Did not finish at ~30%. I was bored and had a hard time connecting with Kamila as she felt way too involved/overbearing on her father's health.

Kamila Knows Best is a South Asian contemporary Canadian homage to Jane Austen's Emma. Gently funny and charming romcom, Kamila Knows Best features Kamila Hussain, a Toronto accountant who's the vivacious center of her social world. Like her Austen inspiration, she’s popular and successful, committed to taking care of her widower father, and super close to lifelong family friend Rohan Nassar. She's also just a little too fond of running her friends' love lives. When her high school nemesis returns to Toronto, Kamila's need for control goes into hyperdrive and shakes up Rohan and Kamila's relationship. It's a creative adaptation. Where it went a little wrong for me was in making Kamila so clueless and deeply insecure about her own status and the almost relentless emphasis on respectability, shaming and emotional abuse in her family. That's an odd turn for this character and one I've now seen way too often.
2.75 stars.

I was in love with one of Farah's other books, so there was no way I was going to miss this one, especially after finding out it was an Emma retelling of sorts.

I liked Kamila. She's got a good heart, is loyal, and cares for her family. Her inner monologue was a mixture of second guessing everything, assertiveness, and chaos. Rohan (tempered through Kamila's eyes) is steadfast and always around. Together, they have a history, so much potential, and loads of miscommunication. There are a lot a lot a lot of secondary characters, but we don't really get to know any of them other than surface level.

Plot wise, it was a bit more dramatic than I expected. The entire story felt like it was assumptions and jumping to conclusions and brushing off conversations that would have cleared things up. There is a lot a dialogue (which I loved), but again, a lot of it felt on the brink of being meaningful. It's not until the ending that we get some explanation of the actions from Kamila and Rohan.

Overall, I'm absolutely here for all of the longing, forearm ogling, and puppies. I will forever read anything Farah puts out, in this instance I just wanted a bit more clarity.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

TITLE: Kamila Knows Best
AUTHOR: Farrah Heron
PUB DATE: 03.08.2022 Now Available

I want Kamila’s life! Imagine this, Kamila’s life of comfort in Toronto revolves around planning Bollywood movie nights, organizing a local shelter’s puppy prom, and devising her friends’ happily ever afters - now doesn’t that just sound grand? But then, someone starts having eyes on her childhood friend Rohan Nasser, who is equally successful as he is chiseled gorgeous, that Kamila is not bound to let Rohan get snatched under her nose, especially not from a nemesis. Suddenly, her perfectly ordered life turns upside down.

I absolutely adored this delightful romcom retelling that is fun, light-hearted, and immensely entertaining to read. Kamila and Rohan are so perfect. I loved their wonderful back story, their witty banter, and their friends to lovers story arc is so swoon worthy.

Kamila and Rohan! Thank you @readforeverpub for the gifted ARC of this one! I started and couldn’t stop. Farah Heron is quickly becoming a must read author for me! Easy conversation/banter among those two and the way they ease into their understanding of one another! I am in awe of Rohan. The hopeless romantic in me loved the friends to lovers trope

A slow start for me. I picked up and put this book down a few times before I could continue reading. Initially aggrieved with Kamila’s unwillingness to say no or tell people how she felt. I mean, she couldn’t even years later call Jana out for the car hook up that cost Kamila her graduation party. Just no. How many people would take the fall for a “secret nemesis?” Not me. I also thought for as fleshed out some details were regarding the background and objects her father’s medical issues and diagnoses came up vague. I’m not looking for medical terminology, just more substance. Overall, I loved the ending (didn’t need that last chapter) and wanted Kamila to succeed and have it all, including the guy! I’m glad she was eventually able to find her voice, but gosh she needed to take a stand earlier!

I had a tough time getting in to this modern Emma retelling but...I also have a hard time getting in to Emma too! While I really enjoyed Emma and Rohan (and the full cast of supporting characters) I found their conflict difficult to dig in to...in the beginning. However, at about 40% the story really picked up and I loved the direction the author took this story. Overall, I would recommend this to others but know that if Jane Austen's Emma was a little slow for you at first you will probably find the same with this book (however the payoff is worth it!)

This Bollywood retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma is a sweet and easy-to-read book that brings Emma to life in a whole new way.
Kamila Hussain lives with her dad and is trying to keep him healthy after a few health scares. She works with him at an accounting firm and spends her free time volunteering with animals and matchmaking.
When her secret nemesis comes back to town, her world is turned upside down. She starts to doubt herself as well as her choices while trying to please everyone around her.
I loved this adaptation for Austen's classic novel. This well-loved plot line feels fresh and new with the Bollywood twist.

This review is hard for me to write, because while I LOVE Farah Heron and I absolutely adored Accidentally Engaged, I didn't end up loving Kamila Knows Best. I have never read (or watched the movie of) Emma, so I don't have a ton to base this re-imagining off of, but Kamila's character was a bit all over the place. She was strong, yet insecure. She knew what she wanted, but she was too afraid to ask for it. It frustrated me that she played victim in several situations, instead of owning her motivations/actions. You can't really say you love casual sex and friends with benefits, but then play the victim and say that everyone thinks you're a slut.

