This is the first Farah Heron novel I’ve read and I was absolutely transported on an African adventure. The descriptions of the landscapes, animals and resorts are vivid. The characters come to life on the page and it’s so clear from the dialogue and internal monologues what the characters’ motives and dynamics are. And the second half of this novel is where the plot really takes off. I read the second half of this novel in one evening.

A few critiques: our main character Jana frequently recalls her romantic encounters with Anil in the first half of the novel, but how she describes remembering it fall flat for me in a way that doesn’t build excitement and anticipation. I had a hard time staying engaged with the first half of the novel. The one intimate scene we get in the second half of the novel is steamy and exciting! I wish this writing was carried more throughout the novel. For instance in the first half of the novel when Jana and Anil occasionally accidentally/platonically touch, I never feel the sparks and tension translate off the page.

Jana and Anil pale in comparison to the rest of the characters who are vibrant and realistic. I absolutely related to Jana’s insecurities and anxieties, but her interactions with other characters comes across as flat. I wish we had a stronger sense of what makes Jana lovable. Instead it felt like we were supposed to love her despite a lot of what has happened in life, rather than love her for what has happened in her life.

Some of the physical landscape descriptions became redundant. In each resort the same landscape was painted for us and baobab trees were mentioned each time. I would have loved more of a description of baobab trees because the word really jumps off the page, but doesn’t explain the uniqueness of this variety.

I wish we had more of an explanation of what Jana and Anil do for work. We know they’re in development and working with non-profits, but I really wish there was more explanation about the work they do. Some examples of projects I think would work in multiple ways: one explain to the reader what Development is and two show the reader a deeper insight into what kind of person Jana is (I assume a very caring and empathetic one).

Overall, absolutely loved the book. Would give it a 8.5/10. The romance scenes we got were phenomenal, the setting was unique and vibrant, the plot and conflicts are uncommon and modern, but commonly loved troupes are featured: enemies to friends, only one bed, etc. And the secondary characters brought so much diversity and personality to the story. Farah Heron writes in a way that creates vivid imagery and characters! I have not read Kamila Knows Best and I don’t think this negatively impacted my reading experience, but I’m looking forward to reading it now that I’ve finished Jana Goes Wild.

i was waiting to hear more about jana and anil’s story and it definitely delivered! i loved the setting of the safari and getting to watch jana grow throughout the book. plus reading about old favorites is always a win! definitely a good follow up book!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

First, amazing cover. Second, Farah Heron always does the job, she is easily one of the best romance writers out there at the moment.

This book brought me to tears multiple times. It is a mega-slow burn, it is emotional, it is witty and smart, and it is an incredible example of how characters who appear as "villains" in one text can be turned into heroines in another. If I had to sum all of this up, I would simply say that this book is mature - and I mean that in the most positive way-- the conflicts, the resolutions, the love, the relationships, and the humor are never slap-sticky or goofy or forced for the sake of the plot, they are nuanced and difficult and political (I wish more writers weren't afraid of this!) in ways that, as a reader, hit deep. Jana is easily one of my favorite romance heroines of all time.

I know that I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

Buy this book asap!

This story has a lot to love. My initial interest was Farah and then the bright cover. Farah never disappoints and this second chance romance has jumped right up to the top of my favs.

I figured out this was a follow up to Kamila Knows Best after I had completely finished reading it. It works well as a standalone. I did however start Kamila Knows Best immediately after and found a little context I was missing specifically regarding the friendship dynamics of certain characters.

I won’t spoil the plot but coparenting with no relationship nor friendship after only two weeks of falling in love! Not to mention while sharing the same friends and family can be difficult (that’s an understatement)… Add on attending the same wedding on the other side of the world. All the miscommunication was killing me so I was happy for some force proximity. It’s crazy to think resolving small misunderstandings can truly change the whole trajectory of life.

