I went into this book assuming it was a RomCom, but the story quickly veered into chaos, one-dimensional characters, and ridiculous plot lines. I did not enjoy this book so prepare for an unpopular opinion review.
There's fun and quirky and then there's eye-rollingly silly and this book is in the latter for me. Dial A For Aunties is a hit with many readers but fell flat for me in almost every way. In fact, the only thing I liked about it was getting a look into an Indo-Chinese weddings and culture.
There's some romance but its initial conflict was weak and unexplored while the sudden rekindling between Meddy and Nick was hard to get behind. Meddy as a main character is juvenile and Nick as her love interest is cute but unbelievably gullible. He has no qualms about picking up immediately where they left off and his blind acceptance of a dead body thrown into the mix (whaa?) was far-fetched. The aunts bring some levity but their constant yelling and bickering got old quick and the addition of a small-town, incompetent sheriff (picture Roscoe P Coltrane) didn't benefit the plot at all.
I expected to enjoy a light-hearted RomCom but finished this book feeling frustrated. Dial A for Aunties is unsure of what it's supposed to be - a RomCom? Mystery? An ode to Weekend at Bernie's? I have no idea, but I don't think it succeeded in any of these genres with its flimsy plot that requires readers to leave their disbelief at the door because anyone with basic science knowledge or who has watched a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy or Law and Order will see massive holes in this story.
Preposterous, lackluster and ridiculously silly without being funny, this was a huge miss for me.
My Rating: 2 stars
Author: Jesse Q Sutanto
Genre: RomCom, Mystery???
Type and Source: Trade Paperback from public library
Publisher: Berkley Books
First Published: April 27, 2021
Opening Lines: I take a deep breath before
pushing open the swing doors.
Book Description from GoodReads: What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family?
You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue!
When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It's the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—"Don't leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!"—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie's perfect buttercream flowers.
But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy's great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?
Thanks for being honest!
ReplyDelete