The romance with Rohan felt stilted to me. There were some sweet, tender moments between the two (the scene on the couch where she fell asleep on him was a favorite), but we didn't necessarily get to see much of that play out throughout the book, because Kamila was all over the place with her feelings. I wish the romance had been more developed, instead of a side plot for most of the book.

One thing that I did not was the culture and food that Farah always writes into her books. All the Bollywood scenes were so fun to read and I loved the group of friends that Kamila had (even though some of them were hard to keep track of some of the time). I also loved the animals in the book and the puppy prom was a real highlight.

I spent this whole book sighing longingly and smiling to myself. Their relationship is so cute and the writing was to die for.

Unfortunately, I couldn't bring myself to finish this novel, which very rarely happens! I could not stand the writing style, and was completely turned off by the end of chapter 1. I hope to revisit the book someday, maybe with a fresh pair of eyes and a new perspective.

I loved this story. It’s a beautiful and modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. Kamila exudes the same charm and precociousness that Emma does and Rohan is a very swoon-worthy Knightly. While the story is based off of Emma, there’s a certain freshness to the plot and the writing that keep it from being boring. The story is steeped in cultural richness and I really appreciated the inclusion of recipes at the end. I very much enjoyed Kamila Knows Best, and can’t wait to see what’s next from Heron.

This book is seriously my rom-com dream. It had everything I wanted in more! I could not put this book down. I went into this book not knowing much about it and it was perfect. The pace was the perfect amount of slow burn, I adored the characters. Seriously 10/10!

An adaptation of Emma, this was a cute book but I sometimes got lost with so many characters and just found that I didn’t like Kamila.

This South Asian, Canadian retelling of Emma was precisely the book I needed in my life right now. It was witty, hilarious, and heart achingly angsty. Oh and you better believe there was some seriously delicious food mentioned throughout the book (in true Farrah style). It wasn’t all lighthearted fun though. It also tackled issues of mental health, anxiety, toxic family relationships, and more. But everything is better with a side of potato…the puppy, not the food. 😉

Kamila Hussain is doing her best to be perfect, at work, in taking care of her dad, with her friends. She over-commits, never says no, and even finds time to throw elaborate Bollywood movie parties. But with so many plates in the air if just one crashes down then everything starts to fall. And when things start to crumble you find out who your true friends and supporters are. Will her friend Rohan be there for her when she really needs him, or will he betray her just like others have done in the past?

This friends-to-lovers story also has lots of family drama, great friendships, and is basically all-round amazing. Farrah Heron has done it again (no surprise here) and this is definitely one you’re going to want to pick up.

It is closed door, or maybe more accurately ‘cracked window’ (coined by @readingforamoment) but there is plenty of sizzling tension build-up between Kamila and Rohan.

I really loved this audiobook narrated by Soneela Nankani. It's not a secret that I am a huge Austen fan and I also love retellings but I haven't read many Emma retellings. This one was very well executed in a modern Toronto setting and I really, really fell in love with the characters including all the dogs (Potato! Darcy! love love love)!!! The end really tugged at my heartstrings much like Emma always does <3 Farah Heron writes fabulous no-nonsense female characters and I love her Toronto/Ontario settings - it just feels so refreshing to read a Canadian romance with diverse characters set in Canada.

There were a few appropriately cringey moments (a la Emma as well, so I could totally appreciate that and knew to expect it!), but there were also some absolutely lovely heartwarming moments including Kamila's relationship with her father, Rohan cooking, Bollywood nights with friends, and so many delicious food descriptions of dishes I'll have to get my hands on sometime.

It was helpful for me to switch between the audiobook and the ebook while reading this to familiarize myself with the spelling of names and dishes and Indian words and the pronunciation of those same words and names. :) I can't wait for more from this author in the future!!

Thank you so much to Hachette Audio and Forever for the ALC and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was light and fun while still bringing a lot of depth to the characters. I loved the development of Rohan and Kamila’s relationship, from being best friends since childhood to realizing they were perfect together.
I loved that Kamila was depicted as a woman who cares about her appearance and loves to socialize while still being very career-driven. I loved how she put on a Bollywood party for her friends every weekend and made them over the top.
There is a lot of humour with this one which made it so enjoyable!

Adorable. Loved Kamila and Rohan and always appreciate anxiety/depression represented well. I really enjoyed this one. I loved Accidentally Engaged so Farah Heron is definitely an author for me.

I really enjoy Farah's writing. This book was really fun. I loved the characters and a friends to lovers troupe is one of my favs.

DNF @ 30%

Unfortunately I was really struggling with Kamila Knows Best. I can't quite pinpoint why, so I feel that it is on me, and not on the book.

Thank you for the opportunity to review. I look forward to and plan on reading Farah Heron again.