ONLINEBOOKCLUB.org review: 4 out of 4 stars

This 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.