Retrouvailles

by Bill Chastain

Alex Overstreet is exceptional. Mature beyond his years, he understands the value of education and where having one can take him. Adverse circumstances are no match for the "anything is possible" residing in his soul, a place where self-pity need not enter. His future is mapped in his mind. Staying the course will bring a worthwhile end game. Enter India Blue Kirkland. The most popular girl in school is the unknown Alex failed to factor into his carefully calculated life plans. She is everything he is not—outgoing and popular. A chance encounter with her sets into place a life-long love affair. Together they find a passion and embrace the best of their different worlds while exploring the wonder of love. Both are more than ready for a future together. But Alex’s family situation looms in the background, and eventually catches up to him, forcing him to make sacrifices that change the course of his relationship with India. Though driven apart, their love never wavers. Years later, Alex is successful on a large scale professionally, yet emptiness clings to him like free-floating lint to a dark suit. India should have been a part of it all. He's never moved on from her. She is the love of his life. Meanwhile, India is trapped in a marriage and longs for what she had with Alex. One glance of Alex at her father’s funeral sparks a romance that never died. Retrouvailles validates the compelling power of first love and how the snapshots of moments together matter most. Those snapshots representing sweet moments in time can be more compelling than a lifetime spent together.

249 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 16, 2019

About the author

Bill Chastain began his journalism career as a freelance writer shortly after graduating from Georgia Tech in 1979. Some of the more notable publications where his stories have appeared over the years include: Razor Magazine, Nation’s Business, SPORT Magazine, and Inside Sports. Chastain worked as a sports reporter for The St. Petersburg Times and The St. Petersburg Evening Independent before going to The Tampa Tribune in 1990, where he worked for twelve years as a columnist and sports reporter. While with the Tribune he also served as a correspondent for Sports Illustrated. Currently he covers Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays for MLB.com.

Reviews

[Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

whoa!!!
This is a surprise read

Very emotional, gripping, sad and joyous story of never-ending love, mistakes, lost time, and a second chance to feel it all over again but this time, the essence of love will go on forever but it's physical manifestation is limited by an expiration date...

Retrouvailles.
the joy of being reunited with someone from whom you had been separated.

For Alex Overstreet, a somewhat nerdy, but extremely kind, smart and shy boy and India Kirkland, a sonewhat wild, driven and openhearted gir, it all started at the age of 17. they fell in love, inspite the seemingly differencies, they shared the love for being curious, to learn, to find things out and the talk...
the time they First got separated started in college...but even though they went on their different ways, the distance of one hour away was somewhat easily obtained and conquered and they tried...
when life happened and Alex had to make some serious decisions concerning his little sisters and not so easy circumstances, he decided to let India go free...not wanting to drag her down with his problems...
there goes the first separation, inspite the fact that they had promised to stand by each other, to suport each other forever...

"All i Know is I love you. We'll always be together. I Know we will. I feel that as strongly as anything I've ever felt in my life. Someday, I'm going to marry you. I believe that in my heart. I really do.

but that being said, fastforward 20 years, and India is married to another man, in a loveless rutined marriage that she kept on going for the sake of her three children. She never forgot Alex, the true love of her life, the one that let her go...and the one she wasn't strong or brave enough to go after inspite his decision...and then a tragedy hits her home, and the time of reunion hits her hard.
She faces Alex again...and she realizes that she made a huge mistake 20 years ago...and she admits that to him...

"You've made me feel so loved...so loved. I just lacked the courage to do anything about it. I was too chiclen and too complacent to go for passion no matter what the consequences

Alex hasn't really moved on after his decision to let India go and he regreted it every day of his life, but he has built an admiring academic career and he experienced everything he ever wanted out of the academic life and gaining knowledge...except he never truly had let India go...

And now this second chance knocking at his doorstep, he doesn't want to miss out on again...
She decides to finally put the farse of her marriage to an end and grab the second chance to re-find her love with Alex again...BUT life has its own plans...and those plans sometimes don't work in your favour...

The time is slipping and India wants to spare Alex of another painful separation, cause there's no going back from this one...

BUT then realization of the fleeting time and final grasps of that one true love that you find once in a lifetime is Worth those last breaths and last beatings of your heart...

"We've shared something special. We'll always have that and you'll always have a piece of me in there." She tapped a finger against his chest. "I'll always love you, even when I'm gone."

