This madcap murdery-mystery romp sees American Meddy Chan ready to marry Nathan, the love of her her life, in his native Oxford. She's accompanied to the UK by her mother and aunties of Indonesian-Chinese origin, whose mixture of western and eastern values add to the general mayhem. They've enlisted another Chinese/American family of wedding planners to see that the big day goes well - but of course things don't go to plan. How could they, when the Chuinese Mafia are involved?!
On one level this was a fun read - the aunties are brilliant characters, portrayed with such love that they avoid being stereotyped, but the plot was so fast and furious that I just could not relax into the read. Things happen at a mile a minute, and it's hard to see how Meddy is going to get out of this mess and live happily after.
I'd recommend this for the characters, but the plot was just a bit too frantic for me, even though I know it was not meant to be taken too seriously.

I was looking forward to the reunion with the Aunties (I enjoyed their chaotic, vibrant selves so much!) and the premise of a destination wedding and differences in diaspora experiences — all things very relevant to my interests — but one specific thing bugged me enough to uconsistently dampen my enjoyment of the book: explaining the jokes. There was nothing in the remarks of the Aunties that wasn’t adequately seeded by the previous conversation or the context, but hearing a rehash of the joke in Meddie’s internal monologue that explained what they meant and/or why this was funny was such a persistent feature of the book! It’s frustrating because you’d think it could be
easily picked out at editing stage, and yet.. my other niggling feeling of discontent is that Nathan’s family wasn’t really fleshed out well enough for this book to count as really leaning into exploring different diaspora experiences. We heard so much more about the family of the vendors, and while it made sense in the context of the “murder” arc, it didn’t really add to the diaspora differences piece. To be fair to the book though, I did enjoy a good laugh over a several scenes, and Aunties remain incorrigible, so there is that.


Opinions all mine - thanks to #Netgalley for the advanced copy.

This book is written so well - do you expect any less from Jesse Sutanto and the characters as with the previous book are so well developed.
The storyline is so funny that I laughed out loud a number of times.

Like “Dial A for Aunties”, the sequel “Four Aunties and a Wedding” is an enjoyable romp. If you have read “Dial A for Aunties” it will seem very similar, but “Four Aunties and a Wedding” can be read as a stand-alone novel.

Meddy Chan is getting married to her long-term sweetheart Nathan. Needless to say, nothing goes according to plan. Meddy and Nathan do end up getting married, but there are a lot of complications along the way.

I enjoyed the book, but I can’t help feeling that the jokes are wearing a bit thin. If there is a follow up in which Meddy becomes pregnant, (which I would think is the obvious follow-up) then I think credibility will be stretched too far.

As with the first book, the parts I enjoyed most were the parts dealing with Chinese/Indonesian life.
Thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

3.5stars

The follow up to 'Dial A For Aunties', 'Four Aunties and a Wedding' suffers from a bit of a sophomore slump.

Following Meddy and her Aunties - as well as her husband-to-be Nathan, this second novel is all about the aforementioned wedding, which is derailed when Meddy and her four Aunties get into hijinks and try to keep a massive secret being revealed to the entire wedding party. If you've read the first book, you'll get the general jist of what's going on - its narrative follows a relatively similar path.

Full disclosure - I worked out the ending about two chapters in. I was waiting for there to be a bigger twist and it just never came.

Whilst the same kind of chaos that was in the first book remains, what was charming then just felt a bit...same-y now. One of the biggest problems of this book is the lack of moving parts. In 'Dial A', there was the constant looming threat of the body being discovered, with lots of other small things involved to make everything more complicated. It created a real sense of jeopardy that's missing in the sequel. It didn't quite feel like it warranted the amount of pages it was written with - things could've been solved very quickly and not had as much of an impact. Chapters became very repetitive after a while and Meddy, despite being the main character, is never the most interesting character.

The ending also felt hugely underwhelming. There had been plenty of knots tied and wires crossed to get to a really exciting finale - but it just never came. It just sort of...ended and everyone continued as though they hadn't just spent a day doing a bunch of crazy stuff. I won't give away spoilers, but for a group of people who were so adamant on getting revenge on another group - they gave up their charge VERY QUICKLY.

