4.5 out of 5 stars!

I asked myself how this was my first Farah Heron book because I fell in love with this story from the beginning. Jana didn't expect to find herself a single parent living with her mother. But there she was raising a child who spent 50% of her time with each of her parents. Jana and Anil found themselves together at their friends' wedding. Throughout the story, it was evident that Anil saw this as the perfect opportunity to convince Jana that they belonged together. But Anil's betrayal early on convinced her that he was untrustworthy. Coupled with her mixed feelings about Anil and wanting to move forward with him were the expectations of her mother and the culture in which she grew up. To make matters worse, her mother kept perpetuating a lie that Jana and Anil were divorced.

"You should be living for you, not for others."

While it is difficult to break the bonds of culture and tradition, Jana found herself in a predicament partly of her own making. It was easier to push Anil away than to trust that he was 100% all in. The author touched on a lot of sensitive topics throughout the story and gave the reader the perfect lens to view this couple, their culture, and their love story.

I received an advance copy of this book at my request and voluntarily left this review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. Here is my honest review:

This book made me feel: resentful... (until the end)

Jana Goes Wild follows the story of a single mother who gets a second chance at love with the father of her sweet 4-year-old daughter while at a family friend's destination wedding.

My favorite parts of this story were unique setting of the Serengeti, the foods described (not to mention recipes at the end!), and representation of South Asian wedding traditions. All this while showing two adults respectfully co-parent together, always putting the needs of their young child first filled me with warmth.

What didn't work for me (and where the resentment came in), was how tightly the main character (Jana) held on to her resentment of the father of her child, Anil. The book begins with Anil's one big (and it was big) mistake, so at first I was quickly swept up into team Jana with her well detailed thoughts, emotions, and logical decisions. I was ready to rage with her.

But for the remainder of the book, Anil is shown time and time again being a kind, patient, and considerate father and co-parent. He frankly is almost written as too perfect and smooth for me to understand how after years of him constantly putting Jana and their child first that she still can't stand to be in the same room as him. Eventually, I started to get frustrated with Jana for dwelling so relentlessly on the past and felt like she was allowing this one wrong-doing to completely define herself. It made it difficult for me to get past the second act and finish the book.

ana Goes Wild is set at the most exotic location for a romance story - Serengeti National Park. Jana finds herself in forced proximity to man who fathered her daughter five years ago. While they co-parent beautifully, they haven't really discussed what happened and what she feels was his betrayal of her affections.

From the delicacy to the safari adventures, the romance story got lost in its locale. Anil is a dreamboat, and tolerated a lot from Jana over the past few years to help raise their daughter. He listened, compromised and adores his child. Kudos to Heron for properly portraying what it exactly means to co-parent effectively for the betterment of the child.

The only drawback to the story was Jana's constant resentfulness toward Anil. She was so unforgiving of what happened as somethings were out of his control. It was waring to actually like her character as she just seemed so angry all the time.

While this book had potential, it got bogged down the unsavory attitude of Jana and it forgot it was a romance novel.

Thank you Forever for the complimentary copy of this novel.

After a disastrous decision five years earlier That left her shattered, but with her daughter, Jana vowed to avoid any thing similar to it. But now she’s off to Tanzania for a wedding and her ex will also be there.
I liked all the drama that surrounded Jana, who tired to avoid it. She was fair with Anil, who I was undecided about until almost the very end.
I thought he was very unfair to Jana while he had been very forthcoming with the truth and then lambasting Jana for doing the same thing.
I liked the grand gesture Jana makes but honestly I thought it should have come from Anil instead.
It’s a good story about second chances.

As always, Farah Heron swept me up and kept me reading with the loveliest characters and interactions, and I stayed hooked till the very last page.

This was an enjoyable read in a fun setting. Characters develop throughout the story but some of the same angst gets a bit old while it stays believable. I did find myself rooting for their HEA and it arrived just in time. Thanks for the ARC in exchange for my honest review #netgalley!

