For the 1st of July and more importantly, the 700th post, we’re getting a first look at the opulent world of the Mashads!

*I received this free ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.*

Josie is pretty happy as she reaches her 18th birthday. All she wants is for her longtime crush, Isaac, to acknowledge her (and perhaps profess a secret, undying love) and not die from her first inadverdent sip of alcohol.

She is a bit of a worrier and awkward freak, but those concerns are nothing to the birthday bombshell. A letter from her biological father who turns out to be the late Ali Mashad aka “America’s father” and dead patriarch of the biggest reality tv family in the world.

His dying wish is for Josie to bond with his other daughters, her sisters, and be a real family. And in the Mashad family, bonding as a real family means filming a season of their reality show.

While Josie feels uncertain of meeting the ultra-rich family Ali apparently chose over supporting her and her mother, the money that would come from filming is too good to pass up. Josie is realistic that it’s unlikely that she’ll ever fit into their crazy rich Iranians lifestyle, but is surprised that she may fit into their family after all.

A blend of The Princess Diaries and Crazy Rich Asians, Jalili presents a new spin on the everygirl becoming rich and famous.

First off, Josie is relatable in her anxious neurosis. I mean, we first meet her when she’s contemplating her upcoming death from alcohol poisoning. Sip of alcohol poisoning to be exact. She’s overthinks everything and comes out in embarassing babbles, but it’s fine because even though she’s not popular, she’s happy with her life and her best friend, Louise.

That’s why when she is folded into the world of the Mashads, we get a refreshing narrative where Josie does not get sucked up in the whirlwind excess. She doesn’t want to get a makeover, she doesn’t want the freebies, and it’s nice not to get the upteenth message that fame isn’t all there is. Josie already knows that so we get to skip that moral of the story to get into the real juicy part, the family!

Josie’s mother has been dead for years, and the revelation of her father (who has also passed) brings up new wounds as she struggles to reconcile what she knows of the two of them. Primarily, of the mother whom she idolizes and believed she knew everything about. Meanwhile, she gets conflicting message of how great a guy Ali was by everyone she meets which is a total contrast to his treatment of her and her mom (basically of no contact whatsoever). She’s had such little time to process this and it almost feels insensitive how everyone is singing Ali’s praises to her when she feels nothing toward him.

But it just goes to show how welcoming the rest of the family is to her despite the slight shade on Ali’s spotless husband reputation. While Josie is named after the titular Josie and the Pussycats, Melody does remind me a bit of Melody. Not that she’s dumb but she is the absolute sweetest ball of sunshine, and bohemian peacemaker of the group. She’s lovely and gives the warmest reception compared to moody Meesha and rebellious, brash Mona.

But these are archtypes to the girls, trying to be consistant with their brand, but have more depths than the show implies. Just like Josie’s parents, everyone is more complicated than they appear. What is not complicated is their bond as a family despite their numerous fights. Their passion in anger is just as strong as their passionate defense of each other, you can feel the ride or die mentality of the Mashads which makes me root for them. I can see why Josie feels a bond despite their short time together.

Same with Mary Mashad, “the other woman” in a sense, and momager/CEO of the Mashad empire. Once again, Jalili flips the script by having Mary welcome Josie into the family but her demenour is more business manager than woman scorned at Josie’s existance. Then again, she’s had plenty of time to adjust to Josie’s existance than Josie has. She is a dizzying combination of exploitative and fiercely protective who has a very nuanced arc. It takes great skill for Jalili to keep her from becoming a horrible Hollywood user trope though her actions toe the line. Like I said, nuanced.

This same care is given to the non-Mashad supporting characters in Josie’s life like her stepdad, Matt and her best friend, Louise. I can’t emphasize enough how I enjoy the character exploration and development done in this novel.

Same with the plot as there are a few plot points I was able to figure out before the secrets are revealed. But the big surprise was Jalili wasn’t setting up for them to appear at the climax for a family blow-out. Rather she reveals them early, switching the narrative so you’re on the edge of your seat for “What happens next?”

However, the romance section with Isaac as the totally-wrong, user guy is so plainly predictable I shook my head as Josie missed the signs. Everyone was telling her to see reality but she couldn’t, but I could forgive it. Partially because of the ending but also because her crush on Isaac represented some normalcy in her new Mashad world so the slight coward she is, she clung to that. But it’s fine because she has a much better, far more wholesome beau in Timmy. I just wished there had been more time with him, it made me smile whenever they were on their “not dates.”

Another slight low-point is that there was more telling than showing of the Mashad’s opulent lifestyle. I got they were rich but I couldn’t quite envision the richness like I have in other novels like the Gilded Age Girls or Marie Antoniette: Princess of Versailles. Perhaps the author and/or editor thought it would be too distracting to namedrop brands and such but I feel like it would add to the unrealness that Josie is experiencing, like she’s still an outsider looking in than truly part of the fold.

Nonetheless, I’m excited to read the sequel to the Mashads because it’s one thing to deal with filming a reality tv show and being introduced to the world but how will Josie deal when the show actually airs? How is going to be edited? Will she be memed? etc.

Same with the rest of the family like the potential blowback of Meesha’s break-up and there is just something extra going on with Mona I can’t quite place.

Jalili has done the best thing an author can do when writing reality tv, I’m invested in the next chapter of the Mashad family and I’m sure others will be too.

5 stars.