This is one of my new favorite books, and one I know will be hard to top for the rest of 2021, even though it's only January. Weekend at Bernie's meets Crazy Rich Asians, Dial A for Aunties is the perfect mix of humor, romance, and life lessons. Somewhere between romance, women's fiction, and quasi-mystery, so much is packed into this book and I loved it all.

When Meddy ends up accidentally killing the guy her mom sets her up on a blind date with, her Aunties quickly assembly to help her get rid of the body. Because nothing says family like burying bodies. But at the same time, the family is also trying to put on the wedding of the century and Meddy keeps running into her college ex-boyfriend (who she's still desperately in love with). Basically, chaos ensues.

This book is seriously laugh-out-loud funny, and so addicting I binge-read it in one night. I loved seeing flashbacks of Meddy and her ex, Nathan, so we could really see their emotional connection and history. I loved ALL the Aunties and just generally this book brought me so much joy.

I really appreciate the introductory author's note discussing the author's relationship with her culture and how its portrayed in the book, as it put me in the right frame of mind to read this story, and I wish more books had introductory notes like this.

This is a must-read, must-preorder, can't miss book!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars - 10/10

4.5 stars rounded up, this book was so fun! It requires some suspension of disbelief but if you can do that, you're in for a wild ride. I loved the family dynamics between Meddy and her mother and aunts. I found myself laughing out loud at their antics and their attempt to get through the wedding weekend without being convicted for murder. The twists were outlandish but at the sweet spot that made the story fast paced and exciting. My only real critique is that I didn't think we really needed the flashbacks but I appreciated Nathan as a love interest so I didn't really mind it. Overall it's funny and charming and I would definitely recommend!

This was a fun an entertaining read. It's well written and the aunties are hilarious and loveable. They remind me of my own gaggle of immigrant family members.

Meddy is a bit directionless and I do get turned off by these types of main characters. Ultimately I stopped reading at about 40% of the way through (just after part two begins) because we find out the true identity of the body in the cooler and that he may have not been dead to begin with. All that could have easily been resolved had Meddy a) checked his pulse and b) driven to the nearest police station or hospital.

I think many people would find this a fun beach read and I hope they can suspend their disbelief a little more than I could. I'm interested to see what the author does next!

Absolutely hilarious! DIAL A FOR AUNTIES was such a fun, fast-paced, and delightful read for so many reasons. Sutanto crafts a voice that’s so relatable, engaging, quirky, and funny. The cast of aunties brings this book to life in so many ways—each of them had their own individual personalities, and they steal the spotlight with their antics. Sutanto captures each of their voices perfectly; I can hear my own Chinese family members saying the same times as the aunties! This kind of reads like CRAZY RICH ASIANS, except with more murder and way funnier. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light-hearted, quirky, fun read.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect out of this book, but I’m so glad I picked it up. I had so much fun reading it! Dial A for Aunties was a wild ride from start to finish, one that explored just how much your family would protect you.

Meddy is a wedding photographer with her aunts and mother’s family business. After a disastrous blind date ends up with him dead, Meddy panics and calls her mom and her aunts. Disposing of the body turns out to be more difficult than they expected, especially after more and more situations at the wedding they’re working prevent them from doing so. Add in the fact that Meddy’s first love comes back into her life at the worst possible moment, and this weekend becomes the most stressful job they’ve ever undergone.

First, I just want to say that when I said this book was a “wild ride,” I really meant it. You’ll really have to suspend your disbelief at times, especially when things just keep going wrong in the most ridiculous ways, but it was honestly so much fun that I didn’t care.

A I said, this book was a Lot, but I loved it. It was also so funny! I couldn’t stop smiling and I actually laughed out loud a couple of times. I will say that the romance was a small part of the book. However, you won’t care because as the plot just keeps building and building, you won’t be able to put this book down.

At its heart, though, this book is about the bond Meddy has with her mother and her aunts. While she finds their love stifling at times (actually, most of the time), she realizes just how much they love her when they quite literally help her bury a dead body. It’s ridiculous, yes, but I loved seeing this stereotype of “overbearing Asian mom/auntie” turned on its head this way.

