Book Review: Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto

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Title: Dial A for Aunties

Author: Jesse Q Sutanto

Sub-genre: Contemporary

Is there anything better than sitting by the pool sans child with a pina colada in hand? I think the only thing is sitting by the pool sans child, pina colada and amazing book in hand. Luckily, for Mother’s Day, that’s right where I was! I spent the weekend in Palm Springs, and spent my Sunday by the pool, sipping tropical drinks, and laughing my ass off reading Dial A for Aunties. Part romance, part family drama, part true crime, this book basically had everything I ever want and it was told brilliantly.

Meddy is a young wedding photographer working in the family business. She and her mother and aunts have an event planning cohort, managing everything from cake and flowers to makeup and music. Meddy likes parts of her job, but mainly she sticks around because she is a dutiful daughter and doesn’t want to disappoint her mother (she’s disappointed enough as it is since Meddy is still single and childless). When Meddy’s mom arranges for her to go on a blind date with a guy she met on a dating app (while pretending to be Meddy), it almost pushes her over the edge. Until her date really pushes her over the edge, by driving Meddy to a secluded area with clear intentions to assault her. Meddy tases him, causing him to crash the car and (apparently) die. Meddy finds herself in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, no one around to help, and a dead body. So she does what anyone would do and shoves him in her trunk and drives home. Meddy tells her mother what happened and her mother deploys the troops, aka the aunties, who all come over to assist. The only problem (aside from how to dispose of a dead body without getting caught) is the whole team has a huge, expensive, exclusive wedding to manage the following day. Through a series of hijinks, the dead body ends up coming along with the team to the wedding, which is being held at a fancy new hotel on an island. And surprise, surprise, the owner of said hotel is Nathan, the man Meddy dated in college and wanted to marry. So many more hijinks ensue and honestly, it seems like there is no good way out of all of the major problems created, but there is and it turns out okay and everyone lives happily ever after.

Not many books can make a dead body funny, but this one most certainly did. It helps that we know from the beginning that the dead guy was a total creeper, who actually turns out to be even more awful than originally thought. But honestly, there were several moments when I found myself laughing out loud, maybe even snorting a time or two (I admit nothing). Jesse’s voice is hilarious and the way she turns this tale is masterful. This is the kind of book not many people could pull off, but she does it and it’s pretty perfect. The characters are fantastic, the plot keeps you guessing the whole time, and there is just enough romance to satisfy my need for kissing. The whole thing is brilliant and I can’t wait to read it again!

Overall Rating: 5 stars