I was very excited for this book, but I found it somewhat hard to get in to. The book was well-written and the plot overall was interesting but the tone of it was not necessarily something I liked.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Anna Pitoniak, and publisher Simon & Schuster. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend Anna Pitoniak to friends and family. She writes a tight mystery with enough twists and turns to keep us enthralled.

Sofie Morse and her husband Ben, both US citizens, are residing temporarily on the Adriatic coastline in Croatia. Hiding, actually, in a country without extradition treaties with the United States. Wondering how it ever got this far gone. This is an interesting book with a lot of background in both Croatia and parts of the US, and peopled with folks you feel like you know and perhaps understand. Lots of spy stuff, for those who relish it, and an interesting look into the manners and mores of the White House. And you will recognize Lara Caine at first glance. A very timely novel, one that I enjoyed. I think that you will, as well.

Though I do read a lot of thrillers, political thrillers are not a subset of the genre that I tend to gravitate towards, so I don't think that I would have picked this one up had the publisher not brought it directly to my attention. This book combines a thinly veiled fictionalization of the previous presidency with a foreign-born First Lady, Cold War spies and a bit of romance. Henry Caine in this re-imagining wins a second term, spurring political journalist, Sofie Morse, to leave her newspaper. But it's not long before another opportunity comes knocking. Lara Caine approaches her to have her work as her biographer. However, the book opens with Sofie and her husband living in Croatia in apparent exile from the US.

Each chapter pretty much follows the same same format, of time in Croatia, then flashing back to the year before and then even further back as the First Lady's story also unfolds. Pacing-wise, this is a bit of a slow burn. The characters do come to life - but that may be in part because they are so obviously based on real people. I am not sure if this will have quite as wide of an appeal because of that. The tension never really builds into anything... It kept my interest, but was never as thrilling as I wanted it to be.

Set in Split, Croatia; Paris, France; Moscow, USSR; New York, NY; and Washington, DC, Our American Friend is a gripping political thriller. The year is young, but I'm calling this my favorite book of 2022, so far. I love everything about it -- especially the premise. A fictional but oh-so-familiar American president has a stunning, enigmatic wife. Yet there's way more to this Russian beauty than meets the public eye. The First Lady invites a young, burned-out White House correspondent to be her official biographer, thus opening the door to Soviet-era secrets as well as a budding friendship between the two women. Author Anna Pitoniak paces the revelations in perfectly restrained doses. If you love a good Cold War-era spy thriller crossed with fictional First Lady biographies, this will be your jam.

[Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book.]

While I couldn't stand some of the characters, I also couldn't stop turning the pages! This was very cinematic and propulsive and I hope it gets the buzz it deserves!

𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘗𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘬 who has done it again! Her new book 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃 cements her as an author I will always read. The story centers on Sofie Morse, a one-time White House journalist, who is recruited by the First Lady to write her biography, but Lara Caine isn’t your typical First Lady. She’ll remind you of Melania, but there’s a whole lot more to her than that. Lara is also Russian and the daughter of a long time KGB agent stationed in Paris. She grew up on the periphery of the spy-game, learning its rules and eventually how to play.⁣
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The real question becomes why? Why does Lara want her biography written now and why Sofie? This is the essence of 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 and out first clue is that as the book opens Sofie and her husband are living in exile in Croatia. Why? From start to finish, I was captivated by both women’s stories, flying through those pages looking for answers. In the end, I was very satisfied. This is a fast, fun read that I definitely recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨⁣
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Thanks to @simonandschuster for an ARC of #ouramericanfriend.⁣
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I LOVED Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak. The writing was sharp and intriguing and I found myself very invested in where this story was going. I loved the thriller aspects combined with the historical fiction aspect.

Lara Cain is the mysterious First Lady of the United States. Her husband, Henry Cain is harsh, blunt President of The United States and while Henry has a big personality, Lara is a big question mark to the United States. There is not a lot known about Lara, other than who she is married to. When Lara invites a journalist into her life to write her memoir, decades old secrets from The Cold War Russia begin to surface. Lara has a much more complex background than anyone could ever imagine. When past and present collide, how far is Lara willing to go to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself?