I love how Heron’s writing always makes me hungry specifically for culturally diverse food! There’s quite a few restaurants that her writing has driven me to. I also really want to visit Africa and specifically Tanzania someday. She described it so beautifully to the point I dreamed about it for weeks. My bags are already packed!

I’ll be completely honest and say what drew me into the book was the cover. It was bright and felt fun. Title was the major hook. It made me curious. I’m so glad that I took that chance because Farah Heron hit it out of the park with Jana goes Wild.

I love the location for this one. Tanzania is such a beautiful country, and Farah's eloquently describing the setting. I can picture the game trips, safari rides, and the resort the group is staying in. Like the other novels I've read by her, I'm not as welcoming of the fact that she insists on highlighting the characters' religion when they are not practicing the religion. I feel that their religion has nothing to do with what they are doing in the plot. Overall, it's a second chance romance with an interesting setting.

I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately it was pretty ok forme. I was not blown away but I did not hate the book either! It was a nice, fun romance read.

Also I did not know this book was from a series so I was not aware of past characters and the middle was a little slow. I want to re-read it after I've read some of the other books.,

I loved Farah Heron’s previous book and so when I saw this one was available on NetGalley, I had to try to get to read it ahead and here I am! The setting and atmosphere of this book is phenomenal and I truly felt like I was traveling alongside Jana and her family as well as Anil, her ex that she just can’t quite rid herself of! This book was so cute and such a fun romp through the wild side both figuratively and literally! I will definitely be reading more from Farah Heron in the future!

I am WIIIIIILD about Jana Goes Wild. From the blatant sexual tension between Jana and Anil, the cutest baby girl Imani, and the awesome settings of Tanzania and the Serengeti, this is an amazing romcom to satisfy your wanderlust. As a huge fan of Kamila Knows Best, I was happy to see Kamila featured in this book (even as a background character). I feel like we get to see Jana and Kamila's friendship grow throughout this book, from being a reluctant member of the Bridal Brigade to really being besties. I love a career-oriented protagonist, especially when she's also prioritizing her family. Anil's not perfect, but he's pretty dang close - he could take me to Disney any day. There are some mild miscommunication tropes throughout, but it's a really solid second-chance romance. AND I can't wait to try out the recipes in the back, mmmmmmmm.

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

Jana Goes Wild is a second chance romance that takes place mainly in Tanzania. I really enjoyed the setting and how vividly the nature and the animals were described. This book has sparked a real desire in me to go to Tanzania now.

I normally don’t enjoy second chance romances too much, but this one felt a little different because of the nature of the original relationship between Jana and Anil. They were only together for a few brief weeks before splitting up, and then they spent years co-parenting. I wanted to be mad at Anil, but how can anyone stay mad at Anil?

Jana’s relationships with her mother and her friends were interesting to see. Her relationship with her mother was especially complex, as her mother really doesn’t get portrayed in a positive light for most of the story. Jana’s mother frustrated me, but ended up being less one-dimensional than I thought. Jana’s friends were supportive and funny and intuitive. I didn’t read Kamila Knows Best, and I don’t think it’s necessary to read it before diving into this novel.

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron is a very fun and delightful second chance romance full of family, friends, food, and the occasional lion and elephant!

Five years ago, Jana and Anil had a very short, very intense, relationship. This whirlwind romance resulted in Jana finding out she was pregnant. She and Anil decide to co-parent their daughter but with very clear lines and boundaries in place. Now, Jana and Anil are both on their way to Tanzania for a wedding. It'll be 2 weeks of contact and interactions, and Jana isn't prepared for it or for the feelings she still has for Anil.

This was such a beautiful and relatable book. I think that so many will love Jana and relate to her and her struggles and the pressure she feels to be a perfect daughter and mother. Anil was so sweet and I loved seeing him with his and Jana's daughter, Imani. The love in this book, from friends and family, was evident and I really enjoyed it and all the side characters.

