Song of the book: I Love You Too – Peter McPoland

I totally get that some of my issues may be a matter of personal preference, but unfortunately, I found myself struggling to enjoy the romance in this book because of the way the FMC was so wishy-washy about her feelings. I get that she was supposed to be somewhat in denial about how she felt about the MMC, but it was genuinely difficult to buy that based on some of the other thoughts she was having about him AND based on the way she acted around him. If I did buy that premise, it just made reading the book even more unpleasant, because the MMC was 100% in love with her, and the way she treated him just made me feel a little sad. I guess I just didn't love the relationship dynamic here.

Additionally, I found the FMC hard to root for at times. I mean, how was I supposed to support the idea of her running a matchmaking business when she throws her poor co-worker at the first guy she smiles at, even though that guys is literally a sexist jerk? Like, that's irresponsible. I know that this is based on Emma (sorry, I haven't read it! I have seen Clueless, though!), and the point is that she learns her lesson by the end of the book, but I was expecting for at least half of the book that maybe she would realize she wasn't qualified to be a matchmaker. Nope! Oh well.

However, I did enjoy the atmosphere of this book and liked reading about a romance set in Mumbai. I thought it was a cute set-up for the main characters, and I appreciated the two-person love triangle element! However, I thought the two-person love triangle part was handled a bit weirdly, since I think the author may have wanted it to be a plot twist, but it was kind of obvious. As a result, the MMC never thinks about his involvement in the "love triangle," I guess to keep it secret during his POV chapters. It just felt kind of odd, since you would expect he would spend time during his chapters thinking about how he's writing letters to the FMC.

I don't think I'll actively be recommending this book to anyone, but I wouldn't advise someone against reading it. I might check out future Swati Hegde books!

As someone who loves anything Jane Austen, this modern twist on Emma was very satisfying! It was fun to see a contemporary story that wasn't set in the Western world, and how the unique cultural aspects of modern India (particularly matchmaking) really leant itself to the story. Very satisfying and cozy to read!

I now have a new favorite author!!! OMG!!! I cannot get enough of this book! I’ve had so many good reads lately, I thought for sure I would’ve gotten a 2-3 star read but I’m shocked with another 5 star!! I had high expectations with this read and the author smashed it outta of the park! I loved everything about this book!! It deserves 10 stars!

I really loved this book! I loved the characters and the plot felt really realistic. I think it’s such a cute story!

I enjoyed the beginning of the book and felt some parts of the book was cute, overall. I especially loved the setting in a magazine publication office. The MMC, Jaiman is also a lovely character!

Based on the premise, there was an excellent potential for a neat slow burn romance! But somewhere around the middle of the story, I felt that it was hard to keep up - several side characters and the FMC's matchmaking efforts were distractors from the main characters and the development of their relationship. I felt the premise was misleading on another account. Since it's set in Mumbai, I was expecting a more desi vibe immersive experience, but that wasn't the case and this book missed the mark.

If you love contemporary, matchmaking stories set in India, this one is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#MatchMeIfYouCan #Netgalley

- Slow Burn
- Found Family
- Childhood Friends to Lovers
- Always Been You
- Jane Austen's Emma with Desi Rep (like Aisha)

As a sucker for a childhood friends to lovers this story hits the spot. Jia and Jaiman are very much in love with one another but clueless to how the other feels. This debut by the author is a modern desi version of Jane Austen's Emma set in Mumbai, India. Also pretty similar to Aisha, a Bollywood movie based on Emma.

Jia is a well intentioned, loving, (meddlesome) matchmaker and self appointed relationship expert. Jaiman is the owner of a struggling bar and childhood friend of Jia's; he's basically the unofficial adopted child (found family) as his parents live abroad and aren't very present in his life. Their cluelessness and misunderstandings brings a lot of pining and will they won't they energy lending itself to the slow burn of their romance story. However, at times it was downright exasperating to witness their lack of communication but understandable given how much they both were afraid of losing one another being as they were so intertwined with the rest of the family.

Match Me If You Can was an adorable debut of a classic story with Desi rep. Certainly a good read!! The ending was HEA and is a closed door romance.

Thank You #NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC!

