I haven't read a book by Georgia Clark before and I was thoroughly happy about it. I actually started it and read it in one day because I had to know what happened.

Island Time is about a remote island that a family is visiting but a volcano nearby erupts and they are stranded for six weeks. It has friends to lovers, amazing character growth and hilarious quips. I loved that Georgia obviously did a ton of research for this book and I felt like I was sitting on the island with the family!

Not your typical island romance. It gives you queer romance, falling in love, life changes, and multiple perspectives. The author did an amazing job with her vivid description of the island and its surroundings. The diverse cast allowed the reader to connect with at least one of the characters and the struggle or challenges they were going through (jealously, marriage, parenthood, etc.).

My only call out is that I wish the multiple perspectives would’ve been labeled more clearly. As the story progresses, it was easier to navigate; however, in the beginning I felt that it was a little bit of a struggle to keep up.

This was so playful and cute! The perfect summer romance read! I'd highly recommend to romance lovers!

I just loved this book so much. I will admit it took me a little while to get into because sometimes I find it hard to connect with multiple characters (even though I love multiple points of view). It was also my first time reading a Georgia Clark book, so I also have to get used to a new author sometimes. But once I got acquainted with all of the characters and Clark's writing, I was definitely invested and found myself thinking about these characters throughout my day and wanting to find out what would happen next. This book had many storylines to follow, all of which were all complex in their own rights. I was expecting this to be a light and fun read, which it was, don't get me wrong, but it also had a lot of depth and character development, which I really admired and made me love it all the more. I'm such a fan of forced proximity as well, and being stranded on an island.... well, that's definitely forced proximity. This book made me giggle out loud, tear up at times, and giggle some more. I love that Clark was able to add plenty of wit and humor, while still tackling some tough subjects. I ended this book with a smile and a sigh and looked at my hubby and said "that was good," which I think sums it all up very nicely. It was very good and very much enjoyed and I look forward to reading more of Clark's work!

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. From the quirky family, to the beautiful imagery, to the fascinating Australian Aboriginal history, I could not put this book down.

Each character seemed to be dealing with their own individual life crises, and Georgia Clark did such a good job of allowing the readers to see into each individual mind. Normally, when plots jump from one characters point of view to another, and are constantly back and forth, I get extremely confused and deterred from completing the story. But Georgia Clark organized each chapter beautifully, with a new perspective and amazing detail of the Australian Island.

I thoroughly enjoyed the drama, the heartbreak, and the comedy. I think Georgia Clark did a fantastic job with the queer romance. It was very refreshing to have actual queer characters and a real queer romance.

I fell in love with every single character, felt a connection to each character, and I felt hurt when they felt hurt. This book is absolutely a major page-turner. I couldn’t put this down and just wanted to know what happened next. Bravo, Georgia Clark.

*Thank you NetGalley for early access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.*

Island Time by Georgia Clark is a sapphic, sexy, salty, and soapy read 🏝

The Kellys and Lees travel to a beautiful Australian island for a family vacation. 🏝What they don’t count on is being stranded on the island with the two employees for 6 weeks after a volcano erupts. Questions of love and life start to surface and causes our cast of characters to dive deep into answering those questions 🏝

I loved Georgia Clark’s It Had to Be You, and Island Time didn’t disappoint. While the two were uniquely different, what remained constant was Clark’s keen ability to write multiple POVs with subplots and still connect them seamlessly is so well done. 🙌🏼

A huge thank you to @atriabooks and @netgalley for the digital ARC!

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I believe that here, it's a case of, 'It's me, not you.' I really wanted to like this book, with it's ideal location and love for the ecosystem. It even dealt with same sex relationships and having kids.
I just couldn't get into it. I found it difficult to work out whose perspective I was reading again. Maybe it was bad timing and I needed something lighter.
2.5 stars (Won't be posting this review online).

I’m so sorry, I need to read the summary better for books, the topics in this book is unfortunately not something I feel comfortable reading. The review will be solely based on the cover, the cover is what grabbed my attention. It’s so cold in Chicago, and the setting looks so dreamy.

A fun beach read that makes one wish for the summer season to start! I enjoyed Island Time and hope other readers find it as good as I did.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy.

Loved!! This book brought me straight to the beach and into their lives. This was my first book by this author and I am definitely a fan. A must-have on your summer reading list!

Who isn’t ready for some ‘Island Time’ about now! Especially those of us in the Midwest! This was perfect timing for a little get away for me. This is my second book by our author and I really loved it. It was a really good fit for me at the perfect time. While the books are totally different I actually found it interesting that a lot of my thoughts overall are similar. I actually want to buy a physical copy of the book to highlight portions of it. Many people are familiar with an island we have here in Michigan called Mackinac Island (so fortunately right near our home) and I felt very connected in that our island is very small (8 miles in circumference) and no cars are allowed so we take a ferry to it and some land is also historic and protected so it was very easy to put myself in the setting of this book and feel the “vibe” so to speak.

‘Island Time’ is a wonderful story of two families vacationing on an island together. They are seemingly very different but share one obvious thing in common, their daughters are married to each other. A storm hits the island and they have no other choice than to try to make things work, together, for an extended period of time. At times the book was funny and witty and at others it had a very serious tone. It also has some pretty spicy scenes too. I couldn’t help wondering if the book contained reflections of our author and her own family as I read it. Once again Georgia Clark does an amazing job of representing “queer romance”. I am a huge ally and equality is incredibly important to my own family so it is also very important to me that more and more books published normalize all relationships and identities.

