Next Time Will Be Our Turn is undeniably sweet and earnest, and I appreciated the emotional core of the story. But from the very first chapter, the plot is laid out so directly that there’s little room for surprise, interpretation, or deeper worldbuilding. Everything is told upfront, which made the rest of the book feel a bit flat and predictable.

Jesse Q. Sutanto’s characters are charming, and there are some heartfelt moments, but the storytelling left me wanting more subtlety and space to connect the dots myself. A nice, easy read... but not one that fully stuck with me.

If you pick up this book, expect broken hearts and broken generational traumas/expectations. The story is told through a conversation between grandma (Magnolia) and granddaughter (Izzy). The story follows Magnolia, a young girl with Chinese-Indonesian background. She originates from Jakarta, where patriarchy reigns and mental illness is stigmatized. Readers follow Magnolia as she assimilates to America, gains a college education, and finds love struggling with the status quo.

The story feels like a natural build up, from heart breaks to retrospectives. It does not sugar coat the immigrant experience from those within and outside their very own communities. Magnolia shows resilience in still trying to be her, even if she sticks out more in this big melting pot. She shows her mental fortitude, bravery, and vulnerability that one must draw on to stay the course. This is further highlighted with the sister relationship readers see between Magnolia and her sister Iris. Iris' incessant comments and judgment on her sister's choices in America were meant to be protecting, but to a younger sister, just came off as annoyance. Her sister resigned her identity to blend in, where Magnolia is fighting so hard to have something of her own. Their relationship is one of the more beautiful evolutions that I enjoyed throughout the tale.

Of course, one key element of this tale is the romance between the main character and Ellery, an older girl she meets at school and finds out is her neighbor. We see a young girl trying to find her place in a new land outside of Indonesia, but also coming to terms with her sexuality and what that means to her societal obligations. We see the two grow into their own over a few short years and then they are separated by choices and time. Fate works in mysterious ways at times and can bring loose ends back together. Essentially, the book does a great job of reminding readers that life is not.a fairy tale; any second a choice made by us or those linked to us can change the trajectory of our timelines. Their relationship kept Magnolia alive and pushing for her own desires, like not succumbing to the housewife role and

There were a few things I did not enjoy. The story had two main narrators, Magnolia and Izzy. While Magnolia's POV felt flushed out, Izzy's POV just felt like filler and not really character building with her. I think more of her history could have added layers to the tale and especially the ending. The timeline was a bit confusing as well - where they say Magnolia in current day is 73 but her history jumps from 1995-2010. Later on, I figured that the current day must be in the future and not 2025 but more clarity there would have lessened that minor distraction. I also was not thrilled with the initial age gap in the earlier parts of the book.

The author was able to take a romance and peel back the layers to show the resilience and sacrifices that some have to make. How sacrifices of one can lead to the better future for your loved one or your vulnerable communities. It shows that life is far from perfect and it is what you make of the current moment,

What a heartfelt and interesting stories of the struggles with self and identity that a queer Indonesian woman dealt with throughout her life time. It’s told in an interesting style of stories to her granddaughter, however this distracted me from the main story occasionally. I was taken with the imperfect but relatable characters. My favorite part by far was the ending. I was tearing up as I finished the book!

I feel a little disappointed by this book. Sutanto for me, normally, is an auto-read author, and this just missed the mark for me. The writing felt a little juvenile and a little cringe. I am looking forward to seeing what else she writes, but this one was just a bit of a let down.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jesse Q. Sutanto, and Berkley for the eARC of Next Time Will Be Our Turn in exchange for an honest review

Jesse Q. Sutanto has delivered a truly sweeping and unforgettable love story that will capture your heart and refuse to let go. The premise alone is captivating: a formidable seventy-three-year-old grandmother, Magnolia Chen, walks into a family Chinese New Year celebration and publicly kisses a woman, completely upending her granddaughter Izzy's world. This bold opening sets the stage for a twisty, often surprising, narrative as Magnolia recounts her own past. Her story, stretching across decades and continents, from Jakarta to Los Angeles, is one of forbidden love and finding your true self against all odds.

Magnolia's relationship with Ellery, her American college friend who becomes the love of her life, is painted with such tenderness and depth that you can't help but root for them. The novel beautifully explores themes of identity, acceptance, and the courage to defy societal and cultural norms to follow your heart. It's a powerful reminder that love knows no boundaries and that the path to self-discovery can be unexpected but ultimately leads you exactly where you're meant to be.

