REVIEW: Anne of a Different Island by Virginia Kantra

In Anne of a Different Island by Virginia Kantra, Chicago has been Anne Gallagher’s home city for a few years now. It’s where she has a teaching job at a private school. She has an apartment there, albeit with roommates. And her boyfriend, Chris, a pediatric oncologist, lives in the city as well. But just as Anne believes she’s on her way to a HEA like that of her role model from the Anne of Green Gables series, things in her life start to implode, one by one. Her career is threatened. Her roommates are bailing on her. And Chris announces that since his residency is over, he’s moving to Atlanta–giving her an unfair ultimatum. The final straw is the death of her father, her anchor in life. Anne is hoping time back home on Mackinac Island will help her figure out what direction she should choose. But another complication in the form of a hunky carpenter enters the picture. Joe was part of the past she left behind. But could he also be a big part of her future?

“Well, life isn’t like a Hallmark movie, is it? Where the burned-out-big-city heroine returns to her small town and falls for the bearded guy in a flannel shirt. Oh, fudge.” My hand flew to my face. “I did not just say that.”
Because he was that guy.
Joe’s brows rose. “Pretty sure you did.”

Joe isn’t one to butt into situations that don’t include him. That’s why he never really got involved in his mentor, Rob Gallagher’s, life other than when it came to his restoration carpentry business. But Rob’s daughter Anne always seemed to be around. About seven years younger than Joe, she was known and loved by everyone on Mackinac, using her wild imagination to charm locals and tourists alike. Even him. Grown up Anne, though…that’s something altogether different. Back on the island to help her mom settle family affairs after Rob passed, she’s still got her head in the clouds, but Joe can tell there are things holding Anne back. Getting to know her after her time in Chicago makes him realize that the affection he’s always felt for her is still there. After being burned in a previous relationship, he’s a bit wary of starting something that might end in a couple months should she choose to go back to the city. But he realizes that his feelings are true and strong enough that it’s worth a shot, no matter the outcome.

‘He liked Anne. The problem was she made him feel things, want things, he mostly tried not to think about.’

Inspired by the beloved classic Anne of Green Gables books, ANNE OF A DIFFERENT ISLAND was a novel with heart, whimsy, and three-dimensional characters who will have you feeling all the feels.

‘Maybe, if I went home, I’d find a different story to tell.’

CW: View Spoiler »Parental death, grief, Covid pandemic (detailed), bigotry, cheating (secondary cast), childhood abandonment « Hide Spoiler

ANNE OF A DIFFERENT ISLAND is a nod to the Anne of Green Gables series I loved in my tweens and still think of fondly today. Author Virginia Kantra used them as a loose framework for our heroine Anne Gallagher and was mentioned frequently. But this was a wholly modern book told from both Anne’s and our hero Joe Miller’s POVs–and it was set on Mackinac Island instead of Prince Edward Island. It did still have that sense of close-knit island community life as well as the vivid descriptions of the landscape itself that really added another layer of detail, bringing everything together.

Anne herself was quirky, creative, had her head in the clouds most of the time, and had such a huge sense of wonder about the world that she almost seemed a bit naive. But not in a bad way. She was a dreamer, basically. And on a small, rugged island where everyone knows everyone else’s business–and where you had to work hard to stay afloat at times–people tended to look at Anne and smile, shaking their head at her flights of fancy. She was a wonderfully kind young woman whose goal in life was to help others. But she was struggling, having just lost her loving father and with her teaching career and love life up in the air.

It was when Anne moved (temporarily) back to Mackinac that she began to find her way as well as figure out a new path to chasing down her dreams. She truly had a lot of personal growth over the course of the book, which was a joy to read. And to me, it was the bond that grew between Anne and Joe that was what facilitated that growth. His quiet, thoughtful nature made her (and my!) heart skip a beat. He was a hardworking guy who cared deeply about the world and the people he surrounded himself with–and that came through in everything he did. Anne and Joe had a bit of an age gap (about seven years) so that added to the difference in where they were personally. But I think readers will cheer them on each step of the way as they figured out what and *who* they needed.

QOTD: Did you have a favorite book series or author while growing up?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: January 20th, 2026 | Berkley |

A woman learns to be the heroine of her own life in this heartfelt novel inspired by Anne of Green Gables by New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.

She believed life could follow a plotline—until the story she was living unraveled.

Anne Gallagher has always lived by the book. Anne of Green Gables, that is. Growing up on Mackinac Island, she saw herself as her the same impulsive charm, the same fiery imagination, even the same red hair (dyed, but still). She followed in Anne Shirley’s fictional footsteps, chasing dreams of teaching and writing, and falling for her very own storybook hero.

But when a string of real-life plot twists—a failing romance, a fight with the administration, and the sudden death of her beloved father—pulls her back to the island she once couldn’t wait to leave, Anne is forced to face a truth no story ever prepared her for. Sometimes, life doesn’t follow a script.

Back in the house she grew up in, Anne must confront her past and the people she left behind, including Joe Miller, the boy who once called her “The Pest.” It’s time to figure out what she wants and rewrite her story to create her own happy ending. Not the book version. The real one.