This Summer Will Be Different is a modern romance novel by Carley Fortune that is set on
Prince Edward Island. The book was published in 2024 by Berkley Romance, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
I read the novel over Christmas vacation. It's a breezy, happy, and light read, well suited for a summer holiday. Each part of the novel begins with a quote from
L.M. Montgomery's
Anne of Green Gables series.
Along with being a love story, Fortune explains that her novel is also a love letter to Prince Edward Island and the land of Anne. Lucy Ashby, the main character shares her name with Lucy Maud Montgomery. When we first meet Lucy, she's dressed as a modern Anne with her hair braided and wrapped as a crown around her head. Lucy thinks,
"When I planned my holiday wardrobe, I thought the dress was appropriately pastoral—an off-the-shoulder number in oversized red-and-white gingham. Anne Shirley with a modern twist. But maybe the puffed sleeves were a little on the nose."
Lucy's romantic interest, Felix, is an Island boy like Gilbert Blythe. She shares a closeness with her best friend Bridget like that between Anne and Diana. During the course of the story, Lucy and Felix visit
Green Gables Heritage Place and walk along
Lover's Lane, and through the
Haunted Wood. They have fun quoting lines from the novel to one another. The characters also talk about Sullivan Entertainment's
Anne of Green Gables miniseries and the magic of Jonathan Crombie.
At the end of the book, Carley Fortune elaborates on her novel saying,
"I've known that I wanted to set a book on PEI since I began writing fiction. It's a truly special place, and of course, I have a deep love of Anne of Green Gables, both the book and the CBC movies, starring Megan Follows, Jonathan Crombie, Colleen Dewhurst, and Richard Farnsworth. When my husband and I began dating and he told me he'd never seen them, I went straight to the video store to rent the first. He applauded at the end, and in that moment, I knew he was the man for me. There is no improving upon Anne and my writing cannot compare to Lucy Maud Montgomery's, but I liked being able to look at the island through a contemporary point of view. I also got a kick out of writing my steamiest romance in the place famous for such a wonderfully chaste one."
I thought it was fun to read a book set on PEI by an author who loves Anne Shirley and Lucy Maud Montgomery's works.
Here is the description of the book:
THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
A glorious and tantalizing new escape from #1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune.
This summer they’ll keep their promise. This summer they won't give into temptation. This summer will be different.
Lucy is the tourist vacationing at a beach house on Prince Edward Island. Felix is the local who shows her a very good time. The only problem: Lucy doesn’t know he’s her best friend’s younger brother. Lucy and Felix’s chemistry is unreal, but the list of reasons why they need to stay away from each other is long, and they vow to never repeat that electric night again.
It’s easier said than done.
Each year, Lucy escapes to PEI for a big breath of coastal air, fresh oysters and crisp vinho verde with her best friend, Bridget. Every visit begins with a long walk on the beach, beneath soaring red cliffs and a golden sun. And every visit, Lucy promises herself she won’t wind up in Felix’s bed. Again.
If Lucy can’t help being drawn to Felix, at least she’s always kept her heart out of it.
When Bridget suddenly flees Toronto a week before her wedding, Lucy drops everything to follow her to the island. Her mission is to help Bridget through her crisis and resist the one man she’s never been able to. But Felix’s sparkling eyes and flirty quips have been replaced with something new, and Lucy’s beginning to wonder just how safe her heart truly is.
ISBN: 978-0593638880
Image credit:
Book cover of
This Summer Will Be Different.
Purchase and read This Summer Will Be Different:
Created January 23, 2025.
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