These reviews are all about the Aunties and the Asian Community
The Trouble with Hating You by Sanji Patel
Goodreads blurb: Liya Thakkar is a successful biochemical engineer, takeout enthusiast, and happily single woman. The moment she realizes her parents’ latest dinner party is a setup with the man they want her to marry, she’s out the back door in a flash. Imagine her surprise when the same guy shows up at her office a week later — the new lawyer hired to save her struggling company. What’s not surprising: he’s not too thrilled to see her either after that humiliating fiasco. Jay Shah looks good on paper…and off. Especially if you like that whole gorgeous, charming lawyer-in-a-good-suit thing. He’s also arrogant and infuriating. As their witty office banter turns into late night chats, Liya starts to think he might be the one man who truly accepts her. But falling for each other means exposing their painful pasts. Will Liya keep running, or will she finally give love a real chance?
my take: 4 out of 5. A fun one reading cute romance, in the traditional enemies to lovers trope. IT has great character development, and a beautiful interlinking to the Indian Culture. I love powerful, badass female characters and we have that one here! A fun beach read that i highly recommend.
First Love, Take Two by Sanji Patel
Goodreads blurb: On the verge of realizing her dream of being a doctor, Preeti Patel should be ecstatic. But between the stress of her residency, trying to find a job, and managing her traditional, no-boundaries family, Preeti’s anxiety is through the roof. Relationships and love aren’t even an option. Fortunately, Preeti’s finally found a new place to stay . . . only to discover that her new roommate is her ex.
Preeti never quite got over Daniel Thompson. Super-hot, plenty of swagger, amazing cook—the guy is practically perfect. And if it weren’t for their families, there might have been a happily ever after. But it’s hard to keep her sanity and libido in check when the man of her dreams is sleeping mere feet away. Can Preeti and Daniel find a way to stand up and fight for each other one last time . . . before they lose their second chance?
My take: 3.5 out of 4. I read this right after i read Trouble with Hating You, so that I would continue the story. And although I loved that I could continue with the goodness, and was happy to get into Preeti’s story, this one wasn’t as good as the original. Don’t get me wrong, its still a great read, and a fun one sitting romance, its just not as good as Book 1. I think what didn’t fully convince me is that there is not as much development in relationships. It is more clearing up misconceptions, but you start with people in love who’ve always been in love, so the buildup is not as good. However, I rally enjoyed both characters and the way the touch on racism and mental health seems very appropriate and well managed. In a way its a proper relationship transition from the first book. The first is all meet cute and romance building. This second book is how to make love happen in our complicated world.
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto
Goodreads blurb: What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family? You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue! When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It’s the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—”Don’t leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!”—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie’s perfect buttercream flowers. But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy’s great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?
my take: 2 out of 5. Just no. I was about to DNF but i am a curious person so I decided that I needed to skim read until the end to see what happened. But the more I skimmed the more absurd this whole things was, how ridiculous the premise and how annoying all the characters. Might be in consideration for the worst book I have read this year. Just no.
Tati's Tidbits 