So I am yet to read Jane Austen’s novel, Emma, but I enjoyed reading this adaptation of it. This was my first Farah Heron book, and I definitely have to go back for more. I absolutely loved Kamila and Rohan, although it was a bit of a slow burn, I was still glued to them. It was a perfectly executed friends to lovers story. Such amazing characters and don’t get me started on the romantic tension and sexy banter. If you’re not into finance & accounting, some of the lingo may throw you off but stick around.

Although a majority of this story was super light and fun, it did have its moments. There are tough topics tackled - overcoming insecurities, mental health, emotional abuse - so, please check trigger warnings just in case. Overall, this was an amazing and enjoyable read full of laughter, friendship, and banter. You won’t regret this one.

L O V E L O V E L O V E. I let this book sit on my shelf for too long and absolutely devoured it in one sitting. Kamila is so deeply relatable and this friends to lovers story is executed perfectly.

Kamila Knows Best is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, with South Indian flavor, set in Toronto, Canada. I don’t remember all the details of Emma since I read it long ago, so I’m not going to compare the two books at all; I will just review this book on its own.

Kamila is a fun character: she’s a CPA who loves colorful, feminine clothes, her dog and social media (her dog has her own Instagram account with lots of followers), and a great party planner. Rohan is an old family friend, five years older than Kamila, who seems to have his life “together.” Kamila’s widower dad has mental health issues as well as physical health issues and Kamila is a very devoted daughter. In addition to that, she has several good qualities - she’s a really good friend, she knows how to throw wonderful parties (every Friday she has a Bollywood movie night), and does great volunteer work, but she takes on way too much, trying to please everybody. She also sometimes tries her hand at matchmaking.

So this is basically a friends-to-lovers story, but I felt it moved a bit too slowly for my taste, with too much detail on parties, for example. I liked that Kamila wanted to succeed in what she feels is mostly a man’s world (finance) and that she wanted to help small businesses, especially those owned by women. There were several amusing scenes with dogs. I loved all the South Asian food descriptions (a couple of recipes are included) and the banter between the main characters. I also liked how frank Kamila was about her sex life and her need for mental therapy (around issues with her late mother, for one). However, there was something missing for me. I liked but didn’t love this book, the way I loved Heron’s Accidentally Engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

While I received the eARC from NetGalley, I wound up partially listening to the published audiobook by Hachette Audio, narrated by Soneela Nankani, courtesy of my public library.

With Kamila Knows Best, Farah Heron worked her magic and made me LOVE my least favorite Austen novel, Emma! I’ve talked about how much I enjoy Farah’s writing in the past and Kamila Knows Best is, in my opinion, her best! I also decided to read this via audiobook as it’s my reading medium of choice these days. I’m so glad I did because the narrator was fantastic!

WHY I LOVE FAMILY IN BOOKS
Farah Heron’s books are love stories: they are about the love for oneself, for one’s family and friends, and of course, romantic love. In particular, I love how Farah approaches being part of a South Asian family in her books because she does so with care. She highlights and challenges the patriarchal and old-fashioned views that form the basis of many modern South Asian families, but she also balances that by showing how loving and supportive South Asian parents can be.

Kamila’s relationship with her father ended up being one of the best parts of Kamila Knows Best. They have a solidly loving relationship that’s based on care for each other. They are constantly worried about each other and want the other to be happy and healthy. Papa Hussain was a cuddly wholesome panda and I adored him! Of course, this relationship is not perfect. Her dad didn’t always take her seriously and underestimated her, but his love for her was never a source of doubt. At the same time, we also see the long-lasting impacts that Kamila’s late emotionally and verbally abusive mother had on her. Her mother was an unkind woman, and she made Kamila feel like absolute crap for being the vibrant and buoyant girl she was.

