On the Island (On the Island, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Oct 02, 2018 Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, read-on-my-kindle, please-don-t-judge-me, 3-stars, was-expecting-more, e-book, contemporary, look-at-the-pretty-cover, romance, 2018

3 stars. This was hilarious for all of the wrong reasons. I honestly got some good inappropriate chuckles from this so I can’t say this was a waste of time.

It’s a very quick read, the chapters are short and the story itself is addictive in a ‘so bad it’s good’ type of way. The writing in this is very amateur and it almost feels like a first draft. Not that there was anything grammatically wrong with it, it’s fine in that sense, it’s just that the story is so bare bones and it just feels empty. T 3 stars. This was hilarious for all of the wrong reasons. I honestly got some good inappropriate chuckles from this so I can’t say this was a waste of time.

It’s a very quick read, the chapters are short and the story itself is addictive in a ‘so bad it’s good’ type of way. The writing in this is very amateur and it almost feels like a first draft. Not that there was anything grammatically wrong with it, it’s fine in that sense, it’s just that the story is so bare bones and it just feels empty. There is a lot of “I did that and then this happened. Then I did this and then this happened” type of writing. The characters aren’t developed and they have no personalities whatsoever which made it impossible for me to emotionally connect to them and feel for them and their situation.

Also all of the deus ex machina was overkill.*** ALL.OF.THEM. Damn, it was like the author went on tvtropes (shout out to that awesome time waste of a site) and looked looked up the meaning of it and incorporated it into every single chapter of this book while these two are stuck on the island. It was hilarious. The chapters were episodic in that there would be a major event happening and by the end of that chapter the characters have found their way out of it and never mention it again. Repeat for the next chapter and so on.

***”Deus Ex Machina is the literary term that refers to a character or event that seems to exist just to effortlessly solve a problem that seems unsolvable.”

The characters, T.J. and Anna are just so lifeless. There’s not one personality trait between the two of them. Unless, you count Anna wanting a baby thing, but even then that isn’t really that big of a deal to her character. They were boring. They never shared a conversation that was worth a damn, making the dialogue tedious and I never felt any genuine spark between them.

On the flip side, like I stated earlier, this book is hilarious. I kid you not I laughed like a loon when Anna’s suitcase washed up on shore and it was filled with all sorts of toiletries that lasted them about 2 and a half years. And T.J.’s backpack and shoes washed ashore as well! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. How convenient.

This was like watching a lifetime movie and it’s kinda hard to get mad at lifetime movies. You know what you’re gonna get and that’s exactly how it is with this book. 3 stars for all of the laughs and entertainment. ...more

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Apr 06, 2018 Jujubee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-challenge-read, on-nook, genre-ya-na

My first time reading this author. Nice easy going writing style for a debut story. I was pleasantly surprised how well the two MCs developed through their survival on the island and beyond. I kept waiting for cheesy, cliche, or tawdry...but thankfully it was just the right balance of drama, tension, atmosphere and natural, realistic character bonding. I got misty in quite a few spots and was rooting for Anna and T. J. every step of the way. A very unexpected, satisfying romance for my reading h ...more

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Jun 16, 2016 Olivermagnus rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, 2016, romance, zfeb-2023, 2023

On the Island is the story of thirty year old tutor, Anna and TJ, a sixteen year old boy recovering from cancer. Anna has been hired for the summer so TJ can catch up on the schoolwork he missed while at chemotherapy. She and TJ are on a private plan, headed for the Maldives, when the pilot has a heart attack and the plane goes down. Anna and TJ make it to the island and then struggle to survive. Their hope for a search plane diminishes as each day goes by. They have no supplies or water and it ...more

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Aug 12, 2018 Darlene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2018, library, romance, contemporary, survival

This book was recommended to me by a number of different bloggers. I wasn't sure whether it would be my thing, so I put off reading it. Firstly, I'm not so much of a contemporary romance reader. Secondly, the idea of the tutor and student falling in love with each other...especially since he was only 16 years old when the disaster occurs...left me going "ewwwww!" The reason why I ultimately decided to read this book is because I love survival stories, and I'm so glad that I took a chance on this This book was recommended to me by a number of different bloggers. I wasn't sure whether it would be my thing, so I put off reading it. Firstly, I'm not so much of a contemporary romance reader. Secondly, the idea of the tutor and student falling in love with each other...especially since he was only 16 years old when the disaster occurs...left me going "ewwwww!" The reason why I ultimately decided to read this book is because I love survival stories, and I'm so glad that I took a chance on this one!

T.J. Callahan is a 16-year-old boy whose cancer is in remission. Because of all the class time that he missed during his illness, his parents hire Anna Emerson who is an English teacher to tutor him throughout the summer to help him get caught up on his studies. T.J.'s parents hire a private plane to take T.J. and Anna to their summer home in the Maldives, where the rest of T.J.'s family is already waiting for their arrival. The pilot suffers a heart attack and the plane goes down. Suffering a head injury, Anna is unconscious and T.J. saves her life by helping her stay afloat until they drift to shore.

There is evidence that someone else once inhabited the island, but they now appear to be there alone. At first they are certain that it won't be long before they are rescued, but they lose hope after their island is passed by not just once but twice. Against all odds, Anna and T.J. fight to survive as they battle the elements.

I was quickly swept up in this tale of love and survival. I had my doubts going in about the romantic angle, with Anna being nearly double T.J.'s age! However, I felt that the author handled this appropriately by waiting until T.J. had matured and become an adult before introducing this new aspect of their relationship. Anna and T.J. had been stranded together for years, and it's only natural that they would grow to develop feelings for each other. Without one another, they would be alone so there is that whole other aspect and nursing each other back to health (or the best it can be under those circumstances) after each suffering from different afflictions only intensifies their emotions. The fear of losing someone only makes you realize how much that person means to you!

The story is told from the points of view of both Anna and T.J., which I feel added dimension to the characters. I really felt that I connected with both of them, and the character development for both and their relationship was like a beautiful arc. I have to admit that I was angry about some of what happened later on in the book but everything was ultimately resolved to my satisfaction!

I'll be continuing on with the next book in the series, Uncharted.

Memorable quotes:

"If she had gotten sick, the only thing I could have done was watch her suffer. Bury her next to Mick when she died. I didn’t know if I could make it without her. The sound of her voice, her smile, her– those were the things that made living on the island bearable. I held her a little tighter and thought if she woke up I might tell her that. She didn’t though. She sighed in her sleep, and eventually I drifted off.”

“I don't fit in your world."
"Neither do I," he said, his expression tender yet resolute. "So let's make our own. We've done it before.”

This review was posted on my book blog:
https://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.com... ...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Linda C rated it really liked it

Shelves: travel, romance-contemporary, asian

30 year old English teacher, Anna Emerson, takes a summer job tutoring almost 17 year old T.J. Callahan, who is in remission from cancer and behind on all his schoolwork. They are to join his parents at a summer rental in the Maldives. Unfortunately on the way there their seaplane pilot suffers a heart attack and crash lands in the ocean. They manage to stay afloat in life jackets and wash up on an uninhabited island. They need to work together to survive until rescue comes; finding food, water, ...more

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