Member Reviews
What a delight! Dial A for Aunties is chick lit with a side a murder. I love books that mix genres. This books made me laugh and I loved the aunties. What a fun cast of characters. I will be look for more from Jesse Q. Sutanto!
When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is accidentally shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working, at an island resort on the California coastline. It's the biggest job yet for their family wedding business—"Don't leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!"—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie's perfect buttercream cake flowers.
But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy's great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?
Have y’all ever read a book and thought about how perfect it would be on-screen? I don’t really know exactly what about those books does it for me, but I just could not stop imagining Dial A for Aunties as the perfect summer second-chance romcom. (Netflix is actually adapting it 👀)
Meddy finds herself in a hot mess when she accidentally kills her blind date. Not knowing what else to do, she turns to her overbearing yet supportive aunties and mom who instinctively vow to help her get rid of the body. Ofc with every great romcom is an absolutely unbelievable plot: the Chans find themselves hauling a dead body around a Crazy Rich Asians-esque resort wedding, running into roadblock after roadblock. Just when you think it can’t get worse, it does. 🤡
Indonesian-Chinese culture is so rich and vivid in this book, and I loved being immersed in it — especially because I had yet to read a story featuring Indo-Chinese families/characters in mainstream lit. While I’m not Indo-Chinese myself, I really identified with the struggles Meddy was going through — especially “growing up” within an Asian immigrant family unit. Her struggle with feeling independent from her family and building an identity outside of that unit really resonated with me. If you come from a large AAPI family and/or are going through a transitional period in your life, I think you’ll feel really seen in this book.
Dial A for Aunties is a story with a LOT of heart, and one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. While I found some parts of the scheme a little too incredulous and the writing through Meddy’s character a bit inconsistent (honestly I really identified with her struggles but I just didn’t like her as a character), I had a good time with it. Will def be watching the movie when it comes out bc who would pass up a crossover of Crazy Rich Asians and Weekend at Bernie’s??? 🌴🌞💗
3 stars
Who knew an accidental murder could be so utterly charming and entertaining? Jesse Q. Sutanto not only delivers an interesting look into family dynamics (who doesn't have an auntie who is overly invested? or a mother willing to catfish a nice boy for her daughter??), but it is also hilarious and a fast book. Who would you call in the case of an accidental murder? Dial A for Aunties is a great read!
Loved the banter between the cast! I thought thid was going to be a comedy but it was so much more than that and i loved it!
I absolutely looooooved this book! Meddy and her family are hilarious and I just couldn’t stop reading about all of their blunders. I can’t wait for book two to see what other trouble they get into. Thank you Netgalley for my free copy!
This book was incredible!! Funny and the perfect read during back to school months!
I laughed and related with Meddy a lot and I cannot recommend this title enough!!!
I’ve had this book for awhile and I’m mentally smacking myself for taking so long to get to it! Funny (love the Aunties), full of love, and swoony (hi Nathan) all along with some serious issues Meddy had to get past. Loved it!
Delightful, laugh out loud funny! Don't miss the hysterical antics of these feircely protective and supportive Aunties just trying to get their girl married off.
This was the most ridiculous and hilarious book I've ever read. I loved the reading experience - this book will instantly put a smile on your face. I couldn't even be mad at how far-fetched most of this book was. I will definitely be reading more by this author!
I wasn't a fan of this novel. I am not sure if it was the characters, or the story line. I struggled to continue, it just didn't capture me the way Crazy Rich Asians did. Maybe I was expecting this to me more like that?
Dial A for Aunties is a wild ride that kept me laughing the whole time! I love Meddelin Chan and her four 4 meddling Asian aunties. The book begins with Meddelin accidentally killing her blind date, and with the help of her aunties, they need to figure out what to do with the body. All the while, they are also handling the decorations, cake, and photos for a lavish wedding on an island. This book was so entertaining, and I highly recommend the audiobook version for the complete experience! I'm excited for the sequel to see where this story will continue.
Thank you, Berkley and NetGalley, for my complimentary copy for my honest review.
When Meddelin Chan accidentally kills her blind date, her mom calls her aunties to help them get rid of the body. Meddy’s family are wedding vendors, so they have to figure out what to do with the body while they’re at a billionaire’s wedding the next day. The cooler where they store the body is accidentally sent to the wedding, so they have to keep the body hidden while they’re at the fancy resort. To make things more complicated, Meddy’s former college boyfriend who never met her family is also at the wedding. Meddy and her family need to somehow get through this wedding while hiding the dead body and avoiding murder charges.
