4.5⭐️

TW: death of parent, infidelity, emotional abuse, depression

This closed door romance novel was a modern retelling of Emma by Jane Austen that I enjoyed as it had one of my favorite romance tropes - friends to lovers.

What I appreciated the most was that the female protagonist, Kamila, was a bubbly, fashionable accountant and the male protagonist, Rohan, was a divorced tax lawyer and neither of them were stereotyped. I have never read a romance with such career choices for the protagonists before so that was a pleasant surprise.

Being an avid fan of Bollywood movies and a foodie, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Bollywood movie nights that Kamila liked to organize for her friends and all the food references throughout the book.

I empathized with Kamila in regards to her difficult relationship with her mother and how that impacted her. I just wish the mental health discussions were more in depth.

I recommend this upcoming release if you are looking for a light-hearted, escapist romance and enjoy Jane Austen retellings.

Thank you to the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's been a long time since a book had me literally screaming - it was like watching a horror movie and yelling "Don't go in there!" at the screen, but romance edition. Except of course, in the best way possible. Kamila is so vibrant and beautifully herself and juxtaposed so nicely by the seemingly uptight Rohan. Add in that Farah Heron writes about food and love in the same steamy way, and you'll have a book that leaves you hungry and... y'know. I didn't realize that this was an "Emma" retelling at first, but the parallels work so well here. We have amazing friendships, a friends to lovers story, and a metric ton of biryani. What else do you need? (Puppies, obviously)

*Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Farah Heron is one of my favorite contemporary romance writers and I was thrilled to hear that she was releasing a new book in 2022. Kamila Knows Best can be best described as a modern day retelling of Emma. I didn’t really like the original story of Emma so I was a bit concerned on how I would feel about this book. Kamila Knows Best has a friends to lovers trope and is extremely slow burn. The contemporary romance explores friendship, family expectations, gossip, and authenticity. Overall, I enjoyed it! I liked that not only were the characters well developed and had strong backstories, but as a reader, I was able to see them change and grow in the story. There were times where the main characters annoyed me in certain situations, but I understood that was part of the story and how it helped with the story’s progression. Highly recommend picking this one up if you’re a Jane Austen retelling fan or if you love a good friends to lovers trope!

This was a fun, fluffy read. However, I just couldn’t quite connect with Kamila; everyone else though? Loved. And this was a solid adaptation of Emma; no ambiguity over who was who.

This book was a DELIGHT. I've never read Jane Austen (I know...I know!) but this book reminds me of the 90s movies Clueless, which is also based on Austen's Emma and I adored it. Like Cher, Kamila is such a charming and quirky character who puts the needs of others, especially her father's, above her own. At times, she might appear ditzy but underneath the fashionable clothes and the party-girl person is an intelligent and complex, yet wounded woman. The slow burn friends-to-lovers romance with Ronan was sexy and sweet, but I especially liked how Kamila's relationship with frenemy Jana developed. In summary, this romcom was charming, delightful, and full of wit.

Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron is a Jane Austen retelling, of Emma. This book was so wonderful in the retelling with a bollywood setting. Kamila is the main character and is such a strong female in this book. I got lost in this book which turned into a quick, fun, friends to lovers read. Love this book and would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Kamila Knows Best is a Jane Austen retelling of Emma. Kamila is driven, ambitious, and loves to play matchmaker to her friends. She fights back against people thinking she is shallow by being, well...shallow. I felt she spent so much time controlling everyone and everything around her to prove that she wasn't shallow but her actions just continued to make her seem more so. She is ambitious and determined but I would have enjoyed much more depth to her ambition rather than her just talking about it. I felt she also used her connections to become a part of a foundation and took credit for the success of an event when she didn't really do anything for the event.

The book was a slow start to me and felt repetitive, however, I felt compelled to finish to see how things turned out for Kamila and Rowan. The story picked up speed for me in the last half and I was glad I pressed on to see the end result.

This book would be a good read for anyone that wants something lighthearted and fun with some Indian culture thrown in.

