Thanks Pueto del Sol and Netgalley for an ARc of this book.

This book takes the reader to Russia where the protagonist Morgan, travels in his search for lasting love.
An enjoyable, often times funny enjoyable book.

Love the cover this had me very intrigued, but that's as far as it got.I felt that there was no depth at all to this work and really didnt much for me.
Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review

Enjoyable read! I'm not sure about Aeroflot handing out free mini bottles of vodka- that's certainly never happened on any of my flights to Russia with them, but they are generous with the wine. This book was an interesting peek into someone's love (or lack-of-love) life. It was also fascinating to read about some of the scams the main character encountered.

Given that it is a question of personal preference and taste...
From the beginning I had an uncomfortable feeling and it didn't get better. There was a lot of "empty plot". The author "walked" in circles, going back time and again to the initial motivation of the main protagonist. There had been a handful of good sentences and phrases but it wasn't enough to make the story more attractive to me. I liked the descriptions of St Petersburg and the whole travelling. It shows the exeprience and was well written. Yet also not enough to save the whole work,

This book has the potential to move you in so many ways. It can make you laugh out loud, sigh or even weep, pick your battles. Thanks NetGalley for the eARC.

I enjoyed the setting of the story, though overall I was hoping for a little bit more from this book. Morgan Stanfield is a slightly flawed character, and I'm quite sure he learned from his experience; though he could have done a little bit more growing from the experience as well.

It was ok and wasn't that interesting as I expected it to be . The book started good but at 25% it was too difficult for me to read it but I did anyway . There were some funny moments though .


“Because I used to own a Harley.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
She sighed with thoughtful reflection.
“Best thing I ever had between my legs.”


Narrater's friend kim seemed a funny woman too and The book is full of depressed thoughts in the starting . But there are many beautiful thoughts of narrater you just can't ignore .

humans are attracted to the beautiful light, this light called love, and, when they reach it, they’re generally burnt to a crisp too.

This is one of my favorite ❤

Frank Scozzari really captures the scene--the Russian on-line dating sites and the men (mostly older and not attractive, alas) they lure with exotic photos and erotic promises. (Full disclosure: my daughter is an immigration lawyer who is frequently hired by the grown children of these men who, out of loneliness, have married Russian women and it often turns out badly).
But...that is not this book.
This is a gentle book about a man from Santa Barbara who is genuinely looking for love, companionship and, well yes, sex. After trying all of the American dating sites, he turns to Bride.ru--a site in Russia. And, predictably, he's soon on a plane to St. Petersburg--in the middle of winter. Alas, he meets the kind of woman who takes him shopping. "You think Russian women are free?" she asks while buying expensive blouses and boots. And then she leaves him--unfortunately, after he's taken the Viagra. It is a funny-sad scene.
But the author allows us to see the other side. Russian women who learn English, spend their last money on a pair of nylon stocking and hope to meet a man who will marry them and take them to America...only to be stood up or, worse, cast aside after a few nights of hard sex.
This is an excellent read. A truly well-written book. Thank you Frank Scozzari.

A big note to the author: Get your facts right. If you are talking about online dating, do not ever forget that for some women the very first words you say can make or break what happens next. You, the author, broke it beyond restoration. Read on your European history, why don't you.
I am sorry, but I did not even go beyond first few pages. The language, to begin with, was very condescending and unpleasant. The main character (or may be even author) approached women as a commodity, market goods and himself as an investor who calculates everything in debit and credit. What a creep.
Then, then came the passage that stop me in my tracks and made me delete the book off my Kindle. The passage on Russian history and Russian geno-code. My oh my, I knew Americans were very sure of them selves, but to this extent?
Well, one less book to read and one more author to add to 'never again' list.

Do not waste your time

Copy and pasting my review from GoodReads here:

DNFed @50%.

Note: Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a copy for review.

I can't keep up with the pretentious "only-two-centimeters-away-from-you" Morgan Stanfield, I just can't.

What I expected from the blurb:
1. Depressed protagonist
2. Finds safe haven in Russia
3. Wanders about as a nomad in search of love
4. Meets some great people and women with whom he forms lifelong connections
5. Pens down memoirs (of sorts)
Bonus: Scenic descriptions of the historical St. Petersburg.

What I got instead:
1. Protagonist dealing with mid-life crisis
2. Personal life in shambles
3. Finds love in the most unlikely place (proclaimed by his friends, he thinks otherwise)
4. Goes to the said place and wanders about as a tourist
I didn't read along to form further consensus.

The author initially starts off with good insights into love and its surrounding mystery in Russia. I guess I should have guessed the trajectory of the plot when the protagonist resorts to a dating site to find love and sets himself up on a blind date with a woman in Russia (view spoiler)

For the record, I'm not against online dating. It helps at times when your social life is at an all-time-low and you just don't feel like "getting out on the field." But the way Morgan describes the women and their profiles *yeah, yeah, I should've guessed*

Rather than coming across as this philosophical enigma called love and longing, Morgan's motive seems shallow and condescending. The manner in which the author demarcates lines between the American and Russian cultures, I empathise with him trying to bridge the gap, but it instead feels like he is rubbing that difference in my nose every now and then (Morgan hanging out with Russians, asking lame and spineless questions such as "Why are Russian women so beautiful?" to a Russian tourist guide!)

I draw the line here.

I did not enjoy this book. I felt the main character was not at all relatable and, generally, not a good person. This book was a difficult read for me and not my style of novel.