Thank you Random House and Dell Romance for my #gifted copy of Match Me If You Can!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐞 𝐈𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐚𝐧
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐢 𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

★★★★★

Match Me If You Can was an absolute delight! I loved everything about this sweet friends to lovers desi romance and I am so excited to read whatever debut author Swati Hedge writes next!

This book gave me such amazing Emma vibes and I LOVED it! I always love modern day retellings, and feel like this one was so well done and I could not get enough! On top of that, I loved the characters. Not only were Jia and Jaiman perfect, but all of the side characters were just great. This book was so fun and oh so sweet! It’s one of those books that will leave you with such a huge smile on your face when you reach the last page, and I love that feeling. This is definitely a book you will not want to miss and I cannot recommend it enough!

💜Desi Romance
💜Set In Mumbai
💜Friends to Lovers
💜Slow Burn
💜Lovable Characters
💜Emma Vibes
💜Matchmaking
💜Closed Door

Posted on Goodreads on May 14, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around May 15, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on June 4, 2024
**-will post on designated date

This book comes out June 4! First of all this story takes place in Mumbai. I love learning about areas and cultures I am less familiar with. Jia is the romance writer for a magazine but she does not believe in love. Jaiman is Jia’s best friend. They have been best friends their entire life. Jaiman owns a pub. It is a friends to lovers. Very very very slow burn, but I liked it. It was a cute story with interesting and dynamic characters.

this book was so great! I loved the vibes it was so fun! Jia and Jaiman were so cute together and i loved their chemistry! the writing was also gorgeous this was great

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Jia is happy to assist a new employee. She is hoping her manager will see how good she is. She is learning that life is more difficult than she thought. I liked this book.

My second surprise Austen retelling in a month - this time it's Emma. Jia is trying to get her matchmaking business off the ground while working for a magazine and trying to come to terms with her feelings for her childhood friend Jaiman. The good - the cover is gorgeous, I loved the location (Mumbai) and loved the BIPOC spin on Emma. The not so good - there was absolutely nothing wrong with this book, it just didn't hit me as hard as I was hoping. I am a huge fan of dual POV and usually wish I got the hero's POV in single POV romances, but I think this book might have benefited from just Jia's perspective? I'll still definitely be on the lookout for what this author releases next.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me this early copy in exchange for my honest review. This novel is set in Mumbai and it was very immersive. This is a slow burn romance, which isn’t everyone’s favorite trope, but if gave good vibes until the very end. The main characters were very relatable. This book also helps readers to realize love is complex but worth all the struggles.

Match Me if You Can is a cute friends-to-lovers story based out of Mumbai. Jia is a writer for a contemporary Indian magazine who is trying to hard launch her matchmaking service. Jaiman is an owner of a struggling pub and a long-time family friend of Jia. Both of them have had feelings for each other but have misunderstandings about how the other one feels. When the pub runs out of money, Jaiman plans to shut it down and move to San Francisco, where his parents are relocated. When Jia realizes her emotions for her best friend, she comes up with a plan to save the pub and keep Jaiman in Mumbai. I loved the Indian culture aspect in this book and enjoyed learning about matchmaking. However, this story has a very basic plot with little surprise. Overall, it was a cute, fast read that is perfect for anyone hoping to read a romance book with little to no spice.

DNF @ 33%.

I love the MMC and some parts of the FMC, but she was a tad too manipulative to me. She’s a tad to obsessed with her own goals that she’s ignoring other peoples feelings and trying to make things go her way. I don’t mind her as an FMC really, but I just felt that she came off as too intense sometimes. I love how this author writes though, so I will try to read more of her stuff in the future .

A romance for those fond of a character driven story with lots of humor and outrageous situations. A modern day Emma told from an Indian perspective. In fact Mumbai could be considered another character in this story. The cultural references gave this story its flavor and made it more appealing.

Up and coming matchmaker Jia caused all sorts of chaos trying to climb the ladder at her magazine and matchmaking for those close to her. She has good intentions and a talent for chaos. I laughed at her antics.

Jaiman is her childhood friend and wanna be more than friends but for seriously bad communication skills. I was rooting that he’d speak up and get the girl.

I thought the blog posts and You Have Mail inspired emails were particularly strong. A Whipped Rose cheers to Swati Hegde.

I received a copy of this arc from Random House Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What a fun book! This is a twist on Emma that takes place in modern day India and leans into Clueless a bit too. Though it definitely follows the outline of Emma, it has enough original content and great characters that make it anything but a cookie cutter remake. Just a fun light read. It would be perfect if you’re looking for a solid pallet cleanser between intense reads.

BIPOC Romance Retelling of Austen's Emma in which a young magazine writer in Mumbai, India must prove her matchmaking skills and contend with her growing feelings for her close family friend.

1/5 stars: This is Hegde's debut novel that takes place in Mumbai, India that is a retelling of Jane Austen's Emma about a magazine writer who'd rather be matchmaking than writing clickbait “relationship” articles for a popular periodical sets out to prove her matchmaking skills. But things don't go smoothly and she's also contending with her growing feelings for her close family friend, a struggling pub owner. Not only is Hegde's writing well done but the character work is excellent; the characters are well-rounded, complex and yet remain likable. Jia and Jaiman are great, very Emma and Knightly but both are dealing with very modern issues. I very much appreciated that this was set in Mumbai and that it celebrates all things Indian, including great food, traditional dress and the Diwali holiday. Jia and Jaiman's romance is swoony but there are no OPS scenes. And while there are plenty of sweet and humorous moments, Hegde does tackles some sensitive topics, so take care and check the CWs. Unfortunately, Emma's my least favorite of Austen's novels. I loved Jai and Jaiman's relationship but I really didn't like how Jai was using her matchmaking for personal gain; leading me to DNF it at 49%. I will be trying this author again in the future.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Dell in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this book.

It comes out in June!

I am sadly DNF at 35%. I liked the idea of this book. I thought the matchmaking components, the setting of Mumbai, the Desi and Indian culture, the food and drink, and some of the side characters were all interesting. I also even thought the male lead was mostly okay, if a little mid.

Where it fell apart for me were the writing style felt a little stunted and I was really struggling with Jia as a main character. I just felt like she was being very selfish the whole time and I had a hard time understanding her actions. She is someone who has 0 relationship experience and is essentially manipulating one of her co-workers in her match making because her “choice” of a match is “better” but will ultimately benefit her the most.

I know that is somewhat the point of the book. To poke fun at unsolicited relationship advice but the way it was being carried out weren’t doing it for me. Also the email partner has to be Jaiman right? I will be skimming to find out lol 😂

Thank you NetGalley, Swati Hegde, and Random House Publish for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I started this book immediately after finishing Common Grounds by Allie Samberts and was a bit concerned that both stories followed women who work for online magazines and men with failing pubs/coffee shops. Fortunately that’s where the plot similarities stopped. Match Me If You Can has Friends to Lovers, Found Family, and He Falls First Tropes and I really love them all. Jai’s early insistence that she knows every in and out of how relationships work while never having been in a relationship is a bit annoying, but her character growth is really good. I appreciate when people can see when they are wrong and grow from that. Jaiman I loved the entire time. What’s not to love? I hate to see him struggle. Charu’s romance and matchmaking make a really cute story as well. The cocktails in this book sound delicious and I found myself wishing I could go to J’s to get myself one. I absolutely recommend this book. Four stars only because I felt the middle was a little slow at points, but I still finished this quickly. The cover is absolutely stunning!

This book was so cute but I wanted to smack them the entire time!!! HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR YOU TO REALIZE YOU HAVE FEELINGS!!!

The acts of service in this without knowing!!! the support!!! I had so much fun reading this!!

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Match Me if You Can by Swati Hedge releases 6/4 by Random House Publishing Group. This story takes us on a sweeping journey through the colorful world of Mumbai. We meet Jia, a writer for Mimosa magazine and her childhood friend Jaiman who owns a pub. Jia wants to create her own matchmaking business and uses co-worker Charu to practice her matchmaking skills and write a feature article for the magazine and her blog. Along the way, she questions her own advice on love. Match Me if You Can is a clean, friends to lovers romance. As a reader, I knew Jia and Jaiman were in love with each other, but it was cringe worthy watching them pine for each other and not confess their feelings. In fact, it’s not until the last chapter that their true feelings come to light. So, if you like a slow burn romance this is the book for you! It was interesting to notice how opposite Jia and Jaiman were. Jia is super driven and ready to take on new goals. Jaiman however just seems to give up whenever there is a challenge. When his pub starts to lose money, his recourse is to close the pub and move to America. He was not my favorite characters. He was needy and whiny. The two secondary characters were much more interesting. Charu is an astrologist and Manoj is a comedian and musician. I would love to read a story with those two characters. Overall, this was a light read perfect for summer. It was brimming with Indian culture and I truly felt like I was in the middle of Mumbai.

