🔔 FOUR AUNTIES AND A WEDDING by Jesse Q. Suntato 🔔

★★★★★

🧋 Drink pairing: This delicious Ube Bubble Tea that happened to match the cover perfectly!

Thank you so much to Berkley and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

Review: I recently read “Dial A for Aunties” - I had owned it forever and it was one of those books I had wanted to read so badly but never made it there. Finally last month I read it … and in one sitting! I was so excited when I received a copy of the sequel that just released - and it was even better than the first. This book series is the perfect blend of humor, mystery, and romance. I laughed out loud on so many occasions and honestly did not want it to end! I hope to read many more installments of Meddy and her family’s antics 🤍

As much as I was looking forward to this sequel I'm having a hard time staying invested with this story line and its not sucking me in like the first book.

Four Aunties and a Wedding is the anticipated follow up to one of my top 10 books of 2021, and I was VERY excited to receive an advanced copy from @netgalley and @berkleypub in exchange for my honest review.

This follow-up has all the auntie comedy and zany crack wackiness you got from the original but turned up to 11. Did I laugh out loud? Yes. Was it ridiculous? Yes. Was it a little over-the-top for me? Yes. Everything just got a little too impossible for me in this one that it lost me a bit. In addition, it was much more predictable than the first.

Still, props to an author who can make me laugh out loud and creates fun and entertaining characters. So it's a thumbs up recommendation but definitely not as good as the first. Looking forward to another installment to Meddy and the Aunties!

I wanted to love this one as much as I loved DIAL A. Although DIAL A FOR AUNTIES still takes the wedding cake, I still enjoyed reading the wild antics of Meddy’s aunties. Instead of wrecking hovac on their clients’ wedding, it’s now Meddy’s.

If you haven’t read my DIAL A FOR AUNTIES review (it was a rave one), although I’m not Chinese-Indonesian, I’m of Chinese-Malaysian culture and there are many similarities when it comes to respect and values. Jesse has an ability to truly capture the love you feel for your (sometimes embarrassing) relatives and the important values they try to instil in your life. The way she weaves those values into hilarious scenarios is👌🏼

This book had me laughing-out-loud again and I’m anxiously waiting another that I can pre-order as soon as it’s announced👀😅

I absolutely adored this book! It was so great being able to see familial support in the way this book was able to express in a way only this series can (....murders at weddings!)

I really liked Dial A for Aunties. Sure, it was absolutely ridiculous, but it made me laugh so much and I all around had a great time. The Aunties were HILARIOUS and I just loved them. I was excited we were going to see more of them in this sequel.

Here’s what I enjoyed:
- I loved the parts about family and culture and embracing your roots and your people.
- The Aunties, particularly in the middle section. Their hijinks are so ridiculous and I laughed quite a bit. I was seeing them so clearly in my mind’s eye. They are going to translate so well for the Netflix movie, I can’t wait.
- Super quick read - I finished it in about a day once I really sat down to read.

Here’s what I struggled with:
- The pacing was all over the place. I almost DNFed after Part 1 because nothing happened. Part 2 picked up and was better, but then the resolution lost me.
- I wanted to more character development - I don’t feel like I know Meddy very well other than in relation to her family, and the side characters didn’t get enough screen time (Selena and Seb just disappeared?).
- Nathan wasn’t in it enough - he was left in the dark about what was going on and barely in it when I wanted to learn more about him.
- The ending/resolution fell flat for me.

Overall, if you liked Dial A for Aunties and just want something funny and quick, then this could be a good one for you. My advice is just to lower your expectations from the first a bit.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me at about 50%. I really wanted to love this book, and I adore Aunties' dynamics and humor. It was fun and cute and very family-like. What did not work for me is the main character and Nathan's reaction to everything. While I fully understand that the book is sarcastic and supposed to be "too much", I wasn't able to connect with it.
I thank NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

The aunties are back and at it again, except this time the mafia is involved..
This one was a lot of fun but Dial A for Aunties is still my favorite, Four Aunties and a wedding is less of a romance and focuses more on the mystery side of things during the wedding, as Nathan was kept in the dark again for most of the plot.

Last year, I read and loved the first book, Dial A for Aunties and I couldn’t wait to read the continued hijinks of Meddy, her mom, and her eccentric aunties!

Oh boy, do they get themselves into a mess! Four Aunties and a Wedding picks up within a year of where Dial A for Aunties left off and Meddy and Nathan are finally getting married! The wedding planning seems to be going smoothly until Meddy and her family find themselves mixed up with the mafia!

