Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto #Review

Four Aunties and a Wedding
Humorous American Literature
Asian American Literature & Fiction
2nd in Series
Setting – Oxford, England
Berkley (March 29, 2022)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593440765
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593440766
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0989C66SZ

Meddy Chan has been to countless weddings, but she never imagined how her own would turn out. Now the day has arrived, and she can’t wait to marry her college sweetheart, Nathan. Instead of having Ma and the aunts cater to her wedding, Meddy wants them to enjoy the day as guests. As a compromise, they find the perfect wedding vendors: a Chinese-Indonesian family-run company just like theirs. Meddy is hesitant at first, but she hits it off right away with the wedding photographer, Staphanie, who reminds Meddy of herself, down to the unfortunately misspelled name.

Meddy realizes that is where their similarities end, however, when she overhears Staphanie talking about taking out a target. Horrified, Meddy can’t believe Staphanie and her family aren’t just like her own, they are The Family—actual mafia, and they’re using Meddy’s wedding as a chance to conduct shady business. Her aunties and mother won’t let Meddy’s wedding ceremony become a murder scene—over their dead bodies—and will do whatever it takes to save her special day, even if it means taking on the mafia.

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.

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About the Author

Jesse Q. Sutanto is the author of adult, YA, and children’s middle-grade books. She has a master’s degree in creative writing from Oxford University, though she hasn’t found a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. The film rights to her women’s fiction, Dial A for Aunties, was bought by Netflix in a competitive bidding war. Her adult books include Dial A for Aunties and its sequel, Four Aunties and a Wedding. Her YA books include The Obsession, The New Girl, and her upcoming rom-com, Well, That Was Unexpected. Her MG books include Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit and an untitled sequel.

Jesse has forty-two first cousins and thirty aunties and uncles, many of whom live just down the road. When she’s not writing, she’s gaming with her husband (mostly FPS), or making a mess in the kitchen with her two daughters.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”