Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC. This is novella about a woman who develops a brain tumor and has to relearn all of the basic functions. Walking, etc. She also has extreme memory loss. It sounds depressing, but it is upbeat and funny at times. It is also based on the author’s real life. The book was shorter than I expected, but I really enjoyed it, and I admire the author for sharing such personal details.

I was blown away by the vignette-style of writing. Almost each chapter is different, and yet fits perfectly to convey Kinsella’s story. I thought I knew the direction her story was headed, and was happy to be wrong in the end. The struggle of identity was heartfelt, as was the strength and love surrounding Eve and her family.

#book #review #arc #sophiekinsella #rare #goodluck #badluck #family #strength #healing

Knowing that this was autobiographical fiction, it had me feeling the emotions intensely. The style made it easy to consume in one sitting with a cup of coffee (and some Kleenex). The short anecdotes almost helped bring some lightness and humor to a really tough situation. It's incredibly brave for Kinsella to tell this story. I have been a fan of her books, but it's been a while since I've picked one up and I'm so happy I read this.

I think this beautifully captures the highs and lows when a family is faced with an illness. There are moments of laugher and often, they are about inappropriate things, but it's a wonderful reminder to live life and search for the simple pleasures. "Normal plus" is the way to do it.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been reading Sophie Kinsella's books for almost twenty years and taking What Does It Feel Like? off my TBR list was an absolute privilege.
This book has everything I'd expect from one of Kinsella's stories: It's funny, sweet, relatable, and emotional. The added bonus? Kinsella uses this autobiographical fiction story to share her recent struggles with readers who absolutely adore her, providing a glimpse into how her life has changed over the last few years.
We follow our main character's story through short snippets of her day-to-day life as she recovers from receiving a life altering diagnosis, one that is taking a physical and mental toll. This means of storytelling works so well with the main character's current cognitive struggles, helping the reader to understand what our character is struggling with and trying to work through.
While this book discusses heavy topics, it has a wonderfully optimistic and uplifting tone. I feel that Kinsella's words are giving such a wonderful voice to those struggling with illness, serving as a useful tool for family, friends, and the general public on how a life changing diagnosis can affect the person who's just realized their future is going to drastically change.
Please read What Does It Feel Like?. It's so well done and will make you fall in love with Sophie Kinsella if you haven't already.

I wasn’t sure what to think when I first picked this up to read. But understanding that this is a semi autobiographical take of something that the author personally went through in her life, hit different. This book is about a woman name Eve, who seemingly has a wonderful life. She has a great husband, five kids, and a wonderful writing career. Then the unthinkable happens and she’s diagnosed with stage four cancer. And we get to feel all of her raw emotions through that. Definitely worth the read.

Sophie Kinsella writes an almost autobiographical novella about an author with stage 4 glioblastoma, an incurable cancer.

This novella was so different than Kinsella’s normal work, but was so good. It was so human describing the complex emotions of living with such a prognosis. It was very emotional, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

What Does It Feel Like? is a semi-autobiographical novel by Sophie Kinsella. While the description gives hints about how this story will go, I did not expect to have so many emotions reading it. This story follows novelist Eve Monroe, who is also a mother of five and wife to a loving husband, Nick. Eve learns that she has been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor. After an eight-hour long surgery, Eve wakes up and tries to re-learn how to live life again and deal with her diagnosis. Kinsella tells her own story through fiction while keeping it realistic.

There are a ton of emotions in this story as Eve experiences her ups and downs. She goes through everything from forgetting Christmas carols to have glimpses of memories. Words get jumbled and basic life skills are forgotten, which are all amazing to follow. I love the structure of the novel where it is divided into the before and after. Kinsella introduced Eve’s life well with her writing and life as an author to the second part that takes place after her diagnosis and surgery. It gives a great illustration of both sides of a tragedy where life happens suddenly, and life still goes on. Usually, I am not a huge fan of the vignettes, but it did work in this novel as the happy and sad moments are not drawn out too much. Overall, this novel was very well-written and another great read by Kinsella.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, The Dial Press, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

This is a tough read because it is partially autobiographical on the author's part. Also, it happening right before Christmas time makes it doubly sad. I'm glad she decided to share her journey with her readers.

