a nicely done book that shows the very real struggles of any immigrant: really life in the new culture and land and give up the "old" ways of the land you are no longer part of or keep your believes and life styles of the old ways and basically fight against the area you are currently living in or fight every second to find a middle ground that seems way to hard to find and live by!
I found this book had its great moments and its very lacking moments. But all in all it was a good one.

An excellent funny story that takes you through a challenge many immigrants face: keep to the old ways or embrace the new? Clear your schedule before you start though, you won't want to put this one down!

The Matrimonial Flirtations of Emma Kaulfield is an interesting exploration of what it is to be an immigrant in America. Emma/Lena is a Russian Jewish immigrant making a new life in USA and who is torn between her native Russian culture, heritage, expectations of her family vs. her desire to be an American, to fit in and embrace the new culture. There is a constant push and pull between old and new that any immigrant or a child of immigrants can relate to and identify with Emma's story.

On the one hand there was a lot that I liked about this book but on the other hand it was a torturous read. The book has 400 pages according to Goodreads (I have an e-ARC without the page count) but it felt more like 800 pages. I read and read for hours without making any real progress. I really liked Emma in the beginning of the book but I started to lose patience with her toward the end. Like all true Russians, she is a fatalist, always seeing the worst in people and situations. Because of this outlook she is also a little passive at times. Some of her decisions drove me crazy, I wanted to shake her and tell her to grow up.

There are some inaccuracies with names, language and some aspects of Russian culture that were niggling at me. Only those who speak Russian or are pretty familiar with the culture will notice them though and otherwise the story is very authentic.

I was confused by the set up of this book. It might be partially because of the digital copy, but I felt like it jumped back in time and I didn't exactly recognize what was going on. I couldn't get through the history section.

Thanks to Skyhorse Publishing, Arcade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very interesting book that was sometimes difficult for me to get into. It's the story of Emma, a Russian Jewish immigrant who has moved to New York. She changes her name and is trying to change her whole identity at the same time, although she finds it hard to escape the family traditions of her family, religion, and country.

There's a lot of inner dialogue that I had a hard time getting through, and sometimes I felt very annoyed with Emma as a character. However, any fictional character who can bring you to feel the kinds of emotions I felt, good and bad, is well written!

This book was not for me. The initial write-up says it's "an often laugh-out-loud comedy" and at no point did I ever laugh out loud. However, I believe the book deserves a read for it's character development and writing style. I recommend it, with some reservations.