TEST
Kamila Knows Best is a gently funny, charming romcom that upends Jane Austen’s Emma and has a lot of fun with its energetic heroine and engaging premise.
Kamila Hussain is a Toronto accountant with a warm, closely-knit friend circle and an Instagram-famous dog, Darcy. She’s popular, happy and successful, she adores her father and tries to spend as much time as she can volunteering at the local animal shelter. But there’s something missing from her life – true love, the sort of which plays out all the time during the Bollywood movies she loves. But making others – chiefly her father – happy takes precedence, so she often takes on more than she can handle.
Rohan Nassar is a friend of the family whom Kamila is fondly annoyed by, yet who is always there for her during her lowest (and even most embarrassing) moments. He’s handsome, he’s well-off, he cares about her and knows how to talk her down when she’s ready to faint from the sight of blood.
But everything changes when Kamila agrees to assist her shelter’s local puppy prom, which will require her to put in hours of extra work on top of her challenging job, at the same time as her father’s health takes a turn for the worse. Then Jana, her childhood nemesis, arrives in town and begins to throw a bucket of cold water on all of Kamila’s varied parties and plans – and also takes an interest in Rohan. Can Kamila and Rohan figure their feelings for one another out, and will Kamila pull off the puppy prom? Or will Jana intervene and become Rohan’s girlfriend?
Kamila Knows Best manages to deconstruct what it’s like to be seen as perfect while juggling many varied burdens. Kamila is struggling with caring for her elderly father, work stress, and anxiety caused by her late, emotionally abusive mother’s behavior. She’s strong and in control, but she has to learn how to delegate things, whether it to be to a prospective lover or a close friend, and this is a well-delivered and valuable lesson.
Kamila and her father have learned different things from dealing with Kamila’s mother, and their interactions together speak of all they’ve been through. I really liked their relationship and how they both grow within it – and have to learn to grow outside of it.
Meanwhile, Rohan and Kamila are adorable together, and their romance is quite the slow burn (they don’t even kiss until we’re halfway through the book). They’re quite good for one another, and have a sweet chemistry. The dogs are predictably cute, and Kamila’s friends circle is a fun and relatable bunch.
Kamila Knows Best is well aware that life isn’t a musical number or a fairytale – but it knows that a fairytale romance can lie just around the corner.
Buy it at: Amazon, Audible or your local independent retailer
Visit our Amazon Storefront
Grade: A-
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Subtle
Review Date: 09/03/22
Publication Date: 03/2022
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Lisa Fernandes is a writer, reviewer and recapper who lives somewhere on the East Coast. Formerly employed by Firefox.org and Next Projection, she also currently contributes to Women Write About Comics. Read her blog at http://thatbouviergirl.blogspot.com/, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thatbouviergirl or contribute to her Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/MissyvsEvilDead or her Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/missmelbouvier
Related Reviews
Emma is also my least favourite JA novel and not a single TV or film adaptation has worked for me. However, this does sound like it works very well and the dogs, if well done, would make it a fun read. Reminds me of Barbara Metzger’s Regencies which always had a great dog character that added a laugh and charm to her stories. I will put this on the list of things I want to read.
The dogs are VV cute, it’s quite worthwhile!
I’m interested enough to add it to my list but I gotta say, I DESPISE Emma with an unhealthy fire that I am perfectly happy with. I keep trying to find a re-write where I will find the Emma character likable or at least not hatable. Maybe this is it? There are dogs so that already is in her favour.
It’s terribly enjoyable, but that’s just me.
2 things: 1. Lizzy is Kamila’s friend Asha’s dog, and 2. Farah with an H, not an N.
I’m enjoying the book so far, but I am not a huge fan of Emma in general, unfortunately.
Sorry, the typo was mine – it’s fixed now. I haven’t read the book, but I’ll ask Lisa about the dog!
Correct about the dog, will have Caz fix this!