I wonderful re-imagining of Emma. Kamila like Emma will exhaust you with all of her projects and balls she juggles. She is a force to be reckoned with. I loved her relationship with her father. It was refreshing to see such a wonderful father-daughter relationship. Rohan is the perfect compliment to Kamila. I enjoyed this one and look forward to anymore of Heron's books.

WOW! I LOVED this book! When I read that this was a Jane Austen retelling, I could not sign up fast enough! This book and the Bollywood twist was absolutely DELIGHTFUL! I also loved that Kamila was such a strong FMC! A great quick, fun, friends to lovers read.

I find it fitting that today is Giving Back Tuesday and what better way to share Kamila’s big heart in this book. The main character - Kamila is lead fundraiser for the local animal shelter, monthly hostess for Bollywood movie nights for her friends and works as CPA at her dad’s law firm. This Jane Austen’a retelling of Emma is pure delight, especially filled with delectable South Asian cuisine, flirtatious scenes and tight knit family/friends. What makes this book stand out is discussions of mental health and breaking down verbal abuse. Highly recommend this rom com to young adult readers.

Kamila Knows Best started off slow for me. I wasn't sure if I was even going to like Kamila to be honest. But after the book went on, Kamila's heart really begun to show. The book was not some run of the mill romance novel, it had depth with many different dimensions. The book explored Kamila's relationship to her dad, to her community, to her job, to her friends, to her frenemy, and of course with Rohan as her love interest. Kamila was someone who always said yes and over-exerted herself, and it was a journey to see her work through everything. I appreciated the growth we saw in Kamila, how she rallied behind and forgave her frenemy, but we also saw her grow from thinking she doesn't deserve a relationship to being comfortable with herself. She also was such a badass at work and really stuck to her guns, even with people trying to tear her down. So while when I started the book I wasn't sure about it, it really grew into one of the best reads in awhile. Heron did a really good job getting me to emotionally connect with the characters and caring about the outcome. I was very happily surprised and would definitely recommend this to friends.

What a wonderful friends-to-lovers romance, and a retelling of Emma to boot! Kamila and Rohan are easy to root for - modern, likeable, loyal, fun, family-oriented, and the very best of friends. Kamila appears to be the life of the party, but as we get to know her, we find she is very serious about what matters most. Her dad, her friends, her commitments, her job, her dog. She loves all the people in her life openly and wholeheartedly. I enjoyed this book and hope to read from the author in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review.

Thank you @readforeverpub for a copy of this book. This was a fun friends to lover slow burn romance. I love the interaction between Rohan and Kamila. I always love when there are great friendships in books and this one has a great set of supporting characters. I was frustrated with Kamila at times with her assumptions and just not being communicative with Rohan or her friends. Overall, it was a fun entertaining read.

In Kamila Knows Best, Kamila is THE main character. Professional accountant, who is a fashionable dresser (for her and her pup Darcy), hosts fabulous movie nights and finds time to volunteer to support worthy causes. She's a strong character with a strong personality, with an arc I enjoyed just as much as the swoon-worthy romance.

Friends-to-lovers doesn't always get the trope love, but I adored the playful banter author Farah Heron wrote. It even had me checking out my husband's forearms ;)

Overall, this book was a joy to read, with the best elements of a modern romance. You'll want to snuggle a puppy, eat delicious food with your friends and reach for your career goals--all while falling in love, of course.

Thank you to NetGalley & Forever for an advanced copy of this and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Kamila knows Best is my favourite read of Kamila’s books 📚.Kamila is a strong female character and loves to help everyone, which sometimes gets her into a pickle. Farrah Heron is a wonderful writer and I have never been disappointed with any of her books and I have loved all her books. I particularly like her latest book and her puppy 🐶 dog and her fundraising project. It was a fun book to read and the antics of her family and friends and the way she stood up for herself and her friends and family. Bravo Farrah👏, can’t wait to read your next book.📚💐👍🥰🤗

What a delightful, romantic story. While I’m a bit behind on my Jane Austen, Farah Heron’s take on EMMA with a Bollywood flair is not something that you want to miss. It’s got puppies, Bollywood movie nights, tons of character growth, a friends to lovers romance, and plenty of swoon-worthy moments. By the time this book grabbed me, it didn’t let go and I definitely wasn’t complaining.

