I love Farah Heron's writing so much. I got a copy of her debut in a sub box and was so delighted by it, I added her to the auto-read list. As I am a sucker for Emma, this was right up my alley. Rohan was everything, and I love the recipes at the end.

Kamila is fun, glamorous, and appears to have it all. She spends her time helping others and doing charity work. It doesn't leave much time to focus on herself. She finds herself attracted to her brother-in-law and long-time friend, Rohan, and she's unsure of how he feels about her. Plus, her childhood nemesis is back in town and seems to be interested in Rohan. Her seemingly perfect world is turning upside down.

I adored this Bollywoodesque Emma retelling. I loved Kamila, her love interest, and her friends. Besides parties and pretty clothes, Kamila enjoys helping others, matchmaking, and dogs. Rohan is never far from Kamila's side and is always there to support her. The moment I thought Rohan was too perfect, we got to see his less-than-perfect side, and that made him even more loveable. Asha stands out among Kamila's wonderful circle of close friends. Kamila has the best bestie; everyone needs someone like Asha as their best friend.

And the food! Kamila's weekly Bollywood movie night parties with the descriptions of delicious dishes will leave you hungry for Indian food.

Despite the lighthearted nature of this story, some serious issues are addressed, such as mental health, emotional abuse, and misogyny at work. Heron makes her points in a manner that doesn't detract from the fun, easy-going nature of the story.

Kamila Knows Best is a delightful, slow-burn, feel-good romance that will leave you with a smile!

Thank you to Forever for an early digital copy of this book. This voluntary review reflects my honest, unbiased opinion.

I really enjoyed Farah Heron’s Accidentally Engaged, so I had pretty high hopes for Kamila Knows Best and luckily it met my expectations and then some. If you’re looking for something that’s super high on the steam meter, look elsewhere. But there’s so much to love here—the characters are not always the most likable, we’ve got a fun family dynamic, and this is just a very sweet slow burn romance. A little slow plot-wise at times, but still very enjoyable. I will certainly recommend!

My thanks to NetGalley and Forever/Grand Central Publishing for an advance reader’s copy.

I am always up for a Jane Austen retelling. Farah Heron does a masterful job of weaving the Emma-inspired romance Kamila Knows Best, and seamlessly placing our heroine in the midst of Toronto’s South Asian community.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kamila is busy. She works as an accountant, takes care of her father, runs fundraising events for the animal shelter, and still manages to find time to host a weekly Bollywood movie night for her friends. She’s also attempting to matchmake and generally wants everyone around her to be happy. Rohan is her longtime friend who always manages to be around. But, lately she’s staring at his strong forearms a lot more often. Once her high school nemesis returns to Toronto and starts spending more time with Rohan, Kamila takes on more and more projects to prove her worth to him and to herself.

While I like the source material, Emma can come off as flighty at times. Kamila is a people-pleaser who presents herself as she thinks other people want to see her. But, while the people around her don’t see her as capable and substantial, the reader does. There is definitely a lot more depth to 21st century Kamila, which strengthens the story.

Of course, the food descriptions are a highlight of this delightful book. I craved biryani the entire time I was reading! And, I adored all the Austen references, and the Clueless ones as well.

Kamila Knows Best does what all the best adaptations do: it takes a beloved source and recreates it into something contemporary without losing the plot and emotional impact that makes it special. If you are a Jane Austen fan, you can’t miss with this modern romance.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron! As the description says: "Jane Austen's Emma goes Bollywoood in this delightful retelling from the highly acclaimed author of Accidentally Engaged." When I decided to read this, it was solely based off of loving Heron's previous novel, Accidentally Engaged, and I didn't realize it was an Emma retelling until I sat down to read it and then I was even more excited! Heron weaved an incredible story of a tight-knit Indian-Canadian family and community and a modern, multicultural version of this classic novel. Emma is updated as an extremely fashionable full-time accountant, part-time dog influencer! She is a consummate hostess dedicated to her friends and to her dear father, and I absolutely loved her so so much (no bias just because we share a name). The romance was very sweet and highly believable - I love when characters face struggles that we can all feel and relate to. I highly recommend this novel, and thank you to Forever/Grand Central Publishing for the advanced reader copy via NetGalley!

Kamila is trying to take on more responsibility at work in order to take pressure off her father. And she's also balancing many other responsibilities, including hosting her weekly Bollywood movie night and volunteering for the local animal shelter. She has so much she takes on, and she constantly engages in negative self-talk.

