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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
There's something about the books in this series that are so absurd, yet they somehow just work. Picking up shortly after where Dial A for Aunties left off, Four Aunties and a Wedding follows protagonist Meddy at her own wedding this time, where (of course) a massive chain of disasters ensue.
You know how they say how doctors make the worst patients? That's basically what happens in this novel, with, you know, your casual mafia twist. Meddy and her aunties run a wedding planning business, and are now looking for vendors for their own family wedding. Meddy doesn't get much of a chance to choose her own vendors given how opinionated her aunties are, and when they find a family with a similar background to their own who are in the business, it's pretty much a done deal that they will hire them. Come to find out, however, that they're a "mafia" family and the whole wedding planning business is a cover to "take out a target" at the wedding- and to Meddy's family horror, they actually really don't know what they're doing, whether it comes to photography, hair and makeup, floral arrangements, etc. The story vacillates between them trying to salvage the disaster that is Meddy's wedding while also trying to prevent an assassination while also taking matters into their own hands- and if you've read the first book in the series, you can probably only imagine how that goes!
Despite the shenanigans, there were also some real gems in this novel, such as the Oxford setting (Meddy is actually getting married at Christ Church's College which I visited when I studied abroad, and it was so cool to have been where the story was set!). The author also makes a note in the beginning of the book about wanting to explore different experiences of the Asian diaspora in this novel, and does so through the meeting and merging of Meddy and Nathan's families during the wedding weekend (which honestly, does not go well, but also highlights how not everyone's experience is the same).
Overall: Another delightfully campy installment, there's no denying how fun of a read this was!
Honestly, there's something about this book that just captures the older millennial experience. I don't have kids, but just reading about Finlay's struggles to be a mom, have a successful career, manage her household, take care of herself is ~relatable~ (minus the murder investigation part, lol). I just love that this series shows extraordinary (and downright ludicrous) things happening to a very normal person. Finlay is just doing the best she can and it honestly adds a blanket of endearment to the absurdity of the things that go down in this novel.
Despite Finlay trying to move on with her life after the events of the first book, she becomes involved in some shady business once again when she stumbles across an online ad where someone is asking someone to "eliminate" her sketchy ex-husband. While there's no love lost between Finlay and Steven, she can't in good conscience let an *innocent* dude and the father of her child die. Of course, due to the events in the last installment, she can't go to the police, so her and Vero decide to take matters into their own hands once again.
I honestly can't get enough of Finlay and Vero's (her hilarious, math savvy nanny) antics, and it's hard to deny they make a great crime-solving (or sometimes crime-committing) pair. This story also gives some more insight into Finlay's extended family, and I loved her mom's (nosy) presence but also how she was there for Finlay when she needed her in small ways (even if she didn't realize it). Of course, there's also the hilarious, meta situation of Finlay herself being a romance/mystery novel and how she ends up drawing inspiration from her own real life antics!
Overall: I love this series and like Lauren from @Bookmark Lit said in her review, I need to find more cozy mysteries with the same vibe!
This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
There's something about the books in this series that are so absurd, yet they somehow just work. Picking up shortly after where Dial A for Aunties left off, Four Aunties and a Wedding follows protagonist Meddy at her own wedding this time, where (of course) a massive chain of disasters ensue.
You know how they say how doctors make the worst patients? That's basically what happens in this novel, with, you know, your casual mafia twist. Meddy and her aunties run a wedding planning business, and are now looking for vendors for their own family wedding. Meddy doesn't get much of a chance to choose her own vendors given how opinionated her aunties are, and when they find a family with a similar background to their own who are in the business, it's pretty much a done deal that they will hire them. Come to find out, however, that they're a "mafia" family and the whole wedding planning business is a cover to "take out a target" at the wedding- and to Meddy's family horror, they actually really don't know what they're doing, whether it comes to photography, hair and makeup, floral arrangements, etc. The story vacillates between them trying to salvage the disaster that is Meddy's wedding while also trying to prevent an assassination while also taking matters into their own hands- and if you've read the first book in the series, you can probably only imagine how that goes!
Despite the shenanigans, there were also some real gems in this novel, such as the Oxford setting (Meddy is actually getting married at Christ Church's College which I visited when I studied abroad, and it was so cool to have been where the story was set!). The author also makes a note in the beginning of the book about wanting to explore different experiences of the Asian diaspora in this novel, and does so through the meeting and merging of Meddy and Nathan's families during the wedding weekend (which honestly, does not go well, but also highlights how not everyone's experience is the same).
Overall: Another delightfully campy installment, there's no denying how fun of a read this was!
Honestly, there's something about this book that just captures the older millennial experience. I don't have kids, but just reading about Finlay's struggles to be a mom, have a successful career, manage her household, take care of herself is ~relatable~ (minus the murder investigation part, lol). I just love that this series shows extraordinary (and downright ludicrous) things happening to a very normal person. Finlay is just doing the best she can and it honestly adds a blanket of endearment to the absurdity of the things that go down in this novel.
Despite Finlay trying to move on with her life after the events of the first book, she becomes involved in some shady business once again when she stumbles across an online ad where someone is asking someone to "eliminate" her sketchy ex-husband. While there's no love lost between Finlay and Steven, she can't in good conscience let an *innocent* dude and the father of her child die. Of course, due to the events in the last installment, she can't go to the police, so her and Vero decide to take matters into their own hands once again.
I honestly can't get enough of Finlay and Vero's (her hilarious, math savvy nanny) antics, and it's hard to deny they make a great crime-solving (or sometimes crime-committing) pair. This story also gives some more insight into Finlay's extended family, and I loved her mom's (nosy) presence but also how she was there for Finlay when she needed her in small ways (even if she didn't realize it). Of course, there's also the hilarious, meta situation of Finlay herself being a romance/mystery novel and how she ends up drawing inspiration from her own real life antics!
Overall: I love this series and like Lauren from @Bookmark Lit said in her review, I need to find more cozy mysteries with the same vibe!
This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
funny
A three star at the best, some funny parts, and I managed to finish the book, but the "twists" were really predictable to the point making the characters and their actions annoying.
3/5 Stars
I knew going into this that it wasn't going to be amazing. I saw a lot of negative reviews about it, and it wasn't as great as the first one. It was sort of all over the place, and a part of me just wanted to focus on Meddy and Nathan and their wedding. There were things happening that just didn't need to be there. I still love the family dynamic, and Meddy and Nathan are adorable.
TW: kidnapping, drug use, murder, alcohol, violence, cursing
I knew going into this that it wasn't going to be amazing. I saw a lot of negative reviews about it, and it wasn't as great as the first one. It was sort of all over the place, and a part of me just wanted to focus on Meddy and Nathan and their wedding. There were things happening that just didn't need to be there. I still love the family dynamic, and Meddy and Nathan are adorable.
TW: kidnapping, drug use, murder, alcohol, violence, cursing