Reviews for this book seem fairly divided, and I think I fall somewhere in-between. This one started off a bit slow for me &, as a result, I kept stopping & starting again whenever I was back in the mood.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t necessarily a love story, but is still a story ABOUT love all the same. I wouldn’t label it a “drama” per se either, bc the overarching tone felt a bit lighter than that. There are MANY different POVs to follow here, all written in 3rd person, and one of my main gripes is that while enough development happened across the board for a book that’s 400+ pages, there were some storylines that obviously could have still used a bit more screen-time to wrap things up.

Overall, the premise of being stranded on an island with your family & then some is great + a fun take on an ensemble tale, which I think is why I still had fun w this one despite it not being a full-on favorite.

When Amelia Kelly plans a weekend getaway on idyllic Mun'dai (Lady Lushington Island) for her extended family she gets more than she bargains for! The family is vacationing on an isolated eco-aboriginal island in Queensland together celebrating Matty & her wife Parker's move back home to Australia. The couple is looking forward to being closer to the Kellys as they start their family together. When a nearby volcano erupts, the family is left stranded together with their island host Liss & Jarrah, their island guide for six weeks.

This is when the dynamics between the family members get interesting! Relationships break apart, secrets are unveiled and new relationships are formed. Pretty much what you would expect with a small group of 9 people stranded together for an extended period of time. We also get a lot of steam & romance!

I loved the descriptions of the natural world, the birds, plants native to Australia. I loved the traditional stories and ceremonies we learn from Jarrah. Most of all I really enjoyed the underlying & unconditional love in this story between the characters.

I really enjoyed this story and how it wrapped up in the end.

Thank you Netgalley, Atria/Emily Bestier Books for the advanced copy & Georgia Clark for an entertaining read.

This is my second read by Georgia Clark. My first was It Had to Be You which I found enjoyable. Launching into Island Time, I was prepared for it to be a change and it was. That said, change is good. With this book, Georgia Clark flexes her writing muscles and shows her ability to balance multiple story lines and POV's.

I think it was interesting that the author wrote this novel during the Covid shutdown and decided to strand these characters on an island together. Initially I was resistant to the idea because after coming out of the shutdown, I don't like to think of being stranded or locked down anywhere ever again. I simply can't find entertainment value in it. However, as I continued reading, I eventually understood why the author chose to use this as her setting.

Even though the storyline centers around Matty and her new relationship with Parker, there are many other POV's in the story. As a reader, I found it challenging and would have preferred fewer. Despite all the different viewpoints, I still never felt a strong connection to the other characters. In addition, I feel like we got some of the same information multiple times.

I will say there were things I thought were done quite well. I enjoyed learning about the area and the people of the island. That part was fascinating. In addition, it was refreshing to see LGBTQ representation in multiple relationships. It's evident that Georgia Clark is a talented author with the ability to write creative and descriptive stories.

Overall, I think there were some wins and losses in this book, just like in life. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

This one didn't do it for me the way I wanted it to. I can't quite put my finger onto why. May be more of a me issue.

The Kelly’s and the Lee’s are two very different families, the only thing uniting them is the marriage between their daughters Matty and Parker. The families come together on what is meant to be a relaxing and fun vacation on a remote island off the Australian coast planned by Matty’s sister Amelia who is in hopes that her boyfriend will propose while there. When a nearby volcano erupts casing a massive flooding of the island, everyone is forced to remain on the island for six weeks until they can be rescued. The two families along with the two island employees, begin to spend time with each other in a way they never imagined, finding revelations, secrets, friendships and even romance.

This was a fun LGBTQIA+ romance read for the summer. There are a handful of characters all dealing with their own challenges and throughout the story you get to see their stories unfold. In the beginning I thought Matty and Parker were going to be the focus but really it changes back and forth between all characters and their own personal story lines. I was mainly invested in Amelia and Liss and OBSESSED with the little bromance between Glen and Randall (heart eyes) it was so adorable and pure! I do wish we got a little more of Ludmilla, I feel like she was mainly in the background of the story, would have been nice to see more of her relationship with her daughter Parker. I really enjoyed the background and history explained the story of the history of Aboriginal people of Australia and the descriptions of the island and its plant and wildlife. The one character that really rubbed me the wrong way was Jules, everything with how she treated/handled things with Glen left a sour taste in my mouth. At times the story seemed a little chaotic with everything going on, but it was easy to follow, I do wish the epilogue contained more updates on the other characters as well and not just Amelia and Liss. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This title is available now for purchase!

