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.

I loved the island descriptions for this book. I really felt whisked away by the island. I didn't love the characters enough to really want to stay on the island though. I think the characters were just not the greatest people, and I didn't find anything to connect with them about. Overall, this book was a middle-of-the-road read for me.

A romance was at the heart of this novel set on a small island on the coast of Australia. A tsunami hits a small island where two families are vacationing. There are only two other people on the island. They become trapped there for 6 weeks before another boat can come out to them. They have to ration their food but most importantly they have to learn to live with each other and themselves.

There were a lot of moments that I liked about the book. I really enjoyed reading about Glen's transformation. I usually am not drawn to the male characters but in this case his story really spoke to me. I also loved how they referenced Buffy the Vampire Slayer several times. I did not like the length of this book. I understand why it was so long because there were so many relationships to explore. It did become confusing in some parts because of all the characters. This book was just ok for me. The writing was good and I think others will be more drawn to the romance in this book than I was.

I received this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Atria Books for this advanced copy.

Georgia Clark delivers another beautiful cast of characters with multiple point of views. After reading It Had To Be You earlier this year I was delighted to receive the early version of Island Time.
The Kelly-Lees were planning on a tropical vacation but soon disaster strikes. The tsunami that strands them on the island read almost cinematically and the book only got better from there. Although each character had so much growth, I really related to Parker, Ludmilla and Glen the most. I loved reading how the situation ended up bringing all the characters to a better version of themselves. They were flawed in a relatable way but none were overly unlikeable, although I did get irritated by Jules several times.
This was just a well written story about family, the ties that bind and what we would do for those that we love.

OK book but not what I expected. There were so many points of view that I felt bounced every which way and had a hard time following the story. I also did not care for some of the humor in the book.

An absolute rollercoaster of family ties, unexpected circumstances, and queer love. I’m not sure which story I loved the most out of all of the characters - a perfect vacation read (as long as you’re not vacationing on a remote island in Australia…)

I'm always excited to read what Georgia Clark has to offer. Her books have always been interesting with a blend of fun, engaging story and serious conversations. You get a little bit of both worlds with Georgia Clark's books and I'm excited to say that Island Time is no exception. Thanks to Atria Books for the gifted read.

I went into this book thinking it would be a departure from Georgia Clark's normal repartee of stories. It's supposed to be a rom-com about two families who are literally stranded on an island together. The Lees and the Kellys were two imperfect families come together through their daughters' marriage and hoping to celebrate the next phase of their life. But it was obvious after the freak tsunami/earthquake/volcano eruption that there was much more going on beneath the surface of both of these families.

The driving force of this novel were its characters and there were a ton of them. Not only did you have Matty and Parker making their final decisions on moving to Sydney from New York, but you also had Matty's younger sister, Amelia, and her parents, Glen and Jules. Then you had Parker's mother and father, Ludmila and Randall, who also had their fair share of secrets and character development to run into throughout the story. Plus, the island's caretaker, Liss, who wanted to escape her life (and her ex, Sofia) in Montreal and Jarrah, a local man who loved to immerse himself in the Aboriginal culture and world that he was born into. Yep, it's a lot of folks and I think the only person who really didn't have any change or development was Randall, Parker's father.

Everyone else, well, they had their own thing going on. From both Matty and Parker's careers on the brink of a huge change to their decision to have a child to Jules and Glen's separation they haven't told their daughters. Then there was Ludmila who's change I personally didn't see coming and was pleasantly surprised by. And Glen trying to find himself while Jules trying to get laid by Jarrah. And then Amelia and her recent run-in with Liss. There was a lot of ground to cover, which definitely added to the bulk of this novel.

On top of what's happening in everyone's lives, there was also a deep examination on Australian nature and ecosystem. I loved this part because I know little to nothing about Australia and learning more about the culture (both naturally and the history of the Aboriginals) through a digestible package like a contemporary story made me want to visit. I don't want to encounter any spiders the size of a dinner plate, but the way the author incorporated the pieces of her homeland into the story made it feel like such a love letter.

I think one of the benefits of Georgia Clark's writing is that she covers everything. She will get into making the decision to have a baby with every single emotion and thought that goes into it. She will tell you the background of how Aboriginals were cast out by the English settlers. She will go through every nuanced emotion a young person may feel when they're falling in love. She does not quit. But I felt like in this particular book, there was just too much. With each character having a unique experience and development to the island itself, there was a lot of information to juggle and a lot of loose ends that needed to be tied up. I think Georgia does a great job pacing herself to wrangle all of these bits of information together, but I also feel like if she stuck to a few topics rather than each character having some sort of identity crisis then it wouldn't have felt like an undertaking of a story to complete.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the heck out of this novel. I loved the characters (especially Glen for some random reason), I loved rooting for them and following them through this very strange season of life, and I loved how they all made the best of their time stuck on a stranded island together. If you're a fan of literary fiction with a slow burn, then I highly recommend this book to you.

Overall, this is the beach read for those who don't like beach reads. The romance is very light with a couple of open-door scenes, but the main focus was this family, their identities, and who they will become after they get off this silly island.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun book. It would be perfect to read by the pool or at the beach!

