WARNING - you must have food nearby.
I absolutely love Farah's use of food in her novels. Her use of food and description could almost make it the main character - utilized to set the scene, illustrate comradery among her characters, a tool to show Kamila's love for her friends and family. So enjoyable - and recipes are at the end. Thank goodness!
Kamila knows best - the best way to dress dogs; the best way to pair Bollywood with food; the best friends to setup for their HAE; the best way to care for those she loves; the best way to ensure her father's health.
Kamila is living her best life - until Jana moves back. Her nemesis growing up - causing her so much humiliation and verbal abuse from her mother. And now she's back. Attending her weekly Bollywood movie nights. Thanks to Rohan's invitation - what a traitor.
Humor. Women friendships and their basis on superficial everything. Food. The food. And Rohan - I definitely have a thing for forearms, only reemphasized by this book.
Highly recommend!

As a huge Jane Austen fan, this contemporary retelling of Emma was right up my alley! Wonderful entertaining banter with wit and heart- Kamilla and Rohan will have you in love with them from the start! Especially Rohan- what a dream of a book boyfriend! A smart, diverse and full cast give this light hearted read the depth it needs to keep you interested. A wonderful Friends to Lovers trope is exactly what I needed!

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Farah Heron for this preview of this book.

I was interested in reading these first few chapters because I love Accidentally Engaged by the same author. It is just a few chapters preview but it, sadly, did not really grab my attention. I liked Kamila and was frustrated for her about how it seems that people do not take her seriously in her business.

I would be interested in reading the whole book and giving it a chance!

I enjoyed this preview of Kamila Knows Best, a retelling of Emma by Jane Austen. I'm excited to read the rest of the book and see where the story goes!

I struggled a lot with this excerpt unfortunately. I could not get into the writing or the characters at all. There was not a paragraph where I wasn't annoyed by Kamila, she seems annoying and immature. It's a shame because I really enjoyed the Accidentally Engaged excerpt.

Thank you NetGalley for the first few chapters!

Thank you Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC! It was only four or so chapters and it was already released because I’m late to the game with my reviews but I LOVED this book! I was instantly hooked on Kamila and Rohan’s connection. I would love to purchase this book and finish it to see what happens.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I got a preview of the first three chapters of Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron from NetGalley (thanks!) and cannot wait to read the rest. This is supposedly a modern re-telling of Emma by Jane Austen, which I confess I haven’t read, but it has the same fun energy as Clueless, and Kamila is even more likeable than Cher. I love the details - Kamila is a party girl but she doesn’t really drink, so there’s a line where she stays up late making non-alcoholic cocktails, which felt important to me, to avoid drinking as a shorthand for “fun.” Also, she’s into dog costumes and social media and interested in interior design and matchmaking, but she’s also an accountant and the details of her trying to build her client list feel very real. All facets of her life and personality seem like important and equally valid parts of her and that feels refreshing. I feel like often when you have heroines in boring professions they are super uptight and have to be loosened up by the love interest and that feels like society saying you can’t be “girly” and in a “serious” (read traditionally white male) profession. I loved that that wasn’t the case here and that Rohan, the love interest, takes her seriously as a professional. Hope the rest is as great as the beginning.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A sweet slow burn retelling of Emma. I liked how she found herself in the process of finding love. I do think it jumped into the characters a little too quick, but overall a good read.

Mini review:

I have been looking forward to reading this! It was such a delight.

I liked the characters, their relationships with one-another, and of course the writing style. Heron wrote Kamila so well that I felt like I really understood her and was standing next to her.

Very excited to read the full final copy.

Highly recommend!

Thank you for allowing me to read the book preview for Kamila Knows Best! I appreciated the intro of the dynamics of a father daughter relationship. Kamila seems really close with her Dad and I can already see the tension between Rohan and Kamila.

There really aren’t a lot of romcoms that I can my desi-self reflected in, but instantly I knew I would here. Farah Heron’s eye catching opening with a hair-tossing, nail-checking heroine, and an uptight but nose-scrunching-ly adorable hero brought and easy smile to my face that stayed in tact through this preview despite the upcoming chaos Jana the nemesis is soon to wreck.
I cannot wait for the rest of this story!

I really enjoyed Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron and knew I would want to read Kamila Knows Best. From this preview, which includes the first 3 chapters of the book, I know I will love this story! The story is based on Emma (Jane Austen) and will follow Kamila and Rohan. It is sure to be a sweet and funny read full of heart, friendship and family!

I received a preview of this book in exchange for my review. The first few chapters of the book are delightful, engaging and warm. I was also pleasantly surprised by both sapphic and gay friends of the protagonist. This is really sweet own voices work and gives a lovely picture of family, joy after grief, and friendship.

A juicy, fun rendition of Jane Austen’s Emma. As an Austenite, I was drawn in by the comparisons to Emma and the easy to recognize characters and storyline. If Emma, Clueless, and The Reading List all collided you would get Kamila Knows Best. Would defined recommend for all rom-com lovers.

I love Farah Heron's books and I can't wait to read the rest of Kamlia Knows Best. I got to read the first 3 chapters and already you can see the Emma theme in there. Kamlia has Rohan but doesn't see him as her match because he's always been there. She is super focused on matching Marciel with Dane that she misses the connection to Kevin the waiter when Marciel meets him. This book is going to be amazing and I can't wait to read the rest of it!

I received an advance preview copy of the first 3 chapters for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

southeastern rep and I love it and I cannot wait to read this! 4.5 star! Love the character dynamic already and I cannot wait to get my hands on this book :)

[PREVIEW read]
It’s been awhile since I read a southeast rep romance and omg I’m so thrilled and excited to read this one! Somewhat friends to lovers and fake dating tropes are my absolute kryptonite so I’m putting all my eggs in this basket. First few chapters only and I’m hooked!

Farah Heron hooks readers from the first page of Kamila Knows Best! Kamila is a delight, and I've already fallen for Rohan. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this Emma retelling when it releases in March.

Thanks to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and the author for the chance to read this book preview.

Unfortunately, I could not get into this book. I can’t really pinpoint what it was but I had no interest in the characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the 4 chapter preview.

Ah, Kamila. She's one of those fictional characters you wish was real so you could be friends with her. Caring, overly protective, always in your business (but in a loving way). Everyone needs a Kamila in their life.

Kamila is an influencer and a CPA, trying to establish her own business enough so that her father, whose health she is very concerned with, can take a step back and relax. Luckily, her friend (and technically family member?) Rohan is always around to help. At first, I thought maybe he was her cousin, but as tension started to build I thought - wait. He can't be if he might be the love interest? It turns out he is Kamila's sisters brother-in-law. So not technically related, but still?

You also find out that Kamila's childhood nemesis is returning to town. And the idea of this happening has Kamila up in arms.

If you're a fan of Abby Jiminez, I think you'll really like Farah Heron. Their writing is quick and witty and their characters are big hearted, vulnerable and so lovable.