Thank you for the ARC!

This book was sort of tough to get into and while were some funny parts, and I thought it was decent, but not entirely for me.

All set up and no delivery is my view of this immensely long satire. The span and savvy suggest the author has a sharp wit and capable style. But having chosen to devote herself to this Little Women modernization, she fritters it all away in an endless send up of entitlement, consumption, solipsism and social commentary. The tropes go round and round - Italian or Iranian, LGBTQ or straight, model skinny or chubby, etc. The four sisters are clearly defined but that’s about it. Each wears a groove. The pandemic is endured. The reality show doesn’t happen. Is this enough?
Instead, the space is filled with a vast assessment of indulgence in every form. Again, it’s done capably, probably cleverly if anyone cared. I didn’t.

I devoured this book it was so much fun a family straight out of the world of reality tv.The characters were over the top bigger then life so rich.Perfect summer vacation reading.#netgalley #knopf

I couldn't finish this book. It never sucked me in. I may go back and read it another time, but it didn't capture me.

Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for the ARC!

I devoured this delicious book like candy! I am a huge reality tv fan so this one was perfect for me! I loved the different stories about each daughter and how it all concluded. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Thank you again for the ARC!

Okay let’s be honest - that cover totally drew me in! I also thought the premise sounded great. Unfortunately the execution didn’t work for me and I decided to DNF. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

Unfortunately this was a DNF. I was ablbe to read the first seven chapters which was an introduction to every faamily member. I thought that every character was unlikable. Because of this I did not want to continue. Which wasa a letdown becaause the reality TV aspect was extremely interesting.

Thank you Pantheon & Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

I was intrigued by the cover and premise of the story! A rich Iranian family starring in their own reality show. However I was disappointed when half the book focused on going through COVID. Sorry still don’t care to read about it in books, living it in real time was enough. It wasn’t listed in the synopsis so imagine my surprise and groan.

Secondly the plot( was there a true plot?) was all over the place. I truly did not get the point and found the entire family so draining and vain except for the mom. The girls were ungrateful and their “secrets”… I will leave it there.

I understand the overall gist the author was going for but the execution wasn’t great.

Trigger warnings for graphic ED discussion, internalized racism, COVID, and substance abuse.

I loved this book! It's like the author woke up one day in the pandemic and thought "What if the Kardashians threw a giant party during this weird-ass time but I made the Persian instead?" Unlikeable female characters galore (my fave) + complicated families + the uber wealthy = a win in my book. But beware, this won't be for everyone.

The premise of this book is wonderful, but it didn’t deliver for me. I generally felt like the producers of the reality show — this family is boring! I also didn’t get why there were so many paragraphs on purging instructions. I was hoping for Kevin Kwan style snark/fun and this was more about how boring some people found the early pandemic. Nonetheless, thank you to the publisher for the free ARC.

Tehrangeles introduces us to the Milani's, a wealthy Iranian-American family who are on the brink of getting their own reality show right before covid hits. This book highlights their somewhat delusional, self-absorbed nature and makes comments on influencer culture.

It think there was a lot of potential here, and it really did start out so good, but it lost me somewhere along the way. The author states that the book really stemmed from her hatred of Little Women, but I think she put a little too much hate in it because there was not a single redeeming quality to any of these characters. The book jumped around between narrators a little too much, and the plot was all over the place. There was even a session with a cat psychic somehow thrown into this book.

One of the bigger plot points of the book was the family throwing a massive party in the middle of the pandemic with seemingly no reaction from the outside world. It was very strange.

I think if you're looking for reality TV/influencer satire, this will be great for you, but it was just a little blah for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for the ARC!

There are things I really enjoyed about this book: glimpses at Iranian-American culture, over the top wealth and fully out of touch rich people, and the idea of a reality show trying to encapsulate this. However, the out-of-touch characters were almost a bit too much, and I'm not ready to be not annoyed by descriptions of irresponsible early Covid behaviors. The scene of one of the sisters reading step by step instructions for purging were so detailed that a day after finishing it I still feel sick to my stomach from reading it, and I encourage readers to be aware of this trigger in the story.

This book was a bit slow at first. Reading about each sister slowed the story down and left me eager for things to start moving. It was only the perspective of the parents that brought the story into focus. Unfortunately, after their chapter the attention shifts back to the girls and things become tedious again. Watching as the girls try to navigate themselves and their world in a pandemic was disheartening as they had little guidance from any adults. Check it out if you’re interested but I’d warn it’s not a light read as it deals with heavier subject matter.

Meet the Milani clan. Al, the patriarch was an immigrant who left Iran at the dawn of the Revolution and became a fast food mogul. “Only the eBay guy and another tech dude, he grumbled often, had him beat” as the richest man in California. Homa, Al’s wife, has suffered from clinical depression since she arrived in the United States from Iran. She met Al when she was 24 and he was already the successful CEO of Pizzabomme. Homa had applied unsuccessfully for an administrative job at Al’s company, but he was attracted to the unassuming Homa.

