This is the Wonder by Tracey Ward
Publication date: February 19th 2015
Genres: Comedy, New Adult, Romance
Publication date: February 19th 2015
Genres: Comedy, New Adult, Romance
From the moment I saw him – all blue eyes and American pie – I knew I’d never be the same.
Determined to escape the pressure of her impending graduation, Wren
Porter chooses to take a semester in Europe. She’s there to study,
party, and hide from the question that’s haunting her – What’s next?
At least that’s the plan until one night in Munich when she meets
Jax, an American soldier stationed overseas. He’s charming, he’s
handsome, and in one small act of kindness he becomes Wren’s own
personal hero. Suddenly the two are swept up in a mad romance that will
cross countries, break laws, and leave them both breathless.
But Jax has questions about his own future and when reality comes
calling their bond is put to the test. Are they only meant to have the
nights they shared together in Europe, or could they be so much more?
Could they be the future they’ve both been looking for?
Outside the pub is dark and cold, the wind coming off the Thames taking form in
a swirling fog that lines the walkway leading to the bridge. Tall lampposts pepper the
trail, their iron bases gothic and thick, coated in black paint that makes them look
menacing and strange. The rain clings to them, obscuring the large yellow glowing
globes at their tops and giving the world an underwater feeling, a thickness and body to
We walk slowly not speaking much. We pass people who nod and wish us a good
evening and at some point Jax takes my hand in his, pulling me in to walk so close to him
that our bundled up bodies brush against each other with each step. I like the feeling. Of
both him next to me and the clench of his cold fingers on my skin.
Wordlessly he leads me to the large stone railing that runs along the river and we
stand side by side, our hands still grasped, and we watch boats traverse up and down the
dark waters. It’s getting colder and I take a half step closer to him, burrowing into his
side. He releases my hand and slowly lifts his arm, wrapping it around my shoulder
lightly as though asking permission. I give it by stepping even closer, tucking in under his
arm and resting my head in the curve between his shoulder and neck.
We stand there like that until my hands begin to go numb and the boats are few
and far between. Until his grip on my shoulder tightens and his pulse pounds against my
temple, wild and erratic. Until I lift my head to look up into his fathomless blue eyes and
my heart misses a beat, then stumbles forward in double time. Until his face lowers, mine
rises, and our lips meet in a flicker flame moment of heat sparking and burning soft and
low in the cold London air.
The cold pushes us from the streets to our hotel room and I nervously lay down
with him on one of the double beds in our room. I kiss him slowly, my mouth lingering
over his lips and my hands staying still on his arms, reminding myself and him to take it
slow. That this is our first kiss and I want to savor it. I’m afraid of how far he’ll try to
take it. Of that awful moment when the perfection of where we are slips away from us
and a boundary has to be formed.
But Jax never wanders. He never pushes, and eventually the kissing turns to
holding and I’m in his arms in the dark and he’s pulling a blanket up over us. He’s
brushing his mouth over the top of my head and whispering goodnight, and I’m lit up like
the moon. I’m glowing and hovering high above the earth, untouchable. Unreachable.
Enveloped in the infinite span of space and time with nothing but the beat of his heart, the
pull of his breaths, to hold me down.
a swirling fog that lines the walkway leading to the bridge. Tall lampposts pepper the
trail, their iron bases gothic and thick, coated in black paint that makes them look
menacing and strange. The rain clings to them, obscuring the large yellow glowing
globes at their tops and giving the world an underwater feeling, a thickness and body to
We walk slowly not speaking much. We pass people who nod and wish us a good
evening and at some point Jax takes my hand in his, pulling me in to walk so close to him
that our bundled up bodies brush against each other with each step. I like the feeling. Of
both him next to me and the clench of his cold fingers on my skin.
Wordlessly he leads me to the large stone railing that runs along the river and we
stand side by side, our hands still grasped, and we watch boats traverse up and down the
dark waters. It’s getting colder and I take a half step closer to him, burrowing into his
side. He releases my hand and slowly lifts his arm, wrapping it around my shoulder
lightly as though asking permission. I give it by stepping even closer, tucking in under his
arm and resting my head in the curve between his shoulder and neck.
We stand there like that until my hands begin to go numb and the boats are few
and far between. Until his grip on my shoulder tightens and his pulse pounds against my
temple, wild and erratic. Until I lift my head to look up into his fathomless blue eyes and
my heart misses a beat, then stumbles forward in double time. Until his face lowers, mine
rises, and our lips meet in a flicker flame moment of heat sparking and burning soft and
low in the cold London air.
The cold pushes us from the streets to our hotel room and I nervously lay down
with him on one of the double beds in our room. I kiss him slowly, my mouth lingering
over his lips and my hands staying still on his arms, reminding myself and him to take it
slow. That this is our first kiss and I want to savor it. I’m afraid of how far he’ll try to
take it. Of that awful moment when the perfection of where we are slips away from us
and a boundary has to be formed.
But Jax never wanders. He never pushes, and eventually the kissing turns to
holding and I’m in his arms in the dark and he’s pulling a blanket up over us. He’s
brushing his mouth over the top of my head and whispering goodnight, and I’m lit up like
the moon. I’m glowing and hovering high above the earth, untouchable. Unreachable.
Enveloped in the infinite span of space and time with nothing but the beat of his heart, the
pull of his breaths, to hold me down.
"I don't write romances, I write relationships. One is pretty and perfect and all consuming. The other is real."
I was born in Eugene, Oregon and studied English Literature at the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!) I love writing all kinds of genres from YA Dystopian to New Adult Romance, the common themes between them all being strong character development and a good dose of humor.
My husband, son, and snuggly pitbull are my world.
$20 Amazon Gift Card
Individual giveaway:
(1) ebook copy of This is the Wonder. Open internationally.
Giveaway ends March 15th.
Prize will be awarded after March 17th.
No comments:
Post a Comment