If you're also a sucker for a childhood friends to lovers story, I think you're going to love Match Me if You Can. While I thought the main characters were enjoyable, the magic was really in the robust and lovable cast of side characters!

I could see someone describing this as being very trope-heavy, but I actually thought it was done well, particularly for a debut author! Thank you to NetGalley and Dell Publishing for the ARC!

This was an adorable debut novel set in beautiful Mumbai where two friends struggle with their feelings for each other and other things life throws at them before they eventually realize they belong together and can tackle anything the world throws at them. Jaiman knows he's been in love with Jia basically since he was a teenager, but Jia is slow to realize her feelings for him are just as strong.

These two grew up together, their parents are best friends and when Jaiman's parents left to America, he stayed behind, falling into a comfortable routine between Jia's family and the Pub that he's put all his time, money, and energy into. This was a really heartwarming story and they had such a cute relationship. Jaiman was so patient with her, even though he thought he would never get his happily ever after with her. Jia was stubborn and a little miscommunication about something she overheard kept her from realizing just how obvious his love for her was. Everyone around them knew it, it just took her nearly losing him to realize how strongly she felt about him too.

This was super cute and a wonderful debut! Thank you to Dell/Random House Publishing and Swati for the ARC!

Cute summer read alert!!!

If you, like me, have been wanting a fresh written take on Emma, I’ve got excellent new for you. It’s modern, it’s Desi, it takes place in Mumbai - I’ve never been, but Swati writes in a way that sweeps you away to let you walk beside these characters in the city, and along the sea.

Jia is working for a magazine writing the love/relationship column during the day and writing for her blog (also sometimes during the work day), but her dream is to become a matchmaker, and has successfully found two couples love so far. When her proposal to try her matchmaking skills for the magazine and its readers doesn’t impress her boss, she negotiates to do a trial run for someone at the company…and she knows exactly who will be perfect together.

Jaiman is the owner of a (struggling) pub and a childhood friend of Jia’s. He’s basically an honorary member of their family and watching him interact with Jia’s father, sister and brother in law was so sweet. Mixing drinks is his passion, but when Jia waltzes in with her coworkers one evening and tells him about her plan, he can see trouble brewing, even when she can’t. Jaiman is so adorable but also very ‘old man yells at cloud’ about some things.

The side characters are so full of life, I’d love to see more stories about them. But let me tell youuuuu. I am a SUCKER for childhood friends to lovers in that no one knows me better than you way(I always get nervous it won’t end in love lol), and the way it all unfolds in Match me if you Can??? Exactly right. Was there a hiccup or two getting there? Yes. Was there an accidentally on purpose kiss that they’re awkward about? Also yes. Come for the romance, get roped in by the lives being lived, and stay for the heart of it. Family, friends, found family and love.

Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde is a charming romance novel that explores the journey from friends to lovers. This heartwarming story is sure to satisfy your craving for a sweet and uplifting read, leaving you feeling content and joyful.

I was intrigued to read a modern-day Emma adaptation set in my home city of Mumbai. Emma isn't a favourite Austen book but I wanted to see how it would transpose in this particular context. There were some enjoyable, genuine bits, but most of this felt like the writer took too much on with her supporting narrative threads much to the detriment of the development of the leads. The writing style and narrative voice -- and this is a personal preference -- was not my cup of tea, which is always a roadblock when it comes to my enjoyment of a romcom, in particular. There will be many readers who'll enjoy this; it just wasn't for me.

Jia likes to matchmake for others but what about her own love life? What about Jaiman, who is practically part of her chaotic Mumbai family? These two- the fashionista columnist and pub owner-do the slow burn friends to lovers thing throughout this entertaining rom com. Yes it's a bit trope-y but in the best way- the Jane Austen way. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A fun read.

Jia and Jaiman were both a bit bull headed and had abysmal communications skills. This friends to lovers romance could have progressed better with just, like, one meaningful conversation. A lot of the dialogue felt stilted and the main characters were a bit immature. Jia was overconfident in a way that rubbed me wrong, because she was making some decisions on the behalf of others without awareness of how she was hurting them. However, matchmaking is outside of my ken, so it’s possible that her foibles are just par for the course; part of the learning curve that any aspiring match maker would face.
I did like that Jia was unapologetically stereotypically girly and that she stayed far away from the “not like other girls” scene. She had her moments of being a genuine friend and person. Jaiman had his relatable moments, with a complex relationship with his parents and feelings of inferiority when he wasn’t super successful with his pub. The story dragged at times, but did have its good moments.

Spice: 2/5 closed door

Triggers: parent death from cancer (off page), unwanted kiss

Jia Deshpande is an aspiring matchmaker working for Mumbai’s top women’s magazine Mimosa. She’s tasked with successfully setting up a new coworker for a shot at a column of her own. Meanwhile her childhood friend Jaiman Patil has been trying to hide the fact that he’s been in love with her for longer than he can remember.

Despite having shamefully never read Jane Austen, I’m familiar with the story Emma because Clueless is one of my favorite movies of all time. This adaptation of it was really fresh and charming, and I loved the Mumbai setting!

The friends to lovers trope was executed really well here, and I always love pining of which Jaiman did plenty.

This was a really lovely debut and I look forward to what Swati Hedge writes next!

Dating Dr. Dil meets Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na 🫶 Normally, I dislike the miscommunication trope but the seamless writing, eventful plot, Mumbai aesthetics, and dorky characters made this book quite the desi beach read for me this summer.🩷✨

Thank you Netgalley and Colored Pages Book Tours for my e-ARC :)

good mystery and i loved the friends too. I really enjoyed the romance and how it solved . I also loved reading this author. Really enjoyed her friends. Great book.

