Wed, 27 Apr 2022 10:48:15 -0700WeeblyMon, 18 Oct 2021 07:00:00 GMThttp://thisnearlywasmine.com/reviews/5-star-amazon-review55340325.0 out of 5 stars Truly enjoyed this read!
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2021
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I was hooked! Nancy Farkas starts with the best female "Dedication" I've ever read.
"Annie," the young narrator and lead character in "This Nearly Was Mine" novel, wants her life grounded in reality; yet she knows her life, and ours, needs fantasy, and she is not afraid to show her vulnerabilities. This is a charming, stimulating and interesting journey. It's also a delightful and revealing read. Off to the races!

I felt I traveled with Annie, a sensitive and yearning friend, in her exploration of life, seeking love and intimacy, hopefully with "Francisco," (THE one?) across her beloved Spain. Oh, the eating and drinking and vistas!! Nancy Farkas' writing is insightful, funny and savvy and she knows how to zero in on fantasies we all require. It's a thought-provoking, stimulating and interesting journey and the author's writing made me feel like Annie's confidante.
I loved the music (late 70's) and movies the author selected to travel along and share with us in her well-paced novel. I'm hoping a screenplay is in the making.
Nancy Farkas, I'm about to enjoy a sangria and I drink to you while waiting for your next book, please.
Salud!!]]>Sun, 06 Sep 2020 07:00:00 GMThttp://thisnearlywasmine.com/reviews/5-star-amazon-review27654235.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Brilliant!! Highly recommend!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2020
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I absolutely loved reading this story from start to finish!! What an enjoyable, emotional and lovely story written by a truly talented & thoughtful author!]]>Sun, 01 Dec 2019 08:00:00 GMThttp://thisnearlywasmine.com/reviews/5-star-amazon-review4169831I love to reread books that linger with me and I picked up Nancy Farkas novel, "This Nearly was Mine" again after four years. What struck me this time around more than ever was my admiration for the author's talent and ability to evoke her characters from her heart and her unconscious--they are people who hop off the page, sit down next to you and show their soul. We know Annie in all her spontaneity and struggles---they echo ours in their sincerity. And through her (and the author's) generosity of spirit we know all the other people who impact her life. There's not a note that is off.
This access to a character's heart and soul is a gift to the reader and a gift to any writer who is trying to write a character who is true, vulnerable and struggling. Not to mention creating a character with a heart as big as the moon--no easy task without making her sentimental. Brava Nancy Farcus! Thank you for writing a book that does what great books are supposed to do--expand your emotional landscape.



Cynthia Magriel Wetzler
5.0 out of 5 stars I had just taken a trip with a fictional best friend to the coast of Spain and back
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2015 When I finished reading Nancy Farcas' novel, "This Nearly Was Mine" a few months ago I turned the last page, shut the book and sighed. I had just taken a trip with a fictional best friend to the coast of Spain and back. She had shared her deepest feelings with me with a wide-open generosity, a delightful innocence and a hard-won wisdom. Plus she made me laugh. I knew this fictional girl and later woman. I was compelled to have my own conversations with her character, Annie. "I know, I know, Annie," I wanted to say. "I've felt exactly the same way." What I didn't expect was for the story to linger with me, long after I had tucked it away in my bookcase. Nancy Farcas has a captivating narrative voice. Enjoy it!
]]>Tue, 15 Jan 2019 08:00:00 GMThttp://thisnearlywasmine.com/reviews/onlinebookcluborg-4-out-of-4-starsThis Nearly Was Mine by Nancy Farkas is a non-traditional love story between the protagonist, Annie and her foreign lover, Francisco. Annie goes to Spain after college for a summer and falls madly in love with the concierge. They have a whirlwind romance that seems to end when she leaves the country for her fiancé, Bill. Annie ends up leaving Bill, marries her high school crush Matthew, and has a long marriage with three children. Throughout her entire relationship, Annie and Francisco continue to communicate on and off, but their feelings for each other remain consistent. 

My favorite part of this book is how it feels like a non-fiction story. I had to check several times to see if this was actually a memoir because the author has a realistic writing style and that characters aren’t highly fantasized. It was a nice break from the expected story arch most romance novels have. I loved that Annie decided the soundtrack and casting for her future movie deal. Annie was definitely one of the most relatable characters I have read simply because she seemed so real. 

