After coming off some less than stellar reads, I felt like Farah Heron's sequel to Kamila Knows Best is exactly what I needed.

A second chance romance that involves a wedding in the Serengeti? Ok, not right up my alley, but a little light hearted, so I'm keeping an open mind.

Many of the same characters from KKB were brought back in this one, and it was nice to see them again, but Jana, the main character, drove me bat shit crazy and I wanted to hit her with an elephant.

I did love the talk of food and was intrigued by the pimping a dildo conversation, but other than that, I found this story SO boring and repetitive. I wanted to DNF it and have no good reason for why I didn't.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for the ARC.

Farah Heron does it again! I’ll post a longer review later but this was such an amazing read and I’ll most likely read it again before the publication’s release.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

A walk on the wild side! I was immediately intrigued by the concept of being a bridesmaid in a destination wedding in a safari setting, and I was not disappointed! This was a fun read. I found myself rooting for our MC the entire story.

3.5/5 stars

I'll be honest, this book started out a little slow for me. In the beginning things seemed a bit stiff and forced. But the more Jana checked off her "let loose" list. the more the book picked up momentum. In the end I found myself completely invested in what was going to happen.

At the end-I felt myself cheering for the MC-I felt she grew a lot over the course of the story!

The author depicts the entire trip and wedding with magnificent detail-it felt like I was really in Tanzania! An item on my bucket list is an African safari-so I really love that aspect of the story. I enjoyed learning things about a different culture-in regards to the food, wedding and traditions.

Read if you love:
-second chance romance
-single parenthood stories
-travel
-weddings

Be sure to check this one out!

Thank you to Forever/Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: May 2, 2023

🐘 Book Review 🐘

Thanks to @readforeverpub and @netgalley for early access to this book in exchange for my honest review. Jana Goes Wild publishes on May 2, 2023.

✔️ Second Chance (while co-parenting)
✔️ Forced Proximity
✔️ One Bed
✔️ Grumpy/Sunshine

I loved the premise of this book. The entire setup made me sympathetic to Jana from the jump - a bridesmaid at a destination wedding and her ex is also there; and she can't glare at him with laser eyes the whole time (even though he deserved it for telling a very big lie) because he's the father of her child; and the child is also there at the wedding.

My favorite parts of this book were the most grounded moments: descriptions of how both of the main characters have changed - and not just emotionally. The toll time takes on their bodies - very different bodies than when they first got together - are mentioned on page and then deftly tied into the attraction they still feel for each other.

The setting was terrific too - made me want to travel with all my closest friends. I loved the added family drama, mostly caused by Jana's mom (though I don't need to experience that 😂).

The parts that worked less well for me are the moments that leaned too hard into comedy - falling down, blurting something out in front of the wrong person, etc. If you love the Com in romcom, then you'll like this one. I'd say 4⭐️

Steam 🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕💕

Jana Suleiman is a busy single mother to Imani and is trying to navigate coparenting with her daughter's father, Anil. Jana and her family head to Tanzania for a wedding. Unbeknownst to Jana, Anil is also there. Jana is a proud woman and is not thrilled to have Anil in the same location. We are introduced to some lively characters in the Bridal Brigade and the Groom Platoon, as well as well-meaning family members. We follow Jana on her journey to become a looser version of herself and perhaps finding a second chance at love.

Jana Goes Wild was the first time I have read anything by Farah Heron. I am already adding Kamila Knows Best to my TBR pile!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
P.S. I want to go on a safari now...

I received an ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Jana Goes Wild is the second Farah Heron book I’ve read. I enjoyed them both, partly for their big casts of characters (extended family and friends) and partly for the glimpses they afford into rich cultures I know little about. Heron writes lively, busy, sociable stories of people sharing and enjoying and sometimes meddling in the lives of their loved ones. Nobody’s perfect, but most of her characters are really lovable anyway.

