When you go to a tropical paradise you never expect a volcano to erupt and to get stuck there for six weeks instead of the short trip you were expecting. Island Time follows The Kellys and the Lees that are all together, because their daughters are married. We all know being stuck together won’t always go smoothly, but it can also lead to unexpected adventures.

I loved that we followed multiple POVs while following these families while stuck on vacation for six weeks. This was also something that didn’t work for me at the same time. Island Time follows just a few too many people. Because of the amount of POVs it took me longer to connect to the characters and I think it made the story drag at times.

Island Time isn’t just a romance, but it also teaches us quite a bit about Aboriginal Australians. I learned quite a bit while reading this story. This also isn’t the lightest romance I’ve read. While there are plenty of lighter moments and some steamy times it’s a lot more. There are quite a few heavier subjects, figuring out what you really want in life and so much more. It’s hard to really give more details, because there are so many people, so in this case it’s easier if you experience it yourself.

ISLAND TIME by Georgia Clark

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY:
An extended family vacation has all the possibility of going wrong within the drama of their own family, but the Kelly family vacation is rocked when an unexpected tsunami strands them "on vacation" for six weeks.

MY THOUGHTS:
First off - I LOVE the cover of this book! I'm a sucker for these trending cartoon covers.

I loved the inclusivity of the book! The queer representation was really present and it was amazing to see.

Georgia Clark's first book, IT HAD TO BE YOU, was a Love Actually type-feel with lots of POV and story lines. This book had a similar number of POVs, but it didn't have the same feel.

There was what I'm going to call light family drama, meaning there wasn't much depth to the problems, which I liked, because I don't love the drawn out build up that a typical family drama needs.

Again with the nicknames. It was weird that Amelia went by Animal. Uncomfy.

Overall, it was pretty slow, not a lot happened plot-wise, but in the end, each character figured out what they needed and came out of the island better than before.

This book and cover are an example of expecting one thing and getting another. The cover is sweet and beachy, I thought I was getting a summer romance novel. Instead, I got an extremely detailed analysis of way too many characters and a poor attempt by the author to come across as politically correct and socially aware. Same sex relationships are the norm these days but it came across forced and insincere here. The same with the aboriginal information, none of it felt necessary beyond an attempt to present oneself as informed. This book was way too long and unfortunately the humor and sweet parts were overshadowed by too many details.

This book has a darling cover, but the writing was not good. I had high hopes with thr queer representation, but disappointed. DNF at 30%

“This is one island you won’t want to be rescued from,”

Synopsis: The Kellys are messy, loud, loving Australians. The Lees are sophisticated, aloof, buttoned-up Americans. They have nothing in common…except for the fact that their daughters are married. When a nearby volcano erupts during their short vacation to a remote tropical island off the coast of Queensland, the two families find themselves stranded together for six weeks.

With only two island employees making up the rest of their party, everyone is forced to question what—or who—they really want. Island Time is a sumptuous summer read that dives deep into queer romance, family secrets, ambition, parenthood, and a bird-chasing bromance. This sexy, sun-soaked paradise of white sandy beaches, crystal-clear waters, and lush rainforest will show you it’s never too late to change your destiny.

Personal Review : 3.75 stars

A beautiful summer romantic comedy with humor, love, family dynamic, and adventure! This novel made me want to buy a one way ticket to Australia! The character development was exactly what I wanted and left me wanting to read more in my downtime. A tropical island in the Coral Sea on a family vacation was just what I needed!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

Lots of interesting characters and storylines! Less of a rom com and more about family dynamics. I always enjoy reading books, but would go for something more light-hearted usually.

Thank you NetGalley and Georgia Clark!

This was such a fun book for the summer! We follow one very large family on their trip to an Australian island where they are stuck for 6 weeks after a volcano erupts. We follow lots of different people and lots of different points of view, but once I got them down they were easy to tell apart. I really enjoyed the characters and found this book to be very funny and entertaining.

This was the third book by this author that I've read, and I have to say it was my least favorite. It wasn't bad, I just enjoyed It Had To Be You and The Bucket List much more.

There were a lot of things going on in this story and I didn't really care for most of the plot lines. Honestly, the friendship between the two dads was my favorite. This is a great beach book and will be an ideal vacation read if that's what you're looking for.

This was my first Georgia Clark book and I really enjoyed her writing style. But this particular book fell a bit flat for me. I loved the premise of them being stranded on an island after volcano erupted, however, it seemed like at any given time there was too much going on and not much of anything all at the same time. It’s hard to explain but it felt like the six weeks the characters were stuck flew by, but also like it dragged on forever. I do want to read more from Georgia Clark as I loved the style in which she wrote, this book in particular just wasn’t my cup of tea.

ISLAND TIME is a story that is midline with queer romance and family drama. I liked the concept. Two families - The Australian Kellys and The American Lees, unite for their daughters’ wedding at a tropical coast. Two categories seem to go well with each other creating a delicious tropical cocktail that is perfect to read on a beach vacay or by the pool!!

