Amelia Kelly is in charge of the family’s summer getaway. Eager to impress everyone including her boyfriend James, she rents luxury beach homes for her own family and the Lees, her sister Matty’s in-laws, on the remote island of Lady Lushington. Here she is hoping for the convergence of her new romance and a chance for everyone to bond and celebrate Matty and Parker’s return to Australia from NYC.

When an unexpected tropical disaster strands the families for six weeks on the island, everyone faces a tough adjustment to their new circumstances. The extended stay also forces issues to the surface in everyone’s relationships including the truth behind Amelia’s relationship with James, Matty’s ambivalence towards impending motherhood, and the state of Jules and Glen Kelly’s marriage.

“Island Time” might just provide everyone with the time to make hard choices and determine the next steps on their life path-in ways they can scarcely imagine.

Although at times the pacing was a bit too slow and the narrative seemed a bit too long, the complex characters and the thought-provoking premise kept me overall engaged.

Island Time is definitely an escapist beach read with intelligence that deserves a place on your summer TBR.

Okay ma’am, Miss Georgia Clark! Stop making me laugh so hard while simultaneously “awww”ing every 5 minutes. I really loved the whole experience of this story. And yes, I think experience is the right word because I was definitely sucked into the family drama and the culture and the gorgeous tropical setting. I tore through it in a few days and that is always the mark of a good book for me!

I’m so thankful to have received this ARC and definitely plan to be recommending this title to friends when it comes out in a few weeks! I’ve already encouraged a few people to read it. I fell in love with so many of the characters… Jarrah and Liss and the dads’ on their secret hunt for the elusive boobook!

The only characters I didn’t feel super connected to were Parker and Matty but that’s probably because I have no interest in entrepreneurship or motherhood… but I know so many people will connect to their storyline!

All in all a sweet, humorous, well-rounded addition to Georgia Clark’s portfolio. Really enjoyed it!

3 Stars

This one is based on a beautiful island in Australia when 2 families are forced together when a natural disaster hits. This one goes back and forth between everyone on the island 8 or 9 POVs in all which was too many for me. It was jumping around often which caused confusion. Overall, it was a fine story and I appreciate that all loose ends tied up, even if it felt rushed.

My favorite character arc was Glen. He had excellent growth and realization and a unlikely friendship.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This books was a big DNF for me. I am a power through reader but could push through anymore on this one.

Some of the issues:
-so many characters! It was easy to get confused and not know who was who or why they mattered.
-25% in and nothing major has happened that has kept me wanting to read more. I feel like I am on a vacation with some extremely boring people.
-what is the point to this story? Which of these characters am I supposed to be focusing on.

Thank you NetGalley, Georgia Clark and Atria books for the ARC. This one just wasn’t for me.

We all know by now that I tend to go into books blind. Somehow, this got me 2 heavy family dramas in a row, so I grabbed this thinking it would be a light summer read. Man, was I wrong. This is another family drama, with a gorgeous setting, and there was a lot going in. It was hard to root for anyone when they all seemed determined to make the worst choices possible. The beginning and end of this book were action packed, but the middle drug a bit. I'm really taking off stars because just the smallest bit of communication would have solved all of these problems. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I am so conflicted on this book. On one hand, I loved the unabashed queerness and learning about the indigenous people and the wildlife in Australia, but something was just off and slowed the book down for me. I am not sure if there were just too many characters and storylines which it made it a little too messy and difficult to really get into? I’m not sure. Overall, I love Clark’s books and will definitely continue reading them, but this one just wasn’t my favorite.

I requested this after reading and somewhat enjoying IT HAD TO BE YOU by Georgia Clark last year. I really hoped the strong points of that novel would win out here in her second novel and that its weak points would be better, and I think they were, actually: queer representation, fun premise, interlocking storylines. The dialogue was stronger and funnier this time, the characters more distinct and entertaining (though I still found a couple insufferable at times), and the multiple POVs were far less distracting and all over the place than in Clark's previous book. I loved the strong sense of place, escapism, and Australian culture, and the layered intergenerational family relationships.
However, the book was weighed down instead by it not seeming to know what genre it wanting to be in, or what tone it wanted to strike: romcom or family drama or contemporary, with breezy and flirty writing or more serious topics or literary nature writing. I also just had some difficulty buying into the premise of the group being stranded on this island but being essentially unfazed and unaffected by this natural disaster past the (rather unexpected) intense chapters of its occurrence. This adds into the issue of the book not being cohesive in terms of genre/tone.

Island Time by Georgia Clark was my perfect lazy afternoon weekend read!! It’s full of queer romance, family drama, sun soaked island and lots of fun and humor!!

There are two families, one sophisticated aloof Americans and other wild fun loving Australians stick on a island due to volcanic eruption. Only thing they have in common is their daughters are married to each other! The characters are super lovable and the book and description of the island made it so real and exhilarating to read!

Thank you Atria books and NetGalley for the gifted galley of this amazingly written queer romance that will be available for purchase on June 14, 2022

When I first picked up Island Time I thought I was going to have a light summer beach read but I gained so much more than what originally met the eye when looking at the cover. The book is about the Kelly's and Lees' family vacation that kind of seems against some of the family members will. Everything seems to be going as perfectly as it can when you're on a family trip when a tsunami hits the island. 9 people trapped on an isolated island in Australia for around 6 weeks and how this experience changes each family member.

I really enjoyed this book and how it wasn't a classic romantic novel, a lot of themes were sprinkled throughout like self acceptance, friendship, sisterhood, and family. I found myself more interested in Liss , Amelia, Glen and Randall storylines with Ludmilla character development up there as well. I couldn't stand Jules and Matty's character at all, I found them so annoying. Plus it was a great read for pride month with great representation with the characters.


Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

WOW!

So much to unpack after finishing this.

Nine people, trapped on an island off the coast of Australia. Every one of them is irrevocably changed by the experience. Love is the common denominator, but not "just" romantic love. Some find new love, some learn to let go of old expectations and embrace new ones, and some learn that they need to love themselves first before they love anyone else. Love comes in so many forms. Gay, straight, "bromances", female friendships. sisterhood, parenthood, and everything else in between! Love is love is love is love is love is love.

Georgia Clark's writing is absolutely breathtaking - she has such a magnificent way of putting words together.

My only critique was that I didn't like a few of the characters. Jules for one. Yes, she's changed by the experience, but not enough for my taste. Wasn't a huge fan of Matty. I loved the way that Ludmilla came into her own in the experience.

NetGalley classified this as a romance but really it's much, much more.

Beautiful. Absolutely stunning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for my E-ARC of Island Time, which I really wanted to love.

Unfortunately I found that this one was not for me. There are just too many characters in this book and it was moving way too slow for my taste. I also thought that this was less so a rom-com, but more of a family drama, which I might just not be in the right place of mind for atm.

Hmmm…this was not what I expected nor what I hoped for. I wanted to like this book, but I found myself getting annoyed with the overly atmospheric descriptions and excessive number of subplots and characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

It took me forever to finish this book and unfortunately I just couldn’t get into it. I typically love books with dual POVs but this one just had way too many. And while it was easy to figure out who's side of the story we were getting, but I think that the name of the character at the top of the chapter would've made it a little bit better for me. The most interesting story lines for me were Glen and Randall & Liss and Amelia. Otherwise I just really didn't care about anyone and skipped through a lot of the descriptive stuff to get to the dialogue.

If I didn’t receive this as an ARC I would not have finished it.

If you are looking for a good summer romance I would suggest this book. This is also a great book to read during pride month. For me I thought this book was just okay. I liked the setting of this book, I liked the characters, and thought it was cute. But nothing really stuck out to me. It was a run of the mill romance book and I liked it. I just do not think I would read it again.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of Island Time in exchange for an honest review! I really enjoyed this. I loved the family dynamics. Perfect beach read for this summer

I was very excited about this one after hearing great things about It Had to Be You in 2021. The thing I liked the most about this book was the queer representation. Unfortunately overall, this one was not for me. Or at least, it could have been for me if I went in with the appropriate expectations. I thought this was supposed to be a light and fun romcom on a deserted island. But I would not classify this as a romcom. Instead, it's more like contemporary fiction/family drama. Which is totally fine! But sometimes when you go in excited and expecting one thing, it is kind of hard to enjoy what it really ends up being.

It followed a lot of characters. At first, I was excited to figure out what was going on with each one. But in the middle, it started to really drag. Keeping up with all the different characters and storylines made this book both a bit too long and feel not fully fleshed out at the same time. It's like each character's issues were exposed, but because there were so many others to focus on, none of them felt fully explored. I became mad at or disliked most of the characters at various points simply because it was too much to try and keep up with. I contemplated DNFing, but ultimately stuck it out to see how everything resolved for these characters. Weirdly enough, I think the character I ended up caring for most was Glen. Having his story and personal growth sprinkled throughout had me really rooting for him.

Overall, I think this book could be incredibly enjoyable if the reader knows what they're getting going in. If I had known from the beginning this was more of a family drama, I think I would have enjoyed it much more. I still look forward to reading It Had to Be You and more from this author.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. I seldom look at reviews before reading but I was perplexed at the average ratings. In this case it helped me change my preconceived perspective which in turn let me enjoy the book more. The cover makes this look like a light summer beach read romance. This is much more (women’s) fiction, family drama with romance. Off the coast of Queensland, Australia, a small 6 mile long island is a remote tropical paradise. The Kelly’s and Lee’s are joining their daughters, who are married, for a weekend holiday. The wives, Parker and Matty are in the process of moving from NYC to Australia. Parker and her parents are American’s while Matty’s family are Australian. Matty’s sister Amelia is there as well but without her current boyfriend who is hoping to join them the next day.

It looks like a vacation in paradise until a tsunami turns the weekend into a six week stay. During that time secrets come out, lives change and a romance falters while others bloom. There are a lot of view points telling the story but once you get the characters sorted the book has a lot of complexity. Matty the confident daughter has doubts about her new path. Amelia seems so flighty and yet hers in the character I was rooting for most. But everyone gets attention and moments of importance in the story.

Some things are a far-fetched. Amazingly they have electrical power, internet and enough food. But I love the importance of family to all of them. A couple of the character stories were of less importance to me. But others had me emotional and left me very happy. Again this shouldn’t be promoted as a traditional romance it really is much, much more. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. (4.5 stars)

Too many characters and subplots make this book a tad confusing and rambling. Also, if they’re stranded after a natural disaster how is there all the usual utilities and infrastructure in place? This book is also billed as a romcom but is more of a family drama.

A book about a family getting stuck on an island should have been more enjoyable. It just wasn’t. I couldn’t get invested in the characters and it was character driven. I wanted a beautiful story between Amelia and Liss but it just felt rushed, crazy and not full of lovable chemistry…
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for an eARC

Holy moly, Clark is an impeccable writer. I think those who are new to romance or only dabble in it every so often should prioritize this book.

There’s a little bit of everything: romance, family drama, weathering storms, adventure, humor and lots of QUEERNESS. The perfect beach read, in my opinion, and a good contender for a book club discussion!

I especially appreciated the Indigenous culture spotlights in this book.

⚠️CW: volcano eruption, tsunami, cheating, body talk/shame, panic attack, blood, death (off page), break up, divorce, indigenous racism, miscarriage, blood