Thanks to NetGally for this ARC. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of most Austen retellings, though there's certainly been one for every taste in recent years. So I give much respect to anyone who crafts one that's fresh and fun and yet the threads of the original are still clear. Heron has achieved that.

Kamila is chaotic and imperfect, but still likeable and you can easily root for her. She's vividly drawn, and you smile even as you shake your head thinking, "There she goes again." I love competence, and it's clear she's good at things she does... she just overextends. But you always feel like she deserves the best and look forward to seeing how it all works out.

As with all of Heron's books, food plays an important part and its inclusion will leave you with many cravings. The way she weaves food into family, friendships, and the stories is wonderful and relatable as well. Another Heron hallmark is complicated family, and I appreciate how she's included real-life type issues that are not pat and easily or quickly wrapped up, but handles them with compassion.

This book also features dogs, which I always appreciate, and the love interest is particularly hunky in various ways. Not least due to impressions of the aforementioned competence (and style).

Overall, sweet, bubbly, and fun, but substantive and a very solid addition to the Austen retelling pantheon.

Thank you so much @ReadForeverPub & @NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 08 March 2022)

SYNOPSIS | Kamila is an accountant (& an event planner / fundraiser / owner of a TikTok famous dog) who is trying to prove to others that she should be taken seriously. Her father has health issues & she is trying to encourage him to retire early (to help relieve some of his stress) & let her take the lead on the family business instead.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the many references to South Asian cuisine

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- Kamila as a character & her motivations felt really underdeveloped (she was both overly confident & deeply insecure)
- if the main romance trope is friends to lovers then I want slow burn & angst & to ultimately root for the couple to cross the boundary... I didn't care for Kamila & Rohan at all.
- far too many conflicts due to miscommunication
- that Kamila's outfit & hair was described in detail in every. single. scene.
- the made up expletives were cringe worthy at best

Thank you to the Farah Heron, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book! I was so excited when I got approved that I dropped everything to read it!

I adored Kamilas character, from her confidence, her sense of style, her passion and zest for life and her impeccable Bollywood dinner parties. Where did she get the energy?! Haha
Kamila, as lovely as she is, she has one major flaw; doing everything she can possibly do to make sure everyone and everyone is okay to the expense of her own well-being.

Rohan. Full stop. If I wasn't married....man, I would have fallen for a guy like Rohan. Hahaha

I absolutely loved the book as I have loved all of Farah Heron's books to date. I can't wait to see what comes next!!

This was super cute. I flipped from a ebook to audio and the narrator is fabulous. Another romance I wasn't sure I'd love but ended up really enjoying. The love interest was just so sweet and I loved how authentic their connection felt. The MC's job was uniqe and interesting and I liked her trying to drive and her want to help her dad. I also liked how sassy she was. Although I liked the idea of her weekly movie parties, they did seemed to slow the story down some. It was sweet and a good story. I enjoyed it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

What a wonderful & brilliant rom com!!! I found this to be a super enjoyable & fun read! I was immediately hooked by the first chapter.I adored this book because I love Emma. But what sold me most on this book are the characters. Kamila is a heroine I loved rooting for, one who felt authentic with her joy and her insecurity. Rohan had AMAZING chemistry with Kamila. I highly recommend this book! Such a wonderful read!

This modern version of Emma was a fun twist on the original. It took me awhile to feel connected to Kamila but I loved the other characters right away. And I love a good friends-to-lovers story.

Kamila Knows Best is a quick, lighthearted, friends to lovers romance. I enjoyed Kamila and Rohan’s development throughout the story and the banter was humorous. Overall, it was definitely an enjoyable friends to lovers read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Forever for the ARC!

This book was so cutie. I really enjoy Farah Herons writing. It was a very fun, cute, and enjoyable read!

I adore Farah Heron's writing and this book. Partly because I love Emma and enjoyed picking out its echoes here, but what sold me most on this book are the characters. Both Kamila and Rohan are fantastic characters with tons of chemistry. I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions even with they were knee deep in the miscommunication trope. If you’re a fan of slow burn friends to lovers romances then this one is for you!

