3.5 stars. Thank you to Net Galley and Random House/Dell for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was a fun read and I liked that the characters lived in Mumbai, creating a more Indian feel to the storytelling. It seems like an modern Indian take on Jane Austen's Emma with the rom-com spin. Jia is a magazine writer with dreams of starting her own matchmaking business But she can get the ball rolling at the magazine with a matchmaking column if she can set up her coworker with their perfect match.. She has a close knit family that can be a bit crazy but loving. Years ago they took in Jaiman, now a local pub owner, that Jia has always been attracted to but has pushed her feelings down in fear of destroying their friendship and his relationship with her family. Too much is on the line. Jaiman is enamored with Jia but has similar fears. There bad decisions, confused communications, speed dating and, when Jia thinks she has things figured out, surprises along the way. Yet, it all works out at the end which you could have guessed!

I had high hopes for this book, especially since I was drawn in by its catchy title. However, the story ultimately fell flat for me. I couldn't fully immerse myself in the narrative and I was finding it a struggle to push through to the end. I didn't connect with Jia, as there was little that made me want to root for her. Jaiman also lacked the depth to be truly interesting. The ending also felt rushed, which left the overall experience somewhat unsatisfying. The book seemed to be missing something that would really make it engaging. If you like slowburn… this one is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.

Jia and Jaiman are childhood friends who secretly like each other but haven’t confessed their feelings to each other yet.
Jia who comes from a rich family works as a magazine writer and Jaiman is a pub owner, struggling to keep his business running.

The story started strong but turned into a slow read as I felt there was no development in the story and chemistry / communication was missing for the main characters.
Since it was a slow read, it took me a while to finish it.

Match Me If You Can is… fine. Jia and Jaiman are childhood friends. Jia is toiling in the trenches as an underappreciated romantic advice writer who dreams of having her own matchmaking column. She has successfully set up two (two!) couples and considers herself an expert, writing about it on her secret website. Her efforts to prove she can set up a coworker and thus earn her own column go as well as can be expected; meanwhile she’s blind to her own perfect match right in front of her. Jaiman has angst over his father’s desire for him to join the family business and give up his dreams of running a pub. Meanwhile, there’s also a subplot with his culinary school rival who opens a bar next door to Jaiman’s failing place.

I just didn’t like these characters very much. They’re very immature; both acted entitled to success they hadn’t earned, moped around and lashed out when things don’t go their way. When the two finally got together, it felt more out of plot obligation than any real chemistry.

Not terrible, just nothing I haven’t seen done before, and done better.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Dell for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very special book. I loved the representation and the genuine friendship between the main characters.

This was a sweet romance and until very near the end felt relatively meandering and peaceful, low-stakes.

I loved the descriptions, the details of the sights and smells and outfits and places. You could practically feel yourself in the places as you read them.

I had SUCH a hard time with Jaiman and Jia though, because she treated him like such a burden and it made me so sad! They both jumped to conclusions so quickly and communicated so poorly, and then it isn’t until the ending where literally his entire life is down to the wire that Jia finally talks to him and lets him explain as well. These are adults with fully formed prefrontal cortexes (cortexi?) and they did not act like it. So I guess that is actually okay if they are destined to be together lol.

Overall a cutie. A lot of drama but it felt like a soap so that was actually fun (also who doesn’t want a little over the top drama in a romcom - adds a little pizazz)

This one was just ok. It was missing what I love about romance books…witty banner and swoon-worthy moments. The MCs were tolerable but I was never invested in the story.

Synopsis:

Confident fashionista Jia Deshpande spends her days writing cliché-ridden listicles for Mimosa, Mumbai’s top women’s magazine. When she can, Jia dishes about the messy truth of real love on her anonymous blog, attends her family’s weekly game nights, and ignores her true feelings for her childhood friend. Local pub owner and cocktail genius Jaiman Patil can’t help but be enamored with Jia and her meddling spirit. He’s always been an honorary part of her family, but even more so since his own moved to America. His feelings grow deeper as his pub starts to fail. When Jia’s attempts at office matchmaking go haywire, risking new friendships and her relationship with Jaiman, she must reevaluate her own thoughts on love. For the first time, Jia Deshpande realizes that love may be a lot more complicated than she thought. Luckily, happily-ever-afters are never in short supply in Mumbai.

Review:

I was attracted to this book because of its South Asian characters and setting in Mumbai. I felt like the book really brought the city to life and really highlighted the more current version of India - a lot of people think India is very traditional, and sure some areas are but it's nice to see a different side in a book. I found the characters, and their family dynamics very relatable and the romance between Jia & Jaimin very sweet. I loved Jia as a strong FMC who was very independent and stood up for herself and appreciated that Jaimin was trying to make it on its own despite being from a very wealthy family.

Thank you to Dell Romance for my digital ARC!

