It’s very hard to write a proper review of memoirs and autobiographies, this is essentially a sort of retelling of Sophie Kinsella’s own personal experience with her cancer. She gives us little glimpses of the things that she went through, what her family went through, the life of someone experiencing such a diagnosis. This one hit home for me as well, with cancer taking away a few that I love so dearly. Thank you Sophie for sharing this part of your life with us, I feel honored to have read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book.

WOW this felt so personal and amazing — I know that it isn’t an exact memoir, but I was in tears throughout. Getting a glimpse into Sophie Kinsella’s story after she shared her diagnosis felt so special, especially as a long time fan

This book was incredible and so powerful, which is impressive for how short it was. My favorite aspect of this was how I could feel the love Eve and her husband had for each other. It made me so grateful for my marriage and life Here's to living life at Normal Plus.

The author notes that this is a work of fiction, but it is based on her experience. By writing it as fiction she is able to be vulnerable.

It is hard to write a review for this story. It is heartbreaking, but knowing it is someone’s story, how do you review that. Kinsella puts herself out there to tell this story.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This story is absolutely incredible - this could be non fiction, the story is based on the author's own experience battling brain cancer. The audiobook is under two hours and it's a beautiful and heartbreaking story. Highly recommend.

Wow. I generally love Sophie Kinsella's books but What Does It Feel Like? blew me away. Truly powerful but with her gentle way of storytelling, infusing humor and lightheartedness.

I don't want to give anything away but suffice to say, I think it's an important read for anyone going through cancer or medical treatments - or someone who is supporting a loved one through the treatments. I walked away with a much better sense of what someone facing those challenges would be feeling - but without the doom and gloom often found in those types of books. Highly highly recommend.

5 🌟

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Kinsella is a beloved author and this is heartbreaking but all readers of Kinsella should take the time to read it.

I have always loved Sophie Kinsella's writing for her light hearted stories full of humor and wit. This book was different as it tackles such a difficult topic, but I loved it all the same.

This book is built around Kinsella's own experiences with her cancer diagnosis. I think it is incredible how she was able to tackle such incredibly heavy topics with her usual humor and wit, while also showing us the grief and pain that goes along with it.

This novella is a shorter read but it jam packed with phenomenal writing and some of Kinsella's own personal experiences. I felt like we really got a window into her personal life, and while there were certainly moments of sadness and despair, it felt cozy and comforting in a way.

This book is a great shorter read that still packs an emotional punch. It was a great way to start off my 2025 reads!

This is a fictionalized version of the author’s journey with a brain tumor and cancer diagnosis, and it had me tearing up the whole time. It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, and I highly recommend it (just be aware of the content before going in)!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book! ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a huge Sophie Kinsella fan. I love her wit, her lightness of touch, her humanity, and her ability to spin a great yarn. But I was Not Prepared For This. I listened to What Does It Feel Like on audio, and wept almost constantly, partly because I know that most of it is autobiographical. But, in true Sophie Kinsella form, just as it feels unbearable she makes you laugh like a drain. Sophie, you are amazing, and if anyone deserves a major plot twist and a happy ending it is you ❤️❤️

In a Nutshell: A heartfelt novella inspired by the author’s own health scare. Heartbreaking, pragmatic, humorous, hopeful. I never thought I would recommend a Sophie Kinsella book this strongly, but never say never, right? Much recommended!

Plot Preview:
Eve Monroe has it all. She’s a successful author with a huge fan following. One of her books has even been turned into a successful Hollywood movie. She has a loving husband and five adorable children. In short, she is lucky. Perhaps, too lucky, because one day, her luck runs out. When she wakes up in bed with no memory of what happened to her, her husband explains that she had undergone an operation to remove a large tumour from her brain. Unfortunately, the tumour turned out to be malignant. As Eve comes to terms with her diagnosis and what it means for her, her family, and their future, she takes us on an emotional journey filled with heartwarming and heartwrenching moments.
The story comes to us in Eve’s first-person perspective.