Rating: 3/5

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Ahhhh I first want to say I adore this cover, it’s so beautiful! I was so ready for a sapphic island romance with a side of some family drama. Also, the name Amelia is so rare so yay for finding a character with my name.

All this said…I was so so bored and also confused at times at the story. This was very much more family drama, that dragged and you’re stuck on the island with them throughout it. And there are 7+ POV’s which didn’t always work for me in this dynamic.

The queer representation was fantastic! I did enjoy the characters, seeing people in different stages of theirs lives and overall the setting. But maybe cut about 100 pages.

The Kelly and Lee families couldn't be more different. But their daughters are married, so they are vacationing together on a remote tropical island off the coast of Queensland for a few days. Then a volcano eruption completely derails everyone's plans, stranding the families on the island for six weeks with two employees. While there, everyone is forced to do some intense reckoning about their lives, loves, and futures.

Oh I wanted to like this book--I always try to champion LGBTQIA books--but I just couldn't get into this one. It felt so LONG. Like, so long you guys. I kept thinking I'd read most of it, and then I'd see I wasn't even 25% done. It felt like so much of this book could have been shortened or benefited from a deep edit.

There are a lot of people in ISLAND TIME and truly, none of them seem that nice or interesting. The Kelly family consists of Julia and Gene (parents) and their daughters Amelia and Matty. The daughters come across as spoiled brats. We rehash their problems over and over. As for the Lees, we have parents Randall and Ludmilla and their daughter Parker (married to Matty). There are also two island employees, including Liss (also queer). I wanted to feel an affinity for more people with so many queer characters (I didn't mind Liss too much), but everyone came across as self-centered or annoying. There's a large natural disaster, people elsewhere have died, the natural life and vegetation of this island is in peril, but wow, these folks seem to care less. Also, somehow there is power and enough food for six weeks (copious, fancy food), which just didn't make things seem realistic at all.

Everyone has issues in ISLAND--so many issues. Personal issues. Work issues. Romantic issues. So many issues. They rehash these issues over and over. And then again. Often you might want characters to fix their issues because you care for them, but in this book, I often felt like I didn't care if they resolved them or not, because they just irritated me.

ISLAND does discuss the indigenous people of Australia in depth. I feel like I learned a lot there, as well as about some of the animals and plant life of the country. That, I appreciated.

Overall, this book just didn't work for me. I'm glad there were queer characters, but their relationships felt stilted or full of insta-love, and mostly, everything was just long and drawn out.

There are many mixed reviews for Island Time by Georgia Clark. I can see why people would love it and why people would dislike it. For me, I am honestly middle-of-the-road. The author did a fantastic job of describing a remote Australian Island with a nearly untouched ecosystem that will tempt any nature-loving reader to look up the island in the book. Though the island is not real, apparently it is based on a real island or islands. (Side note: I just read The Island by Adrian McKinty recently, where the island was a remote Aussie island, however it was a TOTALLY different type of book.)

The book's cover makes me think of beach reads and the blurb makes me think romcom. It definitely had elements of both of those, though it was a lot of other things. I give the author high marks for her effort to write about 9 different people on the island as well as the gorgeous descriptions of the island, wildlife, flora and fauna, weather, etc. She created a world I wanted to visit.

What dropped this book's rating for me were the characters. There was very little of any of them to root for. Each character was completely self-focused or simpering and lacking a backbone. I felt there was no one to root for, but possibly Glenn. I started out rooting for Amelia, but by the end of the book and one epic clingy meltdown, I was completely over her. So, while I don't mind a bit of family dysfunction, this book went way overboard in describing one-dimensional characters that were dishonest and self-centered to a fault. I wouldn't want any of them in my family. Disliking 7-8 of the 9 characters, made it difficult to enjoy Island Time as much as I otherwise might have.

I just couldn’t get in to this one. Adding it to the DNF pile. The premise sounds interesting but it took FOREVER to get going. And the dialog was too wooden. Thank you netgalley for the sneak peak, really wanted to love it.

Island Time by Georgia Clark was a different read for me. This one started off a bit slow for me and as a result, I kept stopping and starting again whenever I was back in the mood. Overall, the premise of being stranded on an island with your family was a fun take on an ensemble tale, which I think is why I still had fun with this one despite it not being a full-on favorite.

This is a family saga story. The setting is beautiful and there is some great info and history about the Indigenous people of Australia. This book also has positive LGBTQ representation. There are quite a few characters all undergoing their own soul searching. I did find the book a bit long but overall an interesting read.

Island Time is the story of 2 families, quite different, only bound by their wedded daughters. They all escape to an island off the coast of Australia for a long weekend together only to be stranded after a volcano erupts. Their 5 day trip is suddenly extended to 6 weeks as they remain isolated on the island with only 2 employees.

With this unexpected time bestowed upon the group, they’re each forced to examine what they actually want in life — Do they love their jobs? Are they in love? What will truly make each one of them happy?

Island Time is a lighter story with a great premise. I didn’t like the execution as much as I hoped to though — This isn’t a bad book, it just felt long at times and there was a bit of instalove which isn’t my favorite.

If you haven’t read Georgia Clark’s last book, It Had to Be You, I highly recommend it, it was fun and very cute!