The book is told in third person, but follows Kamila closely. We get to meet her amazing circle of friends whom she enjoys matchmaking. And we get to see her taking photos of her own dog for her Instagram and planning for the Dogapalooza and puppy prom shelter fundraisers.

This book made me want to go out and watch tons of Bollywood movies and also cuddle with lots of cute shelter puppies. I found that I liked the book and its characters more the more I read. And it became clearer to me that it was a loosely based Emma adaptation. After a slow start, I really enjoyed Kamila Knows Best.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley. These opinions are my own.

I loved this charming, fun, and entertaining take on the story Emma! Farah Heron did an excellent job putting her own spin on the characters and story.

Kamila is caring and hardworking, and she likes to matchmake her friends. She has a lot on her plate between work, her volunteer projects, and the weekly biryani and Bollywood parties she plans. I felt for the struggles and insecurities she had as things in her life began to shift. She had a lot of heart and was a relatable character. I especially liked her friendship with Rohan and their slow burn. They fit so well together and it was fun watching them fall for one another.

This book also made me so hungry as I read! The food in it sounded amazing and I have some new dishes I can't wait to try.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Farah Heron & Forever Publishing for an advance copy of this book!

This is my first book by Farah Heron. I had meant to read "Accidentally Engaged" but the ever growing TBR prevented me but I am so glad I read this!

Kamila Hussian is a later 20s ambitious young woman who wants to please everyone in her life. She is likes to take care of everyone and not always taking their feelings into consideration. She works for her dad's business Emerald as a CPA, volunteers at an animal shelter and even has Bollywood movie parties every Friday night with all the works (lots of food and drinks). I seriously love her time management skills because girl knows how to keep herself busy.

I love that this book highlights mental health in older adults and children taking care of their aging parents. I also loved that we saw the progression of Kamila and Rohan's relationship throughout the book. Rohan seems like such a stand up guy and would do anything for Kamila's family and for Kamila. He also isn't afraid to stand up to her and tells her the things she may not want to hear.

It was also refreshing to have the main female protagonist make reference a few times about not wanting to have children. Most books that I have read never really come out and say this which as someone who likely will never have children was happy to see. And to know you can have a fulfilled life without that element.

The writing in this was really light and fluffy and occasionally came off as YA in the dialogue (internal monologue and the repetitiveness of what was going on). One thing I did love is that the author incorporated so much of the Indian culture into this book. It made me want to experience a Bollywood movie as well as go visit the local Indian restaurants and try the foods mentioned in the book (thankfully she also provided recipes to try).

I really would love to see this adapted to screen as I think it would work perfectly on any streaming service as a rom com.

4 Stars

I loved Accidentally Engaged and was so excited when I saw a new book by Farah Heron was on the way! Kamila Knows Best is a friend-to-lovers retelling of Jane Austen's Emma that includes adorable puppies, good food, and many laughs.

When I started the book, I was a little worried it would turn into a love-triangle (which is not a bad thing, if done well), but this story was much more complex and had so many layers! There were a few twists that I was not expecting. I completely feel in love with Kamila and how strong she is. Despite what others think of her, she will not change for anyone and will follow her own passions and do what makes her happy.

Rohan was such a likeable and carrying man who was always available to help. The chemistry between him and Kamila was incredible and I kept hoping for more and more scenes between the two of them. When I got to one scene in particular, a scene that had been foreshadowed since the beginning of book, I did a little happy dance! It was better than I could have expected and so perfect for the story and for Kamila (and Rohan).

This wasn't simply a romantic comedy. It was filled with friendship, family, and staying true to yourself and going after what you want. Kamila's life (and her struggles) were extremely believable and relatable. I enjoyed every second of this book.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved how this book captures kamila culture without it overshadowing the story. The author intertwined moments where you get a glimpse into everyday life with the mouthwatering food and abundance of Bollywood movies. I wanted to live the pages at the mere mention of any food.

I appreciated the author taking the time to show that though Kamila’s world may seem perfect to an outsider, not everything is as it seems. She’s flawed in a way that makes her relatable and makes her human rather than a character.

Kamila is over-the-top and is unapologetic for who she is. Her candor and honesty is what makes her likable and makes it easy to root for her in this story. Though as much as I did enjoy how open Kamila is in the beginning, the first half of the book felt so slow and repetitive. It felt like each chapter was a different retelling of the same situation without progressing forward. She lived for others and to ensure others happiness before her very own and her constant giving made the first half of the story hard to read.

