Good for You

by Camille Pagán

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?

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Womens Fiction, Ebooks

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2023

About the author

I’m the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of ten books, including Good for You, I'm Fine and Neither Are You, and Life and Other Near-Death Experiences, which was recently optioned for film. My novels have been translated into twenty languages.

I've written for Forbes, The New York Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Parade, Real Simple, Time, and many others. I'm also a master certified coach and the founder of Even Better Co.

When I'm not at my computer, you'll find me with my nose in a book, running after my two kids, or talking shop with other writers. Be the first to know about my new releases and other updates by signing up for my newslettter at camillepagan.com/subscribe.

Reviews

[Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual @camillepagan brings us characters that we fall in love with. Aly has the job of my dreams… and hers..😍 An editor at All Good magazine!! You go girl!! 🙌🙌 She is killing it in her new position…or so she thinks..🤷‍♀️…until she overhears what her coworkers think of her… 😳😢😡🤬…Ummn she loses it… and her boyfriend… aka her boss.. 🙄…suggests a little time off..🥺…and not with him..😳

Still mourning the loss of her best friend.. her brother Luke.. she packs up 💼…and leaves NYC behind..✌️…off 🚘 to Luke’s empty lake house in Michigan… and let me tell you… she gets a BIG surprise when she gets there! 😳😂

As I have begun to expect with every @camillepagan this pulled me in instantly… I laughed… teared up😢… I felt like I was there with these wonderful characters…and I loved them.😘 This is a super quick read at 256 pages… but it packed a punch 🤛 and checked all the right boxes!! ✅

🏖 🏖 Look 👀 at this gorgeous cover!!! All the summer vibes!!

Thank you @suzyapprovedtours for my gifted copy

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know about you, but when I see a cartoony cover like this my mind goes exactly where the people are – relaxing on a beach (or in my case out on the deck) and losing myself for a couple of hours in an easy reader sort of light romcom. I’m not usually a blurb reader so I 100% judge a book by its cover the majority of the time. This was an exception to the rule, however, since it was an Amazon First Read. The blurb sounded super light and just what I was trying to stack the TBR up with for once the weather started cooperating.

Girl gets dream job, girl has blow-up/breakdown that gets not only caught on film but posted online, girl gets mandatory leave of absence that takes her back to her deceased brother’s beach house where she will have a forced cohabitation trope with his best pal that you know will lead to schmexing, a break up of sorts and then a happily for now.

I was all in. Until it was also about child abuse (both physical and neglect) and PTSD and never-ending grief and alcohol abuse and on and on and on. Don’t put all this sort of trauma in my beach read. I don’t avoid heavy books, but I sure as shit don’t put a cartoon cover on the front of them.

2.5 Stars

[Jessica Paige (Exercise_Read_Repeat) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️I read this book having zero idea what to expect and so happy I did!

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

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC!

[Katie Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book didn’t click for me and I did not enjoy this read too much. It was an easy, quick read and the premise was promising but lacked delivery and development.

[Kath Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why do authors make women so weak at times? Aly was so irritating and annoying throughout this book. The one redeeming character was Wyatt. He had a inner strength that was very calming throughout his storyline. And I loved Harry. Everyone needs a BFF like Harry. Loveable, honest, and encouraging
The book would be an okay Beach read, but nothing worth spending much time on.

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve said it a lot that I believe the book finds the reader. And this book sure found me when I needed it. Not only did the arc that came with the sweetest inscription topple my TBR but it did my heart good

Grief is a hard concept to articulate because every person handles it differently. When Aly Jackson loses her brother she finds that she throws herself into work into of confronting her pain. That is until she has a breakdown which forces a break that is well needed even if it’s not wanted.

Wyatt, Luke’s best friend is Also battling his grief but in a different way.

When these two find that they can share, they find so much more

In her signature way, Pagán uses humor and real characters to express true thoughts.

I love her writing and this book is so good. I can’t stop crying and hoping for these characters.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really need to stop believing other people’s reviews about books. This was predictable, trite and without substance. The main character was utterly self-absorbed and annoying. What a waste of time this was.

[caleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

pov a walmart version of beach read

[John Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another entertaining Camille Pagan story. Always engaging, but out of the six of her books I have read, only one has been top notch, unfortunately not this one. Our MC has her dream job, unfortunately right from the beginning we realise not all is well with Aly's job or life. Her beloved brother's recent death hangs heavy, as does their unhappy, abusive upbringing. Upon being put on administrative leave from her dream NY job, she heads to Michigan to sell her brother's lovely lakeside home and get on with her life, but Wyatt and other things intervene. 3 stars

[Aya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for You had potential in the beginning but once Aly met Wyatt, everything fell apart. The instant love between them was unbelievable, there wasn't a single spark. It was like someone cast a spell on them when they laid eyes on each other, they became two lovebirds.

3 stars, cute cover so I should at least get an adorable story but all I got were some great places in Michigan.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following an altercation at work, Aly retreats to her late brother, Luke's, house but is shocked to discover someone else living there! Why is Luke's friend, Wyatt, there?

"Just leave a little space for spontaneity. You might be pleasantly surprised by what happens when you let life happen to you."

Even though this book is on the short side at 244 pages, it certainly packed a powerful emotional punch! Aly's grief after losing her brother was palpable, and I loved how the relationship between her and Wyatt developed. There was such a strong, electric chemistry between them as they dealt with their shared loss of Luke, and I loved every minute of it. The ending was perfection and made me tear up several times.

Trigger Warnings: Sibling Death and Child Abuse

4.5 stars

Location: NYC and Saugatuck, Michigan

I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon First Reads - February 2023

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't want to be mean, but I'm not sure if it should be called a romance if there's absolutely no chemistry - and I repeat, NONE - between the main characters.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon.

[Shannon (The Book Club Mom) · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 heart. 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.

[Susan Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for You is indeed a book that will be “good for you”! I was caught up in a whirlwind of emotions so powerful that I finished in one day! The main character, Aly, is driven and ambitious, her life planned out in a way that makes it hard for her to veer off in another direction. When she is thrown a curveball that derails her plans, she heads to the house her beloved brother left to her when he died—only to discover that her brother’s best friend Wyatt is living there! There is a lot to unpack in this stirring novel—Aly’s traumatic past as well as the pain that both Wyatt and Aly feel as they mourn the loss of her brother, his friend. I felt everything they did as they navigated through their feelings, including their growing feelings for each other. I laughed, cried, grieved and loved right along with Aly and Wyatt in this gem of a book. The author has gifted readers with complex characters and a story which will touch their hearts as it did mine.

[Mary Katherine Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5⭐️

Overall I enjoyed this book, but will I remember it? Probably not. There was a lightness to this story even though it dealt with some heavy subject matter (grief, trauma). I found the writing to be lacking in maturity and on the undeveloped side. There were some contradictory statements in the book (at one point it states her brother was cremated and later it states his body was never found). I also found Harry's character to be extremely cliché and the character development overall was fairly surface level given the subject matter. This book was a bit at odds with itself seeming to want to offer a light read, but leaving a lot of space where it could have gone much deeper.

[Ria · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book felt like what you would get if you asked the ChatBot AI to write a romcom with the “we’ve been left a joint property in a will!” trope. The bones of the expected story are there, but man alive, none of the words, actions or feelings of these characters felt remotely like what actual humans would say, do or feel. My reading of this was not helped by having recently read Twice Shy, a book with a very similar setup but far superior execution.

Aly was pretty dreadful, and whilst I acknowledge that the trauma of her childhood and the grief over her brother’s death would inform some of the erratic behaviour, I just found myself feeling frustrated by her decisions and reactions to situations. So many times during my reading of this, I just found myself flabbergasted that this got past an editor, Aly was entirely lacking in depth and I found it so hard to empathise with her. There’s also a lot of conflict resolution that trips over itself to ensure that Aly is entirely without blame. I’m thinking primarily of the inciting meltdown - we’re teased throughout about what the video contains, turns out… Aly just made some reasonable points defending herself? So in no universe would a) anyone care enough to upload the video to the internet and b) would she have been put on leave because of it? Also, she’s terrible to Wyatt throughout but he constantly apologises to her.

On to Wyatt. What is there to say? He was an utterly bland love interest and the half hearted attempt to give him a backstory barely featured. Luke felt waaay more fleshed out and he is dead at the start of the story.

