I enjoyed reading Match Me If You Can by Swati Hedge. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

This book was very slow to get started and had lots of characters to try to get to know but once I got to the middle part of the book it was easier going. Jia was a writer for Mimosa a women’s magazine but was secretly starting her own match making company. Jaiman had grew up with her and secretly crushing on her but she didn’t seem to notice. I did like the slow friendship to lovers. Jaiman owned a bar and was good at listening to Jia and her ideas. It took Jia forever to figure it out.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The author's team reached out to have me read this book and I am so thankful that they did! I truly loved getting to know more about a culture that is different than mine. I do struggle with a miscommunication trope, just because I am too bold in my normal life and consistently say "just say what needs to be said" to myself all of the time, so that is always a struggle. I do know it is a real part of life so I didn't hold it against the book or author in any way. A review will be posted to Instagram shortly.

Thank you, Dell, Random House, and NetGalley for an arc of Match Me If You Can in exchange for my honest review. This was such a sweet read!

Out now!

Jaiman is everything. He is the absolute sweetest ever, truly so patient, and overall, a wonderful person to everyone around him. He's going through it. Everything he has is in his parent's name, and his pub isn't doing as well as he'd hope, the girl he's loved for over a decade has constantly rejected him, and his archenemy is close by, too close. We see so much vulnerability in Jaiman, his raw feelings for a lot of different things throughout the book, and his thought process to things. Truly, I think he's a great mmc, other than his occasional con of ghosting some girls from dating apps.

Jia, unfortunately, on the other hand, irked me at times. The miscommunication trope in this book had me stressed, most of it was literally because of her. She calls herself a matchmaker, which I didn't feel was correct, as she only set up two couples and thought she could set everyone up. If matchmaking was her dream and we got to see her work towards that throughout the book, I'd love it a lot more than just basing it off of coupling up some people and that's it. Jia did redeem herself, but toward the last 10% of the book. This was a super slow burn, but thankfully, the characters had a small character development toward the very end.

- Desi Romance
- Slowwwwww burn
- He falls first, and harder
- Friends to Lovers
- Emma x You Got Mail
- A lot of denial

Truly, thank you NetGalley and Dell for the arc!

📚Book Review 📚

⭐️⭐️

Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde

I made myself finish this one because I received an ARC for this book from NetGalley.

I really really wanted to like this book! The cover was gorgeous and it was a culture I don’t read a lot about!! But oh my god I didn’t think this book would ever end! I caught myself checking how many pages were left every time a flipped a page…

The MMC I felt nothing but pitty for him. Business falling apart, enemy sets up shop right next to you, and he’s been pinning for the same girl for 20 years.. that’s not attractive at all more like pathetic.

The FMC was selfish and mean. All she was worried about was her match making but didn’t actually listen to the person she was matching. And she just led the MMC on forever. She was just nice enough to him to keep him around.

I’m sad I didn’t like this one more. I feel like it had a lot of potential.

This was a really solid debut. It's a cute modern day Emma with a touch of You've Got Mail, and is filled with loveable characters. Even Jia was loveable from the beginning, which is new as the Emma character is usually a bit unlikeable to begin with.
I had a few minor issues with Jaiman's character, and how rushed the resolution felt. A big reveal (which was obvious to readers but not to the main character) felt a bit thrown away, when I would have expected a larger reaction from the characters.
One thing that really shined was the friendships. I love seeing realistic friendships in romance novels where the friends aren't largely forgotten partway through. Jia's friends and sister were given ample page time, and I believed that their friendships were deep and meaningful.
Match Me if You Can is a solid rom-com that left me interested in what Swati Hegde will come out with next.

✨Desi Romance
✨ Friends to Lovers
✨ He Falls First
✨ Closed Door
✨ Miscommunication
✨ Matchmaking
✨ Set in Mumbai

I loved being transported to Mumbai and a different culture. I read this as an ebook and listened to it on audiobook too which was helpful to hear the pronunciations of some names.

This was a really cute closed door romance between two long time family friends. Jaiman has been in love with Jia for what seems like forever and Jia who even though she writes about love has a hard time identifying her feelings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for letting me read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A lightweight, pleasant, PG romcom about a man and a woman, friends since childhood, stumbling through their efforts to live their dreams. Friends to lovers, but deeper than the blithe lightness usually found in romance novels. This is an enjoyable read about love and miscommunication haunted by yearning and the fear of pushing things which they fear may be unwelcome, only to realize that all may be lost if they don’t take the opportunity to declare how they feel.

