Reviews with content warning for Violence - Dial A for Aunties

There's so much in this book that is well done. The atmosphere of the dim sum restaurant made me simultaneously claustrophobic and hungry. I think Jesse Sutanto did a great job capturing each characters voice. But the Python-esque shenanigans have left me a bit frustrated. Not to mention - everyone was very okay with the murder and I have a hard time believing that.

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daryn's review

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dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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pamshenanigans's review against another edition

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funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"How can you be good wife, you can't even cook rice?"

Read this book for a September group read and I can't wait to talk about this with everyone who read it as well! It's such a hilarious, hard-hitting, and entertaining mystery book!

For some, the plot points may seem/feel "too convenient", and I think that's part of the allure of the book! Don't expect this book to be as hard-hitting as thrillers by Karin Slaughter or Gillian Flynn, because it's not.

This book actually feels like a cozy mystery to me despite the violent undertones and themes. I never thought I'd need a story of how Asian aunties will react to someone dying, but here we are.

A lot of times the things happening in the book made me laugh out loud because of how ridiculous the coincidences and banters are, BUT IT JUST WORKS! The overall plot is super well-played.

Everything made sense and didn't make sense at the same time and that's just so hard to explain unless you read the book lol

Actual rating: 4.5

Trigger/Content Warnings: accident, drugging, manipulation, murder

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steeped_in_books's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A little unbelievable at times but a fun, light read. It was like a screwball comedy, and the main character’s mom and the aunties were so funny.

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amayer1203's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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asparagusisreading's review

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funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I am a Nathan stan

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aimzthereader's review

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funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Ok this book is out there and over the top. Most of the time I don’t like books where it seems soooo unrealistic and unrelatable . When I think, no way in hell would this happen in real life that’s usually the mark of a book I wouldn’t like (I mean unless I am specific reading a genre like fantasy or sci-fi where it is supposed to be unrealistic) . HOWEVER, this book is sooo outlandish that it works.

I read this really quick because I didn’t want to leave the family and I am excited to see that there will be a sequel. I really loved seeing the family dynamics and that the author comes from a big family with similar dynamics. I liked learning about the Chinese-Indo culture and I loved how the language was woven throughout.

The characters were lovable and the plot moves along very nicely. Most of the time you’re rolling your eyes at the antics they get themselves in and you’re laughing at what the aunties find important in a situation. This is a great quick read.

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amibo's review

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I was really looking forward to this one. I saw the photo shoot the author did with her real life aunties and thought this was going to be lots of fun. Parts of it were, but I was disappointed.

What was great: Meddy's mom (definitely LOLed at her comments several times), Indo & Chinese relationships & traditions
What was fun: The aunties dialogue
What really, really, did not work for me: The widely fluctuating tone. I was prepared to suspend disbelief - A LOT of disbelief - but most significantly the flashback chapters to Meddy and Nathan's relationship were very straight-up romance, not even romcom, so it was hard to stay in the black humor mode. The tone pendulum made some of the really over-the-top, unbelievable decisions and situations harder to laugh at, rather than cringe about. I think it would have been easier to stay with the crazy flow if the college years' information was shortened, and only the most important information shared in brief flashbacks like later in the story.

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