Member Reviews
The aunties are back and ready for even more hilarious shenanigans! Dial A for Aunties is one of my favourites, and I honestly wasn't sure how the sequel could top its craziness, but it truly did. Prepare for legitimate laughs!
Meddy is getting married to Nathan, leaving her beloved aunties to hire the perfect vendors for the wedding. And everything appears perfect for the big day ... until Meddy discovers the hired vendors have a mission to take out an unsuspecting guest. With their purple sequinned dresses and Komodo dragon fascinators, the aunties attempt to outwit the mafia while also failing to impress the family of the groom. And it's so much fun!
But underneath all the wild schemes is a sweet story of Meddy gaining an even deeper appreciation for her aunties—they always have her back! Compared to book one, I'd say there's even less focus on the romance between Meddy and Nathan, especially with Nathan kept in the dark for the majority of the story, but I didn't mind. The aunties steal the show!
I received a gifted galley of FOUR AUNTIES AND A WEDDING by Jesse Q. Sutano for an honest review. Thank you to @BerkleyPub for the opportunity!
FOUR AUNTIES AND A WEDDING is the second book in the author’s Aunties series. After the action of book one, Meddy is finally ready to be the bride instead of the one working behind the scenes to make other brides’ events perfect. Meddy, her mother, and her aunties are off to England to meet her fiancée’s family and tie the knot. You can be sure that the aunties are going to do things with flair and that things are going to go horribly awry in the funniest of ways!
After reading and loving DIAL A FOR AUNTIES last year, I was so thrilled to read this one and I am happy to report that this one didn’t disappoint. I absolutely flew through this book and it was just as full of laughs as the first book was! It was a perfect pick to perk up my reading to avoid falling into a slump after some big and heavy reads!
This is not a series to pick up if you’re looking for reality, but if you want an escape and are willing to suspend your disbelief, look no further! I really could just imagine some of the scenes playing out and could feel Meddy’s frustration at times as well. I quite frankly would not have handled things nearly as well as she did! Even with everything that goes awry, there is a lot of heart in this book and you can see the closeness of the family bond at play!
I would absolutely recommend picking up DIAL A FOR AUNTIES first, but both books are well worth the read! FOUR AUNTIES AND A WEDDING is out on Tuesday 3/29/22!
The Aunties are at it again!!
While I can't say that I enjoyed this book as much as I did the 1st book in this series I still found myself unable to put this book down. This book was complete and utter chaos, but in a very good way. Things went from bad to worse very quickly and I loved every minute of it. I swear when the Aunties are involved nothing seems to go right. Sure, they always mean well but things never go according to their plans. In fact they usually end up making things 10x worse before things start to get better.
I don't know if the author plans for there to be anymore books in this series because everything seemed to be wrapped up pretty nicely but I am definitely not opposed to spending more time with this wild bunch of characters. I can just imagine what sort of trouble these guys could get into on vacation.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the digital ARC.
Meddy was worried about how Nathan's family would react to her aunties and mother and that was BEFORE she saw what they plan to wear to the wedding! This is a lively and entertaining novel about a woman and a family with something to hide- an untimely death- at a time when everything should be bright and sunny. Meddy's Chinese Indonesian family is loud and proud; her fiance Nathan's Chinese British family is, well, a lot quieter. They plan to marry at Christ Church in part to avoid all the drama of a Chinese Indonesian wedding and it seems like a great idea to hire Staphanie and her family to manage the event. Is it? Not so much. Turns out the Mafia has it in for Maddy, the aunties go over the top once they get to the UK, and well, there's a lot going on. It's a hoot in spots. I missed the first book but Sutanto gives good back story. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A fun read.
I really enjoyed the first book in the series and when I saw this one available on #NetGalley I had to request it. I think I enjoyed Four Aunties and a Wedding even more than Dial "A" for Aunties. The Aunties are hilarious. I felt like we get to know Big Aunt, Second Aunt, and Fourth Aunt even better! Lots of wild hilarity that might have you laughing out loud, it did me.
DNF-- the juxtaposition of the seriousness of the situation and the over-the-top comedy was just too much for me to get into.
