I loved the mess and the angst of this. I loved how present Anil was in his daughter's life and that there is a strong co-parenting relationship. I loved the African backdrop for this big Indian wedding. It was a fake relationship that was for very realistic reasons, which i liked-- i do not often like the fake dating trope. I love second chance romanes and i loved that this was NOT a secret baby romance. Jana could be very annoying at times (i liked her more than i liked Kamila, though), but I think she had a really tough time trying to live up to the perfect indian daughter standards, especially having had a baby out of wedlock, so i could empathize with her. I loved this and would give it 4.5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book - super cute second-chance romance. The setting in Tanzania was awesome & unique. The cover is gorgeous! I also enjoyed the connection and cameos from Kamila’s story (Kamila Knows Best). The South Asian representation - with big friend groups, intertwined families and cultural references was excellent.

Thank you to NetGalley & Forever Pub for an eARC of this book!

💭Thoughts:
This book just wasn’t for me. I felt myself becoming more and more annoyed with Jana and Anil the longer I read. Neither of these characters are likable. Anil is manipulative and a terrible communicator. Jana is also a poor communicator with a victim complex. They are both too old to be acting like this. A lot of the book felt repetitive and cringy.

I will say the setting was pretty and made me want to visit Africa. The wedding discussions and events were fun. Sadly, bright the setting not the wedding was enough to salvage this for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book.

I enjoyed this book. However, some of the interactions between the two main characters felt forced. This book could have delivered more.

This book had three my favourite tropes

Second Chance Love
Slow Burn Romance
Forced Proximity

and two of my least favourite

Accidental pregnancy
Miscommunication

I rather liked the book. I loved the Tanzanian setting and the vibrant cast of diverse characters.

I found the plot a little sedate, but the rest of the story's brightness made up for it.

If you liked this author's Accidentally Engaged and/or Abby Jimenez, this might be the read for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC.

Jana and Anil have a whirlwind romance years ago which resulted in their daughter, Although the coparent well, Jana cannot forgive Anil for something he lied about during their relationship. However, they find themselves in close proximity when they meet up to attend their friends' wedding in Tanzania.

Although I understood why Jana was so closed off to Anil, I felt that she took too long to come around to Anil for a romance novel. We spent too much time with Jana punishing Anil and pushing him away that it got tedious and annoying. It progressively became hard to like Jana and root for their relationship. She also focused so much on other's opinions of her that it became really exhausting and silly after some time.

By the time they got together it felt too rushed. She spent so much time punishing and resenting him that we didn't a chance to see their love rebloom. They essentially picked up where they left off despite 5 years of separation.

Although this book had some great points esp. about the grief single moms vs single dads get, this story was just exhausting and not romantic at all.

3 stars.

"Jana Goes Wild" by Farah Heron is an accidental pregnancy second-chance romance that's basically one giant miscommunication trope rolled up into a dozen other minor miscommunication tropes. I really wanted to love this book, but I only just liked it. There's a lot to enjoy here. Author Farah Heron writes her settings in a way that makes the reader feel and see what she's saying right in front of their eyes. I could close my eyes, concentrate, and visualize the vibrant wedding celebrations, safari adventures, and at-home get-togethers in great detail as they played out on the page. I loved that this book is set in Tanzania and comes brimming with culture and respect and authenticity. I also loved the secondary characters! I haven't read Heron's other works, but I'm definitely going to go back and read "Kamila Knows Best," as well as her other works. I liked the co-parenting relationship between the main characters, Jana and Anil. They both seem like terrific, doting, admirable parents who are equally involved in their daughter Imani's life. The sun rises and sets with Imani for both of them. I liked the rekindling of Jana and Anil's romantic relationship, but I have to be honest, I could not stand all of the miscommunication between them! Jana is headstrong, reserved, and a bit prickly. She has been shaped and marked by her past dalliance with Anil, and for good reason, but she never let him explain what happened, which would have rendered this entire book a moot point! Anil always seemed far more invested in Jana than Jana was in Anil. I never really believed that she pined deeply for him the way that he did for her. It seemed to me like she was more concerned about reconnecting with the physical aspects of their relationship whereas he wanted her mind, soul, AND body. If they had learned to listen and communicate more effectively, they wouldn't have had to live a life without each other. The book also seems pretty repetitive and a little long at times. Despite them both being excellent parents, I didn't really feel a strong vibe between them until maybe the last 5-or-so-% of the book. All in all, this book was a little disappointing, but I'm still going to read Farah Heron's past and future books!

Thank you to NetGalley, Farah Heron, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my review.

This was a new to me author & I really enjoyed this book! I loved the characters, the dynamic, and how the MC’s worked together as co-parents! Jana is such a wonderful character! She really came into finding herself and love with Anil. This book had the fun aspect of being in Africa and going on a safari for a destination wedding. I would say this is def a slow burn, second chance romance. Though I think Jana’s journey was the top story here! All in all a wonderfully enjoyable read!

Five years ago, Jana stepped outside her comfort zone and went a bit wild. The result of her reckless abandon is a two-week whirlwind romance with Anil, a scandal, and a pregnancy. It turns out Anil is married. Since then, the pair have co-parented Imani, but otherwise, Jana wants nothing to do with Anil. Now, forced to spend significant time together at a friend's destination wedding, Jana must face that maybe she never got over Anil.