A FAVORITE MAIN CHARACTER
She was an amazingly resilient girl though. She never really let her mom’s words force her to change who she was at the core. Kamila is one of my favorite protagonists I’ve read in a very long time, which came as a bit of a surprise to me since I find Emma to be excruciating. Farah took parts of Emma’s character but made Kamila her own. She’s a very colorful and exuberant character – she loves fashion, hosts the best Bollywood nights, runs a very popular Instagram account for her dog, and volunteers all her free time at a shelter while being an accountant. She’s a chaotic angel and I loved every layer of her character! Of course, her being this “loud” character did mean that people constantly underestimated her, but my queen manages to prove them all wrong.

Sometimes, she got too involved in her friends’ love lives but it was obvious that her meddling was out of the goodness of her heart. As such, she’s somewhat of a people-pleaser too, but she does eventually learn to stand up for her own values and self in this book.

BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS SHIP
If you’ve read/know of the original Emma, then you know that Emma finds love with her best friend. Similarly, Kamila’s love interest is Rohan, her best friend who has been part of her life for a while now. While Kamila definitely stole the limelight here, Rohan was not too shabby himself. I loved how much he cared for Kamila and her dad. He was always there when they needed a helping hand. He was a stand-up guy and was just the perfect match for Kamila. I was especially soft at him when he reminded Kamila how amazing she was.

I thought Kamila and Rohan’s relationship was written so well too! It’s a slow-burn one, but there’s a ton of flirty bantering all throughout. It does take a while for Kamila at least to realize that she cares for him beyond friendship, but the journey to getting there is beyond satisfying. On Rohan’s end, there’s definitely some solid pining because he’s been into her since forever! ALSO. Bless Farah Heron to giving me some of the swooniest Bollywood screen-worthy scenes in this book. The declaration of love in the wet sari and wet shirt scene?? ICONIC! Farah was also very heavy-handed with the forearm porn in this book and I LOVE HER FOR IT!

AUDIOBOOK NARRATION
Kamila Knows Best was my first audiobook narrated by Soneela Nankani and it will not be my last. Her voice is stunning (it has a very smooth quality to it), and I loved how she embodied every character that we meet. She also does a really good job at evoking voice tones and emotions, so it’s almost like you’re listening to the characters talk to you. This book was great as is, but Soneela’s narration took it to a whole other addictive level. I swear, I’m not even exaggerating when I say I couldn’t stop listening to it. I thought the addition of an old classic Bollywood song in the intro and the fun sound effects were clever additions to this audiobook that just made it even more special.

Wow! This review has gotten LONG. As you can tell, Kamila Knows Best was a terrific reading/listening experience. If you’re looking for a fantastic friends-to-lovers romance, you’ll want to read this one!

Sadly this one didn’t work for me. It was too slow and not keeping my attention. After multiple failed attempts, it’s a DNF for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Kamila Knows Best is a modern day retelling of Jane Austen's Emma that takes place in Canada. Kamila is comfortable with her life the way it is: hosting weekly elaborate Bollywood film nights with her friends, taking care of her dad, volunteering with an animal shelter, and working with immigrant small business owners. To some, she may seem like a pretty pretty princess and Kamila feels like this hampers her opportunities. Especially when her age old frenemy returns to the neighborhood. Kamila's mother often compared the two, which hurt her daughter and made her feel insecure. Despite this, she has a solid support group in her friends like Rohan, but things start to change when the two get closer.

Likes: I liked the depiction of a woman of color who operates with expertise in her field and is passionate about something out of the ordinary. Rohan was a hot and generous leading man. I also enjoyed the food and film descriptions.

Dislikes: Kamila constantly made judgements of people she supposedly knew well, but was extremely naive about those she was just getting to know. She often came across as naive despite her very flirtatious personality. Much of the book was focused on her insecurities and overcompensation stemming from her mother's emotional abuse. The romance aspect was sort of a side plot for her and Rohan. All of the "steamy scenes" were tame and fade-to-black.

I don't think this book was a good fit for me but others may enjoy it a lot more.

2.5 stars
1 hot chili

Cross off another Canadian Author from my list as I just finished Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron. I truly do love a good book set in Canada. Three cheers for Canadian Romances set in Canada. If you have yet to read any of Farah’s books, be prepared to feel hungry. She is the queen of making me hungry while reading.