Just like Dial A for Aunties, it was laugh-out-loud funny, heartwarming, and full of absolute craziness! On the other hand, as much as I loved revisiting Meddy and her family, it just didn’t quite hit the mark or live up to the first book for me. The antics seemed to overtake the story a little too much, but overall it was still enjoyable and a fun, quick read.

Read if you like:
-Oxford/British slang
-Weddings
-Family drama
-Mystery
-Chinese-Indonesian culture

Thank you so much to @berkleyromance @netgalley @berittalksbooks for the gifted copy! #berkleybuddyreads #berkeywritesstrongwomen

Meddy and her meddling aunties are back with another madcap mystery to solve. This time it's Meddy's wedding week and she's getting married in England. She overhears the wedding planners (a Chinese Indonesian family similar to hers) planning a hit and suddenly she and the aunties are doing everything they can to keep everyone safe. She's also warned not to tell her lovely fiancé, Nathan. I struggled with keeping a secret of that magnitude from her upcoming husband, but, aside from that, I enjoyed the misadventures and large personalities of the aunties and Meddy. It definitely made me laugh out loud picturing the slapstick comedy scenes as they did whatever they could to thwart the 'bad guys.' I'd recommend reading the first one in the series before reading this one.

Thank to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy ofd this book in exchange for an honest review

There is so much hype around this book and because of that, I felt so much pressure to enjoy this as much as everyone else. I feel that caused me to keep the story at arm's length and be overly critical. Maybe I should try again at another time.

I absolutely loved Dial A for Aunties, so it's hard to be giving the sequel only 3 stars.
The first novel was absolutely bananas, with many twists and turns that had but a passing relationship with reality. But it was sweet and earnest in many ways too as we got to know Meddy, the aunts, and Nathan.
Everything in this novel hinges on Meddy and Nathan's wedding day while having next to nothing do with Meddy and Nathan getting married. Based on the way we got to know their history in the first book I thought it would have been better if all the hijinks were perhaps in the lead up to the wedding and then they were able to have a romantic day together. Instead, I hated that Meddy was barely present for a day that kicked off her partnership with someone she truly loved.
One could argue that the aunts were verging on unbelievable from time to time in the first novel, but they feel like full on caricatures of people in this one. Many of the cultural differences and misunderstandings of the first novel felt, if still over the top, at least rooted in reality. This time it was like the author felt the need to dial it up to eleven, having the aunts make choices that were bonkers even for them.
And then after pages of absurdity, and frustration, and confusion, the reason behind it all was heartbreaking and ultimately avoidable.
The hardest difference was that I literally laughed out loud many times during the first book, and not more than once in the second.

This hilarious and mysterious sequel to the incredible DIAL A FOR AUNTIES is going to have you cackling up a storm.

Four Aunties and a Wedding takes readers on a new rollercoaster ride full of hijinks, hilarity, and posh British accents as Meddy and her aunties jet off to Oxford, England for the biggest event ever - Meddy and Nathan’s wedding!

I really enjoyed this one - it was just as funny and wild as Dial A for Aunties, with a dash of tension and confusion amongst the wedding party and planners. I wish we could’ve seen more of Nathan, and especially Nathan and Meddy’s relationship.

The only thing I didn’t like was Meddy’s attitude towards her aunties throughout the book. She is embarrassed by them, and makes lots of comments about how her family is weird and how she wishes they were normal and mild like Nathan’s family. The aunties are always there for Meddy and help her and support her in their own way, and it was frustrating to see Meddy come to that conclusion only when someone else made a rude comment about her family.

Overall, a very enjoyable and hilarious read, perfect for anyone looking for an escape!

Notice how it says Four Aunties before wedding in the title because, yet again, the aunties steal the show in a myriad of laugh-out-loud ways. This book is about family and has a tremendous amount of heart. Love this series even more after this book.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁 (Swipe> to see full synopsis)
-The Aunties are back and badder than ever!
-Meddy is planning her wedding to Nathan, and when the Aunties get involved in her plans, things go off the rails.
-Meddy overhears the wedding coordinator, Staphanie, planning a mafia-style hit during Meddy’s ceremony, and it’s up to her and the Aunties to foil their plot.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
This book is the hilarious follow-up to Dial A for Aunties and didn’t disappoint. I recommend you read the first book, 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘈 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, to get the whole back story of Meddy and her meddlin’ aunties. They both are a breeze to sail through and are laugh-out-loud funny. A word of caution, you will definitely need to suspend belief and go along for this comic and sometimes ridiculous ride.