It's a fast read and if you enjoyed the first book, you'll probably find some enjoyment in this one. But for me, the writing wasn't particularly good and a plot that could've had far more excitement in it instead just under-performed.

first of all, i have to say that i absolutely loved dial a for aunties and that it was one of my favourite reads of 2021, so when i found out that there was a sequel i was happy but also a tiny sceptical because i had no idea what it could be about. well, fair aunties and a wedding was fun, i absolutely loved reading about the aunties and about meddy and nathan together but the story didn't manage to captivate my attention as much as the first book did, it just felt very obvious and basic but still enjoyable and easy to read.

Dial A For Aunties was one of my favourite books of last year so you can imagine how excited I was for the sequel.

Meddy and Nathan are happy together and have a destination wedding to plan. Of course they couldn't plan it without the help of the Aunties, whether it's wanted or not.

You didn't think that a wedding with all of them together would go off without a hitch, did you? Because of course it doesn't, they have prepared for a British wedding and their preparation won't go unnoticed by anyone. They are here to make an impression, especially to Nathan's parent.

One word that could describe the wedding without giving anything away is eventful. They all have to work together to make this wedding happen without any serious issues for them all, no matter how bad circumstances seem to follow them.

One thing you can be sure to except is that the Aunties as always have the priorities in order, which creates so many funny scenes. I laughed so much while I was reading it and I am sure you will too.


* I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Thankyou for giving me the chance to read in advance. A laugh out loud style novel. Keeps you going until the very end. Highly recommended

It’s supposed to be a perfect day, but is it even a wedding without a murder?

Meddy Chan is getting ready to marry the love of her life. But with her family being the ones who usually deals with the flowers, cake, photography, entertainment and hair and makeup they struggle to find someone who does everything just right. When they meet with Staphanie and her family it’s clear they are the ones to make their special day.

But when Meddy overhears Staphanie on the phone the night before everything changes. Immediately Meddy rushes to her Ma and aunties to help save her wedding from destruction. I mean if her family can’t help, who can? But will this wedding include a dead body?

Once again this book was brilliant. It’s so great to get an insight into Chinese Indonesian culture. This book also tackles the age old drama of when the in laws meet your family, with humorous consequences. I absolutely love Ma and the aunties, by the end of the book I almost felt like part of the family. As with book 1 Ma has some absolutely brilliant lines. The author really brings the characters to life and as well as being utterly hilarious the book is also touching, with family being the clear focus of the story.

Highly recommend.

It's supposed to be the perfect day... But is it even a wedding is nobody gets killed?

Meddy Chan is about to get married to the love of her life Nathan. Getting married in a stunning location, Christ Church, Oxford, Meddy's dreams of a destination wedding are coming to life. As always, her meddling aunts want to be involved in the wedding planning and they find the perfect wedding planner/photographer/florist for Meddy. Even though there aren't any dead bodies hidden in freezers on this occasion, Meddy is about to get a day she will never forget (even if she wants to!).

I adored Dial A for Aunties and was so excited to see that Sutanto was writing a sequel. Four Aunties and A Wedding does not disappoint! So many laugh out loud moments throughout (along with copious amounts of cringing when the aunties' actions are a bit too over the top!), I loved every minute of this book! It's crazy, funny and be prepared to be suspend reality for a bit with the way this story twists and turns. It still has the Golden Girls/Jessica Fletcher vibe which I adored in the first book and Sutanto succeeds on providing her readers with the sequel we were all waiting for.

I always recommend Dial A for Aunties in the library and I can now say that Four Aunties and a Wedding will be my go-to recommendation for a hilarious page-turner with a sprinkle of romance and crazy antics to boot. It's bonkers and far-fetched and I love it!

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins for gifting me a copy of this book for review purposes.
"Four Aunties and a Wedding" is the follow-up to "Dial A for Aunties", the book promises lots of laughs and a mystery involving the mafia but does it deliver on these promises? Well, truthfully, not really. Whilst I am not a huge romance reader, I picked up this book expecting a quick fun read that would be ideal for some mindless fun. Instead, what was delivered was questionable pacing and a lackluster plot.