I want to say Thank you to Read Forever Pub for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. Official publication date was March 8th, 2022.

Within the novel we meet Kamila who has a life that isn't perfect, but I would wager that it's pretty damn close. She works in accounting, she volunteers at the local dog shelter, the cutest Instagramable puppy named Darcy, and Bollywood movie parties weekly. Like seriously how could life get any better especially as a casual dater? Rohan is a friend from the past. He is the best kind of friend. He has her back no matter what. But recently more than “friend” vibes are being felt. What happens tho when an old enemy comes back and starts showing interest in Rohan, will it force Kamila to finally make her move or her feelings known? Or will it be too late?

I would say this is a very slow burn romance a little slower then I am normally used to. When the book finally got to the good stuff it was worth the wait. It is always special when you get to read, own voices romantic comedies.

I really enjoyed Heron's other recent novel Accidentally Engaged, so I was excited to read this one. Unfortunately, I felt as if the storyline felt a bit flat and forced. There was quite a lot mentioned about family dynamics and health in general, which at times felt a bit over the top. I did appreciate the storyline about being taken seriously in the professional world as a young woman, but it felt a bit out of place in the context of this novel.

I also had a really hard time getting into this book because the main love interest's name is the same as my brother so I just kept laughing every time he was mentioned as being a heartthrob.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this novel as much as I had hoped and felt as if there was too much going on all at once.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the gifted e-book in exchange for an honest opinion!

This was a cute match maker trope. Maybe a loose remake of Emma by Jane Austen? While I LOVE a book with a good dog/pet/animal philanthropy angle, this was not for me BUT the reason why is important: my romcoms need to be intense. I need to be laughing out loud at the funny parts and crying at the sad parts. Every emotion the author intends for me to feel needs to be felt to the extreme. This was more lighthearted and there is nothing wrong with that for normal romcom lovers...but clearly I am very particular. I think general romcom/romance/chick flick/humor lovers would really enjoy this. The writing is great and the characters are well written. You also get an amazing cultural dive which I really enjoyed.
Sooo, while this wasn't for me I do think it would be for anyone else with a normal emotional range. I also will continue to try new stuff from Farah Heron as they clearly know how to write and who knows? Maybe the next one will rip my heart out in all the right ways!

Honestly not a fan of this one. I really wanted more and every time I thought I was going to get more it ended. I almost put it down in the middle but I kept thinking it would get better

I had a hard time believing and even liking the characters in this book. Kamila and Rohan felt one dimensional and their chemistry didn't sizzle off the page. Also I think my biggest pet peeve with some romance books is the miscommunication trope, or when characters refuse to just talk to each other and Kamila feel into this a lot in the book. With that being said, I think others will like this book. It had the slow burn romance many love along with second chance and friends to lovers. I will also mention the representation was amazing as well. Overall an easy read but no one I would pick up again.

☔️Book Review: Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron☔️

KAMILA KNOWS BEST by Farah Heron was in one word: delightful. In two words: obsessively delightful. A modern Emma re-telling, having never read Emma myself I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it as much if I’d read it and while that’s still probably true, I know the movie version has skyrocketed to the top of my watch list thanks to this book.

Kamila Knows Best was a fantastic reading experience; it was fun, it had great secondary characters, and just the right amount of drama. The tension between Kamila and Rohan was so intense I could feel their emotions coming off the page. The slow-burn was the best kind of painful and I couldn’t stop turning the pages and mentally yelling, ‘just kiss already!!!’

Kamila is so lovable, her in your face over the top energy was so fun and I was here for every second of it. There was one scene where Rohan wasn’t very kind and pushes on an emotional bruise that struck Kamila very deeply and it was an insecurity I could also relate to very strongly and I just felt the scene in my gut. So basically what I’m saying is I freaking loved this book. I loved the romantic tension built between these two incredible characters. And I loved everything about Kamila. *cues up every adaptation of Emma available including Clueless*

Thank you @readforeverpub for this review copy!

