Island Time

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This looked like the perfect beach read while on vacation this week. Yes, I judge books by there cover quite frequently, and I didn’t read the back blurb. This was much different than I pictured once I got into it.

A family is visiting an island when a volcano and tsunami strand them there for six weeks with the caretakers of the island. The book has many of the characters leading their portion of the story as they each work through something in their own lives.

I liked the multiple points of view and the various characters. I thought Georgia Clark did a good job of creating a unique group all with their own personalities. I didn’t love the whole story and plot, there wasn’t quite enough in it for me. I also totally didn’t buy the depth of the romance that developed on the island. Six weeks is pretty short!

Unfortunately, this didn’t work for me. I didn’t like how we were following so many POVs. I would’ve much rather been following the MC and her love interest. I think the multiple POVs made it a bit confusing. I did enjoy the family dynamics and having them in the story! The nicknames were a bit much, but I did like the quirky characters. Thank you to the publisher and author for this gifted copy!

Okay, I love this cover. Like absolutely adore it. And I thought I was getting a tropical, romance. Which it kinda was, but it wasn’t what I was expecting at all!

Amelia and her family (and her sister’s in-laws) go on vacation to a secluded island. A volcano hits and they get stuck there for weeks on end. But they still have Wi-Fi…?

The premise was interesting. And I’m generally a fan of family dramas. The queer representation was great. But this book dragged….it’s about 150 pages too long. But if family dramas on an island are your thing, pick it up this summer.

did not finish... did not love it and could not get into the storyline. I found the characters to be annoying and there was nothing grabbing my attention. DNF at 10%.

This was another beautiful story by Georgia Clark! I thought it was going to be a lighthearted, beachy, rom-com, but it was so much more! There were definitely funny moments but I loved the deeper themes of finding out who you really are and what you really want. There were a couple great Taylor Swift references and the bromance between Glen and Randall was probably my favorite part!

"People felt their perspective was oceanic - mutable and deep - but it was just a grain of sand, tiny and contained."

Georgia Clark wrote this novel during the 2020 quarantine and in turn, placed her cast on a tropical island post natural disaster in which they are stranded together for a long period of time. Two families (in-laws), one island employee, and one island native that traverse through a multitude of trials and triumphs within themselves and their relationships with the others.

I had a good time on the island of Mund'ai! The cast was diverse in their ages, lifestyles, experiences, and sexualities and I really enjoyed the different perspectives within each relationship. My favorite storyline in this novel is the island and nature perspective. The idea that humans believe they own the land and have rights to the land and the wildlife it supports in any location they are lucky enough to inhabit is explored from many different characters and perspectives and I loved the introspection done on this topic! I definitely recommend this one for a wonderfully introspective summer read! Thank you Atria Books, Simon & Schuster, and Netgalley for allowing me to review this ARC!

** This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I don't think I am the target audience for this book. It does a great job for the LBGTQ storyline. I just didn't think it was really for me.

Island Time is not your typical romance book. This book adds in aspects of a family dramedy and throughout the book you'll be rooting for each family member on their path to self-discovery, growth, and friendship. In this ensemble rom-com, each of the family members, in particular the Kelly's are at critical moments in their romantic lives, whether that's coming out and starting a new relationship, making major life decisions like career pivots, continental moves and starting a family, or navigating diverging interests in a long-held marriage.

It was great! The setting was really well described and the characters all had great depth. The natural disaster seemed a little off, at points it was so severe, but they never lost power? It didn’t really add up. In the middle it also felt like it dragged on a little, but that was resolved pretty quickly. All in all it was a really good book :)

Oh how I wanted to love this one. For awhile I thought this was a pretty solid 4 star read: the writing was beautiful, there was a lot going on with each character and it did a pretty good job of keeping me engaged, the Bromance between Glen and Randal was adorable, and the setting was picturesque. Now the not so good: this book could have easily been 100-150 pages shorter and parts seemed to drag. The ‘insta-love’ between 2 of the characters felt incredibly immature and unbelievable. Some of the characters were so dramatic and childish, and I didn’t feel much of a connection to any of them. I will still read It Had to Be You by this author because I’ve heard great things but sadly this one wasn’t for me. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for this e-arc!

If you look at the cover of Island Time, it looks like it would be a summer beach read, perhaps a sapphic rom-com, something light. This book is a sapphic romance, but it is not a rom-com. This is a serious book that looks at the inner dynamics of two families related by marriage, all with people that have secrets.