Jana Goes Wild is the second-chance love story of Jana and Anil, who, several years after their brief relationship and breakup, are thrown together again as they help their mutual friends celebrate the friends’ wedding during a two-week trip to Tanzania.

One of my favorite things about this story was Heron’s way of showing that events—in this case, the events surrounding Jana and Anil’s original breakup—often have very different outcomes for women than for men. When these two join the wedding group, Jana is a bitter and unhappy person because of what happened years before. While Anil at first seems both happier and more likeable than Jana, we learn that he was at fault for their first breakup, that he knows that, and that he too is suffering.

The story opens at what seemed to be an odd point and then jumps ahead several years to what seemed like another odd point, and this made the book difficult for me to connect with immediately, especially when told from the perspective of a difficult heroine. What I initially took to be telling-not-showing also prevented me from enjoying the first part of the book as much as I might’ve, but as the story progressed and I began to get a better feel for Jana, I began to find her more sympathetic and to wonder whether the telling was a way to show her difficulty dealing with deep feeling and her social awkwardness and trouble expressing herself to others. I (deep sigh) began to identify with her more than is comfortable.

The pacing and interactions and events of the second half of the book worked a lot better for me and sealed my investment in seeing these characters get their HEA. There were multiple crisis points that were well-written and eventually satisfyingly resolved and it was easy to cheer for Anil and Jana by the end.

Now I will have to go back and read Heron's Kamila Knows Best, in which, as I understand, these two first appear, so that I can further my acquaintance with their extended families!

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

NOTE: I posted this review to Goodreads under my author name (Laura Moher).

The “five years earlier” start to the book were interesting, and I wish we’d gotten more of that. Instead, we flew forward, and spent the rest of the book dragged down by Jana’s insecurities and issues communicating. I liked Anil, but came to find Jana really irritating. The story also could’ve been shorter. There were way too many bits about Jana worrying about what others were thinking. It was cute, but I wasn’t invested, and wanted to get to the end.

This book reminds me of one i read not to long ago and i forgot the title but like that book i enjoyed this. And felt it was different from what ive read in awhile and it was a good rom com and needed a good laugh

I think, perhaps, I went into this one with my hopes too high. I loved Kamila Knows Best and Accidentally Engaged so very much that both books wound up on my “favorite books of the year” lists in 2022 and 2021 respectively.

I even pre-ordered this book without reading the description first. That’s how much I love this author’s books. She has moved to my “must read” authors list.
So, I was beyond excited when this landed on NetGalley and I knew I’d get to read it early.

I didn’t realize that this book was actually a spin off from characters in Kamila. They weren’t even the most likable characters in Kamila and the author has managed to make them lovable here and to give them a good love story too.

That said, I couldn’t quite get into it the story as easily here. I definitely felt bad for Jana. I felt bad for her through a lot of this book.

At the risk of this sounding spoilerish, I don’t think I’m saying here that wasn’t already said in Kamila and if you haven’t read Kamila, read it! It’s wonderful!

Jana and Anil had a very happy, very short lived relationship five years that ended explosively when Jana found out that Anil was still married rather than divorced.
Then she found out she was pregnant.
They have successfully co-parented their daughter the past four years while barely talking to each other.
Jana’s life got hit way harder by their relationship than Anil’s did. She lost her job and because the topic of gossip as “the other woman” which was especially cruel since Jana had no idea.
She has protected herself and her heart since then.

When she shows up at Kamila’s wedding she is ticked that Anil is there.
He wants to spend the two weeks in Tanzania acting more like a family. He’s hoping that him and Jana can become friends finally and make life easier for them and their daughter.

But to complicate matters, Jana’s mom is also at the wedding and she’s lying to absolutely everybody that Jana and Anil are divorced.
In addition, the man who Jana interviewed for a job with is also at the wedding and hears her mom’s lies.
And now Jana feels like she has to keep up the guise that she’s divorced.
I’ve read fake dating stories before but never fake divorced.