Kamila Knows Best is a modern take on the classic novel, Emma, and an even updated version of the movie Clueless. Kamila is living her best life working as an accountant for a job she loves, volunteering for a local animal charity and hosting weekly Bollywood parties for all her friends. She’s not tied down to any one person and prefers to keep things casual. Her best friend and since childhood friend, Rohan is a giant help to her with her father, who has been struggling with his health.

One day she see Rohan flirting with another of their friends and she thinks maybe there could be more to her friendship with Rohan? Rohan has been there through everything, all the good and bad. He knows all about her family history and

I absolutely loved Accidentally Engaged by this author and that was 5 stars for me. Kamila was missing some of this magic. I didn’t really enjoy Kamila- she seemed immature despite caring for her elderly father. She didn’t understand that people may see things differently than her and that maybe she doesn’t always know best.

I do love that she was very compassionate about other people and for animals. She truly did try to put out positivity into the world. I loved how Rohan and Kamila both came to their more than friends conclusion together. The friends to lovers trope worked well with this novel.

I will also say as both of the author’s novels include incredible descriptions of the food. I want to go right now to try all the delicious pakora and biryani!

Thank you to @readforever for my gifted ebook.

This is a great multicultural romance that has lots of great character and world building. I will definitely be reading more of Heron in the future.

Kamila is more into other peoples love lives than her own. Rohan is her best guy friend that seems to pine for her without really admitting it. I wasn't team Rohan because he really didn't look out for Kamila's best interests until the very end. Kamila spends herself too thin, always over-scheduling. I needed something more. Maybe less work talk and more date time.

I loved Farah Heron’s previous book, Accidentally Engaged, so I was excited when I heard about Kamila Knows Best, and even more excited when I realized it’s a modern reimagining of Jane Austen’s Emma. From the Bollywood vibes to the instagram-famous pup, Heron fills the book with sweet and swoony details, and the romance is *chefs kiss* perfect.

Kamila Knows Best, like its source material, is a slow burn friends to lovers romance, between the matchmaking Kamila and Rohan, a financier and family friend who has carried a secret candle for Kamila for years. It’s a quick, heartwarming read, and it’s a real joy to watch Kamila grow into the best version of herself over the course of the story. Emma isn’t my favorite Jane Austen, and similarly, I didn’t enjoy Kamila Knows Best as much as I did Accidentally Engaged, (both Emma and Kamila can feel a tad immature at times) but this book still left me smiling over Kamila and Rohan’s happily ever after. The full cast of characters are delightfully imperfect, which made the entire story feel real and relatable.

I love books set outside the US, so it was fun to take a literary trip to Toronto and the Indian Canadian community that makes its home there.

I was worried that I wouldn't like this as I am not a Jane Austen fan. However, this was a wonderful story! The characters were well written and enjoyable to read about and I loved the growth of our main character. I also liked that this book highlights real issues such as mental health. I don't think you need to be an Austen fan at all to enjoy this!

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Farah Heron does it again with a fun contemporary romance, creating characters that you love so much so you do not want the book to end. Kamila is such a lovely person to follow along with because she has a great personality and is involved in things such as Bollywood parties and dog proms... what is not to love? Highly recommend this book!

This was a fun, cutesy story!

I absolutely loved Accidentally Engaged, and I couldn't wait to finally get to this one. I don't know why I waited so long to read it, but I'm glad I read it.

From the very beginning I loved both Kamila and Rohan, and reading the banter and playfulness between them was on point. Their journey was a slow unfolding one, but it was worth the wait. I also absolutely loved Potato, and was glad we got to see what happened to him. I thought the ending was a little quick, and would've wanted to see more, but that is probably my only wish when it comes to this story.

Another great read! If you're looking for a quick, friends to lovers story, with lots of food, this one could be for you!

I absolutely loved loved loved this book! Such a fun, heartwarming read. I would love to be friends with Kamila because her parties seem AMAZING.