Wow! This author has a style of lightness, humor and relatability that always makes her a pleasure to read. Then this…! This would be touching and inspiring as pure fiction…but learning that this is the author’s story, lightly fictionalized?! Kudos to her for the bravery to be so honest and vulnerable. .She has shown tremendous courage and strength in her recovery. I wish her health, happiness and continued success.

What an unexpected personal story. My heart goes out to Sophie and I appreciate her writing this heartwarming story. Such a scary story about such a strong and determined woman. Bravo!

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!

Pitch perfect. Not a word felt out of place. It is pretty short, and it feels like it was the perfect length to convey the story.

I've read 4 or 5 of author's other novels, but I don't think you need any familiarity with the author to understand this story.

Great for readers looking for a good cry. I wasn't ugly sobbing, but my face was distinctly moist for about an hour.

This is the most beautiful short book I have read ever. When I first started reading this, I was like ehhh am I even going to like this? 3 chapters in & I knew this was going to be amazing.

I wish I could quote this whole book. There were so many wonderful quotes, but honestly you just need to read & experience it for yourself.

Trigger Warning: this is about cancer and it is RAW. It is beautiful and raw and so realistic. As someone who has tumors growing inside me right now, I found this so inspiring. I can’t say enough good things about this book.

I rarely read the author’s note in books, but for this one I had a feeling that I needed to read it. I just could tell by the writing that this author had a personal connection to this book & I am so glad I chose to read the author’s note too.

Beautiful work! I would give 6 stars if I could!

Thank you to netgalley for this free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a longtime fan of Sophie Kinsella, and her shopaholic series, I’m struck by the emotions that I feel after finishing this book. I had no idea of her struggles with a brain tumor and that this book would be autobiographical regarding her situation. You can see that Sophie still has her sense of humor in light of this horrific diagnosis and experience. My heart goes out to her and her husband and her family, as she navigates this horrible situation. I have to rate this five stars given the scenario and her strength and sharing her experience with the world. I consider myself privileged to be able to be given the opportunity to preview this novel in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Sophie Kinsella, NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity. This book will remain with ,e for quite some time after I’ve read the last page.

Cried so much reading this book, it's a well written mix of tragedy and optimism with a wonderfully hopeful, happy-for-now ending. I've always loved Sophie Kinsella's writing and this book reinforced everything I love; from her resilient characters to hopeful love stories to raw and emotional scenes, this book had everything.


The book hits even harder once you know that it is almost auto biographical. 🥲

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

As a fan of Sophie Kinsella for 20+ years this book broke my heart. It’s her fictionalized autobiographical account of going through diagnosis, surgery, rehab and treatment for a brain tumor. As she herself says the queen of happy endings hopes and prays for a happy ending herself but her own prognosis is grim and it’s just devastating. A mother of 5 in the book and herself she discusses anticipatory grief and going through telling her kids about her diagnosis and prognosis. Going through hard discussions with her husband. This novella wrecked me as long time can of hers. Wishing her all the best. Wishing her peace and comfort. Lots of love.

If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. A fictional account of real life events for the author is heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time. You need to read the authors note at the end of the book. I read this book in about 40 min and loved every min! This story is a great book to get lost in and it’s more powerful because it is true events. I hope Sophie Kinsella stays with us for a very long time and continues to share her wonderful words with us.

A story about the author who gets a brain tumor and how she deals with short term memory loss, walking, again, radiation, and chemotherapy. But mostly it is about how humor and a positive outlook can make the life we live (for however long) more rewarding. Very uplifting for dealing with any negative in our life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC of What Does It Feel Like?

Wow, how does anyone rate this less than 5 stars? I went in knowing this short story was a fictionalized retelling of Kinsella’s experience which made it even more heartbreaking, but it was a raw and real story that felt like getting a glimpse of a good friend’s diary. I am thankful it ended with there being hope.

Eve (Sophie Kinsella) gives advice on how to write a book. “Write what you know and do it convincingly.” She does exactly this in this brutally honest and brave memoir. Before, told in anecdotes and brief snippets is the story of a happily married successful author with five children who accompany her to movie premieres. “I feel lucky” she thinks. Then comes After. After is a groundhog day experience where Eve wakes up and asks the same questions over and over. Where her friends and relatives take care of the children so her husband can stay at her side, patiently answering those questions. After is hearing her husband, fighting back tears, say that yes, it is cancer each time she asks again. And After is googling Stage 4 Glioblastoma. Luck ends here.

At a brief 144 pages, What Does it Feel Like may be Sophie Kinsella’s best book ever. It is soul-ripping, funny, tragic and very, very real. “And right at that moment, this is her only aim in life, the only happy ending she wants. Just to keep going.” Thank you Sophie Kinsella. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House and the amazing Sophie Kinsella for this ARC.

Sophie is so special to me so naturally I had to get my hands on her fiction autobiography. I cried the whole way through and loved the happy for now ending. It only took about an hour to read and of course I’d have liked more but I get why it was so short. Shes amazing & I hope to read more from her soon

I hesitated to request this novel off NetGalley and then after further thought I came to the conclusion of "Well, maybe it's time."