While Dial A For Aunties had a lot of natural laugh out loud moments and a story that genuinely kept me entertained throughout, Four Aunties and a Wedding lacked the same charm. It was still enjoyable, Meddy and her aunts' antics and sweet Nathan but overall I felt like the balance between the serious/cute moments of the wedding and the mafia plot that overtook the story was way off.
Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for an advanced copy of Four Aunties and a Wedding.
I listened to and enjoyed Dial A for Aunties last year so was looking forward to reading Four Aunties and a Wedding, but unfortunately this one was a little too much for me.
The aunties and almost everything in this one was too over the top for me. The antics the aunties get up to in the first few chapters had me questioning how ridiculous this book was going to be. I didn't find this one funny at all, the aunties were just too much of a caricature. I wanted to read about Meddy and Nathan's wedding, but I felt like that was such a sub plot unfortunately.
I did like the author's note about the differences between an immigrant experience even from a similar culture that was brought up in the book.
What happens when a destination wedding with four older Chinese-Indonesian sisters goes off the rail because the mafia crashes the party? A freaking uproarious romp is what happens.
This book had me wheezing I was laughing so hard. Even at its most ridiculous, FOUR AUNTIES AND A WEDDING by Jesse Q. Sutanto is heartfelt and sincere. I love the MC, Meddy, because she's so self-aware and honest and takes every situation - no matter how bizarre or absurd - in stride.
FOUR AUNTIES AND A WEDDING is a hilarious comedy, an energetic mystery with a satisfying conclusion, a family drama with heart and affection, and a sweet romance rolled up into one expertly told story.
Meddy Chan is finally getting to marry the love of her life, Nathan, who was her college boyfriend until she tanked their relationship. Meddy sacrificed her happiness to take care of her mom and aunts, so now that now that they are together, Meddy cannot wait to marry this man. Since Meddy’s family runs a wedding business, she knows all about finding the perfect vendors. When her mother and aunts propose a Chinese-Indonesian family that seems to be just like her own, Meddy is thrilled to have them handle her destination wedding to make it a perfect day.
Nathan’s family lives in England where he and Meddy plan to be married at the venerable Christ Church College of Oxford. Everything starts to fall apart not only with Nathan’s parents being less than thrilled with the soon-to-be, over the top in-laws who think fascinators with dragons atop them are haute couture. The aunties have taken what they consider a course in speaking proper British English, but all they have really learned is slang which adds to Meddy’s embarrassment of their sartorial choices.
All is going well until Meddy overhears Staphanie, the “photographer” who attended her bachelorette bacchanalia, on the phone planning what sounds like murder and mayhem during her wedding. In panic mode, Meddy runs to her family enlisting her mom and the aunties to thwart whatever nefarious plans the fake vendors have in mind. Even with a smaller number of guests, Meddy and Nathan’s wedding is a still a big production with several stages all giving opportunities for the hi-jinks the aunts love; they excel at creating their own version of crazy. For much of the story, Nathan is kept in the dark as to what is going on and begins to wonder what is up with his beloved.
Ms. Sutanto has a flair for drawing out the humor in even the grimmest of situations. The non-stop antics of Meddy’s family makes this reader think that Nathan deserves a medal for putting up with the situations Meddy gets herself into as their wedding festivities end up bordering on ruinous zone. This book is the sequel to Dial A for Aunties, the second in the Aunties series featuring the ups and downs of life in an extended Indo Asian family who seem to be trouble magnets extraordinaire.
The follow-up to Dial A for Aunties is as hilarious and outrageous as the original. I laughed so much, especially at the oddly spelled names of some of the characters. Meddy, her mom, and three Aunties found themselves in another conundrum, unfortunately timed smack in the middle of Meddy and Nathan's wedding. The hijinks were absolutely over-the-top but Sutanto pulled it off. Can't wait for the next installment!
Thank you netgalley and Berkley publishing for letting me read this early!
So I love love love the Aunties. Yes the plot is a bit over the top as Meddy eventually sees, but you have to love it. So many laugh out loud moments and all the favorite characters coming back. I love how Jesse Q. Sutanto describes things. Her writing is a friend venting or confiding in the reader. & if you know how crazy the Aunties are with being high, think of them high and drunk on champagne. Yup, it's just as bad as you think. Can't wait until it's published so I can grab my copy.
