I feel like Georgia Clark reinvents herself with every book! Like It Had to be You, Island Time also featured an ensemble cast, but the setting was Australia instead of New York City and took place during and after a tsunami, forcing an extended family into forced proximity over a six-week period. Lots of drama, sex, and character development ensues. Great Bi representation, and I also appreciated a romance featuring a woman in her late fifties/early sixties. Life (and sex) doesn't end at 39!

Georgia Clark’s writing is just fun! I loved It Had to be You so was so thankful for the ARC from NetGalley. This book had it all- quirky family, finding love at the most unexpected times in the most unexpected places and at a time when we all need it the most hope. Thank you Georgia!

3.5⭐️ This book is a fun island escape with lots of entertainment, heartwarming moments and Liane Moriarty vibes. I will say there were a few parts that I had a harder time buying into, but I know many people will love this story.

What I enjoyed:
-This book was the perfect mix of romance, drama and domestic fiction
-How Clark gives us glimpses of relationships in all different stages and sheds light on the problems that may occur. It all felt very realistic.
-I love when books are told through POVs of 5+ characters
-The Australian island setting. I loved the vivid descriptions and learning about the island’s inhabitants.
-The queer representation was great. There was alot of openness and acceptance in the story.

What wasn’t for me:
-The natural disaster plot was hard to buy into. I was confused how after such a severe storm they had wifi and electricity right away on the island
-The story felt a little too long. The beginning started off strong but in the middle it dragged a bit I
-I sadly found one main character, Amelia, unlikeable and hard to connect with.

Thanks NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review! Pub date: 6/14/22

The Kellys and the Lees find themselves on an extended vacation when a volcano erupts on their remote island, leaving them stranded for weeks. They try to make the most of their circumstances as Amelia finds herself entangled with the island's caretaker Liss after her boyfriend is unable to make it to the island. Amelia's sister Matty and her wife grapple with balancing their careers, family, and a cross-continent move. The island takes center stage with storms and exotic wildlife. I really loved the quirky parents and their unexpected relationships.

This novel is like Gilligan's Island meets Full House, but with gay romance. Two families get temporarily stranded on a lush tropical island off the coast of Queensland, Australia and each person learns important truths about themselves and the people they love. The descriptions of the fictional Mun'dai island (based on the real island of K'Gari) are beautiful and thorough. As is the history of the indigenous people of the area and their fight to reclaim their heritage and independence from white colonists.

Where the author lost me was with the characters. The books rotates between points of view of many of the 9 main characters and the result is none of them are given enough space to develop appropriately. Back stories and explanations for behavior are glossed over and I never felt that I really understood any of them.

Overall it was a decent book, a good beach or pool read, but I didn't love it.

This is really more of an LGBTQ-friendly ensemble story than a romance according to the generally accepted rule, that is, one main couple whose romance is in the foreground, while side characters take a backseat.

We have Amelia, who is expecting the man she considers the love of her life to join her family and also her sister's family on an island off Australia. But then nature decides differently.

That whack by nature was so well evoked I could not stop reading. And I loved the two families, even if some aspects of them seemed a tad off-putting at first, their good intentions, their complexity and humanness are so well done that I wanted to see their arcs, too.

Yet it took me three weeks to read this book, much as I enjoyed specific scenes. I finally figured out what was dragging for me: the side characters are not just introduced once with the too-easy "character sits alone in a room and thinks their history" approach, it happens several times to each one, often repeating the same emotional note, even if new facts are introduced. For example, we get that Ludmilla is very tightly buttoned up, we don't need that introduced repeatedly; I began skimming some of those when it felt as if four novels were squished into one by including massive data dumps of tell about everyone's background.

But once we got to scenes, the story took off again. I loved the central romance, I adored Parker and Matty's arc, and I loved the parents' arcs as well. Love and friendship both get their innings in a warm, deliciously described way, with a ton of humor and gracefully done sensory detail. So many turns of phrase I marked as wonderful.

Overall I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I'd just warn readers who like a brisker pace to soldier through the many background data dumps. I thought the story worth it.

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I did not. It went on and on seemed like the book would never end. Too many descriptions of anything and everything. Thank you NetGalley for the privilege to read this and am very sorry I did not enjoy it.

