Ready for Whatever: An Uplifting, Slow Burn Romantic Comedy (The UnBRCAble Women Series #1)
Published April 18th 2019, Kindle Edition 332 pages
"Look on the bright side, Millie. At least you don't have cancer."
Testing positive for the BRCA gene only means one thing: Millie Dwyer is almost certain to develop cancer at a young age. After losing her grandmother and mother to the dreaded disease, Millie's always feared a similar fate. But now the twenty-nine-year-old has technological advancements on her side, including radical surgeries, that can save her from ever having to deal with the Big C… but at quite a cost.
Now Millie has to come to terms with a new normal—new breasts, missing ovaries, hot flashes, insensitive friends, and, worst of all, the knowledge that she'll never have biological children. One thing's for certain—she's never planned on trying to navigate the dating scene with all this on her plate … but on the road from loss to love, Millie finds that laughter certainly is the best medicine.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Assigned- Even if you don't enjoy women's fiction or contemporary romance- this book is one everyone should read. Realistic, but not heavy or depressing. Humor and laughter are the best medicine and the lovely romance is as inspirational as Millie!!
Cheers to all the previvors and survivors out there!!
5 stars
Rating: really liked it
Overall, the author has done an amazing job of approaching uncomfortable topics with grace and respect while still giving readers a sweet, sigh-worthy romance!
Read full review in the 2019 October issue of InD'tale Magazine.
Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars Millie is a charming, funny schoolteacher with "you'll probably die young of cancer, like your mom and grandmother," coded into her genes. It changes a LOT of how you look at life, and the decisions you make. Because you KNOW you'll die young, you might settle for crappy boyfriends, or make other life-changing decisions, some good, some not so good.
Ask me how I know (I'm a breast cancer orphan, AND a breast cancer sur-thriver). I'm also acquainted with the author via social media and received a free copy of this work through Netgalley.
The book deftly thread the needle between honesty about the complications, physical and emotional, from reproductive cancer treatment, while managing to be funny AND to have a realistic romantic element with a hot guy in it, too. So, fun, heartfelt, and informative, all in one.
If you're a breast cancer sur-thriver, or previvor, or love someone who is, you may enjoy this book.
Rating: really liked it
Fun readNot sure what I expected from this book, but I really enjoyed this read. Truth is medical stuff does mess with our emotions in all areas. This was a very real book that feels so relatable. I enjoyed it.
Rating: really liked it
Equally heartbreaking and hilarious, this story made me fall in love with Millie, Sterling, and Piper in a heartbeat. No one is perfect in Kathryn R. Biel's stories, the characters feel all too real with their hang-ups and struggles, and I found it easy to root for them - including Millie's Dad and her best friend Lisa.
Looking forward to reading Erin's story! :)
Rating: really liked it
I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoy Kathryn Biel’s other books. The main character, Millie, faced serious situation with a mix of realism and humor. I couldn’t wait for what she would say or do next. The other reason for a rare 5 star review was that this book made me think...about how would I react if this happened to me and how somewhat innocuous conversations with someone in Millie’s shoes are heard.
Rating: really liked it
I can't say enough about this wonderful book. I laughed, i cried. Seriously, i totally peed my pants laughing and cried my eyes out. Whoda thunk a book about the breast cancer gene could be so entertaining, educational, and heart warming. Thank you for writing this book and educating us. I'm scheduling a mammogram right now.
Rating: really liked it
I finished reading this book a few days ago and it has stayed with me. I have been mulling over what Millie Dwyer went through since - as a young girl losing her mother to breast cancer, knowing her grandmother died of ovarian cancer, and then realizing that she too would suffer the same fate. How does a young woman come to terms with that? And then her death sentence was commuted after her genetic test came back positive that she had the BRCA gene and she elected to have a mastectomy and hysterectomy immediately to reduce her chances of developing cancer. Now she had to figure out how to live a life she never thought she would get to live.
I kept trying to think about what I would do in this situation. How would I act and react? Would I make the same choices Millie made? Would I have the love a support group like UnBRCAble to help me navigate possibly losing a nipple or dating on hormone replacement therapy? How would these surgeries change my sense of self?
Author Kathryn R Biel deftly addresses these and many other aspects of cancer. This is a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching, and uplifting book all at the same time. It was also educational! I adored Millie and can't wait to read more in this series.
Rating: really liked it
She gets it!Kathryn Biel gets all of the emotions & turmoil & insanity that comes with a BRCA mutation diagnosis. While my journey included a cancer diagnosis first, I found myself nodding my head & mentally shouting "Yes! Exactly!" as I read! This is also a sweet romance. Read it for the romance! And, if you know someone going through a medical diagnosis, read it to help understand what might be going on in their head.
Rating: really liked it
I really loved this book, it was funny but realistic and eye opening at the same time. There was parts which made me cringe a bit, with over the top romance, but nevertheless I loved it! :)
Rating: really liked it
Such a good book. Not only is the storyline so good but I learned a lot as well!
Love Millie and her resilience!
Rating: really liked it
Excellent ReadBiel does it again with humor, tears, and swoons. Well researched, great characters, a laugh-out-loud and heartbreaking journey.
If you’re looking for a book to dive into so deep you forget to eat dinner, look no more!
Rating: really liked it
Millie is pretty sure she has the gene mutation that greatly increases her chance of breast or ovarian cancer, so when she gets the test results she is not shocked, but it is an extremely unpleasant wake-up call. The thing she has been dreading for most of her life is true, and now it is very real. “Ready for Whatever” is the story of Millie’s recovery from the surgeries she chooses to have to save her life, with a focus on her personal and romantic life after surgery, with not too much medical jargon in the mix.
You would think a book about this topic of “previving cancer” would be uber serious, or a downer, or a transformational book where the lead character becomes a hero after looking death in the eye. But it isn’t, and that is actually what makes this book so great. After a couple chapters it became one of the funniest books I have ever read. I kept laughing out loud while I was reading, because Millie is so funny and this book is so well done. This book was a wonderful balance of funny, serious, sweet, romance, and a difficult situation. The author did an amazing job of balancing the heaviness of Millie’s diagnosis and recovery with laughs and love.
Millie is totally normal - she has a job she loves, she is kind, she dates losers, and she thinks she will die young. Ok, so not totally normal, but you catch my drift. After the surgeries, she remains “normal”, and by that I mean she wallows a little and tries to get back to her old life that she wants so much. She doesn’t move across the country, run marathons, or start a foundation for cancer research. Not that any of those things are wrong, just sometimes hard to relate to. Millie is completely relatable.
I LOVE Millie. She is so real, and I followed her train of thought so easily. If a man wants to understand how complicated a woman’s thoughts are, have him read this book. 😆 Sterling was the perfect man, a little too perfect in my opinion, but it is a romance so I understand. In fact, if Sterling hadn’t been so perfect, I think it would have taken the focus away from Millie and her journey. I also love that Millie leans on others including her support group, friends and family, and community to get her through this tough time. The author managed to convey how hard it is to accept help when you need it most, how asking for it seems impossible, but how good it is to have it. A little extra praise to Kathryn R. Biel for mentioning that Millie went to therapy! I love when authors mention therapy in a healthy way.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: really liked it
I loved this book, serious topic done in a non-profit serious manner, you will score Millie and Sterling. Want to read the series.
Rating: really liked it
POWERFUL but accessible book about cancer survival and the toll and misconceptions of young adult cancer and BRCA+ cancer.
