This one was ok. I found myself having a hard time connecting to the characters. I did enjoy the match making aspect of the story. I also enjoyed the setting of India, as this was somewhere I haven't read a lot of books set in. The story was just a little too slow for me.

"Match Me If You Can" is a delightful romance novel that beautifully blends friends-to-lovers and matchmaking tropes within a vibrant Indian setting. The story follows Jia, a magazine writer with strong opinions on relationships and a secret blog, who is given the chance to prove her matchmaking skills at work. Jaiman, a pub owner secretly in love with Jia, offers a contrasting character full of vulnerability and determination, making their slow-burn romance compelling. While Jia's character can be frustrating at times, the growth she undergoes adds depth to her journey towards understanding true love. The depiction of Indian culture, from colourful festivals to family dynamics, enriches the story, making it an immersive and engaging read.

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
🫶🏼 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
💝 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨
✨ 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
♥️ 𝘏𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 & 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳
🔥 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯
🚪 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦

This was a sweet book. I mean doesn’t love a Jane Austen retelling? The story moved fast and the characters were (mostly) likeable. I had some issues with Jia — she had strong opinions on relationships which is great but I’m not sure why she thought she should be a matchmaker. Yes, she’d successfully set up two couples but she had no actually plan or strategy to do it again. She was just foisting her opinions on others. (I get it that’s how Clueless err I mean Emma goes but it bothered me.

On the other hand Jaimon was a great character and I felt like we got a better sense of who he was and his interior life. He was a catch but I wasn’t always sure why he was so into Jia.

This is probably sounded more negative than I intend it to be because I did enjoy the book and would recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the arc!

I tried really hard with this book. So much so that I powered through and read until the end even though I wanted to DNF a lot of times. My main issue with the book is that the majority of it was really boring because of the main plot and main characters. I went into this being told it was a fun friends to lovers trope, but Jia and Jaiman rarely ever felt like best friends. One of Jaiman's main personality traits is that his father is unsupportive of his career so Jia, her sister, and her dad become his family while his parents live in America. This would make you think that Jia, knowing Jaiman's strained relationship with his dad, would be happy that her dad and him were so close. But no. Instead, in Jia's inner monologue, she complains about how often Jaiman is at her house and complains about how much time he spends with her dad and her sister. Another thing I think this book would have benefited from were flashback scenes of Jia and Jaiman's friendship throughout the years. Reading over 300 pages of this book still did not give me any information of how and why they are best friends who are secretly in love and "meant to be." The ending is also very unsatisfying since it is so rushed, so the pacing of the whole book always felt off.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced e-copy of Match Me If You Can, in exchange for an honest review.

Match Me if You Can' is a beautiful romance novel that deftly blends the tropes of friends-to-lovers, found family, and miscommunication with a lively Indian backdrop.

The story revolves around Jia and Jaiman, two ambitious individuals navigating the challenges of life and love. Jia, a talented journalist, yearns for recognition at her job, while Jaiman, a struggling pub owner, strives to prove his worth to his family.

The characters are well-developed and relatable. Jia's determination and Jaiman's vulnerability make them both endearing and inspiring. The author skillfully weaves in real-life cultural moments and struggles that Indian people face, adding depth and authenticity to the story.

The romance between Jia and Jaiman is a slow burn that gradually unfolds with undeniable chemistry. The friends-to-lovers trope is executed with finesse, creating a believable and satisfying connection between the characters. The miscommunication that arises adds tension and keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

One of the standout aspects of the novel is the vibrant depiction of Indian culture. The author seamlessly incorporates Indian elements into the narrative, from colorful festivals to traditional values. This cultural richness adds a unique dimension to the story and immerses readers in a world beyond their own.

The writing is engaging and fluid, making the book a page-turner. The author's ability to convey emotions and create a sense of place is commendable. However, the pacing could have been slightly tighter in some sections.

Overall, 'Match Me if You Can' is a highly enjoyable and immersive romance novel that explores themes of ambition, cultural identity, and the power of love. The well-developed characters, well thought-out plot, and alluring Indian setting make this book a must-read for fans of contemporary romance and multicultural fiction.
This was a 4 Star read for me!

📖𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐞 𝐈𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐢 𝐇𝐞𝐠𝐝𝐞

“𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘫𝘪𝘨𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘱𝘶𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘫𝘪𝘨𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘱𝘶𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭.“

It was amazing to experience the Indian culture and references through this story! The setting for the story is Mumbai.