I am very interested to hear what the rest of Book Club think about this. I’m always disappointed when a romance pick for Book Club doesn’t deliver as it’s a genre I dearly love and I want people who are sceptical to be won over, but this book ain’t gonna do it. I’ll try recommending Twice Shy as a palette cleanser instead.

[Jodie | GeauxGetLit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Camille Pagán has a gift for writing realistic storylines that takes on past trauma and grief but can turn it into the perfect feel good story.
This one is her best one yet and I simply can’t wait for the next book.

[Libby Hawkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t believe a female author would write such a weak and pitiful female main character. I couldn’t make it past 25%.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this latest book by Camille Pagan. Part women's fiction, part romance, we get to know Aly, an ambitious New York City magazine editor who has a blowup and work and is forced to take a month off.

Looking to regroup, she retreats to the Lake Michigan Beach house her brother left her. The only catch, half the house was left to her brother's best friend Wyatt who does not want to sell. These two don't get along but slowly they help each other work through their mutual grief over the loss of Luke and find a love neither was expecting.

A great book about love, family, and figuring out what truly makes you happy. Perfect for fans of Tarah DeWitt's The co-op and good on audio narrated by Amy McFadden.

[mrs elaine sutton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually I love Camille Pagán's writing and I've read all her books twice, but this was really disappointing. It was not up to her usual sparkling standard. I was so bored by the dialogue and the story that I could hardly be bothered to finish it. Thank goodness it only cost 99p.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aly is an editor at a magazine in New York when she has a meltdown while picking up her lunch. Someone recorded the outburst and posted it to YouTube placing her on an unplanned, unpaid one month break from work. Now there are no excuses for delaying the sale of her late brother Luke's beachfront home in Michigan. Reluctantly, she makes the trip and finds Luke's best friend Wyatt in residence. Definitely not what she was expecting.

This novel is about working through grief and reassessing your life. It's a quick read at just over 250 pages.

[Adele · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. It had great quotes and I’ll read more by this author, I just did not care for the main character or her job, that took up a good amount of the plot in my opinion.

[mrsboomreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good For You follows Aly, an overworked and seriously underpaid magazine editor who has a very public breakdown fueled by work stress and complicated grief, following the loss of her brother. Making matters worse, that breakdown was posted to social media and has disastrous consequences.

With a seemingly imploded professional and personal life, Aly suddenly needs to face to her grief, her brother’s estate, and one scruffy, shirtless, and slovenly complication she did not see coming!

This book is a GEM! At just over 250 pages, Aly’s story tackles life complications, explores family and friendships, and does it all with wit and heart.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is now my absolute favorite Camille Pagan book!
Aly Jackson is on an involuntary, unpaid, LOA from her job as Editor of a magazine.
There was an altercation with a colleague in a public setting, in front of more than a few people and this is to be her penance.
She runs to her deceased brothers cabin in Lake Michigan and learns it is not empty.
NOW WHAT?
It is half hers, half his, so they need to figure this out!
What can they do? Share, sell, split it?

There is romance, hurt, sadness,secrets, family and definitely friendship as you turn the pages of this wonderful story!
I am telling you, I loved it. There is so much entwined in this novel, that makes it so good!

Thank you to Camille Pagan for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.
Do yourself a favor and find time for this one!

[Courtney Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4⭐

☀️📚 Book #11 from my '23 summer reading list; buddy read w/ Jenna; past First Reads pick.

This book triggered a lot of things for me on personal levels, familial and otherwise, and I wasn't overly invested in the writing at first (I blame Emily Henry for that; she's ruined me for most anyone else's writing for women's fiction reads like this 😝). But thankfully the ending clarified a few things that would have bothered me more if left open ended or if they had ended differently. Also 5⭐ to Harry, Mari and Wyatt who made this book entirely what it is even more so than Aly did as the main character.

[Rochelle Weinstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

There she goes. Making me cry. Pagan's books are always smart and thought-provoking, chock full of the best emotions. Good For You is no different. Here, Pagan seamlessly tackles grief and its many faces, plus complex family relationships. And she does all this with her signature grace and sensitivity. As broken characters Ally and Wyatt wade through their losses, readers are taken on a provocative journey through understanding and self-discovery, forgiveness, and the deep, enduring love of a brother and friend. A truly beautiful and important story.

[Samantha Verant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come

[❤️Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this read! Got a little emotional but happy with the ending.