Match Me If You Can
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Jun 4, 2024
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- $11.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A young magazine writer in Mumbai must prove her matchmaking skills—and contend with growing feelings for her close family friend—in this debut desi romance.
“A delightful friends-to-lovers romance that will curb your sweet tooth and leave you feeling warm and happy!”—New York Times bestselling author Sarah Adams
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. If that wasn’t enough, Jia needs to successfully set up a coworker with her perfect match to get the green light for her new matchmaking column. Thankfully, organizing meet-cutes has never been difficult for her.
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. Life with the Deshpandes is chaotic and loud, but it’s also more loving than anything he experienced growing up, and he wouldn’t risk losing that for the world. It feels manageable—until his pub begins to struggle and his long-hidden feelings for Jia grow deeper.
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.