This was unfortunately a huge miss for me. Really disappointing and such a boring story. I could not care less about anyone in the family and all their complaining. Thanks for the copy!

I throughly enjoyed this novel. In fact, it’s one of the few lately that has held my attention throughout the entire story. While I could see a few things coming, I never felt like rushing though it. I would definitely recommend it to friends.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I absolutely adored It Had to Be You and The Bucket List and was eager to read their latest work. While I didn’t love it *as* much as her other two (mainly because the characters made dumb selfish decisions), there was still a lot to love about Island Time. My personal favorite aspect of the book was how much I learned about the island where the book takes place! I truly felt transported to a beautiful tropical place, and while this book was more family drama than rom com, I’d recommend it as a summer read or a book to read when you feel like escaping somewhere else for awhile.

I want to thank the publisher so much for approving me of this eARC! I am always so happy to be granted the chance to read and review an LGBTQIA+ book. Unfortunately this story was not for me. I couldn't get attached to the story or the characters. The humor fell very flat and some of the jokes made me uncomfortable. I overall couldn't fully process what genre this story was attending to be and as much as I enjoy a a genre bending story it did not work here. The cover was also very misleading to me.

I had a hard time with this one. The concept is quite unique - 2 families stranded on a deserted island; 5 day trip turned 6 weeks; they basically become natives. It seems to set the appropriate setting and opportunity for the families to explore misgivings and embrace lgbtq understandings, there are too many characters and not enough time spent on developing them. Instead, everything was repeated and turned dull.

This one was just okay for me. Too many povs & it just fell flat. I didn’t like the characters, it wasn’t really a rom com in my eyes. The family was nuts. That’s about all I’ve got.

This one was such a light and easy read, I loved the characters and how everything worked out in the end. Definitely recommend this book if you're looking for something that will warm your heart and make you smile.

I struggled with deciding on the star rating for this one… I enjoyed the story overall but there were a number of aspects throughout that led to my 3 star rating.

It felt to me like it was supposed to be Amelia’s story, but there was so much about everyone else that I think made the book feel longer than it actually was. I kept wanting to go back to Amelia — while also finding her behavior immature and at times quite frustrating.

The focus on every family member’s lives just felt like a bit too much was going on.

I also found the manner in which the family engaged with each other to often be quite frustrating with their lack of regard for each other’s personal boundaries. I know that can be realistic to a lot of family dynamics BUT their behavior made me dislike a lot of them.

Overall, I was intrigued and wanted to know where the story was going and how their different storylines would play out. I just felt like I got a little caught up in the weeds throughout.

I've come to the conclusion that this author just isn't for me. (I struggled with her first book but decided to give her another chance when this was up for read now) AND THAT"S OKAY. This was a slog to to get through. I'm talking months. If I'm being honest . . . finally had to skim read because I'm done with summer books! Way too many characters and story lines. (Something I personally struggle with and don't prefer) What I liked most was the scenery and LQBTQ+ representation. Reminder, not every book is for everybody, so please still give this one a try if it sounds like something you may like.

"You're not like anyone else. Neither am I. And when you're queer, you get to create a love story that's never been written before."

In this family adventure with elements of romance, the extended Kelly-Lee family takes a four-day vacation together that turns into a six-week extended stay in paradise. Their first night on the island off the coast of Queensland, Australia sees a tsunami bearing down on them. The only guests on an island that boasts no full-time residents (only one caretaker on site), the Kellys and Lees are stuck with each other for a much longer period than planned while they wait their turn to be rescued. None are harmed by the catastrophic event; they just have to settle in and see what emotional damage they can do to one another in the meantime. Matty and Parker, the glue connecting the two family groups, are preparing to undergo fertility treatments and start a family even as both are distracted by work opportunities and crises that could affect their well-laid plans. Matty's sister Amelia is distraught that they were stranded before her boyfriend could arrive, separating her from the man on whom she's pinned all her significant romantic and familial dreams. Meanwhile, the Kelly parents are secretly separated, Jules leading the charge into her future while her husband quietly drags his feet. With so many POVs, there's a spectrum of ages, sexualities, and distinct life journeys presented. Sharp foreshadowing makes clear what each will need to grow; this unexpected disconnect from daily routines leaves plenty of time to think, explore, and re-evaluate. None of the cast is perfect, which is crucial with ensemble stories like this one. You don't want to side too strongly with any one person or dismiss any perspectives when you're more sympathetic to someone else. It's a lot to juggle with so many POVs, but the author does it well. By having a main thrust behind each journey, it's relatively simple to keep up with what each person needs and the transformation they experience. It's also a bit predictable, which isn't necessarily bad, but it did remove potential curiosity or tension for the reader as a result.

