A touching story of love, loss, and dual citizenship. The protagonist moves across continents as she tries to find her place in the world, almost liquid how she ebbs and flows, looking for a place to settle. Really lovely, lyrical writing and a compelling story of postdoc malaise.

As career and romance prospects dry up for the unnamed narrator of “Liquid,” the 31-year-old decides to marry rich. The narrator uniquely understands the benefits of “refreshingly clear terms: my time, his money” since her Ph.D. dissertation critiqued modern marriages based on feelings, as opposed to traditional Western and Islamic marriages treated as contracts. She tasks herself with going on 100 dates that summer with the academic rigor of a research project. This rom-com infused with sharp literary prose muses on the ridiculous indignities of modern courtship, the nuances of Persian literature, and the thoughtful contrast between the narrator’s despondent (yet hopeful) descent into American independence and her parents’ hard-won career paths as Iranian and Indian immigrants. Author Mariam Rahmani serves on the faculty at Bennington College.

READ IF YOU LIKE...
• Scholarly and academic insightfulness
• Finding your way from rock bottom
• Dating adventures

I THOUGHT IT WAS...
A novel of unexpected depth that I greatly appreciated. Two years after earning her Ph.D., our unnamed Iranian-Indian American protagonist is on the verge of broke, living in L.A. with no teaching or publishing prospects. When her best friend jokingly suggests she just marry rich, she decides to give it an earnest shot, creating a plan, a spreadsheet, and a goal to go on 100 dates before hopefully being engaged by fall.

There are two major parts to this novel and the biggest thing that stuck out to me was how different they are from each other. I think overall I liked the tone and writing shift -- especially since it became a catalyst for the protagonist's character development -- but there's something about it that also nags at me. Perhaps the change was too abrupt, right on the edge of out-of-character for the protagonist we'd gotten to know so far.

The first part reads like what you'd expect for a novel about a girl who decides to date rich people in L.A., with all the usual deprecating humor albeit sometimes elevated through an academic's haughty, critical gaze. While interesting, the second part of the novel is where it truly shines, exploring concepts with more gravitas like cultural identity, Third vs. First World countries, belonging, and family legacy.

Because this section was so rich, the ending felt weak as the author attempted to reconnect it with the dating project in part one. But, among all the novels out there about young women trying to find themselves, I think this one stands out for its depth and uniqueness.

Liquid by Mariam Rahmani follows an Iranian-Indian American adjunct professor in Los Angeles who, frustrated by the instability of academia, embarks on a bold experiment: going on 100 dates in a single summer with the goal of marrying rich. As she navigates a series of absurd and revealing encounters, her plan is upended by a tragedy in Tehran and a long-overdue reckoning with her own identity, forcing her to reconsider what she truly wants. Blending sharp satire with a modern romantic comedy, the novel explores ambition, privilege, and belonging with wit and originality.

I had high expectations for Liquid—it promised a fresh, sharp take on the modern love story, blending romance elements (like the friends to lovers trope) with an intellectual exploration of marriage, privilege and the immigrant experience. The premise felt new and exciting, and I was eager to see how Mariam Rahmani would weave these ideas together.

However, once I got into the book, I found myself a bit frustrated. While the novel does introduce some thought-provoking ideas about marriage, class, and ambition, they never fully develop into anything meaningful. Instead, the main character spends much of the book preaching, caught in an endless loop of self-analysis that doesn’t lead to any real transformation. Her sharp observations could have been compelling, but without character growth or a satisfying resolution to her internal conflicts, they started to feel repetitive.

By the end, I was left feeling like Liquid had all the ingredients for something great—a unique premise, a sharp voice—but ultimately, it didn’t follow through. The novel remains stuck in its own ideas without ever taking them anywhere, making for a read that felt more stagnant than satisfying.

I did not expect this book to be so sad! I came in hoping for some light-hearted dating adventures and found a story about a protagonist steeped in the conflict and confusion over what to do with her life post-PhD and find meaningful traction in her life. The idea of finding a marriage to secure her standing in life was funny, a little weird, but also relatable and I loved how this book considered different ideas of marriage, the way money does play a role for so many, and the exploration of Indian/Iranian identity. The storytelling was a bit shaky in parts and I’m not sure all the ideas blended as well as they could’ve, but I still really enjoyed this. I thought the ending was really great.

this was a really good book! I actually loved the concept, it was so entertaining! the themes of love, loss, betrayal, and heartbreak and falling in love were all so good! I think it was a well written book, and it definitely kept me entertained!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Liquid is a brainy romantic comedy, which follows an un-named PhD grad who in lieu of finding a teaching job, decides to marry rich instead. We follow the narrator on an odyssey of 100 dates -- she goes out with men and women in LA and Tehran. Rahmani is perspicacious and incisive with her humor; in Liquid, she does a great job nailing the nuances of both straight and queer dating in the twenty-first century. I often found myself laughing and nodding along with the narrator on her dates. Rahmani also a shrewd critic of place, taking both LA and Iran to task in a way that felt both familiar and fresh.

