Accidentally Engaged was the first book by Farah Heron I had read, and I loved that story! I was excited to read Kamila Knows Best, and it did not disappoint. The characters were so well-developed - Kamila and Rohan for sure, but also the secondary characters who are connected through friendship and family ties. The inclusion of food, movies, and family/cultural dynamics further strengthened the connection among the characters, while also providing a diverse viewpoint. I am a sucker for friends to lovers stories; fans of this trope will enjoy this slow burn! Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. I have Farah Heron’s other books on my TBR now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the chance to read an early copy of this book!

The problem with a romance based on EMMA is...Emma. This book follows a LOT of the same story beats, and along the way Kamila is just as frustrating and clueless as Emma and Cher. It makes it difficult to read this as a romance since it's really heroine-centric, and Rohan/Knightley/Paul Rudd is a swoony cipher always present but never getting his own arc. The setting and cast of characters are charming (especially the delicious-sounding food), but this is really something to read as an Emma retelling and not a romance novel.

Retelling of a classic novel like "Emma" isn't easy. If the book didn't have to follow the already conceived narrative, I might have liked it more. Although, my main qualm with the book is the lack of romance....hello, that is what I'm here for. I really am not convinced about Kamila and Rohan's love. Nothing about it give me any feels. However, loving all the dogs, Bollywood, and tasty food. Previously, I enjoyed "Accidentally Engaged" and like the writing of Farah Heron.

This was unbelievably cute. I absolutely loved every minute of this sweet story. I need more Kamila and Rohan, and of course Darcy and Potato. Can I start over and read it again for the first time?

I am a fan of Farah Heron, but wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about the synopsis of this one until I started reading and was hooked by Farah’s fun writing. Kamila loves her work, her dog (who is insta-famous), and her friends, but that doesn’t leave much time for her own romance. She does have a sexy longtime friend who she loves to flirt with—but could it be more? Kamila’s life and love life shift all over the place as she finally pays more attention to her love life than her friends’ love lives. This story is adorable and reminded me just why I love Farah Heron.

This book is based on Jane Austen’s Emma and it is my least favorite book as I think Emma is too meddling in other people’s lives. Kamila is just the same but somehow even though she was annoying at times with her superior attitude while ignoring things right in front of her, she made me love her by the end of the book. Kamila is a devoted daughter and a warm and sweet person. Even though at times she can seem self absorbed and vain, she truly cares about other people. Rohan, on the other hand, I absolutely adored right from the first time I read about him. He is always there for her even when she doesn’t realize it and I loved how he supported her and her father. I loved the Bollywood components in this story and this book seriously made me crave biryani in the middle of the night. Even though I didn’t think I would like the book for Kamila’s character, I absolutely adored it by the end of it. I would highly recommend this book.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

I only finally read my first Farah Heron book in 2021, even though I'd had a copy of The Chai Factor on my shelf since it had been published in 2019. Kamila Knows Best is Heron’s latest novel and the rom com based on Jane Austen’s Emma was such a delight to read.

Here’s the book’s description:
Kamila Hussain’s life might not be perfect, but, whew, it’s close. She lives a life of comfort, filled with her elaborate Bollywood movie parties, a dog with more Instagram followers than most reality stars, a job she loves, and an endless array of friends who clearly need her help finding love. In fact, Kamila is so busy with her friends’ love lives, she’s hardly given any thought to her own . . .
Fortunately, Kamila has Rohan Nasser. A longtime friend of the family, he’s hugely successful, with the deliciously lean, firm body of a rock climber. Only lately, Kamila’s “harmless flirting” with Rohan is making her insides do a little bhangra dance.



But between planning the local shelter’s puppy prom, throwing a huge work event, and proving to everyone that she’s got it all figured out, Kamila isn’t letting herself get distracted—until her secret nemesis returns to town with an eye for Rohan. Suddenly, it seems like the more Kamila tries to plan, the more things are starting to unravel—and her perfectly ordered life is about to be turned upside down.
You don’t have to have read Emma to enjoy this novel but I think Austen fans will appreciate it that much more. I was having serious Clueless vibes throughout which made sense when I read Heron’s note at the end where she says that’s her favourite adaptation. This is, clearly, not a faithful adaptation (can you imagine Austen watching Bollywood films? How amazing would that be?) but Heron captured the essence of Emma and put her own refreshing twist on the classic novel. I am glad I reread Emma back in 2020 as I enjoyed it a lot more than the last time I read it and, if I hadn’t, I don’t think I could have enjoyed Kamila Knows Best as I did.