Thank you Netgalley, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, another fantastic book by Farah Heron. One of my favorite things about her novels is how real the characters feel. She does an excellent job of creating Jana's back story and then every move Jana makes fits her character background and personality.
This book takes place about 4-5ish years after Kamila Knows Best, and features two of the characters from that book, Jana and Anil. It's a second chance romance where after the first part of the relationship, Jana ends up pregnant, and she and Anil co-parent while agreeing to do it on a strictly platonic basis.
Which of course is going to work, right?
They wind up at Kamila and Rohan's destination wedding in Tanzania, and because romance reasons, sparks fly anew.
My absolute favorite thing about this book were the scenes set in Tanzania. Over a decade ago, I went on a camping safari through Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire national parks, and it is still my most favorite trip ever. Ms.Heron recreates these settings and feelings so well, I felt like I was back there.
A few things that I had issues with:
1. It took me a little while to get into the book. Once they reached Tanzania, which happens fairly early on, I was completely engaged.
2. There is definitely a bit of a miscommunication/refusal to communicate trope. Which, honestly, I get because I relate hard to Jana. She is a very private person and has trouble peopling (same, Jana, same). It does frequently recur, though.
Overall, so many amazing things about this book. Highly, highly recommended!

I know it's early still, but Jana Goes Wild just be one of my favorite books of the year. This book takes place in the same universe as another of Heron's novels with Jana and Anil both having been introduced in Kamila Knows Best. I have not read that book and felt it worked fine as a standalone.

Jana and Anil had two weeks of bliss before everything came falling down around them. Now four years later, they are raising a daughter together having as little contact with each other as possible. Jana finds out at the airport that she must endure a family wedding trip to Tanzania with Anil. She hopes to either move on from the pain and hostility for herself and her daughter. Anil longs to be friends again and hopefully something more.

Second chance romance is not usually the trope for me. There was just something about this book that hit all the right spots for me. The backdrop of Tanzania was vivid and immersive. I loved the richness of Jana's family's culture. Jana is not always a likeable person. She's rigid and prickly but that's what made her more real. The person I really ended up loving the most was Anil. He tried so hard over the years to give her the space she needed to heal but was pining for her the entire time. Jana fell in love with him again seeing him care for their daughter; and I did too. The third act breakup gave me whiplash but it was resolved very quickly so I'll forgive it. This book was just so charming; I can't wait to go back and read Kamila and Rohan's story. I hope more of the #bridalbrigade get their own stories as well. It takes a lot to make me cry while reading a book and I ended up teary eyed at the ending.

This book is for you if you like: second chance romance,. coming back from a scandal, single parent, finding yourself, safaris, bucket lists, wedding parties, meddling family members, co-parenting struggles, diverse hero and heroine, destination wedding, prickly heroine, slow burn

4.5 stars rounded to 5
Thank you to Farah Heron, NetGalley, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for a copy of this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.
#netgalley #farahheron #forevergrandcentralpublishing #janagoeswild

Another great adult contemporary romance from Farah Heron! I loved this one as much as Accidentally Engaged and Kamila Knows Best. It was so interesting for her to give a book to these characters (side characters in Kamila Knows Best, and honestly neither of them made a great impression in that book), but I loved seeing another side of Jana, and seeing her and Anil work their way back to each other. If you like second chance romances, you should absolutely check this one out.

As always, Farah Heron delivers with thoughtful, realistic romance. Jana might be a difficult heroine for some people to like, but if you're an awkward introvert, you will probably relate in a lot of ways. It might have been useful to have Anil's POV here, because I don't think he fully grovelled enough and showed Jana that he was worth trusting. Both of them definitely need to work on their communication issues. The setting and the complicated friendship and family bonds are perfectly done here.

I absolutely loved this second chance romance between Jana and Anil, two South Asian co-parents whose relationship blew up just before Jana realized she was pregnant. Five years later the two are forced to confront their past as they travel to Tanzania for a joint friends' wedding (Kamila and Rohan from Kamila knows best!) with their daughter Imani.

