Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I feel mixed ways about this book. Let's start with the good. I truly finished this book because of the male main character, Jaiman was charming and sweet, and just was trying so hard to hold everything together. I really also loved the cover, and this was my first book that I've read set in Mumbi. I love the idea of childhood friends to lovers trope. I also how the side characters and i loved the dual POV. I loved the restaurant scenes and J's Pub. It was a quick read, and the writing was good. There is a closed door spicy scene, which was cool. I love that Jaiman got a HEA, and I guess I was glad Jia got one too...

There was a good chunk of the book, I upset with the female main character. Like Jia had some good qualities, but like there were points of the book where she was being really selfish, and problematic towards Jaiman AND her friend. There was like NO communication on Jia's end until like 70% in the book. Like so many of the problems that Jia (somewhat created for herself) couldve been solved with simple communication and not being so self-absorbed. I feel like this book could be described as a slow burn, but there were some parts for me that seemed to drag on.

I just don't think this was the book for me, but it was okay. I didn't hate it, but didn't love it either. *shrugs*

loved this book so much. I am always finding new desi romance books to read and it was everything I could ever hope for. First of all the cover is so beautiful, when I saw it for the first time, I was in love haha. I knew I had to read it. Jia and jaiman both are stubborn which made the story more interesting. I was screaming for them to express their feelings for each-other halfway through the book. The slow burn was slow burning. Their banter was everything. and I loved reading all the diwali bits it had. It feels so good reading about your culture, festivals. JIA & JAIMAN are perfect together. Their chemistry was everything. I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a slow burn friends to lovers desi romance book.
Definitely recommended!!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishingGroup for this ARC. Swati Hegde is a wonderful author. I enjoyed the friends to lovers troupe.
I loved the Mumbai location of this story. Jia loves her childhood friend but when a misunderstanding happens she try's to forget him by staring a love blog. She also wants to be a matchmaker and run her own business. Yet, things go out of her control, as is life, and she has to figure out what is most important to her. A great read.

Fun and fresh, but a little flat.

Jia and Jaiman's childhood friends to lovers journey is sweet, definitely a decent read.

My main gripe is that the story fell a little flat on the romance side because we don't really get to see much depth in the friendship between Jia and Jaiman. We're told they're besties, we're told they harbor secret feelings for each other, we're told they have a connection but I just wish we got to see it more!

I also feel like as best friends a little more honest communication would've served them well, but it's pretty realistic that they didn't have the feelings talk earlier when so much is/was on the line for them.

Overall good, can't wait for what the author whips up next.

What a cute little debut! I thought it was a super enjoyable read. I found myself laughing out load a few times. I did have a hard time connecting with the main character but I still found it enjoyable. Super cute & original idea!

I’m sorry but this one was not for me. I was so bored through all that I read, I just couldn’t slog through any more of it. There is no reason the two main characters can’t just get together. And yet, they don’t. There isn’t even good tension, or banter to make the wait more bearable.

This was a very fun time! I'm very grateful that I got approved for the ARC because I've seen so little about this book and I don't know if I ever would've heard about it otherwise! Which is such a shame because I had a great time with it.

First of all, shout out to the cover artist. What a BEAUTIFUL cover.

This book was a bit slow going and took me awhile to really get into. But once I did get into it, I really did enjoy it. That being said, most of that enjoyment was for Jaiman. I really enjoyed him as a character and wanted to see him thrive and be happy. I did not feel quite as strongly about Jia, mostly cause her trying to push this relationship between her coworker and this jerk of a guy who didn't care about her was so frustrating (no clue how she didn't see it, but ok?) But Jaiman deserved the world and I kept reading for him.

This book may not go down as one of my favorite reads of the year, but I am going to keep an eye out for Swati Hegde and what we get from her in the future. She feels like one to watch out for.

This was a great Emma retelling romance debut set in Mumbai that stars a Desi magazine writer and secret matchmaker who tries to set up her friends and is completely oblivious to the childhood friend who is secretly pining for her. Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Sonali Dev. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! I can't wait to read more from Swati Hegde!!

Steam level: closed door/kissing only

DNF’d this book!