I really wanted to enjoy this book but it was not for me. While I love the setting and LGBQ rep there was so many characters for me to follow and it became confusing to keep them straight. Hoping this book finds its way into hands that can handle all the POVs because while confusing the book was still a good read!

This book was a DNF for me. I tried to read it a few times, once on digital and on audio and I couldn’t get past 15%. I’m not sure what I didn’t love about it, but I couldn’t get into it. I know others loved it, so I recommend checking out their thoughts on it!

First off, thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for this E-ARC!
I unfortunately did not like this book very much. All of the characters made unhinged choices that they never really had to be accountable for, and so many horrible situations were too easily resolved. I do not think any of the characters went through the growth necessary for the end points at which they arrived, despite the frequent near-death situations that were meant to encourage their growth. There were too many perspectives and characters which left some stories feeling really drawn out, and some stories fully underdeveloped. This book just didn't really work for me.

I have to say this book started mild-mannered enough and then wham, shocking development and I wondered if I was reading a rom-com or not. I liked most of the characters, but some of them had some major growth that needed to take place. Some were not likeable at all. Case in point - Jules . I found her horrible as a mother putting ridiculous pressure on her daughters and then the lie toward the end, wow. But, she is the catalyst for the daughters and their growth. Even some of the characters I liked, had some nasty faults. Matty - I'm looking at you. The author did a good job at portraying why the characters were the way they were, mostly and they all grew, some more than others. I adored the friendship that bloomed between Glen and Randall while looking for the Boobook. I truly appreciated the Aboriginal ceremonies and viewpoints from Jarrah, who I thought was a great character, one I'd like to meet. Liss was another great character, I mean Buffy reruns, who needed to make changes, but yet was not off-putting in the process. Amelia was a sweet mess, but I refer you back to the mother. I loved how Ludmilla was written as well.

Besides some of the horrible thoughts and things said, my only other problem was all of the POV's, while I liked checking in with all the characters, this was way too many and frankly became annoying. Now, with that you see I only dropped one star on the rating and that is because of the redeeming qualities of most of the characters that as long as you are prepared for what I've noted, I think most people would enjoy the ending and the growth of characters and some happy endings.

I have to mention the setting as a character because it was a living breathing thing that made me want to visit to see the beauty and smell the fragrances and check out the wildlife, minus the croc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the opportunity to read this book for an unbiased review.

This was a great summer beach read :) LGBTQ+ representation, family drama, adventure, love, and laughter. This is the type of book that you catch yourself reading chapter after chapter and it feels like no time had past. My only negative was I struggled a little with all the different characters POVs mixed into chapters. I would’ve loved chapters to have been split by POV. There were a lot of sub stories that I felt kind of missed their mark and I will say the two daughters were VERY immature for 30+ year olds. I did love how this wasn’t just a lighthearted vacation story but each character had a moment of growth and struggle within the bigger story.
There is a character in this story for everyone.

Island Time tells the story of 9 people trapped on a remote tropical island after a volcano erupted. Each individual trapped on the island is given a voice and a journey throughout the story. Each individual experienced a pivotal moment of self reflection and personal growth.

The story takes place over a 6 week period and while part of the story moves quickly majority of the story is slow particularly the middle section of the book. I liked that each character got their own POV and I enjoyed some of their stories more than other’s. So many topics were covered in this book from love, family, acceptance, forgiveness, and new adventures to name a few, that it truly had a little bit of everything for everyone.


Thank you @atriabooks and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

The subgenre of people on vacation when disaster strikes--this one with an upbeat, everyone's ok and there's still enough to eat, vibe. A lot of family drama and a little romance, it's a good beach read.

I was expecting to read something akin to a beach read based on the title. Instead this was a complex storyline with too many characters. While having an LGBTQ storyline within is not an issue, the descriptive intimacy is not appropriate for school material.