I enjoyed meeting the different characters and how they came and left Annie’s life throughout the book. Her relationship with Bill was ridiculously relatable for any young college students who dated an older person so they could feel more mature and grown up, even if it wasn’t a healthy or sustainable relationship. Juanito, one of the people who worked at her apartment in Spain, had an enjoyable conflict with himself that he grew and learned from. He had a Swastika tattoo he got as an act of teenage rebellion that he regretted the instant he learned from Annie and Jocelyn what it actually represented. I laughed a bit when he refused to go by Juanito and insisted he be called Johann.

The main thing I would change in this book is the ending of the plot. I wanted something more unrealistic and romantic, but the ending just kind of fizzled out. It was a realistic ending to the book and fit the story, I just wanted more. Honestly, Farkas wrote an amazing fiction novel that reads exactly like non-fiction so the ending was perfect for the story.

I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to read a realistic, yet incredible whirlwind romance novel who doesn’t mind a lackluster ending. This is definitely a book for adults only as there are several graphic sexual scenes. There are a lot of realistic characters, and any reader could find at least one they relate to or know someone who just like them. 

I rate This Nearly Was Mine by Nancy Farkas 4 out of 4 stars. This book was enjoyable to read, the characters were complex and well developed, and the entirety of it was very believable..

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reading the romance or just meeting some fun characters.]]>Tue, 30 Oct 2018 07:00:00 GMThttp://thisnearlywasmine.com/reviews/onlinebookcluborg-review-4-out-of-4-stars1495103This Nearly was Mine, by Nancy Farkas, is an engaging tale of love, loss, and learning to live with life’s decisions. Annie, wife, therapist, and working mother of three, finally tells her story, the whole thing, about a summer with her soul mate, but marrying the love of her life. Her summer in Spain was just supposed to give her perspective for her relationship with Bill, but instead she meets Francisco. Francisco is charming, funny, passionate, and a bit terrifying: everything that Bill is not. But after she returns from her summer vacation, Annie ends things with Bill, and marries Matthew. She is then reunited with Francisco through a trip her daughter takes to Spain. Where will this friendship end up, even Annie seems unsure. 

In the beginning, sometimes it is hard to track Annie’s thoughts. She has a few visitors while she is in Spain and when they are introduced into the story, Annie gives back story about them. Farkas makes use of flashback type writing so the characters speak using the same verb tense as the present timeline in the story, but there is not necessarily a paragraph break or any other sort of cue as to why this information is included at that precise moment. But after the first two, it becomes expected for the author to give background in this manner for each character and is missed when she doesn’t expound such as with the character Antonio. I personally was unsure what Antonio’s real purpose was in the beginning of the story outside of how Annie was reconnected with Francisco.  

I initially read this book in two days. It drew me in. I cared about these characters and their lives. I wanted to know how Matthew handled the friendship between Francisco and Annie. I wanted to know why Annie didn’t marry Francisco when she had the chance. I wanted to know if Francisco was a good kisser. These characters were so loveable, even when their world views collided. Nancy Farkas created real, endearing characters that could easily live right next door.

I rate this book a 4 out of 4. I complained about the backstory, but it was not enough to draw this down to a three for me. I even love the ending, which is not a stereotypical neatly tied bow wrap up. It is beautiful. My only other desired change to this piece is that she would not translate the Spanish. There is not an overwhelming amount of Spanish used and much of it is used frequently enough that most should be able to comprehend it. But again, this personal preference while reading is not enough to bring the storyline down from a four.

