I really enjoyed this romance. I thought it was unique and fun and like all Sutanto books I've read I learned more about a different culture. This is definitely more new adult than young adult. I would say for a classroom this needs to be in upper high school.

Well, That was Unexpected by Jesse Q. Sutanto had me grabbing my belly laughing so hard! Sharlot's mother and George's father catfishing one another without even realizing it put tears of laughter in my eyes. This story between Sharlot and George was so much more just falling in love with one another. It was so cool to Sharlot falling in love with her own culture and learning to embrace it, too. I love that Sutanto brought Indonesia to life in story and it made me want to go visit so badly! This story was so sweet and so silly in the best way. Definitely would recommend! Thank you Random House Children's for the advanced copy.

The opening of Well, That Was Unexpected by Jesse Q. Sutano had me ROLLING. Oh my god it was hilarious. Sharlot Citra is caught in LA in a compromising position with a boy, so her mom takes her away to Indonesia, where she is from. Meanwhile, the other point of view character, George Clooney Tanuwijaya, is also caught in a HILARIOUS situation that has his family cutting off his internet access. His family is wealthy and has essentially this empire of apps. Anyways, Sharlot and George's parents catfish each other on this app and so, to get their parents off their backs, the two decide to fake date, in a very public fashion, in front of the media. Also, neither one realizes that the other was a catfish, just that their parent was pretending to be themselves.

I had a blast listening to this audiobook. Well, That Was Unexpected kept me entertained and invested in the characters. I think this was the first book I've read with Indonesian representation, love that for me. The audiobook was an excellent listen. Risa Mei and Yoshi Sudarso narrate this 9 hour 41 minute audiobook. I absolutely would listen to another book narrated by these two who do a fabulous job. Highly recommend this book if you want something light and fun.

This was a cute story with a definite YA Crazy Rich Asians vibe. I love the fact that this author is branching out into other genres and she is really showing her versatility. The atmosphere and setting of the story is amazing - and left me wanting to visit Bali and experience some of this incredible scenery and culture. I will say that the swearing and language used was maybe a little more adult than I would have expected from a book marketed as a YA novel, but that's definitely just a preference thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte for an advance copy of this book to read and review!

I just love the setting of this book. George and Sharlot travel through Indonesia on their many dates, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the country and its beauty and customs. But, it’s really the humor in this book that kept me turning the pages and laughing and giggling as I continued reading. And I enjoyed watching Sharlot not only accept her heritage but embrace it.

I also enjoyed the characters, all the characters! Sharlot and George are terrific together, and they are truly meant to be, but of course, they don’t realize it for a while. And the side characters are so well developed and just a lot of fun. The way they all interfere with Sharlot and George’s life is hilarious, and I enjoyed both families so much.

i can't get enough of jesse's books! this was fun & funny in all the right aspects. enjoyable read!

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

I love this author and all her writing! This YA was pretty cute and I really enjoyed the story and know many younger audiences will eat this up

I loved this book so much is was a fun and fast read for me. I would definitely recommend it to others! Thank you NetGalley for this copy!

You may be wondering why on Earth did I request this book. I have been asking myself the same question for days now. I hardly ever read straight YA contemporaries, especially if they are romances, so I don’t know what possessed me to download this one. It was probably due to the fact that I was really intrigued by the fact that this book was set in Indonesia, as I’d never read anything with this setting before.
And the Indonesian setting and culture is the only reason I am not giving this book one star, to be honest. I loved learning more about the country, the history and the food. It was very nice how the author blended these bits with the rest of the story, and it made me even more curious to read Dial A for Aunties, to see how this culture translates in a US setting.
Other than this, unfortunately, I didn’t like anything about the book. The main characters were both annoying to me, and they didn’t have any chemistry. Literally none. I couldn’t care less about them and their relationship, and that’s not good in a romance book. I did vaguely like Kiki and Eleanor, but they were not enough to save the book.
The plot was very predictable. I mean, it’s a romance, so it’s always predictable and I usually like that about the genre, however what bothered me in this case, was that even the subplots and minor plot points were very basic and I had them figured out from the first page.
The worst thing about this book, however, was the writing. Now, I love me a good over the top book, but this one was too much even for me. The main issue was that it was over the top, but I did not find it funny or entertaining, so all it remained was for me to cringe.
Also, I hate when people accuse books of trying to be “woke”, but I don’t know how else to describe this one. The author made some very good points, but the way she wrote them was so clearly aimed at appealing to Gen Z readers it just felt fake. And, once again, it made me cringe a lot, especially when George talked about toxic masculinity. What he said wasn’t wrong, but it still came out very weirdly and somehow it felt like he was mansplaining things to us readers, which kinda went against the purpose, I believe.
Overall, this book just wasn’t for me. I’d still recommend it if you are interested in the Indonesian aspect of it, or if you usually enjoy heterosexual YA books (couldn’t be me, call me heterophobic, IDK and IDC). I still think it was a bit too much and that the writing was awful, but if you are someone who cares more about the romance, you may still like this one. Personally, I couldn’t fall in love with Sharlot and George, but maybe you will; I have seen a lot of good ratings for this one, and it’s clearly a case of “It’s me, not you” syndrome.