This book just was not for me. I thought it started strong but then I quickly lost interest with all the various POV’s. I really enjoyed reading about Amelia and Liss’s storyline and would have enjoyed more of that and less of the others.

I loved the premise of Island Time and the cover, but it didn’t work for me. First of all, don’t start this book and expect a rom-com. It’s not. I think the author tried to do too much (nine POV’s!) and bogged it down with some really unnecessary subplots that took away from the romance and fun aspect of the book. With too much going on, it made it hard to connect to any of the characters or root for anyone’s happy endings!

Thanks to #Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book for an honest review.

In another multiple-POV novel, Clark brings us the story of a family trapped on an island after a nearby volcano eruption destroys transportation between the island and the mainland. We have two sets of parents, tied together only by the recent marriage of their daughters, the newlyweds, the sister, and two island employees. Slowly, secrets each have been hiding begin to be unveiled, and unlikely romances begin to form.

Managing this many POVs (eight? nine?) is a difficult task, and one Clark handles well. With her experience writing an intertwined, Love, Actually-esque story from It Had to Be You, I had no doubt she could handle the challenge. Unfortunately, the novel suffers the fate of trying to fit too much into one book and is almost grotesquely long. It takes forever to read and isn't the quick beach read its cover lulls you into thinking it is. Setting aside the fact that it could have done with a good edit, the book is enjoyable, features LGBTQ relationship(s), and feels very original. No one can deny the plot is pretty darn unique.

Thanks to Atria for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars - 8/10

When the Kelly family books an island vacation, they are looking forward to fun, family, and yes, some romance. Amelia is super excited to bring her boyfriend, James, to spend some time with the family. Matty and her wife, Parker, are on a babymoon of sorts, as they are planning on settling down in Sydney and starting a family soon after this vacation. Not only are Matty and Amelia’s parents, Jules and Glen, along for the trip, but Matty’s in-laws, Randall and Ludmila, have also joined in the fun.

They are just getting settled in when a volcano erupts, causing significant damage and forcing the family to extend their vacation by six weeks. What can change in six weeks? Well, maybe everything. Maybe the plans you thought were perfect just aren’t right for you. Maybe that image you’ve worked so hard to preserve just isn’t worth it. And maybe the person you’re sure is “the one” is just a hunk of crap. A big one. The largest possible crap. I mean, really, the sky's the limit on the crapness. You just don’t ever really know, do you?

Did I like the book? Oh heavens, yes. Absolutely adorable, light-hearted and fun to read, some thought-provoking passages, really great Australian history and nature information. I know I’m in the minority here, but it was a bit graphic for me. I’m not big into the smut - it makes me feel like I’m peeking in someone’s bedroom window. I’m just not that interested in other people’s private life, which I know, makes me the weird one. For those of you who find it awesome, well, pick this one up. I mean, pick it up anyway - it’s awesome. Overall, I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Georgia Clark, Atria Books and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

This story is LGBTQIA affirming. Perfect for pride month.

My only issue were the MANY povs. I couldn't really keep up!

Thank you so much Emily Bestler @atriabooks for the review copy!

I so badly wanted to love this one! The premise sounds like something that I would love- a family stranded on an island, queer romance, summer vibes... unfortunately, it didn't work for me at all. Because it was an arc, I really tried to push, but I ended up DNFing. Based on the cover, this gave off strong vibes that this was a cute, easy, fun-filled, rom-com. Perhaps, if this was marketed differently, my expectations would have shifted.

I tend to love multiple pov stories, but in this case, there were so many that it felt like putting the characters on shuffle. I struggled to feel an attachment to any of the characters because they were pretty unlikeable so therefore I never cared about their drama. I enjoyed the action that took place after the eruption and because of that I thought that I was going to get hooked, but for a plot that had this epic moment, I was really bored. I liked the LBGT rep and I think if this book was a more romance-centric story and less shifting family drama, I would have had a better time.

Thank you Atria and Netgalley for gifting me this copy in exchange for my review.

I don’t think i wasted my time, per say, on this book but I do wish I hadn’t picked it up in the first place. Maybe I was just expecting it to be more romance centric than it ended up being but thats on me.