A Perfect Confluence

A Perfect Confluence is rightly named for the situation that the main character, Noah, finds himself. Noah is a reformed alcoholic who is trying to get his life back together. After having faced some heartache at a young age, he has had help from his “Uncle” Bob to ward off his demons and learn how to live a sober life. Life is going well for him and his dog, Kimo. Thanks to one bad decision made, Noah has changed the course of his life. Now that certain people are aware of his mistake, namely the local mafia-man, Noah must decide fast which route he’ll choose- his own or the one that has appeared to have been chosen for him. Fleeing the area in his canoe, he is part of a man-hunt and must watch his back at every turn, especially when he meets a mysterious pregnant lady named Becca. Noah must figure out his feelings for her and decide if she’s the best thing for him in his life at the moment. Coming with her own set of baggage, Becca might be the perfect teammate on this wild, adventurous, and scary river ride, and maybe on his life journey as well.

A Perfect Confluence contains themes of outdoorsy adventure, self-preservation, self-discovery, and viewing the world in a completely different light. There are scenes with cursing and vulgar language, as well as some graphic scenes that can be expected from a book in which the main character upsets a mob-boss. For a while, the foul language started to bother me, but as the story progresses, it seemed to make sense to the storyline. The text of the story flows smoothly, so it’s easy to understand what’s going on. The reader will find themselves flipping through the pages quickly, and it helps that there is continuous suspense thanks to both Noah and Becca’s past threatening to catch them throughout the book, as both are trying to escape their mistakes and hope for a better future. The interaction between Becca and Noah is sweet; Bridgford wrote the perfect amount to distinguish between attraction versus friendship between the two, especially given Noah’s history with women. The journey the two embark on is exciting and written to make the reader feel as if they are actually traveling alongside Noah and Becca. The ending will come as a complete surprise to the reader, and I hope to read more about their future endeavors.