This book was full of heart, great South Asian culture, amazing friends and a swoony single Dad. I really related to Jana as she tries to grapple with being an introvert who has a hard time socializing and is constantly getting shamed for being a working single mom who never married (even seemingly from her own mother who tells people Jana is divorced).

The African setting was so fun! I also enjoyed getting to reconnect with other characters in this world too and was totally rooting for Jana and Anil to find their way back to one another. While there are a couple low key bedroom scenes, this is mostly a PG/fade to black book that will have you laughing and feeling all the feels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. The cover is one of my favs and I can't wait to get a finished copy to stay on my forever shelves!

My heart is so happy after reading this book. The chemistry that Jana and Anil have is unbelievable. I was rooting for them from the very first page!

Jana has never really fit it and the last time she stepped out of her comfort zone, she ended up heartbroken with a baby on the way. She’s a bridesmaid for her friends destination wedding and her ex aka the father of her child is a groomsmen. Even though Anil is a great father to their child, she still hasn’t forgiven him for what he’s done. Now they get to spend two weeks together and pretend to be the best of friends.

I loved this book so much. The setting was perfect for this story. I loved getting the read some of Jana’s memories with her father when they were in Serengeti National Park. I also loved watching Jana and Anil’s relationship grow throughout the book. Also that shower scene was very intimate and I loved every second of it!

If you’re looking for a super cute, second chance romance to binge during the summer then I highly recommend picking this up on May 2nd!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever for the e-arc!

I was very invested for the first 30% or so of this one but it started to drag for me by the middle. I think it was because I hadn’t read the book before this (had no idea this was a series) and so I wasn’t all that invested in the other characters. The text exchanges were my favorite and there were some super cute moments I enjoyed.

Apparently this book is a follow up to Kamila Knows Best, but I read it as a stand alone and I kept up just fine. This is a second chance romance set against the beautiful backdrop of Tanzania. Jana is taking her daughter and mother along on a destination wedding trip to Tanzania. When she gets there she is surprised to find her co-parent/ex, and her prospective employer she just interviewed with are both there for the two week trip as well. A lot of hilarious moments ensue as Jana tries to deal with all the complicated moments that arrive on this trip. The scenery and animals described in the book were breathtaking, and made me feel like I was on safari with them. I had mixed feelings about Anil for a lot of the book, but by the end he had won me over and had me rooting for them to work things out. I loved learning about Indian culture, and food and enjoyed the recipes included along with this book. And the side characters and bridal brigade were awesome. This was a great second chance romance. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

This was exactly the kind of romance I needed for February. I was completely rom-com-ed out after my holiday reads and didn’t want to read another formulaic, enemies-to-lovers book.

The first thing that drew me to this was the setting. We have a large cast of characters who all travel to Tanzania for a two week. destination wedding of two childhood/family friends. Sounds great but then you throw in Jana, our main character, her 4 year old daughter, Imani, and Imani’s father, Anil, and the drama ensues.

Jana and Anil are thrown together for two weeks in Tanzania where they can’t escape each other, their past or the impact of their East African culture, expectations and judgments, especially when the whole family is around them and Jana’s mother is making up fanciful stories about her.

I really did love Jana. I can appreciate her feelings of betrayal and mistrust when it comes to Anil. I also get where he wants to be able to move forward and not live in a co-parenting relationship with Jana who apparently hates him.

The conclusion was fun and perfect, and I just finished it feeling happy! What more could you want from a book like this?

Let me share one more time some of the things I loved most about this book:
* The crazy characters in the #bridalbrigade
* The breathtaking setting of Tanzania
* The tender family moments throughout between Jana, Imani and Anil
* Jana’s “Letting Loose List”
* Karaoke
* The family photo albums

Being a Second Chance at Love trope made the difference for me. It was so well done and so well developed that I was just engrossed in the lives of these characters. Even their careers are well throughout and developed and help reflect the characterization. Clearly I think that if you even remotely enjoy romance books, this should be a must read!!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.