This book was too funny! I completely related to the main character Meddy with the cultural aspect of putting your families needs before your own desires first. It is so refreshing to be able to read books where you relate to the characters! The Aunties are hilarious in this book. This is a great cozy mystery mixed in with a little romance. I’m not even sure what the book would technically be classified under.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this digital ARC!

Happy Pub Week to Jesse Q. Santano and her hilarious, heartwarming book baby, Dial A for Aunties!

Friends, this book was the breath of fresh air I didn't know I needed this week. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud, and as I tried to explain the synopsis to my husband, I laughed even harder because, I kid you not, this is how that conversation went:

Me: I am loving the book I'm reading right now. It's so good! The main character accidentally kills her blind date and -

Husband: Wait, wait wait; the main character kills someone, and you think it's funny?!? Is there something I should know about you? Did I marry a serial killer?

Me: Well, the way it's written is funny! The dialogue is so great!

Husband: Oh yeah, hilarious. I'm sure Jeffrey Dahmer thought murder was funny too!

Me: You're just going to have to read it!

Meddy Chan never expected to accidentally kill her blind date, but when she does, she turns to the women she knows will always have her back - Ma, Big Auntie, Second Auntie, and Fourth Auntie - to help her figure out what to do next.

But with the biggest wedding of the year on the line the next morning, she knows she can't leave the big day (or getting rid of the body) up to chance; as her family's wedding-planning business motto proclaims, she has to "leave it to the Chans!"

Please, please please stop what you're doing immediately, take the afternoon off from work, and READ THIS BOOK. It is laugh-out-loud funny, heartwarming, and ridiculous in the best possible way. It's got it all - amazing characters, hilarious dialogue, a long-lost love, some mystery, and oh yeah, a dead body!

I don't want to give too much away, but just know if you're needing a light read that is guaranteed to make you laugh, this one is for you! It definitely gave me Crazy Rich Asians, Weekend at Bernie's, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding vibes, and it reminded me of my own crew of amazing aunts (swipe over to see them!)

All the stars for this absolute gem of a book!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to @Berittalksbooks @jesseqsantono @berkleypub and @letstalksbookspromo for my gifted eARC and opportunity to read this incredible book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review!

I know this is going to be a popular one. It was fun. On the plus side, I enjoyed getting to read a something from an author with a different heritage. The author's insight into Asian weddings and families was my favorite part of this book. But the book had some parts that I did not enjoy quite as much.

All told, I liked, but did not love this book. I thought the plot was kind of ridiculous at times. Also, the circumstances of the (accidental) murder were on the crazy side, and kind of ... I don't know. I felt the comedy was a little over the top and maybe even inappropriate? I can get behind dark humor, but when your comic antics end up causing a death, I have trouble seeing that as very funny. I enjoyed the Aunties--especially how the author made them each have her own distinct voice. However, another reviewer mentioned a concern that the Aunties were on the edge of being cultural caricatures, and I think she could have a point. It raises a difficult issue when one writes about characters and events that are specific to a particular culture: I know the author wanted to highlight tendencies in order to entertain, but how far is too far? And is it OK to go too far because it's her culture and heritage that she's writing about? But maybe I'm overthinking it all and taking the fun out of it

All this aside, it was a fun quick read and I fully expect it to fly off the shelves at my library.

When I picked up Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Dial A for Aunties, I had no idea what to expect. My initial thought was that this was hilariously funny. However, the word hilarious doesn’t do this story justice.

Meddy Chan is 26-years-old. She lives with her mother and works as a photographer for the family wedding business which is owned by her mother and three aunts. Meddy doesn’t date. This of course, doesn’t go over well with her mother and aunties. Meddy’s mother decides to set up an online dating profile for Meddy and doesn’t tell her until the day of the date she’s set up while pretending to be Meddy. Meddy has no choice but to go on the date. From the start, the date is bad. But it gets worse when the guy gets handsy and Meddy defends herself. Now she finds herself with his body in the trunk of her car and no idea what to do. Good thing her aunties are only a phone call away and live nearby.

With the help of her mother and aunties, they hide the body in a freezer at Big Aunt’s bakery, thinking they can bury it in the California desert, after the big weekend wedding which will put their company on the map. Of course, things don’t go according to plan. The body ends up on the private island where the wedding is taking place. After several attempts to get the body off the island, the body ends up seemingly everywhere. The story definitely gives off a Weekend at Bernie’s vibe, with Crazy Rich Asians added to the mix.

