This cover drew me in and I stayed for the story. I got swept up into the vibrant city of Mumbai and the life of Jia, a fashionista with a talent for matchmaking who navigates life and relationships while juggling her job at Mimosa, Mumbai’s largest women’s magazine and secretly running an anonymous blog about love. Jia steeps to set up her coworker with her perfect match in order to secure her dream column at the magazine. Meanwhile, her lifelong best friend, Jaiman, has been harboring serious feelings for her but doesn’t know how to tell her. As her matchmaking endeavors go askew, it risks her friendships and her relationship with Jaiman, they both discover that love is far more complicated than imagined.
There lots of “will they or won’t they” even though you know that in then end they will, the journey was fun and engaging. I loved the Desi vibe and setting captures the essence of Mumbai and all the traditions and celebrations. I can’t wait to see what the author writes next.
Thanks to Dell Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Match Me If You Can is such a fun debut! The history between Jia and Jaiman, and Jia's matchmaking schemes kept me turning the page. I also enjoyed the cast of characters!

This book contained many pluses: from being set in India and taking the rom-com setting fully abroad, to incorporating different tropes, to a satisfying character development. There were moments I wanted to pull out my hair but dealt with the frustration all in the interest of the plot, of course. Also, I really want a Whipped Rose.

I really liked the concept for Match Me If You Can, however the style and pacing just weren’t for me and made it very difficult to immerse myself and enjoy the story. A lot of information was overly repetitive and took away from the events, the characters and their conflicts felt surface level and immature. Jaiman was my favorite character but I just never felt truly emotionally connected to him. Jia’s matchmaking really pushed the boundaries of manipulation and it left me feeling uncomfortable. This book just wasn’t for me.

This was a cute love story! I enjoyed the backdrop of Mumbai and the women’s magazine. The childhood friendship between Jia and Jaiman led to a very sweet romance, although the slow burn seemed to drag a bit. This was a bit much miscommunication for me, but it was still enjoyable.

This was a cute debut romance novel between two friends who struggle to sort out their feelings for one another. I really enjoyed the concept where Jia is a writer for Mimosa who struggles to believe in the things she writes. Her real feelings are written in her anonymous blog, where she disputes articles that her work is publishing.

I really enjoyed the relationships outside of the romance in this one, and thought the book focused more on these than the main romance itself. I wish I felt more connected to the MC's, but I struggled with the miscommunication and felt like communication as a whole was lacking between the love interests.

Overall, this is a cute, fun, and light read.

Read if you're interested in:
- Closed door romance
- Friends to lovers and miscommunication tropes
- A diverse cast of characters
- Dual POV's

A big thank you to Netgalley and Dell Publishing for the free e-arc of Match Me If You Can by Swait Hedge in exchange for a review!

I love the matchmaking troupe in Romance novels, especially when (I assume) it’s the match maker who will end up falling in love. The problem with that in Match Me If You Can is the FMC really isn’t really all that much of a likable person. I found her overly critical, hypocritical, and overall stuck on herself and judgmental. I loved the premise of the book, just not the star of the show.

This was cute but only an okay read for me. I mainly had issues with the FMC as she kind of irritated me. I can see this being a hit for a lot of people, but sadly it wasn't it for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's press for the ARC.
This was a friends to lovers rom com set in Mumbai.
I found the FMC to be pretty irritating and immature. She said she was a matchmaker and could find anyone a match as she claimed she was very good at it but didn't have any experience herself really in the relationship department.
She meddled in her co-workers love life to the point that it messed up her co-workers love life.
I just found the FMC very full of herself and it was difficult to enjoy the book because of it.
The book wasn't boring really but the characters were not likeable, in my opinion.
The book has a ton of miscommunication between the FMC and MMC so if that is your thing, you may enjoy this book.

This was just okay. I really really liked Jaiman but had a hard time relating to or rooting or Jia. All the miscommunications was also not a hit for me. I loved Jia's co-workers and family and everything about Jaiman. It was an overall enjoyable and quick read! Perfect for sitting by a beach!

2.75 Stars

First of all thank you so much to Netgalley and Random house for the E-ARC. This was the first ever ARC I received and I’m so grateful!!

