This debut romance is a match for fans of Janet Austen’s Emma (with just a touch of You’ve Got Mail). Matchmaking Jia has a lot of grand plans, but her matchmaking skills are put to the test when one match to rule them all is what stands between her and success. As Jia puts her matchmaking plans into action, her longtime friend Jaiman watches and wishes for Jia to finally see that he could be her match.
This is a really enjoyable read! Jia and Jaiman are so cute - I think a great friendship is the foundation of a great relationship, and these two definitely have a solid friendship. And I do enjoy some good pining between characters. I think the matchmaking storyline is done well, and I love that we get blog excerpts that tie in to Jia’s own thoughts on romance and shows how those thoughts change. A great take on a classic storyline with lots of delightful updates and twists. I just wish it included a full recipe book of Jaiman’s cocktails!

the concept of this book was really cute and i LOVED the mmc, jaiman. he was so kind and vulnerable and just all around likeable. i really enjoyed watching him navigate his personal and professional life which entailed a lot of struggles. unfortunately, i hated the fmc, jia, for almost the entire book save for the last 10 pages. her character made the book unbearable at times. i don’t even know if i would classify what was going on as miscommunication… it was almost like purposely trying to see the wrong/negative side in every action? idk, that part was very annoying to me. i also hated how she tried to force charu and eshaan while forcing her to say no to manoj. like… why????? anyway, this was a cute story and a quick read, but i’m not sure i’d recommend it to my friends.

DNF & not sure why but the story did not grab me & make me want to finish. Gave up after a month, which is a first for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC review of Match Me if You Can in exchange for my review.

This was a delightful and entertaining read. Jia is a writer for a women’s magazine in India all about love and relationships, but she doest’t truly buy into the stories she writes, so she starts an anonymous blog on the side where she gives her real, unvarnished opinions.

She also dreams of working as a matchmaker for millennial clients, after having successfully found matches for her uncle and sister. She proposes a matchmaking column for the magazine and starts with a trial run for her new colleague Charru.

Though Jia gives Charu’s match her full attention, it turns out she has some blind spots and things don’t go quite how she wants them to.

In the end, other opportunities present themselves and Jia finds the confidence to make various changes in her life.

I felt that the ending wrapped up a little too neatly for my taste, but other than that, this was a very enjoyable read. I appreciated the touches of Indian culture mixed in with the plot and hope to read more by Swati Hedge!

I really struggled at times with Match Me if You Can. Jia was often very immature and made some really poor decisions because all could think about was herself. I liked Jaiman more, but he was very "woah is me". I enjoyed the Mumbai setting and the side characters.

Jia Deshpande writes cutesy articles for Mumbai’s top women’s magazine and posts about the messiness of real love on her anonymous blog. She's close to her family and childhood friend Jaiman Patil, whose family had moved away. He spends a lot of time with her family or the pub he owns. Jia must successfully play matchmaker for a coworker for a column to be authorized at the magazine. She sets up meet-cutes, but they go haywire, risking friendships and her relationship with Jaiman. Is love more complicated than she thought?

Jia and Jaiman had crushes on each other for years but pushed that away. Neither believes the other is truly interested romantically, and Jia wants the loving relationship her parents had before her mother died. She has two successful matchmaking attempts, so she's sure she can fix up her coworker. She is absolutely sure she can figure out what love is all about and what people need, but she misses cues and can't believe that she's wrong when it's pointed out to her. Jaiman is just as stubborn in a different way; his pub is failing and he won't let others help him. Both hit their low points with failures and continue to push through alone. It takes outside intervention to see what truly matters and stubbornness isn't it.

I enjoyed seeing the friendship and family relationships that Jaiman and Jia had since the romance affected others as well. Of course, everyone else saw the obvious, and it was not just a single miscommunication. The assumptions about each other and their real fear of losing their friendship made the stakes very real. The two also give a great look into the Mumbai of young singles, and the struggle to balance modern life with traditions, family expectations in Jaiman's case, and trying to have it all. We get an answer to the "will they or won't they" question, and a great happily ever after for everyone involved, not just our main couple. This is a fun rom-com, and worth the read.

Get ready to be swept away to the streets of Mumbai India. It was very cool to see and learn different things about the Indian culture.

This one was a closed door romance with only kisses. Jai the FMC was a bit hardheaded. She was given the chance to be a matchmaker, when things didn’t go exactly as planned… Jaiman her lifelong friend, who is literally perfect, has feelings for her. I do not know how Jai held out as long as she did with Jaiman. I was 100% rooting for them.

I love the wit and humor Swati Hedge wrote with, it was fun and inviting. The way she brought forth the cultures and traditions without it being overwhelming was such a nice touch. This book will warm your heart and have you yearning for one of Jaiman’s cocktails.

An enjoyable Desi romance with a slow burn. The characters are enjoyable, and the Mumbai setting is fun. I look forward to more from debut authSwati Hegde.This book is on shelves now. Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing, for the ARC and opportunity to provide an honest review.

okay. okay. ive sat on it, and its a solid debut overall. it took be a while to get invested, particularly in the storyline rather than our characters/their romance, but once i did she was very cute indeed. the cast of characters were so fun to read about and provably some of the standout parts of this book, and id say overall i had a good time, but might’ve been looking for something more out of this

I have come to REALLY enjoy a desi romance, and this was no exception! Jia and Jaiman’s love story feels so special and lovely. A fun crazy story about matchmaking and (not so) unrequited love. I loved this one so so much.