Unfortunately this book was not for me! I think the concept was a cool one but I simply did not connect with the story nor the characters!

I hate the miscommunication trope more than words can say. If there's one trope I wish would cease to exist, it would be the miscommunication trope. This book wasn't bad because of the MMC and learning more about the Indian culture, but I didn't like this book too much either. All the platonic friendships, side character romantic relationships, and fatherly relationships were more entertaining than the main romance, and I didn't want to read a book about friendship. I wanted a real romance, and I did not get that.

This book was adorable! I loved the characters and the story. It is definitely a slow burn which I know doesn't work for everyone. But I really enjoyed it. I look to more from this author!

This was a super quick and fun read. I loved the first half but didn’t totally feel the chemistry between Jia and Jaiman. However, I would definitely be interested in reading more from this author!!

Match Me If You Can has a lot of potential. Friends to lovers. Desi Romance,

But it fell a bit short. The FMC is unfortunately not very likeable. She treats a very sweet colleague like too much of a pet project to boost the FMC's ego and ambition. The FMC treats the MMC poorly throughout most of the book. The MMC is trying to support the FMC, be patient with her, even amidst his own struggles and dreams.

The book is filled with the miscommunication trope (not a favorite of mine) and there's virtually no romance and when it happens, you're not sure if you want it for the MMC after all.

I think this book will land with a good amount of readers, however, I don't feel like I was the target audience. I look forward to seeing how the author continues to develop stories in the future.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was perfectly fine and was enjoyable but forgettable. I didn't realize it going in but this is basically a Emma/Clueless retelling. I've read other retellings before but for some reason in this book I spent most of it just waiting for the next plot point that I remember to come up. It's not that I wasn't enjoying what I was reading it, I just wanted to get there faster.

3.5 stars rounded down

I love any book that has inspiration from Jane Austen's work. this book gave me slight Emma vibes. Im not a big fan of the friends to lovers trope but this book was good and I didn't mind it. I love the slow burn and overall the romance was great! will definitely check our more of this authors work.

Prepare yourself to be transported to Mumbai to meet Jia and Jaiman. Match Me If You can is a slow burn that is cute and will have you engaged. Hedge’s writing style is addictive that has you reading rapidly to know what happens next.

Match Me If You Can is the story of Jia, a magazine writer in Mumbai who desires to be a modern matchmaker. Her family friend Jaiman runs a local bar, and they are both attracted to one another. When reading a romance I'm actually reading for the characters, for the background, etc. Match Me If You Can is a solid read all the way around.

I enjoyed the background of the bar and the magazine and the lead characters were easy to root for. The side characters were also appealing so that added a layer of enjoyment. All in all a very fun read by a new author.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This book is available now.

MATCH ME IF YOU CAN - SWATI HEGDE

3.5⭐

PLOT
Set in Mumbai, Jia works for a women's magazine while secretly writing and anonymous blog talking about messy truth of true love. She always dreamt of starting her own matchmaking column and tries to set up her co-worker.
Jaiman is Jias childhood BF a local pub owner whose an expert at making cocktails. He considers Jia's family as his own and so he tries to hide his true feelings for Jia to avoid risking his entire world untill his pub is struggling to stay afloat.
Jias matchmaking at work backfires and her relationship with jaiman under stress Jia must evaluate her own thoughts on love and it's not as complicated as it seems.

MY THOUGHTS
Match me if You can is set in my hometown and appreciate authors portrayal of the city and its characters there are quite real and true.
This is a slow burn friends to lovers romance where Jaiman has deep feelings for Jia but Jia is clueless as one can be.
I didn't like Jia's character as inspite of writing about love and wanting to match people couldn't have an honest conversation with Jaiman inspite of being together so often and see what's in front of her.
I actually liked Jaimans character more..he was honest and passionate esp in making cocktails and pursues it earnestly.
Overall a cute one time read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, authors are still so in love with the miscommunication trope and it truly ruined this book for me. I also could not stand Jai’s personality. She had no personality growth or development and this isn’t a relationship I can see lasting.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this upcoming book! This was a decent enough palette cleanser in between darker reads and grittier reads.