REVIEW: Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron: Everyone has always seen Jana as the serious one, the cold and aloof one in the groups, which is what prompted her to try stepping out of her comfort zone and being a bit wild for once… only to wind up broken hearted and with a baby one the way. One wild encounter is more than enough as far as Jana is concerned.

Fast forward five years and Jana and her daughter Imani are on their way to the beautiful wilderness of Tanzania for a destination wedding, along with pretty much everyone else that they know including Jana’s untrustworthy ex Anil Malek. Determined to prove that Anil has no effect on her, Jana enlists the help of her fellow bridesmaids to create a go-wild list… the only problem being while living it up with her wild list Jana begins to drop her guard around Anil…could walking on the wild side this time lead to a picture perfect safari ending or wind up in heartbreak again?

Before we go any further can we just take a moment to mention how beautiful this book cover is? I love that Heron sets the mood right out of the gate with this beautiful cover that gives us a hint of what is to come and I just loved this! There were so many things to love about this book, starting with the amazing South Asian representation! I really liked that both main characters were South Asian and that the culture was so present throughout the book, aside from that it was nice to see a more modern Muslim leading female character.

Jana was really an enduring leading lady, it was hard not to root her on. Not only was she relatable but she had a lot going on in her plate. It was easy to relate to her insecurities and her struggle to balance being a single mother and working. I really liked getting to see her step out of her comfort zone while tackling the go-wild list. Though I will say she definitely did embrace her introvert tendencies. As for our hero Anil, well I think at first he was playing the pity me card a bit but as the book progressed her grew on me. I will say I did not like that he had lied to Jana at first but as we read we get to know his story. One thing I do have to say is that Anil was a great dad when it came to his time with Imani, I loved their bond and that he was so active in her life. I will say that I would have liked this book to have been in both of their point of views, which I think would have made it a bit easier to connect to both characters.

The only real downfall for this book was that it did drag on for a while, things only really began to pick up around the wedding. The other draw back for me was not really major but I did find Imani to a bit whinny, I think her part in the book was important but a bit to large in the overall scheme of things. Aside from this there were so many things that I did actually like about this book, one of them being the huge band of supporting characters. I loved the fact that this was a huge destination wedding with the entire family, this only highlighted the brilliant Desi culture and traditions. Now Jana’s mother was an interesting one, granted she did not come of in the best light for most of the book but her intentions were good. One of the things I loved was that this book was set in Tanzania!

Jana Goes Wild is a super slow burn second chance romance that packs in the heat, family drama and some really cute moments. I would definitely recommend!

Book Info:

Publication: May 2, 2023 | Forever |

Jana Suleiman has never really fit in—everyone always sees her as too aloof, too cool, too perfect. The one time she stepped out of her comfort zone she ended up with a broken heart and a baby on the way. Aaaand lesson learned . Now she’s a bridesmaid for a destination wedding in Serengeti National Park, and almost everyone she knows will be there. Her five-year-old daughter. Her mom. Her friends. Even her potential new boss. And of course (because who doesn’t love surprises!) her gorgeous-but-not-to-be-trusted ex.

Fortunately, Anil Malek is a great dad, even if Jana hasn’t quite forgiven him for lying to her all those years ago. Determined to show he has no effect on her whatsoever, she and the bridesmaids concoct a go-wild list to get Jana through the week. Sing karaoke? Sure. Perform their high school dance routine in front of strangers? Okay. But the more she lets down her guard, the less protection she has against her attraction to Anil. And Jana soon realizes it’s one thing to walk on the wild side . . . and quite another to fall for her ex all over again.