This book was just “meh” for me. I felt like I was reading it because I had to finish it instead of reading it because I wanted to finish it. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was.

Jia is an aspiring matchmaker but struggles with finding her own love. Jaiman is her childhood friend and supporter. Their friends to lovers story was quite the slow burn, but enjoyable to read. I appreciated the setting, the plot and the character development. My first introduction to designate. I look forward to reading more.

This was a cute romance read. I loved the fact that it was set in Mumbai, with a pure desi vibe rather than seeing the typical Indian American characters. HOWEVER, Jia was a character that was a little too much to handle and did make the book unenjoyable at times but not too much to make me want to stop reading

It's hard to review a book when you just don't like any character. I am sure for those who didn't mind the characters this was a lovely story of friends to lovers/second chance romance in a way... for me the FMC was a spoiled, self-serving, delusional girl and needed a soul-searching gap year or something like that to mature before being forgiven by everybody and getting with the MMC.

I kept rolling my eyes and was hoping the guy would move away and start over somewhere else.

Nothing should have worked out for her, she should have learned a few lessons from her actions and decisions but alas it was a happy ending for her.

Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde is a delightful and humorous romantic comedy that blends wit, charm, and a heartfelt exploration of love and self-discovery. The story follows a determined protagonist who embarks on a journey to find love through a matchmaking app, leading to unexpected encounters and personal revelations. Hegde’s writing is engaging, filled with light-hearted humor and relatable moments that make the characters and their journey feel authentic. The book explores themes of cultural expectations, independence, and finding love on your own terms, all while delivering plenty of fun and romantic tension. With its clever dialogue and lovable characters, Match Me If You Can is a feel-good read that will leave readers smiling.

I love FMC's who think they know everything discovering that maybe they really don't, and Jia is such an Emma! She's confident she can set up her coworker for a matchmaking column she's writing, and is so engrossed with what she wants to see, she misses out on what is actually happening. Meanwhile, the only man she's ever had feelings for is her childhood best friend. There's a lot of miscommunication to clear (I love it--it's the most realistic trope) to get to the HEAs, and this romcom delivers all the fun, the swoons, and delicious slow burn as well. I loved this book, and a retelling of Emma set in Mumbai felt so wonderfully fresh and exciting.

This was such a cute story. Great for the foodies and who doesn’t love getting lost in a retelling. I haven’t read Emma so can’t confirm how closely it follows the original story but I’ve seen the movie and Clueless and it’s easy to tell the main plot

A fun and entertaining romance! I always love representation of other cultures, it creates a different experience than most of the books we’re exposed to.

3.5 stars

I liked the writing and the characterization. Love seeing a fun contemporary romance set in India, especially one with queer characters! The female MC felt unlikeable in the beginning because of her plot point of finding Charu a partner and her some plot points between the MCs felt not fully fleshed out but overall I enjoyed this and am looking forward to more works by the author!

I loved this book! I laughed in the book and so enjoyed it. The blog she writes is on point! I would definitely recommend this book.

Match Me If You Can was a fun romcom about two long-time friends, unrequited love, and mischievous matchmaking! It felt like a mix of You've Got Mail and Sense and Sensibility in the best of ways and I was thoroughly entertained while reading this one.

One of the best parts of this book were the characters. I really enjoyed my time getting to know them and the ways their stories unfolded. Jia, the protagonist, could be a challenging character to relate to at times; her certainty that she knows what’s best for everyone around her was frustrating at times. She also seemed a bit aloof about real world problems, but I guess in her defense, she openly admits this? Regardless, this caused a disconnection for me at times and I didn’t feel myself fully invested in her character. However, her journey is ultimately one of growth as she learns how to be a better friend, partner, and individual. On the other hand, our male main character, Jaiman, had a great character arc and was really well-developed. I felt like I really understood his actions and characterization which was definitely nice. The romance was a slow-burn that had some pacing issues in my opinion. Mainly, it just felt like the story was building and building, but the construction was a bit never-ending? Having said this, I still felt their storyline was engaging and entertaining enough, but we certainly took the extra-long scenic route in terms of some unnecessary subplots.

Overall, this was a fun friends-to-lovers story that I enjoyed my time with. Anyone who loves gossiping or a bit of matchmaking would certainly have fun with this story as well!

This book was a DNF for me. I got to 30% and decided it was not for me. Hopefully it will be a good fit for someone else!

My only complaint is that I need an audio version because these names are killing me. Great story however.

A friends to lovers that took a bit to suck me in. I thought it was a cute book. Love the setting and MMC. Thank you for the advanced copy.

Overall i give the book a solid 3.6/5!
I loved the india references, the traditional culture part, the matchmaking, the wealth aspect and he cute factor.
But i felt like at times it was just a bit too slow for my liking and there were a couple of plot holes that were solve but felt more like an afterthought at times.

Note: thanks NetGalley and publishers for allowing me an ARC in exchange of honest unbiased feedback.

Match Me If You Can is a wonderful debut novel! A slow burn that kept me engaged the entirety. I do love the childhood friends to lovers trope and I was rooting for Jia and Jaiman the entire time! I absolutely love them together!

I love learning about other cultures and reading romances that aren’t centered in the US - they always make me want to jump on a plane!

3.5 rounded up!
**Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the ARC and the chance to read and review. All opinions are my own**

For a book that talks about communication, there is pretty much NONE until the end. The FMC is absolutely exasperating. I honestly felt bad for the MMC. I was so tempted to DNF because Jia was such a brat.

I think the idea of this book was great but it lacked a little of the execution.
I liked the characters and the match making is a fun twist that I haven’t read often yet but it also fell a little flat for me for some reason.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This is a contemporary Emma adaptation set in Mumbai! Fun! Overall it was not bad but not amazing either. There’s some immaturity here that on the one hand feels like an Emma classic but on the other hand might just be an unrefined author getting her sea legs, and was a little hard for me to get past. There's also a focus on side characters at the beginning that, while true to the original novel, kept me from feeling very engaged.

But ultimately I do love friends-to-lovers and it was fun to see that longing and yearning play out here, with our hero being very aware of his love for the heroine and super dedicated to her for years, and her learning how she feels and coming to terms with it.