4.5 stars.

It's a perfect quick beach read, and it's very clean. It is set in Mumbai on India's west coast. The author wrote this novel in a very (I hate to use this term, but I know of no better) Americanized way. And I thank the author for letting me get a peek into this part of India and letting me understand everything; not all authors do so.

This read starts with a definite nod to Jane Austen's "Emma," so we have a fairly good idea of how this is going to play out, don't we?

I have to admit that several times, I wanted to throw my precious Kindle against the wall because this book upset me. Oh, not in a bad way, but the author sure can write a frustrating love story! And I was VERY frustrated!

Jia and Jaiman have known each other for quite a while, and of course, neither knows that the other loves them. This novel centers around this couple, but some of the secondary stories are captivating.

Jia wants to start her own matchmaking business, and Jaiman wants to have a successful pub. Of course, things don't work out the way they expected—naturally! I'm not going to tell you any more about this story; I just want you to read it. I hope your frustrations with Jai and Jaiman are the happy kind as mine were.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher - Random House Publishing Group, the author, and NetGalley.

3 stars! i really liked the beginning and end of this book. the middle was where it got a little slow for me. jia definitely got on my nerves a little bit, though i do kind of think that was the point! i'm glad she had the character development that she did. i really loved jaiman and tbh the side characters were my favorite! the love a friends to lovers trope and this is no different, it just didn't completely hit the mark for me.

overall a very cute story and a relatively quick read. a great little romance if you're looking for one!

thank you netgalley and random house for this arc!

Quick intro:
Jia, a relationship columnist and hobbyist matchmaker, doesn’t believe in “the one” while for her best friend, Jaiman, it’s always been her, but she doesn’t know that. Match Me If You Can follows them as they pursue their dreams and fight the feelings they have for each other along the way.

Quick thoughts:
I will always be sucker for a good friends-to-lovers story and I was pleasantly surprised by this debut novel by Swati Hedge. I loved getting a peek into millennial Indian culture and the setting in Mumbai was so good! Our FMC Jia read a little naive for me, but I enjoyed her journey discovering what love really meant and pursuing her dreams. I loved the MMC Jaiman - he was the perfect golden retriever MC. And when he drops early on in the book that he’s been in love with Jia since they were twelve I swooned!

I’m not usually into third person dual POV, but I think Hedge pulled it off and I really enjoyed her writing style. I can’t wait to see what she brings to the romance genre next! Honestly, in the end this book just made me really happy. 🥰😂 Read this book if you like found family themes, friends to lovers, closed door romances, REALLY slow burn, diverse reads, and golden retriever MMCs.

Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Jia is employed by a popular women’s magazine in Mumbi where she is a writer, however, her heart is with matchmaking. Her dream is to open a matchmaking company someday where she’ll bring happiness to many couples that she’ll match together. She has had some success in matching a few other couples together, and secretly yearns for what they have. She also has a blog about love with many followers that is anonymous to her employee which is good since she the blog often is about what takes place at work. She has never named the magazine or her coworkers, so she feels like she’s not doing anything wrong.
When Jai suggests a matchmaking column to her boss, she suggests she give matchmaking a try and match up one of their female employees who is hoping to find a husband.
Jaiman Patil has been a friend to Jia and her family since they were children. Jia’s dad has been father figure to Jaiman, after his family moved to the United States. Jaiman’s dream is to own his own bar; however, it has been an uphill struggle to make it happen. He also has secretly been in love with Jia for many years. Jia thinks of him more as a brother; however, she also has somewhat of a crush on Jaiman.
There is an interesting cast of characters, however, because they all had names not familiar to me, often I wasn’t sure if it was a male or female. This is in the category of a contemporary romance and there were a few sweet scenes, however, there also was quite a few uses of the F word and other profanity. That doesn’t appeal to me, and I don’t believe it enhances the story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

I’m a fan of Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking and was thrilled to be sent an e-ARC for this debut romance set in Mumbai. Although this childhood friends to lovers slow burn romance was not for me, I think many readers will be charmed by it. FMC Jia is a wealthy aspiring matchmaker and MMC Jaiman is her chef/mixologist best friend with a fledgling pub. There are a number of miscommunication issues that persist and keep Jia and Jaiman from proclaiming their love until the 95% mark. I enjoyed the Indian cultural, as well as the food/cocktails references. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

“Match Me If You Can" by Swathi Hedge is a delightful journey through the intricacies of modern matchmaking. With engaging characters and a witty narrative, Hedge crafts a story that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The blend of humor and romance makes it a perfect read for anyone looking for a fun escape. Hedge's writing style is refreshing and relatable, making this book a must-read for fans of contemporary romance. Overall, "Match Me If You Can" is a charming and entertaining novel that leaves you with a smile on your face.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this early access! This book really surprised me in the best possible way. I highly recommend.

This book really surprised me and I absolutely loved it. It has a feel of crazy rich Asians with the Indian matchmaking. I blew my way through this book so fast.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It felts like mashup between Emma and You've Got Mail and it was wonderful!

New to me author Swati Hegde has captivated me with this sweet desi romance. Magazine writer Jai denies her attraction to long time family friend Jaiman until she realizes he might just be the one.

I will say that though I did enjoy this book, I did get annoyed with Jai on several occasions and I thought the slow burn was tooooo slow. I do like a book with slow burn romance but this one doesn't start until like the last ~20 pages. Ugh. I wonder what else we could have seen between these two if their confessions had happened earlier.

I really loved all of the descriptions of the celebrations and different clothing, foods, decorations, etc. I think this definitely adds to the vibe of the book and the setting being Mumbai doesn't hurt.

