Tag Archives: Jesse Q Sutanto

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (A Vera Wong Novel Book 1)

Title: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Series: Vera Wong #1
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Cozy mystery
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2023

Thoughts

I didn’t quite love the beginning of the Vera Wong series as I did the Aunties series. There was just something about it that didn’t quite hit as strongly and joyfully. But, that may be due to the age of the protagonist. I love a good novel, but I found it that little bit more difficult to connect with an elderly lady. Whereas, the Aunties series features a woman closer in life stages and age to myself, so she was much easier to connect to.

There was also the fact that I found Vera a little bit difficult to actually like. Although a lot of her thoughts and feelings come from a good place, I honestly found her kind of irritating. She was meddling, stubborn and a little bit challenging for many to deal with. This made it even more difficult to relate to her, and, again, challenging to truly get into the book when I really just didn’t care what was going to happen to the protagonist.

Although I enjoyed this novel to a degree and ended up reading the whole thing, I ended up skimming through big portions of it. I so badly wanted to like it and was intrigued by the premise, so I kept on returning to it. Plus, I wanted to find out who the murderer was. But, I also found it a little bit tedious and frustrating to actually read (mostly for the above readings). I did love the different points of view and the different suspects, it was difficult to figure out who might be the actual culprit.

All in all, I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. However, I really enjoyed that this was all about found family and embracing the people who life throws at you. I also found this to be a ridiculously cheerful murder mystery, which I found hilarious and enjoyable. Plus, ultimately, the villain wasn’t who I expected, and I do love when a murder mystery is able to surprise me. Not a bad book, but not one I’m desperate to dive into again either.

<- More Jesse Q. SutantoVera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) ->

Image source: Amazon

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Dial A for Aunties
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Series: Aunties #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Humour, Mystery
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2021

Thoughts

Holy crap, this book was freaking amazing. And totally unforgettable. There was just something about it that made me fall head over heels in love from the very first page. I mean, it is pure insanity and hilariously unhinged. But, I love that in a good book. Unhinged in real life isn’t great, but reading about it. Particularly when that unhinged comes from a place of love? That works wonderfully. Which, considering this is really a love story about four aunts and their niece, meant that I thought this was the most delightfully and chaotically unhinged story that I’ve read in a long while.

As I mentioned, there is the romance between Meddy and her past flame, but for me, the biggest love story is Meddy and her aunties. They just don’t hesitate to dive right in and help her out, regardless of just how bad the situation is. Which is particularly hilarious when they are literally trying to hide a dead body. I mean, honestly, the incredibly foolish and ill-conceived decisions just keep coming. And they had me laughing outloud throughout the entire novel. But, the fact that this all came from a place of love and care? It made what was actually quite macabre to be absolutley beautiful and kind of heart melting.

To begin with, there are the multiple timelines in this novel. Starting with the chaotic choices made by Meddy’s mum and leading to the whole body situation. But then, you flash back to Meddy’s past. This doesn’t happen throughout the entire story, but it occurs enough to giv eyou a background not only into Meddy’s past relationship, but also to just where some of her discontent sits. I love though, that when that smaller arc from the past is completed, you are just plunged into the present full time. driven along with the knowledge of some of Meddy’s past, and the reasons why she is not quite happy in life the way it is.

Dial A for Aunties crossed a whole lot of genres in the most enjoyable manner. It felt a little like a mystery, a like sattirical, a little contemporary / contemporary romance and a whole lot of familial love. I basically spent the entire time reading this laughing and giggling – there was just something ridiculously fun and light about this. Which was particularly surprising when there was literally a dead body at the centre of this story…

<- More Jesse Q. SutantoFour Aunties and a Wedding ->

Image source: HarperCollins