This was good but so frustrating. If the two of them had just talked even once about the kiss they had a year ago most of their problems would have been solved. The end of the book when they were actually together was so cute and I wanted more of it. Since they talked about it a bit a bonus chapter of their wedding would have been perfect.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I have made it my prerogative to read books written by people of color, especially romance books because I feel like it riches my perspective on the romance genre, and I love matchmaking romances. This one was super well written and I would read it two or three times again because the characters were just so well developed and just iconic

Match Me if You Can is a charming contemporary romance with an essential commentary on the modern state of love. Readers can look forward to a sweet love story that is sure to be so relatable to so many. Author Swati Hegde succeeds in creating a romance that speaks to the state of dating in the modern world and how friendship and romance can interact for the better. Ultimately, this is a sweet story involving sweet characters that are magnetic from beginning to end.

Full review posted on Pages and Pictures.

This book had a cute concept but I don’t think it was for me. I felt like I read this book for so long but never made any actual progress. I also had trouble connecting with any of the characters and didn’t really care about any of them.

Match Me If You Can is a fun spin on a rom-com. I enjoyed the tension between the main characters, and the edition of the blog entries!

This was a retelling of Jane Austen’s “Emma,” and there were moments when it was just… ok. There were also moments when it was enjoyable.

Jia wasn’t likable to me. She was a bit selfish and unbending. Jaiman was what redeemed this story. Their lack of communication was frustrating, and while I’m not a fan of books where just communicating would fix the problem, this was still enjoyable.

It’s a slow-burn romance, for sure, and I was definitely rooting for them. Overall, enjoyable.

3.5/4 stars

+ Thank you Netgallery / Random House Publishing Group for providing an e-book ARC in exchange for an honest review +

First off, can we talk about how gorgeous this book cover is? That's definitely one of the reasons it intrigued me because I feel like I'm getting a preview of what I'm about to read. I love supporting AAPI authors who represent the community, so I was super excited I got the chance to read this lovely book and review it for y'all!

Second, I absolutely adored Jia Deshpande and Jaiman Patil's lifelong friendship since they were little. I love that both of their parents are close friends so they have that history together. I enjoyed the build-up, but I did feel like it took a while to finally get there. It's a slow, SLOW burn lol.

Bless Jia's heart, I know she wants to be THE matchmaker since she matched her first two without a hitch. I think her expectations for herself kinda messed up her journey along the way, but I'm glad she's able to get back on course after everything. I didn't like the whole meddling with her co-worker and friend, Charu, but I get it. That was part of her job and bravo to Charu for allowing Jia do it, lol. She was seriously the MVP in this book. LOVE her!

So can we talk about Jaiman for a second here? This book definitely is a "he falls first" vibe which I truly love. He knew what he wanted and never gave up. My heart hurts when Jia doesn't reciprocate until like close to the end, lol. Like girl, wake up! He's right in front of you!! That's what I screamed at the book haha I mean the guy cooks for his family, is loyal, trustworthy, AND customizes cocktails?? Where can I find a Jaiman?? (don't tell my husband that). I love Jia, but Jaiman is what kept me wanting to read this book. He's truly the MVP in this book, along with Charu lol

Not sure if I'm the only one here but I think the two MC names get me confused. Jia and Jaiman lol Sometimes when I'm reading, I start to forget who is talking about who. I love that there's so much culture in this book and I get to learn what everything means from clothing wear to food to holidays. I think it would be helpful to have a little footnote on the bottom to describe what some of the cultural terms mean. I had to Google a few to get a picture of what is being described.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to those who love a friends-to-lovers story and concentrate more on building that love relationship. There's no spice really in my opinion like the smutty spice, but there are like heart, love feel romance in this story. This is definitely a great summer read for me, but any season will do for Jia and Jaiman!!

+ MF Romance
+ Friends to Lovers
+ Slow Burn
+ He Falls First
+ AAPI, BIPOC
+ Closed Door
+ Found Family

I'd like to thank NetGalley, Swati Hegde, and Dell for Match Me If You Can. This is the first book that I read by Swati. It took me a little longer to finish, but it is a cute read! Jia Deshpande spends her days writing for Mimosa, Mumbai’s top women’s magazine. She also posts about the messy truth of love on her anonymous blog, and attends her family’s weekly game nights. Can you say she is a busy woman?! If that wasn’t enough for her, she needs to successfully set up a coworker with her perfect match to get the okay for her new matchmaking column. Jia thinks this will not be hard for her to do! The local pub owner Jaiman Patil can’t help but fall for Jia. He’s always been an honorary part of her family, but even more so since he has moved to America. He tries to manage things with work as his pub begins to struggle. Jaiman's feelings for Jia grow. Jia ignores her true feelings for him for a while, but she also sends mix signals. I would recommend if you like contemporary romances and friends-to-lovers! ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you Netgalley and Dell Romance for the arc. I really enjoyed Swati’s debut romance set in Mumbai. As a writer, I saw myself in Jia — a girl who wants to pursue writing things that are meaningful to her but is stuck in a job that doesn’t allow her to do that. Besides that, Jia and Jaiman’s relationship is super cute. I like the mutual pining and the friends to lovers trope. There were also a few Bollywood references which I appreciated❤️ However, I felt there could have been less miscommunication between the two main love interest and the book could have been perhaps shorter. I loved the side characters and wish we could see more of them! Perhaps in the author’s next few books! 🥰

This was not the romance novel for me. I was really hopeful at first, but I couldn't get myself to like the fmc or the plot. The plot moved slowly and the romance did not seem strong to me. I wanted to like it, but I had a difficult time reading through the book.