Thank you Atria books via Netgalley for the reader’s copy.

After reading and loving Georgia Clark's last book, It Had to Be You, I was so excited to get the opportunity to read Island Time. I was hoping that it would be the same type of feel, interwoven stories that combined into one great story by the end.

While this book definitely has interwoven stories that come together, it just did not work for me this time around. I had a hard time with a few of the characters and a bit of instalove.

One thing I do enjoy about Clark's books are the multiple POV, and with the help of the audiobook it was a really fun way to put together a novel. But if you are not paying close enough attention, it can get a bit confusing.

Overall, I still enjoy the writing style. This book just wasn't quite for me. I look forward to what Georgia Clark writes next!

After a few weeks of crazy news and busy days at work, I was desperate for something cute, light, and fun. The kind of book to let your brain rest.

This book is perfect for that. The setting is heavenly and the family drama is entertaining without being too heavy. We have LGBTQ+ couples, we have family secrets, all wrapped up in a vacation that goes very wrong.

This is a great summer read!

It’s cute without being overly cheesy - which is hard to find in my opinion. I didn't roll my eyes while reading it, which is great lol

I was excited to read this because I enjoyed "it had to be you". I know its her thing but im not a fan of 8+ characters/POVs. This book had NINE Povs. Its extremely hard to keep track. It was also extremely long, over 400 pages. Just wasnt for me.

The author has made it clear she is committed to telling queer love stories. And while it was a perfect read for Pride Month, this novel told SO many love stories.

I was all set for a tropical island romance, but the beginning startled me. Due to a volcanic eruption and its devastating effect on the coastline our travelers are stuck in paradise longer than their intended few days holiday. The author's descriptions of this were truly terrifying- I thought I had been thoroughly mislead with that beautiful beach cover.

Quickly the travelers along with their hosts re-group and plan for their extended stay and the stress shows cracks in these romantic and family relationships. The author explores: the story of middle marriage and finding what makes that marriage sustainable; the dissolution of a 36 year marriage and the myriad reasons for its demise; young marriage with the challenges of careers, ambition and bringing children into their lives; new, white-hot love between tow non-binary people; and the love of parents and adult children.

That sounds like a LOT, but the author gives every character full development, with histories and motivations to help understand their actions. I don't have to like characters in my novels, but I do need to see some growth and development. Fortunately, in this novel I got both. In their forced 6 weeks of exile all of the characters grown in their self-reflection. The author beautifully illustrates LOVE is LOVE.

Thanks to the author, Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for the complimentary digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF at this time... book is slow to get started, and is following a lot of POV. So far it feels messy and a little confusing. Hope I'll pick this back up at a later date!

I really really liked this book. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I ended up really enjoying this one. It reminded me of Love Actually with all the overlapping storylines and it was a nice change of pace to other stories like this. I wasn't entirely sure when the tsumani hit how the story was going to pan out, but it ended up working really well. The stranded aspect really worked for the story, and almost helped a few of the characters really mellow out. There was definitely some miscoummunication throughout the story, but I think there had to be to add a little of the drama. I loved the two intertwining queer love stories as well, and there was an adorable bromance that blossomed between the dads. Overall, I really enjoyed this story with its small romances, family drama, and personal growth story lines. This is a great summer read perfect for the beach or pool.

This one was a little hard for me to get into but once I did I quite enjoyed all the different story lines that played out. Each member of the family had their own little story being developed and this would make one good movie. I do hope that someone turns this into a movie because that's exactly how it played out while I was reading it.

The Kellys are messy, loud, loving Australians. The Lees are sophisticated, aloof, buttoned-up Americans. They have nothing in common…except for the fact that their daughters are married. When a nearby volcano erupts during their short vacation to a remote tropical island off the coast of Queensland, the two families find themselves stranded together for six weeks.

With only two island employees making up the rest of their party, everyone is forced to question what—or who—they really want. Island Time is a sumptuous summer read that dives deep into queer romance, family secrets, ambition, parenthood, and a bird-chasing bromance. This sexy, sun-soaked paradise of white sandy beaches, crystal-clear waters, and lush rainforest will show you it’s never too late to change your destiny.

I'm truly surprised at the less than stellar reviews of Island Time. It was so delightful to me, it felt like a warm hug all the way through. I loved the characters, the humor, the entire cast of characters, the setting, all of it was so lovely to me. I really appreciated how Clark depicted these two love stories at different times of a relationship - one couple having been married for several years and kind of at a crossroads in their next path, children or no? move to another city or no?, and the other couple brand new, in that obsessed with each other phase - and both of these love stories were queer love stories! There was so much I loved about this book and I could not put it down. I will be reading the rest of Clark's backlist soon.

This book was just bad and weird. I barely got through it. It is supposed to be a romantic comedy and it was neither romantic nor funny. The jokes were bad and sometimes offensive. There were too many POVs and none of the characters were likeable.