I am sad that I struggled with this book. I liked my previous Farah Heron reads, but this didn't work for me.

Of all the romance tropes, Second Chance seems to be the one I struggle with the most. I require a particular set of circumstances for it to work. I need a dual timeline. I need to see the characters initially fall in love. I need to believe there is an actual reason they would get back together. I think this is what didn't work for me here. We only see Anil and Jana as a couple in the prologue. I never had time to fall in love with them. So, I never rooted for them to get back together.

Jana is honestly tiring to read about. Being in her head is exhausting, and so is her conflict with Anil. The destination wedding is a safari, causing a repetitiveness that I did not enjoy (wake up, go on a safari, have dinner, fight a little, Jana thinks maybe she still has feelings for Anil - then do it over again, day after day.)

If Second Chance Romance is your favorite trope, you may love this. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved everything about this book! The characters,,,the setting....the tension...It was amazing! It was wonderful to get lost in the story and forget about real life. I felt like Jana was one of my friends.

a cute and charming romcom that was delightful.

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

I liked Jana Goes Wild, though she really doesn't go "wild". It's more stepping outside her comfort zone. Jana and her baby daddy have a complicated past, and end up going on a trip to Tanzania together for a wedding. They spend about two weeks in Tanzania dancing around each other, having conversations about themselves and their adorable daughter. I really appreciated that regardless of how things worked out the first go around they were both solidly in their daughters life.

Things are rocky with them throughout the book as they deal with the past. Jana couldn't let anything go, Anil was trying to court her, but he was going about it in strange ways. There was a lot of miscommunication in this one, but that was balanced by some sexy scenes.

This is a personal thing, but it drove me nuts that it was almost always "Anil Malek" and not just Anil. It kind of annoyed me that from Jana's point of view she kept referring to him that way.

I enjoy Farah Heron and I liked "Kamila Knows Best," but this follow-up sadly fell a little flat for me. The romance didn't have the depth I was looking for in a second-chance, and while I wanted to enjoy it, I had to convince myself to finish reading instead of DNFing. I'm excited to see what Farah Heron does next, despite this one not being for me!

3 stars!

I think unfortunately for me this book caught me in the middle of my not as into contemporary romance reading slump and also included the single parent trope, which I don't read very often. I was excited for this book because I love second chance romance but I honestly found their child and the FMC a little annoying. I did think the Tanzanian safari setting was my favorite part of the novel, but the repetitiveness of Jana and Anil's arguments left me completely frustrated.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Typical cutsie book. It was okay. Jana meets a guy, they have an amazing 2 weeks together and then she finds out she is still married. To top of the scandal she is pregnant. Flash forward, their daughter is 4, they co-parent decently enough, but mostly don’t talk. Jana is part of a wedding party with people she’s known since she was a kid and it’s in Africa (Tanzania) . Turns out baby daddy Anil is able to come last minute and didn’t tell her. He’s all sweet and thoughtful on the trip, she hates him, but also secretly loves watching him with their daughter and gets some feels. The author describes the setting too much. Shit happens on the trip and then Jana and Anil bang on the last night. She needs time to think and everyone goes home. Jana thinks Anil is getting back with his ex wife and people at her new job are gossiping about her. It’s all a misunderstanding, she does a karaoke grand gesture for Anil, they bang again and live happily ever after.

4 stars

Ack! I just realized I never submitted this review! I read this a few months back and thoroughly enjoyed it! It's a spicy, 2nd chance romance, that is in the MOST amazing setting! I had never really wanted to travel to Africa, but Farah Heron has so vividly depicted the scenery, that I'm saving my pennies to go on safari!

Thank you to Forever/Grand Central Publishing for the digital ARC in return for an honest review!

Jana Goes Wild is mostly set in Tanzania while Jana is at/in he wedding of her friends Kamala and Rohan. Jana and her daughter, Imani, have travelled with her mom, many aunts and uncles, friends and other people for a destination wedding. Unfortunately, Jana’s ex Anil also shows up as part of the wedding party. After being betrayed by him 5 years ago, Jana has not been near Anil since except to talk about their daughter. But after she, Anil, and Imani spend more and more time together on this incredible trip, Jana starts to want something more from their relationship. Can she forgive Anil for hurting her before, and does he even feel the same about her? I loved the characters in this book. They were good friends who encouraged one another and had fun together.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Years ago, Jana hadn't expected the path her future would take, but now, she's built a happy and fulfilled life for her daughter and herself.

Or so she thought...

During a destination wedding for her meddling best friends, Jana will be given a second chance on a future she'd given up on.

But will her family's lies jeopardize everything?

I love the Desi representation and Africa safari wedding! And Jana's little girl is the absolute cutest!

I really wanted to like this book as the concept is great. However, I never liked either characters and wasn't feeling their second chance romance. Wasn't rooting for either of them the entire time. A little too much deceit

I’m really torn - surprise pregnancy trope, HEAVY miscommunication, second chance romance.

Only one of those I actually like and I will give it a hint that it’s not the first two…

I wanted to love this one but the miscommunication really was what knocked it from a 4 to a 3.
I enjoyed the story for its Happy Ever After, but it was just okay to me.

I want to try another book by this author because I think I could have loved it if the tropes were different.

Huge thank you to Forever and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.