DNF. Because I received this book as an ARC, I really wanted to finish it, but I just couldn't. I made it 47% and had to call it quits. Simply put....Gilligan's Island meets modern day. Way too many characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ark of Island Time in exchange for my honest review. This was my first novel I read by this author and I really enjoyed her writing style. The island theme of the story made it the perfect beach read. The story was cute however there was a lot of POVs which isn’t a huge issue for me since I am a huge SJM fan and she always uses a lot of POVs. I felt like the book did drag a bit in the middle Of the story but it did pick up again about 80% in

This was a cute story, just like the authors previous novel.

I really loved the island vibes, it’s a cute summer read!

The beginning started with a bang and then it was a bit of a slow burn, that did pick up at the end.

I really wanted to know what happened with the family and enjoyed the multiple romances throughout. Overall it was a cute summer read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Thank you for the gifted copy!

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. I was drawn to this book because of the cover art. I will say the story was a bit drawn out for me and if you easily get confused with multiple POVs then you may want to skip this one. I will say that I did appreciate the LGBTQIA+ rep.

Short synopsis: The Lee’s and the Kelly’s head out to a remote island vacation, when a tsunami hits they are stranded for 6 weeks.

My thoughts: I had high expectations going into this, but it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. I expected a tropical romance based on the cover, I but this was definitely not a romance.

It was a very character driven book which I love when done a certain way, this was not for me. It felt like this was just a little too long and I would have enjoyed it more if it were shorter.

I did really appreciate the LGBTQ+ representation in this book!

Just like her previous novel, Island Time had a full ensemble of characters with multiple POVs. Many times I steer away from books with many main characters, but Georgia is somehow able to so clearly write each of her characters, that it makes it easy to keep up with everyone. This was a fantastic setting and cast of characters. I did love It Had to Be You more than Island Time, but fans of Georgia Clark will love its charm just as much. I loved learning more about Australian history! Readers with a travel bug will not want to miss this one!

This was a bit of a slow start for me but once I got invested in the characters I was hooked and didn't want the story to end. Set on an island off the coast of Queensland, Australia, this is a tropical summer vacation trip gone wrong featuring a cast of characters as two families and two resort employees get stranded after a storm. I love how well the author writes ensemble stories!! Told in multiple POVs from different couples and generations, we get to know two queer sisters, one happily married and the other not yet out to her family. Their parents are secretly separated and exploring their own new relationships. There's a great blend of romance, family drama and actual drama (tropical storms, saving a giant tortoise and a scary run in with a crocodile!). The book gave me a lot of Liane Moriarty's Apples never fall vibes. If you enjoy a messy, multi-generational family drama with great queer rep, this one is for you. Much thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance review copy!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me.

Too many points of view (9??), too many unlikeable characters....and this was terribly mis-marketed. The cover leads you to think you're getting a fun summer read and this was anything but.

I did like the LGBTQ+ rep though. The island setting was also a plus, but you REALLY have to suspend belief for this one....it was a bit much even for me.

The cover is awesome...but misleading.

Sorry, y'all. This one just wasn't for me.

I did post to IG, but I posted a feature, not this review. Didn't share to GR because it's a DNF.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy Netgalley & Atria books.

I was drawn into this title because the covered looked like the perfect summer escape. Also! I really enjoyed "It had to be you" by Georgia Clark. Plus love to support reads about LGBTQIA characters.

Unfortunately, I don't think this book was for me. I had a really hard time getting into it and even at 10% into the book, I already felt like it was too long. The cover was misleading it making me think this would be a light beach read and instead it felt heavier and longer than I was in the mood for.

🏝Book Review🏝
*
Thank you @atriabooks and @netgalley for the advanced copy of this book which released last week.
*
Summary: 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.
*
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
*
My thoughts: I really wanted to love this one, I mean just look at the cover! If you’re expecting a romance based on the cover you may be disappointed. Its told through I believe 9 different points of view, I couldn’t figure out who was who until halfway through the book. Jules the mother is awful and selfish and Amelia is super immature. The romance between Amelia and the bartender felt rushed and forced. But I did finish the book and I did enjoy the island setting. Just a few super unlikable character and confusion on the narrator.

When a volcano eruption sends a tsunami that wrecks havoc on Mun'dai, the Kelly-Lees, along with two of the island's caretakers, are trapped there for six weeks. The time away from their lives forces them to confront themselves and what they truly want.

To be honest, this is another book that was, at least at first, mis-marketed. It's not really a cute sapphic island romance, it's more of a... Liane Moriarty novel without the mystery element.

We follow seven different characters and either six distinct plot lines. There is just too much going on, in theory. However, this book struggles with pacing which means that, somehow, despite the volcanic eruption, the plot doesn't pick up until past the 50% mark. It's a little impressive how so much and simultaneously so little is going on in this book.

Here's the thing: I can see how all of the different plot lines are supposed to connect together. However, I just don't think that it was necessary to do all of those. I liked the romance plot line -- I thought it was a bit more original than the standard romance plot. I, also, liked Matty and Parker's joint-but-not plot line, they also had quite interesting issues. Because these plot lines were also made to share space with four others, we never got to see them fully flourish. Although Jules' plot line was, personally, my least favourite, I can see the value it could have had to someone else, but, again, the fact that all of these interesting plot lines were forced to share air made them all suffocate.