This book has one of the sweetest MMCs I’ve ever read. Jaiman is so hopelessly in love with Jia, his childhood friend. Jia, a writer for a women’s magazine, fancies herself a matchmaker. Secretly she has a really successful blog where she gives advice on love. Her boss gives her an opportunity to prove her matchmaking skills by helping her coworker find love.

Overall, I enjoyed this book! Jia was a hard character for me to relate to at times because she was so set in her ways that she knew what was best for her coworker. At times I was really frustrated with her, but ultimately, she had to grow up and realize that there’s more to love than just being a perfect match.

Jaiman deserves the world! He’s seriously the freaking sweetest. I loved the found family that he developed with Jia’s family. His own father was just waiting for Jaiman’s dream of running a successful pub to crash and burn. He was so lucky to have such great people supporting him at the end.

This is a closed door romance with only kissing on page! ♥️

If you love matchmaking stories rich in culture, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐞 𝐈𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐚𝐧 releases on June 4!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
🫶🏼 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
💝 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨
✨ 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
♥️ 𝘏𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 & 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳
🔥 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯
🚪 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦

This was such a cute fun read. Definite Emma meets Mumbai vibes in this Desi romance. But be warned it is a slow slow burn and it is closed door. I have no issue with those two things however….. I HATE miscommunication and this one was MOST of the book. But that’s my fault and not the books. Overall I did enjoy it despite that and Jia’s ability to make me SO angry. On occasion I wanted to be like girl what are you doing?!?!

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC.
This debut novel is a charming romcom with well-written prose. The Indian culture and family themes add depth, and the clean romance is a refreshing change. However, the slow burn lacked payoff, and the pacing tested my patience. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with the characters, and the lack of communication frustrated me.
That being said if you like the following, you may enjoy this book.
🩷an all-BIPOC cast⁣
🩷childhood frenemies to lovers⁣
🩷he's loved her this whole time⁣ trope
🩷FOUND FAMILY
🩷an anonymous dating advice blog⁣
🩷foodie romance⁣
🩷Set in Mumbai, India

This book was lovely, sweet, precious and SO FRUSTRATING. The miscommunication in this book was abhorrent between the two main characters, but it did result in a truly interesting dynamic that played out so uniquely at the end.

Absolutely recommend this book & thanks to the NetGalley team for the ARC!

Despite having sworn off three star reviews for 2024, Swati Hedge's slow-burn, friends-to-lovers, "Emma in Mumbai" debut romance forced my hand—not quite four star worthy but definitely deserving of more than two. Match Me If You Can was, in a word, fine.

Overall, the book was fun and enjoyable but, for me, a handful of major weaknesses kept pulling me out of the story and left me with an ending impression of "it could have been so much better." Some of the plot points felt fumbled—the 'anonymous messaging' trope, for example, came across as particularly forced because of the dual-perspectives narration.

Also, I get that the matchmaking angle was supposed to give the novel a strong Desi vibe, but it ultimately felt both overdone and under-developed. If I hadn't happened to watch Meet the Patels (2014) before cancelling my Netflix account a handful of years ago, I would have had no frame of reference for how Jia's approach was all that different from modern-traditional Indian matchmaking. Not to mention that, even after reading the entire novel, I'd be hard pressed to articulate what Jia's approach even was. This is compounded when the ONE scene with a long-time matchmaker highlights Jia's selfishness and matchmaking faux pas.

All of that being said, and considering I just characterized the female protagonist as selfish (and immature and willfully obtuse), I really loved Jaiman, the male MC and pining pub owner who more than earns his HEA. His backstory was satisfyingly complex, and his inner struggle was well balanced against his actions and decisions. I have a sneaking suspicion that I would've enjoyed the novel more had it been written strictly from his p.o.v.

In the end, if you've watched and enjoyed Bride and Prejudice (2004)—even if (especially if) you wished it'd had an all-Indian cast—you'll probably enjoy Match Me If You Can. You'll no doubt enjoy it even more if you pair it with a bespoke cocktail or three.

Match Me If You Can

Jia dreams of being a matchmaker in Mumbai, but she’s stuck in a soulless job. Her best friend Jaiman owns a slowly declining pub. Their lives are intertwined and they’ve been best friends their entire lives. When Jia gets the opportunity to advance at work if she successfully sets up a coworker with a match, she jumps at the chance, hoping it’s finally the opportunity to live her dream.