Outside of Meddy it is unclear who the other characters really are - the Aunts, unfortunately, meld together for the most part and this alongside the addition of the numbered uncles leads to a somewhat confusing plot. It was hard to actually keep track of where characters were at certain points in the novel, the plot itself was thin and unclear at times which didn't help in the overall delivery of the story.

In terms of the humor, there are a few funny moments but I can't say for sure if this is more of a cringing laugh at the writing itself or if this is actually at the jokes themselves.

I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a quick mostly mindless read - perhaps beachside- if you're looking for something more than that I don't think you'd find it here.

I really enjoyed the different cultures in this book and the way its written. The Aunties are so funny and it was a laugh a minute.

The run up to and the actual wedding day are so funny and I honestly haven't laughed so much at a book in ages. Poor Meddy cannot get her family in check and they just do what they want.

I really liked the relationship between Nathan and Meddy and lovely Meddy stands up to Ann near the end of the book.

Brilliant book would love to read more by this author.

This was the sequel I was waiting for, after laughing my way through Dial A For Aunties last year.
Beware though, you will need to have read the first one before picking this one up, due to the amount of spoilers!
If you have read the first in the series, you know to suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride.
I have to commend the author as she really does take you on a rollercoaster unlike any other. It's well paced, it's funny, the chapters never seem too long or short and you're kept guessing all the way through. I honestly couldn't wait to pick it up again (only took a break for work!)
Four Aunties and a Wedding ultimately was a bit too unbelievable for me (mainly the epilogue) but I still wouldn't hesitate to recommend this and already looking forward to the next installment.

I absolutely loved Dial A for Aunties and I haven't stopped recommending it to people at the shop since I read it, so as you can imagine I was so excited for this sequel that I powered through it! And it's just a excellent as the first one! I hope there will be a third, just as crazy and funny as these last 2 books!

I was lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of this to read by HQ Stories. Having only just finished Dial A for Aunties, I was really excited to be reunited with the gang - and I wasn’t disappointed. Four Aunties and a Wedding is a hilarious page-turner, which such brilliantly depicted scenes of slapstick and word-play that I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. Dial A for Aunties had done a lot of groundwork on contextualising the characters, so Sutanto’s writing in Four Aunties and a Wedding seemed to flow better and came across as a bit less “try-hard”. The characters she has created are genuinely loveable and hilarious, and the plot (with its believable but ludicrous twists and turns) makes you fall in love with them even more. If only we all had family like this!

“Crazy rich Asians” it is not! It might be a book designed for readers of the first book in the series but it did not appeal or intrigue me. The writing feels sloppy and the cliches soon become too ridiculous to be endearing or funny. It might be a great book for some but definitely not for me.

This book started off so well - Meddy is getting married, and her crazy aunties have come over to Oxford for the event. The aunties are just adorable; over the top, enthusiastic, great fun. Her wedding organiser and family are all on hand, it will be an amazing occasion. Except that things start to go wrong, and she and the aunties need to protect someone at the wedding.

And that was where it all started to go off for me. The idea that a bride would spend her wedding day acting out a Brian Rix farce, with men being tied up and shuffled around through the streets of Oxford in a wheelchair was just ridiculous. If it hadn't been her wedding day, it might have been fun, but for me it just veered into being ridiculous beyond belief, and it spoilt the rest of the book. Just nonsense, and no longer fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have such a soft spot for Meddy and the aunties, especially after reading Dial A for Aunties. If you're looking for a realistic tale of life, this isn't for you. It's so farfetched and unrealistic, but that's why I love it. The characters are just scrumptious and Jesse's writing is like a warm hug. Loved this so much

If you liked Jesses last book with the crazy Aunties and the murder cover up, then you'll love this. Aunties, questionable fashion choices, a reserved family on the side of the groom and total mayhem ensues....
Funny, silly and easy reading!

Madcap And Bonkers…
Madcap and bonkers spring to mind for this laugh along, frothy and furious storyline. A proposed wedding, Christ Church College, Oxford and well, when the meddling aunts get involved….. This is going to go off with a bang. Packed with humour, eccentric characters and a swiftly moving narrative this is a very worthy follow up to the first book. A day never to be forgotten.