I did not finish this bookI did not finish this bookI did not finish this bookI did not finish this bookI did not finish this book

I loved Accidentally Engaged and I was so excited to read Kamila Knows Best. I thought the romance portion of the book was great, especially since it's a slow burn romance, and those can be iffy for me. That aside the story was a bit too slow for me and I struggled to get through the second half of the book. Things I did love? The fashion sense, and all the food! I do look forward to reading future stories by Farah! 3.5 overall.

I love Farrah Heron and this book was as good as all her other books. I really enjoyed it, it had great characters and I loved how the relationship developed through the book.

An absolutely delightful romance, both funny and poignant in ways that capture at its essence, the heart of its source material - Jane Austen's Emma & Bollywood films.

The author's work continues to grow, shine, and sparkle - with witty prose, delicious food descriptions, and slow-burn yet fiery longing that while fade to black, never once leaves you feeling like you need more.

Toronto is also its own character, and you'll want to meet up with Kamila to help her take a photo of her cute pup, and join in on the Bollywood movie nights she and Rahul are such a fan of.

CW: emotional abuse of a child, in the past; car accident and parental death, in the past; medical emergencies and scares (secondary character, survives), gender essentialist language. the cute dog is never in danger.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy!

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read

So, the writing and characters are charming enough, but I am just personally not a huge fan of Emma by Austen. Since this is a retelling of Emma, it was already a hard one for me.
It's not my favorite, but it's not going to stop me from picking up more by this author.

Y'all need to read this book so you can join me in swooning over my newest book boyfriend Rohan Nasser. He's just one part of why this book was wonderful and why I read it in one sitting. Kamila was a great heroine that cared deeply about her people, dogs (hello puppy prom), and her job and her parties actually made me want to socialize a tiny bit. There was so much to discover and love about this one that I can't wait to read what the author writes next.

Kamila Knows Best is inspired by Jane Austen's Emma. The plot and character development are great. The story is well-written and complex but has a lighthearted touch.

So I am yet to read Jane Austen’s novel, Emma, but I enjoyed reading this adaptation of it. This was my first Farah Heron book, and I definitely have to go back for more. I absolutely loved Kamila and Rohan, although it was a bit of a slow burn, I was still glued to them. It was a perfectly executed friends to lovers story. Such amazing characters and don’t get me started on the romantic tension and sexy banter. If you’re not into finance & accounting, some of the lingo may throw you off but stick around.

Although a majority of this story was super light and fun, it did have its moments. There are tough topics tackled - overcoming insecurities, mental health, emotional abuse - so, please check trigger warnings just in case. Overall, this was an amazing and enjoyable read full of laughter, friendship, and banter. You won’t regret this one.

L O V E L O V E L O V E. I let this book sit on my shelf for too long and absolutely devoured it in one sitting. Kamila is so deeply relatable and this friends to lovers story is executed perfectly.

Kamila Knows Best is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, with South Indian flavor, set in Toronto, Canada. I don’t remember all the details of Emma since I read it long ago, so I’m not going to compare the two books at all; I will just review this book on its own.

Kamila is a fun character: she’s a CPA who loves colorful, feminine clothes, her dog and social media (her dog has her own Instagram account with lots of followers), and a great party planner. Rohan is an old family friend, five years older than Kamila, who seems to have his life “together.” Kamila’s widower dad has mental health issues as well as physical health issues and Kamila is a very devoted daughter. In addition to that, she has several good qualities - she’s a really good friend, she knows how to throw wonderful parties (every Friday she has a Bollywood movie night), and does great volunteer work, but she takes on way too much, trying to please everybody. She also sometimes tries her hand at matchmaking.

So this is basically a friends-to-lovers story, but I felt it moved a bit too slowly for my taste, with too much detail on parties, for example. I liked that Kamila wanted to succeed in what she feels is mostly a man’s world (finance) and that she wanted to help small businesses, especially those owned by women. There were several amusing scenes with dogs. I loved all the South Asian food descriptions (a couple of recipes are included) and the banter between the main characters. I also liked how frank Kamila was about her sex life and her need for mental therapy (around issues with her late mother, for one). However, there was something missing for me. I liked but didn’t love this book, the way I loved Heron’s Accidentally Engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

While I received the eARC from NetGalley, I wound up partially listening to the published audiobook by Hachette Audio, narrated by Soneela Nankani, courtesy of my public library.