This book is a five-star masterpiece—a radiant and emotionally rich narrative that will leave you both teary-eyed and hopeful. Sutanto's writing is exquisite, creating characters you'll fall in love with and a story that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for sending me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This might be the first book I have read from this author, but I can easily say that I will now be checking out her earlier (and future) work. Her writing style in this book immediately drew me in, and the personal tone left me feeling like Magnolia (the grandmother) was telling her life story to me directly.

I have always loved novels like this, where I get to follow a character through not only years, but decades of their life—with all of its ups and downs. I loved watching Magnolia grow and change and understand her relationships better, whether it was with her sister, with her husband, or with Ellery. But mostly, I loved watching her grow into herself, and start to fight back against the patriarchal systems that kept her from what she wanted for her life.

While I do think the ending of this book was impactful, I think it could have hit harder if we had seen a bit more of Izzy’s perspective in present day—rather than having her (very brief) chapters serve as a sort of frame narrative—so that we could have been further gut-punched by Izzy’s reaction, and the way she lived her life truer to herself after hearing the lessons her grandmother had learned.

Lastly, I did also want to note that the age gap in the grandmother’s relationship with Ellery (16 & 22) did make me uncomfortable at times, and kept me from fully believing in the romance like I might have otherwise (even if nothing physical happened between the characters and they did not date at the time); the ages could have been changed so as to be more appropriate, and the story would not have been much different.

Overall, this book was relatively fast-paced, easily draws you in with its writing style, and (in my opinion) was reminiscent of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which is one of my favorite novels of all-time.

3.75 stars.

This was so lovely! I absolutely adored Magnolia and Ellery! This is at the top of my favourite sapphic romances to recommend! Excellent, well developed characters and I loved seeing the cities of Jakarta and LA through Magnolia’s eyes. This was funny, sad, heartfelt and ultimately such an important story for someone young and/or questioning their sexuality. I thought this was a really great and easily digestible “being true to yourself” novel.

4.5 ⭐
Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Q Sutanto brought me to tears. This story starts as Izzy Chen watches her 73 year old grandmother Magnolia walk into their family’s annual New Year celebration with a beautiful woman on her arm, kissing her in front of everyone. Magnolia then seeks out her granddaughter one evening and begins to share her own story. 16 year old Magnolia is sent to Los Angeles from Jakarta to live with her older sister Iris and attend community college. Her first day of college, she meets 22 year old Ellery and their friendship begins to grow. Over the course of a couple years, Magnolia falls in love with Ellery and then the two part ways as they go to university. This coming of age story deals with family trauma, cultural expectations, misogyny, mental health, and comphet. I truly couldn’t put this book down once I started reading – this book was very engaging and the ending was not what I expected, but still was wonderful. 10/10 recommend this book.

This is the first I’ve read from Jesse Sutanto and now I have added her other works to my TBR. Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Berkley, for the ARC!

This story starts as 73-year-old Magnolia Chen tells her granddaughter, Izzy, the story of how she met the love of her life. Magnolia graduated from high school in Singapore at 16 and then was sent to America to attend college. She landed in Los Angeles to live with her sister, Iris. On her first day in a new country at a brand new school (set in the late 1990’s), Magnolia meets Ellery at the bookstore. Magnolia was unsure about her sexuality before but knew she felt drawn to Ellery.

I was struck by how the author writes about purity culture in Indonesian culture and how it parallels with what many evangelical American Christians deal with. I felt the struggle with Magnolia at every stage - relationships with family, romantic relationships, and the societal expectations of wives, mothers, and daughters.

I read this book with every part of me cheering Magnolia on while she figures her life out from 16 years old to 73 years old. This was read in one day - I could hardly put it down. I was hooked right away.

This book would be perfect for readers who enjoy plot-driven character explorations. There is brilliant depth to the characters and the plot will burrow down into your heart.

My tiniest of tiny criticisms is that the book is written as Magnolia speaking to Izzy. Sometimes the story breaks for her to address Izzy in the middle of it. I became slightly frustrated at the breaks because I didn’t want to get taken out of the story.

