3 out of 4 stars
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After enjoying a warm bath on a winter's eve, I lie on my couch next to the blazing fireplace in my living room. Getting cozy and comfortable in my warm clothes, I decided to write the story of my life, absurd, right? After leafing through some pages in my diary, my memories took me back to the wild and carefree days of my youth.
I found myself in the heart of Spain after going through a rough break-up with my long-term boyfriend, Bill. He cheated on me with a common slut, which bummed me so hard, but things changed after I met Francisco. He was so charming, flirtatious, and dreamy that made any woman to want him on their bed.
Hey! Don't get me wrong; we were young and wild at our carefree days. Surely you must have encountered such interesting and hot moments in your life, behind closed doors, I guess.
The best words that I could use to describe this read is, All's Well That Ends Well (a play by William Shakespeare). The author, Nancy Farkas, writes the story of Annie in form of a memoir. It's a unique piece of work that has a creative beginning and an ending. This plot consists of 24 chapters and an afterword section. Nancy Farkas takes us back to the 1980s in Manhattan, New York and Spain. The subject address by this read consists of mature contents therefore, reader's discretion is advised.
This Nearly Was Mine by Nancy Farkas is A Novel which tells the tale of Annie and her string of boyfriends throughout her life. Filled in these pages were moments of young love, heartbreak, lovemaking, abortion, marriage, betrayal, and new-found love. The author takes the reader on a joy ride back and forth on Annie's memory lane, but sometimes, it was difficult to cope up. The narrator of this chick lit is none other than our protagonist, Annie.
The author had presented the plot's layout in form of a movie, and sometimes I felt it was over-dramatic. The start was good, but as it picks up its pace, it was difficult to keep in touch with the sudden introduction of different characters, one after the other (in the first half). This plot maintains a casual tone, and it's admirable that the protagonist always takes care to involve the reader in her life. The protagonist acts as a storyteller, and we, the readers, can sit back and enjoy this read.
The characters were exceptional. I found our protagonist, Annie, to be a Drama Queen, and a careless, free-spirited person. I often found myself annoyed by her behavior, but I don't blame her because we are totally different. The sub-characters were her boyfriends: Matthew, Francisco, and Bill supported by the plot's minor characters. Unlike Bill and Matthew, Francisco is a ladies' man who reminded me of Charlie Harper in a T.v. series called Two and Half Men, is a man with a bigger heart, yet full of unresolved emotional issues. Francisco reminded me of Connor Mead in the movie called Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
This plot meets the reader's expectations. There were bizarre moments in this read, such as,
This seems odd to me, I mean can you imagine a person who uses women for an one-night stand views himself as been used for sex?I said, "I was glad he was going out and having a good time," and He said that, "none of the women meant anything to him, it was strictly for sex." He somehow seems disgusted with himself. He said that, "he believes that he had been use for sex."
There were unacceptable and immature moments in this read, such as,
Can you imagine that? I don't mean to judge, but doing something like that with another man, other than your husband, seems totally wrong to me."I told Matthew I had to say goodbye to Francisco one more time. I ran back into the building. As soon as Francisco saw me, he excused himself from the smitten ballerinas and came around the reception desk. He grabbed my hand, and took me to the office behind the reception area, and shut the door. I started crying, and he started kissing me. He was unquestionably erect, pushing himself against me. I moaned as we kissed each other harder and harder."
At times I felt certain scenarios unrealistic, yet they made me think. I couldn't help but wonder, how people can enjoy casual or meaningless sex without developing feelings? This story reflects on how unreliable high school or college romantic affairs were (not all relationships), and the nature of those relationships. Readers who enjoy romance and chick lit would find this read amusing. I wish to rate This Nearly Was Mine 3 out of 4 stars; A star reduced due to the exceeding number of minor errors, grammatical and typos, that couldn't be ignored.
As I finalize my story, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurd remark made by my mum saying, "You better not let your daddy read this!" And I believe you can guess why.
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This Nearly Was Mine: A Novel
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