I appreciated the foreword by the author sharing her thoughts on authenticity vs. stereotype when portraying the beautiful aunties in Meddy’s life. As a bi-racial person, I can relate to this, especially when one umbrella word, “Asian,” is often used to describe the wide variety of cultures and behaviors of the Asian diaspora.

Ridiculous and over the top in the best way.

Fans of the first book will absolutely love this one.

Anywho, I'm off to get me a Komodo dragon fascinator because I'm Auntie fancy now.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Oh, my stars! The Aunties are back and have been let loose in England. Meddy and Nathan are getting married and to be sure they all can enjoy the wedding to the fullest they are hiring another family of wedding vendors. Except that other family is really connected if you get my drift . . . The Family . . . as in MAFIA!! And they are using Meddy’s wedding to pull off a hit! Meddy doesn’t find out that bit of information though until they have arrived in Oxford and she overhears her new friend, Staphanie on the phone planning the hit. As soon as the Aunties find out they are on high alert and ready to do anything to stop the dreaded plan and I mean anything.

Again, you need to suspend reality and escape totally into this book. It is so worth it. I laughed so hard in places I had tears rolling down my face.

Meddy is the perfect daughter. Brought up to respect her elders above all else even if her elders are certifiably crazy. The Aunties antics are above and beyond and positively delightful. They all mean well but between using British idioms and accents to their outlandish wedding attire that includes komodo dragons to contemplating bodily harm and murder to cover their tracks Meddy gets pushed to the edge and those are just my top three memories of craziness and there are so many more.

Ms. Sutanto has created such fantastic characters and not just Meddy and the Aunties. The supporting cast of Nathan and his family and Staphanie and her “mafia” family including three Uncles are superb as well. Nathan and his family are more toned down and buttoned up but Staphanie’s family is almost as nuts as Meddy’s.

The setting for the wedding sounds like such a beautiful place but also the perfect place for all the hi-jinks that occur, including another Weekend At Bernie’s scenario. I did enjoy the author’s descriptions as the characters traveled around the church grounds and back and forth to their hotel. I had no problem at all envisioning every place including the rooms where some really wacky things played out.

I did feel bad for Meddy and Nathan. Nathan was completely out of the loop but knew there was something going on. Meddy only got to enjoy a few minutes of her big day because she was rushing around trying to save someone’s life and trying to control uncontrollable situations set up by the Aunties. It was nice that the author did bring in some family cultural traditions even if they didn’t go as planned.

Wow, this was such a marvelous read! I have been talking about it for days to anyone who would listen. Funny, entertaining, mayhem times 10. I loved it!! Think My Big Fat Greek Wedding crossed with Crazy Rich Asians! And I want more. I hope there is a book three. Like Dial A For Aunties, this is a Must Read! You should read both in order for double the fun. I am giving this book my Paradise Rating. It will be on my Best Reads List for 2022. Run don’t walk to your nearest bookstore and get a copy today.

*Note: The book does include explicit language.

I was so delightfully surprised last year by Dial A For Aunties that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one!

Just like the first, you can’t help but laugh at all the ridiculously funny and silly predicaments these aunties get themselves into and I just find it so charming and entertaining!

This book is chaotic but in such an enjoyable way! I love how effortless everything feels about it and really like all of the culture sprinkled throughout it!

While this could be read as a standalone, I suggest sticking to it as a series cause it’s so fun to start from the beginning and it also sounds like we’ll hopefully be getting a third book! 🤞

Dial A for Aunties is also being adapted and I literally cannot wait to see these aunties absurd and comical adventures come to life!

Yes! Meddy and the aunties are finally back and I was so ready to see what antics they would get themselves into next. We've finally made it to Meddy and Nathan's wedding and the family hires Staphanie and her family to help plan and run the wedding. But when Meddy overhears Staphanie talking about taking out a target the night before her wedding, the aunties jump in to help thwart a possible murder by the mafia on what should be the most important day of Meddy's life.

Much like the first book, Four Aunties and a Wedding is absolutely hilarious. I am so glad I waited to listen to the audiobook, because the narrator just adds a fun layer of accents for each auntie. I also love hearing the language spoken correctly, instead of me butchering it in my head. If there is an audiobook you want to wait for, this is definitely one.

Without giving too much away of the plot, the crew gets themselves into some awkward situations that are sometimes over the top, but that's to be expected in this cozy mystery comedy. I loved the addition of Staphine's family and how each side tried to one-up the other to get to their eventual goals. My only complaint is I wanted more interaction between Meddy and Nathan in this book, because I loved them so much in the first book together.

Thanks to Berkley for the advanced copy of the book!

And she did it again! You won't be able to put this one down! I had so much fun reading the book and meeting these characters.