What a cute & quick read! Read this one in one sitting!!🥹
Will post the full review near publishing date🫶🏼

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Swati Hegde's "Match Me If You Can" is a charming rom-com that sizzles with the vibrant energy of Mumbai and the irresistible allure of love. Set against the backdrop of a bustling cityscape, this novel captivates readers with its endearing characters, witty banter, and heartwarming romance.

At the center of the story is Jia Deshpande, a confident and vivacious fashionista whose knack for setting up perfect meet-cutes is matched only by her reluctance to confront her own feelings for her childhood friend, Jaiman Patil. As Jia navigates the complexities of love and friendship while juggling her career aspirations, readers are treated to a delightful tale filled with humor, heart, and plenty of surprises.

Hegde's prose is as effervescent as a perfectly mixed cocktail, effortlessly blending humor and emotion to create a story that is both entertaining and heartfelt. From Jia's hilarious escapades in the office to her heart-to-heart conversations with Jaiman, each scene crackles with authenticity and charm.

What sets "Match Me If You Can" apart is its richly drawn cast of characters, each with their own quirks and vulnerabilities. Whether it's Jia's meddling family or the eclectic patrons of Jaiman's pub, every character leaps off the page with vivid personality, adding depth and dimension to the narrative.

As Jia's attempts at matchmaking go awry and her relationship with Jaiman takes an unexpected turn, the novel explores themes of friendship, forgiveness, and the true nature of love. Hegde deftly navigates the ups and downs of romance, delivering a satisfying conclusion that leaves readers with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

In conclusion, "Match Me If You Can" is a delightful romp through the streets of Mumbai, filled with laughter, love, and plenty of heart. Swati Hegde has crafted a feel-good novel that will leave readers eagerly awaiting her next literary offering. Whether you're a fan of romantic comedies or simply looking for a fun and uplifting read, "Match Me If You Can" is sure to hit the spot.

This one is tough for me. I really don't like to give lackluster reviews, but that's exactly what this book was for me. The main characters, Jia and Jaiman, are seriously unlikeable. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot, and honestly found them quite annoying. But, I do think there is probably people that will truly like this book, so give it a chance.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

A fairly faithful Emma retelling, this contemporary romance follows Jia and Jaiman, two lifelong family friends as they navigate love and work in Mumbai. I ended up really liking this book but let me start with the negative, to get it out of the way. All that are familiar with Emma know what to expect from the female protagonist and Jia is no different. Oblivious and immature, she thinks that she knows what’s what but of course she doesn’t. I always find this hard to read in these retellings and Jia’s perspective was sometimes so very hard to read. I almost wish it was toned down a bit in this book because, alternatively, Jaiman is such a good male love interest, maybe one of my favorites. His perspectives were by far my favorite and it made me want only the best for him, which often was not Jia. She came around in the end, though, as the Emmas always do, and the setting of Mumbai and the fun side characters made this an entertaining read. I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Thank Netgalley for the ARC copy. There wasn't anything inherently wrong with the book, but there was nothing I loved either. It was just a bit slow and subtle for my taste.

Enjoyable read. It didn’t start to really pick up until around 2/3 the way through the book, but I enjoyed the overall storyline.

This was a super fun Emma reimagining, fresh and sweet with the angle of the anonymous blog, the Mumbai setting, etc. Really enjoyed it!

This is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. There are certain aspects of the story that are also inspired by You’ve Got Mail.

What I liked:
- The author’s writing style
- How seamlessly the author was able to weave in an ensemble cast with multiple supporting characters into the story
- I was emotionally invested and cared enough about the protagonists to want to keep reading
- The Mumbai setting
- Friends to lovers trope
- Some of the relationship advice through the female MC’s blog seemed sound and helpful.

What bothered me:
- There seemed to be a lot of miscommunication/misunderstandings between the MCs. It felt like if the MCs could just communicate and clear the misunderstandings, their issues could have been resolved easily.

SPOILER ALERT:
- The male protagonist’s passive attitude towards his failing pub and that the female protagonist had to be the one to come up with an idea to save it (like a role reversal of the damsel in distress trope).

However, if you are a fan of Emma or the movie, Clueless, you may enjoy it.

I really enjoyed this book. The romance wasn’t the best but the story was really good. I love reading books involving Indian culture and life. I myself am not Indian but there’s just something about it that I love learning more about. I will definitely read more by this author.

I was reading the authors post on Goodreads and saw her mention Jane Austen and it resonated in my mind. This book gives big Jane energy but also in such a bright colorful way. I love the cover and the concept of matchmaking and figuring out that the person you want has been there all along

“Match Me if You Can” is a sweet debut romance! Jia is a secret blogger and relationship writer for a “woman’s” magazine, Mimosa. Her ambition is to open her own matchmaking business, so her boss tells her if she’s able to set up someone in the office, they’ll give her a matchmaking column. Jiaman, her childhood best friend, runs his own pub, which is struggling. The two have a bit of ~history~ they are trying to work around.