The fact that there was a mini-geography lesson/history lesson whenever we switched perspectives, frankly, was quite irritating. There just really was no need for that, it added to the laggy feeling this book largely had. Past the 50% mark, the book did actually become quite entertaining and enjoyable. The conclusions were all satisfactory and the writing, generally, was quite good and even funny at times.

Overall, a rather interesting book about figuring out what you want that struggles rather badly with pacing.

Loved this book! It's the perfect beach read, unless you are trapped On a deserted island. I liked the characters and I loved the lgbtq main characters. Some parts were a bit confusing format wise.

I think that the characters and family dynamics is what made this book! While I was expecting this to be a little more lighthearted, it was still a good summer read.

Okay, besides the positive LGBT+ rep (specifically, bi, lesbian, and nonbinary) and learning much about Indigenous culture and environmentalism, I hated everything about this book.

Let me just say this book includes: a tsunami, a crocodile attack, someone hanging off a cliff about to fall to their death, a tropical storm, and a variety of interpersonal issues. Just...so...much...was trying to happen. We start with a family getting stranded on an island after a tsunami...but they magically still have wifi, internet, electricity, didn't lose their phones or laptops in the flood, and are left with enough food and clean water to last for six weeks until they can be rescued? WHAT.

Beyond that, I enjoyed some of the interpersonal stories that played out - expect what felt like the main romance...when a character proposes after 15 days...

Overall, I just couldn't suspend ALL the belief to get into this one...

I DNFed this book at around the 30% mark.

I really wanted to love this book because the premise was so fun but I had a really hard time getting into it. I love alternating POVs in this one but there were so many POVs that bounced back and forth it was hard to really connect with any one character. I felt like if this had been done with just a few of those character lines it would have been much easier to feel connected to a character so that you wanted to keep reading. As it is, I didn't find myself connecting to the book or the characters.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

☀️ Book Review ☀️

Island Time
Author: Georgia Clark
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you love:
🏝 Multiple Perspectives
🏝 Books about Family Dynamics
🏝 Queer Representation
🏝 Australian Islands

I went into Island Time a bit blind, but very excited. All I knew was that queer romance was central to the storyline and that a family was stuck on an island.

While I found the book to be enjoyable enough to finish, it is very slow. Like excruciatingly slow. There is a lot of drama and a lot of characters, but nothing particularly exciting happens until the last few chapters of the book.

While I do like slower-paced stories, I think I had to be in a certain mood to read it which is probably why it also took me so long to finish. However, while I probably wouldn’t re-read this book, it was well written and that characters were very realistic.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC. I liked Georgia Clark's other book, It Had to Be You, and the premise of this one sounded like the perfect follow up! This book is about 2 families that are on a tiny island off the coast of Queensland to celebrate the marriage of their daughters. The families' differences seem to be the plot of the book based on the synopsis, but that really isn't what the book is about. Yes, one is a little more buttoned up and the other is a little more out there, but that isn't a main source of conflict and really doesn't have much to do with the story besides character development. Instead, I would call this a women's fiction/ family drama about a bunch of people trying to find their way. A volcano goes off and leaves them stranded on this tiny island for an extended period of time and it forces all of them to do a little introspection about where their lives are and if they're happy with it or what they can do to change it. There are NINE PERSPECTIVES in this book and it was way too many. Furthermore, this book DID NOT need to be over 400 pages. Had it been a little more focused, I think I would've enjoyed it much more. I would say our main character is actually the bride's sister- Amelia. She is dating a guy that she thinks is the one, but he's not there when the volcano erupts and she starts to question their relationship. Then we have each of the women who just got married. One has a rocky relationship past and the other is very career focused and not sure she wants kids (even though they are in the process of trying). Then we follow both sets of parents of the brides. One set is separated but hasn't told their kids. The other set had very flat personalities that I won't' remember beyond this review. There are a few different romances throughout the book (all very unrealistic and it got to be way too much, IMO) but I wouldn't say romance is the focus of this book. There are some hard things in each of their pasts and its much more about the introspection that their situation inspires. I did love the setting and learning a little about the aboriginal people of the area. Georgia Clark did a good job writing the setting and making us feel like we were there. I also liked getting to know the family and spending some time with them. This book would've been so much better if it was 100 pages shorter with a lot more focus.

DNF at 49%. Couldn’t get into the plot, didn’t connect with any of the characters. Very disappointing.

I'm sure this is going to be a really great book for some people - for its recognition of Indigenous rights to land and continued existence on the land, for its LGBTQ+ representation, its beautiful island setting, and more. However, this one wasn't really working for me. I was struggling to get invested in the characters and instead of empathizing with them for their flaws, I just felt really frustrated. I was hoping this would be a lighter beach read, but this is a more complex family story. I typically like multiple POV messy family stories but just wasn't loving this.

After getting about a third of the way through this book, I just could not read anymore. This might just not be a book for me, but the amount of suspending of reality I needed to do was just ridiculous. Not having the ability to leave the island or get supplies, yet somehow the internet and electricity still work? That was just too much. Additionally, this one jumps almost frenetically between characters, so much so that I couldn't keep them straight despite reading this portion in one go. But the ones I could keep straight, I didn't like a single thing about them. None of the characters were redeeming in any way. Honestly, maybe this one does get better as time goes on, but I couldn't read any more to find out.