I am not a Sophie Kinsella fan. To be clear, I respect her for sticking to her genre and doing a wonderful job satisfying light romcom readers. It is just that those books, with their frivolous heroines, aren’t for me. I read eight of her novels before I finally accepted that she wasn’t my cup of tea and resolved never to read her again. Why simply read a book that's not our type and then give it a negative rating, right? So this book came as a surprise addition to my reading list, and that’s mainly because it is different in style and approach to all her earlier works.
In April 2024, Kinsella revealed that
https://x.com/KinsellaSophie/status/1780552008618893441
she had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2022. To say that I was shocked on seeing this update is an understatement. Cancer is never welcome, but to hear that someone youngish is going through this is always difficult to accept. It makes you question your own health, to wonder if you are taking everything for granted, to introspect on what you would do if you were in that position. With all my heart, I rooted for her complete recovery, especially for the sake of her five children. When I heard that she had written a novella as a semi-autobiographical version of her journey through cancer, I knew I would read one more Sophie Kinsella work, this time without any hesitation.
This book is written as a series of vignettes. Scenes from “Before” give us an insight into who Eve Monroe is, and “After” tells us of what happens after her surgery. In between the shortish chapters, the narrative is interspersed with phone conversations, messages, notes on how to get through certain events, and “early morning conversations” between Eve and her husband about their future. This approach makes the novella even more poignant. There were many scenes when my eyes welled up. Her description of her experience is so vivid that the whole story played out like a movie in front of my eyes. The most painful to read were her introspective thoughts on what would happen to her children. This is such a real fear for moms!
Because this is autofiction, there is a strong sense of honesty and authenticity to the words. As such, it is very tough to stop picturing Sophie Kinsella as the first-person narrator, even though we know that we are hearing the journey of a fictional character named Eve; there’s so much of herself she has put into Eve. The author’s note at the end of the book reveals the extent of the overlap between fact and fiction.
I won't reveal details about the cancer itself and about Eve’s (and Sophie’s) prognosis. The author has been so successful in conveying her emotional upheaval through this novella that I would like readers to pick it up and discover her story themselves.

Much recommended to those who can handle the emotional intensity of this work. Kinsella spares no efforts to tell you “what does it feel like.” So don't read this when you are in not in a strong headspace, especially if you too are a mother with dependent kids or are a cancer patient/caregiver.

4.5 stars, happy to round upwards while sending best wishes the way of the author.

My thanks to Random House Publishing Group and The Dial Press for providing the DRC of “What Does It Feel Like?” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This is a very difficult book to review because while Kinsella billed this as a novel, it's actually the true story of her own cancer diagnosis and treatment. It's really a memoir pretending to be a novel. Kinsella's ability to write about her own cancer journey is admirable and I'm glad I read this.

To be honest, I've been putting this book off. I've been reading Sophie Kinsella since the first Shopaholic book came out, and I was devastated to learn that she was diagnosed with glioblastoma. You see, my mother in law fought this awful disease for 3 years, and it's still very fresh in my mind and heart. I knew I wanted to read this book, and I feel like I owed it to Sophie to read it, but I also knew I needed to be in the right frame of mind for my own mental health. Is that selfish? I don't know, but I am glad I waited to read this until I felt like it was a day I could handle it.

And I do mean a day. This book is only about 125 pages long, and it only took me a couple hours to read. I'm not complaining - I mean the woman wrote it after she had brain surgery, for goodness sake. I think, for me at least, it was better that this was a short book, because she got her point across quickly and succinctly. It didn't need to be any longer.

What a point that was - she said this is HER story, and if you have been reading her books, you will see that. A best selling author being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and what her life turns into after diagnosis, surgery, and treatment. It's a true look at the after effects - the short term memory loss is REAL, people. It was like reading conversations between myself/my family, and my mother in law. The weakness after surgery, the side effects of chemo/radiation, the uncertainty - it's all there and all written in 125 pages.

I check her socials frequently for updates and breathe a side of relief when I see that she's still doing well. I pray that continues for a long time, and that this isn't the last book she puts out into the world.

This was so heartbreaking but such a refreshing read that I know is based on real life events.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to honestly review.

This was a short, sweet, heartbreaking little novella. It's written so well, and knowing Kinsella's recent news, it's a hard read.

This was a hard book for me to read. I’ve never been diagnosed with cancer, but I had a staph infection that went septic and I almost died.
As a result, I had to learn to walk again. The bruising Eve describes happened to me because I fell, and my husband and I joked that people would think he beat me! I remember the frustration she describes and more.
I can honestly say her descriptions are actually “what it feels like” and I didn’t have cancer. 5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A very raw and hopeful read. I have a family member currently battling the same cancer. This was a very helpful peek into the suffering of another.
Well done.

This book felt different from Sophie’s typical style but was still effortless to read. I only learned at the end that it was autobiographical which makes so much sense now. Instead of being plot driven, this story focused on the characters and their journey through a cancer diagnosis and treatment. I’ve been a longtime fan of Sophie’s work and really appreciate how she opened up to readers about a private and deeply personal experience through her writing. I can see how this book could help someone else going through a similar medical experience and could bring them hope. The way the author shares her husband/caretaker's point of view and her own was moving and beautiful.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this ARC.


This story is beautiful, heart wrenching, inspirational, powerful, raw, and made me sob so many times.

I could go on and on about how I loved this book.

This short story touched all of the feelings! I wish it was a full novel but it took you through a rollercoaster of emotions while telling a story that is the lives of some.