Eve is a successful author who just went to a premiere of her book turned movie Hey Big Spender (which I guessed immediately was based on Kinsella's novel Confessions of a Shopaholic). That was the "before." The "after" is her winding up in the hospital with memory loss due to her recent brain surgery for cancer. A terrible cancer with a poor survival rate. Eve has to learn to walk and do self-tasks that most of us take for granted. Like remembering the words to Christmas carols sung every year and what a shirt is for...

I appreciated the little details of this novella but I want to let the reader explore them for themselves. This was a quick read about a tough subject.

Thank you, Sophie for sharing this with us.

"What Does it Feel Like" is a poignant tale that masterfully balances heartbreak and warmth, drawing heavily from Sophie's personal experiences, which must have been incredibly challenging to endure and subsequently put into words.


The narrative seamlessly shifts between sorrow and humor, infused with hope, making for a bittersweet read that will resonate deeply with fans of Sophie's previous works. As I turned the pages of Eve's story, I found myself laughing and crying, and I wholeheartedly wish Sophie all the best.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.


Another well-written relatable book by Sophie Kinsella. Sadly due the my current circumstances and the book topic it was placed in my finish later pile. I DID read enough to know this is her most relatable book yet, it's her story and one most people can relate to being either the patient or family member of a person with cancer or any other possibly debilitating illness. For myself, the story got too real and I just could not stomach it. For now, I shall buy the novel on the 8th of October and place it on my Sophie Kinsela shelf until I'm ready.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this novella. This story was so raw and real. I can't imagine being strong enough to write something so vulnerable while going through a cancer journey. Kinsella is lovely and brave and I so appreciate this book. Wishing her many more years of clear scans and a happy ending!

I actually read this as I was sitting with my mom at the hospital as she's fighting cancer so this really hit close to home. I requested this book from Netgalley without knowing much about it because I am a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella. I have read/own every single one of her books pre-2020 and then once I joined Bookstagram, I got overwhelmed with tons of new books, new authors and recommendations from other bookstgrammers so I was excited to reconnect with Kinsella.

This definitely has her unique voice, which I love. I felt like I was back in the Shopaholic series at the beginning. This is a novella so it was a super quick read. It's a fiction book but draws from her own experience dealing with brain cancer. It was so poignant and definitely heartbreaking as I read what happened. I am thankful she is doing OK now and appreciate her sharing her story, even if its not 100 percent autobiographical.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. 4.5 stars rounded up.

This beautifully written book is broken up into two parts, the Before and the After. The Before: is about Eve who is an author who is trying to write her seventh book and she is in the middle of being interviewed for the magazine Modern Woman. She is explaining to the interviewer how she has five children, John, Leo, Arthur, Reggie, and Isobel. She also says that her husband Nick is her champion! He has taken the kids to the park for a pick nick while she writes.
After she hangs up she tries to get back to her writing but she just can't seem to concentrate, so she decides that she will go to the coffee shop and get some coffee and see if that will help and maybe she can get some inspiration. Instead she stops at a dress shop to try on this fabulous dress she sees and feels like she really shouldn't be doing this but if she buys it that she will find a reason to wear it. Mean time a story strikes her and she starts writing it down on her phone so she won't forget any of it. This story just flows so smooth through her and she calls it "Hey Big Spender".
It is a huge success and Disney buys the rights to it. She wears the dress to the opening and all of her children are dressed in their suits and Izzy in her darling little dress. It was a great night.

