Jana Goes Wild

I've been a fan of Farah Heron since I read and LOVED her book Accidentally Engaged. Her upcoming book, Jana Goes Wild is about a second chance romance between Jana and Anil, two people who had a whirlwind romance that ended in their break-up and their now five-year-old daughter Imani. When mutual friends have a destination wedding, Jana and Anil head to Tanzania for two weeks of close proximity and Jana's not sure she's ready to confront her feelings quite yet.

I love a good second chance romance and was eager to get to know Jana better, a character who we met in Heron's previous book Kamila Knows Best. Jana's relationship with Anil is more than strained and they have very strict boundaries concerning their parenting, but I love how they both always put Imani's needs first.

There's a lot going on in this book with a fake divorce, second chance romance, complicated family dynamics, and the 'wild' part of the story where Jana tries to complete a list of things to show her potential new boss (who is also on the trip), that she's a well-rounded kinda gal. But there's a strong lean on the miscommunication trope (my least favourite trope) with a lot of page time spent on Jana's anger towards Anil. While I can understand where her (and Anil's) feelings come from, the conflict between them sometimes felt forced and I felt frustrated that a simple conversation could have cleared things up. 

What shines in this slow burn story are the vivid descriptions of Tanzania - the East Asian culture, the stunning locale and all the big beasties that also live there. Heron once again excels at describing the delicious food in her story and I loved seeing a positive co-parenting experience represented and thought wee Imani was adorable addition to the cast. 

This second chance romance is a blend of tropes and complicated relationships set in the beauty of Tanzania. It has issues you can sink your teeth into and will also have you craving a delicious samosa and yearning for a safari trip of your very own - minus the family/romantic drama.  

Other books I recommend by this author:

Kamila Knows Best

Accidentally Engaged ***

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Forever for my complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Author: Farah Heron

Genre: RomCom, Contemporary Romance, Canadian

Type and Source: ebook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing)

First Published: May 2, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: The highly acclaimed author of Accidentally Engaged delivers a delightful rom-com of one woman trying to shed her perfect image at a destination wedding with hilarious—and moving—results, perfect for fans of Abby Jimenez and Jasmine Guillory.

Jana Suleiman has never really fit in—everyone always sees her as too aloof, too cool, too perfect. The one time she did let loose a little, she ended up with a baby. And while her daughter is the best thing that ever happened to her, now Jana knows better. No straying from her comfort zone, no letting emotions get the better of her—especially when it comes to co-parenting with Imani's father, Anil. 
 
But Jana's self-control is going to be tested to the max when she and Anil are bridesmaid and groomsman in their friends' destination wedding in Tanzania, and the other bridesmaids convince her she needs a go-wild list to shake up her routine. Sing karaoke? Sure. Perform their high school dance routine in front of strangers? Okay. But the more Jana lets down her guard, the less protection she has against her attraction to Anil—whether it's watching him so tenderly care for Imani or sharing awe in the amazing African wildlife of the Serengeti. He betrayed her terribly once. Does she dare let him in again?