Liquid's narrator is incredibly witty in an academic sense; she always with a tragicomic quip on hand to respond to any situation. After a while, though I did find that this grew a bit grating. The writing was maximalist -- a simple sentence was never chosen if a joke could be inserted instead -- and I found this fatiguing, especially in the middle of the novel. The narrator doesn't change at all until all of a sudden her life is upended unexpectedly, which did add some life to the final third of the book.

I also found the plotting of the novel to be quite clunky in places. The 100 dates premise, though very promising, seems like a wild goose chase when there is never any doubt who the narrator will end up with -- her best friend -- which is evident from the first chapter. The book also seems to be split between a romance arc and a story of self-discovery, particularly when she returns to Tehran. While I love a story that interrogates cross-cultural identity and a good love story, I felt like the balance here was off, which left Liquid feeling as though it was trying to be both but accomplished neither.

Still, I found this to be a fun read and would encourage anyone to pick it up if a story that interrogates modern love with academic humor is up your alley. There's a lot in here to love, even if sometimes for my taste, there was just a little too much.

Super unexpected, the twists this took! Not in a bad way at all, though. I especially loved the first half, and how Rahmani captured the specific hell that is dating (or even just relating with other people) in Los Angeles.

The juicy synopsis captured me into picking up Liquid: A Love Story but after reading it I think it was misrepresented. Going in I was expecting a sensual romp through LA, which delivered in the first part of the book, but the story takes a turn in a way that contrasts far from the original idea of going on 100 dates that I almost feel like it was meant to be two different books. The latter part book was more reflective and centered on grief. The writing and the characters navigation of being biracial stepping between cultures were what I enjoyed about the book.

The MC pontificates a lot about heteronormativity and traditional marriage structures and their failures but somehow manages to make fairly heteronormative decisions throughout the book. I enjoyed the premise and the insight into her inner life but found myself frustrated with her lack of direction and motivation at times. The ending felt predictable as well.

There is a lot of niche specific LA geography and locale name dropping which would be incomprehensible to a non native. It felt immersive for me as an LA native but seemed unnecessary to the story. The prose itself was florid and philosophical but once I got into a rhythm reading it, I enjoyed it.

I didn't care for this one as much as I hoped I would, though overall it was an enjoyable book with themes I appreciated - relating to class, race, culture, family and love. I liked that it was a lot more than just a love story and really appreciated the bi/pan representation.

I think for some reason I had a hard time connecting with the protagonist and often found her a little frustrating. while it did feel like there was an arc of personal growth throughout the story, especially in the second half, I wasn't finding myself feeling emotionally moved or connected at the moments that I suspected I should've been - this could've been a me problem, maybe I read the book at the wrong time, on paper it is really so many things that I like in a story, so maybe my expectations were just a little too high!

still a good time, somewhere around 3.5 stars for me, rounded down~

In *Liquid*, Mariam Rahmani’s debut novel, an unnamed young Iranian-Indian American woman grapples with the challenges of adulthood. Having lost her teaching position, this unmarried scholar feels pressure to succeed both in her career and in her romantic life. Her best friend suggests that she marry someone wealthy, leading her to embark on a dating project akin to an academic endeavor. This project explores sexual freedom and challenges heteronormativity.

During the course of her bisexual/pansexual dating experiment, her father falls ill in Tehran. She and her mother travel to Iran to be with him, prompting the protagonist to reconnect with her family, their culture, and relationships.

However, the novel delves deeper than just this rom—com dating plot. Rahmani intricately examines the daughter’s adult perspective on her parents' complicated marriage and provides insight into both American and Iranian cultures. The narrative is neither gimmicky nor simplistic. This novel is beautifully written, witty, and captivating.

I highly recommend it. It feels like a blend of Jane Austen’s wit and social mores commentary, Kaveh Akbar’s *Martyr*, and Jeffrey Eugenides’ *The Marriage Plot*. Thank you to Algonquin and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy.