I had really enjoyed Accidentally Engaged and looked forward to reading this one, but it fell flat for me. I love a good slow burn, friends to lovers setup, but this one didn’t quite have the right chemistry for me + I felt like there were too many side plot points that were hard to keep track of. (that’s probably in part because of the “emma retelling” aspect)

I think my biggest beef, and it’s very similar to my thoughts on Dating Dr. Dill is the whole parents making huge decisions for their adult children without discussion. I understand that a certain amount of that is part of the south asian cultural landscape, but I was really bothered by how this played out in this particular storyline. I appreciated that Kamilla had different aspects to her personality: the fashion/fundraising & party planning side vs. the accountant side. I love seeing multifaceted women on the page, but the free spirited side was taken perhaps a bit too far, and made it hard to take her seriously in the other aspects of the book.

This was a pretty cute read and I'm happy to say it was not an exact replica of Emma. I thought the loudness of the main character would get annoying but she was developed enough that I grew to like her. Good romance though its finish was a bit lacklustre.

This was such a fun romcom! I loved this book so much, and I can’t wait to read more by this author! This was a friends to lovers trope, which is my absolute favorite, and the author did amazing with it. The characters are great, I loved the family drama, the friendships, all of it. The chemistry between Kamila and Rohan was sizzling. If you’re looking for a great romcom read this summer, I highly recommend checking this one out!

Cute and just what I needed. I really loved Kamila. She’s bubbly and fun and just someone I wanted to be friends with. I really loved her connections with the other characters and her maturing thought out the story.

I didn’t read too much about this book before going in because I felt like the cover was adorable, and I have heard really great things about the author. And then I started reading and I was like oh this is Emma! Which I love, so that was exciting. Heron did a great job walking the very fine line with Kamila — the character can easily come off as annoying and overbearing, but Kamila’s best intentions and insecurities come through, making her realistic and easy to love. I love Rohan and the relationship the two have, but also the focus as Kamila learns more about herself and stands up for what she wants.

It kind of gives off the vibe that Kamila wasn't actually going to go after Rohan, but since someone she "hates" starts to flirt with him, now she wants to make sure she gets with him. Not a healthy way to start a relationship, and adds to my dislike tropes, almost as bad a miscommunication, just yucky feelings.

I really liked this book, both characters are funny and likable.

I loved all the food descriptions, flirty banter, and puppies!

I'll give you a little blurp, not too much because I want you to go and read it yourself!

Kamila and Rohan are just friends, or at least that's what Kamila thinks.

She literally doesn't realize that Rohan has feelings for her, that all he does is because he wants to be there for her, with her.

It's a real life, jobs, life, chores kind of book that keeps you wanting more.

If you've not read other books by Farah Heron, you're missing out!

I just reviewed Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron. #KamilaKnowsBest #NetGalley

"Kamila Knows Best," is a smart, fun, and romantic retelling of "Emma" by Jane Austen that all Austen and romance readers are sure to love.

Kamila Knows Best - Farah Heron

I was so excited to read this after really enjoying Accidentally Engaged. This is an Emma inspired romance book following Kamila. It’s single POV and tbh isn’t heavy on the romance, and is more a coming of age story for Kamila. I will also say I haven’t not read Emma!

I really loved Kamila as a main character, I really felt her emotions even when they were irrational. I loved the slow burn friends to lovers romance. I loved the role dogs played in this book. I loved watching Kamila struggle to be taken seriously and prove she’s good about her job and cares about it. I read this in less than 24 hours and I just had a great time. Farah Heron will definitely be an auto buy author for me from now on!

“Kamila Knows Best” is a retelling of Jane Austen’s “Emma” and while I have not read “Emma,” I can say this definitely piqued my interest to read the original. I enjoyed everything about this story.

Kamila was such a fun character… she loves dogs, which her dog is TikTok famous, and wants to help women succeed. What’s not to love about her?! The support she provides for her friends and family is moving. She’s a prime example of what it means to be there for someone.

Rohan was a fantastic character. He is super supportive of Kamila without expectations, but he’s no pushover. For me, he helped Kamila become a better version of herself by challenging her. Given some of her childhood trauma, it was nice to see that Rohan really saw her. Their relationship was sweet and endearing. Kamila and Rohan play off each extremely well.