Once we got to know more of Kamila other than the façade she portrays and got more of an understanding from her past, it provided depth to her character that was unexpected. I enjoyed the witty banter and the friends-to-more love story. I think this book was a good retelling of Austen’s Emma and definitely worth trying out. Thank you to Forever Pub and NetGalley for this eARC

Thank you for an advanced copy. This is definitely not for impressionable young adults. There is too much adult content, with alcohol and sex. I cannot recommend this title.

In this modern update of Jane Austen's Emma, Kamila is known for loving bright clothes, dressing up her dog, setting up her friends, and throwing weekly Bollywood movie watching parties. And working with her father as an accountant for small businesses. Everyone thinks she's superficial and shiny, but she secretly loves being an accountant and volunteering. Her father is aging and their close family friend, Rohan, helps take care of him. Can Rohan ever see Kamila as more than just a pretty face who loves dogs?

This book gave me major Clueless vibes and is in the vein of Ayesha at Last or Sonali Dev's Austen updates. This was fun and enjoyable, if not completely predictable. Emma is not my favorite character, and I did find Kamila annoying at times, but it did not ruin my enjoyment of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

Thank you @readforeverpub and Netgalley for the eARC of Kamila Knows Best.

I had such high hopes that I'd love this book. It was one of my highly anticipated reads of 2022. It's a retelling of Jane Austin's Emma, which I've never read. Pretty sure I spent majority of my time rolling my eyes while reading this book though. Sigh. Not trying to be mean but this didn't work for me 😕

It started off slow and never really picked up speed. I HIGHLY disliked the constant miscommunication between Rohan and Kamila. Or how Kamila would jump to conclusions before actually finding out the truth about something or asking for clarification. This was so repetitive throughout the book, to the point I considered DNFing. I really dislike this trope.

However, I really liked the Desi culture highlighted in the book. All the Bollywood movies and food made me feel like I was there in the moment. I also loved Rohan, as well as Kamila's friends love and loyalty towards each other. Made my heart happy ❤️

In this retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, Kamila Hussain has it all. She loves bold colors, fashion, her bichon frise named Darcy, hosting elaborate parties, finding the perfect matches for her friends, and low-commitment hookups for herself. She cares deeply for her father, looking out for his physical and mental health and enlisting Rohan Nasser, who she has known since childhood, to help keep her father happy. And yet, people constantly underestimate Kamila. She works as an accountant at her father’s boutique firm, bringing in clients suited to her personal style, which to the “serious” accounting types mean she’s less smart or less capable. She’s out to prove that just because she puts on events called the Puppy Prom doesn’t mean she’s a CPA with a big brain and a bigger heart.

I’ll start by admitting that I’ve never read Emma, and that the only version I’ve watched is Clueless (and even that wasn’t until a year ago!!). However, as with most Austen stories, the plot is woven into our modern culture. This is Farah Heron’s best novel yet. She artfully peels back the layers of Kamila to reveal an incredibly capable and empathetic woman. The friends to lovers romance that unfolds between Kamila and Rohan is so believable – you know when two people obviously love each other deeply and yet don’t know how to take the jump, and their entire friend group can see it happening? All along the way, you’re rooting for Kamila to open her eyes to see how Rohan feels and for Rohan to gain the courage to say something.

It’s out 3/8/22 and if you’re looking for a sweet friends to lovers complete with cute puppies and Bollywood-esque moments, I strongly recommend picking it up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever(Grand Central Publishing) for this arc!

3.5 ⭐️Rounded up

I haven’t read Emma by Jane Austen or really know much about it, but I did know that she was unlikable in the beginning. I felt that way about Kamila in the beginning. While I could tell there was going to be a bit of development, I’m not sure how I felt about her in the end. From the beginning, it is clear that Kamila has her motives set around her need to be a perfect daughter to her dad because of her past with her mother and insecurities. While I loved the importance placed on the root on the issue, I wished to see a little more of a clearer recognition of some of the more specific things she did.

I liked that she was fun and quirky as a CPA. Her love for girly stuff does not take away her ability to be professional or work as a CPA. She was passionate about her career, which I loved.

Mental illness in not a topic talked about enough in the brown community. Given that my generation places an importance to it, It’s not often that I see mental illness talked about in older generations. I felt that Kamila placed a similar importance to her dad’s mental illness alongside his physical illnesses, which I liked, along with the mentions of therapy.

