title: Match Me if You Can

author: Swati Hegde

publisher: Dell

publication date: 4 June 2024

pages: 304

peppers: 2 (on this scale)

warnings: alcohol-induced vomit, heavy drinking

summary: Jia is bored by her job writing a dumb romance advice column for a newspaper, so she funnels her passion into her successful anonymous blog and plans to open her own match-making business one day. Her family friend Jaiman is the only person with whom she's ever felt any sparks, but he's a playboy who's not interested in anything long term. She has started an email correspondence with one of the blog's followers who really seems to get her, but that could be anyone.

tropes:

friends-to-lovers
secret pining
oblivious about everyone's hearts, including her own
great friends
family connections

what I liked:

Since Austen's Emma is one of my favorite novels of all time, it was hard not to enjoy this Mumbai-set homage to that clueless (pun intended) heroine.
Both main  characters' voices and reasons for not telling/knowing their feelings.
The side-stories kept me interested.

what I didn’t like: n/a

overall rating: 5 (of 5 stars)

This book was cute! Jia kind of annoyed me in the beginning but she had some great development later on. I love a good friends to lovers romance so I really enjoyed their relationship development, but we needed MORE romance! More time together. I did love the dual POV. I’ve never read a matchmaker story so this was an interesting and new and fun aspect for me!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC! Pub date: June 4, 2024

*so i finished this yesterday and haven't stopped thinking about it so i'm changing the rating to 4, it's really cute and even though the romance wasn't the strongest the rest of the story was very good!*

how to feel, how to feel, how to feel...

this may just be the most frustrating romance book i have ever read. slow burns in books is something i usually really like but something about the slow burn in this book made me want to scream. i know for a fact that i let out a couple groans of frustration while reading. i feel very conflicted on if i truly enjoyed this book or not. some aspects really worked while others just fell very, very short.

jia... she had some character development and i'm very happy about that because she was driving me insane in the first half of this book. i think we discovered that match making romances are something i should avoid in the future because the meddling made me irrationally angry. jaiman was so lovely and low key heartbreaking. i felt satisfied by the ending simply because i wanted to see him happy, my man went through it in this book. the romance was very fine. i feel like all the other relationships felt more important because the romance only comes up in the last 8% of the book. all the platonic friendships, side character romantic relationships, and fatherly relationships were more entertaining than the main romance. we simply needed to see more of jia and jaiman. the love declaration was also slightly underwhelming which frustrated me, the hidden identity plot line could've been so much more satisfying and it just wasn't.

this was a very cute debut. i looked up the author and saw that she is also a type of dating expert which makes sense because the match making scenes in this book felt very knowledgeable. jaiman's pining was amazingly written and i am thrilled that we had his point of view because i have read like three romances recently that just don't have the mans pov and i was going insane. if you loooooove slow burns this romance should definitely be on you radar for when it comes out in june!!

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC*

so this cute lil diddly is about an aspiring matchmaker, Jia, who works for a major magazine writing a romance column while also running an anonymous romance blog on the side. She plans to rocket her career to the next level by starting a matchmaking column at her job while also dealing with her newly rocky relationship with her lifelong best friend, Jaiman, and their growing affection for each other. this book was AMAZING and at times reminded me so much of Clueless (an all time classic). there were def some similar themes going on. i love love love the growing diversity in contemporary romance, and how it’s another art form that’s starting to reflect the world we actually live in! i was lucky enough to read this as an ARC through netgalley, but for anyone whose interest is piqued, this gem will be out around June 2024. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

💫4.7/5💫

Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde is a fun, lighthearted, slow-burn, friends-to-lovers that provides a unique and modern twist. The story's pacing and romance can be slow at times; However, the author does a fantastic job with world-building and providing exciting side characters that keep readers engaged and interested. My one wish for this book would be to show more of the romance aspects and the FMC and MMC's relationship. I look forward to Swati's future work!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was okay. I liked the setting and the characters were likable. The romance itself felt a little forced, like it was lacking the needed chemistry and tension for a good romance. It’s a clever concept though and I’ll be looking for more from Hegde to see if it’s done a little better with a different couple.

"Match Me If You Can" is a cute romance novel, written with compelling and intriguing language. It's a primarily friends-to-lovers, dual point-of-view book that's fun. It's basically like a modern Indian version of "You've Got Mail," IYKYK. It's fun, cute and frothy, definitely.

Set in the vibrant city of Mumbai, this friends to lovers rom-com, Match Me If You Can, is a modern day re-telling of Jane Austin’s “Emma”. The protagonist Jia Deshpande is working at Mimosa, a highly rated women’s magazine writing articles about love whose message she doesn’t subscribe to. On the side, she writes an anonymous blog where she shares her true feelings an d offers advice on the very same topic. To advance her career, Jia is given the opportunity to play matchmaker for a co-worker while sharing the details with the magazine’s readers. Her own love life is stalled though feelings for her childhood best friend who is considered an honorary family member Jaiman, haunt her especially after The Unfortunate Incident, their first kiss. Chaos ensues and relationships are tested in this slow burn rom-com. I love stories set in India, enjoying the cultural elements of family and traditions and Ms. Hegde did a wonderful job in sharing the beauty of modern day Mumbai.

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Dell for providing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Publication date: June 4, 2024

First I’d like to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC of this book.

I would rate this book 3.75 rounded up to 4 stars for this review. I really enjoyed the main characters in this story. I am a sucker for a friends to lovers romance and this one was super cute. I enjoyed that this story took place in Mumbai. I think it’s always refreshing to have a romance novel from a different perspective.

I did find sometimes there were too many characters in to keep track of. I did like some of the side characters but there were just a lot of them. I also found the middle of the book a little slow but I was intrigued and wanted to see how it was going to end. Overall, I enjoyed the book and the premise. #netgalley #matchmeifyoucan

Match Me If You Can is a fun friends-to-lovers that evokes several classic romance novels and movies while adding a unique modern twist. We root for the main characters to succeed both in love and in life, and Swati Hegde wove in some interesting side characters as well. Although the pacing in the middle was a bit slow, overall this was a lovely read. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

What a fun book. This is the first book I have read by the author. The writing flowed well with wonderful characterizations. There was a ton of world building in the first third of the book. I must admit I forced myself to plow through while keeping track of the cast of characters with unusual names. The side characters in this book sparkle and kept the story fun.
Overall this slow burn friends-to-lovers romance delivers. There was the expected frustration over the main characters' inability to get on with it. But that's the trope. They had to earn their HEA.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this arc in exchange for a review.

Overall, I really like the premise of the book. However, there were two main critiques I had. First, I felt like there were too many characters at play throughout the whole book. Jia has Charu, Damini, her father, and Tanu as her support. Jaiman has Anshuman, Flora, Manoj, and Harish, more or less. I think there wasn’t enough emphasis put on Tanu and Anshuman as the main characters’ “ride or die” and that took away from the familial aspect to the book, which I thought was very central. All of these characters didn’t necessarily push the plot forward, so it felt like they could have been developed more or cut back on.

I also wish the original feelings of the main characters were flushed out more because their mutual pining and tension fell a bit flat. We’re thrown into this scenario where he loves her and she mostly hates him. But, we aren’t given an introduction as to why he loves her. Maybe a childhood anecdote could have been thrown in at the beginning or the wedding scene could have been more developed. On her end, it’s hard to understand why someone who is family would be a nuisance to her. I think that premise relies on the idea that she believes their kiss was acted on because of a bet. But, it’s clear that that would never be the case with this character. I believe if their original relationship before the wedding was developed more at the beginning, it would have been easier to root for them throughout the book.

Overall, this is a very easy book to read. Their careers are probably the biggest selling point of the book. They are interesting and unique, bringing in their industries in a very fun way. The dialogue was fun, smart, and energizing. I also appreciate how this book is set in Mumbai. Most books by South Asian authors take place in the West, so this was a really fun switch up. Thank you Swati Hegde for creating a fun, South Asian, Jane Austen adaptation. Looking forward to reading more of your works in the future!

I absolutely adored the idea behind this book—a matchmaker who struggles with her own love life. It was so cute, and the cover was gorgeous, so I jumped at the chance to read it.

I did struggle a bit with the story. I found that the characters lacked feeling for a good portion of the book—it wasn’t until closer to the middle/end that I felt anything other than their frustration and anger.

Jia was a force, and while it moved the story along, I disliked how she pushed her own ideals into her friend as she tried to set her up, not taking into consideration her friend’s true needs while she focused on her own potential career. Jaiman was so sweet, but sometimes I just wanted to shake him to make him come out of his passive, uncourageous attitude. It felt like he was just turning away from life and letting it happen to him rather than doing what he needed to make himself happy.

Even with my frustrations, I did enjoy the book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this early!

Sweet book that had me rooting for the two leads. Jia wasn't my favorite, but I could see parts of myself in her with her strong will and determination. The first part of this book was slow, but as I kept reading, I couldn't put it down. I was satisfied to get the ending I desired!

Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde ✨ pub date: June 4, 2024 📚

This book is as gorgeous as the cover would suggest 😍🌆💜
From the first page I was hooked by Jia and Jaiman’s friends to lovers love story and by Swati’s beautiful writing. If you love foodie romances, found family, delightful matchmaking, and immersive settings, this book is for you! You can preorder at the links in @swatihegdeauthor ‘s bio. And if you’re a writer, you can check out her helpful writing resources as well! 📝

I am so excited for Swati's future works after reading this!

It was the perfect mix of Emma with dashes of You've Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally. There's so much mutual pining with angst and miscommunication from this friends to lovers debut.

I'm not the biggest friends to lovers fan, because I find myself getting frustrated with the 'will they or won't they' antics. That being said, Swati's world building and side characters really kept the plot engaging and moving forward with Jia and Jaiman's complex relationship.

I personally love Jaiman. That man is personally everything. I also liked Jia's ambition, but I felt her character to be frustrating at times. Though, if I were in her shoes, I would probably feel the same way.

It's truly just an angst filled slow burn between two best friends from childhood with some matchmaking antics and lovable side characters.

I'm very intrigued to see what Swati writes next!

Thank you Netgalley, Swati Hedge, and Random House for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this arc; I will be giving my honest review.
This is the first book I have read by Swati Hegde. I have to compliment the overall writing throughout this book. The first 20-30% were heavy on building the characters and setting. At first, I thought a lot was being introduced at once. I was struggling with keeping all the characters straight up until around 40%. Once I hit the 40% mark, the reading flowed easily, and I was very interested in the plot. The dialogue between the characters was realistic and well written. The conversational aspect of this book helped me understand the main characters more. There was quite a few misunderstandings, but it was due to the characters overthinking. I thoroughly liked Jaiman, the MMC. I also liked a few of the secondary characters due to their personalities. Hedge's writing skilled showed during romantic parts of this book. The romance and tension was very evident, and relatable.
"Loving someone means putting hope above fear."

I loved reading about Jai and Jaiman's pending romance in this book, it was nice to read a book that was set in Mumbai. I do hope there are other books with Damini, I loved her banter and character as well as Charu! I personally loved Jaiman's character and found Jia to be a little on the annoying side due to miscommunication. Always glad to see a HEA for the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book. I received a copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review

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

"And learn to put your ego aside and communicate with him. Communication is the only things that can save relationships, period."

This quote was the highlight of the book and also the biggest hypocrisy. There was exactly 0 attempts of communication until the end. And the FMC wasn't tolerable. She was very selfish, obtuse, and unrelatable.

The only saving grace in this book is the MMC. I gave this 3 stars for Jaiman; he's the only reason I pushed through this one, and even though he got his HEA, I didn't leave this book satisfied. Jia didn't have many redeeming qualities, especially in regards to Jaiman. I think she had potential there, but so much time in this book was spent with her trying to match her friend with someone who was douchebag and apparently she never noticed, and the rest was her shit treatment of Jaiman.

Toward the end, before feelings are proclaimed, she questions why Jaiman would do a certain thing if he loved her. Uh because you treated him like shit, lady. As I said, selfish.

Sorry for the overly negative review, but this one got to me for reasons unknown.

First off, this was the first book I've read from this author, and oh my. I don’t usually read about friends to lovers, but this book was so addicting. It made me laugh, made me smile, and made me mad, but in a good way. Not only did it have a romantic relationship that was good, but the family/friend relationships in this book were perfect. Reading how hard Jaiman fell for Jai, I screamed a lot.