My brother passed away from brain cancer (glioblastoma) in 2012, the same illness that Sophie Kinsella was diagnosed with in 2022. Ever since then, I've refused to read any book that discusses cancer whether that be a thriller, horror, or contemporary fiction.

I requested What Does It Feel Like because I never took the time or the opportunity to discuss my brother's illness with him at a deeper level. I didn't discuss fear, anger, disappointments or frankly, funerals.

I picked up Kinsella's memoir told via fictionalized, Eve. In it we read about how Eve's tumor caused short term memory problems and her perseverance through physical therapy. She describes a determination that most of us might not be able to grab onto after a diagnosis of cancer. The story is filled with honesty and vulnerability. I had moments where I was fighting tears because I just didn't want to give cancer (whether that of my brother or Kinsella's) one more ounce of emotion. Sections that were particularly hard included a bucket list, anger, and funeral planning.

Sophie Kinsella's books came into my life at a time when I had little energy to read a deep and lengthy novel. Her Shopaholic series made me laugh while I was getting up with babies (yes, twins) in the middle of the night and they enabled me to still felt part of the bookish community.

Sophie Kinsella ends her novel discussing the happy endings in novels and what happy endings look like for all of us. We all just keep going trying to tackle the chores or journeys ahead of us. She wishes us well and we reply in the same manner to her. "Thank you Sophie for the literary journeys you brought us on. Well done."

Eve (Sophie Kinsella) gives advice on how to write a book. “Write what you know and do it convincingly.” She does exactly this in this brutally honest and brave memoir. Before, told in anecdotes and very brief chaptersRandom House Publishing Group - Random House is the story of a happily married successful author with five children who accompany her to movie premieres. “I feel lucky” she thinks. Then comes After. After is a groundhog day experience where Eve wakes up and asks the same questions over and over. Where her friends and relatives take care of the children so her husband can stay at her side, patiently answering those questions. After is hearing her husband, fighting back tears, say that yes, it is cancer each time she asks again. And After is googling Stage 4 Glioblastoma. Luck ends here.

At a brief 144 pages, What Does it Feel Like may be Sophie Kinsella’s best book ever. It is soul-ripping, funny, tragic and very, very real. “And right at that moment, this is her only aim in life, the only happy ending she wants. Just to keep going.” Thank you Sophie Kinsella. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House and the amazing Sophie Kinsella for this ARC.

"What Does It Feel Like" is a novella that had me hooked from the very beginning. It was emotional and heartwarming. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy.
I have always been a huge Sophie Kinsella fan and have always waited for her books to come out!
This was is different- but in an amazing way. Sophie is such a brave woman and author to tell her story in such a way. There are so many emotions at every level. And then I had to keep reminding myself that this is her story! Bravo, Sophie. This will stay with me for a long time.

For some reason, I didn't realize that this book was only 144 pages. That totally threw me off, but with that said, this novella was amazing! I met Sophie Kinsella at a book signing several years ago in NY. I was so sad to hear back in April 2024, that she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This book is an autobiography of her story starting at the time of diagnosis. While it was heartbreaking, it also had moments of humor. Throughout the whole book, you can see the love that her family and her have for each other. Such a great little book!

A big thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sophie Kinsella is an author that's been with me ever since Confessions of a shopaholic came out. As a fashion student, it was mind blowing to read a book and feel so very seen by a character and Kinsella's writing style was just perfection for this genre.

That being said, reading this book was very emotional. And yet I feel grateful to have read it. I enjoyed the different writing style, it felt so very appropriate in this case. 💚

Although part of the title of this book is “A Novel”, as the author explains in an Afternote, it is mostly autobiographical, with some names and dates changed, but otherwise a reflection of the author’s recent experience.

Sophie Kinsella was diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor in 2022, and subsequently underwent surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and a great deal of rehabilitation. She decided to write about her journey through disease and recovery, because it is what she knows now, and because her writing is “her happy place.” It is for her readers as well.

As she explains through her fictional character Eve Monroe, she has the most aggressive form of brain tumor, one that only 25 per cent of patients survive more than one year past diagnosis, with a median survival time 14 months.

So she tells us some of what she has gone through - but never in a depressing way; rather, it is in her trademark light, self-deprecatory style. She writes of her love for her family and their incredible support for her; her struggle with rage and guilt over her bad luck; her gratitude for all of her previous good luck; and the irony of how, unlike when she writes fiction, she cannot determine the outcome or be in charge of the universe. She writes: “Fate’s the boss. And there are no teasers. All we can do is wait and see what happens.”

Her only aim now, she avers, is just to keep going: “She’s been super-lucky in life . . . then super-unlucky . . . so maybe the next swing will be towards luck.”

Evaluation: This brave, warm, at times funny, and ultimately optimistic thinly-veiled biography is like a love letter to all of Kinsella’s fans. And readers will love her back for it, more than they already have for all she has given to them through her work. I am so grateful she could return to her writing after her ordeal, and hope she remains in her "happy place" at for as long as possible. Fans will not want to miss this heart-felt offering.

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. I’ve been reading books by Sophie Kinsella for so long. I found this story so vulnerable and real. Thanks for sharing your journey.