Kamila Hussain is the kind of heroine that you wonder for a moment if you’re supposed to like, but you can’t help but end up doing it anyway. While this book did suffer from a stilted start and some moments that felt more like being told than actually shown, it, and the Kamila subsequently, shined when the barriers of a pushy plot gave way for the kind of story that grips you tight. It has the perfect mix of character and relationship growth, as the growth of one benefits the other and ultimately the story as a whole. This is especially important in a book like KAMILA KNOWS BEST where the characters are paramount to the story. While there were a few characters that I personally feel could have had more depth all things considered, but when this book went hard on a character it went HARD.

Secondly, the relationships. One of the things that I loved about this book was the focus on a parental, specifically father-daughter relationship. It’s certainly not a perfect one, but we get to see significant growth between Kamila and her father, as well as how they’re affected by previous relationships with other people or family members. This is just one of many relationships we see Kamila in, but one in particular outside of the primary romantic relationship caught my eye. Kamila’s relationship with Jana, while it did seem to change almost unpredictably, was both interesting and fulfilling. It’s a common trope of the good girl versus the party girl (it was nice to see some commentary on how societal expectations end up hurting both girls in those situations), and one that I enjoyed seeing subverted. I would have liked to have seen their relationship have a more steady course over the entirety of the book, but the end goal was more than satisfying.

Last but not least, Rohan and Kamila. It’s hard to express how much I loved them and wanted them together by the end of the book. Farah Heron developed the perfect amount of chemistry between these two, perfectly weaving together a friends to lovers story that they discover might have some other labels in between those two. While there were times that I just wished they’d stop fighting and get together, it was so satisfying at the end of this slowburn romance when we saw them get together. This couple is a near perfect mix of independence and protectiveness of the other, bringing out better parts of one another that may have been there all along, and experiencing some seriously important character growth along the way. Suffice to say, I was so glad to see Rohan and Kamila together, and I so enjoyed their journey past the slightly stilted start.

Thank you @netgalley @@readforeverpub and @farahheronauthor for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Kamila is a CPA in her father’s accounting firm. She lives a charmed and easy life. Weekly Bollywood parties with her friends, an Instagram for her much beloved dog, and friends who would do anything for her. Her biggest concern in life, however, is her father’s health. Thankfully she has her lifelong friend Rohan to help her. But will he stick by her when her secret nemesis returns to town and begins spending time with him? And why is she suddenly finding him irresistible?

This was such a good friends-to-lovers book. Fun and flirty and full of good banter. I definitely recommend picking this one up when it releases March 2022!

This one gets 4⭐️‘s from me!

Jane Austen is definitely one of my favorite classical authors. When I came across Kamila Knows Best, I knew I wanted to read it. Within a couple of chapters,, I adored Kamila and couldn’t wait to read more about her life, and how she and Mr. Knightley Rohan came to be together. In some ways, I actually enjoyed this more than Austen’s Emma (I found Kamila much sweeter than her classic counterpart).

Friends to lovers and slooooow burn (two particular favorites of mine) are the words that come to mind regarding the romance aspect but, as with Austen’s novel, there’s so much more to this story.

And I'm looking forward to reading more of Farah Heron's work.

4.5/5 Stars!

I loved this! It was fantastic! Kamila Knows Best is a romcom loosely based on Jane Austin’s Emma. It follows an account in Toronto who’s life has been going pretty well. At least until her close friends and family begin to question whether or not she is serious enough about her work to handle larger, more conservative clients, citing her feminine style and loud personality. And to make matters worst, her rival from back in high school, has arrived back in town.

I loved Kamila so much! Such a fun main character. Honestly she deserved better than the love interest in this book (which is the reason why I’m taking a half star off). The story was entertaining and really funny. I binged the entire thing in an afternoon. This book made me really excited to read Farah Heron’s backlist.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a eARC in exchange for a review!

A modern retelling of Jane Austin's Emma with a Bollywood flare. A slow burn friends to lovers between Kamila and Rohan. I found the beginning slow and hard to get into but I enjoyed the last third of the book.
Thank you to Farah Heron, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.