I would highly recommend to ✨anyone✨

A steep departure from Dial A for Aunties which is the last book I read by Sutanto…I mistakenly assumed this would be in a similar rom-com vein but make it gay, and boy was I wrong. Instead of a murderous romp, we get the complete opposite- a sweeping love story spanning decades, continents and hearts. Tears were streaming down my face by the last page. Bravo. Except, it’s written as a grandmother telling her granddaughter her love story, and I kind of wished through the whole book that it had just been written as the romance itself rather than a recounted love story. I see why she did it this way, but yeah I’m left longing for Ellery’s POV.

Short summary: Magnolia arrives in LA at 16 with only her sister awaiting her. A sister who seemingly wants nothing to do with her. Which is lonely and awful until Magnolia meets Ellery and the rest should be history…

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I ended up finishing this one but did not love the fact that a minor had a relationship with an adult. On two occasions…I know she’s in college so she’s surrounded by adults but it was really uncomfortable.

I did love the relationship with the grandma and the granddaughter. I really liked how cool and casual they were together.

And the writing was really good! Just wished that there wasn’t a problematic relationship at the center.

I do appreciate being giving this book as an arc so thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for that!

Okay, a lot to unfold with this one. Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Q. Sutanto, follows Magnoia Chen an Indonesian woman who startles her family by showing up with a girlfriend. I didn’t mention that Magnolia at that time, is a grandmother and had been married to a man before. In Indonesian culture it isn’t acceptable to be I anything other than a heterosexual relationship. Magnolia and her older sister Iris were raised by two OB/GYNs, who taught the girls to be submissive, marry and have babies. Even with a mother who is a doctor, believe it or not. The are subtle little pieces of this book that show although the mother is a doctor, she constantly suppresses who and what she is for that of her male coworkers and she is seen doing that with her daughters, as well. You’ll be happy if you marry, you need to focus on your home, you’ll need to think of your husband, always.

We see both sisters leave Indonesia for LA, where both fall in love with it. Iris isn’t pleasant but you can tell she’s going through a rebellious period. Soon Magnolia finds her place and an easy friendship with Bellery, a stunning woman who isn’t shy in letting everyone know she’s a proud lesbian. As time goes on and their lives take different paths, they find themselves back together after being apart for a long time.

This book man, what the actual frig. Not sure how I feel about the reading perspective. Loved the concept of the whole book, truly, I’m just not sure how I feel as felt rushed at times and then, like, blah. Big ass plot twist in the end there, didn’t think that was coming but honestly, with how everything was going…maybe I should have. The author definitely wanted to showcase how Indonesian woman are expected to live. It’s really sad because we know culturally it is still a big issue. Love the mental health representation in this though, wish there was more but what Magnolia does at the end with the clinics was amazing, I teared up a bit, not going to lie. Everyone also did come to terms with this mental health component but man was it a struggle. Culturally mental health is not viewed well, “You’d be dealing with…unsavory people.” Like, that quote was from her kinda sorta soft spoken husband who wasn’t the best guy but he wasn’t one of the worst of them.

Overall, cover is pretty, and the synopsis pulled me in. But I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book. Hoping that others enjoy it as this author definitely wanted to get some heavy subject matters out there.

Thank you, NetGalley and publisher.
2.5 stars!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. ♡

₊˚⊹⋆ first thoughts: this book cover is so stunning. i cant wait to see what we've got coming to us!

₊˚⊹⋆ final thoughts: oh my goodness. i need this book absolutely shot into my veins. i cannot get over how much i genuinely loved this book. this is an easy 6★ read for me. the way this book is seamlessly written you come in and out of focus, remembering this is magnolia telling her granddaughter about her life story. the little comments that bring you back to that reality cause giggles imo. it's so easy going and flows wonderfully. i personally have no connections or true insight on "chindo" culture -- but this was such an aggravating and amazing way to bring education on the culture and societal norms. despite not having that background, i was so easily connected to all of these characters. all of the joy and heartbreak in this book? i felt it ALL. this is a book i will not stop thinking about for a while and i CANNOT WAIT to get my hands on a physical copy come november!! BEAUTIFUL!

This book took me through it. It made me cry, laugh, and steam from my ears with female rage at the patriarchy.