4.5 stars.

It's a perfect quick beach read, and it's very clean. It is set in Mumbai on India's west coast. The author wrote this novel in a very (I hate to use this term, but I know of no better) Americanized way. And I thank the author for letting me get a peek into this part of India and letting me understand everything; not all authors do so.

This read starts with a definite nod to Jane Austen's "Emma," so we have a fairly good idea of how this is going to play out, don't we?

I have to admit that several times, I wanted to throw my precious Kindle against the wall because this book upset me. Oh, not in a bad way, but the author sure can write a frustrating love story! And I was VERY frustrated!

Jia and Jaiman have known each other for quite a while, and of course, neither knows that the other loves them. This novel centers around this couple, but some of the secondary stories are captivating.

Jia wants to start her own matchmaking business, and Jaiman wants to have a successful pub. Of course, things don't work out the way they expected—naturally! I'm not going to tell you any more about this story; I just want you to read it. I hope your frustrations with Jai and Jaiman are the happy kind as mine were.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher - Random House Publishing Group, the author, and NetGalley.

3 stars! i really liked the beginning and end of this book. the middle was where it got a little slow for me. jia definitely got on my nerves a little bit, though i do kind of think that was the point! i'm glad she had the character development that she did. i really loved jaiman and tbh the side characters were my favorite! the love a friends to lovers trope and this is no different, it just didn't completely hit the mark for me.

overall a very cute story and a relatively quick read. a great little romance if you're looking for one!

thank you netgalley and random house for this arc!

Quick intro:
Jia, a relationship columnist and hobbyist matchmaker, doesn’t believe in “the one” while for her best friend, Jaiman, it’s always been her, but she doesn’t know that. Match Me If You Can follows them as they pursue their dreams and fight the feelings they have for each other along the way.

Quick thoughts:
I will always be sucker for a good friends-to-lovers story and I was pleasantly surprised by this debut novel by Swati Hedge. I loved getting a peek into millennial Indian culture and the setting in Mumbai was so good! Our FMC Jia read a little naive for me, but I enjoyed her journey discovering what love really meant and pursuing her dreams. I loved the MMC Jaiman - he was the perfect golden retriever MC. And when he drops early on in the book that he’s been in love with Jia since they were twelve I swooned!

I’m not usually into third person dual POV, but I think Hedge pulled it off and I really enjoyed her writing style. I can’t wait to see what she brings to the romance genre next! Honestly, in the end this book just made me really happy. 🥰😂 Read this book if you like found family themes, friends to lovers, closed door romances, REALLY slow burn, diverse reads, and golden retriever MMCs.

Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Jia is employed by a popular women’s magazine in Mumbi where she is a writer, however, her heart is with matchmaking. Her dream is to open a matchmaking company someday where she’ll bring happiness to many couples that she’ll match together. She has had some success in matching a few other couples together, and secretly yearns for what they have. She also has a blog about love with many followers that is anonymous to her employee which is good since she the blog often is about what takes place at work. She has never named the magazine or her coworkers, so she feels like she’s not doing anything wrong.
When Jai suggests a matchmaking column to her boss, she suggests she give matchmaking a try and match up one of their female employees who is hoping to find a husband.
Jaiman Patil has been a friend to Jia and her family since they were children. Jia’s dad has been father figure to Jaiman, after his family moved to the United States. Jaiman’s dream is to own his own bar; however, it has been an uphill struggle to make it happen. He also has secretly been in love with Jia for many years. Jia thinks of him more as a brother; however, she also has somewhat of a crush on Jaiman.
There is an interesting cast of characters, however, because they all had names not familiar to me, often I wasn’t sure if it was a male or female. This is in the category of a contemporary romance and there were a few sweet scenes, however, there also was quite a few uses of the F word and other profanity. That doesn’t appeal to me, and I don’t believe it enhances the story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

I’m a fan of Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking and was thrilled to be sent an e-ARC for this debut romance set in Mumbai. Although this childhood friends to lovers slow burn romance was not for me, I think many readers will be charmed by it. FMC Jia is a wealthy aspiring matchmaker and MMC Jaiman is her chef/mixologist best friend with a fledgling pub. There are a number of miscommunication issues that persist and keep Jia and Jaiman from proclaiming their love until the 95% mark. I enjoyed the Indian cultural, as well as the food/cocktails references. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.