Time and Tide

Author: Kristen Terrette
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Addictions destroy lives. Chad Cusher’s own dependencies change everything he thought he knew about his future.

After almost killing himself and someone else, Chad’s legal problems, addiction recovery therapy, and physical therapy if he ever wants to walk normally again, are a part of his everyday life. He believes there is no chance at true happiness, certainly not love, and only hopes to become a better man than he was, to find redemption somehow.

Chad moves to Moanna Island, a small island close to Savannah off the Atlantic coast, to begin a job with his family’s real estate empire, a job he was supposed to have taken years ago.
Free-spirited Ryan Mason is a Moanna local girl from a blue-collar family. She’s dropped her own dreams to help her father care for her schizophrenic brother.

Their paths first cross at a Rehabilitation Center where Chad attends therapy and Ryan’s brother lives. Chad can’t believe his luck when he finds her on Moanna Island, forty-five minutes away from the Center, only days later.

Chad is drawn to Ryan’s joy, even through the pain and grief life tries to throw her way. His lonely void begins to dissipate with every island adventure spent with her. He soon finds out what her secret is. But is it possible to start over and be restored? Even so, can Ryan except Chad’s horrible, even criminal past? Can their crazy worlds ever fit together once she finds out he is the sole heir to the Cusher Empire?

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Reviewer: Edwina Cowgill

Time and Tide is a spell-binding story, not just of love, but of healing, recovery, and redemption. It is a story that kept me reading late into the night.

Chad Cusher is a recovering addict who has moved to Moanna Island from Atlanta, where his addiction caused him to have a car accident, almost killing him and another person. He is at Moanna Island to continue his recovery from the addiction as well as from the accident.

Ryan Mason is a born-and-bred Moannanite who left college and moved back home to help her father take care of her brother who is schizophrenic and in a rehab center.

Although Ryan is not aware of it at the time, she and Chad first cross paths at the rehab center. A few days later, Chad sees her on Moanna Island, introduces himself and thus, begins a friendship that soon develops into more.

This is the second book by Kristen Terrette that takes place on Moanna Island. From the description of the Island, I wish it were a real location!

Ms. Terrette deals with the addiction problem and the schizophrenia with such gentle grace and offers hope that there is recovery, and most importantly, redemption through God for these and all issues that we face in life.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to future books by Ms. Terrette.

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Reviewer: Jessica

I picked 'Time and Tide' because I was particularly interested in the mental health and addictions aspect. Both the main characters have been affected by mental health struggles, personally or otherwise. It was good to read about characters going through that, but it wasn't a main focus of the book (to be expected, of course). I felt like it was a bit of a shallow representation of the struggles of addicts and those with mental health issues though - something about it seemed cliche and lacking genuineness.

It was a nice light read. The story carried me along and kept me turning the pages - the writing style was adequate. I liked the island setting and friendly small town feel. God was woven throughout the story in a natural way, and I appreciated that, and the characters' genuine relationship with Him. It was also cool to get a small insight into the next chapter of their lives at the end.

I don't often read romance, so I don't feel I can comment too much about that side of the story. But the biggest thing that didn't settle with me is that it's emotionally driven. The characters can't keep away from each other because of their feelings and emotions. They're both attracted to each other because of looks (not exclusively, but it's definitely a part of it). While obviously feelings and emotions are part of a relationship, it shouldn't be what we base our decisions on. I felt like it didn't accurately represent what choosing purity in a relationship should be like. It seemed to try to keep it sensual enough to hold the reader while still upholding some sort of purity? I couldn't agree with that.

Overall, it was an entertaining quick read, and it was good to stimulate thought, but I couldn't recommend it based on the romance.

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