I also loved the author’s note where she notes that, as a Chinese Indonesian, her and Meddy’s ability to speak English so fluently and their parents broken English are not a sign of intelligence and lack thereof. Instead, it’s a symbol of what they’ve given up so that their children could have a better life. In this book, the language barrier is used as a set-up to certain jokes, but it also just goes to show, yet again, how much Meddy’s mother and aunts love her.

Dial A for Aunties takes the “overbearing Asian mom/auntie” stereotype to the extreme and turns it on its head. I loved the characters, especially the depiction of the protagonist’s bond with her mother figures. It was also just so much fun! Trust me when I say you want to read Dial A for Aunties because you won’t be able to put this book down.

Trigger Warnings: Mentioned death of family members (prologue), slut-shaming (chapter 1), sex, car crash (on page, not graphic - chapters 4 & 5), death, minor injuries, murder, drinking, recreational drug use (unknowingly - drugging), racism, being held at gunpoint

I absolutely loved Dial A for Aunties. Once I started it I could not put it down! It was hilarious and full of twists and turns from start to finish. While I loved the craziness and Telenovela style storyline, I absolutely loved Meddy's family and how even though they fought constantly the world absolutely do anything for each other. The infusion of Chinese-Indonesian culture was so wonderful and something that I personally haven't seen in a book before and I loved it!

This book made me laugh out loud and had me verbally reacting to every chapter. A super fun and quick read that I'll definitely be reading again!

This book! I've been hearing a lot about Dial A for Aunties and it more than lived up to the hype. It is so funny - I was giggling so hard towards the end. Meddy's meddling mom sets her up on a blind date with a successful hotelier, but when Meddy accidentally kills him she calls on her mom and 3 aunties for help. This sets off an amazing comedy of errors as Meddy and her aunties try to juggle hiding the crime while still running their wedding business. It took a couple of chapters for me to get used to the first person present tense narration, which is not my favorite, but once I got into the flow of the story I couldn't put the book down. (Well, I kept putting it down out of stress for Meddy and her aunties, who keep getting into more and more trouble, and then picking it right back up.) This book is just such a delight from beginning to end - highly recommended.

What a book! Laugh out loud funny with loads of loving family vibes thrown in. There is one possible caveat though. If you prefer your heroines bold and fearless, then this is not the book for you. Our heroine is a bit gutless which can get extremely frustrating.

So, I really enjoyed this but a major caveat is necessary: this book is not rooted in reality. It's absurd. It's self-aware enough to know it's absurd. If you think the premise is bananas, I promise you that it goes off the rails a dozen more times after the setup. I loved it, but you'll be miserable if you poke holes by asking logical questions like, "Wouldn't the hotel exterior cameras solve [redacted problem]?" Lean into the absurdity and enjoy the hijinks. Great voice, A+ meddling aunties, adored the author's note at the beginning. There's a secondary romantic arc but don't read for the romance (it's the least interesting part).

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a copy of this book via NetGalley!

An entertaining read, part rom-com and part murder mystery. I was both irritated and intrigued by the family dynamics with all of Meddy's aunties. I can see such a thing happening with sibling rivalries based on birth order and the accomplishments/failures of children (definitely not uncommon in Asian families). I adored the mix of cultures and backgrounds in this book.

When Meddy accidently kills her blind date she has to call in reinforcements for help... Her Aunties.

She has to hide the body, but the body end up going with them to a wedding they are working. While there they don't want to look suspicious but almost everyone there sees them with the cooler they stuffed the body in. Will they get away with it?

Jesse Q. Sutanto pulls off one madcap rom-com caper of a darkly humorous debut with Dial A for Aunties.

When Meddy goes on a blind date her mom set up, it doesn't end as planned and now Meddy has a corpse to get rid of. Oops. Now what?

Call in the three aunties, explain not to use the eggplant emoji when chatting up strange men, and figure out how to get rid of the body. Because tomorrow, they have an enormous, expensive, high profile wedding that could make or break the Chan family business.

What follows is a roller coaster ride of a weekend with the family trying to get rid of the body while fulfilling all of their contracted duties as wedding vendors in a professional manner.

Not enough stress and zaniness? The man running the hotel is The One Who Got Away - Meddy's college boyfriend, her one true love, the boy she left so she could help her family start their wedding business. It's hard to open your heart for a second chance at love when you're lugging around a corpse in a freezer.

