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Member Reviews

So, I'm a little torn with this story, the plot seemed very compelling to me, and I had read some very enthusiastic reviews, so I had very high expectations. Unfortunately, however, I often risked abandoning this story. I found it a bit slow, then I found the slow burn too slow, even for my tastes. The characters didn't convince me, they didn't give me that vibe of interest that usually captures me and makes me passionate about reading. But I still want to give an average rating (3 stars), because it's not that bad. Thanks to the publishing house and Netgalley, for giving me the opportunity to preview this book.

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i had high hopes for this because this was pretty much an emma retelling and i was intrigued by a romance set in mumbai! but tbh the tropes should’ve warned me

📚jia (amateur matchmaker and romance writer for a magazine in mumbai) needs to prove her skills to her boss. jaiman (honorary member of jia’s family and owner of a struggling local pub) needs to get over his feelings for jia. when one of her matchmaking schemes gets messy, jia is forced to face her simmering feelings and reevaluate her own idea of true love

i really liked the family dynamics and the deep friendship jia and jaiman share. that was the perfect formula for a sweet romance. i generally tend feel like the combo of slow burn + friends to lovers makes for a pretty boring story that drags on. i don’t think this book was the exception for me

the premise had so much potential, but the longer it went on the more stilted the story felt. the dialogue was forced, all the characters sounded the same, and i was dyyyying for some chemistry (any chemistry!!) whether between the love interests or any of the side characters

overall it was super low stakes and mostly predictable … which could be seen as cozy and charming, but to me it was just frustrating

if you like…
🫶lots and lots of pining
💁‍♀️an oblivious fmc
🍹creative cocktails
🎀emma / clueless vibes
📖a quick and easy read
…then read this!

thank you netgalley and dell for a copy of this arc!

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-Friends To Lovers (Will They, Won't They)
-Slow Burn
-Matchmaking

"Match Me If You Can" was an enjoyable read.

I really liked reading Jia and Jaiman's story, their deep rooted friendship was sweet and heartwarming, I felt like they both showed good character growth throughout the book. Their romance definitely had the slow burn element to it, well worth the wait but it took a little bit to get to that point. I always expect to find the "will they or won't they" angst in a Friends to Lovers plot and that was a factor in this story also.

Overall this was definitely a good reading experience and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

Thank you Swati Hedge , Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group- Dell for providing me with an ARC of this book.

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Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde is a marvelous debut!
A fun and engaging friends-to-lovers romance that kept me glued to my Kindle.
The story is well-written, engaging and delightful on all levels. The characters are realistic, funny and so very awesome you'll wish they were real.
Right from the very beginning I found myself fully immersed in this tale.

Thank You NetGalley and Random House | Dell for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

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This was a sweet debut novel that was a cute and light contemporary romance featuring Jai and Jaiman, childhood friends in Mumbai. Jaiman runs a pub and Jia works at a magazine with aspirations of starting her own matchmaking service. If Emma was a modern-day rom com set in Mumbai, this is it! The modern twist on an Austen classic is a lot of fun.

*Read if you're looking for*
-closed door romance
-a diverse cast of characters
-childhood friends to lovers
-miscommunication trope
-pining

Where I struggled with this story was the insane amount of miscommunication between the characters, Jia's treatment of Jaiman, and a slow burn that the pace of the book felt off. I struggled to connect to the MCs because of the miscommunication. The burn was so slow, it was like at the last 10% that things finally got moving. I was relieved to find no third act break up, but it makes sense because there wasn't any room for it. The side cast felt easier to be invested in for most of the book. All in all, this was a solid debut. There were things I didn't enjoy because of personal taste in romance (hi miscommunication!) but the world building of Mumbai was beautiful, I just liked that writing to that about the MCs. Jai was just very unlikeable without the cause to explain her outlook.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dell Romance, and Random House for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

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Great rom book, perfect for fans of friends to lovers trope. Really enjoyed the different characters in the book & the friends who become family concept in the book. The chemistry between Jia & Jaimin is electric! Perfect summer beach read!