Al and Homa have four daughters who seem to be a mashup of “Little Women” and the Bravoverse catalog. Violet, the eldest, has reached a certain level of fame as a model with her “near-mythic” beauty, but Violet is addicted to sugar and binges to maintain her career. Roxanna is the scene-stealer and deal maker who considers herself to be a bit like Ivanka Trump as “it felt like she was the real lady of the house.” Roxanne was naturally thin, but no one could know for sure “since she had been rabidly dieting since she was a toddler. . . .” Mina was the practical daughter who was always home (because she was chronically ill) and the “conscience of the family.” Roxanna compared Mina to Miranda of Sex & the City — “she wasn’t really the favorite, but no one would ever call her anything but essential.” Haley was the youngest daughter whose special talent was that she could cry on command, and was athletic and popular. The joke was Haylee was Mina’s evil twin and Roxanna’s child. Mina thought of herself as the “Pretty One.”

The Milanis (at least Al, Roxanna and Haley) are excited at the prospect of their impending realty show that has been delayed due to the pandemic. But, Roxanna is harboring a secret (‘the Secret”) that she is afraid will be unveiled on television. But, then again, all of the Milanis’ problems, including Al’s romantic liaisons, are resolved because they had money. “A few trips, a few expensive therapists, some gifts, time off work, new people to hire, and, voila: problem solved.” Porochista Khakpour is a satirist extraordinaire who brilliantly captures the cultural Zeitgeist. She has crafted a clever beach read that will be catnip (a nod to the Milani’s aloof Persian cat Pari) for fans of the Kardashians and the Real Housewives franchise. Thank you Pantheon and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this fun family saga.

It took me a very long time to get into this. It started as a weaker version of Crazy Rich Asians (which the author said was an inspiration in the acknowledgements!) with a little less humor and a lot more levity, tackling serious topics like xenophobia and racism. The story picked up once it focused on the pandemic, which elevated the story by delving deeper into the four sisters’ characters and their psyche.

However, as deep as the story went into the four sisters, it never matched in characterization or writing to the one brief chapter about their parents’ backstory. Aside from that highlight, the book’s dialogue was awkward and the writing was clunky. While it was mostly a miss, it feels like there is a hit in there somewhere, so I’m intrigued to see what the author does next.

I personally thought this was a slam dunk, though I think it's going to be a hard sell to the normal litfic crowd. I tend to have a hard time selling those readers on more Millennial or Gen Z focused stories, though that was certainly part of the brilliance of this one. The satirical elements and experimentation with form (and the satire of that in itself) were all there, but I particularly loved the moments of utterly relatable emotion that slipped through the cracks of these larger-than-life characters. And there was a cat psychic, so that's an easy five stars right there. (Also would love if everyone could pleeeease calm down with the accusations of glorifying eating disorders. It's fiction. Also satire. Also written for grown-ups who can exercise like a tiny smidgen of critical thinking skills.)

"Tehrangeles" is a difficult one for me to rate, never mind review. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did it keep my interest? Yes. Do I get its point? I'm not sure. I'm sure there is one—a novel doesn't end with a stream-of-conscious monologue à la James Joyce if the writer isn't trying to make some sort of statement. But is it that even shallow people have depths? That the rich aren't all that different from you and me? That influencers are horrible? Um, okay?

I'm not sure I'm going to remember "Tehrangeles" six months from now. Some of that might be due to the story's sense of weightlessness. The members of this family are floating in a house that doesn't seem tangible, and while much is made of a social event that takes place in the midst of the pandemic, despite the surrounding in-story social media hubbub, it seems to take place in a vacuum. Is that the point?

Am I too literal-minded and pedestrian to understand the hidden complexities of this book, or are there no hidden complexities? Hmmm...

Thank you, Pantheon and NetGalley, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was ready for an over-the-top satire of a wealthy Iranian-American family in California who is about to have their own reality tv show when the Covid-19 pandemic happens. The book started strong but fell apart for me about half way through. I think as satire, this book missed the mark.

This was an interesting book. You have three sisters who want for nothing. They are richer than all get out, but one pandemic and everything seems to come down around them. Yes, this was true for pretty much everyone, but I loved how this book allowed each character to kind of encapsulate the different personalities we all saw come out when Covid hit. Would I say this is one of my favorite books of the year, probably not, but it was better than I was expecting yes.
Thank you so much to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title,

I received this ARC from NetGalley and really enjoyed it! It’s fast paced and rich with gossip, perfect for lovers of Kevin Kwan’s books or reality tv watchers!

This book is a whirlwind of fun that follows the wealthy Milani family as they try to land a reality TV show. They reside in Los Angeles and their wealth was built on the success of the father’s “Pizzabomme”, a hot pocket-esque microwaveable food that was an instant hit in the US. We hear from the perspectives of all the characters in the book, especially the four Milani daughters, all forces in their own right. The eldest, Violet, is a model that struggles with an addiction to sweets while Roxanna, the second oldest, is the narcissistic star of the show that concocts everything that happens in the Milani household. Chronically ill and K-pop obsessed Mina is second youngest, followed by health nut Haylee as the youngest.

The author does a fantastic job building each of these personas. I truly couldn’t stand how narcissistic and self-absorbed Roxi was throughout the entire book, but I kinda loved to hate her. The entire book is a train wreck you can’t look away from.

The most polarizing aspect of this book is the setting. A majority of the storyline takes place during the COVID pandemic, and chronicles the characters’ varying reactions to lockdown and the spread of the virus. I didn’t mind the setting but some people hate reading about books set in that period so that’s a big heads up. The setting certainly exacerbated the class differences and how out of touch the Milanis are.

Overall this was SUPER fun, a great beach read, and perfect for anyone who devoured the Crazy Rich Asians series. Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.