Member Reviews
ISLAND TIME was a really great story and one I totally got lost inside.
Georgia Clark really did a fabulous job with these beautiful characters we get the pleasure of knowing. The Kelly's and Lee's both are sweet, funny, tight-knit families with passion and love so deep for their family it's beautiful.
I did laugh at some moments and loved every minute of reading this fun, sexy romance that is full of beacy paradise vibes.
The romance was an added bonus for me.
The dynamic was so much fun to read. If you read this brilliant story I hope you fall in love with them as much as I did!
☆☆☆☆☆
Simon & Schuster/Atria/Emily Bestler Books,
I can't thank you enough for this opportunity to read such a phenomenal story.
I will post and tag my review closer to Pub Date.
Thank you to the publishers via NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was such fun escapism I read it in just under two days! Maybe I was just secretly wishing I was in Australia. There are lots of characters which takes a minute to follow but once you get to know everyone its easy to keep track. There is great representation and romance. Definitely recommend if you're looking for some fun and a vacation!
This was really refreshing, and a nice change of pace, I really enjoyed it.I The couple is realistically flawed and all family dynamic author managed to keep them interesting all at the same time. They were believable, and I think all of us could relate to one or more of the traits the characters possess. It was a quick easy read that felt lighthearted for the most part but also contained deep subject matter at times.
Overall, this is such a wonderful story that left me with tears in my eyes and a big smile on my face.
A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books | Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Georgia has done it again.
I couldn’t put this down. The location was so beautifully described, it took me away, immediately whisking me there. The love, the one-liners, the queer-rep and the twists had me swooning. There’s so much about this book that kept me hooked.
I loved the dynamics in the family, how each person has something about them that differs them. With each voice feeling unique — I only wish the chapters (in the copy I received) were better labelled in who was talking so I could connect a little better. But, it doesn’t take away my enjoyment once I got into the thick of it all.
People in books are my favourite thing to read, and I really feel Georgia excelled herself this time with how deep we peeled the layers back with the characters. It was enjoyable to see flaws, to have them be so relatable at times — and the Dad’s were such a fun highlight.
Super excited to read more of Georgia’s work, with a full review to come on my blog in the coming weeks.
Thanks so much to Georgia Clark, and NetGalley for the ARC for the honest review.
A cute and fun read with great characters, setting, and plot. A great book to escape to this summer. LBGTQ+ making it even better!
I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All expressed opinions are my own and do not reflect any stance or position held by the author or publisher. This did not affect my rating or review in any way.
This was such a refreshing book to read after reading lots of thrillers.
Good plot
Good characters
Good writing
Would highly recommend!
Love the pace of the book. It was cute and fun at times.
ISLAND TIME is another fab offering by Georgia Clark. Although steamier than her other books and not as rom-com-y, it is still an absolute delight! Always astounding is Clark's ability to balance all of the subplots and multiple points of view. No small feat! It's sapphic, sexy, and salty. Add it to your summer reading list immediately!
Island Time is a lovely read and perfect for those who want to get rid of the winter blues. Georgia Clark pens a witty tale here and I gobbled it up in a day because I didn't want to put it down. I highly recommend it for readers this summer. It's the perfect beach read!
A family that love each other but are hiding issues from one another get stuck on their vacation island when a volcano erupts, as do their issues.
Island Time is a Covid novel at its finest (I know that sounds crazy, but hear me out). The author, missing her homeland of Australia during the early days of the pandemic, wrote a story that explores isolation and the disruption of everyday life while giving us an escape from Covid, from our homes, from our combo kitchen/office/living room/dining room (for those of us who live in small urban apartments). Set on Mun’dai, a fictional tropical island off the coast of SE Queensland, Australia, the entire story feels like being on a vacation. With everything going on in the world, it’s really nice to get away.
The scene setting in Island Time is phenomenal, with most chapters opening with a short, vividly descriptive feature of the island or its inhabitants. There’s also a hand-drawn map of the island before the prologue that shows where most of the action happens and you can always Google “Fraser Island”, the inspiration for the Mun’dai, to get a visual.
The ensemble cast is another thing to love about Island Time. Each character is ~DEALING~ with something and I loved getting in each persons head to check on how they’re holding up. In developing her cast of characters, the author touches on jealousy, contentment, homesickness, marriage, parenthood, introversion. There’s something for everyone to relate to and learn from.
Island Time is the perfect escape from our current reality. It’s sweet, surprisingly deep, and quite funny (looking at you, uproariously hilarious dinner scene that had me in tears). Release date is June 14 so be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf and preorder it asap!!
Thank you to Atria Books for the gifted copy.