MMIYC is light and sweet and <i> earnest </i>. Jia and Jaiman are truly idiots to lovers (if you don’t come from a fic background, this is NOT derogatory) and they’ve both been in love with each other…forever. They’re sweet and a little awkward and adorable. I think one thing that really drew me to this is Jia’s matchmaking aspirations with zero experience, because you just know there will be missteps and pitfalls along the way!

MMIYC is a sweet, slow burn closed door romance that will be perfect for fans of Melissa Ferguson or Katherine Center, or books where the first kiss doesn’t happen until the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC! This book will be available 6/4/24.

Plain and simple, I loved this book.

When I started reading the first few pages, I thought to myself, this feels like Sex and the City but in Mumbai. Then — very quickly — I realized WAIT NO this is *Emma* but set in Mumbai!! It had been a minute since I read the plot summary and when I realized this was a retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, I was smiling and giggling like sweet little Miss Bates.

This book is what a good romantic comedy should be: witty, funny, romantic, and of course featuring two very hunky people who are in utter denial about their feelings for each other. I cannot believe with the plot of Emma centering around matchmaking that there hasn’t a Desi or Indian twist on this story until this point (at least that I have read or heard about). The themes are so aligned which makes this such an amazing retelling. The original plot points are not forced in the slightest (which can often be an issue with retellings of older classics), and there is such a freshness to the story. The writing was also lighthearted and well paced. I felt like I was standing in the hot Mumbai evenings with Jia and Jaiman in so many scenes.

This is a closed door romance. So while there is definitely tension and plenty of smooching, there are no explicit scenes. If you are familiar with the story of Emma, you’ll know that this is a classic lifelong friends-to-lovers story. AND JAMAIN SAYS THE MISTER KNIGHTLY QUOTE YOU GUYS I AM ON THE FLOOR.

I will definitely be recommending this to all my friends who want a fun romcom with a diverse cast or are looking for a modern twist on a classic Austen tale. Thank you so much to Dell Romance for sending me a physical ARC and to Dell/NetGalley for a digital ARC as well!

4.5 ⭐️

An Emma retelling set in Mumbai?! Yes please! Swati Hegde’s MATCH ME IF YOU CAN was a total blast. It releases June 4th and is available for preorder wherever books are sold!

Jia Deshpande spends her days writing about love for Mumbai’s top women’s magazine and her nights meddling with—sorry, matchmaking—her loved ones, much to the chagrin of her lifelong family friend, Jaiman. She’s determined to leverage her love expertise into a matchmaking business. When her boss dangles a matchmaking column in front of her, Jia throws herself into the project that will win it for her once and for all: finding her new sweet, slightly awkward colleague the perfect match.

Despite his grumbling and teasing, Jaiman has spent his whole life mesmerized by his childhood best friend, Jia. Even though he’s unwilling to risk his relationship with her whole family, Jaiman can’t move on. Instead, he focuses all his attention on his other love—his pub.

But when Jia’s matchmaking goes sideways, Jaiman’s pub starts to struggle, and their relationship gets infinitely more complicated from a few charged moments, both will have to figure out what they want, and just want they’re willing to risk to get it.

I loved these two! They have epic friends-to-lovers energy, and those charged moments were everything. Swati did an incredible job balancing such a huge cast, with some stunning side plots. It was a fun, fast, romantic read and a great way to kick off the summer!!

I really enjoy reading romances that aren't centered in the US. I love learning about different cultures and reading about all of the different foods. Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines and they have some of the most beautiful clothing I've ever seen. So, I had to request Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde as soon as I read the blurb.

Jia is our confident, strong FMC. She works for Mimosa India, a lifestyle magazine distributed in India to over 1 million readers. Her dating advice column is good, but her real passion is the anonymous blog she runs, Love Better With J.

Jaiman, the handsome pub owner, has known Jia since they were in diapers. He is hopelessly in love with Jia, who is completely oblivious to that fact.

Jia has a genius idea for the magazine, a matchmaking service for the readers. She decided to set up her coworker, Charu, as her trial run to prove to the editor that she can do this. Her carefully laid plans are thrown out the door when she brings Charu to Jaiman's pub.

This book had me laughing, tearing up, internally screaming. I love the way the author describes Jia's fashion. I did have to Google the names of some of the outfits to be able to visualize it because I hadn't seen them before. But after that, I was able to watch the book in my head as I read along. Match Me If You Can is a beautiful story about friendship, communication, found family, and love. I can't wait to add a physical copy of this to my shelf.