Dial A for Aunties is a feel-good, make you laugh when you're feeling down book. It's like Jesse thought of the craziest, most outlandish things and put them in the story. There’s a little romance, some mistaken identity, and a little theft. This story is simply over the top. I've read somewhere the book has been optioned for a movie. I laughed so hard my stomach was hurting just reading the words. Seeing the words in action is going to be just too much. I can’t wait to see it.

Meddy is the good girl in her family. Amongst her cousins - she's the only one to go into business with her mom and her meddling aunts. She's the photographer for her family's wedding business and they've been pretty successful so far!

One part of working with her family that Meddy isn't too fond about is how they love to get into her business about everything. Including her love life (or lack of one). When a blind date (hilariously set up by Meddy's mom & her sisters) goes horribly wrong - and Meddy ends up killing him (whoops) she's going to need as much help as she can get from her family. With a looming wedding the next day that they have to prepare for and an ex that Meddy can't stop thinking about showing up at the same time - Meddy is way in over her head. Will she find a way to clear herself of the mess she's in?

I'll be honest, I wasn't quite sure what kind of book Dial A for Aunties was going to be. Was it a thriller? A murder mystery? A romance? I guess the best way to describe Dial A for Aunties is that it was a mix of all of these and throw in some humor that had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions. Think Weekend at Bernies + friends-to-lovers second chance romance. And while the plot line was a bit out there - I found myself enjoying it so much. Especially the scenes where Meddy talks about her heritage and culture. I identified with so much of the Indo-Chinese culture that Meddy discusses in the book and that made me really connect with her character and the storyline.

I am so excited that Dial A for Aunties is going to be made into a Netflix movie! I kept on stopping to share funny passages with my husband and I can't wait to watch the movie. Definitely add this book to your TBR if you're looking for an own-voices book to make you laugh with just the right amount of romance sprinkled throughout!

I absolutely loved this coming-of-age story!

From the quirky hilarious family and banter between the Aunties to the fast-paced page turner plot that’s guaranteed to bring the laughs and the suspense. I loved reading about the delicious food and rich culture woven through the story too. I was addicted from the very first page and can’t wait to read more by this author!

*many thanks to Berkley for the gifted copy for review. All opinions are my own

Dial A for Aunties was a modern rom/com and a murder by mistake romp of a good time. There was a lot of joy in this story that came from the auntie’s antics. (Say that a few times!) For me they were the highlight of the book. There were four aunts and everything from their looks, birth order, profession and offspring affected their relationships with one another. Honestly, I’ve been bingeing Kim’s Convenience on Netflix, so the book came to life with their accents and misinterpretations of many English sayings and euphemisms.

Let’s face it, the truth is often stranger than fiction, so I suppose this murder by mistake could have happened, but it all seemed far-fetched to me. It had the I Love Lucy type of humor; characters getting into hopelessly ridiculous situations and somehow, they always came out unscathed.

This is the perfect book for the beach or when you just need a light and funny read. I loved reading about Indonesian characters and even more so when it’s penned by a Jarkartan author as well. Definitely look out for it on Netflix…can’t wait!

Me: hysterical laughter for three pages straight.
Husband: it cannot possibly be that funny.

But you guys, it is. It’s absolutely laugh out loud fun.

If you take Crazy Rich Asians, subtract the name brand dropping, add a corpse and three Indo-Chinese aunties, and it makes for the BEST possible vacation read.
I loved it.
That’s all.

This book is super fun!

Situational comedy is tough to write in books, but the author does a pretty good job. Dial A for Aunties is about Meddy, who is surrounded by her strong Chinese-Indonesian family consisting of her mom and aunties. A blind date goes wrong and Meddy accidentally ends up killing her date the night before the family is working on a billionaire wedding on an island. Hilarity ensues when the body gets shipped onto the wedding venue and Meddy and her mom and aunties have to find a way to get rid of the body.

Of course, you can guess from the plot that it seems a little too far-fetched. You do have to suspend disbelief while reading this book. But once you do that, you'll definitely enjoy reading the book. From Meddy's mom and aunties who are hilarious and have different priorities to their ongoing feud to one up each other in the middle of getting rid of the body, there is one situation after the other to makes you continue reading it. Like the rest of the book, how everything gets solved by the end is also far-fetched but hey, sometimes that is a good thing.

Read this one if you want to read a hilarious situational comedy and don't mind outrageous plots.

This book was hilarious. It had me laughing out loud the whole time I was reading. Yes, it could get a little silly at times but it was supposed to be. I loved Meddy's aunts. They were so funny and I love the light-hearted tone of the book. It was very enjoyable.

