Super cute, cozy, and fun read! I enjoyed getting Anne's perspective on things as an individual who has AuDHD. I could understand how some people may be turned off by her way of thinking and speaking, but I think it portrayed the distracted and enlightened way her brain works very well. I am going to recommend this to friends and family!

Oh how I wanted to love this book. How I wanted to feel like a kindred spirit with this Anne. But alas, it was not meant to be.

I have a personal connection with Mackinac Island and I absolutely LOVE Anne of Green Gables so this seemed like a shoe-in for a favorite. Unfortunately, this really fell short for me.

But let's start with the things I liked: The setting - I LOVE Michigan and I do think the author did a good job bringing Mackinac Island to life, I imagine Maggie's like a Murdick's Fudge shop as I believe you should. The cover is absolutely gorgeous. I love that Anne's dad got her into Anne of Green Gables and her love for English lit as a fellow English lit major girlie. Her and her mom's relationship growth was nice to see.

The rest of this is me complaining and so for that I apologize. Note - spoilers ahead. Read at own risk.

Let's get into what was not my jam:
- the pandemic is a MAJOR plot point. I guess this is my first book that uses covid in its plot and phew, it is not for me. At the beginning, I wrote it off as a mildly off-putting detail, the fact that it's mentioned several times. Then at 20% in she GETS Covid and it was just wayyy too much pandemic as a plot point whenby 80-something percent in I was pulling my hair out thinking how many times is the work pandemic or covid going to be used in this book?!?
-so adhd is a plot point and it's done okayyy but also I guess I found Anne just not super likeable? Her forgetting things drove me nuts. It was maybe just a little heavy handed for me. more than anything, i was annoyed by her adhd quirks.
-age gap - it was a pretty significant age gap which would have been a lot better without flashbacks to where she was an underaged teenager??? eesh that's just off-putting.
-there's a token lesbian couple as a minor side character. just feels like a publishing ploy and not authentic at all.
-how the heck am i supposed to pronounce her bff's name?? Daanis?? I think it's supposed to be a creative take on Diana but I couldn't figure out how it was supposed to be pronounced - Denise? Dah-nis? Dan-ees? I know that's dumb and minor but also i feel like it's worth mentioning.

Ultimately, this book was not for me. The romance felt flat and was both not enough and too much?

2.5 stars - Read if you're looking for a contemporary read set in the very near 'aftermath' of COVID-19 set on a Michigan island

The book starts with Anne heading back to Mackinac Island for the funeral of her father, her biggest supporter. Much of the book is familiar if one has read the Anne of Green Gables series. A best friend who stays behind while Anne explores the world, a boyfriend who is not from the Island, a father who is supportive and dotes on Anne, a mother who is rough around the edges, an island, Anne is a teacher, etc. When Anne's life in Chicago blows up, she returns to Mackinac for the summer to help her mom in the fudge shop. She falls in love with Joe, the carpenter who worked with her father and was there the day he died. Can she accept her life will not quite be what she thought in her wildest dreams?

This was just ok for me. A solid 3 star read. I did enjoy Anne's character and the Mackinaw Island setting, but the story fell a little flat for me.

Anne’s voice is genuine a little scattered, her emotions raw. Her relationships—romantic and familial—are tangled, imperfect, and compellingly real. This isn't a retelling, and yet you'll feel the Anne of your childhood all over this story. Compared to Kantra's Little Women series, this falls short for me, BUT I can't wait for what she writes next!

Anne of Different Island was a sweet, light read with some charming moments, but it didn’t fully draw me in. The premise had potential, and there were definitely cute parts, but overall it just didn’t leave a strong impression. I didn’t find myself overly invested in the characters or story, though it might appeal more to readers looking for a cozy, easygoing book.

I can for the AOGG content but stayed because of Mackinac Island. Having visited often, I have always wondered what life was like for locals. To me, this was more interesting than the romance and other plot lines. Others have found the romance origin story and Harry Potter references troubling so hopefully some editing is still possible.

As an Anne of Green Gables aficionado, I was instantly drawn to this title. There's plenty of references back to the source material and Mackinac Island is a perfect stand in for PEI. Anne was charmingly imperfect and overall it had fun vibes.

Like others have noted, I did have a big problem with the Prom flashback scene. The 24 year old kissing the 17 year old back was wildly inappropriate - as was the commentary when Anne as a very young teen interrupts his half-naked makeout session. I'm shocked that an editor didn't suggest what would have been very minor plot changes to avoid these problematic scenes.

I also had a hard time believing that someone who went through an undergrad degree and actually taught wouldn't realize how ADHD presents itself - without having a teenager showing her TikTok videos...

I loved the writing style, but had some struggles with this one!

Anne’s return to the island after her father’s death threw her into a whirlwind of emotions she wasn’t ready for. She’s so genuine—talkative, struggling with her teaching job, and trying to make sense of everything that’s falling apart inside her. That honesty grabbed me from the start.
Her fiancé looks solid on the surface—the dependable type—but I could tell Anne was longing for something deeper. Their relationship isn’t full of loud drama, but there’s this quiet tension that feels heavy in the spaces between them.

Then there’s the man who’s been connected to Anne’s life for years in a way that she can’t brush aside anymore. He’s not just someone new; his presence stirs things up beneath the surface, adding complexity and a kind of steady weight that made the story richer.

The references to Anne Gable’s books scattered through the story were a nice surprise. I hadn’t read her before, but those moments made me curious to explore her work.

