to be explored more but some of that is my own life experience and willingness to forgive.

Good for You is a beautiful, heart-wrenching book exploring grief, trauma, and learning to let go of plans. It gripped me and wouldn’t let go until the final page and even still the ghost of the story flits into my mind every once in a while. I highly recommend this read, though do take care and read some of the trigger warnings if you have grief and trauma tags that you avoid.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.