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I can’t believe this was a debut novel! Match Me If You Ca was a delightful romcom with great character development. I love the international background. I didn’t love the miscommunication trope (just not a favor for mine). I love a dual POV and friends to lovers!

Thank you #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This cover drew me in and I stayed for the story. I got swept up into the vibrant city of Mumbai and the life of Jia, a fashionista with a talent for matchmaking who navigates life and relationships while juggling her job at Mimosa, Mumbai’s largest women’s magazine and secretly running an anonymous blog about love. Jia steeps to set up her coworker with her perfect match in order to secure her dream column at the magazine. Meanwhile, her lifelong best friend, Jaiman, has been harboring serious feelings for her but doesn’t know how to tell her. As her matchmaking endeavors go askew, it risks her friendships and her relationship with Jaiman, they both discover that love is far more complicated than imagined.
There lots of “will they or won’t they” even though you know that in then end they will, the journey was fun and engaging. I loved the Desi vibe and setting captures the essence of Mumbai and all the traditions and celebrations. I can’t wait to see what the author writes next.
Thanks to Dell Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

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Match Me If You Can is such a fun debut! The history between Jia and Jaiman, and Jia's matchmaking schemes kept me turning the page. I also enjoyed the cast of characters!

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This book contained many pluses: from being set in India and taking the rom-com setting fully abroad, to incorporating different tropes, to a satisfying character development. There were moments I wanted to pull out my hair but dealt with the frustration all in the interest of the plot, of course. Also, I really want a Whipped Rose.

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I really liked the concept for Match Me If You Can, however the style and pacing just weren’t for me and made it very difficult to immerse myself and enjoy the story. A lot of information was overly repetitive and took away from the events, the characters and their conflicts felt surface level and immature. Jaiman was my favorite character but I just never felt truly emotionally connected to him. Jia’s matchmaking really pushed the boundaries of manipulation and it left me feeling uncomfortable. This book just wasn’t for me.

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This was a cute love story! I enjoyed the backdrop of Mumbai and the women’s magazine. The childhood friendship between Jia and Jaiman led to a very sweet romance, although the slow burn seemed to drag a bit. This was a bit much miscommunication for me, but it was still enjoyable.

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This was a cute debut romance novel between two friends who struggle to sort out their feelings for one another. I really enjoyed the concept where Jia is a writer for Mimosa who struggles to believe in the things she writes. Her real feelings are written in her anonymous blog, where she disputes articles that her work is publishing.

I really enjoyed the relationships outside of the romance in this one, and thought the book focused more on these than the main romance itself. I wish I felt more connected to the MC's, but I struggled with the miscommunication and felt like communication as a whole was lacking between the love interests.

Overall, this is a cute, fun, and light read.

Read if you're interested in:
- Closed door romance
- Friends to lovers and miscommunication tropes
- A diverse cast of characters
- Dual POV's

A big thank you to Netgalley and Dell Publishing for the free e-arc of Match Me If You Can by Swait Hedge in exchange for a review!

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I love the matchmaking troupe in Romance novels, especially when (I assume) it’s the match maker who will end up falling in love. The problem with that in Match Me If You Can is the FMC really isn’t really all that much of a likable person. I found her overly critical, hypocritical, and overall stuck on herself and judgmental. I loved the premise of the book, just not the star of the show.

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This was cute but only an okay read for me. I mainly had issues with the FMC as she kind of irritated me. I can see this being a hit for a lot of people, but sadly it wasn't it for me.

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Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's press for the ARC.
This was a friends to lovers rom com set in Mumbai.
I found the FMC to be pretty irritating and immature. She said she was a matchmaker and could find anyone a match as she claimed she was very good at it but didn't have any experience herself really in the relationship department.
She meddled in her co-workers love life to the point that it messed up her co-workers love life.
I just found the FMC very full of herself and it was difficult to enjoy the book because of it.
The book wasn't boring really but the characters were not likeable, in my opinion.
The book has a ton of miscommunication between the FMC and MMC so if that is your thing, you may enjoy this book.