Anne’s summer wasn’t simple or smooth—it was tangled with grief, complicated feelings, and uncertainty about the future. The story doesn’t pretend life is straightforward, and that made every moment feel real and honest. I found myself caught up in Anne’s world, feeling every twist and turn alongside her.

What a perfect summer read!

Anne is a teacher in Chicago who is obsessed with Anne of Green Gables. When she receives word of her father's unexpected death, she travels home and a floodgate of childhood memories are unlocked.

Anne finds herself rekindling old friendships and love interests, and has wholesome adventures and interactions along the way.

A lighthearted and adorable read, exactly the kind of book you want on a warm summer beach day. The plot is decently paced, and it keeps you reading, without any topics that are too heavy.

✨3 Stars for a heartfelt retelling that almost had me—just not quite all the way✨

Well, let me start by saying I really wanted to love this book. The idea of a modern Anne of Green Gables retelling? Say less! I was fully in—especially with the cozy Mackinac Island setting and a heroine with literary dreams and dyed red hair to match her namesake. There’s so much here that’s earnest, charming, and thoughtful.

Virginia Kantra’s prose is warm, inviting, and often delightfully observant. The book pays loving tribute to L.M. Montgomery’s classic while weaving in relevant modern themes like banned books, loss, and the complexities of family and finding your place in the world. And R.I.P. to my productivity—because yes, I devoured this book in record time, which is always a good sign.

But.

As much as I appreciated the homage and Kantra’s skilled writing, a few things kept me from fully embracing this retelling as a personal favorite. First off: I struggled with the age gap timeline. A 17-year-old girl being visibly flustered and attached to a guy in his twenties may have a touch of realism in certain small-town dynamics—but in a 2025 contemporary novel, it felt uncomfortable. Especially given how the book frames their early interactions. Even if it doesn’t lead to anything until years later, the dynamic left a weird taste in my mouth. It just didn't feel necessary for building romantic tension or depth.

Another oddity: the Harry Potter references. Listen, I was one of those people who lived and breathed those books. I get it. They were a generational phenomenon. But as someone who can no longer separate the magic from the author's transphobic rhetoric, these references hit wrong. Especially in a story that otherwise tries to be progressive and sensitive. A small detail, maybe, but it took me out of the moment.

Still, there's plenty of emotional pull here. I felt for Anne—her grief, her confusion, her constant push and pull between the life she imagined and the one she finds herself living. And Joe? While I didn’t swoon, I did appreciate that he’s flawed, grounded, and far from a cliché romcom hero. The book felt more like women's fiction than straight romance, and I think it worked better that way.

Would I read more from Virginia Kantra? Absolutely. She’s clearly got the heart, skill, and vision to keep evolving. This one just wasn’t a perfect fit for me—but I’ll be volunteering for her next book all the same.

💫 Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this retelling’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts. I truly appreciated the chance to read it. 💫

First, this is a perfect cover. Second, Virginia Kantra's modern retellings just keep getting better. The prose is pitch-perfect. Warm. Sometimes dryly witty. Always intentional. No surprise, considering the author’s many awards and accolades.

I note some previous reviewers were triggered by a casual reference to "childhood" Anne liking the Harry Potter series (ten years ago--when Anne would've read it--everyone loved it and no one knew of JKR's problematic views). Either way, it is hardly a material plot point or endorsement of JKR's personal views. Similarly, this story did not promote the idea of a 17 year-old and 24-year-old getting together. The point was that these two were in each other's company for a long time on a small island and the teen had a little crush on him. The guy pushed her away when she impulsively kissed him back then.

Retellings are hard to pull off, but this author seamlessly weaves modern issues (like book bans) throughout the story that make it fresh while remaining familiar. Not only that, there are plenty of wise insights, feminist concerns, and important family themes in this coming-of-age story.

There is a LOT to love about this book, especially for Anne of Green Gables fans.

Until this book is seriously edited, I will not be finishing it. There is absolutely no reason why a man well into his 20s should be ogling a 17 year old girl. Absolutely disgusting that this was supposedly the male love interest. I don't care if Gilbert Blythe was that much older than Anne Shirley, it is absolutely uneccessary in a contemporary romance or anything written in 2025. Not to mention the Harry Potter references and other weirdly sexist comments in this book. I'm very disappointed.

I haven't read a book this quickly in so long. That's a major point in this book's favor. It sucked me in, I really enjoyed our protagonist, and I definitely looked to see if the Mackinac Island Public Library was hiring.
I'm not a romance reader, and I found this one lacking. For a slight age gap, the older man being more emotionally stunted than the younger woman was not fun. The age gap also brought up some awkward moments in the past that I could have done without.
I had fun, read it fast, and would recommend it, especially for anyone in a reading slump. The attention to detail, especially regarding Anne of Green Gables, was so much fun, and you could feel the author's passion.

I have to DNF this book at 38% because of multiple Harry Potter references. Absolutely wild.

Also the first kiss between MCs happens at 17 and 24. Ew. Gross. Why. No.

AND tell me why the author is shitting on romance novels in a romance novel?

Also Anne’s mom is a bitch.

Incredibly disappointed.

As a huge Anne of Green Gables fan, I was reluctant to read this when I saw it was just "inspired" by and not a retelling. But when I saw it was Virginia Kantra who wrote two of the best Little Women retellings I've ever read, I knew I had to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did!