As always, thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the advance copy!

Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde is the perfect romance for the summer.

It's fun, hilarious, emotional slow-burn friends-to-lovers. I really loved the scenery that Swati gave in the book. It sets the scene in Mumbai and it felt like I was watching the romantic comedy-dramas that I grew up watching. I loved getting to read another culture and how similar it can me to mine and how we can all relate on some level. Jia tries to set up her coworker with the perfect match to but things don't always go as planned and as it turns out. her childhood friend, Jaiman has been pining and in love with her so Jia's match making plan doesn't go as planned but I loved the slow burn, will they? won't they? please just kiss type of dynamic. It felt so perfect seeing two people that you just knew were meant to be finally fall in love. This book is absolutely a must read, with desi rep in the romance genre, readers will absolutely love this story. It has hilarious moments, heartwarming, steamy romance and the details and scenery will make you feel like you're just there and make you want to book your flight. It is an absolute must read for the romantics that love friends to lovers and want to feel like theyre watching a romcom film.

thank you netgalley and random house for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!!

I loved it so much! its a closed door family friend romance. From the start i was immediately sucked in and i finished this in TWO days!! I loved that Jia was a relationship columnist who wanted to be a matchmaker. Jaiman was a culinary graduate with a struggling business but nothing compared to the ease he felt being in his found family and being around Jia.

I thought this was the best frilly romance read, it was such a fast read and other than them obviously keeping their feelings a secret and not fully understanding them because they’ve been in this groove their whole lives Jia couldn’t distinguish normalcy over what a relationship actually is- they would’ve ended up together a lot sooner but then what would the concept of this novel be if they did?!

I loved this and can’t wait for everyone else to enjoy it too!!

A really sweet easy read! This book was set in Mumbai which was a nice change compared to a typical rom-com, although I often forgot it wasn't set in the US or something tbh, but I love Bollywood movies so I did enjoy all the Indian references.

Jia is the main character and she works at a magazine but runs a secret blog and dreams of becoming a matchmaker. She's in love with her family friend and he feels the same but neither will admit it until near the end of the book, it's definitely a slow burn but not in a frustrating way like is sometimes the case.

There were a lot of sweet moments and funny banter, I loved the side characters too and would definitely enjoy it if the author decided to write a book for one of them. Either way I'll definitely be looking to see what she does next.

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!

Match Me If You Can
Swati Hedge
304 pages
Pub Day: June 4
Genre: Romance
Gifted: Dell Romance
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was such a sweet little romance. 🥰

Synopsis:
Jai is a romance columnist for a Mumbai’s top women’s magazine. But she doesn’t like her job and dreams of being a modern matchmaker. Jaiman is her childhood family friend. They grew up together and shared a kiss a year ago that she can’t stop thinking about.

My Thoughts:
This was such a cute debut desi romance that kept me smiling. I’m a sucker for a childhood friends to lovers with a letter writing element.

What You’ll Find:
📝Letter writing
💕Childhood friends to lovers
🍹Cute cocktails
💞Matchmaking
🔥Slow burn
✊All BIPOC cast
🏠Found family

This was not good. Everything felt trite and overdone and SO predictable. This book has been written before - and better .
Thanks to Net Galley, the author and publisher for the arc

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review*

I was DESPERATE to love this book and unfortunately, much of it fell flat for me. However, I do think this will land with many readers especially if you love:

-slowburns
-he's loved her all his life
-baddie confident FMC
-pining
-food and cocktails
-closed door romances

What I LOVED about this book was the setting in Mumbai and all the Indian culture woven into this! Absolutely immaculate, it made me want to hop on a plane immediately!!!! I also loved the side characters! Charu and Damini are my GIRLS, I am quite literally obsessed with them and I'm really hoping they get their own books! I also loved Anushman and Tanu, their love was so sweet and they are great friends to both Jia and Jaiman.

Now, where the story fell flat was with our main characters. Yes, Jia is a BADDIE but she was also so self-centered and her development didn't come through until close to the very end. She was just not a pleasant character to follow for me. And Jaiman was so in love with her and so sweet but he was so passive, not only with his love for Jia but with his pub and his career. They both kept talking about what they wanted out of life but never went for it until the last 15% of the book. The romance also really didn't pick up until about then as well. I knew these two loved each other, I just could not understand why they loved each other.

Thank you again to Netgalley for this ARC! While I didn't love it as much as I had hoped, if Damini gets her own book you better believe I'll be the first in line to grab it!!!