Thank you NetGalley, Swati Hegde, and Random House Publishing Group, Deli for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a heartwarming Desi narrative, skillfully reimagining Jane Austen's Emma within the vibrant backdrop of Mumbai, India, infused with a contemporary, multicultural flair! This is a friends-to-lovers journey with an EXTREMELY slow burn, which I found too gradual for my taste. While I appreciated the dual point of view, which added depth to the story, I couldn't help but find the constant misunderstandings between the two main characters frustrating. Nonetheless, the sweet love story culminates in a satisfying happily-ever-after, making it a rewarding read overall. 💜💜💜💜

Match Me If You Can is about a confident fashionista, Jia, who spends her days churning out cliche-ridden listicles for Mimosa, Mumbai's top women's magazine. Yet, behind the scenes, she reveals the messy truth of real love on her anonymous blog and navigates her family's weekly game nights, all while suppressing her true feelings for her childhood friend. To top it off, Jia must successfully set up a coworker with her perfect match to earn the green light for her new matchmaking column. Fortunately, orchestrating meet-cutes has always come easily to her.

Local pub owner and cocktail genius Gaiman finds himself captivated by Jia's meddling spirit. Though he's always been an honorably member of her family, his own move to America only strengthened their bond. Life with the Deshpandes may be chaotic, but it's also filled with more love than he's ever known. However, when his pub begins to struggle and hid hidden feelings for Jia intensify, managing it all becomes increasingly challenging. As Jia's attempts at office matchingmaking backfire, jeopardizing new friendships and her relationship with Jaiman, she's forced to reconsider her views on love. For the first time, Jia realizes that love is far more complex than she ever imagined!

In summary, if you are looking for a diverse, closed door, delightful rom-com with a modern twist on Jane Austen's Emma then this would be the book for you! Congratulations to the author on a strong debut, and I look forward to reading more of her future works! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a super cute debut rom com novel! I loved the India setting instead of the typical American or European settings. It helped me to learn more about their culture as well which I enjoyed. I always love when the MMC falls hard and first as well so this was perfect for me! Jia and Jaiman are seriously so cute and I definitely felt Jia had a lot of good character development and growth. The author definitely added depth and complexities to her characters which I love because it makes them feel real and relatable. This is a book anyone can get lost in!

What to expect:

💖Friends to lovers
🍸 Matchmaking
💖 Magazine writer x Pub owner
🍸 Childhood friends
💖 Slow burn
🍸 India setting

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this debut by Swati Hedge, you can find charming characters, quick banter, and a romantic ending. I adored a setting that was in Mumbai, rather than somewhere in the states or Europe. I would have loved a little bit more descriptions of the city to compliment the story. I devoured this book in one and a half days! The compelling arc of Jia and Jiaman is what will keep readers engaged in this dreamy, Jane Austen retelling. Well done!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell Romance for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-childhood friends to idiots to lovers
-pining
-sloooow burn
-denial
-you've got mail vibes
-opposites attract
-demisexual rep

This was such a sweet and messy story of two people shifting from being just friends. Jia adores meddling in other people's lives especially their dating lives and is slolwy realizing that this is something she wants, with someone specific. She's messy, meddlesome and so concentrated on everyone else's lives she doesn't even think to consider herself and her own needs. Even the small things she does that she and Jaiman don't even realize are her conveying she wants something more with him.

Jaiman was so sweet, and careful around Jai, never wanting to ask too much from her, but just secretly observing and wanting her to get everything she wants. Wathcing these two finally figure it out was the sweetest slow burn and just a tender story with a great cast of supporting characters. A great all-Desi cast. So pour a cocktail or a cup of tea and curl up with this lovely slow burn as we wait to see what Swati has next in store for us.

A Diverse, friends to lovers romance that giving Emma vibes?! YES.

This was so easy to get lost in, the vibes were so cute and the almost slow burn romance paid off! (I do love a good slow burn romance)
Definitely recommend!

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing for my ARC!

In trying to set up a matchmaking business, Jia doesn’t realize that her childhood best friend is the right man for her all along. Zany schemes to set up a coworker and save his business help her realize he’s always been there for her.

3 ⭐️
0.5 🌶️ (closed door, but some mature language near the end)

I was so excited about the concept of this one. I really enjoyed reading a book focusing on Indian characters and culture. All the descriptions of the food and the drinks sounded soooooo good and made me hungry lol.

