Wow, that was a great chapter, all right. And what a cliffhanger! You write family scenes so well, and love scenes so well, and I really enjoyed every paragraph.

I do have one small suggestion for the ending. I would actually end the chapter with "Tyson was nowhere to be seen." Then the reader is worrying much more. If you show that they've already found him, the reader is less on edge, even if the poor baby is drowned, because at least the reader knows the situation is settled. What you want to do at the end of each chapter is maximize the uncertainty! Expectation mingled with uncertainty is the essence of dramatic tension.

Alexei and Alisonka are still my favorite couple! The description of them working in the garden was so real and everyday, yet so romantic. Is there about to be a major twist in the story?

Wow, this was a great chapter! What happened to Sasha? Was there foul play? That really made me sad. But I have to say I was blown away by the rest of the story. The way you worked so much history into the discussion about Christmas. It's so easy to feel like the Soviet Union was horrible and backward for the things they did. But then you show how America has problems like that too, not only with the Indians but with gays and lesbians. It really made me think that Donna and her partner having to hide was just like the Russian people not being able to celebrate Christmas!

I know you have a lot of great stories going on right now, but this one is really my favorite! (Except for KINDRED SPIRITS, of course.)

Oh, no I hope Darya will be okay! I really like her and hope she will meet a nice American girl very soon. This was a great chapter, I liked how warm and hopeful and full of kindness the people are - just like all your stories!

This is a really great new chapter! The story about Alexei's uncle who died in the factory was so moving. I love the way you can capture so much about the injustice under Stalin with only a few words. And the way you show how people of both nations have so much in common. Last of all, I like how the chapter ends on a sort of cliff hanger too.

KINDRED SPIRITS is a story where fun, exciting things are always happening, but this story is just as moving and special in its own way. Great job!

This is a wonderful new chapter! I don't know this is the end of the story but the last paragraph is written so beautifully it almost sounds like the end of the story.

I always thought Alison and Alexei were a wonderful couple, and you describe their moods and capture their different ways of speaking perfectly.

A couple of minor suggestions: take a few minutes before you post and see if you can shorten each paragraph. It makes the story more emotional and exciting if there are fewer words. For example, "When that thought crossed her mind, she had to swallow a lump in her throat as she desperately tried to squash it." Just cut out the words "as she desperately tried to squash it," and see how much more moving and emotional that sentence becomes!

Wow, I'm really glad I caught up with this story! I stopped following it for a couple of weeks because of the name change. But it was awesome, the last three chapters are really interesting and push the story in new directions.

I totally love the way Alexei reacts to the street preacher - that was so realistic and really captured the Communist mentality. I also liked the stroganoff discussion and wish we could see more Russian cooking!

Last of all, I really like the new couple in the final chapter! ;-)

Wait so the girl is gay?

I'm always impressed by how carefully you research your stories, even with real life details about getting a work permit and things like that. I also really like the name "Alisonka" and how original it is and how it expresses Alexei's feelings. By the way, I know you probably don't like movies with a lot of R-rated sexual humor, but in the Sacha Baron Cohen movie THE DICTATOR, there is a romance between a foreign dictator and an American girl that is a lot like this story!

Wow, this was really great! It made me want to look up balalaikas on Wikipedia right away. I am always impressed by how you capture the passion of romance without ever being too explicit. I love the way Alexei calls her "Alisonka," too. It fit the mood perfectly!

Don't forget to join RWA, seriously. Romance Writers of America!

I really like the way this story is going. Of course you know how much everyone admires your romantic writing (still waiting for you to join RWA!) But i also think it's amazing how you show changes in history, the Cold War fears of yesterday seeming so silly compared to the real terrorist threat of today!

This was another great chapter! I have to say, though, that it's starting to feel more and more like KINDRED SPIRITS: THE RUSSIAN YEARS. What I mean is you have the same basic pattern in each chapter, a couple sitting and talking, he explains the past, they cuddle, and it gets hotter from there!

By the way, I really liked the parts about the legless Vietnam vet and the war in Afghanistan. But I think Alexei should say it was his best friend's son, or a nephew, who was killed in Afghanistan. A Russian Alexei's age would already be too old in 1984 to be sent to Afghanistan, wouldn't he?

This is a good chapter. You always find such a quiet way to express emotion, like when they are talking about all the Americans who died in Vietnam.

Wow, I'm really amazed at your research! Talking about the Reds and Whites really got me thinking about movies like NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA and a Russian movie called BURNED BY THE SUN. This is turning out to be a really rich and engaging story!

I'm gonna be honest here never watched this movie so idk what you r talking about but I do know that It is romantic and sweet