I love childhood friends to lovers and slow burn, but what I loved more in the book was that I didn’t see that romantic tension from the very beginning and that it was developed in the story. There was a bit of miscommunication, but I think it was done and handled well. I think it was important to their relationship in terms of communication and honesty.

Kamila Knows Best may have fallen victim to the over hype in my head because overall this book was just meh for me. This is my first book from Farah Heron and I was excited to read this one.

Middle of the road books are always so hard for me to review because I did enjoy some parts of the book but overall it kind of left me down. Kamila was constantly complaining about people thinking she was shallow but then in the next paragraph doing something shallow. At one point she does not want to set up her friend with someone because he was a waiter and that was beneath her friend. Also there were several characters that we were made to dislike and then suddenly they were supposed to be forgiven for their actions with no discussion. Rohan was also not my favorite hero of all time.

I did enjoy the diversity of this read and I will most likely pick up her book I just think this one was a miss for me.

A pretty on the nose modern day retelling of Emma, I really liked the overall story and characters. However, I think the toxic relationship between Kamila and her late mother was really hard to read. There was a lot of slut shaming (in the past) and her hypercritical mother was terrible. I also didn’t care for the patriarchal way Rohan and her dad treated her and sort of dismissed her as being frivolous and consistently underestimating her. I’m super glad she spoke up and told them how she felt. Loved the friends circle and the dogs - oh, I want a Potato of my own. Also, this book made me go get biryani for dinner and boba tea because there’s a lot of that in this book. All in all, fun and delicious, low heat, loved the FMC, eventually liked the MMC as well,

I am not one that has read Jane Austen's Emma, so I didn't know going into reading Kamila Knows Best that it was a retelling of the classic. Even though that is the case, it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book at all.

Kamila Hussain has one of the bubbliest personalities, loves to throw parties, loves social media and fashion and has an adorable dog named Darcy. She lives at home with her Dad, to whom she is very devoted. They also work together as CPA's. Many times people underestimate her because she's so focused on putting others needs ahead of her own.

Rohan has been friends with Kamila for years and years. He's the opposite of Kamila in the sense he's buttoned-up and serious. Rohan is the kind of guy everyone wants as a friend though because he's always going to be there for anything that's needed.

Rohan has always been very devoted to Kamila, but she doesn't see he feelings he has for her. She's so focused on her friends, her Dad, her job and everything else, she misses the fact that more than friendship is within her grasp. As Kamila and Rohan both deal with their insecurities and doubts, a deeper relationship begins to grow. There are wonderful moments between the two of them as the lifelong friends end up as so much more.

This book was well written, fun, heart-warming and engaging. Well done, Farah Heron!

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

I truly appreciated the depth this romance offered, especially in the mental health department. I did find myself skimming from time to time because I felt some of Kamila's thoughts were repetitive. But I did love this friends to lovers romance. It was sweet.

There have been a lot of Jane Austen retelling and reimagings lately, but Kamila Knows Best is certainly one of the best that I've read. It's a fun Bollywood spin on the classic Emma. It's a great modern retelling that stays faithful to the original while still seeming fresh and modern.

Kamila leads a charmed life - she has a great group of friends, a healthy dating life, a close relationship with her father, a fulfilling career, and a dog she spoils rotten. She hosts her weekly elaborate Bollywood parties and has a huge Instagram following. On the surface, she has the perfect life, carefully crafted to look effortless and enviable. But when her childhood nemesis returns to town, her old self-doubts and insecurities begin to creep back in. She begins to wonder if her friends are more like her playthings, if her family really sees her for who she is, if she's good enough at her job, and if she's worthy of love. The harder to tries to maintain the facade of perfection she's curated around herself, the more begins to doubt herself, and it seems like its only a matter of time before it all crumbles around her. Unless she can let go of the image she wants to project to the world and start to be truthful with everyone in her life about what she really wants and needs.

While Kamila Knows Best seems like just a fun Bollywood retelling of Emma, it has a deceptive depth to it. There's the importance of taking care of yourself, both physically and mentally. The strength that comes from self-acceptance and self-love. The power of friends and family. Embracing your strengths and weaknesses. And being brave enough to ask for what you want. Also, isn't Rohan the dreamiest book boyfriend (forearm porn!!!)??? AND, the constant descriptions of food made me very hungry!