Match Me If You Can

April 8, 2024
Hegde’s heartwarming Mumbai-set debut introduces Jia and Jaiman, two formerly close family friends who have grown awkward around each other after sharing a quick but passionate moment at Jia’s sister’s wedding. Their fraught dynamic is further complicated when Jaiman begins spending even more time with Jia’s family after his own moves away. Meanwhile, magazine writer Jia pitches a new column on matchmaking to her boss. After pairing off two of her close family members, Jia has discovered that bringing couples together is her passion and a way to feel closer to her late mother, who found love through a matchmaker. To win over her boss, Jia offers to prove her skill by matching up two of her coworkers, not realizing they’re totally incompatible. As Jia works to bring them together, Jaiman is rightly skeptical of the whole endeavor, which Jia resents—especially after he’s proven right. Jia’s matchmaking attempts keep the pages turning as her own love story with Jaiman simmers in the background. The pair’s gentle friends-to-lovers dynamic will delight readers who like their romances to burn slow. Hegde shows promise. Agent: Rachel Beck, Liza Dawson Assoc. (June)Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly stated that Jaiman moves in with Jia’s family and that Jia’s mother was a professional matchmaker.

December 1, 2024

This big-hearted friends-to-lovers debut romance, a Mumbai-set retelling of Jane Austen's Emma, stars Jia Deshpande, a young listicle writer at an Indian women's magazine who pitches a matchmaking column to her boss. Jia is asked to make her case for the column by providing evidence of some successful matches she's made, which launches her on a scheme to set up a number of friends and coworkers, with mixed results. When not hustling at work or managing her anonymous romance-advice blog, Jia loves weekly game nights with her close-knit family and spending time with her best friend, local pub owner Jamil Patil, who harbors a secret crush on Jia. When Jamil's pub starts to struggle, Jia tries to help and finds it increasingly difficult to pretend she doesn't have romantic feelings for her dear friend. Witty and charming, with nuanced bisexual and demisexual characters, this is an enjoyable audio experience, narrated by actor Mayuri Bhandari. VERDICT Highly recommended for libraries looking to expand their contemporary South Asian romance collections and perfect for fans of authors such as Sonali Dev and Uzma Jalaluddin.--Shannon O'Connor

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