NEW RIVER VANITY

In a prologue, Vanessa “Vanity” Jane VanBuren, from the heart of her verdant horse farm complex in North Carolina, muses on how a choice that she is about to make will “forever be entwined” with the story she is about to write. The narrative then takes the form of Vanity’s memoir, which begins with her meeting the tall, handsome, 25-year-old Norwegian Craig Bjorn Eriksen during a river rafting vacation in 1989. Craig is drawn to Vanity, ignoring the other flirty females present, which surprises her since she is older (she’s about to turn 31) and a bit overweight (“If I don’t eat lunch, maybe I’ll lose some water weight and those jeans I brought to wear tonight might actually fit,” Vanity frets upon meeting the Adonis). The couple enjoy a wonderful summer together and embark on an action-packed cross-country trip (including a scary bear encounter) before Craig returns to Europe at the end of the summer. A heartbroken Vanity decides to transform her life, moving from Ohio to North Carolina to establish the horse farm and connect with new colleagues and friends—one of whom brings Craig back into her life. Noftz’s novel may remind readers of the works of Nicholas Sparks, given its North Carolina setting and emphasis on heartbreak-themed romance. Vanity is an engaging odd-duck heroine, dubbed “Calamity Vanity” due to reasons large (she’s haunted by deathly accidents that seem to target those around her) and small (she’s the type to spill sauce on white clothes). The bombshell that occurs later in the novel (Vanity had a secret that led her to let Craig go) comes as something of a shock, though readers will likely find themselves going along with it, and with the other twists in this engrossing (if melodramatic) tale.