4.5 stars!

I wasn't sure what to expect from "Good for You" by Camille Pagán, but I loved every minute of it. This is the kind of good book you will get lost in. I read it so dang quickly, I was obsessed with finishing it. I'm not familiar with Camille Pagán's other books, but you better believe I am going to read her entire back catalog after finishing this one. While it does have a romantic element woven within its narrative, it is so much more than just a love story. It's a story of dealing with deep-seated trauma, PTSD, and the death of a family member, and how to move forward in life after many tragedies. It's about resilience, vulnerability, learning to trust, and adapting to a new normal. It's about making sacrifices, deciding what you really want in life, and about the promise of a better, safer, more secure tomorrow because of the good someone else caused. This is not a light read by any means, but there is hope within its pages. Pagán tackles these various topics with grace, care, and honesty. She takes her time crafting her characters and the chemistry and relationships between them. They are relatable, even when they are screwing up. This really is a beautiful book. Please read it as soon as possible!

Thank you to NetGalley, Camille Pagán, and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

Good for You by Camille Pagan was a story I loved to get lost in.
The story flows seamlessly and was a quick, enjoyable read. It was easy to connect and empathize with the characters as they faced the trials and tribulations of every day life.
I loved these characters and the beautiful descriptions of the setting.
She writes her character in such a way that by the end of the book you almost feel connected with each character. I enjoyed how the situations felt very real.
The story is told with a warmth and compassion that had me engaged from beginning to end. I enjoyed this touching and hopeful book.
There was so much to love about this heartwarming story.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Thank You NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Camille Pagan never fails to write a story that immediately grabs me. I loved this story of Aly. Through this book, Pagan shows the many emotions of grief, but also the warm feelings of a new love, and later, the determination of a woman who has finally made changes in her life so she may get what she wants and needs! Loved this one so much!

Great book - explores the impact of trauma and hardships of the past and the impact on the future. A journey of growth and love full of heartfelt moments.

I really enjoyed this story. I thought the characters were written so well and felt connections with them. Pagan does a great job with writing about grief. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Four stars!

Did I know where this book was going early doors? Yes. Did I still love every bit of it? Yes! Rom com perfection. And it was funny at many points, but it was also heartbreaking in its portrayal of abuse and grief. I just so wanted Aly to let Wyatt love her and my god, I was relieved when she finally did 🥰 I was so invested in this - devastated there wasn’t an epilogue 😭

Cute romance. The plot reveals how individuals grieve and heal. The characters are loving and predictable.

The premise sounded promising - two people who don't necessarily get along are bequeathed joint ownership of a beautiful beach house. Unfortunately, I found the characters to be underdeveloped and missing the one essential ingredient for romance which is chemistry between the leads. The characters are in their 30s but did not seem to have the maturity to match their age.

Quick cute and emotional read which doesn't sound like it should work but does. Aly is struggling after losing her brother even though she wants to pretend she's not. She ends up at his beach house in Michigan with his best friend who has been living there unbeknown to her. They both own the house and need to figure out a way to move forward together and decide what to do with the house and their grief. I liked this book felt the characters were likeable and felt the struggle they both had to get through their grief and try and live again. I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc.

I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I didn't. I struggled a lot to like the MC. And the chemistry between Aly and Wyatt ? I couldn't feel it at all. What a disappointment...

In Camille Pagan’s newest book, Good For You, Aly finally lands her dream job as editor in chief of All Good magazine. She thinks she’s doing well, but she a massive public meltdown and is forced to take an unpaid leave of absence.

She heads to the Lake Michigan house her recently passed brother, Luke has left her and finds his best friend is there too. Wyatt has also inherited the house! Aly is interested in selling the house, but Wyatt is not interested. At first they butt beads, but together they grieve their mutual loss. As they get to know each other, maybe there’s more to this?

Despite the heavy tone of the book, it’s still light and fun. Camille’s books always have characters with such depth and I think you really see that in both Aly and Wyatt.

Good for You is an Amazon First Reads for February!

How do you make the most out of the curveballs that life throws you? Aly has finally gotten the job of her dreams of Editor in Chief of All Good magazine, but she had a little melt down, which led to a month of unpaid leave. She decided to use this time to take care of the house her brother left to her back in Michigan. He passed away mine months ago, and she hasn't been ready to deal with the house. When she arrives, she finds out that she owns the place now with her brother's best friend Wyatt...

This was a fun and quick book that even told through a character working through heavy topics of grief, abuse and PTSD is done in the beautiful charm of Camille Pagán's writing. I loved the Lake Michigan setting too.

It officially comes out March 1st.

This is a very quick review as I read it last month thanks to Amazon First Reads.

I always enjoy reading about messy meltdowns and shakedowns and seeing how people deal with them...I am currently a wreck and can see hope in reading how others deal with the world exploding and imploding on them.

The story was enjoyably crafted and utterly readable - you will find yourself rooting for Aly to overcome her mess of a life and come out reasonably triumphant, even if it is only in her eyes...boooooo to the public who enjoyed watching her fail.

HIGHLY recommended, I already had pre-ordered this for our collection and as it came out today, look forward to cataloguing it and getting it on the shelf by week's end.

#shortbutsweetreviews

Synopsis: When life in the city doesn’t goes as planned, Aly has no choice but to head to Lake Michigan to the beach house her brother Luke left her after he passed away a year ago. What she didn’t know is that her brother’s best friend Wyatt inherited the house as well and has been staying there. Living under the same roof, Aly starts to wonder if her and Wyatt have more in common than just their love for Luke and as Aly discovers more about this man, her brother’s death and the NYC job she’s left behind, she begins to wonder if her lifelong dreams are really worth it and if she should put her heart on the line.