I love a slow burn, but this was almost toooooo slow for my personal taste. I also didn't love the FMC - do I see too much of myself in stubborn, hyper-independent fmc's? Yea probably. But other than that, I had a pretty good time reading this book! I love contemporary romances with lots of culture, which was why I was drawn to this cover & story to begin with. Not a lot of spice, so if that's what you're looking for, you won't find it here. But you will find a sweet ending with a HEA!
Thank you to Swati Hegde, Dell/Penguin Random House & NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my review.

This was a wonderful, sweet debut. Our slightly pessimistic FMC performing a matchmaking task even though she doesn’t believe in “the one.” Our MMC was so charming and swoony!

I loved it, the childhood friends to lovers theme I’m here for it. It was very much so reading a Bollywood movie!! I was almost getting a jannai Thu ya jannai na movie movies if you’ve seen that movie. I highly recommend this to my fellow desi !! It’s really cute !

Such a fun and engaging story like this is why I love to read. The couple at the heart of the book is fantastic but the secondary characters and even the setting becomes part of the story. I highly recommend this book.

Slow Burn Romance, Indian MC’s, Matchmaking

Jaiman is hopelessly in love with Jia, his childhood friend. Jia who secretly have a blog where she gives advice on love. Her boss gives her an opportunity to prove her matchmaking skills by helping her coworker find love.

There’re a lot of things to love about this book and the writing was wonderful for a debut author.

This had some feelings of Emma and You've Got Mail, which I love both of those stories.
Jia is a matchmaker and has a blog along with her magazine job. She really doesn't need a job since her family is well off but she is trying to get experience. On the other hand her family friend Jaiman has a bar that is this dream job but is not profitable. So his long unrequited love for Jia and multiple setbacks at work cause him to want to leave.
There was some miscommunication but they were really close family friends who had feelings for eachother without realizing it was mutual.

A delightful romance that combines matchmaking, friendship, and love. It is a heartwarming and slow burning read.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am sorry to say but while this book has a cute premise I found the writing to be lackluster and predictable. There wasn’t anything that pulled me in and made me want to keep reading. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy.

“Match Me If You Can” by Swati Hegde is the perfect Friends to Lovers, Will they won’t they clean romance you’re looking for!

I was absolutely obsessed with this book the second I picked it up and I couldn’t put it down. Friends to lovers is my favorite trope currently, and Hedge portrays it perfectly!

The slow burn is immaculate and so worth it. If you don’t like slow burn then this book probably isn’t for you.

Jia and Jai have amazing chemistry and I’m obsessed with the “you’ve got mail” vibes with her blog. (If you know you know)

The supporting characters of this book really shine as well. I really loved how Jia’s friendship with her new coworker and match making subject Charu blooms throughout the book.

Overall I think this is a perfectly wonderful debut by Swati Hegde and I CANNOT WAIT to read more!! Thankyou to NetGalley for the ARC 💕

I am coming to find that I adore books with matchmaking premises. Add in childhood frenemies to lovers⁣, but he's loved her the whole time? Yeah this book was bound to be a beloved debut of mine.

This was a fun read for me. I enjoyed the main characters and absolutely loved the side characters. This was a great debut.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dell. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

Synopsis 📚
If there’s one thing that Jia Despande may love more than her custom rose cocktail, it’s matchmaking. Jia’s dream is for her anonymous love blog, Love Better with J, to make it big and to bring meant-to-be couples together. But for now, she’s resigned herself to writing bland and inapplicable romance advice articles at Mimosa, a top Mumbai women’s magazine. So it’s no surprise that Jia’s excited when her boss agrees to add a matchmaking column to Mimosa if she finds a match for her coworker: quiet astrology writer Charu. This should be easy for Jia. After all, she’s successfully set up a lot of couples, including her sister and her husband. As she looks for Charu’s perfect other half, Jia begins to realize that love is complicated and never straightforward. And somewhere along the way, Jia suddenly finds herself falling for the guy who makes her custom cocktails: her childhood friend Jaiwan Patil.

Cocktail concoter extraordinair Jaiwan Patil is hopelessly in love with Jia and has been for years. He’s scared to tell Jia though… especially after the Unfortunate Incident. Everything should be fine thought because Jaiwan’s put aside his feelings and Jia’s ignoring hers, but will their chemistry be too hard for them to ignore?

Personal Thoughts 💭
Okay, let me start off by saying this: Jia is an absolute icon. Her fashion sense and her confidence is everything. She’s such a sweetheart and has good intentions at heart, although things sometimes go topsy turvy. She says what she thinks and tries to get her point across, but understands that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, including herself. Jia’s stubborn and won’t back down. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t own up to her mistakes. She learns from them and I love myself a FMC who learns from her mistake If you couldn’t already tell, I loved this book (mainly because of Jia, althought Jaiwan is adorkable). Romance lovers, go check this book out! Definitely recommend!