So let’s talk about the things I liked about the book. Once again we are presented with a lot of characters. Magically our author weaves them together to not make it feel overwhelming or feel like too many. Somehow you can still keep track of them and get to know them really well. We are effortlessly taken on a ride to the past and then so delicately put back into the present part of the story. You don’t even necessarily realize you are getting backstory on the character until you are resuming the present situation. I don’t think this is always done seamlessly in books but our author has it down pat. The other thing I really enjoyed was again how realistically flawed the characters are. How they are presented with realistic situations and have normal realistic reactions, they sometimes need to apologize and they sometimes need to look deep within themselves. I think her characters are very relatable. The descriptions were wonderful and it was the kind of book that feels more like watching a movie than reading.

Many thanks to our author Georgia Clark and Katelyn of Emily Bestler | Atria Books | Simon & Schuster for providing me with an eARC on net galley in exchange for an honest review. 'Island Time' will be available on June 14th, 2022 and I hope if you pick it up you enjoy it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I loved this book. I can’t say enough good things about it. It’s a little less romance like than her other books it’s absolutely perfect. Everyone should add it to there summer reading list.

Love, love, love. Love so much. A fun, loving read. Georgia Clark has a way of pulling so many emotions out while maintaining a fun read. Love the Kelly’s so much, all of their backgrounds and thoughts and feelings. Amelia + Liss are beautiful and I love them and this book.

Pretty fun beach read with a great setting and entertaining family dynamics.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59365737

I’ve read two other Georgia Clark books and enjoyed them, however Island Time was disappointing unfortunately. The premise is that two very different families go on a vacation together and end up stranded. The book tackles queer romance, family relationships, and choosing between a career or a family.

What I liked: The representation in this book was decent. As well, I liked how the author included some Australian Indigenous culture in the book.

What could be better: I was expecting this book to be similar to her other novels - emotional but still light-hearted and fun - and I just did not get that vibe from this book at all. The writing reminded me of Liane Moriarty, in that there were multiple character perspectives throughout the book and it was hard to keep track of who was who, especially in the beginning. It also read like Liane Moriarty because there was a lot of Australian influence in the story.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately, this is a two-star read for me. If I hadn’t been reviewing it, I probably would have DNF’d because I was not enjoying myself.

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

The Kellys and Lees have nothing in common but end up stranded on an island together for six weeks after a volcano eruption. Family dynamics change, heartbreak occurs, and of course, there’s a love story that develops.

Based on the synopsis, I thought this book was going to be a cute beach read, but unfortunately, it fell short. Georgia Clark does a wonderful job describing Mun’dai, the setting of the novel. Because Mun’dai is an island off the coast of Queensland, Clark provides a lot of insight into the culture of the island and the history of Aboriginal Australian people. To me, this was the most interesting part of the entire book, which is saying something because it is about 400 pages long.

One of the issues I had with Island Time is all the characters. This story is told from alternating perspectives, but there were just too many perspectives being shared. The characters are all at different stages in life, and I felt like the storyline was somewhat unfocused. The youngest main character was struggling to find herself after a surprise heartbreak, one couple was going through a divorce after 30+ years of marriage, and another couple was back-and-forth on whether parenthood was right for them or not. It seemed like all the characters were focused on self-discovery, which I appreciated, but it was just a lot. While I did like Glen Kelly and Ludmila and Randall Lee (probably the three most insignificant characters), I didn’t particularly care for any of the other characters.

I’ll applaud Clark for the detail she put into the setting and the diverse representation shown through the many characters, but this book just didn’t do it for me.

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

Georgia Clark’s latest book, Island Time, is equal parts love story, family drama and Aboriginal study. I enjoyed each part, and surprisingly found the history of the Aboriginal Australian people fascinating and engaging. Set on a resplendent island in Australia, main character Amelia and her family travel to this glorious destination for vacation and time together. Unfortunately, their plans change drastically when disaster strikes, leaving everyone dazed and confused. Thankfully their disorientation is temporary and eventually leads to a trip no one will ever forget, nor regret. Instead of despair and heartache from said disaster, Clark leads each character towards growth and family healing, and in turn, leads the reader on a journey of their own... a wonderful journey with heart and soul at the center.

I went into this book thinking it was a messy, yet lighthearted romance - it was not that. Maybe if I knew the broad range of the book, I would have liked it more. Unfortunately, I thought most of the characters were selfish and annoying, so it was hard to connect with any of them.

Island time is a book set in a tropical paradise — where family comes together to share big news, but end up with more than they have bargained for.

Pros:
- absolutely loved that the books is told from everyone’s perspective. It gave a lot of depth to characters that seemed stand off-ish.
- loved the setting… it was fun and I loved reading about the characters exploring the island.
- queer representation
- love stories for all ages
- a bit of a look into the Indigenous Australian peoples

Cons:
- hated all of the characters (except Glen and Randall).
- the book would have been so much shorter if anyone (at all) knew how to communicate.

Overall, I give it a 3-3.5 ⭐️ There was a lot that I didn’t love, but it was a good read.

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

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4624471721

I enjoyed this book but do note that it is a longer read. So full disclosure, I am absolutely horrendous with names IRL and often in stories, I can never remember the names of any of the characters. Romance books are often easy because there are like two characters, and it's easy enough to get by. This book, however, has so many characters - I was sort of confused for the first bit of the book. I didn't find the transitions to figure out who was speaking to be very seamless at all, but that could be just a personal issue. This book was pretty fun and did make me want to take a tropical vacation! Oh, and this is a queer story that I'm not sure is apparent from the cover, so if you're looking for a discreet LGBTQ+ novel, this could be the one for you.