I enjoyed the first half the most, when Jia was actively match-making and trying to prove to her boss that this could be a successful column idea for their magazine. She was a fairly strong and independent female character who cares about her family and friends. I loved all her friends and family, and getting to see their relationship dynamics throughout the book as well. Jaiman was also a really sweet character. I really loved how he was in touch with his emotions and feelings, even crying during his difficult times in the book. That is something that you so rarely see depicted in romance novels!

But as the book went on.... I feel like the got kind of lost for me, and nothing was really happening. The characters also started to annoy me, and I am not sure the character development was clear enough for me to understand how they got from their initial Mindset A to Mindset B at the end of the book. I wish we had dug into these characters heads a little bit more, got to see more of Jia's matchmaking skills, and had a little bit more tension/tender moments between the two MC's

But the ending was really sweet. We love a good HEA for all of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of “March Me If You Can.” All opinions are my own.

Love the beautiful cover, and the title is clever. The story reminded me of Emma by Jane Austen and I am curious if it was inspired by that. Either way I loved the setting and narration the author provided.

Jia was sort of frustrating and unlikeable at times, but I appreciated her growth by the end.

Overall I liked the authors writing style and am interested to read their next book.

I am an avid fan of friends to lovers so I take reviewing this trope very seriously. Unfortunately this didn't quite meet my mark for what I look for with FTL but I still think it's a well written and interesting story. The matchmaking aspect was so fun and honestly inspiring. I loved the way the FMC Jai described the balance of tradition but also wanting people to feel empowered to make their own choices in love separate from their parents. I loved the insight she had to people on how to be an effective matchmaker, when she would nudge, orchestrate meet cutes for example, behind the scenes. It is such a sign of caretaking the way she looked out for how to best match others, although still reminiscent of Austen's Emma because it is still for Jai's personal gain and she is so endearingly confident in her convictions.

The part that fell flat for me was parts of the romance. When we start the story it starts based off of a dreaded miscommunication. There was a kiss between the love interests that ended with the FMC making them promise to never discuss it again. So of course I'm just waiting for them to finally talk about it. I was also expecting more mutual pining but the story really has their POVs more concerned with the risks of them being together, the MMC is basically a part of her family and doesn't want to mess that up. Of course this is an important and compelling aspect but I wish there was more *want* from either of them and I don't mean steam or lust, just romantic love would be fine.

One really awesome aspect of this book for me was the setting. I have never been and I am not familiar with Mumbai and the workplaces and city was very vividly written. The writing overall really is great.

Thank you to Dell and Netgalley for this eARC.

I’ve had fellow readers reach out to me asking for a list of Desi/South Asian romance recommendations. I’m so happy that I can now add Match Me If You Can to my recommendation list! 2024 is turning out to be a wonderful year for South Asian/Desi romance novels and also highlighting debut authors.

In Match Me If You Can, Swati Hegde provides a her take on the classic Jane Austen novel Emma but it's done with a desi twist! We follow our lead characters Jia Deshpande and Jaiman Patil as they slowly fall in love. Readers, this one is a slow burn and we get to spend time with both characters as it's a dual point of view.

With multiple romance tropes throughout the novel, Swati gets you hooked and invested quickly. But my favourite part, the novel is set in the bustling city of Mumbai. Every city has its own character, and Mumbai definitely stood out. In addition, the role of extended family and friends are nice additions. I love that South Asian cultural events, food and drinks that were featured. It’s the little details that leave an impression and also highlights the importance of representation. On a side note, I’ll definitely need to try a Whipped Rose cocktail soon!

I know that Swati's in the process of writing a second book and I can't wait to follow her next set of characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Vibes: Emma, heroines who gotta learn, slow burn, friends to lovers

Heat Level: 2/10

Mumbai-based Jia spends her days writing silly listicles for women's magazine Mimosa. On her off time, however, she works on her anonymous blog, giving what she thinks is very real talk... even if she's in denial about her own true feelings. She wants to get upgraded to a new column--but the only way she can is by helping her coworker find love. Thing is, Jia herself doesn't even realize that her longtime family friend Jaiman has a thing for her. Maybe... more than a thing.

Alright--if you're at all familiar with Jane Austen's Emma, I'm sure you can tell that this is an Emma retelling. I've actually been seeing a lot of Emma retellings lately; but that's not a bad thing for me, as Emma is by far my favorite Austen.