This story was hilarious from the beginning to the end. Meddy had three aunts and her mom. I loved how the aunts were specific characters and weren’t referred to by their names. Instead, Meddy called them Big Aunt, Second Aunt, and Fourth Aunt. They were each so distinct that I never got them mixed up. There were a lot of things lost in translation, since the aunts were not as fluent in English as Meddy. This made for some hilarious misunderstandings, especially in terms of the common meaning of certain emojis.
Even though this story was about an accidental murder, it actually had a light tone. Things kept going so spectacularly wrong that I couldn’t help but laugh. There are so many things that can go wrong with a wedding, but adding in a secret dead body makes even more possible problems. The scenes were so cinematic that I can imagine this story being turned into a movie. I hope it will be on the big screen one day!
Dial A for Aunties is a hilarious romcom!
Thank you Berkley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A fun mix of cozy mystery + thriller for fans of Crazy Rich Asians, Arsenic and Adobo and Finlay Donovan is Killing It.
Sarcastic in the best way and yet not too corny.
If you havn't read this book, drop everything you're doing and order it, or borrow it or download it.. just get it!
I was in stitches from cover to cover, this was my first read by Sutanto and she definitely outdid herself! I cannot wait for her next book!
Oh, friends. This book made me chuckle, cackle, gasp, and snort. The banter between the aunties had me howling! It really was THE BEST. Especially at the beginning when they were discussing dating apps. I was laughing so hard, my husband asked what the heck I was reading! Yes, the events that took place in this book were extremely unrealistic, and completely over the top, but it worked for me. It was exactly what I needed. I would call this book comfort food for the brain. When I’m having a bad day, I crave pizza, nachos, ice cream, and cheesecake. Foods that aren’t the healthiest, but taste so damn good, and will instantly bring me a bit of joy. Same thing goes for books. If I’m feeling down, I immediately want to read something funny. I want to laugh, and need a distraction from my own problems. Dial A for Aunties did the job. I can’t wait for the sequel! I give it 4/5 hilarious stars!
This book was both light-hearted and filled with concern. As someone who doesn’t tend to read cozy mysteries, it was interesting to know who the “killer” was from the beginning, and to watch them try to get away with it.
Oddly enough, this wasn’t even the most interesting part of the entire book. Sutanto has a fantastic humorous voice that carries through every character, allowing readers to not only dive into this family, but also into the culture. As an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family who own their own business, the Chans know how to support one another no matter what – and apparently this doesn’t fall short of murder either.
I loved Meddy. I also loved her old boyfriend, Nathan, who manages to make a hilarious entrance at the worst possible moment – but maybe it’s also for the best.
And the things that the other characters manage to get up to in this one! Wow. Aren’t weddings supposed to be peaceful and enjoyable? This one sure isn’t… But you’ll have to read more to find out what happened!
A book that blends comedy, a dead body, a big wedding, and romance can easily fail but "Dial A for Aunties" effortlessly combines them. The zany plot, which seems to escalate every chapter, is full of love -- familial love and romantic love. Meddy's family provides the laughs while her love interest, an ex from college, is a cinnamon roll hero. An overall delight of a book.
I really enjoyed this one!
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Pub for my advanced copy of Dial A for Aunties.
I'm going to keep this review short and sweet.
What I Enjoyed-
*All of the Aunties and the power dynamics.
*The Laugh Out Loud Moments sprinkled throughout this book.
*The Importance of family and Meddelin's desire to be loyal and stick by her mom. ( Although it did hold her back a bit )
*The Family Business. ( Wedding Planning )
Why This Wasn't a 5 Star -
*This book started out slow for me.
*Some of the situations in Dial A for Aunties were a little too over the top for me.
*I wasn't invested in the romance.
Overall- Definitely recommend to other readers. I look forward to reading more by this author.
3.5 ⭐️ Week-end at Bernies - The wedding edition.
You need to suspend your sense of logic to enjoy the ride of this cozy/romance capper. Once you do, it’s a funny, yet compelling read. I enjoyed the family dynamic, that each aunt had a personality even if you didn’t have a name other than Big Aunt, Second Aunt, etc. Meddy is a full character that made me care what happened. There were a few twists that I didn’t see coming and made me smile. What more can you ask from a good cozy?
I feel like this book had potential, but it went everywhere. I wasn't sure if it was trying to be a romantic comedy, a murder mystery, or a family drama. It was fun, yes, but it was also poorly executed. I enjoyed reading about the wedding traditions. Overall, a mess, though