Kamila Knows Best

Kamila Knows Best is the third book I've read by this Canadian author in less than a year so you could say that I've been on a bit of a roll with Farah Heron's books. When I heard this latest book was a friends-to-lovers RomCom and a retelling of Jane Austen's Emma, I was intrigued. I'm going to come clean and say that I've never read Austen's Emma but I know the gist of the story so I was excited to see what Heron would do with this well-known plot in a modern setting.

The story is set in Toronno (Toronto for non-Canadians) and follows Kamila, a CPA who always puts everyone else's needs before her own. Kamila has a good life - she has her family, her group of friends with their weekly Bollywood movie night and a job and volunteering that she loves. She is 100% unapologetically herself and I found it refreshing how candidly she spoke about her sex life and, most especially, her time in therapy. It was wonderful to see and will help to normalize therapy for readers. 

Once again Heron includes delicious foodie fodder with amazing descriptions of food, like momos and biryani, which I cannot wait to try! But the first half was a bit of a slow go for me. There's repetition as Kamila goes through the issues over and over in her head and the focus on her job as a CPA didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. But things pick up and I appreciated learning about Kamila's background and how events in her childhood have impacted her adult life. It's not all food, dogs and romance here and I like that added depth. 

This is a contemporary romance with good banter, a friends to lovers romance with a fantastic enemies to friends trope thrown in for good measure. It's a good pick for dog lovers, romance lovers and foodies who want an entertaining story with themes of friendship and family and is a good lesson about how we can help others but cannot forget to take care of ourselves.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Author: Farah Heron

Genre: RomCom, Canadian, BIPOC author

Type and Source: eBook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Forever

First Published: March 8, 2022

Opening Lines: Kamila Hussain didn't 

have a lot to complain about.

Book Description from GoodReads: Kamila Hussain’s life might not be perfect, but, whew, it’s close. She lives a life of comfort, filled with her elaborate Bollywood movie parties, a dog with more Instagram followers than most reality stars, a job she loves, and an endless array of friends who clearly need her help finding love. In fact, Kamila is so busy with her friends’ love lives, she’s hardly given any thought to her own . . .

Fortunately, Kamila has Rohan Nasser. A longtime friend of the family, he’s hugely successful, with the deliciously lean, firm body of a rock climber. Only lately, Kamila’s “harmless flirting” with Rohan is making her insides do a little bhangra dance.

But between planning the local shelter’s puppy prom, throwing a huge work event, and proving to everyone that she’s got it all figured out, Kamila isn’t letting herself get distracted—until her secret nemesis returns to town with an eye for Rohan. Suddenly, it seems like the more Kamila tries to plan, the more things are starting to unravel—and her perfectly ordered life is about to be turned upside down.