Thoughts: At only 257 pages, this was a quick read filled with so much heart. Pagan did a great job tackling the sensitive, emotional topics while keeping the story lighthearted and fun. I loved the friendship and romance between Aly and Wyatt and how they understood the other even though they were handling grief in very different ways. Also, as someone who enjoys learning about the magizine industry, I found Aly’s workplace situation a fun bonus, especially because the beginning takes place in NYC!! I’m crossing my fingers that the final copy has an epilogue!

Read if you like:
-brother’s best friend
-forced proximity
-themes like grief and recovery after loss of a loved one
-Michigan setting
-The Bold Type

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... I mean, 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.

What an absolutely beautiful book. I loved every moment of it. We followed Alys story after her brothers death. This story shows so much emotion and how trauma affects everyone in different ways. The author touches on PTSD and childhood trauma in such gentle way. I'm immediately adding all of Pagans books to my tbr!

Thank you netgalley for the earc in exchange for an honest review

I am Camille Pagán’s biggest fan. Always and forever. If you want to fight me on that, bring it on. Mwahahaha! I’ve been reading the author’s books since 2018, and look forward to her new releases every single year. Funny story: I actually credit Camille for getting me hooked on audiobooks. Her books were some of the very first I listened to. I clearly remember installing audible on my phone, and then discovering Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties. I devoured it, and then quickly downloaded two more - Forever Is the Worst Long Time, and Life and Other Near-Death Experiences. And now I’ve read them all!

Okay, now it’s time to focus on her latest, Good for You. I loved, loved, LOVED it. This book has SO much heart, friends. It will make you feel things. It explores SO many themes like family, friendship, career life, tragedy, loss, grief, and love. A large focus is on family dynamics, and that’s probably why it appealed to me so much. Pagán intertwines an extremely dysfunctional childhood with a complicated mother/daughter relationship, which in turn creates a powerful bond between two siblings. This book made me think of my big brother quite often.

Good for You is also an epic love story. At first, Aly and Wyatt seem like an unlikely pair. She is extremely driven and hard-working; he lacks motivation and is a bit of a slob. As soon as Wyatt’s character was introduced, I just knew that he’d be a love interest for Aly. A fun little “opposites attract” fling, perhaps!? As the plot thickens and their individual storylines develop, the reader quickly realizes that their connection is much stronger than that. Camille has a great talent of creating the very best characters, and both Aly and Wyatt will steal your hearts. Trust me.

Good for You officially releases on March 1st, but it’s currently an Amazon First Reads selection for February. This means that you can read it for free if you subscribe to Amazon Prime, or purchase it for $1.99 if you don’t. Definitely take advantage of this deal. 5/5 lovely stars for Good for You! Go download it now. For reals.

I always love a book by Camille Pagán but this one is definitely up there as one of my favourites by her.

Aly has her dream job as an editor in chief - sure the magazine isn’t at its best, but she is trying her hardest to keep her team happy. After a meeting with her team- she hears her coworkers taking about her leading to a very public breakdown - except Aly can’t even remember it happening.

Aly takes the time to retreat to the lake house her brother left for her when he passed away - not having dealt with any of the grief of losing her brother almost a year ago - the house seemed like a good place to start, except when she arrives - she finds an unexpected resident.

I loved being along for Aly’s journey. Camille writes the best flawed but relatable and realistic characters - always my favourite part of her books and Aly and Wyatt are two of her best yet!

This book is filled with emotion and focuses on what grief looks like for different people, PTSD, friendships and family, finding happiness - all with a splash of romance.

4.5 stars rounded up

⚠️trigger warnings: death of a sibling, death of a friend, grief, drowning, suicidal thoughts, PTSD, physical and emotional abuse, alcoholism, abandonment

Aly Jackson has her dream job but due an outburst that was video taped and goes viral she’s forced to take an unpaid leave of absence. She now has the free time she needs to face her demons and figure out what she really wants out of life.

Good For You touches on grief, death, PTSD, and abuse but it’s done in a way that shows hope, growth, and the strength that comes from our trials. Camille’s books are so easy to read and I always love her characters and life lessons. Aly and the supporting characters are great. I definitely recommend this one!

Aly Jackson has her dream job. She is the Editor in Chief of All Good magazine (think Real Simple combined with Good Housekeeping) and absolutely loves her work. One day Aly accidentally eavesdrops on her co-workers, only to hear some very unfair criticism about herself. After months of late work nights, stress and the grief of her brother's accidental death, Aly loses her temper and tells her co-workers what she thinks of them. Unfortunately, the entire scene is recorded and uploaded to the internet.

All Good management tells Aly to take a month off work, so humiliated and hurt, she heads to her brother's lake house which was willed to her by her brother a year ago. Aly shows up at the house and is dismayed to find her brother's friend Wyatt comfortably settled into the house already. In an unexpected twist, her brother has left the house to both Aly and Wyatt.

How is Aly going to prove her worth to All Good and get back to her job? And how will she manage to clear out the lake house and sell it when Wyatt owns 50% of it?

This is a novel about building a new life after loss, and finding a better definition of happiness when your old one fails you. It is a quick read with with two very likeable main characters. There is some romance involved but it isn't over the top. (I am definitely not a romance reader!) I wouldn't classify it as a romance, as the focus of the story is Aly's journey to redefine her life and adjust her vision of what a happy life would look like. It was an enjoyable read, so thanks to Suzy Approved Book Tours and NetGalley for my copy.