Overall I thought this book was well crafted and would recommend to readers looking for a slow burn, sweet romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dell and Swati Hegde for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

MATCH ME IF YOU CAN is a sweet, feel-good love story of a matchmaker, Jia, who finds her match in a family friend, Jaiman. It's been a year since the Incident and Jia won't let herself feel her buried feels for Jaiman and believes if she's made it this far without love and a partner, she will be just fine on her own. Not to mention Jaiman has never been in a serious relationship but certainly has had his fun, so he's not relationship material. Plus there's the fact, she thinks Jaiman only kissed her on a dare, when actually he has been in love with her for quite some time. As a matchmaker, when will she realize that she and Jaiman are the perfect match and let herself find love? 3.5 stars rounded to 4. A fun and cute debut!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my review.

Match Me If You Can follows Jia, a young, chronically single, relationship advice column writer for Mimosa, as she works on her personal blog and her passion for matchmaking on the side. We also spend a lot of time with Jaiman, a chef and mixologist who is also Jia's childhood best friend. Jia is working on matchmaking her coworkers to prove to her boss that she can write a matchmaking column, but things are not going well. Through all of this she starts to complicate many of her friendships and other relationships. Jia realizes she needs to reevaluate her views on love and relationships to repair what is starting to break.

Overall I enjoyed this book for what it was, a quick and breezy rom com, but the miscommunication between Jia and Jaiman started to get old pretty quickly for me. The poor communication between the two led to a very very slow burn in this novel, but if you like that in a book then this is for you! I did appreciate reading about Mumbai and the Indian customs when it comes to matchmaking and I loved the descriptions of all the food!

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the e-copy of this ARC.

This is a sweet romance story about two friends who both are looking for love and don’t want to admit they may have already found it. Jia longs to start a match making business and she knows can help others find love, even though she hasn’t found it yet herself. Jaiman knows he has found his match, but Jia doesn’t seem to feel the same way about him. Yet he will do anything to show his best friend support no matter what. Overall, Jia and Jaiman as fun characters and they are easy to see getting together. I wish this book had more match making. I think it would have added some comedy into the story and helped just a little bit. The romance is predictable but tolerable. I wouldn’t say that it swept me away. Which kind of made me sad. I can see myself recommend this book, I just don’t know if I would pick it as a top new romance novel.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Dell, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

✅ Emma, but set in current day Mumbai
✅ Gia writes listicles for a lifestyle magazine (and is trying to launch a matchmaking column) and her childhood friend Jaiman owns a pub. Both are in their mid/late 20s
✅ dual POV
✅ friends to lovers
🌶️: no. All off page.

A heartwarming debut novel set in the bustling city of Mumbai, India, "Match Me if You Can" is a slow burn friends to lovers romance. I loved the subtle nod to Jane Austen's "Emma", but I loved the author's own desi twist to the story. Jai's purpose of match making isn't out of selfish and egotistical reasons, but as a way to find connection with her mother who had passed away, an aspect that I found refreshing and touching. I found Jaiman to be a very sweet character who balances out Jai quite nicely. I'm looking forward to seeing what the author writes next.

The premise of this book was really fun! I loved the setting in Mumbai, I don’t think I’ve read any romance novels set there before. The biggest downside for me was both of the main characters. I was constantly frustrated by their actions and feelings of superiority. I didn’t mind Jaiman, but Jia was seriously making me want to pull my hair out at some points. I loved the side characters, I would love a sequel following Jia’s friends or family. Overall, I loved some of the parts of it (Indian MCs, side characters, SETTING), but everything else fell a little flat for me.

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

This was cute, but I, myself, struggle with the character of Emma. I understand she’s spoiled and self-centered and learns as the book goes on, but I struggle with it in a modern setting. It was good, but I ended up not finishing it! I hope to pick it back up, but the tale of Emma is always a struggle for me.

This was a fun cute read. I will say, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Thanks NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What I liked: different setting than traditional rom-coms, friends to lovers trope, the deepness of exposing a failure and problem solving that, the family connections, matchmaking!

What I didn’t like: sometimes Jia seemed pretty oblivious about Jaiman, and it was borderline too cliche. I will also say Jia and Jaiman were names that were hard on my dyslexia. I know that a stupid dislike for some, but the names being so close and both starting with the same 3 letters made me have to slow down and figure out who I was reading about.

ia has a dream of becoming a matchmaker. She's just two successful set ups already but she is stuck writing fluff pieces about love for a fashion magazine. Her editor gives her a chance to prove herself by setting up the new woman in the office but nothing is going as planned. Jaiman is the son Jia's family never had and he's been in love with Jia for years. Everyone sees it but Jia.

As the story unfolds, we see how friendships are important in life and that we can't always make life work out exactly how we want it too. The story is set in Mumbai and centers around different holidays celebrated there. I always enjoy learning about places that are different from my own.

This was a cute first book from Swati Hegde, and I was super excited to be able to give this a read! I'm not Indian, but my best friend is so the customs and traditions aren't lost to me and adds to the story. That said, if you aren't in the Indian target audience, I feel you would miss a lot. This is an easy read as the characters and story aren't complex, so I worked through it quickly. However, it left me wanting more and every time I put it down and picked it back up, I was again hit with the feeling that the characters were immature, and the story was a bit simple. I wanted Jia to have more depth, and I wanted more insight into her matchmaking skills - I think a bit of this comes across in her blog posts, but those are sporadic. I was disappointed at moments when she is upset like when her attempt to set up Charu failed at the coffee shop, and her response was to go shopping. I just struggled with the aspects of whether this was an actual scenario or just stereotyped. Moments like those didn't help her character development in my eyes. Overall, I liked the premise and think the story had a lot of potential with some witty banter and a great golden retriever MC in Jaiman (would give it a 2.5-3), but sadly this one was a miss for me. Thank you so much to Swati Hegde, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc.