In this book, The Kellys and the Lees vacation together on a tropical island off of Queensland. After a volcanic eruption strands them on the island for six weeks, things get interesting. There is romance, secrets kept, and much more!

I read the first few chapters, but found myself skipping through much of the middle and then reading the ending. I didn't connect to Amelia at all. I did like how the writer portrayed her sister and her relationship with her wife, but that wasn't enough to keep me in the book. All of a sudden, Amelia and Liss were together and it seemed pretty intense. I read enough to get to that part and find out what was going on with the parents.

I do think the ending wrapped up the book well and tied up all of the "threads" with the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm going to start this review off by saying that this book was not for me. I was extremely excited to read this one, but I felt that the book dragged for too long with little action. The novel is told from the perspectives of all 7 (or is it 8) characters which gets to be very confusing. I'll admit, I did enjoy the budding bromance between the two fathers, but I felt I could not connect with the others. I am beyond grateful to Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC of this novel, but this one was not for me.

If you were stuck on an uninhabited island off the coast of Australia with your family, in-laws, an island native, and a groundskeeper for six weeks, you just might get a story much like Georgia Clark’s Island Time. Just as much family drama as queer romance, this story alternates chapters between couples, friendships, and family gatherings. Within the first few chapters of the book, a catastrophic event seals the Lee and Kelly families together forcing them to interact with one another and “survive” this island paradise for much longer than their intended week long vacation.

Mun’dai, meaning “pretty”, is an island in the Pacific only navigable by ferry and owned by the native Butchulla people. Having booked a vacation to celebrate her sister Matty’s wedding to her wife Parker Lee, Amelia Kelly is hoping to reunite the two families as well as snag a proposal from her long-distance boyfriend. But of course none of that goes as planned. Each family member and/or couple is introduced a little at a time, letting the reader slowly learn more about family and relationship dynamics. The only non-family members on Mun’dai are Liss Chambers of Montreal who is finishing up her last day of running the island and Jarrah, an indigenous huntsman and wildlife expert.

My initial impressions about some of the characters changed over the course of the book as I learned more about who they were and what lead them to this point on being on the island. By the end of Island Time I can say that I actually LIKED every person there, although initially had feelings of dislike for several characters. THIS to me shows growth and character development which makes Island Time such a strong read. No one is exactly what they seem, not in a sinister way, but in a way that releases each of them from their stereotypes (the dorky dad, the fitness dad, the lesbian couple, the overbearing mother, the snobbish mother, the pretty baby, the manic pixie dram girl…etc.). Each islander encompasses more than their literary role. Being forced to interact with one another, the islanders must confront and talk through any issues allowing almost all ends to be neatly tied up at the end of the story. Mun’dai itself, is almost a character, and to place this story elsewhere would change what makes this book so lovely. I also loved and appreciated the queerness of this book and how natural it fit into the narrative without feeling forced or contrived. Georgia Clark writes interesting queer characters that come in all different shapes and sizes, I was happy to see queerness represented in so many ways.

Favorite moments:
❣️Ludmilla revealing her history to Parker (this gave me SHIVERS and HF me teary-eyed)
❣️Randall and Glen’s bromance over the Boobook
❣️”The Cure” scene
❣️Liss and Amelia meeting for the first time (very funny) Also pretty much any scene with Liss and Amelia I was all in and HF to force myself not to skip ahead
❣️Ludmilla learning a new skill
❣️ALL of the cultural references from Belly to Buffy were perfect

4.5 stars
If it seems like most of the storyline is being skimmed, it’s because so many things happen that would just be spoilers. But if you’re looking a book with great family dynamics that play a large role in the overall narrative, and like the thought of forcing people to work their stuff out on an island, this book will be a solid read for you.
Content warnings: catfishing, self-loathing, alcoholism (mentioned, not on the page)

Thank you so much to Atria and Simon and Schuster as well as NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two families (The Kelly’s and The Lee’s, whose daughters are married) come together on the indigenous Australian island of Mun’dai.

The first character you meet is Amelia Kelly who is on the island for both the bonding of her and her sister in law’s families and so her boyfriend, James, can meet her family, when a major natural disaster hits the island before James makes it. This results in trapping the family on the island and keeps James from coming out.

For the rest of the characters:

Jules and Glen Kelly are the parents of Amelia and Matty.

Randall and Ludmila Lee are Parker’s parents.

Matty and Parker are the daughters of the Kelly’s and Lee’s, respectively and are married and planning on starting a family.

Liss is an employee on the island, who was planning to move back to Canada before the disaster.

Jarrah is an indigenous Australian with heritage from Mun’dai.

The characters are hard to separate from each other, especially at the beginning because at that point none of them really have any discernible personality traits and just about everyone is pretty miserable (aside from the being caught in a natural disaster thing).

The drama in this book is…messy and most of the characters are hard to root for. There’s work drama, relationship drama and a plethora of lack of communication in relationships.

I think Glen and his discovery of enjoying birding and finding joy in himself is the most enjoyable story arc.

My favorite part was the sapphic romance between Liss and one of the women stranded on the island but even parts of that were a little over the top, and not the best.

This novel definitely feels authentically Australian (my best friend since childhood is Australian) and some of the descriptions are rather lovely and poetic.

Overall, This was a very meh read for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars.

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Georgia Clark's newest novel is a great summer read. Two very different families, joined together by the marriage of their daughters, take a vacation together on a tropical island. When a volcano erupts near the remote island off the coast of Queensland, a short vacation turns in to six weeks of being stranded. The Lees, from America, are a stodgy, uptight family. The Kellys are the opposite - boisterous, adventurous Australians. Enforced togetherness with only two island employees rounding out their party forces the entire crew to look at themselves and what they really want out of life. Gorgeous blue waters and white sand beaches make the perfect backdrop for this entertaining rom-com. Readers who enjoyed Clark's other novel will be pleased with this as will anyone who enjoys a rollicking queer romance along with a great story about family and friendship. Many thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.

I love love LOVE Georgia Clark's books and when I saw this summer I got even more excited! A cover with an island/beach on it and Georgia Clark's writing? Yes PLEASE! This book was everything and more that I wanted and it was the perfect read to kick off the summer reading season. Will definitely be recommending this to everyone to put in their beach bag! Cannot wait to see what she writes next - thank you so much for letting me read and review this one early!

I love Geogia Clark's writing style and her large casts of characters. I also really enjoyed the secluded island setting of this one, and appreciated all Clark did to be respectful of Indigenous Australian culture. I think Clark writes an excellent queer romance, with lovable characters and lighthearted ribbon woven through some pretty serious subject matter.

As much as I enjoyed this, my one comment would be it could have been about 50-100 pages shorter. I think the full cast makes keeping the book longer understandable, but it definitely felt long for this genre.

Georgia Clark can do know wrong this was wonderful. I breezed through it and wished there was more. I can't wait to rave about this to all of my friends.

Another great multi-character novel from Georgia Clark! I loved the Pacific island setting, the inclusion of Indigenous history and characters, the realistic relationships and also the gleeful chaos of somewhat unrealistic relationships. This book was a great escape, but I think also captures many of the anxieties, grief and growth that we endured through the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic. It's a beach read with substance.

Beach life is the best life!

Island Time lured me in by the cover. This is a great book for anyone looking for a beach read with family drama and a decent amount of romance. Overall, this was a good summer read. There are lots of characters with unique characteristics that are pretty relatable.

Island Time:
3 stars

Okay, I admit it - I'm one of those people that judges a book by its cover. So if you see this book and think you are getting a light hearted read about an island - you are wrong.

This follows a family who become stranded on an island for 6 weeks after a volcano erupts. Throughout the book you watch family dynamics play out (parents who are separated and headed for divorce, a daughter who's dating someone that isn't whom he seems to be etc). This book was just okay for me. The characters were not enjoyable and some of the plot felt very far fetched.

Thanks, Netgalley for an ARC of this book!

DNF at 30%

I have tried... I have tried but I can't. Too many POVs and the story isn't catching my attention at all.

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for my ARC. I hope other people can enjoy more than I did.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book. While it was an interesting story, I felt some of the details were a bit unrealistic at times and this made it difficult to fully immerse myself into the story.

This is my first Georgia Clark novel and I’d give it 3.5 stars. It’s a fun little RomCom with huge potential. You have a remote island locale, with a lot of family drama and multiple story lines. Where it fell flat for me is with the repeated and detail driving home of alternative lifestyles. I feel it took away from the actual storyline. Each relationship could have been equally as strong without unnecessary emphasis on everyone’s sexuality. In an effort to be progressive, it took away from the actual storyline for me. In the end, each couple finds some resolution… and the overall theme is that one must be true to themselves. Thanks to NetGalley for the early read.

This was such a refreshing and surprising read from Clark! Definitely a different tone when compared with her other work- and I have to say I love it! After reading the author acknowledgements, I completely see why the story unfolded as it did- it was written during the pandemic when all our lives were drastically changing.
I loved how the characters stranded on the island throughout the entire story, gave some insight as to how life changing being forced to stay put can be. Amelia, Liss, Matty, Parker, Glen, Randall, Ludmila, and Jules all had to confront their true feelings in their relationships and families while stranded. There something to say about not having room to run away from topics or feelings that make you uncomfortable. I loved how each character had an awakening of sorts and found a new lease on life. They left the island not looking to please anyone but themselves, and I felt like I could relate to that. When you come out of a lockdown of sorts, you see what matters the most and how valuable out time is- so why would you spend it being anything but happy.
Wholeheartedly recommend this read- it has everything!

I am so many mixed emotions with this book. Here's are the items I enjoyed
- the family dynamics of Lee's and Kelly's
- the LGBTQ representation
- respect for nature

Here's what I didn't like:
- this book is marketed as a rom com and I am not sure there was much element of that
- the premise of a natural disaster that keeps them isolated and the damage done yet they still had internet and electrify
- the need to ratio food but I didn't not see them really rationing food and having celebrations
- none of the characters were likable and were all so selfish

Thank you @netgalley for a copy of this book.

As much as I loved It Had To Be You by Clarke, this one just did not work for me and I ended up DNF-ing it.

Side note: this is not a romance book. It has a bit of romance in it, but you go into thinking you’re getting a nice romcom, you will be disappointed. It’s woman’s fiction? Or contemporary fiction with a side of romance. Great LGBTQ representation though which I was definitely here for.

Again, this book follows multiple narrators and can be hard to follow at first, but I liked that aspect of her other book and didn’t mind it in this one either, it just made it a bit hard to follow at first until you get them all straight.

Unfortunately I didn’t really like any of the characters all that much. The parents were all terrible in their own ways. The daughters and their significant others were better, but I just didn’t relate to them much. I liked the backstory to Marty and Parker, but I’d have preferred if they had their own book instead of trying to put their whole story into another book.

What really bothered me was the overall plot line of being stranded due to a tsunami. It sounded great at first, but this was literally a massive natural disaster that easily could have killed one of them, and a few hours later they were in a great house, eating cake and chatting on FaceTime over wifi. I wish they’d have struggled for more than a few pages initially. It didn’t feel very realistic (which I can deal with to a point, it’s a book I know) but they were also still complaining about dumb things when they’re in a great situation considering what just happened to them.

I just couldn’t keep going, sadly. I may go back and read it later as I still have high hopes for this one, but for now, it’s a DNF.

What family vacation doesn't have complexities and internal struggles? The reader will soon find out how Clark immerses everyone onto the island with her passionate, well detailed and descriptive writing. While I believe this to be a strong suit throughout Island Time. This could have been a hindrance of fully trying to depict all character's point of view within the story and making the book longer than it should have been. While I love a story that's set in a tropical setting, the twists and turns gives each character a special dynamic that kept me wanting to know more. I would have liked to see Clark limit and focus on certain characters instead of the whole family dynamic.

Island Time is an extraordinary book, a deep multi-layered book that was way more than I expected. When the book begins, two families have come to this tropical island in the Coral Sea, to meet a prospective fiancé, to strengthen the bond between the families. There are some secrets, there are some life-changes, there are decisions to be made. But a cataclysmic natural disaster upends all of their plans, forcing the characters to extend their stay on this beautiful island, where there are only two other inhabitants. Forced into close proximity for another six weeks, the characters are forced to confront their fears, rethink careers and loves and relationships, and discover parts of themselves that have been hidden from everyone. There are blow-ups, there is danger, there are risks, there are rewards, there is pain, there is love—-there is life!!! There is a rawness in the emotions displayed by the characters, vulnerability to both nature and to each other. The island itself is an intrinsic part of this story; the lush vegetation, the unique creatures, and the water that surrounds it, adding intrigue, humor, and beauty.

I liked this one but I think it needs to be marketed differently as though it does have romance, it is more a family focused novel. I liked reading about all the characters and their personal journeys.