Where
Sea Meets Sky
KARINA HALLE
A new adult novel that perfectly captures the
existential angst of your early twenties with raw wit, fresh insight, and true
feeling from a critically adored USA TODAY bestselling author.
Joshua Miles has spent his early twenties spinning his wheels. Working dead-end jobs and living at home has left him exhausted and uninspired, with little energy to pursue his passion for graphic art. Until he meets Gemma Henare, a vivacious out-of-towner from New Zealand. What begins as a one-night stand soon becomes a turning point for Josh. He can’t get Gemma out of his head, even after she has left for home, and finds himself throwing caution to the wind for the first time in his life.
It’s not long before Josh is headed to New Zealand with only a backpack, some cash, and Gemma’s name to go on. But when he finally tracks her down, he finds his adventure is only just beginning. Equally infatuated, Gemma leads him on a whirlwind tour across the beautiful country, opening Josh up to life, lust, love, and all the messy heartache in between. Because, when love drags you somewhere, it might never let go—even when you know you have to say goodbye.
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Excerpt
There’s nothing but me and
Gemma. It feels like we’re the only people left in the world. And it scares me,
because she’s all I have to hold onto. I can’t be sure she won’t let go.
There’s no official camping
at the lighthouse, so Gemma takes the bus off-roading, much like we did
yesterday, and we come to a stop in a small valley in the middle of a field of
cows. They all swivel their heads to stare at us with dark, inquisitive eyes.
There’s a small house up on the hill but we can barely see it. Horses graze on
the hill’s terraced grooves.
Beyond the hills, there’s
nothing but ocean. I breathe in deep, feeling strangely nervous and shaky.
I
don’t think it’s just about being on the edge of nothing, though.
I think it’s that I’m on the
edge of something.
We go to bed early, our
alarms set for the early morning hour, pre-dawn. Even though the ocean looks to
be about a ten-minute walk, I pack a bag with my camera, my phone, my
sketchbook and the pastels.
I can’t get enough of her.
Our love-making is slow and lazy but necessary. Being inside her feels like
being home, it feels like being in love, it feels like everything sweet and
beautiful and nice in the world. Every time I come in her I hope I’m making a
home for myself, a place where I belong.
The alarm on my phone goes
off way too early. In my sleepy stupor I nearly turn it off but Gemma is
patting my arm, then punching my arm, telling me to get up. The world around us
vibrates with the sound of mooing cows and I wonder how the hell I slept
through them.
Even though the days are hot,
the mornings by the ocean are cold, and I can barely get on my jeans and hoodie
in time. Armed with the pack and flashlights, we jump out of the van. The air
snaps at us as if we’re wind-blown flags.
Hundreds of cattle spread out
in all directions, bound by the green hills to the south and the lighthouse to
the north. I look east, to where the hills part and the sky is a paler shade of
dawn. It seems to be growing lighter by the second, and our chances of catching
the sunrise are dwindling.
We take off toward the light,
cautiously creeping under barbed wire fences and avoiding the epic cow pies
dotting the land. The cows, for the most part, seem to be ignoring us, but
their piles of shit are like hidden landmines in the dim light. A meandering,
narrow stream cuts across us and we have to head up into the terraced hills
where wary horses eye us. I get the feeling that we’ve chosen the most
difficult route to see the sunrise, and from our vantage point I can’t even see
the lighthouse anymore.
Just as the sky seems to grow
frighteningly light, we reach the crest of the hill and I nearly collapse, out
of breath from the quick, steep hike. A lone filly bolts at the sight of us.
Below us lies an empty beach,
laid out like a sheet of velvet. Aside from the occasional hoof print and
driftwood, it looks totally undisturbed, like it has been waiting for us all
this time. The South Pacific is spread out at the horizon’s feet, a royal blue
tinged with saffron edges. The sun is not up yet. We still have time.
We run down the hill and I
nearly eat shit, several times, my shoes slipping on the dew-slicked grass,
until sand sinks beneath my feet. I grab Gemma’s hand and we run over to the
water’s edge just as the sun peeks its glowing crown over the wavering line.
I look at her and smile. We
made it. We’re standing on the easternmost point in the easternmost habitable
country. We might even be the first people on this whole fucking earth to see
this fiery sunrise. Only thousands of miles of rolling water lies between us
and the southwest coast of Chile.
And yesterday.
Don’t miss Karina’s next
book, RACING THE SUN, on sale July 28th!
About
the Author
Karina Halle is the New York Times bestselling author
of Where Sea Meets Sky, The Pact,Love in English,
and other wild and romantic reads. A former travel writer and music journalist,
she lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and
her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails, and
devours a lot of books.