This is my first read from Swati Hegde and it won't be the last! I enjoyed getting to know each character and the descriptions of Mumbai. The slow burn in this book was excruciating! So much back and forth and will they or won't they? Fortunately, the end result made up for the angst!

I always enjoy an opportunity to learn more about another culture, especially the Indian culture. Matchmaking is such an interesting concept, and I like that Jia (the FMC) thinks she is one. She wants to make that her job instead of working for a magazine. Of course she doesn't believe she will ever find someone for herself but is good at making matches for others. Her best friend, Jaiman, owns a pub that is struggling. As can be typical, Jia doesn't see Jaiman as a romantic interest even though it seems like he does. It seems like this should not really be categorized as a romance as that aspect of the book happens in the last part of the book. It definitely seems secondary to everything else. Overall an interesting book but I felt a bit duped thinking I was going to get more romance.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

If you like Jane Austen's Emma, this book is for you. I happen to love Emma so I loved this!

I am so surprised this is a debut book. The writing is captivating and brings the reader on a romantic journey with Mumbai as the setting. Match Me If You Can is fun, humorous and filled with heart. I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships with not only each other but their families.

I wanted a bit more from the romance. I think a few extra scenes with just Jai & Jaiman would have solved this problem. The love declaration was so romantic and I did like the pining from Jaiman (not gonna lie). Jai is a difficult character to love at first, but that's the point. Emma isn't the best version of herself at the beginning of the book and neither is Jai. I think the author did a great job interpreting the Emma characters and putting her own unique spin on them.

Overall, a fun debut! Can't wait to see what else this author has to offer.

I unfortunately decided to DNF Match Me If You Can. I got about 20% into the book and was frustrated by the miscommunication and secret feelings. I read a friends review and it seems that’s how the book stays so I decided not to waste my time and finish it. Disregard star rating.

This contemporary romance takes place in India and I was really excited for it! I was expecting a sweet, closed door romance. I think this book does perhaps deliver on that premise, however I had a really hard time with the romance aspect of it. The bulk of the book is filled with miscommunications and secret feelings. So secret, that our FMC Jia doesn't even recognize she's in love with the MMC until 84% into the book! I needed there to be much more romance earlier on - and I'm not talking spicy stuff. I'm talking like lingering looks, a brush of the hand, an almost kiss! But we got basically none of that until the last 15% of the book and then all of a sudden they're sleeping together and telling each other "I love you". The pacing issues were something I just ultimately couldn't get over.

I also got really frustrated with Jia especially in the beginning of the book - she ended up growing on me a bit, but honestly my favorite character was the matchmaker who told Jia like it is and basically read her to filth.

Thank you to Dell Romance for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this! The writing was addictive and the chemistry between Jia and Jaiman was great! this was the ultimate slow burn. I did find that at times Jia frustrated ,e a little bit with how set in her ways and stubborn she was. But, overall, a great read!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this E-ARC!

I think the Indian culture is so incredibly fascinating! I enjoyed that aspect of this book. There was a lot of googling since I am very unfamiliar with most of the clothing and food names. It was very cool. I’ve always wanted to go to an Indian wedding. Their festivities and traditions are beautiful.

I did enjoy this book. It was fun. There were times where I felt it dragged on a little. Some things could have been shortened or left out.

You follow Jia, who wants to be a matchmaker and set people up. That’s how her parents met and she’s had two successful matches before.
You also follow her best friend Jaiman. He owns his own pub, which is unfortunately struggling a little at the moment.

Jia doesn’t believe in “the one”. She has never been able to find someone who gives her butterflies but she wants to be able to find that special someone for everyone else!

Read this books to find out if she does or doesn’t.

While I liked the premise and story, Jia was just totally unlikeable to me. I like Jaiman but through much of the story was wishing he'd like someone else. It reads well and is a fun setting etc, but I had a hard time due to this. The ending is also quite rushed and could have been done in a better way after all the build up. Kind of a let down.

3.5 stars rounded up

This book took me a while to get through and I have a lot of conflicting feelings about it.

Jia is a writer who works for a magazine and doesn’t necessarily believe in what she writes for them. The place that she can give her true feelings is on her anonymous blog where she focuses on disputing the articles her work publishes. She has dreams of starting a millennial matchmaking business in Mumbai because she feels like matchmakers are very important but that many of them are outdated and struggle matchmaking millennials. The majority of this book focuses on her dreams and attempting to matchmake two of her coworkers.

This book had so much in it that I loved! The imagery of Mumbai was so well done and this book just gave off such vibrant Desi vibes. I loved that feeling of being thrown into Mumbai. The vibes of this book were so good. I also loved all of the side characters and the matchmaking plot. I enjoyed watching Jia grow over the course of this novel, and really come into herself. I loved the relationships she had with her friends and family.

I feel like this book would have benefited from removing the romance plotline. I know this is strange coming from me because I primarily read romance and this is a romance book. My issue is that the romance plot is on the back burner for the majority of this book. I loved Jaiman and he was the most patient man on this earth. I struggled with Jia. Jia is a matchmaker, but she struggles to see things that are right in front of her. The relationship felt like an after thought and was slightly forced. It was also such a minor part of this story that I feel like it could have been removed and this book would have been just as good if not better.

This book was also very slow to start. I really struggled to get into it, but overall I did enjoy this book.

The premise of this book spoke to me, but the execution was not there. I felt zero chemistry between the MC’s, and the plot just had way too much going on.

I don’t mind a bit of miscommunication, but this was rife with it and I just could not get past the fact that these two people needed to have one truthful conversation and everything would be fine.