I really liked the family relationships in this book. People are placed in unusual circumstance, a volcano erupting and not being able to leave the island they are on, and are forced to get to know each other in this close quarters. There are lots of characters in this wild family and learning about them all took some time. There are many different story arcs involving all these relationships. You are presented with parent child relationships, budding friendships, romances continuing, new and ending. These relationship were all so interesting to me that I wanted to see what was happening each new chapter.

One things I did struggle with in this book was that it seemed to drag on forever. I think it was a tad overwritten and just went on for to long. I also struggled with there being this big huge natural disaster that forced people to be stranded for a long period of time, but the internet and cell services were still working led to less believability. Georgia Clark did do a great job of presenting various different difficult issues that characters were experiencing, including learning about indigenous people in Australia.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to checking out future books by Georgia Clark! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

I just know that summer is in the air with this cover; it’s so bright and colorful and this book is begging to be brought to the beach! Speaking of the beach, ISLAND TIME is set on a tropical island where two families are stranded after a nearby volcano eruption changes their plans. Georgia Clark’s books remind me of watching Love Actually, with so many storylines and relationships that come together at the climax of the book in a perfect way. Featuring so many loveable characters, this should be right on top of your summer reading list!

3.5 stars An enjoyable story about a group of 9 people stranded for six weeks on an island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The Australian Kellys and the American Lees have absolutely nothing in common apart from the fact that their daughters are married. Those daughters (Matty Kelly and Parker Lee) are in the midst of a move from New York City to Sydney and decide along with Matty's sister, Amelia, to plan a tropical getaway for everyone to get to know each other better. The short getaway becomes six weeks stranded with only two island employees after a volcano erupts and causes widespread destruction in the region. The prolonged isolation and togetherness prompts everyone to consider what they want and/or who they want to be with.

I read Georgia Clark's It Had to Be You last year and thought it was a charming ensemble rom-com. I loved her writing style and her skill at balancing the points of view of an ensemble cast of characters and was expecting more of the same as the cover art makes Island Time look like a breezy rom-com. There's still an ensemble cast and it's still beautifully written with multiple points of view that flow well but it's a broader story about family, love and relationships beyond romance. Within this group of people we have parent/child, spousal, and sibling relationships, developing romances and new friendships. The plot is a bit slow-moving and it took me awhile to really get into the story but it was well worth sticking it out as there is a lot to enjoy - drama, comedy, LGBTQ+ relationships, a birdwatching bromance, a steamy new romance and a beautiful setting with white sandy beaches, crystal-clear ocean waters and lush rainforests that will definitely stoke your wanderlust.

I received a digital advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley.

I LOVED this book!
Each character and their relationships with each other are so well developed. I really enjoyed Randall and Glen's relationship, I thought it was so cute. I will 100% be recommending this to everyone when it is published!!

Thank you to NetGalley & Putnam for an e-ARC copy in exchange for my review

Island Time, by Georgia Clark, is a LGBTQ+ romance set in a tropical island off the coast of Australia. The Kelly and Lee families are both together on a family vacation and are very opposite - one a loud, free loving Australian family and one a buttoned up American family. But when a volcano erupts and the families are stuck together for 6 weeks, the families come together in more ways than one! Family secrets are revealed, romances play out, parenthood desires are explored and more. This may not have been the vacation these families wanted, but maybe it was the one they all needed. This novel seemed to drag out forever in the beginning but it really picked up in the last third and I couldn’t put it down at the end! I enjoyed all of the connections that were made and how fleshed out all the characters were.

I was blown away by the queer DELIGHT that is “Island Time.” Georgia Clark’s prose is beautiful––like, tattoo-worthy gorgeous. My reading vice is that I tend to rush through nature descriptions, but each island image in this book made me want to pause and reread immediately so that I wouldn’t miss anything. I even got a bit teary during a passage about insects flying around a balcony light.

I wouldn’t call this book a “romcom,” though it certainly has a lot of (queer!) romance.

For some reason, I got significant where'd you go bernadette vibes. Not mad at it, but not sure if this is a first purchase.

I wanted to love this one but no such luck!!! This literally sounds just like my cup of tea and I was disappointed when it just felt like it was dragging

Thank you for the ARC! I love the cover of this book! It is so fun and summer ready. This book was adorable and such a fun read! Definitely recommend!

A year ago, I read Georgia Clark’s It Had to Be You and could not stop raving about it to everyone. Island Time is just as delightful and one of the books I’m sure to recommend the most this year. I love that Clark sets her stories among a cast of characters and in this case, in her native Australia. She is an expert storyteller and Island Time is filled with every summer and beach vibe you could ask for with characters you cheer for and love along the way. I can’t encourage people enough to pick this up and devour it just as I have.