I don’t know if it was just my mood but it took me until about halfway through the book before I was really feeling the story. It could have been partially because Kamila, like Emma, is pretty self-centred and it took awhile for me to really see Kamila’s big heart. There’s a scene in Emma where Emma is incredibly rude to one of the spinster women in her social circle and it’s always hard to read because it’s just so mean. Heron reimagines the scene with a different character and, honestly, I felt that Kamila was justified in her response. Jana was just as rude, if not more so, and I couldn’t blame Kamila for lashing out. Was it a bit immature? Maybe. But she was hurt. I always appreciated her self-confidence and realized I was totally Team Kamila as other characters kept constantly slamming her for enjoying fashion and couldn’t understand that she was an incredibly smart and competent woman. I was not having it and I was so proud of Kamila for standing up for herself.
As always, I loved that Heron set this book in Toronto. Any time I find a romance set in Canada, I’m a happy camper (and I adore Forever for publishing so many of them and understanding that everyone enjoys Canadian set books). I also loved experiencing Kamila’s Indian lifestyle and her weekly Bollywood parties. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a Bollywood movie myself but Heron wrote Kamila’s parties so well that I was experiencing major FOMO while reading the book. And even though I don’t enjoy most Indian spices (I love spicy but not certain spices), I was so hungry as I was reading.

Kamila Knows Best is another great rom com from Farah Heron. I had a lot of fun reading it and think other rom com lovers – especially Jane Austen fans – will enjoy it too.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Just finished reading KAMILA KNOWS BEST by Farah Heron a 🇨🇦 author. Thank you to my friends at Read Forever Pub for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. Official publication date was March 8th, 2022.

Canadian Romance set in Canada!

Kamila life isn't perfect, but it's pretty damn close. A great job in accounting, a volunteer position with the local dog shelter, a cute Instagram famous puppy named Darcy, and weekly Bollywood movie parties with awesome friends. How could it get better?!? Maybe a permanent boyfriend...even though she swears by casual dating.

Enter Rohan her old time family friend, who has a her back no matter what, but recently she's been feeling more then friendly towards. When her old archenemy comes back to town and shows an interest in Rohan, will Kamila finally make a move? Will it be too late?

A bit of a slow burn romance. Took a bit to get to the good stuff but when I did it was worth it 💞. Thank you to Farah Heron for setting your stories in Toronto 🦝🏙 & for always making me sooo hungry 🤤!

A very sweet and relatable Emma retelling, sure to please young adult readers and those that love them. The characterization was rich and the cultural elements felt natural to the story.

I loved this Emma retelling! Kamila and Rohan were both such fun, loveable characters, and their banter was A+. Their friends-to-lovers journey had me swooning. Highly recommended!

Kamila is living her best life - she's great at her job, her parties are a hit, she loves her volunteer work at the animal shelter, and she's helping her father manage his health. But things turn around when her secret nemesis comes back to town - suddenly her father's health is in question, she's setting things on fire in her apartment, and she's got a million conflicting obligations and absolutely no time.

There's a lot to like here - amazing descriptions of food (I'm so sad there's no biryani in my town), a super competent FMC, and lots of swoony moments between Kamila and Rohan.

I loved Heron's previous book, Accidentally Engaged, but unfortunately this one didn't resonate as much. Partly I'm in a reading slump, but I had trouble with Kamila's antagonism toward her secret nemesis and her tunnel vision focused on being perfect and making everything perfect for everyone else at the expense of herself. There's also a lot of painful history with Kamila's mother. And several of the men in the book are... not great.

I'll definitely check out what Heron does next, but this one wasn't a great match for me.

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

This book surprised me! I wasn't entirely on board initially because I thought Kamila was annoying. However, Farah managed to turn it around. I was pleased with how the author tied up all the storylines, especially the "nemesis."
I absolutely adore Rohan. He was charming, sweet, and clearly in love with Kamila. I would have loved to get inside his head because Kamila was quite ridiculous at times.
Kamila's friendship with Asha was the highlight of the story for me. Asha asked all the right questions and supported Kamila like no other.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. I would read more from Farah. 3.75/5

Thank you @hachetteaudio and @foreverpub for the gifted book.

Why didn’t anyone tell me about Farah Heron? I’ve been sleeping on this author!
This book was what every romcom should be.

I adored the characters, the chemistry they had was off the charts.
Friends to lovers isn’t my go to trope, but I honestly didn’t mind it at all in this one. The male MC Rohan was literally perfect in my eyes. I’m obsessed.
Kamila is such a strong and feisty woman, it’s hard not to love her!
I do wish this had been a dual POV, I would have loved more of Rohan.

While this book had me laughing out loud, it also had some tough themes sprinkled through. I could relate so much to Kamila and I felt for her whenever her mom was talked about.

If you’re looking for a story full of family, friendships and cute dogs then this is for you!

I listened to the audiobook and I really loved the narrator Soneela Nankani. This is one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to in a while. The addition of sound effects, like text notifications was genius! This audiobook was almost 11 hours and it didn’t feel like it at all, I sped through it. Highly recommend it.

The full review of this title can be found on my blog at: https://wordsofmysteryblog.wordpress.com/2022/03/31/book-review-kamila-knows-best-by-farah-heron/

Kamila Knows Best is a wonderful retelling of Jane Austen's Emma. I absolutely loved the character of Kamila (the protagonist). She is dedicated to her father, her clients (she works as an accounting professional) and her friends. She also volunteers at an animal shelter, and holds weekly Biryani and Bollywood nights (which sound so fun)! I enjoyed the parallels to characters and events from Emma, especially close family friend, Rohan (Mr. Knightley) and Kamila's misunderstood "rival" Jana (Jane Fairfax).

One of my favorite parts of any Emma-inspired book is the friendship and blossoming relationship between Emma and Mr. Knightley, and the author, Farah Heron writes this so well in Kamila Knows Best. There's banter galore and I can feel the genuine closeness in Kamila and Rohan's friendship.

Thank you so much to Forever, the publisher, for providing me a digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. Also, another note - I absolutely love this cover design! The vibrant colors and interesting lettering, and how cute are Kamila and Rohan in the rain? The cover really pops and draws attention!

I’m enjoying Farah Heron’s books a lot! This book, like the first one I read by her, made me so hungry! This time for biryani instead of beer and bread.

In KAMILA KNOWS BEST, she is struggling to balance everything in her life. She loves her job at a small accounting firm run by her father and family friends, volunteering for party planning and with an animal shelter, and hosting elaborate weekly Bollywood movie nights for her friends. She has a ton on her plate and still manages to take on more.

Kamila was a…challenging character to get along with for me. Her actions and the fact that she constantly cut people off, assuming she knew what they were going to say about her, was so frustrating. I know that her father and Rohan sometimes acted like they knew what she wanted and assumed things when they shouldn’t, but she totally did the same thing to them too. Aside from those frustrating moments, she otherwise had a fun personality and generally wasn’t afraid to be herself… I just struggled to LIKE her a lot of the time.

The ending was so cute and I love the way everything wrapped up. The romance was top-notch for most of the book and had a really strong slow build. Overall, a great plot with lots of pups and solid friends-to-more romance.

I loved accidentally engaged and was so excited when i got approved for this book! This book captured my interest so quick. I am a big fan of retellings because i havent actually read a lot of classics and this gives me a chance to get to know a classic story in a modern way. This book was fun and such a quick read for me.

Bringing couples together is something that Kamila Hussain excels at. However, her own life is in the slow lane. Meanwhile, she will enjoy hosting Bollywood parties, her job and keeping her dog's Instagram account flourishing.

Kamila has been very good friends with Rohan Nasser for years. However, she starts to view him differently. Her changing feelings for Rohan don't come without difficulties. To see more, please watch my YouTube video review of this engaging read:

https://youtu.be/d1jfXVPNwM0

This is a friends-to-lovers romance and modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma with a fun Bollywood spin. Definitely loved the progression and the depth of the story. Farah has a way of pulling you into the characters’ lives and not letting go. I loved the two main characters Kamila and Rohan and did not want their story to end!

I want to thank NetGalley, Farah Heron and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

Oh my god! I loved this book and the fun rom com that was going on with it. It had Kamila who is trying to live up to everyone's standards, but be her own person at the same time. Kamila drops everything for her friends and what she thinks that they need.

Kamila plays matchmaker with all of her friends and who she thinks would be the best fit for them. However, Kamila doesn't have a serious relationship nor does she do serious relationships. In her life she is hyper-focused on her dad and she has Rohan in her life who is a family friend. Rohan helps with taking Kamila's dad to the doctors office and running errands for the family.

Kamila's enemy comes back in her life, Jana, who is also a childhood friend and she feels like she is in constant competition with her.

I love, love, love this book!