<i>Island time</i> is very different from Georgia Clark's other books and is a bit mismarketed. The cover and breezy description make it seem like a fun rom-com, when really it's a story of a bunch of awful people trapped on an island together for six week (think HBO's White Lotus).

The main character (Amelia) is so profoundly unlikable. She finds herself on the island with her family waiting for her boyfriend who seems like he might propose at any minute to show up. When a natural disaster happens, the boyfriend cannot come and Amelia learns there's more to her perfect boyfriend than she ever imagined. In the wake of their break up she throws herself at the island's caretaker (Lisse), sure that they are meant to be together forever. Amelia's behavior is unhinged throughout the book. She's meant to be lovable and trusting but so many of her actions come across as creepy (proposing after a few days, begging to have babies, etc.).

The more alarming aspect to me was the treatment of the indigenous character. I think there should be an agreement among white writers and editors that they need people from indigenous culture to read the book before it hits the market. There's all this stereotypical description of the one indigenous character that verges on a fetish. Jarrah has "burnished skin", he smells "earthy", he's associated with mysticism and tells the other characters folk tales from his culture 'round the camp fire. Even his back story is the stereotypical backstory everyone has heard a million times. It's really disappointing to see writers still treating indigenous characters in such a flat way.

The real heroes of the book are Glen, Randall and Lisse. The rest of the characters were just so darn unlikable.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Vacations never go exactly at planned and this is a great story! Two families end up stranded on a small island after a natural disaster. There's a little of everything in here to enjoy and it makes me want to visit a tropical island soon!

The first half of this book is long and some parts could be removed to condense the story. However, the second half of this book is everything I love in a story! Love, heartbreak, family drama, acceptance, forgiveness, etc. I love seeing so much openness and acceptance in the story. It’s more real life based where we have to accept things we cannot change/alter how we thought our lives would go! The natural disaster part of the story was a bit lost on me. After it is mentioned you kind of forget that they aren’t just on vacation. There really wasn’t much devastation for the family to overcome. There were some parts that were added to maybe remind the reader the family was stranded but truthfully it just felt like a family on vacation. I feel like if 50-75 pages were removed, this could have been the perfect book! I will always hold a place in my heart for Amelia, Matty, Liss, and Parker! <3

Who´s ready to escape to a salty tropical island off the coast of Australia? You certainly will be after reading Georgia Clark´s Island Time! What a beautifully written romantic comedy. Two families of opposite demeanor ´ s come together when their daughters end up married. In the midst of their families vacationing, a volcano erupts and now they are forced to spend the next six weeks together. The families could not be more different, however they come to realize what it is that matters most, and even what it is in life they really want.
This was a beautiful escape, and a book I will definitely pick up again during those long beach days of summer!

Thank you very much to NetGalley, Georgia Clark and Simon and Schuster for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Island time was very different from what I initially thought it would be about based on the cover. It looked like another sappy romance, but I found it to be so much deeper than that. It is about an extended family that goes on vacation on an island off of the coast of Australia, and gets stranded for 6 weeks due to a natural disaster. They must learn to adapt and live together, all the while deal with new, budding romances, and heartbreaking drama.

I am usually put off from multiple viewpoints and find them hard to follow, but each character seemed to have an in depth description of their lives and personal drama. They were very detailed and fleshed out and easy to follow, which I admired the author for being able to pull off. The queer romances were described perfectly. They were believable and natural with flaws and conflict and passion and love. It wasn’t cringey or too sappy, just real.

One issue I had with the book is that it seemed longer than necessary. I felt like it started off strong, then got weak in the middle, and ended strong. I felt maybe it could’ve been edited to make it a little less wordy, but somehow, even at the slow parts, it kept you reading.

I also had a hard time liking some of the characters. Some grew more than others in the end, and I grew to like them, but others not so much. While it isn’t always fun to read about an unlikable character, I feel it is necessary to keep things real, and I can appreciate the authors need to add them in.

Lastly, I had a hard time imagining the layout of the island. It was descriptive, but I felt like it could’ve been a little more detailed. A map would’ve been a fun addition for visualization.

The writing was beautiful, but although I liked it, I didn’t love it. I recommend it, but I wouldn’t reread. Some parts were just too slow and tv series-ish. I found myself wanting more of that exciting action packed beginning. But I did find myself sad when it was time for them to leave. I’m wondering what happened to them afterward, and I feel like that could make a great second book!

