Jesse Q. Sutanto: Dial A for Aunties (Hardcover, 2021, Berkley)
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published April 27, 2021 by Berkley.
did not really dig this one, 3 stars is a bit high, I nearly stopped reading half-way through as it became clear what the book was like, but I stuck it out. The romance side of this is REAL light, it's more a family relations comedy and caper with the background of a chinese-indonesian fancy wedding which is fun to read about.
Very fun and east to read, but it was sooo ridiculous and cringey at times that it took me out of the story a bit, but with that type of synopsis it was to be expected lol
I really enjoyed this. I thought it was going to be a cozy mystery so I wasn't expecting the romance storyline but I didn't hate it. I always enjoy books that feature crazy rich asians (as well as the actual book!) and Weekend at Bernies is one of my favorite movies so once I saw where this was going I was excited to see where the author could take it.
This is ridiculous, and hilarious! Perfect entertainment for a bank holiday afternoon.
Full review:
Dial A for Aunties was a ridiculous delight! It’s pretty rare for me to laugh out loud at books, but Jesse Sutanto managed to elicit multiple laughs through this madcap rom-com.
The women in Meddy’s family are cursed. First it was Chinese curse, the men in their lives fated to die before their time, but since moving to California the curse now just makes all the men leave them. This is partly why Meddy so easily gave up the love of her life, who we meet through flashbacks to her college days. Despite her closeness to her mother and three aunties, she never told them about him. So of course, they assume she’s just terrible at dating, and her mother decides to impersonate her on a dating site…leading to the aforementioned death. Her mother’s use of …
This is ridiculous, and hilarious! Perfect entertainment for a bank holiday afternoon.
Full review:
Dial A for Aunties was a ridiculous delight! It’s pretty rare for me to laugh out loud at books, but Jesse Sutanto managed to elicit multiple laughs through this madcap rom-com.
The women in Meddy’s family are cursed. First it was Chinese curse, the men in their lives fated to die before their time, but since moving to California the curse now just makes all the men leave them. This is partly why Meddy so easily gave up the love of her life, who we meet through flashbacks to her college days. Despite her closeness to her mother and three aunties, she never told them about him. So of course, they assume she’s just terrible at dating, and her mother decides to impersonate her on a dating site…leading to the aforementioned death. Her mother’s use of the aubergine emoji is just priceless.
The hiding of the body is the main purpose of the book, but there is also a second chance romance, if only Meddy can avoid getting caught. In a series of unfortunate events, the body ends up at the wedding, and they run round trying to save the event whilst coming up with ideas for the body. It’s a riot!
Meddy and her family are Chinese-Indonesian, as are their clients, so we get to see some of their wedding traditions when things aren’t going wrong. There’s a lot in it about family obligations and loyalty, but it is kind of heart-warming how that translates into their matter-of-fact help with the body. They never doubt Meddy that it was self-defence and they don’t bat an eyelid at the situation. They are awesome aunties, even if they have their own sisterly rivalries.