I was obsessed with this book. I laughed and cried and absolutely fell for each and every character in this book. Georgia has done it again. A perfect, perfect beach read
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. “Island Time” has a Liane Moriarty-esque quality to it; there’s mystery, but it’s less “who is the murderer” and more “what do these characters actually want and need?” It’s the story of two families who are stuck on an island together, and who struggle to reveal their secrets and understand their own desires. The joy of this book is watching these characters change and figure it all out, as they become more emotionally connected to one another. I’m so impressed with how Clark balances multiple subplots and povs, while ensuring a steady pace and thorough exploration of each relationship. Also, this book is a major page-turner. Like, it has edge-of-your-seat type of action, and I stayed up all night reading just to find out what would happen next––the truest indicator of a great book.
“Island Time” has it all: sapphic melodrama, killer one-liners, Buffy viewings, podcasters, pristine beaches, a birding bromance, and a cast of flawed & impulsive characters who are a pleasure to spend time with. I can’t wait for this book to be out in the world!
*Thank you to NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
I truly loved all the characters and felt they were such a great reminder that people (including parents) are human! We change, we grow, we make mistakes, and we experience love and loss as we go through life. Our family members and loved ones so too! That was my absolute favorite part about this book - the realism of humanity combined with hope. I’m not eating it higher because I did feel like the middle part of the book was a little slow and I like my books to be more pare turning but perhaps that wasn’t the author’s intention and is more my personal preference. I also thought it could benefit from a clearer timeline. This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Atria Books!
Island time was an easy read, but I felt it dragged in the middle. It is definitely a family relationship saga first and love story second, which wasn't really my impression when first starting the book, but I enjoyed that dynamic. I felt like the romance developed too quickly, but maybe that's just me, since I love a slow burn. I would still recommend this book to others, but probably wouldn't read again.
Two families go on what they thought would be a nice weekend to a quaint island in Australia. Get to know one another better, meet the new boyfriend of daughter Amelia and have a babymoon for daughters Matty and Parker before they move back from New York to Sydney.
What they don't expect is a Tsunami hitting the tiny island and them being stranded for six weeks with just the seven of them, the island caretaker and the local ranger. A travel ban is placed, so Amelia's boyfriend can no longer come.
The nine of these people could not be more different. Secrets are unraveling and hearts are broken, healed and love is renewed, but it is all changing. Can the family roll with the changes?
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
OMG I fell in love with this story - what a great reminder of the importance of family, parenthood, and life reflection. I really loved the characters and the multiple perspectives that were shown throughout the novel - it really strengthened the character development. I really love when we are given insight into multiple characters in the story. I was also appreciative of the queer representation and thought that was done nicely as well. The only thing that was a little unrealistic was the love story - it felt really quick but I didn’t think that took away from the story at all. I would recommend this book - overall it was a really cute, fun romantic comedy.
What is supposed to be an ideal week vacation on an island off Australia's coast turns into being stranded for six weeks. The Lees and the Kellys are only connected because their daughters are married. Amelia thinks she has found the one in James. And Matty and Parker are about to start a family. However, being stranded will force them to confront what they really want in life.
This was one of those books where it started out really good, got a little slow in the middle, and then ended on a faster pace again. I wish there had been more sense of time keeping throughout the book. One character would do something over a week and we didn't really see the other characters then. Even if it was just like a bold phrase at the start of each chapter, saying Week 1 Day 3 or something to that effect. It would've made that middle part a bit easier to navigate.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
Things I loved:
- the queer rep was great, it was really refreshing to have an actual queer romance and queer characters instead of just, like, the best friend who is in one scene and they call that rep
- the multiple perspectives were so fun to read and showed a full scope of life changes and falling in love from different people at different times in their lives. it also showed that love doesn't have to be romantic- it is just as valid to find love in fishing, or dance, or boobooks as it is to find love in a woman
- THE DADS. OH MY GOD. Favorite part, perhaps?
Things I thought could've been done differently:
- the instalove was a lot for me, I mean, this was like ten days. I've fallen hard before but my god this was fast, it made it slightly not believable but I get that there's a timeline to their relationship, I just wish maybe it began a few weeks before.
- I wish the multiple perspectives were labeled more clearly, maybe it's just because I read this as an ebook that it was mildly confusing but once you start reading you know who it's about, I just like to see it clearly
- I'm greedy and wanted a little more spice, but that's just me
I really did enjoy this book a lot and would definitely recommend it, it was not your typical island romance and for that reason it earned points in my book!
There is a LOT of drama in this book. I think because the author was able to hit the right amount of characters, the drama from each point of view wasn't as overwhelming as it could have been. Be warned, this IS a family drama first and love story second. This is a cute and quirky romp on an island. It's dramatic, but not overly so. The island still has wifi. It's a great read.