Anne Gallagher loves the book Anne of Green Gables and feels kinship with the titular heroine. She would love to fall for her own storybook hero, but a number of real-life negative events bring her back to the island she couldn't wait to leave. She's back in her childhood home, seeing everyone she left behind. This includes Joe Miller, who once called her a pest. Anne is now left to figure out what she wants and how to write her own happy ending.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.
 |
| January 2026; Berkley; 978-0593816493 audio, ebook, print (368 pages); women's fiction |
Mackinac Island has a small local population and a lot of tourist destinations. As with many small towns, many young people either stay forever or want to leave. Anne is one who dreamed of going to college with her best friend and having adventures like Anne of her books. Her best friend got married, and she went to college alone, starting her teaching career during the pandemic over Zoom. Her boyfriend is a pediatric oncologist, so she tempered her needs in the relationship because he had concerns about illness and burnout. He's too busy with his residency to accompany her to her father's funeral at the beginning of the book, and Anne says it's fine even when it clearly wasn't. (Reader, please don't do this; it's not fine, and a good residency program will help make allowances for grieving.)
Anne is grieving the loss of her father, strain at her teaching job, and silence from her boyfriend. She hopes to reconnect with her mother, who isn't the type to chatter about feelings or needs, but doesn't have the storybook response she hoped for. Talking to her best friend and reconnecting with Joe and the other people she once knew doesn't go as expected. The story gives us her POV as well as Joe's, so we see his losses and the concern for his sister, Anne, and being left behind again. The romance between them is slow and steady, growing closer over the course of the summer as Anne tries to figure out what she wants for her future. Along the way, others figure out what they want as well. It's not a romcom kind of feel, but a warm and genuine love for the locals, their needs, and the connections between them. This is a lovely romance that will warm your heart over winter.
Buy Anne of a Different Island at Amazon
Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment