In this fun and modern friends to lovers romance novel, readers meet Jia Deshpande, a writer for Mumbai’s top women’s magazine and a stealth matchmaking blogger who tries to find The One for her friends, family, and coworkers, and Jaiman Patil, a pub owner and longtime friend of Jia and her family. When Jia’s new matchmaking column requires her to successfully set up a coworker to get the green light but ends up getting out of control, Jaiman’s pub is struggling to make a profit and he realizes that Jia will never see him the same way. Their friendship and chance at true love is struggling to survive, but time will tell if Jia and Jaiman can figure everything out before he leaves for America. With charming characters, several fun tropes, and alternating perspectives, readers will love diving into Jia and Jaiman’s lives and minds in this fun and chaotic romance novel. Jia and Jaiman’s dynamic is particularly interesting and rewarding, and their chemistry is absolutely fantastic to watch. The other characters in the secondary plot of the novel are also complex and interesting figures with interesting relationships to Jia and Jaiman. A fun and exciting new romance novel, fans of the genre and the classic tropes will love this book.

This review has been posted to Goodreads and Storygraph on September 17th, 2024. Links provided.

Although Jia spends her days working for Mimosa, a leading women’s magazine in Mumbai, her real passion is writing about the complexities of love on her anonymous blog. Her latest challenge is setting up a colleague with the perfect match to earn approval for her new matchmaking column - something she’s usually great at. Meanwhile, Jaiman, a pub owner and close family friend, is quietly in love with Jia. Life with her family has been his anchor since his own family moved abroad, but his deepening feelings for Jia and mounting pub troubles complicate things. As Jia’s matchmaking efforts go awry, threatening friendships and her bond with Jaiman, she must confront her own views on love, realizing it’s more intricate than she imagined.

This book was just an ok read for me. While I really liked Jaiman as the MMC, Jia was not someone I found myself wanting to root for. I also struggle with storylines that center around miscommunication (or in the case of this book, no communication at all) so unfortunately that always affects my reaction to a book. I felt Jia was a selfish FMC that only caused trouble in the lives of those around her, rather than owning up to her own feelings and actually communicating them, especially to Jaiman. While some her actions in the end show that she did care for him in her own way, it would have been nice to see her be less self-centered throughout the book. I am glad that it ended with a happily ever after but, although I thought it was cute, I don’t believe it is a book I would write home about. If you like sweet rom-com stories that are set in Mumbai, about matchmaking, focus on the best friends to lovers and miscommunication tropes, then it’s possible this book will be for you!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read to an ARC of Match Me If You Can in return for my honest review.

4.5⭐️

Absolutely adorable! I loved how this was reminiscent of my favorite Jane Austen… Emma! Friends to lovers is my favorite trope because it comes with so much angst and history and Hegde delivered all these feelings with a most delicious slow burn.

Jia and Jaiman were such sweet, imperfect characters with the best of intentions even though they don’t always get it right. I loved how thoughtful and generous they were with their hearts - always quick to bring others into their friend group, to encourage and hype each other up, and to provide a listening ear, shoulder to cry on, and breakfast every morning. They saw the best in each other and were playful, never mean, with their teasing.

I really enjoyed getting to know the entire cast of characters, watching Jia and Jaiman’s relationship blossom into something more, and absolutely squealed over the Emma quote and grand gesture! Looking forward to reading more from Hegde!

I'll admit that while I enjoy reading books set in India, or with Indian characters, I am hopeless when it comes to the fashion or food. This book definitely embraces the cuisine and fashion of India. The references were lost on me, but definitely made me curious! I'll have to look up clothes to see what I wasn't able to picture, and hunt down a restaurant to try some of the tasty recommendations!

That aside, I loved Jia and Jaiman. I loved Jia's family, and the friends she has at work. They're so supportive, even though Jia already has a healthy dose of confidence! It's only Jaiman who expresses any doubt in her match making ability.

Jia is strong willed and starts out very sure she has the answers. When a trial run opportunity comes up for the match making column she's hoping to start, Jia is sure she can match Charu easily. Especially when she seems to sense a budding interest that very day at work. But Jia becomes so wrapped up in making her own meet cute for her co-worker (soon to be friend), that she misses the actual meet cute happening. When Charu ends up being asked out by both men, Jia encourages her to turn down Manoj in favor of her choice for Charu, Eshaan. Unfortunately, things don't work out as well as expected.

But wait, I thought this book was about Jaiman and Jia? It is, though they have a lot of miscommunication to overcome to reach their own happily ever after. Jaiman considers Jia's dad as his stand in father, especially after his own family moved to America. He's grown up with the Despandes, and has been in love with Jia for as long as he can remember. Unfortunately, the one time he tried to make a move, Jia ended up in tears and made him promise to never speak of it again.

Jia sees Jaiman as someone who doesn't take anything seriously, especially relationships. He's never dated seriously, and she won't accept anything less than forever for herself. Unfortunately, she doesn't believe love is possible for herself. The only person she's ever been physically attracted to is... Jaiman, and they would never stand a chance. So why does she find herself thinking about him so often?

While I did love Jaiman and Jia, I was extremely frustrated with them at times. They did get upset, and lash out at each other, which was a little hard to handle. At times they seemed like they were going to get to a point of no return and ruin any chance they had of being together. There were moments of comfort, comedy, true friendships, and a mountain of misunderstandings. Despite it all, I think I'll definitely be looking forward to the next book Swati Hedge comes out with!

This book was lovely! Jia and Jaiman's story was adorable and this book gave me all the YA vibes I was looking for! Cute, easy read. This was my first book I've read by Swati Hedge, and I cannot wait to read more!

Match Me if you Can is a cute rom-com, set in Mumbai. Jia is a wealthy writer, who has never had much interest in romance, aside from her childhood friend, and she has suppressed those feelings. Jia wants to learn the art of matchmaking, and tries to set up 2 of her coworkers, with little success. The descriptions of Indian food and fashion are lovely, and the characters are likable, the ending is fairly predictable, in a good way.

Thank you Netgalley and Swati Hegde, for the e-arc. All opinions are my own, and are being left voluntarily.

You'd enjoy this book if you like:
- an all-BIPOC cast⁣
- childhood frenemies to lovers⁣
- he's loved her this whole time⁣ trope
- found family

This was such a sweet friends to lovers, with a touch of slow burn!

Thank you for the opportunity to early this early. It's a cute premise to start, but there really wasn't any chemistry between the lead characters even though they both have crushes on each other and kissed once in the past. Didn't like her because she thought having written a relationship blog for a year with no relationship history to speak of qualified her to be a matchmaker and to open her own business. He is an idealist who can't get out of his own way, and seems to have no regard for the FMC feelings. Do they even like each other as people?

I was entertained reading it but I don’t know if it’s a favorite. Some parts seemed a little bit too cliche especially with modern tech. Also, the slow burn was way too slow. They didn’t get together until the very very end even though they had always liked each other. I did love all of the Hindu culture and how matchmaking is an important part of their lives.

I wanted to love this book so much based off the description, but it just took me too long to feel connected to these characters to actually get invested in the story. There's so much going on between Jia's job and her family and then Jaiman and the pub, it feels like whiplash before the storylines start really coming together. I think the story ended resolutely but I wish it hadn't been so frustrating along the way.

This was very cute! I loved the matchmaker aspect and how cute the narrator was. My favorite part of this story was her growth in confidence throughout the story.

Match Me if You Can had a fun premise and a unique (to me) setting but failed to really captivate me. Jia is an aspiring matchmaker despite never having had a match for herself. Jaiman is her family friend who has been hopelessly in love with her for years. I love a good friends to lovers and I was interested in reading a novel set in Mumbai India.

Though I did like the setting and getting a little glimpse at Mumbai culture, the actual story and characters weren’t great. Jia was naive and very diva-like. Jaiman was nice but had hardly any personality. Their main conflict stopping them from being together is based on an assumption and no follow up communication, though they talk nearly every day. I just wasn’t sold on either of them as characters or their relationships.

While this wasn’t ground breaking for me, it also was not totally awful or dnf-worthy. Just an average rom com. If you enjoy friends to lovers, workplace comedies, and lighthearted reads, give this a shot! 2.5 stars

This slow burn, childhood friends to lovers was cute!

The beginning did begin pretty slow but I guess they took slow from the slow burn! To not take away from the book it was still a sweet love story with alot of cultural elements.
Jaiman was such a sweet book boyfriend, with a HEA this book made me smile. Jia didnt totally keep me in control, she was a bit iffy but overall the HEA really made up for it.

I do think that i think this would have been better without some miscommunication.

This is such a sweet, charming romance!!

Thank you to Swati Hegde, Dell, and NetGalley for this eARC!

Jia Deshpande works at a fashionable women's magazine writing articles that she never agrees with but can stand thanks to the blog she anonymously writes in response to them. It's her dream to become a matchmaker and she hopes to get the magazine to run a column where she helps readers find their match, yet her boss won't even consider it unless she can prove she's a capable matchmaker. Meanwhile, Jia's longtime friend, Jaiman Patil, is struggling to keep his pub running despite the empty seats and red in the ledgers. He's also madly in love with Jia even though she ran away from him the one time he mustered up the courage to kiss her and then demanded that they never talk about it.

It's not bad but it's also something that I've read a ton of times before. I think a big part of what saved it from being completely forgettable is the unique setting of Mumbai instead of the typical New York or American city. I also appreciated all the little cultural details that Hegde includes because it really helps you dive into the story.
Jia is a strong and confident woman, but that strength comes out feeling a bit like bullying when she bulldozes people into doing what she wants because she's convinced she knows better. It makes her a bit unlikeable so it took me a while to really warm up to her as the lead, but Jaiman is such a sweetheart that he's the reason I kept waiting for Jia to show her more positive side.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Dell for the interesting read!