One thing that I have mixed feelings about is the politics of the book, not because I disagreed with the author. I was mostly good to go with the nature of the comments, but the pontificating reached a "preaching to the choir" level. Instead of spinning off to wax on about a variety of issues, I personally would appreciate a more hands-on, embedded look at different problems without a paragraph about the environment or mental health or queer issues under the thin disguise of a character's inner musings. I had especially conflicted feelings about the author's approach to talking about Indigenous perspectives. And it's most important to note I can't and won't arbitrate where it's not my place to do so. I can just share what I noticed. A central concept of the story is that the island was returned to Indigenous custody. The author discusses important historical, environmental, and legal issues pertaining to Indigenous peoples in Australia. One side character (a love interest) is Indigenous. Jarrah isn't a POV character, so we get his thoughts filtered through how the largely white main cast perceives him. These characters try to check their privilege, and Jarrah is a respected authority figure concerning the island. The author mentions her sources for this topic in her acknowledgments.

I had more strongly positive feelings about the queer angle of the book. Two sapphic romances are central to the story, one established couple and one new love. We have lesbian, bi, and non-binary rep in the main cast. The book is infused with queer culture and explores how complicated identities can be, the way we can hurt each other within our community by not understanding and respecting that diversity of experience. There's also a positive message about charting your own course as a queer person and finding what makes you happy beyond traditional expectations. As a parting fun aside, I was obsessed with a throwaway comment as the Kelly matriarch hyperventilates at the concept of what the neighbors will think learning that both her daughters are queer, suspecting they will think she let them watch too much She-Ra growing up. I certainly think that's how I ended up this way. I suggest the slogan "Watch She-Ra, Get Queer" as a marketing tool for the show, in fact. Thanks to Atria for my copy to read and review!

I would like to visit this island no matter what the weather!!! Enjoyable, fun quick read that kept me interested from start to finish!!!

I was so ready for a fun, romance read on a tropical island after seeing this beautiful book cover. Unfortunately, this book was not what I was expecting and the story really dragged for me. The LGBTQ+ rep was great and the island setting was really unique but the overall story just didn’t do it for me. I found some characters really unlikeable and the amount of POVs seemed like a bit much. The reactions to the natural disaster seemed unrealistic and the aftermath didn’t really add up to me with the characters having access to things like Wi-Fi and all that food. I wish I would have enjoyed this one more, but it just wasn’t a good fit. Thank you for the opportunity to read!

I found this book to be such a fantastic and refreshing read. I really loved the escape that this book was able to provide and how easy it was to just read in one-sitting and lose track of the outside world.. It was so fun and the romance was great!

Could not finish this. I couldn’t get over the jokes that were made in the book. I just didn’t find it funny and it made it hard to stay interested I’m sorry.

I was really excited for this summer read, but it just didn't hit my expectations (maybe I went in with too high of expectations?). The read just felt a bit all over the place between the different characters and story lines. The steam of the book was just a bit too much for my liking- I feel like it strayed away from her typical contemporary romance.

This is a romance that is essentially about finding one's true self. There are a lot of characters in this ensemble with a queer romance set at the center.
I didn't like any of the characters very much and while I loved being able to see their motivations through a third-person perspective, at times, I felt myself losing interest.

Overall this book was a fun read.

I was a huge fan of Clark’s IT HAD TO BE YOU last summer, so I was really excited for this one. The synopsis was giving White Lotus, with a less murder-y spin. The idea of two families who don’t particularly love each other being stranded together on an island was very enticing to me, and I thought the focus on Indigenous Australians was fascinating and something I had never seen explored in a book before. I think my biggest issue with this book was that it felt a little too long. It took me about 100 pages to actually feel invested in the story and characters. I didn’t particularly love any of them, and I found myself reallllly not caring about some of their POVs. I also think the marketing of this was pretty off. It’s not as much of a romance/rom-com as her previous book, although I think the cover certainly suggests that.

While this book was interesting enough to finish, I wasn’t necessarily entranced. I felt the book felt longer than it was supposed to. I really enjoyed the themes and the setting.

This book had a lot going on. I did enjoy it, but there were. Lot of different parts. Each character group had a story of their own. There were a lot of stories to follow but I did enjoy learning about each character and every story pulled me in.

I could not connect with this book. It dragged and was not interesting. The characters were flat and I could not connect with any of them..