The one time shy Jana took a risk and fell in love, she ended up heartbroken and pregnant. Anil is a great dad, but she can't forgive his lie of omission. Now, the two are attending a destination wedding in Serengeti National Park. To distract herself from Anil's presence, she agrees to a list of wild challenges created by her fellow bridesmaids. But dropping her guard only makes her more susceptible to Anil's charms. Can she risk forgiving him and falling in love again?

I could really empathize with Jana. She's been hurt, and it's hard for her to trust. But Anil is just so sweet and perfect for her. I loved the African setting and the wedding backdrop. Overall, it's a fun, heartwarming, and uplifting book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This was fantastic and such a fun read. I loved it so much and kept turning the pages. Can’t wait to be able to share this with friends.

I do love a second chance romance and this one hit the mark. Loved the setting of the book, Enjoyed the secondary characters but as for the MFC was not a huge fan of hers at the beginning. She had a bit too much woe is me attitude it seems, but as she grew in between the pages she grew on me as well.

Jana's never really forgiven Anil for not telling her he was still married but their brief affair resulted in their beautiful girl. Jana might have borne a scarlet letter in their community but Anil has, to his credit,. been a good dad. Now they're all off to Africa because her sister is having a destination wedding. This is very much a second chance romance. I liked the setting and if Jana was annoying occasionally, well, everyone is making the best of their lives. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I am giving this book three stars because I wanted to see it to the end. However, I LOATHED the main character. She never redeemed herself. She was an awful person through most of the book and I don't understand why anyone wanted to remain in her orbit.

Jana "going wild" is her coming out of her "comfort zone." That phrase gets bandied about throughout the book, although what most of us would consider coming out of our comfort zone is something seriously risky or interesting, like skydiving or moving to a new city alone where you know no one, Jana's is wearing something other than black, white or beige. Talking to a stranger. Things that most people do regularly without a second thought. Jana is the most boring person ever and she always remarks that no one likes her because she is stuck in her comfort zone. She is right, I hated her character. Throughout the entire book. Even when I got to know her, which she remarks changes people's minds, not me. I still think she is an awful person.

There was very little to redeem this rom-com. I even thought Anil was a dolt for waiting around for this woman who is out and out mean to him most of the time.

Seriously, I wasted several hours of my life on this book I am never getting back,. ARGH

I suppose I should thank Forever Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC of this book but I'm still mad about the whole thing.

There is a lot that I really enjoyed about JANA GOES WILD, but writing this review a few weeks after reading it, I am finding that it was a pretty forgettable story overall. In the moment, I enjoyed the characters and the lightheartedness of the story, and the fun premise of how our characters finally come together, but there's nothing that cements JANA as incredible or groundbreaking in my eyes. And maybe it's not trying to be, but as someone who reads 200+ books a year, for a book to stick in my mind after time has passed there just has to be something *more.* JANA GOES WILD just didn't have that.

My first Farah Heron, and probably my last. I just didn't like this writing style. I failed to immerse myself and get lost into it; it felt more like having a voice-over recounting events, which doesn't really ever work for me.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Coming in hot with another review for Tuesday’s big release day! Introducing Jana Goes Wild, a second chances, and adventure romance.
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Jana meets Anil and has an instant and intense connection…but he held a secret from her and when she finds out, she just can’t trust him. Fast forward, and Jana and Anil have a child, and they were all invited to attend a wedding in Africa. The descriptions of Africa were incredible, I felt like I was there. Also, I loved that Jana was a strong Woman of Color with her doctorate and made no apologies for who she is! It was so refreshing to read a story with such a strong and empowering protagonist.
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My only con - I realized with this book that I’m not a fan of lying and miscommunication. It frustrates the heck out of me. But there is so much to love about the story, not to mention - the excellent writing, and fun cover. Would I recommend it, absolutely, especially if you enjoy the miscommunication trope. So grab a comfy blanket, a good snack, settle in and head on an African safari.
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The hugest of thanks to @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the ARC - this is an honest review

Five years ago Jana and Anil were in a two week relationship that crashed and burned after Jana found out he was still legally married and then discovered she was pregnant. She received a lot of backlash not only within her community but in her professional life as Anil's ex wife's family tried to paint her as a homewrecker. Fast-forward to present day where despite barely having to communicate in person, she and Anil will be apart of the same destination wedding.

