Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - Kamila Knows Best

This is one of those special romances that gives you the coveted happily ever after feeling while also staying true to the challenges of life with humor and poise. It's aspirational in that it shows a relationship built on communication, maturity, and a fair bit of teasing, and also in that it shows a woman coming to terms with her career goals, rethinking her judgments of other people (good and bad), and confronting her socialization and trauma that lead her towards people-pleasing. It peels back the veneer of girl power to look at how feminine presentation is mocked and belittled in a professional setting, how skills like event planning are both treated as necessary and even assumed for women while their importance and impactfulness are simultaneously minimized.

Kamila's story is an Emma retelling, an Austen work I have yet to read, but my experience with film adaptations gives me the (limited) authority to say that Kamila's meddling and social managing ring true to the original. She loves matchmaking, planning parties, running her dog's very stylish TikTok, and volunteering with the animal shelter. She's also the first to step up to support her friends and her Dad, and she's passionate about supporting women-led small businesses as an accountant. Kamila contains multitudes, and this is an example of single POV romance done well. Being so familiar with her mind helped me have compassion when she made a bad decision and made me all the more impressed by her fits and starts of ultimately profound personal growth. I found her not only admirable but likable, and the entire cast of supporting characters gave me warm, fuzzy feelings from her family to her friends to her secret nemesis.

In terms of the romance, Rohan is a dreamy love interest because he is supportive with no strings attached, learns from his mistakes, and is neither pushy nor a pushover. He challenges Kamila but respectfully and with love. While the romance wasn't always front and center with other moving pieces of the story, it always shone through. First, "accidentally falling asleep on someone's chest" is a god tier trope for me so 10/10. Purely because of this book, I have also decided to add to the list of best tropes "two people who always dress to impress becoming comfortable being a mess in front of each other." And it's not a trope, but intense attraction to forearms is something I can get behind. It's friends-to-lovers done right with layers upon layers.

This romance has it all. It covers issues with an intersectional view, covering disparate topics from mental health to race to family expectations. It's nuanced without derailing the story with a thesis, thoughtful while retaining a signature sense of humor I found irresistible. All the relationships show progress, and the enviable strength of Kamila's bonds with others don't smack of unrealistic perfection. Honestly, I can't recommend it more. Thanks to Forever for my copy to read and review. I'll 100% be seeking out more from this author in the future.

Content Warnings

100_pages_hr's review

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emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I really enjoyed this Desi Own Voices book. I had heard it was an Emma retelling but went into it with an open mind since those aren't my favorite and I enjoyed it simply as a friend's to lovers story.

I absolutely loved Rohan. He was pretty perfect both in looks and in personality. I loved all the ways he was there for Kam and her dad. I think he is the sole reason I'm rating the book so high. Well, that and the food. I'm hungry now!

Kam drove me pretty insane to be honest, but she definitely grew a lot throughout the book and I liked her a lot more by the end. I appreciated the representation she gave from how she was raised by her mother. I also did really appreciate her dedication and commitment even if I felt it was a little too much at times.

As always I loved the Own Voices representation in this book. The insight into family life are so interesting.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

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