Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Island Time: A Novel

Island Time: A Novel
VolunteerVal avatar reviewed on + 594 more book reviews


Island Time by Georgia Clark was very different from my expectations. I didn't anticipate a novel with an illustrated cover and publisher's description as a "smart and steamy ensemble romantic comedy" to include quite so many issues.
Yes, it includes a LGBTQIA+ romance and had some humor, but it also has themes of cli-fi (climate fiction), infidelity, work-life balance, Aboriginal Australian folklore, Buffy fandom, and more. It's no wonder it's 400+ pages long to fit in all these topics.

Plot summary: The Kelly and Lee families travel to a remote Australian island for a tropical getaway to become better acquainted now that their daughter are a married couple. The families are very different, but they should be able to coexist for a week in paradise, right? All plans are scrapped when a massive storm forces the families to stay on the island far longer with less than ideal accommodations and provisions.

The author wrote Island Time as a coping mechanism to survive Covid lockdown while living in NYC. Her love for her home country is evident in her vivid and detailed descriptions of Australian flora, fauna, and landscapes.

I'm grateful to Atria and NetGalley for the review copy of this interesting (but too long) novel.