Reading This Nearly Was Mine felt like chatting with an old friend over a large cup of tea. Nancy Farkas wrote a fiction piece that desperately wants to be a memoir. It held my attention as it addressed my own love of travel, languages, and what if’s. I would encourage anyone who enjoys travel, love, and just engaging fiction to read This Nearly was Mine.
​]]>Mon, 29 Oct 2018 07:00:00 GMThttp://thisnearlywasmine.com/reviews/onlinebookcluborg-review-4-out-of-4-stars8661852This Nearly Was Mine: A Novel by Nancy Farkas is one of the most unusual books I have ever read in the Romance genre. The book reads much like a personal memoir and I found that a great puzzle in coming to a decision on a rating. The novel is an in-depth look at the life and loves of Annie, starting with her life-changing decision to travel to Spain in 1980 as a young woman in the midst of finishing her Masters in Social Work and the impact the impromptu trip had on her loves and path in life. The turmoil of emotions over the years and a few up-and-down relationships play a huge role in Annie’s focus and feelings of self-worth. Her bonds of family and friendship, the roles they play in her life, and the impact the fulfillment or heartbreak of those bonds create in her mind are the major focus of the story.

Throughout the novel travel also plays a major role in the text and it relates many vacations. The best described of these is the pivotal trip to Spain and the author takes some care to describe the immediate surroundings, however, the latter travel sequences are not given the same attention. Annie’s career is also in the background through much of the story with only one clear narrative to give the reader an idea of how social work may have played a role in the forming of her mindset. Farkas’ writing is quite enjoyable otherwise. It is very conversational and has a flow of natural thought processes. For example, with a new character being introduced and then a ‘fill you in a bit’ and then back to ‘where were we?’ This relaxed style I felt was very easy to read even through complicated introductions and personal histories that set the stage for the relevance of that character’s comments or actions and the impact they had on Annie. 

The author frequently quotes movies, music, and pop-culture from across five decades. I found this very interesting as some things I recognized and some I did not, so it occurs to me each reader will get a different impression of Annie’s meanings depending on what they are familiar with. It also spawned the thought that future readers will have to cue their neuro AI to download archival data to figure out what in the world was being said (insert surprised face emoji here).

Overall, I enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to any mature reader. I think it was intelligently written and both men and women could relate to the character and her very human flaws. It is by no means erotica and not what you would normally expect from a romance. It was a novel reading experience for me as most memoirs I have encountered are not so insightful about the person doing the writing. There were very few editing errors but several formatting errors on the Kindle edition, primarily sections of underlined text.

Here again, I come to my confusion with rating the novel. As a memoir, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It was an enjoyable read but the gaps in Annie’s career narratives and the poorly fleshed out travel descriptions gave the story a lack of depth. If however, this was a completely fictional tale then Nancy Farkas is one of the most talented character writers I have ever had the pleasure of reading and I would recommend this as a 4-star book.]]>Wed, 24 Oct 2018 07:00:00 GMThttp://thisnearlywasmine.com/reviews/onlinebookcluborg-review-3-out-of-4-starsNancy Farkas' This Nearly Was Mine is a romance novel that gave me a feeling of a nonfiction book - a memoir that chronicles Annie's ups and downs, peaks and valleys of existentialism. The story mentioned both commendable and disgusting topics about travel, friendship, love, religion, passion, commitment, time management, politics, health, parenting, sex, abortion, drug trafficking, neediness, insecurities, and the pertinent adversities of married life.

Annie was madly in love with her boyfriend, Billy, but his infidelity rendered her confused and depressed. The most indelible moments of her life - her trip to Spain - happened in the summer of 1980, when she met Francisco. He was the hotel concierge with a cleft chin just like Cary Grant's. She was able to get over her feelings for Billy when her whirlwind affair with Francisco started. Despite their difference in beliefs and random arguments, Annie just can't get enough of Francisco. Even after Annie's marriage to her high school crush, Matthew, her feelings for Francisco never changed. They still exchanged news about their daily lives through emails and video calls on Skype. How did Matthew react on Annie's affairs with Francisco? Curious why Nancy entitled the book This Nearly Was Mine? Read the entire story. 

Nancy described Annie's trips in a way that ignited my desire to travel into the places where she had been. The characters were all alive and full of emotions, strengths, and weaknesses. I perceived Annie as an insecure and needy person. She acted like a damsel in distress most of the time, but I admired her penchant for traveling and her honesty. Matthew was a good provider but physically and emotionally unavailable to Annie. He found his happiness and fulfillment in his job. He was a practical husband, and I admired his trust in Annie. Francisco had a loving, sensual, and a "bad boy" image. He was Annie's refuge during her troubled times. I was glad he found a way to follow what he thought was the right thing to do.