Match Me If You Can
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕚𝕤𝕥:
Jia Deshpande, a confident fashionista and writer for a Mumbai women's magazine, secretly blogs about real love while ignoring her feelings for her childhood friend, Jaiman Patil. To launch a new matchmaking column, she must successfully set up a coworker.

Jaiman, a pub owner with deep feelings for Jia, values his place in her chaotic but loving family. As his pub struggles and Jia's matchmaking attempts falter, risking friendships and their relationship, Jia must rethink her views on love. In Mumbai, however, happily-ever-afters are always possible.

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤:
🫶🏼 Matchmaking
🪷 Desi romance
🔥 Slowwwww burn
💞 Friends to lovers
🚪 Closed door romance

𝕊𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕒𝕣 𝕍𝕚𝕓𝕖𝕤:
📚 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗞𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻
📚 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗮'𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲

𝕄𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:
Can we get a round of applause for this stunning cover? The colors are incredible and immediately caught my eye and made me want to pick up this story. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗠𝗲 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻 is a culturally rich Desi romance set in Mumbai. I really enjoyed getting to experience Indian culture and references through the story. This was definitely one of my favorite aspects of the story.

The childhood friends to lovers trope can be pretty hit or miss for me. While the execution of the trope in this story was not my favorite, I do think many readers will be charmed by it. is a wealthy aspiring matchmaker and Jaiman is her chef/mixologist best friend with a fledgling pub. There are so many miscommunication issues that persist and keep Jia and Jaiman from proclaiming their love until almost the very end of the story. I found myself frustrated with Jia quite often 🙃

I still thought the book was cute and I think there are many readers who will fall in love with this story!

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗶 𝗛𝗲𝗴𝗱𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.

𝕄𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (𝟯/𝟱)

𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
🫑 (𝟬/𝟱)

I’m always going to enjoy a friends to lovers with a cinnamon roll protagonists. So glad i picked this one up!

This romance has wit, humor, a cinnamon roll hero, and determined heroine, it’s a cute friends-to-lovers story.

The storyline is cute, the heroine desires to be a matchmaker, yet she’s never been in love; and it’s full of angst with a family friend, the hero who has been pining for the heroine, forever…

An Indian romance that takes place in Mumbai following a writer and a business owner, Jia and Jaiman, Match Me If You Can by Swati Hedge has the perfect Desi plot that brings two people together.

I enjoyed the new matchmaking concept the book introduced us to that had more to do with the couple than the family. Jia is an ambitious confident woman who knows what she wants from her career.

Jaiman, has dreams and passion but he struggles with keeping his love for his career alive.

Our MCs are completely opposite of each other and yet they fit together but I believe that was the case only because they had known each other since they were kids. Therefore, I am not sure where this love story would have gone if they didn't grow up together.

The major reason for my rating going down was Jia. She is barely tolerable for most of the book. And the reason for that was she was so pampered by all the luxuries in her life, no one wanted to call her out on her shit. She would hold grudges and give silent treatment refusing to communicate. So especially for a woman who wanted to be a professional matchmaker I am not sure what to think about it.

Coming to Jaiman, he definitely had a better personality than Jia but his professional steps sucked. He was whining about the pub's failure but wasn't really trying to get the business better. Also I found it weird that his family wasn't mentioned properly considering they were family friends.

Match Me If You Can is a retelling of Jane Austen's Emma set in contemporary India. I thought this was a fun concept! I've read a whole lot of modern Jane Austen retellings with various success. I think Emma is probably one of the harder ones to translate to modern day, but I looked forward to giving this a try.

This book was a big miss for me. Jia, like Emma, is handsome, clever, and rich. She's also super annoying. Emma is also annoying, but not nearly as much as Jia. I kept wracking my brains about why Jia was more annoying to me than Emma. I think it's because this book is dual POV with Jia and Jaiman, the Mr. Knightley character. Emma works because you're seeing everything from her perspective, and then Mr. Knightley rightfully calls her out when she's being selfish or particularly meddlesome. He obviously likes her, but we don't really see it because Emma hasn't noticed HOW much he likes her until much later. In this book, Jaiman is constantly telling us how funny, smart, pretty, cute, etc. Jia is, and that doesn't really work because she's being horrible! I'm still not sure if having this book only in Jia's perspective would have saved it, but I think it would have helped. As it was, I just couldn't stand Jia's character and was kind of annoyed when she found success at the end of the book.

I didn't enjoy reading this and I don't think that it's a satisfying reimagining of Emma. However, if this piqued your interest, I'd say give it a try. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC of this book, my thoughts are my own!