This book takes place mostly during the late 90’s to early 2000’s and follows Magnolia, a Chinese-Indonesian through her life, mainly focusing around her sexuality and falling in love with a woman. I liked a lot about this book. I admit that I don’t know much about Chinese Indonesian culture, but it was interesting to explore that through this book. I thought the critique of patriarchal society was scathing, the sibling relationship between Magnolia and Iris was beautifully done and shattered me at many points, the family dynamic with Magnolias parents was hard to read at times but unfortunately realistic.

I liked Magnolia as a character. She reminded me what it was like to be an insufferable teen full of yearning. I thought she was very well written. I thought Iris was a complex character that I feel we did not get enough of, I really wish we would have delved into her experiences in the earlier parts of the book more.

Now, as much as I loved this book there was one glaring issue to me. Our main character, Magnolia, is a minor when she meets her love interest who is firmly an adult. While nothing physical happens when Magnolia is underage, it was an uncomfortable detail that was not, in my opinion, necessary for the relationship’s development or plot.

Overall I really really liked this book. I would recommend to people looking for a book featuring a realistic rocky sibling relationship and sapphic love story that will make you cry.

A charming, sweet, and tragic tale of true love, being your authentic self, finding your inner badass, and slaying the patriarchy. ✨

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC!

This was a delightful surprise—clever, heartfelt, and culturally thoughtful. The blend of romance, family dynamics, and witty dialogue wrapped in a charming Southeast Asian setting felt unique and joyful. The chemistry between leads is authentic, and the story balances lighthearted humor with moments of real emotion. I only wish it dug a bit deeper at times, but I was smiling through much of it. A well‑earned 4 stars: sharp, heartfelt, and refreshingly original.

This is the sweetest book that feels like a bittersweet gift. Magnolia is telling the story of the love of her life to her granddaughter, Izzy. The story spans decades and continents (primarily LA and Jakarta), and the retelling actually takes place in the future (I think?… this wasn’t entirely explained).

There are some problematic elements, such as Magnolia’s age during the retelling, her relationships with several romantic partners, and the pacing of the story, particularly toward the end. But as I stated at the beginning of the review, this is an overall bittersweet story about love, loss, family, and doing what you can with the cards you’ve been dealt.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley for the advance digital copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book. I cannot say enough good things about this book to do it justice. It is definitely the best read of the year so far and possibly ever! This book had me feeling all the feels! I laughed out loud and cried. Jesse Sutanto's writing is exquisite. This is my first book of hers I have ever read and it did not disappoint one bit.

This book touches on real life issues like misogyny, love lost, grief, and more. I thought it was so beautiful that the narrator in the book was a grandmother telling this story to her grandchild.

Please do yourself a favor and grab this book when it comes out in November this year. I promise you won't regret it.

Thank you Berkley Publishing for this wonderful ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
I wouldn’t classify this as a romance - it’s more a new adult coming-of-age story for both our main characters: Magnolia Chen and her granddaughter Izzy. They’re both trying to figure things out at the time, and Izzy has quite the guide in the form of Nainai. She clearly learned so much from her time in California and her relationship with Ellery. Along with their evolution from friends to lovers, it made some smart points about societal and parental expectations, the patriarchy, and how you give fewer fucks (can I swear here?) as you get older,
And yes, the story itself was a sweet and smart one, but the way it was told (in second person, in the form of a story to Izzy) made it all the more compelling. It also emphasized the connection between the family members…and got around a problem many authors face. Sometimes in intergenerational stories, the pop culture references don’t always click. Sutanto gets around that by letting Nainai come of age in the late nineties through early aughts, and putting Izzy in a distant, optimistic future. Very clever!

Unfortunately, I have decided to DNF this book at 18% - which is why I’ve given it a fair 3 stars, I definitely don’t think it’s fair to rate a book I haven’t fully read yet! But I cannot continue, the writing style really isn’t for me. The fact that our current timeline main character continuously reminds us she’s mature for her age “I shouldn’t be this self aware at 16,” “I know I’m not supposed to be this XYZ at 16, but” “most 16s year olds aren’t as XYZ as me, so” I GET IT and those examples are only within the first few chapters of the book! Umm… I wanted to like this book SO much, but it felt like a lot telling rather than showing. The cover is gorgeous, but this one didn’t work for me. Thank you SO much to Berkley and the author for this e-arc.