The thing is, there’s just so much going on. In addition to this fake divorced story, Jana is also trying to come out of her shell by making a list of things to do that are “wild” for her. She thinks this will impress the job interviewer. But when she lets down her guard it weakens her resolve with Anil too. And she’s not sure how she feels about that.

My favorite thing is that we got to revisit Kamila and Rohan who I absolutely love and they continue to be wonderful here too.

I read an early edition ebook and if anyone who reads this review has the ability to edit the book, I noticed something that I really think needs changed. I hope this helps.
-The book is written in third person but Jana’s mom is always referred to just as Mom. This doesn’t fit grammatically, in my opinion atleast, because it’s the only name not in the third person. I think it should say “Jana’s mom” or “her mom” rather than “Mom”.
I’m not mentioning this to be not picky, I’m mentioning it because I hope it helps.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways, starting with the setting of Tanzania. How. Absolutely. Breathtaking. I felt like I was on this trip with them all, right down to the elephant dung! I also loved learning about Jana's culture and family!

I really enjoyed Jana and her growth throughout the course of the book. She has a lot of leftover anger and frustration (justifiably so) that she needs to work through, or at least, pretend to have worked through? How AWKWARD being on a destination wedding vacation with the man that broke your heart, your mother, your adorable kiddo, and the man that just interviewed you for a dream job!

Anil was a cinnamon roll and I love him. But also, he clearly needs to work on his communication skills.

Things I didn't love: lack of therapy (seriously, there was a lot to work through), and the idea that a woman would be dismissed from a job because of a personal situation that was misunderstood...it just didn't feel real to me and brought me out of the story a bit.

What an amazing read!
As a first time reader of Farah Heron, I fell in love with her writing and storytelling.
This book was unique and emotional and incredibly diverse in all senses. I loved how beautifully represented Africa and the characters’ Indian culture was represented. It was fun, captivating and chaotic. I truly had the best time reading this!

3.5⭐️
This was the first book that I’ve read by this Canadian author. It follows Jana and her young daughter attending her friends wedding in Tanzania for two weeks. She’s also a bridesmaid. Her daughter’s dad Anil is a groomsman who shows up for the trip, much to her surprise. Their relationship is complicated to say the least. The backdrop of the African safari adventures was amazing…makes me want to take the same trip! The book just felt a tad too long…too many misunderstandings, dialogue, etc…but all in all was a solid read.
Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book!

After finishing this book and reading some other reviews, I found out this is a sequel to Kamila Knows Best. That isn’t stated anywhere in the description, which I find very surprising. I think a lot of my negative feedback might have been solved if I had read that first, such as the fact that there were so many characters that seemed similar to me. All of the characters were Kamila and Rohan’s friends, so it might have helped if I read their book first. Other than that, it didn’t take away from the reading experience at all, and this can be read as a standalone!

This novel follows Jana Suleiman as she joins her friend Kamila at her wedding in Tanzania. She is excited to visit the country again, and this time will be her daughter Imani’s first time there. But when Imani’s father Anil shows up as a surprise, as well as someone who just interviewed Jana for an incredible job opportunity, her plans go a little bit differently than expected…

Things I liked:
1. The plot! After reading the prologue, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. I knew it was a second chance romance, and Anil’s actions were horrible. Once things got explained from his perspective a little later in the book, I could totally understand everything.
2. Character dynamics. I liked Jana, Anil, and Imani’s interactions together, and of course the bridal brigade and groom platoon :)
3. The setting. I’ve never read a book taking place in Tanzania, so it was fun to read something set there!

Things that could be improved:
1. Jana, Anil, and Jana’s mom were the only people who got any characterization, most of the supporting characters only had a few noticeable traits.
2. The cast of characters was enormous. It was hard to remember who each character was because they were all so similar.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I would definitely recommend it!

I loved this one! I had just read a pretty heavy book before it and this was the perfect light and lovely book to bring me back! I read it all in one day!

Reading a novel set in Tanzania was extra fun for me since I traveled there in 2019 and went to every spot mentioned in the book!