The skinny on this one is that, at least from my perspective it's very cute and well-written. It's a romcom with wit, and there's certainly a lot of chemistry between Jia and Jaiman. I love the setting (it's shockingly rare to find an English-language romcom novel that isn't set in America, and even harder to find one set in India). I enjoy the tone. It's not reinventing the wheel; it goes in the directions that a lot of Emma retellings do. For me, too... I don't mind that it was closed door, per se. However, there were moments cut off in a way that left me thinking "but why?"

The answer is that it was the author's prerogative, and that's valid. I just feel like we were kind of left in a place where there was teasing--and if there wasn't going to be anything, why tease, I suppose?

But nonetheless--if you want a light, fluffy romcom that happens to be closed door, and if you love Emma, I would recommend this.

Quick Takes:

--One way in which this book differs from Emma and that Jia and Jaiman have what I'll call a near-miss about a year prior to the novel's beginning. To me, this was really clever. First off, it swerves away from the typical Emma setup, adding a little tension that I really appreciated. Second, it makes Jia a more interestingly human character, to me. She knows there's this tension, she knows there's something between herself and Jaiman, she just doesn't want to confront it.

--Personally, I think modern Emma retellings arguably work better in a setting wherein matchmaking is still a thing. Jia is nothing if not a consummate matchmaker, and I feel like this plays so well in a book set in Mumbai, where matchmaking is a feasible career (not that it can't be in the west--but it's less common, obviously).

--Like I said: this is a slow burn. Jia and Jaiman have known each other since childhood. Feelings have been there for a long time. So while I understood, and to an extent I mean, it's there in the material... I just wanted them to kiss. I wanted something to happen. Although the book is closed door, that doesn't mean they can't get together earlier in the novel (I'm thinking of a closed door romance by Alexis Hall that I enjoyed not so long ago). It did drag a bit for me.

And ultimately, for all the theoretical tension, that lack of interaction in a romantic sense did keep it from going as far as it could have. I don't mean sexually--I mean as a love story.

That being said--if you're not sure about sex scenes, if you like a slow burn, and you want an Austen update that makes sense... This could be great for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dell for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I desperately wanted to like this book but found the reading experience to be frustrating.

Jaiman and Charu were sweethearts, and I was shipping them the whole time. Honestly, I was shipping Jaiman with anyone other than Jia lol. Jia comes across as an entitled, self-absorbed, painfully naive millennial and is hard to root for.

The world-building was confusing as well -- as someone from the same state (Maharashtra) as the main characters, I kept being pulled out of the story by the almost unrealistic and unnecessary portrayals of wealth. And the whole storyline with Jaiman's rival felt pointless. The ending felt rushed but at least helped me get over the finish line.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Read this book if you like:
- Slow burns
- Indian mc's
- Books set in India
- Matchmaking
- Contemporary romance

Thank you to the publisher for this arc, while this book wasn't for me I think if you like any of the things listed above you will enjoy it. This is a debut novel set that is written well. I liked all the Indian culture/foods that was in this and I enjoyed the family and themes surrounding the FMC's mom and the MMC's found family. Unfortunately, the romance just didn't work for me and I feel like there wasn't a payoff for the excruciating slow burn. There were cute moments but overall I was confused with everything happening with the romance, the fmc, and the matchmaking plot. Though this wasn't for me I think if you like slow burns, beautiful covers and Indian matchmaking you should pick this up.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Oh my gosh how I wanted to love this book. And in many ways, I did. It was love at first site when I saw the cover, and I fell even deeper when reading the description. Matchmaking?? A setting in Mumbai?? Lifelong friends to lovers?? He falls first?? Secret pen pals?? We were ticking all the boxes, checking everything off with a flourish. I loved the rich detail Swati Hedge wove into this book, and how much a reader not familiar with Indian culture learned as they fell in love with Jia and Jaiman. I often say how Jean Meltzer's books are unapologetically Jewish, and I would say the same for Swati Hedge - unapologetically Indian in the most beautiful way. Every character, from Jia and Jaiman to their friends and family, were enjoyable to meet and get to know. This book was part Emma, part You've Got Mail, and I would definitely recommend.

However. I do have one criticism, and it's why I'm giving 4 stars and not 5. The pacing was, in a word, choppy. I really struggled to get into this book, and then see it through to the end, even though I truly was invested in Jia and Jaiman's story. It also felt quite YA, rather than romance. Jia's voice is just extremely young and naive, and in many places she comes off as pretty emotionally immature and blind to what's going on around her.

Still, overall, I'd recommend this book as a fun summer read!