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.

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.