Karina Halle

"A new adult novel about an American who visits New Zealand and falls in love on his journey"--

A Novel

Where Sea Meets Sky

Missy Zuber 

Read the others in the series so it was just common sense to move on to the next. From Vera we move on to her brother Josh as he travels through New Zealand with Gemma and some others. Enjoyable though I wanted to slap some sense into the two at time.

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I knew when I read the excerpt for Where Sea Meets Sky at the end of Love, in Spanish that it wouldn't disappoint. (I mean, come on, it starts with Josh in a Khal Drogo costume... how could that be bad?) But seriously, I loved Josh's journey. I loved how it mimicked his sister, Vera's, but still managed to be his own.

But mostly I just loved Josh. He intrigued me in Vera's books, but I had no idea we were getting his story until I read Love, in Spanish. I could've done cartwheels when I read the excerpt and realized it was about Vera's brother. I was excited by the blurb because it sounded like he was putting himself out there and going to crazy lengths to try to find the woman he had a connection (and a hot one night stand) with.

I loved following along as Josh discovered New Zealand, himself and Gemma. Of course, nothing went quite as he planned, but what fun would it have been if it had? The bumps along the way were what made the journey. The first bump, of course, was learning that Gemma had a boyfriend... and that he would be accompanying them on their road trip. Clearly I wasn't a fan of the boyfriend. I wanted everyone else out of the way so Josh and Gemma could take their shot together. One of my favorite things about this book was the role reversal. I loved that Josh wore his heart on his sleeve and Gemma was the one with walls up tight, solidly in place. 

This book definitely won't be for everyone. There's cheating and a love triangle, so be forewarned. Neither bothered me in this situation. Gemma's boyfriend was such an asshole and it was so obvious she really belonged with Josh that I was able to look at Nick as a mere obstacle. And a douchey one at that.

The world building in Where Sea Meets Sky, as with all of Karina's, is wonderful. I could almost see the New Zealand countryside. It made me want to apply for my passport and hop on a plane at the soonest possible opportunity. I love looking at unfamiliar landscapes and countries through her eyes. I feel like I'm right there. And I'd pretty much give my right arm to be there now. 

I won't call Where Sea Meets Sky "full of feels" like Love, in English and Love, in Spanish, but it definitely had its fair share of them. It also had great sexy times and more than a few laughs. A great, quick read that had so many of the things I enjoy about new adult romance. It was a great journey and I'm glad I was along for the ride.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

3.5 stars!

This story is told through alternating points of view (Yay!) of Joshua and Gemma. Joshua feels like his life is going nowhere. He despises his job, still lives with his mother, and has very little money saved. He meets Gemma at a costume party. One thing leads to another and… yup. Gemma is only visiting and will be returning to New Zealand soon, so they spend a steamy night together and then go their separate ways. But Josh can’t stop thinking about Gemma, and decides to take the little savings he has and go to New Zealand for a while and try to find himself… and maybe find Gemma in the process.

This was definitely the one-night-stand-turns-to-infatuation type of story that I thought it might be. And though I despise insta-love, this one wasn’t too bad. Though I wasn’t a huge believer of this romance and couple as a whole, I did still become invested in their relationship as the story progressed. But the romance actually wasn’t the part of the story that I enjoyed the most. It was the message that this story brought across that was so strong. And because of that, I was able to feel myself really routing for these characters in their lives.

Let’s take a second to talk about the ending. (view spoiler)[I’m not going to lie, I was pretty bummed with the way it turned out. Around 90% the characters go their separate ways and I thought, “YES! Finally a REALISTIC ending that isn’t HEA!” But I was disappointed that they DO end up getting together. Yes, we all love our happily ever afters for the most part… but every once in a while I like to see a gutsy author take it the other way, and I thought for sure that was where this was going. Since I didn’t really buy their relationship anyway, I was pleased that it would end like that. But it doesn’t. That’s not to say I disliked the ending. I didn’t. It was still very good. I was just hoping for something different, I guess.  (hide spoiler)]

Going into my FIRST Karina Halle book I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I follow Karina on Instagram, so I know she travels often and has a major love of exploring new places and experiencing new things in new places. So I was hoping to get a little dose of her traveling fun in this novel, and I’m happy to say I sure did! This book had a TON of cultural aspects that can only be really explained through the words of someone who experienced them firsthand. The time we spend in New Zealand in this book feels almost realistic. Some of the scenes eve made me cringe. (The Caves… OMG!) The way she describes the land, the cultures, the activities, even the language, is pretty amazing. I’d also encourage anyone reading this book to check out her guest post on No BS Book Reviews. It’s really fascinating. If you’re into travel at all, I would recommend this book to you.

(Thanks to Atria Books for the review copy!)

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Where Sea Meets Sky A Novel

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