The After:
Eve wakes up in the hospital and she doesn't know what happened to her or why she can't move her head. She doesn't know any of the people around her. She tries to touch her head and finds that there is a thick bandage and is now really wants answers. That's when she hears a familiar voice from behind her inform her of what is happening to her. Eve knew Nicks voice immediately and she felt at least, a bit better. Nick explained to her that she had a brain tumor removed a rather large mass. They are in the process of testing it to find out if it is cancer or not. Mean time they are going to be working with her to reteach her how to walk and to get strong again.

They finally find out that she has a stage four glioblastoma. The long and short of it Eve has stage four cancer that is an aggressive and incurable cancer. She will have to go through Chemo and radiotherapy. Her chances of survival well they won't know until they know how she will respond to the treatments.

This is a really beautifully written book. Sophie Kinsella I really appreciate you telling your story and how you went about it. This is really a true testament to your character. Thank you
Highly Recommend
Happy Reading!!

Eve is a novelist who wakes up in the hospital with no memory why. Slowly she needs to re-learn how to walk and her memory starts coming back remembering the brain tumor that was removed. As she comes to terms with her surgery, cancer diagnosis, memory loss, and the grief that comes along with it all.

This book was heartbreaking and beautiful. I read it in one sitting in between sobs and immediately had another friend read it who felt the exact same. Knowing it was a true story made it even sadder and courageous.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book helped me put into words some of the emotions I experienced when I was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, my diagnosis was not as severe as Eve's (or Sophie's); I was diagnosed with a very treatable form of breast cancer. Yet, I still found myself relating to many of the thoughts and feelings that Sophie expressed through Eve.

The initial fear of dying was my first reaction to the diagnosis, and Eve's words to Nick captured that emotion perfectly:

"I just need to know that you will be there when I die. I need to hear your voice. Your voice relaxes me. Plus, you need to tell me what to do and where to go. You know me—I haven't got any sense of direction. I'll end up in the wrong place."

Another quote that made me laugh was:
"My brain was the secret of my success when I was writing books. But now my brain's the very thing causing all the problems."

As a lactation consultant, this resonated with me deeply. In my late 20s, breastfeeding my own children sparked the passion that led me to become an IBCLC. The very breasts that fed my four children and paved the way for my career had now become the source of a threat to my life.

Reading this story, I often felt like reaching out to hug Eve, and knowing it’s an autobiographical work made me want to hug Sophie Kinsella, too.

What a brave, personal, and intimate story to share with readers. It’s no wonder Sophie has such a devoted fanbase.

A fictionalized account of what the author herself has been going through, having been diagnosed with incurable glioblastoma in 2022. This is beautiful and poignant and will break your heart. Told in brief anecdotes with Kinsella's charm and wit, again, it will break your heart but there is definite hope as well.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the Dial Press for this e-arc.*

Moving, insightful and heartfelt story about a wife, mother and author diagnosed with cancer. A fast read but it will stay with you for a long time.

Beautiful story and inspiring that it is based on Sophie’s own story. I am a long time fan of Sophie and will always read any book she publishes!

This is a heartbreaking story of an author who is at the height of her career and gets a traumatic cancer diagnosis. It is a touching, heartwarming and heartbreaking read all in one. At the end, Ms. Kinsella gives the revelation that this is her story. A popular podcast that I follow has her as the guest this week and I can't wait to listen to that to find out more of her story.

Sophie Kinsella has been one of my favorite authors for years. She has a unique voice, and a special way of combining heart aching lessons and wit that I so value as a reader.
What Does It Feel Like is the sort of raw tale that has the capacity to resonate far beyond the four walls you will read it within. It's about a woman's journey through life as a wife, mother, writer, and now, cancer patient. I read it in just an hour or two, and yet the pages pack a punch. It left me hopeful, grateful, and feeling bittersweet at Eve's outlook going into the end.
"You hate spoilers in books and films. We both do. But when it comes to this, all we want, above anything else, is a spoiler. We desperately want the doctors to give us the spoiler, but they can't, because they don't know either."

4.0/5.0