From the Bookshelf of Turning Pages At Midnight…

On the Island (On the Island, #1)

Tracey Garvis Graves

Start date: April 8, 2019

Finish date: April 13, 2019

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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What Members Thought

Jun 05, 2019 Kathy Golden rated it liked it

On the Island https://amzn.to/2JXNe4B features a trope I enjoy reading: stories about potential lovers stranded and fighting for survival. The thirteen-year age difference was also a plus, as I wanted to see how the author would handle this in the case of an older woman and a younger man. I read these 334 pages in about a day. For that reason, the book for me was a strong 3.5 stars. Half-star ratings aren't available yet, and my rating of 3 stars is because there was a problem really connecting emotionally enough with T. J. and Anna as a couple. It is a problem I attribute to the need for more internal monologue. There are thoughts and feelings that dialogue just isn’t capable of addressing and that weren’t address in enough detail with a close friend or family member. I do have a preference for having those moments when it’s only the reader and what is going on in the character’s head that wouldn’t really be shared with anyone else, but that is important for readers to know in order to get and stay emotionally connected with the character or characters.

The sex scenes appeared to have been written just to let readers know the couple was having sex, as these scenes are mostly a few sentences. Lines such as: “It was a good kiss” had all the sexual vibe of saying, “See Jane run.” So, if you don’t care for sensual descriptions of sex, explicit or otherwise, these sentences will work for you.

As I said, I finished the book in about a day, and I’m glad I finished it. The author deals realistically with some of the expected issues of a romance with this kind of age gap. What I liked most is that the characters, themselves, didn’t go on and on throughout the story worrying about the age difference.

The epilogue was one of the best I’ve read. The story doesn't conclude leaving various loose ends. It ties up them all and brings T.J. and Anna’s world together in a way that makes you glad you know their history, glad you made the journey with them, and you, too, wish them a long and wonderful happily ever after.

This story is written in first person and told from both T.J.’s and Anna’s points of view.

If you enjoy romances with this survival trope, I recommend Lady Sun Lady Sun and Wild. These are two engaging action-and-adventure romances.

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Jul 15, 2013 V rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: love-drama, shipwreck

Oh what a beautiful story! I'll admit that I had this on my tbr list for a while and was unsure about it because of the older woman/younger man relationship. Boy did i change my mind!

This story is amazing, and although it is a short one, that doesnt take away anything from the slow development of TJ and Anna's relationship. The first 60% of the book focusses on them being stranded on an island somewhere in the middle of the maldives in 2001. For the first few years (yes years!) they become very ...more

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