This book especially shines in its best friend characters: Charu, the horoscope writer Jia is setting up; Manoj, the musician that attracts a crowd to Jiaman’s pub; Jia’s sister Tanu.

Very Emma-inspired, but I’m here for all love letters to Jane Austen.

Match Me If You Can

3/5 ⭐️

You will like this book if you enjoy;
•frenemies to lovers
•slow burn
•closed door spice

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC opportunity to read this book!

This FMC was hard to connect with, she was very obtuse, self absorbed, and unrelatable. Horrible communication until rhe end —- but I’m glad I pushed through to see MMC get the HEA he deserves, I did not leave this story feeling satisfied with how it went down. It fell flat, and felt like it was glorifying poor communication and treating your partner badly.

This is a quick, shorter read that has no explicit or raunchy scenes.

Thanks so much for the chance to read and review. I love Clueless and most Emma retellings, so I was excited to read this one. The setting was great, and I thought Jaiman, in particular, was a compelling character. It's a very slow burn with rampant miscommunication--frustrating to read at times.

Overall, this was a solid story and a fresh, modern spin on a classic tale. But I think I would have enjoyed it more (and bumped it up to 4 stars) if there had been a few more cute moments between Jia and Jaiman to sell their chemistry and enjoyment of each other. That said, I liked it enough to check out whatever is next from Swati Hegde.

—Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.


This was a great desi romance and it was a debut! Like waht, how?! The writing was so flowy and pretty. It was so easy to read and flow through. I loove matchmaking romances. This was done so well.

Swati Hegde's debut is a charming hug of a romance. With witty and lovely voice and characters, it embodies all the sweetest parts of Austen retellings and friends to lovers romances. So looking forward to what Swati does next!

Okay, so, it was both really good and then it sorta drove me crazy. I love that there was a clearly demisexual character and her coming to terms with what that meant for her. And I love love LOVE the setting and all that it encompasses in the book...just casually mentioning the view of the sea and knowing it's the Indian Ocean! Or the comments about the matchmakers that are so casual and commonplace!

But some stuff just made me crazy. Like, how does he still want to be with her when she is so oblivious??? And why does she think it's okay to mess with lives the way she does??? I should just get over it, but it bugged me the whole time. I'd say the 4 is generous, truly.

I tried so hard to love this book. It had cute/sweet vibe to it. Matchmaker gets her match that kind of thing. The right man was right there all along. The problem for me was there wasn’t much chemistry between the two main characters. They have a past but it is mired by misunderstandings. And it is just too hard to figure out why they don’t just have a conversation. I will try another Swati Hegde book, because the individual characters had charm. But the love story was not a match for me.

I overall enjoyed this romance - and as someone who is a=not a meber of the Indian/Indian-American community, I really appreciated the details in this book and the vivid imagery of Mumbai.

One small thing that bugged me throughout is that the protagonists' names are Jia and Jaiman (which read as Jia and Jiaman sometimes). Jia also is not the most likeable of characters at first, but that did not give me pause, as I knew this was a (loose) adaptation of Jane Austen's _Emma_.

The writing is bright and easy to read, and if you enjoy witty romances, this is a good one.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC copy.

Match Me If You Can, a contemporary romance about a modern matchmaker and her lifelong friend, was a fun, bright, and romantic read! I didn't know going into reading this book that it was based on Jane Austen's Emma, but as a huge Austen fan, I felt like the parts of the story inspired by her were little easter eggs. I loved seeing how Swati Hedge took her creative liberties with such a well-loved story, still creating a fresh and new romance.

Jia and Jaiman were both such real and lovable characters. I loved seeing them grow into themselves and grow together throughout this book. While I loved their romance, in some ways, I was even more compelled by the other plots present throughout the book. The author did a great job balancing the romance along with these other parts of the story- it all flowed together so nicely and kept me wondering about what would happen in the end.

I also loved reading a book set in Mumbai! As someone who has never been to India, this made me feel so compelled to visit. I loved learning about various parts of the Indian culture that were introduced throughout this book.

All in all, a delightful, romantic, and heartwarming story. Congratulations to the author for such a fantastic debut novel! I can't wait to see what she puts out next.

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

A charming premise and wholesome friends-to-lovers romance. Two childhood friends navigate their feelings for one another as they struggle in their careers.

I enjoyed the setting of Mumbai, Jaiman’s recipes and cocktail concoctions, and the culinary school rivalry plot. I do not think the You’ve Got Mail-esque anonymous blog subplot was necessary and detracted from the story for me. The obliviousness of and constant miscommunication between the two leads made it difficult to root for them (I was however rooting for Charu and Manoj and Flora and Harish!).

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.