Review of Kamila Knows Best

Book:  Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron

Source: I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: March 8th, 2022

Pages: 368

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After reading and loving Accidentally Engaged a few months back, I jumped at the chance to get an e-ARC of Farah Heron’s latest release, Kamila Knows Best! I didn’t even read the synopsis! I just saw the beautiful cover, recognized the author and submitted my NetGalley request! And since I was lucky enough to be granted a copy, I’m now here to tell you all my thoughts on this wonderful book!

At this point I’ve read the synopsis, as well as the entire book, so I feel qualified to tell you what this book is about. Kamila Knows Best is an Emma retelling, where we follow our main character Kamilah as she struggles with the perception everyone has of her versus the person she sees herself as. There are great parties, lots of dogs (and puppies), and a cute friend to lovers plotline as well, but at its core this is a story about Kamila.

Kamila is a vivacious, driven woman who throws fantastic parties, loves fashion and her dog, and unfortunately is constantly reduced to those interests. Because on the other hand Kamila is a loyal friend, who’ll do anything to make sure her father’s mental health is doing well, and is a talented and driven accountant. What I loved about this book is that it does a fantastic job of showing that you can be interested in areas that have for many years been considered separate. After all, if you’re interested in fashion, there’s no way you can enjoy math! And if you’re good at throwing parties, you must not have an intelligent thought in your head! The way these stereotypes are used to harm people, especially women, is highlighted throughout the novel, and I very much appreciated that. I think it’s important to show that it’s not that these are two different sides of Kamila, but that she ties in the qualities that people dismiss in her work on the daily, and she has a mind for business and marketing that she’s always using when setting up a party. The two sides of her are constantly working together!

However, lest you think that this is a heavy book with Kamila constantly feeling downtrodden and underestimated, let me stop you right there. This book manages to handle difficult and important topics while continuously keeping the tone light. Kamila has even suffered emotional abuse at the hands of her mother that’s referenced throughout the book, and although it’s made clear that this treatment was obviously formative and damaging, it’s always viewed through the lens Kamila has now, having done the work to overcome the terrible things she was told. I very much appreciated that because I was in the mood of a lighthearted story, so while I was very happy that there was depth to the story, I enjoyed that the tone of the book remained light throughout.

I actually don’t want to say much more about this book. I think this is one of those stories that is very character based, and so saying too much about what I thought about the characters could lead to minor spoilers. I’ll just say that I think the best character in this book is Potato and I will not be taking criticism at this time. (Potato is an adorable puppy, for clarification). With a whole lot of friendship and family, lots of adorable dogs, and a sprinkling of romance, this is the perfect book to read when you’re in need of something to brighten your mood.

4 Stars

I gave this book 4 stars in the end as I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading it! Besides for wanting a little more romance, I don’t think there’s anything I would change about this book. It was fun, it was cute, and it made me smile! This book has cemented Farah Heron as an author that I’ll keep reading, so I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next!

What’s a book where you adored the tone? Who is an author that you want to read more from after loving one or two of their books? Do you plan on reading this book?

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