Book Review: That Island Feeling might be the perfect summer read

The cover for That Island Feeling by Karina May is a pink and yellow sunset colour theme, featuring a cartoon image of a couple in bathers on the beach enjoying a picnic

Readers who are familiar with Karina May’s work will be unsurprised to learn that her latest fictional offering, That Island Feeling, is a smorgasbord of nostalgic film references. From the classic Goldie Hawn flick Overboard to Dirty Dancing to (one of my personal favourites) Coyote Ugly, May draws on her cinephile side (being one half of the podcasting team behind That Rom Com Podcast) in the creation of her latest heroine, Andie. Even her name brings back memories of sleepover movie nights, with Andie being the lead character in both The Devil Wears Prada and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

This Andie, however, is a kindergarten teacher rather than a journalist. And, when we first meet her, she’s boarding a boat bound for Pearl Island alongside three of her friends. Their mission? A girl’s trip away to cheer up Taylor, whose marriage has ended, leaving her heartbroken.

Andie is nursing some hurts of her own, however, having lost her Mum to cancer several years earlier, and subsequently having to take on the duties of primary carer for her father, who is suffering from dementia. It’s a big deal for Andie to be taking time off– so why doesn’t it seem like any of her friends appreciate all the effort she has put into planning their divorce exorcising trip?

The other main character of our rom com is Jack, a perennially barefoot oyster farmer who has lived on Pearl Island his entire life and is taking the decline of its pearl oyster industry (and subsequently its tourism) extremely hard. Trying to help everyone on the island seemingly at once, Jack spends his days helping out at the local eatery, skippering the boat to and from the island and cleaning rooms at the local swanky resort.

He’s also managing the Air B’n’B bookings for a family friend on the side, so when a double booking lands Andie and co in the same share house as a group of rowdy bucks party attendees, Jack and Andie are thrown into one another’s orbit. The question is, will this be just an island fling? Or something more?

There’s more than a little hint of Emily Henry about this novel, so especially if you were a fan of her latest, Funny Story, I recommend you add this one to your summer reading list ASAP. It’s funny, but it also has some deep emotional moments, particularly surrounding the responsibility that each of our main characters feel towards the people they love. The relationship dynamic between Andie and her friends is very carefully drawn out too, showing that when times get tough, sometimes maintaining friendships can get tougher too, particularly when everyone stops communicating.

If I had one gripe with a novel that otherwise gave me all the feels, it would be this. For a book with a very small setting, it did seem to have perhaps one too many characters. I can barely remember what the two other girls in the trip said or did besides Taylor and Andie, and wonder if perhaps a stronger point might have been made about their friendship if it were just the two of them on the island getaway.

This is a smart, funny, heart wrenching and sexy read, so if you loved Karina May’s two previous novels, believe me when I say this is a writer going from strength to strength.

I love the way that May knows all of the rom com tropes like the back of her hand and plays with them in new and exciting ways. Her style and her understanding of what readers want make this the perfect book for your next poolside reading session.

A Cold Season

FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)

That Island Feeling by Karina May is available now from Pan Macmillan Australia. Grab yourself a copy from a local bookshop HERE.

Emily Paull

Emily Paull is a former bookseller, and now works as a librarian. Her debut book, Well-Behaved Women, was released by Margaret River Press in 2019.