Thank you for this ARC that was generously provided by the publisher and author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amelia was so excited to have her family all together on a tropical island. She really wanted them to like James as she felt he was the one. Lady Lush island is remote island off of Australia. James never makes to the island as he says he has business come up.

The Kelly's and the Lee's are stuck on the island for six weeks! due to a storm. This is a chance for each individual to reflect on their lives and figure out what they truly want. This is beautiful to watch each person change as they realize what is truly important to them.

I love how Amelia grows and starts to believe in herself and that she is worthy of love and happiness. Glad to see such a beautiful couple in love and embraced by the families.


Thank you Net Galley for my arc.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Such a fun rom com beach read. What could go wrong when a family decides to take a tropical vacation? Oh so much.....The story revolves around the Australian Kelly family, two daughters, parents, in laws and the island locals. Instead of pandemic quarantining them, a volcano erupts causing the island to experience turmoil forcing them to stay on the island for six weeks. We see each character evolve during this scary time, some coming to truths, romance, personal growth. So many events affecting the family and deepening many relationships but in turn also pushing others away. I very much enjoyed this read, just wish I was reading it on a beach somewhere!

This is my first Georgia Clark novel, and it will not be my last.

There’s so much that I enjoyed about this book. The storytelling transported me to Mun’dai and I wish that I could visit it for real.

But my favourite part was the characters. Clark creates well-rounded and explored characters in this novel. Her ability to delve into the complexities of these relationships is impressive. The love stories are real and authentic. It feels like they are real people because their stories are so well-developed. Typically, my favourite relationships are the romantic ones, but there is something so special about the bromance in this novel. I would read a full book on just those two befriending each other.

I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Is it summer time yet? I am in need of a pool, a drink, sunshine, and warmth after reading this lovely novel.
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I am a sucker for a queer romance and this book was no exception. I loved that this was more than just your classic rom-com. There was a more intricate plot. There are different points of view that Georgia Clark writes so well.
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A quest for wants and needs and desires while stuck on a tropical island. It was a page turner and now I am running for Clark’s other books.

This book had quite the setting - and I appreciated that it held my interest from the get go. I enjoyed the rotating perspectives, where each character got a turn to narrate. Sometimes that POV method gets on my nerves, but it worked really well here. I do wish we got more time with some of the characters as narrator-especially the Lee’s. It felt like the Lee family was there to assist the plot and character growth more than to experience both of those things with the Kelly family.

The pacing of the book felt natural - I found myself getting anxious at the end with the characters that their rescue day was all of the sudden so near. As excited to learn the outcomes of each story, I wasn’t quite ready for the book to end.

This is a great story and a good vacation read (as long as you aren’t on a small island near a volcano- ha!). Funny, emotional, real - there was some on thing to love about everyone but they were all also human. 4.5/5 stars

Georgia Clark's books are so cute and whole some. The perfect beach read for this summer! 4.5 stars!

Really fun quick read! Loved the much needed romance. My only con about the book was the multiple POVs and I kept getting confused about how long it had been.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Island Time is a beautifully, complex story about a family that gets stranded on an island off the coast of Queensland, Australia after a terrible tropical storm. Australian native, Matty (Matilda) Kelly finds herself sharing a house with her quirky mother, quiet father, conservative in laws, her sister, Amelia and her wife, Parker Lee for 6 weeks.

This book has a lot of interesting characters and I was invested in every single one of them. Despite the large number of characters, the reader gets to know each one and their vulnerabilities so beautifully.

Through this novel, Clark addresses the complexities of marriage, motherhood, queer relationships and family dynamics. Through the different couples, the reader gets a peak into many different phases of relationships and the problems they encounter.

You will experience a wide range of emotions over the course of this book: sadness, happiness, tension, relief and fear to name a few. Expectations and appearances are shattered as family secrets are revealed and everyone comes out stronger in the end.

The best way I can describe this book is if Malibu Rising by TJR and Float Plan by Trish Doller had an Australian baby, it would be Island Time.

It is impossible to pick a favorite character, but I loved Glen’s character growth and the love story between Amelia and Liss.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Atria Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.