Second of all, unfortunately I just don’t think this was my kind of book. Since I was graciously gifted this book this review will be far more professional than my other reviews.

To quote the wise words of my friend Marisol, “this book is giving wattpad.” While she didn’t read this book herself, she got to listen to my ranting. The amount of Gen Z and Millennial mentions was tragic. In the nicest way possible, I think the only people who feel the need to express their opinions towards “Gen Zers” are Millennials. I counted about 3 separate references (far too many)

Next, FMCs (female main characters) are so hit or miss for me. Jia, our FMC, was a very disappointing character. There were so many times while reading that I had to put down my kindle and seriously consider if I actually wanted our main couple to get together. I simply found that he was a way better person than her and he deserved better.

I really really really wish Jia’s asexual tendencies could have been explored more! It could have been such a good sub plot to have her explore that deeper instead of just burying these feelings and then never speaking about them again. When she never mentioned it again I wondered what was the point of even bringing it up. The author could have even just explained that she only felt sexual attraction to people once Jai really got to know them, but instead the whole asexual characteristic was swept under the rug.

Fortunately there was no 3rd act break up. Unfortunately, the slow burn was so slow that it would have been weird to have a 3rd act break up. I felt that at the end the author realized that there was slim to none romance and then shoved it all into one, going from nothing more than (mostly one sided) sexual tension to love confessions. I’m not one to say how realistic things are (turning to my lack of experience in the romantic field and my love of rom coms) but I just found it unrealistic.

I’m growing tired of the same predictable FMCs and the pushover MMCs. You don’t know how many times I wanted to shake Jaiman and tell him to snap out of it and tell Jia to go sit in the corner and think about her actions.

Lastly I would like to recognize the author. While this may not have been my favorite book it’s clear that they put an insane amount of effort into this book and I’m all for representation of all cultures. It gives me more to learn about and take a deeper dive into the traditions that I had no idea existed.

What a lovely debut book by Swati Hegde! Match Me if You Can is a slowburn contemporary romance set in Mumbai and follows Jia and Jaiman, two childhood friends in the mid to late twenties. Jaiman runs a pub and Jia works at a magazine, trying to convince her boss to let her start a modern day matchmaking service.

I wasn't very convinced at the beginning of the book that our two leads were actually childhood best friends because of how Jia acted towards Jaiman, but as the story progresses, we learn why Jia acts the way she does towards him. Also, the miscommunication didn't really make sense based on the conversation Jia overheard- it was obvious to me that Jaiman was defending Jia and telling the other guys not to talk about her that way. I just wasn't fully convinced in the conflict/miscommunication there.

Something else that bothered me was the way Jia reacts to Jaiman being around her family all the time and her trying to get him to have a relationship with his parents (who essentially abandoned him as soon as he turned 18 and don't talk to him often at all). I wish she had been more understanding that her father was a surrogate father for Jaiman and how that is something that Jaiman really needs.

The storylines outside of the romance were fun- I wanted to see what would happen next with the pub and the matchmaking services. I loved our side characters, especially Charu and Damini. I would've loved a full book between Charu and Manoj- a (small) age gap, different types of backgrounds, etc. I loved the sprinkling of their love story we got in the book.

I saw that this author has another book coming out Spring '26- I will definitely be reading it! I can't wait to see what all this author does next.

The premise itself had so much promise, but sadly this fell short for me. I didn't love Jia. She came off as selfish and presumptuous. Some of her reasonings for her actions and thoughts were incredibly frustrating. There was also too much miscommunication and misunderstandings between her and Jaiman. I did love the Indian cultural representation in this book. The holidays, festivities, the description of the food and dresses at these events were beautiful and it was really fun reading a story that was set in Mumbai. I just I wish I loved the characters more.

This friends to lovers romance novel is set in India with its vibrant colors, festivals, and traditions. 

Jia and Jaiman are the friends who are fighting their attraction to one another. Well, it is mostly Jia. I wasn't sure what to think of her. She seemed immature and self-serving when it came to her matchmaking. She thought that two successful pairings made her an expert. However, she didn't clue into what the "client" wanted vs what she wanted. 