4.5 stars

One part thriller, one part historical fiction, Our American Friend is an absolutely enticing read that throws two women on seemingly opposite sides of the political divide into the maelstrom of American-Russian diplomatic relations.

As our story begins, Sofie Morse has quit her job as a journalist in the wake of a pseudo-Trump president being elected to a second term. When she is asked by First Lady Lara Caine to write her official biography, her desire to learn more about the mysterious and icy woman propels her to say yes. As Lara begins to tell the story of her life as the daughter of a KGB operative living in Paris, she begins to lure Sofie into a scheme that has the potential to change the course of history.

Despite getting off to a bit of a slow start for me, I found myself getting more and more enthralled by the story as it shifted between nations and timelines. I felt like I was walking alongside this characters, whether they were on the streets of New York or near the Seine in Paris. I never felt the need to try and get ahead of the story like I do with other thrillers because I was just enraptured by what was happening in the moment. All in all, I would highly recommend this book if you are a fan of spy novels or Cold War historical fiction.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

3.5 stars

Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak is a clever novel that interweaves Cold War noir with contemporary US politics.
The story is told in three timelines—past, recent past, and present—from the first person POV of Sofie, a journalist hired to write the biography of first lady Lara Caine (modeled on Melania Trump).
As is appropriate in a biographical context, the majority of this novel is Lara’s story, from her childhood in Russia and Paris to a modeling career in New York City, where she meets her future husband, to her current role as First Lady of the United States. In this respect, the story covers, in an interesting and imaginative way, the intricacies of how the Cold War affected the lives of Russian families, both patriots and spies.
The multiple timelines did not bother me, but there were abrupt shifts within long chapters, which complicated the storytelling. The characters were OK, Lara being central, but Sofie and her husband Ben were much less interesting. I did really enjoy this author’s writing style—it felt fresh, uncomplicated, and very much in sync with contemporary journalism. This novel has good political intrigue and a bit of suspense, with strong writing and an interesting take on espionage, both past and present.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my unbiased review.

An unconventional, norm-smashing president who may be too cozy with Russia. An enigmatic First Lady born in the former Soviet Union. A journalist pulled into a web of intrigue that dates to the Cold War. From these elements, Anna Pitoniak spins a fast, fun read.

Former White House correspondent Sofie Morse is tapped — much to her surprise — to write a biography of First Lady Lara Caine. Why was she chosen? Why is Lara Caine, the daughter of a disgraced KGB officer, so candid? What game is she playing?

Pitoniak deftly juggles shifting timelines and multiple points of view in this novel of love and political machinations. Highly recommended for fans of the TV series The Americans.

I received an early review copy from NetGalley.

This book was excellent, I really enjoyed it, definitely recommend! Wonderful writing.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this book is quite different from what I normally read - which I think is one of the reasons I couldn’t put it down. Sophie is journalist who gets an opportunity to write the First Lady’s (Lara Caine - who shares a lot of similarities with Melania Trump) bibliography. I’d classify this as a political thriller - the timeline jumps around a lot, but that captivated me. We learn early on that Lara’s father is a KGB agent - so a lot of the backstory is about her upbringing when he’s stationed in Paris. If you’re a fan of The American’s TV show, you’ll love this one! I definitely recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster ​and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
I'm sad it took me so long to get to this book. It was unputdownable. Half love story, half spy novel - something for everyone. I'll be adding Pitoniak to my authors to follow list. Can't wait to see what she does next.

3.5 Stars

Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak is the story of Russian-born, Lara, who lives a secret life in her teens and later becomes the American president’s wife. Lara seeks out a journalist, Sofie, to write her biography and to finally tell her personal story. The story line goes back and forth between the points-of-views of Lara and Sofie and is a loosely-based depiction of a former U.S. administration.