This is a perfect YA romance to give you all the feels, and it brings some wonderful cultural issues into the story that makes it feel relevant and important. I loved the story, and I loved the characters! I found myself laughing and smiling, and just all the feels!

We love Jesse Q Sutanto! This was my first YA read of hers and it definitely won't be my last. The characters were really intriguing and I could not put the book down.

Laugh out loud funny YA novel! It reminded me of Crazy Rich Asians but for a younger audience. I loved the authentic banter between Sharlot and George. I also really enjoyed Eleanor and Kiki’s sisterly bond. The meddling parents were accurate and funny in their descriptions. All in all a fun read! I gave it 4 stars!

The premise of the book promised an outrageous, laugh out loud YA romcom and it delivered.

If you loved the humor and fast-pace of Dial A For Aunties and fake dating & YA romances, this one is sure to please. Like her previous books, the antics and humor abound. Sometimes the humor was more juvenile in nature but considering this is a YA novel, it was to be expected. There were even some twists that I wasn’t expecting.

I loved the setting of Jakarta and Bali and narrative around the more traditional cultural norms and values juxtaposed with the more modern ones. I loved the side characters of the sister and cousin as they added an extra layer of humor to the story.

It has fake dating, monkeys, lots of coffee and Indonesian food references, parents pretending to be their children on dating apps and all the hilarity this brings when reading their messages, meddling aunties, hilarious and embarrassing opening scenes for each main character, and all the feels with teenage love.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this one. This was a fun contemporary romance. The characters were ok and this was a quick read. If you like cultural cross over tales, this one is for you!

3.5/5

This was really cute! The author calls it a love letter to Indonesia and that is totally what it feels like. I absolutely loved the setting, the descriptions of places and food, the cultural immersion – armchair traveling is one of my favorite things about reading and this did it so well!

Aside from the setting, it’s also just a really fun story. Sharlot and George are adorable and their growth throughout the novel was lovely. The parental catfishing allowed from some hilarious moments, and I loved the large cast of side characters.

Jesse Q. Sutanto has been on my radar for ages and this was such a great book to start with. I’m looking forward even more to (finally!) reading Dial A for Aunties now!

At times silly, funny, and sweet, Well, That Was Unexpected will entertain you at the same time it convinces you to make Indonesia your next vacation destination!

Thank you so much Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My Thoughts:
Like We Deserve Monuments, a teenage senior is forced to temporarily leave her friends and home to travel to her mother's home town, in this case, Indonesia. Throughout the book, both girls find that their mother's are holding secrets that will change their relationship. However, that is where the two stories verge away from each other.

Unlike the drama of Monuments, this is a cute romcom, family meddling, crazy rich Asians style adventure through Indonesia. From the beginning, as readers we know that they are going to get together eventually, so this was really a love story about the place too, from a lot of coffee and street food to beautiful scenery, it really. makes me want to visit Indonesia. I learned so much about it through this book.

From the Publisher:
A laugh-out-loud YA rom-com about a girl who's whisked from LA to her mother's native Indonesia to get back to her roots and finds herself fake-dating the son of one of the wealthiest families there, from the bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties and The Obsession

After Sharlot Citra's mother catches her in a compromising position, she finds herself whisked away from LA to her mother’s native Indonesia. It'll be exactly what they both need. Or so her mother thinks.