Jaiman was more likable, but he had his own issues. He doesn't know how to market his business, a local pub, to be successful. Then he has been hung on Jia for fifteen years. That is a long time to not let her know how you really feel. 

I liked several of the minor characters better, especially Charu. She is such a trusting soul, and I love her vibe.

The book does move at a very slow pace. We do get to know the characters better, and can visualize the locations and scenes without them flashing by.

We give this book 3 paws up.

If you're also a sucker for a childhood friends to lovers story, I think you're going to love Match Me if You Can. While I thought the main characters were enjoyable, the magic was really in the robust and lovable cast of side characters!

I could see someone describing this as being very trope-heavy, but I actually thought it was done well, particularly for a debut author! Thank you to NetGalley and Dell Publishing for the ARC!

This was an adorable debut novel set in beautiful Mumbai where two friends struggle with their feelings for each other and other things life throws at them before they eventually realize they belong together and can tackle anything the world throws at them. Jaiman knows he's been in love with Jia basically since he was a teenager, but Jia is slow to realize her feelings for him are just as strong.

These two grew up together, their parents are best friends and when Jaiman's parents left to America, he stayed behind, falling into a comfortable routine between Jia's family and the Pub that he's put all his time, money, and energy into. This was a really heartwarming story and they had such a cute relationship. Jaiman was so patient with her, even though he thought he would never get his happily ever after with her. Jia was stubborn and a little miscommunication about something she overheard kept her from realizing just how obvious his love for her was. Everyone around them knew it, it just took her nearly losing him to realize how strongly she felt about him too.

This was super cute and a wonderful debut! Thank you to Dell/Random House Publishing and Swati for the ARC!

Cute summer read alert!!!

If you, like me, have been wanting a fresh written take on Emma, I’ve got excellent new for you. It’s modern, it’s Desi, it takes place in Mumbai - I’ve never been, but Swati writes in a way that sweeps you away to let you walk beside these characters in the city, and along the sea.

Jia is working for a magazine writing the love/relationship column during the day and writing for her blog (also sometimes during the work day), but her dream is to become a matchmaker, and has successfully found two couples love so far. When her proposal to try her matchmaking skills for the magazine and its readers doesn’t impress her boss, she negotiates to do a trial run for someone at the company…and she knows exactly who will be perfect together.

Jaiman is the owner of a (struggling) pub and a childhood friend of Jia’s. He’s basically an honorary member of their family and watching him interact with Jia’s father, sister and brother in law was so sweet. Mixing drinks is his passion, but when Jia waltzes in with her coworkers one evening and tells him about her plan, he can see trouble brewing, even when she can’t. Jaiman is so adorable but also very ‘old man yells at cloud’ about some things.

The side characters are so full of life, I’d love to see more stories about them. But let me tell youuuuu. I am a SUCKER for childhood friends to lovers in that no one knows me better than you way(I always get nervous it won’t end in love lol), and the way it all unfolds in Match me if you Can??? Exactly right. Was there a hiccup or two getting there? Yes. Was there an accidentally on purpose kiss that they’re awkward about? Also yes. Come for the romance, get roped in by the lives being lived, and stay for the heart of it. Family, friends, found family and love.

Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde is a charming romance novel that explores the journey from friends to lovers. This heartwarming story is sure to satisfy your craving for a sweet and uplifting read, leaving you feeling content and joyful.

I was intrigued to read a modern-day Emma adaptation set in my home city of Mumbai. Emma isn't a favourite Austen book but I wanted to see how it would transpose in this particular context. There were some enjoyable, genuine bits, but most of this felt like the writer took too much on with her supporting narrative threads much to the detriment of the development of the leads. The writing style and narrative voice -- and this is a personal preference -- was not my cup of tea, which is always a roadblock when it comes to my enjoyment of a romcom, in particular. There will be many readers who'll enjoy this; it just wasn't for me.

Jia likes to matchmake for others but what about her own love life? What about Jaiman, who is practically part of her chaotic Mumbai family? These two- the fashionista columnist and pub owner-do the slow burn friends to lovers thing throughout this entertaining rom com. Yes it's a bit trope-y but in the best way- the Jane Austen way. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A fun read.