The story was narrated in the first-person perspective of Annie. It was well-paced and a gripping read. The plot was not complex, but the storyline was unpredictable. Even though there were flashbacks and erratic mentions of timeline events, the narrations were easy to follow along. Nancy extemporaneously interjected quotes, songs, scenes, and lines from random books and movies in the narrations. This was among the quotes I liked: "Marriage halves one's rights and doubles one's duties." It was from a philosopher named Schopenhauer. This highlighted the complexity of a married life...

​I give Nancy Farkas' This Nearly Was Mine 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to the mature audiences who love romance stories with pertinent lessons about personal growth - resilience, independence, and self-confidence. There were sensual scenes and adult themes not suitable for the very young audiences and the squeamish readers.
]]>Tue, 23 Oct 2018 07:00:00 GMThttp://thisnearlywasmine.com/reviews/onlinebookcluborg-review-4-out-of-4-stars5710687In her novel, This Nearly Was Mine, Nancy Farkas writes about one woman’s journey of self-discovery through her relationships with three different men. This poignant, funny, and fictitious memoir, chronicles the loves of the main character, Annie, and how each relationship defined portions of her life. This book was a rollercoaster of emotions, with a bittersweet yet, poignant ending. 

In 1980, twenty-three-year-old Annie has just graduated from college and decides to take a trip to Spain. She has decided not to marry her college boyfriend, Bill, due to his philandering ways. While on vacation, Annie encounters the irresistible Francisco. They embark on a summer love affair that will later haunt Annie for years to come. Many years later, Annie’s daughter travels to Spain and finds a way to contact Francisco. Annie’s daughter gives the information to her mother which sparks an online relationship between Annie and Francisco. This online relationship sets off a chain of events that makes Annie question her past decisions and relationships. The author describes Annie’s relationships with three men in her life: Bill, Francisco, and Matthew. Throughout these relationships, Annie discovers love, loss, conflict, and the trials of commitment.

Nancy Farkas creates a very relatable main character. The author makes you want to laugh and cry with Annie. The reader is pulled into Annie’s emotional struggles as she grows from an insecure, young woman. I like how the author talks about the movie stars who would play the characters. The reader is sucked into the different relationships that Annie chronicles. We see how Annie tries to compartmentalize her feelings for Francisco throughout many decades. In her relationship with Bill, we see Annie evolve past her insecurities. Lastly, the author describes the struggles Annie endured in her marriage to Matthew. The author uses a very candid tone throughout the novel. She makes a pointed statement about how one shouldn’t expect so much out of relationships. Through her characters, she talks about how you cannot define yourself just by past relationships. 

The author hits on some hard subjects such as abortion, infidelity, marriage, and heartbreak. Nancy Farkas portrays her characters as fallible human beings. I loved the way that the author portrayed Matthew, Annie’s husband. He was not a likable character at all, but I think that was the whole point. Even the author points out that he is not made out to be the villain, just someone who was going through their own issues as well. The author portrays Annie’s marriage to Matthew in a way that is, I think, relatable to many people. Annie and Matthew are two people struggling to make their marriage work and be in a committed relationship.

The way the author described Spain makes me want to travel to that gorgeous country. She goes into specific detail about all the historical sights that Annie went to. I can understand why Annie fantasized about going back. Annie found a deep love for the country because of what she experienced there. The author goes back and forth between the past and present. She does this in a way that does not confuse the reader.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I read this book in one sitting, I could not put it down. I wanted to know how Annie’s story would wrap up, but it didn’t. I think that’s the whole point of the book, and about life, in general. We see throughout the novel how there is no satisfactory ending sometimes, whether it is with relationships or stories. I felt that the author spent too much time on Annie's relationship with Bill yet, this did not compel me to lower my rating. I like how the author didn’t sugarcoat anything about Annie and who she was as a person. She is not a perfect character, and neither were her relationships. I did not notice any major grammatical errors. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes memoirs or books about relationships. The novel is so much more than a romance novel. It is a novel about loss, regret, and acceptance. I hope that the author writes a second book that details more about Annie’s relationship with her children. I highly recommend this book.
​]]>Sun, 14 Oct 2018 07:00:00 GMThttp://thisnearlywasmine.com/reviews/onlinebookcluborg-review-3-out-of-4-stars8586383Love as they say is a very beautiful thing. It is difficult to explain what love really is but it can be seen in the action of people in it. The novel This Was Nearly Mine is a fictional romance novel. Though it contains a little bit of history, especially the history of Spain, I am opined that romance was the predominant theme. The leading character is Annie. She is raised in America. Her parents are widely travelled and have developed a soft spot for Spain. Spain has for long been the hotspot of tourism in Europe. Their family often moves to Spain during the summer to enjoy the warmth of its beaches. Spain is a fantastic state with cool and friendly citizens. It has good historical sites. Their love for Spain is passed onto their daughter Annie.