I liked that this was a second chance romance with a child that didn't go the route of secret baby. I never find the reason for keeping the child from the father justifiable in those stories. Anil is actually present in his daughter's life and as Jana constantly tells us he is a very attentive father.

I really enjoyed the parts where they were traveling to different hotels and getting to explore Tanzania wildlife on safaris. I also enjoyed reading about the different foods and just experiencing all the aunties and uncles. The friend group was very solid despite Jana's reluctance and sometimes feeling like the odd one out.

At times the pacing was a little off and dragged for me especially towards the end. It was a very slow burn romance but there was also a lot of repetition especially with Jana commenting on how Anil is such a good father but she's mad at him for ruining her reputation. And I understand people love good gossip and scandal and it did cause her to lose a previous job but I felt she let it get to her too much. Much worse scandals happen in the corporate world every day and people move on. The back and forth got to be a little much at one point as Jana felt the need to hold onto the past.

3.5 stars. An interesting story of growing individually and as a couple.

Jana Suleiman feels like she's never really fit in because she just isn't vibrant enough. The one time she actually took a chance resulted in a broken heart and a baby on the way. She's now a bridesmaid for a destination wedding in Serengeti National Park and everyone she knows will be there. Turns out, that includes her potential new boss and her ex. Anil Malek is a great father even if Jana can't forgive him. But she wants to show that she's moved on from him, so the bridesmaids concoct a go-wild list of activities for her to do for the week. When she lets down her guard, she might just end up falling for her ex.

This book was kind of hard for me to rate. For the first 60-70%, I just really didn't like Jana or Anil. I don't feel like they've really grown up or actually learned to communicate (failure to communicate is their main problem throughout the story). They're both being kind of petty and neither seems to want to grovel appropriately for reconciliation. Then we reach the last part of the book. Jana finally works through a lot of her issues with her mom and she and Anil actually talk to one another. I'm not totally convinced that they worked through their problems, but it was pretty heartwarming to see them try. I also really liked to see all their friends there to support them in any way they needed.

Overall, if you've enjoyed Farah Heron's other books, you'll probably also like this one. Even though it's definitely a romance, it a bit leans towards women's fiction, so keep that in mind when you go into the story. The atmosphere is definitely the best part and now I just want to cook up East African Indian food and somehow figure out how to go on a safari.

You need to read Jana goes wild!

Jana Suleiman was going to use the destination wedding in Tanzania as a bridesmaid for some of her best friends to step a little bit out of her comfort zone but finding out that her ex-whatever Anil Malek was putting a damper on everything even though their daughter Imani was thrilled.

I absolutely loved how Farah Heron redeemed Jana because she was still very angry with Anil not explaining what was actually going on in his life when they met. But they did co-parent putting Imani first without showing the world that not everything was perfect in their personal and professional lives because they had to deal with their baggage first.

Now I want the next book!

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

I really enjoyed these characters and I loved the focus on their daughter. Imani is adorable and seeing how much she loved her parents was really cute. I do wish that Amil and Jana had some cute moments where she wasn't upset at him before they got back together. It felt like something was missing because of that.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I was so excited to read this one and it did not disappoint! Some of the logistics left me with questions (the story with the ex-wife was strangely handled to say the least) but overall it was a lot of fun. Anil was a great character- I fell in love with him a little myself! Definitely recommend. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

Unbelievable but still wildly entertaining. Ha- see what I did there? :) The characters were unique and their stories so interesting. This was an interesting plot and the travel was EPIC. The setting descriptions were so vivid, I felt like I was on safari with them. The romance was sweet and authentic, realistic and so lovely. I enjoyed my time with this one!