Four Aunties and a Wedding (Aunties #2)
by Jesse Q. Sutanto
I think the novelty of the four aunties has worn off for me. I listened to the first book in this series (I get the feeling there might be a third book in the future) and I know that the voice acting helped me to enjoy the story more than I would have if I'd just read it. For this second book, it seems the madcap embarrassing nuttiness of the aunties was ramped up times ten and my brain couldn't keep up with the action. Every sentence seemed designed to shock or bring out laughs and I think the story would have benefited by being toned down a lot.
Meddy Chan and the aunties have a wedding to plan. Although Meddy and Nathan were looking forward to interviewing and selecting their wedding vendors themselves, a Chinese-Indonesian photographer named Staphanie comes with a family that does the full range of wedding services so by hiring Staphanie, their wedding vendor search is over. Meddy's aunts could have done the entire wedding themselves but she wants them to get to enjoy the wedding without working at it.
Fast forward several months to the flight to England for the big wedding. The aunties have a surprise for Meddy. They've learned British slang, complete with British accents. Sadly for me, I can barely read and understand British slang so when their Chinese-Indonesian accents/slang are blended in, I can hardly tell it from the British slang. I probably would have fared better with the audiobook like I did with the last book.
Everything is OTT. The aunties and the problems the family encounter take over the wedding and I had to work to remember that for much of the book, Meddy was wearing such an elaborate gown that the wedding dress could stand up all by itself. The wedding and the groom, Nathan, fade into the background of the antics of Meddy and the aunties. Too much auntie craziness overwhelmed the story for me.
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.
A great follow up full of the same shenanigans and lovable aunties. Truly begs the question of how far you’re willing to go for family. Part three anyone?
The Aunties are back, this time for Meddy’s wedding. But of course, it’s never smooth sailing with them. This hilarious novel follows them across the pond - and we find they took “British classes to sound posh - which in itself is a laugh out loud storyline.
<i>"Deep down in my core, I am precisely the product of my family. When skin and flesh are ripped away, I am an exact replica of them."</i>
I loved the way this novel shaped the relationships of the women in the family as they worked together to prevent the inevitable disasters that seem to follow them around the world.
I am the only person on earth who did not read the first book in this series and I'm smacking myself upside the head because I have been missing out. This story was silly, funny, ridiculous, suspenseful, and awesome.
The aunties were everything I needed and the miscommunications and misunderstandings gave me life. This is the perfect book to read to get you out of a reading slump or to kickstart your mood because you cannot help but laugh out loud.
The bulk of the story takes place at the destination wedding where, of course a murder plot twists everything up. Every scene felt more impossible than the last and also more believable because the author somehow really did suspend disbelief for me.
In this sequel to Dial A for Aunties, Meddy and her aunties are back, preparing for her wedding to Nathan. But when Meddy finds out the wedding vendors they hired are actually part of the mafia and are using Meddy’s wedding as an opportunity to conduct some shady business, the aunties take over, refusing to let the wedding turn into a murder scene.
This book made me laugh out loud multiple times. I liked how it connected to the events of the first book, rather than being an entirely new conflict for Meddy and her aunties. But closer to the end, it got a bit too chaotic for me with way too much happening at once. It was kind of anxiety-inducing, which unfortunately made this book less enjoyable for me than the first.
Meddy and Nathan finally get married!!!!! I couldn’t wait to read this book, I had to run and read the first one just to catch up. I loved the aunties they are so funny!!! They are always there for Meddy saving the day, and messing it up as well, haha. It seems to be that ever since the first little incident in the last book, the Chan women have trouble always following them. And I would think that Meddy learned her lesson last time to always cover her bases when it comes to her aunties recommendations. This book was the cutest rollercoaster. I couldn’t stop laughing, even though the language barrier for me while reading the book was a lot more confusing than the first book, I really enjoyed it.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.
A fun continuation of the series! The stakes are definitely raised in this book, with the wedding being Meddy and Nathan's, and I was surprised how the resolution tied back to the first book. Really hope to see more of the Chan family soon!