Fast-paced and darkly humorous with sweet romantic moments balanced by thoroughly bonkers what-did-I-just-read moments. I couldn't stop laughing during the Chan family discussions. Each aunt had her own POV and well-developed voice along with quirks for days.

It might sound odd in a novel where hiding a corpse is a major plot point but I found moments really touching - Meddy's love for her family and for Nathan was heartwarming.

I loved reading about the Indo-Chinese wedding traditions and descriptions of dim sum.

I can't recommend this highly enough! I hope the Netflix adaptation does it justice.

Dial A For Auntie was such a fun read. It was extremely comical and had a mix of mystery and romance within the story! It was never a dull moment. I can’t even decide who my favorite Auntie was, they all were so funny in their own ways. Also, did not see that plot twist coming! Looking forward to sharing with our audience. Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read "Dial A for Aunties." Not only because this author is Indonesian (I'm also Indonesian), but because Netflix adapted this book with Nahnatchka Khan, the creator of "Fresh Off the Boat." The book will be published in April 2021.

First things first, don't take this book too seriously. It's crazy, hilarious, and witty. The story focused on Meddy, who was surrounded by her mom and three aunts almost her entire life. They owned a wedding business, and Meddy was their photographer. Unfortunately, Meddy was involved in the murder of her blind date the night before her family's big Indonesian wedding gig. The aunts came to the rescue to hide the dead body. But things got wild because they had to dispose of the body. On top of that, Meddy's ex came back into the picture to bring the romance into this story.

I loved the craziness of Meddy's family. I could feel they were a close-knit family with a little bit of sisterhood and sibling rivalry. The aunts and the mom just wanted the best for Meddy but ended up troubling her more, and she didn't have the gut to say it. The author captured the essence of family bonds and the important need to respect their elders. Indonesian people are very family-oriented.

The murder mystery was a page-turner because I didn't know how the author would solve this at the end. I was happy with how things end––unrealistically good. I couldn't wait to see the adaptation. I hope they will be able to nail this craziness onto the screen.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Jesse Q. Susanto for the galley in exchange for an honest review.

Wrap a romcom with a crime novel, sprinkle in Weekend At Bernie’s, and you get this deliciously fun, big-hearted book. Told in past and present, we learn of lost love, hope for love found, and watch a bickering (with love) family try to dispose of a body to help one of their own during a huge wedding. It’s hilarious! No, seriously there are just the right amount of ridiculous situations to have you rooting for them to get away with “accidental murder” and hope to be adopted into this big Chinese-Indonesian family. I mean, they’re willing to help you bury a body. And run a successful wedding business while doing it. If you love romcoms (this is PERFECT for adaptation) do not miss this 2021 gem of a release.

This book was hilarious and a lot of fun! Part murder mystery, part comedy, and tons of fun. I really can't think of a book like it. It's unique and wonderful.

This book was an absolute rollicking good time. I laughed, teared up, and gasped a few times. The family dynamics were delightful and I enjoyed the aunts so much, Meddelin's problems (other than the dead date) were so relatable, and I rooted for her the entire time. Honestly, it was so much fun, but also impeccably executed. I will be recommending this to all of my friends!

A raucous tale of romance, murder, and familial devotion Dial A for Aunties is harrowing and hilarious story of near misses, awkward situations, and romance (sorta, its complicated). Meddy is a devoted daughter and niece who works as a wedding photographer for her Aunties and Mom, stuck somewhere between family and wanting to be out on her own. The fun begins when Meddy's mom pretends to be her on an internet dating site and sets her up on a blind date. The date goes sideways and Meddy is left with a body to deal with. Who else can you turn to in times like these but your mother? Who then brings in her sisters. And then everything goes wrong. Expect to laugh at the hi-jinks of a close knit family who would do anything for each other as they attempt to get away with murder.

I haven't laughed this hard at a book in a long time. Jesse Sutanto's adult debut marks an incredible mixing of genres: rom-com, murder heist, and family drama. Her incredibly well-wrought characters are so enjoyable to read that I kept wishing there was more.
When you get to the scene with Ma and the eggplant/catfish explanation, you'll get it. Slapstick moments, mixed with real consideration of filial relationships make this an incredible read. I cannot wait to see what Sutanto puts out next.

Bright, lively, and entertaining, a little gem of a book with some murder and mayhem thrown into a solid romance.