This is not my usual fair, but it has been getting so much buzz I had to check it out. Light-hearted and fun mystery about an overbearing but loving and close family.

This was a funny read but you really have to step out of reality to enjoy it. The theatrics were a bit much for me.
I did enjoy the premise and the way the author incorporated a little suspense, with theatrics, and love. I enjoy the theme of strong women, and the relationships between them. I think this would make a great movie.

Really loved this story! Jesse Q. Sutanto can definitely write such interesting character and plot lines!

I really enjoyed how this novel fell between two different genres -- mystery and romance! I really enjoyed how much humor was written surrounding Meddlin Chan and her Aunties while they are trying to cover up a murder but also throw a wedding.

As someone who has lived in Jakarta, I have to say this book was perfection in so many ways!!! I loved the wackiness, the voice, the twists and turns, the love and the cultural snippets that just hit. Cannot wait to read Jesse Sutanto's next book.

Meddelin "Meddy" has always been the dutiful Asian daughter, the one who is loyal to her family, the one that didn't leave. At the end of college, Meddy breaks up with the love of her life because he was moving from California to New York. Meddy's deep-seated loyalty makes her choose her mother and aunties over her boyfriend. She works as a photographer in the Aunties wedding planner business. As they prepare for the wedding of the year at a resort on the island, Meddy is having trouble committing to the job and is feeling bereft and stuck in a place where she does not want to be, working at a job she does not want to work at. She agrees to go on a date that her mother has set up for her via an online dating service the night before the wedding. The date does not go well and Meddy accidentally kills her date. In a panic, she dumps his body in her trunk and drives home. Her Aunties and Mother immediately band together to help her dispose of the body.

This book was hilarious! I wasn't quite certain how Meddy was going to get out of killing the jerk she went on a date with, but I should have never doubted a band of Asian Aunties. Crazy wedding fails, (turns out the groom-to-be is a jerk, too) and Meddy coming face to face with her ex-boyfriend whom she still thinks about often, and a glimpse into Asian wedding traditions make this a great option for a beach read. Add this to your TBR list if you are planning on traveling and or needing a light, relaxing book for this summer.

This sadly didn't work for me. The writing is very surface level and I couldn't keep track of the characters because they are one-dimensional. I also feel like this book was written to be a movie because it is heavy on the action vs any character development. I thought it might at least make me laugh because the premise is ridiculous but I was just annoyed. I also feel like the romance was misplaced here and it didn't do much for me.

funny amazing perfect lovely fantastic beautiful I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE SEQUEL. this book is such a unique experience because it mixes different genres in the most impeccable away. is jesse sutanto my new fave author? probably yes.

How did no one tell me this was “Crazy Rich Asians” meets “Weekend at Bernie’s”? Not to be reductive, but it is! And that totally worked for me.

When I read the description on the back of this book I wondered how Sutanto was going to pull all of these elements together and still pull it off. Well, she definitely did! Each of Meddy's aunties reminded me of my own. Although we don't really get to know them on a first name basis, Sutanto's descriptions of their reactions to the events throughout the book and how they communicate with one another really brings them to life. I love how in the midst of an accidental murder and the wedding of the season, Meddy's mom still takes pride in her daughter's manners and finds the time to serve up some tea for herself and her sisters. Somehow, Sutanto was also able to make time for the moment that must happen for most young adults when we finally realize that our parents are human and have been where we are. They have loved and grieved and survived.

While there are plenty of heart-warming moments, they are often connected to the shenanigans the family gets up to in order to "take care of" the body and somehow still do their jobs at this wedding. These scenes often made me want to crawl out of my skin, mostly because I'm not a fan of uncomfortable situations that stem from lying or deceiving people. I often had to put the book down because I got so involved in it that it gave me anxiety! Once I got about 3/4 of the way into the book, I had an easier time of managing it.

Verdict:
Dial A for Aunties had a lot of twists and I think that's what makes me like this book. However, the cringe comedy within it was not really my thing. I'd recommend this book to folks who enjoy films like Weekend at Bernie's or shows like Schitt's Creek.

Oh. Em. Gee. This book was ridiculous and over the top and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE. It's funny, it's romantic, and it has a murder. What more could you need? I hate to compare to CRA (because not every Asian book that features a wedding is a comp for CRA), but I really do think this is the first book I've read since CRA that I would confidently recommend to CRA fans and not feel that they would be disappointed, with the caveat that it is much more lighthearted. My husband actually read my copy before I did, so I was live-texting him my reactions throughout. This book was such a delight, and I hope Sutanto writes more!