Four Aunties and a Wedding

Written By Omma Ahmed

Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Sutanto

Reviewed by Omma
📒📒

Thank you to @hqstories for this copy!

Having really enjoyed Dial A for Aunties, I was looking forward to reading the sequel as Jesse has a 3-book deal.

I however was left disappointed. Where the first book felt funny and chaotic, this book just fell very flat. The chaos and dramatics between the aunties was repetitive and Meddy the protagonist was too submissive.
She constantly let her aunties walk all over her and although I can understand they are overbearing, I did keep thinking that this is your wedding sis, speak up!

Then the actual dramatics of having a mafia family trying to sabotage her wedding felt ridiculous. I only continued to read just out of obligation and hoping it would get better.
As I continued to read though, I found Meddy truly annoying especially because her response to her Aunties was always ‘holding in hysterical laughter’ at things that were not funny at all tbh.

It’s such a shame because I really did enjoy the first book and recommended it to many. There is a third book on the way which will be based in Indonesia and I think I’ll wait for reviews before I decide to pick that up.

Omma Ahmed

I’ve always loved reading as a kid because it was one of the few Asian-mum approved hobbies although she would have preferred ‘less novels and more school books’! I also grew up in the Harry Potter era so that’s when I really remember falling in love with reading. (Big up my Y7 English teacher for reading a few pages of Philosophers stone at the end of every lesson! You were a real one Mr Williams!) I love being part of this book page (even though I slack massively due to lack of energy and concentration!) because sometimes it felt like a lifeline to help keep me sane. We started it during the time I was feeling really shitty about my Crohn’s disease. It’s been a tough 7 years and the last 3 have probably been the hardest especially mentally so when Linda suggested putting this page together, without hesitation I was down and I’m so proud of us! Writing reviews helped me to organise my thoughts and even resulted in me creating a second Instagram page (@AnOstomateForLife) about my Crohn’s journey. Yes that was a shameless plug and I’m not sorry! Along with reviews, I’ve also loved the creative side of things such as having input in our logo, creating our bookmark and taking book pictures even though it’s awkward af in public! So a few of my fave books: The Godfather by Mario Puzo (made me love the film even more! I’m a self-proclaimed movie buff too btw), Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Healy, The Harry Potter series (obviously), Jemima J by Jane Green, Moonlight over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan, Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple and We Should All Be Feminists Chimamanda Adichie.

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