With the issues this book covers, this is a well-rounded story. This was a story that was easy to fall in love with, and Heron is easily being added to my list of favorite authors.

I first heard of Farah Heron last year after the release of accidentally engaged and she has quickly become a favourite! This is a super fun book that makes you feel happy and I love that it is in the same world as accidentally engaged! A lighthearted and sweet read!

This was a friends to lovers romance and it’s one of my favorite tropes. I was pulled in from the very beginning! It was so easy to fly through. This is a modern retelling of Emma and you really want to read it.

This book has such amazing characters ( I absolutely loved Rohan) and I really enjoy that they have depth but it’s still a fun light read! This story is heartwarming but also funny! I caught myself laughing out loud at times, but also has a great message.

Oh and did I mention the slow burn!!?I loved everything about this book I can’t recommend it enough!

Thank you NetGalley and forever for my ARC.

DNF - kamila knows but just wasnt for me so i had to close it around 40%. maybe i’ll come back to it one day but not anytime soon

This is the second book I’ve read from this author and it did not disappoint! The execution of the story was amazing and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Kamila loves hosting Bollywood parties, volunteering for the local dog shelter, supporting her small business accounting clients and setting her friends up. She loves being the fabulous friend that everyone wants around, including her longtime family friend, Rohan. He's her dog's favourite person and a buttoned up executive in Toronto, but she starts to see him as more than that, and then the hijinx of Farah Heron's writing begins!

I love when dogs are part of the main focus of a book and the puppy prom and Potato were amazing storylines. I also really enjoyed reading about the side characters in this one - Kamila's dad was cute and her friends were fun. I think there could've been a little more character development, but they all helped move the story along.

The second half's character arcs made me enjoy the book and I'm definitely glad I stuck around. I'm rating this one 3 stars as the book got off to a rough start. I didn't connect with Kamila and didn't see her and Rohan, though I think that was in part because the retelling of Emma was a bit forced. I needed a bit more room to breathe for the characters. Towards the back half of the book, I ended up loving them together and their love confession was drool worthy.

Thank you Grand Central Pub for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Really loved Kamila and how she handled herself in this book. I disliked Rohan and her father through much of the book though because of how patriarchal they were, The ending redeemed them but it was difficult to see how shitty they treated her - the same with Kamila's mother. The slut shaming was a lot.

A great romance with potential I just couldn’t connect to the writing style as I got further in. May pick this up again one day, but now it’s a DNF from me as I just wasn’t feeling connected.

Did not finish at ~30%. I was bored and had a hard time connecting with Kamila as she felt way too involved/overbearing on her father's health.

Kamila Knows Best is a South Asian contemporary Canadian homage to Jane Austen's Emma. Gently funny and charming romcom, Kamila Knows Best features Kamila Hussain, a Toronto accountant who's the vivacious center of her social world. Like her Austen inspiration, she’s popular and successful, committed to taking care of her widower father, and super close to lifelong family friend Rohan Nassar. She's also just a little too fond of running her friends' love lives. When her high school nemesis returns to Toronto, Kamila's need for control goes into hyperdrive and shakes up Rohan and Kamila's relationship. It's a creative adaptation. Where it went a little wrong for me was in making Kamila so clueless and deeply insecure about her own status and the almost relentless emphasis on respectability, shaming and emotional abuse in her family. That's an odd turn for this character and one I've now seen way too often.
2.75 stars.

I was in love with one of Farah's other books, so there was no way I was going to miss this one, especially after finding out it was an Emma retelling of sorts.

I liked Kamila. She's got a good heart, is loyal, and cares for her family. Her inner monologue was a mixture of second guessing everything, assertiveness, and chaos. Rohan (tempered through Kamila's eyes) is steadfast and always around. Together, they have a history, so much potential, and loads of miscommunication. There are a lot a lot a lot of secondary characters, but we don't really get to know any of them other than surface level.

Plot wise, it was a bit more dramatic than I expected. The entire story felt like it was assumptions and jumping to conclusions and brushing off conversations that would have cleared things up. There is a lot a dialogue (which I loved), but again, a lot of it felt on the brink of being meaningful. It's not until the ending that we get some explanation of the actions from Kamila and Rohan.

Overall, I'm absolutely here for all of the longing, forearm ogling, and puppies. I will forever read anything Farah puts out, in this instance I just wanted a bit more clarity.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**