Love the word play in the title, that is what drew me in! This was a sweet slow-burn, friends to lovers, desi romance! This was not a fast paced story and some might find it slow but I enjoyed the will they/won't they dynamic and I was rooting for Jaiman and Jia. Jia was a little frustrating to read at times, her meddling was too much for me but I understand that is one of the main plot points. Jaiman was a sweetie and I loved his pining after her and his POV chapters were the highlights of the book, and what made me bump my rating from 4 start to 5! I did really enjoy that this was set in Mumbai, I feel like all the Desi romances I read are set in the States or like London so it was a fun change of pace!

A 3 star experience for me. I think it's a solid read, but I was left feeling a little underwhelmed with their story and the characters. I enjoyed the general plot of this one and did find it interesting. You get a friends to lovers, romance writer columnist, lots of lifes' challenges and a closed door romance. The miscommunication in this one got to me a bit. I think it's still a solid book/story that many will enjoy. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Match Me If You Can is a friends to lovers, slow burn romance between magazine writer Jia and pub owner Jaiman.

I struggled with the pacing on this one. Although I love a slow burn romance, I found myself getting bored at times. And I didn't care for Jia's selfish behavior.

All in all, I thought it was a solid debut and I'm looking forward to the next book from Swati Hegde.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for receiving an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Match Me If You Can is the epitome of a sweet, slow-burn romance filled with tons of longing, pining, missed connections, flirty fun, and all the love.

Jia spends her days working as a writer for a magazine in Mumbai but is itching to work on projects she’s more passionate about, like her potential matchmaking business. When a new matchmaking opportunity arises, Jia is excited about the possibility of branching out at her job, but what happens when things don’t go according to plan, and her jumbled feelings for her childhood friend intertwine with her own conflicting thoughts on love?

This was such a charming, adorably cute read! I loved the matchmaking and found family aspects (my heart!!), as well as the super sweet friends-to-lovers romance.

3.5/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this novel.

Match Me If You Can is a fun, sweet, rom-com that has strong characters and a wonderful sense of place with humid, busy Mumbai. Jia and Jaiman have been lifelong friends, literally. Their fathers were friends before they were born. They were always part of each other's lives so it isn't hard to see why they struggled with their feelings when romance started to bloom, especially when Jia was supposed to be an expert in romantic relationships and a budding matchmaker.

Jia is a really fun character and it is clear from the start that she is her own woman with her own ideas and plans. But it's those same ideas and plans that seem to occasionally trip her up. Jaiman is clearly smitten from the word go, but is also still trying to find his own way in the high-paced world of Mumbai cuisine. It's a slow burn with a very rewarding moment of realization. Is this an Indian literary version of the movie Clueless (which, of course, was the movie version of the novel Emma)? Perhaps. But that doesn't make it any less fun.

Not sure I really appreciated the characters need for labels or her only coping mechanism was to shop. Also not sure I liked that she realized she had "feels" for Jaiman - I know it's a character choice but it still felt somewhat shallow in a very critical moment of self awareness. But, those are primarily personal preferences so I'm not holding that against this adorable story.

Meet Confident fashionista Jia Deshpande and Jaiman Patil. Jia needs a coworker to be set up with their match from a matchmaker in order to write the article that she wants to write. When the whole things goes awry, she must reevaluate her friendships and other relationships in order to figure out where she wants to go from here. This was a fun rom-com that I highly enjoyed.

Wow this was the most selfish, entitled, spoiled, bratty main character I’ve come across in a long time. Jia is constantly bragging about her fancy house, housekeeper, cook, donating expensive silly designer clothes and accessories etc. Seemingly paid a low salary at her minimal magazine job I guess she’s constantly out spending her father’s money on unnecessary things while her best friend struggles to pay his bills. But no worries guys because she’s going shopping twice in one day to buy silly stuff she doesn’t need all in the name of making herself feel better. Jia really needed a therapist and it was laughable how she thinks she can fix other peoples lives while living like a spoiled teenager. In the end I just felt bad for Jaiman. Giving two stars because the story itself wasn’t bad and the writing was fine but Jia was the worst.

This book was sooo cute. I’m always a fan of friends-to-lovers and this book hit the mark for me. The slow burn was buuuurning… 🔥 So much so that I was on the edge of my seat just waiting for SOMETHING to happen—but in the best way. 🤗 I loved the dual POV and getting to be inside both Jia’s and Jaiman’s heads. (Especially Jaiman’s because I’m a sucker for a lovesick man. 😌) They were the sweetest friends and I was DYING waiting for them to admit their feelings for each other.

I also really enjoyed the side characters and their stories as well. Because this book is inspired by 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘢, I already had a hunch on where the story would go plot-wise and with the side characters. But I loved it so much. It was so fun and I really enjoyed the banter and interactions between the characters and the found family aspect was so sweet.

Read if you love:
💕 Desi romance
🍸 Pub owner and matchmaker
🫶🏼 Found family
✉️ Secret penpals
☺️ Witty banter
🚪 Closed door romance
💜 Childhood friends-to-lovers

Thanks to NetGalley and a Random House Publishing House for this read. I found this book good but not great for me. I found the book was missing something. I think the pacing was good but the banter was a bit off. I think they didn’t communicate well but I pushed through and found the book to be okay.

This book was so enjoyable! Emma coded, friends to lovers, he falls first, matchmaking romance!

Jia is a writer and a matchmaker. Well, she wants to be. She loves love but doesn't exactly see it for herself. She's grown up with Jaiman, whose parents moved away and has always been close to her family. He owns a pub and is a great guy, but his pub is struggling. And he's struggling over his feelings for Jia.

Jia and Jaiman have some relationship issues that keep them apart. And a disastrous interaction awhile back that is definitely keeping them in the friend zone. Jia can be good about seeing the blossoming love around her but not what's right in front of her. Theres quite a few missteps that happen!

There's some lovely friends they both have. One of Jia’s matchmaking successes is her sister and BIL. She knows she can matchmake, and when the opportunity comes along to matchmake again, she doesn't let anything (or anyone) get in her way.

Jia is trying to get her matchmaking side off the ground. Jaiman is trying not to lose his business. Will they get what they want?

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC. All opinions are my own.
Match Me If You Can is a romance story of Jia and Jaiman, a friendship to lover story, with friendship that spans over their lifetimes. Jia is a magazine writer of romance, however she has a hard time believing in romance for herself and she believes people have to find love in different ways, and she would love to be a matchmaker. Jia is from a well off family, with many opportunities open to her, and she keeps her mind in one direction, taking a long time to see what other people see or to find the good in others. Jia shows slow self growth, while Jaiman spends the book showing how much love he has to spread, while working hard on his own in his pub.
For me, I found the main character (Jia) hard to relate to and closed minded, but enjoyed Jaiman’s take and thoughts on things throughout the story. Overall, I thought this was a cute story with a quick ending to find a happily ever after.

4.25/5 stars

Match Me If You Can by Swati Hedge is a slow burn childhood friends to lovers romance between writer/aspiring matchmaker Jia Deshpende and local pub owner and cocktail connoisseur Jaiman Patil. Jia writes for Mumbai’s top magazine for women, Mimosa, but is creatively fulfilled via her secret anonymous blog about love “Love Better with J.” She hopes to one day open her own matchmaking business, and she intends to use her experience (and hopefully promotion!!) at her job as steps towards her future matchmaker goal. While Jaiman’s parents (and their hopes of his joining the family business) are in San Francisco, Jaiman’s whole life is in Mumbai, where he intends to bring his restuarant, J’s Pub, to fame and success as he builds home within his pub for himself, his found family, and the Mumbai community. As Jia feels her career is on the come up, she finds that the truth about love is chaotic and messy, so she finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about love. Meanwhile, Jaiman is doing everything in his power to make sure his dreams don’t crash and burn, all while grappling with his love hidden, yet deepening love for Jia.

Slow burn is admittedly not my cup of tea, and for whatever reason (namely trapped in Bridgerton brain rot), I’ve been slumped and have had a hard time getting myself focused to finish reading really any book at the moment. However, Match Me If You Can had me hooked. I absolutely love reading dual POV, and in particular, Jaiman’s pining!! is my reason!!!

I really felt for Jaiman and his <spoiler> absolute fall into feeling so utterly defeated. He had me crying!! I was not expecting to relate to Jaiman in the way I did— he is one of those lonely creatures who has buried himself into my heart, and his feelings of personal failures felt like my thought transferred onto his pages. </spoiler> Additionally, I know Jaiman tells himself that he should have built the courage to tell Jia how he really feels; however, I liked and understood that he was, in fact, taking (miscommunicated) cues from Jia and trying to respect her wishes. It also made all the sense in the world to me that, not only did he not want to lose Jia in his life, he especially didn’t want to lose the found family he built within her family.

Conversely, I understand why it took Jia took significantly longer to understand her feelings. I read her as demisexual (and I got excited to see Jia directly discuss her lack of romantic and sexual attraction within her blog)! I’m not sure if that was the author’s intention to have Jia on the asexual spectrum (surely it must be), and I know demisexuality is not an as commonly known label in cisheteronormative society, but it would have been really nice and /validating!!/ to have had explicit, on page representation for demisexuality if that was the case, especially given the inclusion of the casually queer representation of lesbian and a bisexual woman in this book.

I really enjoyed reading this Mumbai romance, and I look forward to reading more from Swati Hedge! Thank you, Netgalley and Random House Publishing/Dell, for the ARC!