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This was just okay. I really really liked Jaiman but had a hard time relating to or rooting or Jia. All the miscommunications was also not a hit for me. I loved Jia's co-workers and family and everything about Jaiman. It was an overall enjoyable and quick read! Perfect for sitting by a beach!

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2.75 Stars

First of all thank you so much to Netgalley and Random house for the E-ARC. This was the first ever ARC I received and I’m so grateful!!

Second of all, unfortunately I just don’t think this was my kind of book. Since I was graciously gifted this book this review will be far more professional than my other reviews.

To quote the wise words of my friend Marisol, “this book is giving wattpad.” While she didn’t read this book herself, she got to listen to my ranting. The amount of Gen Z and Millennial mentions was tragic. In the nicest way possible, I think the only people who feel the need to express their opinions towards “Gen Zers” are Millennials. I counted about 3 separate references (far too many)

Next, FMCs (female main characters) are so hit or miss for me. Jia, our FMC, was a very disappointing character. There were so many times while reading that I had to put down my kindle and seriously consider if I actually wanted our main couple to get together. I simply found that he was a way better person than her and he deserved better.

I really really really wish Jia’s asexual tendencies could have been explored more! It could have been such a good sub plot to have her explore that deeper instead of just burying these feelings and then never speaking about them again. When she never mentioned it again I wondered what was the point of even bringing it up. The author could have even just explained that she only felt sexual attraction to people once Jai really got to know them, but instead the whole asexual characteristic was swept under the rug.

Fortunately there was no 3rd act break up. Unfortunately, the slow burn was so slow that it would have been weird to have a 3rd act break up. I felt that at the end the author realized that there was slim to none romance and then shoved it all into one, going from nothing more than (mostly one sided) sexual tension to love confessions. I’m not one to say how realistic things are (turning to my lack of experience in the romantic field and my love of rom coms) but I just found it unrealistic.

I’m growing tired of the same predictable FMCs and the pushover MMCs. You don’t know how many times I wanted to shake Jaiman and tell him to snap out of it and tell Jia to go sit in the corner and think about her actions.

Lastly I would like to recognize the author. While this may not have been my favorite book it’s clear that they put an insane amount of effort into this book and I’m all for representation of all cultures. It gives me more to learn about and take a deeper dive into the traditions that I had no idea existed.

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What a lovely debut book by Swati Hegde! Match Me if You Can is a slowburn contemporary romance set in Mumbai and follows Jia and Jaiman, two childhood friends in the mid to late twenties. Jaiman runs a pub and Jia works at a magazine, trying to convince her boss to let her start a modern day matchmaking service.

I wasn't very convinced at the beginning of the book that our two leads were actually childhood best friends because of how Jia acted towards Jaiman, but as the story progresses, we learn why Jia acts the way she does towards him. Also, the miscommunication didn't really make sense based on the conversation Jia overheard- it was obvious to me that Jaiman was defending Jia and telling the other guys not to talk about her that way. I just wasn't fully convinced in the conflict/miscommunication there.

Something else that bothered me was the way Jia reacts to Jaiman being around her family all the time and her trying to get him to have a relationship with his parents (who essentially abandoned him as soon as he turned 18 and don't talk to him often at all). I wish she had been more understanding that her father was a surrogate father for Jaiman and how that is something that Jaiman really needs.

The storylines outside of the romance were fun- I wanted to see what would happen next with the pub and the matchmaking services. I loved our side characters, especially Charu and Damini. I would've loved a full book between Charu and Manoj- a (small) age gap, different types of backgrounds, etc. I loved the sprinkling of their love story we got in the book.

I saw that this author has another book coming out Spring '26- I will definitely be reading it! I can't wait to see what all this author does next.

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The premise itself had so much promise, but sadly this fell short for me. I didn't love Jia. She came off as selfish and presumptuous. Some of her reasonings for her actions and thoughts were incredibly frustrating. There was also too much miscommunication and misunderstandings between her and Jaiman. I did love the Indian cultural representation in this book. The holidays, festivities, the description of the food and dresses at these events were beautiful and it was really fun reading a story that was set in Mumbai. I just I wish I loved the characters more.

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