I liked the tension between Jana and Anil as they learn to parent their child together (as opposed to their usual single-parent ways) in close quarters on an African safari.

It was also really great to read a book that reflected the traditions of South Asian and African cultures. I love that publishing has taken a more inclusive turn lately and hope that's here to stay!

All in all, if you're looking for a great romance novel that will also make you want to book a luxurious safari, this is the one for you!

Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC of #janagoeswild

1) I love this cover!!
2) I have read Farah's other novels and enjoyed them. This one was a nice treat. It is quite travel-based and it really made the story. We travelled everywhere including Disney World, Canada and Tanzania.

Gonna be honest - I hate the unplanned co-parenting pregnancy trope but it worked in this novel and I enjoyed the story. Also this book takes place 5 years after the events in Kamila Knows Best with Kamila and Rohan getting married in Tanzania for their destination wedding. Could be read as a standalone but it's always nice to know other things.

The multiple settings and travel based storyline were my favorite parts of this story. From Africa, to Canada, and even Disney World, the wanderlust created from reading Jana Goes Wild is real.

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron is absolutely wonderful! You will see many characters from Kamila Knows Best, but you can read it as a standalone.

I absolutely love Jana. She is prickly. She is an introvert. She has a very hard time making new friends and letting people in. She has a huge heart!

Anil is the missing piece to Jana's puzzle, but can Jana get out of her own way to bring her other half into her life?

This wonderful story is set in Tanzania and the landscape, setting, food, and animals are such a treat. We also get authentic South Asian representation!

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

OH MY. GOD!

Do you like ABBA? Do you like animals? Do you like second chance romances? Then read this book.

Oh how this book made feel. Oh how I felt Jana's struggle one each page, but Anil. ITS THE LITTLE THINGS I SWEAR. Jana not seeing how this man is crazy about her made me want to scream. Every single chapter I was screaming at her.

I love the little details in this book. Both Anil and Jana's interactions with Imani. ALL THE ANIMAL MENTIONED!!! How beautiful Tanzania was described, but mostly I feel this book with connect with people who have felt like they didn't fit anywhere but with one person and then were betrayed. How do you back to trusting that one person that felt like home.

The book was a little slow to me, I wanted to scream at Jana the whole time, but it didn't make me love it any less.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the e-arc of this book.

4.5 stars.

I loved this book so much. Having read Kamila Knows Best, I was already familiar with Jana and Anil and how they slept together and then Jana found out Anil was married and then found out that she was pregnant. Jana was unpleasant and uptight in KKB, and while she and Kamila finally bonded toward the end of the book, it was hard to imagine how Heron would pull off a second-chance romance.

But I needn't have worried, because Heron loves Jana and Anil and refuses to reduce them to stereotypes. It's a few years later. Jana and Anil are coparenting Imani, who is four and hilarious, but they hardly interact. Imani goes back and forth (week on/week off) between her doting parents, who communicate through a parenting app and never connect. Kamila and Rohan are finally getting married, in Tanzania, and Jana, Imani, Anil, Jana's mother (who insists on telling people Jana and Anil were married), Kamila, Rohan, and a bunch of other friends and family are there. Also there? Jana's would-be boss, from a development job she interviewed at eight before the wedding.

One of the things I love about Heron's work in this series is how she places the reader in fully realized environments. Here, it's Tanzania, and the large South Asian population. Her depictions are immersive and three-dimensional, and even separate from the plot, I just wanted to read the book for the descriptions of places and culture and traditions.

We already know Jana is uptight and a perfectionist from KKB, and we also have already gotten a glimpse behind the mask there too. In JGW, we get extended time with Jana, and she's a delight of a flawed character. We also get to know Anil, and even thought the book is only from Jana's perspective, we see Anil's complexities as well.

Gah! I don't want to spoil this book except to say: the path to HEA isn't smooth at all and it's all completely worth it. I loved Kamila (and still do) but Jana is my new favorite character from the series. So so worth it.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.