Annie is in college when she falls in love with Bill. Their relationship had been masterminded by her college roommate. Bill was her roommates brothers. She falls in love with him despite their huge age variation. He was nine years older than her. Things get from bad to worse when Bill starts cheating on her and gets abusive. Their relationship is a series of break ups and getting back together. This is what pulls him towards Francisco in one of her trips to Spain. Are her feelings for Francisco justified or a mere desire for sex? Whom does she choose between Bill sad Francisco?

One of the things I loved in the novel is the relationship between Annie and her husband. It is a relationship forged on truth and openness. Annie shares with her husband information on her past that that she has not shared with any soul. I think that is one of the strengths in their relationship. I admire openness in relationships. It should be the pillar and bedrock of families. However, I disliked Annie discussion of her past with Francisco to her daughter Marielle. I think that was unethical. Which parent does that? A parent should be the epitome of morals for their children and not a crying stone for past failed relationship. Such discussion and openly admitting to longing for the past was a misstep.

another aspect I loved in the book is character growth. The beauty of a tale lies its character growth. It is one of the things I desire in a great novel. Characters like Annie, Marielle and Jocelyn matures morally. For instance, it would be an injustice if a character like Jocelyn never matured considering the kid she was in her teens. 

This book is well edited, thoroughly proofread and has few typo errors. I'm convinced that the author did a great work in writing the book. I do not mind reading it a second time. I would recommend it to all men and women of all ages. It touches on family and openness which I think should be a virtue cherished in our homes. I rate the novel at 3 out of 4 stars. I loved it but cannot award it the full four stars. I was particularly fascinated by the books character development and the author's rich writing style.]]>Mon, 08 Oct 2018 07:00:00 GMThttp://thisnearlywasmine.com/reviews/onlinebookcluborg-review-4-out-of-4-stars1454065This nearly was mine is a fictional novel narrated in the form of a memoir by Nancie Farkas. The story is about a romantic struggle of broken relationships and emotional obstacles on Annie's journey through her romance and marriage life. It goes back and forth as Annie recalls her life-changing summer which had a lasting effect on her life and relationship.

Annie, a social worker in New York City, recalls the romantic relationship she had while on a summer trip to Spain where she meets Francisco she fell in love and dive into a whirlwind affair with him. She had earlier promised herself to only be in love with Spain rather than in love with him. As the summer came to end Annie left her Spanish lover behind as she returns to New York City where she eventually marries and settles down with her husband. After leaving Spain, the author takes us through the relationship and decades of Annie's life through a series of flashback and flash-forward. This gives the reader a glimpse of what is happening in Annie's life as she remembers and relates her experiences.

The book has an exciting and educative story based on Annie's experiences. The story portrays the choices Annie makes and the effect she experiences based on them. This story teaches the reader that the kind of options we make shape us as individuals. The story also exhibits that people have a vast capacity to love as many people as they can throughout their lives. I liked the novel because of these lessons. The author did a splendid job in character development especially Annie and Francisco who happened to be the main characters. The story narrated in Annie's perspective which engages the reader as he/she can get a sense of her heartfelt struggles and conflicting emotions.

What made me dislike the novel is because the author states it as a romance thriller yet it has no romantic elements as the main points of the story. Except for Annie's romantic encounters, the story focuses mainly on her emotional distress. The book also has a time jump which makes the story hard to follow.

In conclusion, I will give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. The earlier stated demerits will not prevent me from giving out this rating. I enjoy the book, and it is why I will recommend to everyone especially those who are intrigued by memoirs or fiction based on real life.]]>