This was a review request offered to our blog The Sirens Book Reviews and when I read the blurb I expected the drama and maybe angst BUT what I found instead was a love story filled with extremely intelligent, witty dialogues, humanly vulnerable characters who shared something truly amazing yet their paths carved a different road, a stumbling, rocky way, both, sad and beautiful at the same time, just like when life happens...

Unfortunately, I found the fact that the story was written in 3rd person, which is the least favorable writing style for me to read...cause i feel detached from the mainstream of the story, missing the heat of essence and importance, like I'm a part of it, yet not. And here, i had a huge gap cause of it, that made me absent from further deeper connection with the characters, and I also throught the years/time span was delievered a bit abruptly in exchanging scenes, therefore I felt like I had no time to get emotionally involved as a mere by-stander or to be empathic with the events revolving in the story.

If that would have been delivered in a different way, this would for sure be the book that would have brought tears to my eyes and melted my cold hard heart if just for a little while...*wink*

NOTE: For those who loved and this book should hit home. Don't forget the box of Kleenex and someone you care about to hug afterwards and repeat all over again how much you love them!!!
Cause every second counts...

*COPY provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

[Jennifer - You Can't Resista Dirty Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautiful story about how true love never dies. A bittersweet second-chance romance between the shy nerdy boy who catches the eye of the most popular girl in school, who despite their differences find a first love, the one you can never overcome.
Alex and India opposite in every way and yet perfect for each other, lucky enough to find first love at an early age, circumstances with Alex's family push him into sacrificing his relationship with India, not wanting to bring her down by his circumstances.
Fast forward 20 years and a tragedy in India's life see her reunited with the one man she lost all those years ago. Despite being married and 3 children, India was never truly able to forget Alex.
Alex is filled with regret for letting India go all those years ago, but maybe there is a chance to recapture what was lost once again.
You cannot help but route for first love to be reunited. A real emotional read that will have you reaching for the tissues so be prepared.

[Christine Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took a chance on this book and it is now one of my favourite reads of 2017. I really enjoyed reading it; this story had all the feels and played with all my emotions. To start with I did have a hard time figuring out characters and how they fit in the story because they kept flipping back and forth. However, when I hit chapter four the story really took off and I understood it completely.

I loved the characters, hated them and cried for Alex and India. I loved and rooted for them the whole book but there was a turn of events I didn’t see coming and wow did that catch me out. This story had angst, love, and heartbreak since it is a definite friends to lovers romance.

Bill Chastain is a new author to me and one I will definitely be reading more of. I took a chance on this book and it is now one of my favourite reads of 2017; I could not put it down.

A Book Lover’s Emporium

[Sandra Loves Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book!
At first I couldn't quite get into it, then all of a sudden it fell into place and I was gripped.
Alex was pretty incredible with his determination for an education and for looking after his family, while India, India was the popular girl. An unexpected romance developed and a sweet love grew.
But fate forced them apart.
Time passed and they are brought together for India's father's funeral. Both Alex and India felt the spark of the love they'd once shared and still did.
I felt great sadness in this book and was very emotional towards the end of the story. It did make me cry. But it really was a beautiful story...

[A Book Lover's Emporium Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took a chance on this book and it is now one of my favourite reads of 2017. I really enjoyed reading it; this story had all the feels and played with all my emotions. To start with I did have a hard time figuring out characters and how they fit in the story because they kept flipping back and forth. However, when I hit chapter four the story really took off and I understood it completely.

I loved the characters, hated them and cried for Alex and India. I loved and rooted for them the whole book but there was a turn of events I didn’t see coming and wow did that catch me out. This story had angst, love, and heartbreak since it is a definite friends to lovers romance.

Bill Chastain is a new author to me and one I will definitely be reading more of. I took a chance on this book and it is now one of my favourite reads of 2017; I could not put it down.

[Wendy Livingstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first time I have read any of this authors work, but it will definitely not be the last. Alex and India are total opposites, yet are so perfect for each other. They met in high school, and when the separate due to circumstances, their love never dimmed. No spoiler this is a must read, you will not be disappointed!
This story is heartbreaking, emotional, with angst, twists, and plenty of love. I recommend this authors work for all friends / lovers readers. I look forward to reading more of this authors work in the future.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This honestly made me cry! I was so happy when the ending came about I cried for joy. What a wonderful story and cute romance. This bittersweet second chance really shone through a couple of others I read at the same time. There is a lot of raw emotion in this story that brings about a realness to the characters. A wonderful story!

I received an arc of this book and am voluntarily reviewing.