Although this book centers on political espionage and I expected it to be fast-paced and exciting, it fell short for me. I felt it progressed too slowly for me to truly enjoy it. It took me forever to get through this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

I am totally ambivalent about choices made in this well written cold war Russia versus the United States novel, that then looks at the question of present day Russia cozying up to a Billionaire U.S. President with no morals, married to a (Russian) emigre. Sophie Morse is a young journalist, married to Ben, a lawyer. She's so fed up with covering President Caine's first term that she's leaving her job to figure out her life in the face of his likely rOeelection. She previously published a biography of Raisa Gorbachev (Mikhail Gorbachev's wife), so it is not totally odd that Lara Caine, the First Lady, engages Sophie to write her biography. It is a common belief that Lara's father held a KGB post during the time Lara's family of four lived in Paris. But why doesn't the First Lady demand a nondisclosure agreement? Why is she interested in talking about her childhood/teenage years in Paris, when she has been solidly silent for years? And why is she treating her new biographer like a best friend? This is a really well told story told on separate timelines but all told through Sophie. The characters are relatable. The plot imagines what might happen when a person with a front row seat to the presidency decides to share potentially problematic secrets of her past as the daughter of a Russian spy. There's lots of cloak and dagger to the storyline, but it is sufficiently believable to make a very entertaining read. I recommend this novel regardless of your political views, personal experience of or interest in the cold war and its thawing as the Russian government evolved in the 1980s. It certainly poses this personal question: How far would you go to do what you passionately believe is right when the impact on others is potentially serious?

Intriguing, mysterious… this book kept me turning the pages and staying up late! This is a cat and mouse game that spans decades.

Our American Friend is an engrossing political thriller involving FLOTUS and a journalist she has puzzlingly asked to write her biography. The action involves thinking than escaping situations. (It seems much more natural and believable than crazy car chases.) Locations are in Croatia, New York, DC, and Moscow. The plot jumps around in time and place naturally with lots of foreshadowing, building tension. I highly recommend this title and will reread it!

This is the third book I have read from this author. While the first two were less than stellar for me, this one hit the spot. Lara Caine is the First Lady of the United States born in Russia. Her husband, an oil tycoon, has just been reelected as President, which divides the country.

Enter Sofie, a White House reporter who resigns right after the election. Lara Caine contacts her and asks her to write her biography. There is only one gotcha, everything she says must be part of the biography, no separate reporting on anything she says.

They enter a close relationship, where Lara talks of her time in Russia, and Paris leading to the reveal of her biggest secret, leaving Sofie reeling, and having to make choices that affect this book and her life with her husband.

I could not put this book down. So many secrets and intricacies go into this story. It is a fun ride to be on. The author did a wonderful job putting all the pieces together of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Sofie Morse is tired of being a White House correspondent after four years of the insane antics current president, Henry Caine. She decides to take a break before deciding on her next stage. A call comes from the First Lady, Lara Caine. Would Sofie like to consider writing Mrs. Caine's autobiography? Sofie agrees and begins spending hours with Lara and her family. One day Lara reveals an explosive secret to Sofie and then cuts off all contact. What should Sofie do with this information? What does this secret mean for the current president? What will happen?"

You know from the beginning that something has happened to Sofie and her husband. Pitoniak uses the dual timelines to gradually tell Lara's story. Her father was a KGB officer and her history happens during the Cold War so you have some expectation of what's coming. But even after Pitoniak reveals Lara's secret there's still some maneuvering of the characters.

To me this book is about manipulation and choices - Lara's choices, her father's choices, Sofie's choices. And how well someone can play the long game for revenge. Pitoniak gives us a compelling narrative with a lot of tension. Cold War family secrets are the best kind.

Our American Friend is an engaging novel that defies easy categorization. It's a spy novel, but not a spy thriller. The pace is slower than I associate with thrillers, the chapters are longer, and there is a lot more back story. To me, it read more like a hybrid of a spy thriller and modern romance/historical fiction. There is the alternating timeline, for one. Then there is are the relationships - romance, friendship, familial.

I liked the book quite a bit. I was drawn in and read it pretty much straight through. Occasional sections had me scanning paragraphs; the editing could have been tighter. But it's a solid read if you are looking for family and political intrigue.

Who will enjoy this novel? People who like political spy novels and also enjoy family and relationship dramas. Our American Friend is not The Bourne Identity or a John Le Carre-style novel. It's closer to Next Year in Havana.

Who will not like Our American Friend? Trump fans, for sure, as the president and FLOTUS in this book, are unapologetically based on the former first couple (and not favorably).

Bottom line? If you're the right audience for this book, you'll enjoy it.

I received a free eBook version of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.