Take a photo of a barcode or cover
sueemmy's review against another edition
4.0
Rounding up from 3.5⭐
What I really liked. The gorgeous cover. The Mumbai setting and culture. The idea of young woman interested in becoming a matchmaker while working at a sleazy click bait website.
What bothered me. I hate the miscommunication trope, with a few exceptions. The entire relationship between the MMC and the FMC based is a gigantic miscommunication. And frankly, people keep telling you that Jia, the FMC, is supposed to be a kind caring person, but I didn't see any evidence of that until the end. She is more concerned with making her match work and is quite self centered.
An overall positive reading experience with some caveats. Definitely will try more from this author. Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
What I really liked. The gorgeous cover. The Mumbai setting and culture. The idea of young woman interested in becoming a matchmaker while working at a sleazy click bait website.
What bothered me. I hate the miscommunication trope, with a few exceptions. The entire relationship between the MMC and the FMC based is a gigantic miscommunication. And frankly, people keep telling you that Jia, the FMC, is supposed to be a kind caring person, but I didn't see any evidence of that until the end. She is more concerned with making her match work and is quite self centered.
An overall positive reading experience with some caveats. Definitely will try more from this author. Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
julieyonder's review against another edition
3.0
Amazing characters, but it was such a slow burn. No spice at all!
resh_books's review against another edition
4.0
✨Get ready to be swept away by this Emma retelling!
“Match Me if You Can” is an Indian Emma retelling and I became super excited when I saw the blurb. I love Austen retellings and the author takes us through a loving journey of self discovery, friendship, family and love. I absolutely loved the cultural representation and twists as a long time Bollywood lover. Indeed some moments in the story reminded me of some of my favorite movie clips too. Loved the characters and the romance
“Match Me if You Can” is an Indian Emma retelling and I became super excited when I saw the blurb. I love Austen retellings and the author takes us through a loving journey of self discovery, friendship, family and love. I absolutely loved the cultural representation and twists as a long time Bollywood lover. Indeed some moments in the story reminded me of some of my favorite movie clips too. Loved the characters and the romance
jasperw's review against another edition
There was nothing inherently wrong with this book, the premise is a cute set up for a contemporary romance.
I am really picky with contemporary romances, and for me some of the plot points felt a bit pushed. The characters already have this infatuation with each other, and so it’s missing this building of emotions I want from a book like this. I also feel like some of the big shocking later plot points are very obvious, so there’s not intrigue on that level for me either.
I am really picky with contemporary romances, and for me some of the plot points felt a bit pushed. The characters already have this infatuation with each other, and so it’s missing this building of emotions I want from a book like this. I also feel like some of the big shocking later plot points are very obvious, so there’s not intrigue on that level for me either.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
blossomsleafylibrary's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was such a cute friends-to-lovers story that was giving early 2000s romcom vibes. The Dual POV was great to get to know both of the main characters and learning about their developing relationship. I loved Jia’s matchmaking attempts even though she could sometimes be a little bit stubborn and Jaiman’s cooking and his cocktail creations sounded delicious. Jia’s experiences with being single were so relatable and it was great to read a romcom with such a strong female character. The side characters were also so loveable (go Manoj) and I loved that there were strong female friendships .
The one thing I didn’t enjoy too much was the miscommunication/lack of communication sometimes (though it fit the early 2000s romcom vibes) but that is also just a personal preference.
I would definitely recommend this book if you are in the mood for a cute romance with strong (but stubborn) MCs and loveable side characters.
kristenreadswhat's review
3.0
Location: India
Representation: Indian MCs
Content warnings: death of a parent, past
Quick review: This one just kind of fell right in the middle for me. I liked the overall plot and the MMC, but the FMC also kind of drove me nuts with how naive she was.
Representation: Indian MCs
Content warnings: death of a parent, past
Quick review: This one just kind of fell right in the middle for me. I liked the overall plot and the MMC, but the FMC also kind of drove me nuts with how naive she was.
susiedunbar's review against another edition
4.0
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.
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.
pages_and_papercrafts's review against another edition
3.75
Jia is an aspiring matchmaker but struggles with finding her own love. Jaiman is her childhood friend and supporter. Their friends to lovers story was quite the slow burn, but enjoyable to read. I appreciated the setting, the plot and the character development. My first introduction to designate. I look forward to reading more. Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and provide my honest thoughts.
aabosh's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely adorable… Jia was a bit immature but not in an annoying way, and Jaiman was super sweet. Loved the ensemble cast too.
themadisonbritt's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
I wanted to like this book but I almost DNF’d so many times. First of all, Jia, the FMC is so annoying. She’s super selfish, stubborn, and always jumps to conclusions. I didn’t mind Jaiman as much. He was a little bit more likable, but a little too prideful. This story was like one big miscommunication trope. Like I don’t mind the miscommunication trope sometimes, but all of the issues could’ve been resolved if they just communicated with each other! Jaiman was literally PINING over Jia and refused to just tell her how he felt to the point where he came off as desperate. Also, this might be one of the slowest burns I’ve ever read. 200 pages in and not even a kiss between them. I’ve never read a book where the characters didn’t get together until the very end of the book. I think the pace was way too slow and at this point I wouldn’t even really call it romance because the romance is at the end of the book. Would not recommend unless you like really really slow burn romances, hold the burn.
I wanted to like this book but I almost DNF’d so many times. First of all, Jia, the FMC is so annoying. She’s super selfish, stubborn, and always jumps to conclusions. I didn’t mind Jaiman as much. He was a little bit more likable, but a little too prideful. This story was like one big miscommunication trope. Like I don’t mind the miscommunication trope sometimes, but all of the issues could’ve been resolved if they just communicated with each other! Jaiman was literally PINING over Jia and refused to just tell her how he felt to the point where he came off as desperate. Also, this might be one of the slowest burns I’ve ever read. 200 pages in and not even a kiss between them. I’ve never read a book where the characters didn’t get together until the very end of the book. I think the pace was way too slow and at this point I wouldn’t even really call it romance because the romance is at the end of the book. Would not recommend unless you like really really slow burn romances, hold the burn.