When George Clooney Tanuwijaya's father (who is obsessed with American celebrities) fears he no longer understands how to get through to his son, he decides to take matters into his own hands.

To ensure that their children find the right kind of romantic partner, Sharlot's mother and George's father do what any "good" parent would do: they strike up a conversation online, pretending to be their children.

When the kids find out about their parents’ actions, they’re horrified. Not even a trip to one of the most romantic places on earth could possibly make Sharlot and George fall for each other. But as the layers peel back and the person they thought they knew from online is revealed, the truth becomes more complicated. As unlikely as it may seem, did their parents manage to find their true match after all?

Publication Information:
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Publisher: Delacorte Press (Sept. 27, 2022)

This was my first Jesse Q. Sutanto book but it won't be my last! I loved this book so much. It's such a fun YA rom-com about love, self-discovery and identity.

Sharlot is finally ready to have sex with her boyfriend. But when her mom walks in on them, she freaks and drags Sharlot to Indonesia for the summer. Meanwhile in Indonesia, George Clooney is mortified when his father and sister walk in on him watching porn. Determined to fix their children's disastrous love lives and find them appropriate people to date, Sharlot's mom and George's dad (and sister) create profiles for them on a social networking app -- and began cat-fishing each other. When Sharlot and George are forced to meet IRL, everything spins out of control and suddenly they're in a fake relationship to help George's family. At first they pretend to like each other for the cameras, but soon their feelings start to become real. Did their parents matchmaking actually lead them to love?

This book had me either laughing or smiling every single page. You can't help but love Sharlot, George and both of their families. There is even a very sweet subplot with Sharlot's mom that I LOVED. The book also tackles how social media can be harmful, especially for young women and does a really great job portraying healthy conversations for teens about sex and consent. We also get both Sharlot and George's POV throughout the book, which was a great choice.

The other thing I loved about this book is the discussion around identity and culture. Sharlot hasn't really been able to connected with Indonesian culture, but spending the summer in Indonesia allows her to connect with her family and learn more about her culture. i also loved that we get to experience Indonesia through Sharlot's eyes and I can honestly say that it's on my lists of places to visit.

This book is so witty, funny and charming. It's a great book for teenagers and adults. You will be so happy you read this book!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received this ebook as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours on Instagram, thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for providing the ebook for an honest review.

As a fellow Chinese-Indonesian, I can't tell you how excited I am to finally see a Chinese-Indonesia (or Chindo) representation in a book that is also set in Indonesia! With a lot of Indonesian culture in it!

We met Sharlot Citra a 17 years old Chinese-Indonesian-American who was caught doing R-rated things with her boyfriend by her mother. She was then got taken away to her mother’s birthplace, Indonesia for the summer. In Indonesia, George Clooney also faces the same problem, but he was caught by his father and sister.

Sharlot’s mother and George’s father strike up a conversation with each other online pretending to be their children. When Sharlot and George finally meet (thanks to their parents), things started to get so complicated that they have to pretend they’re dating.

Well, That Was Unexpected really brings a lot of Indonesian culture to life. It feels like as if the Tanuwijaya family is mine because of how relatable the writing is to my family life situation. Like when they said “Chinese family titles are painfully specific, “ I understand that on so many levels. The characters and the atmosphere are well-written.

The twist near the end really caught me off guard. Like the title said “Well, That Was Unexpected” It really was unexpected.

It was a good read.

This book is absolutely adorable. Featuring multiple sets of meddling relatives, a highly eligible bachelor, and a fish out of water, Sutanto delivers a sweet and fun YA novel. Through Shar, we get to naturally discover how Indonesia diverges from American expectations. There are hijinks and developing relationships, making you both laugh and feel.

This was such a cute YA romcom! I loved the setting in Indonesia and it definitely made me want to visit! I feel Asian culture is underrepresented in western published books so I loved reading this and learning more about Indonesia. I thought the cast of characters were fun and loved the side characters, especially Kiki and Elenor. Both George and Sharlot are likable protagonists and I loved seeing their relationships with their families. I liked Sharlot’s journey with her mother and how her thoughts shifted on Indonesia. This would be a great book for a highschool library especially because of setting, diversity, and Sharlots focus on intimacy. This humor was engaging throughout the whole story. This would be a great beach read because the conflict is never too heavy and has a sweet love story.

Overall, this was a 4.5 for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Childrens for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.