Romance

Anne of Manhattan

Anne of Manhattan

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-21 08:51:41
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Brina Starler
  • ISBN：0063020742
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Summary

L。 M。 Montgomery’s classic tale， Anne of Green Gables， gets a romantic， charming， and hilarious modern adaptation， set in New York City。

After an idyllic girlhood in Avonlea， Long Island， Anne has packed up her trunk， said goodbye to her foster parents， Marilla and Matthew， and moved to the isle of Manhattan for grad school。 Together with her best friend， Diana Barry， she’s ready to take on the world and find her voice as a writer。When her long-time archrival Gilbert Blythe shows up at Redmond College for their final year， Anne gets the shock of her life。 Gil has been in California for the last five years—since he kissed her during a beach bonfire， and she ghosted him。 Now the handsome brunette is flashing his dimples at her like he hasn’t a care in the world and she isn’t buying it。

Paired with the same professor for their thesis， the two former competitors come to a grudging peace that turns into something so much deeper…and sexier than either intended。 But when Gil seemingly betrays her to get ahead， Anne realizes she was right all along—she should never have trusted Gilbert Blythe。

While Gil must prove to Anne that they’re meant to be together， she must come to terms with her old fears if she wants a happily-ever-after with the boy she’s always （secretly） loved。

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Reviews

Beverly McGuire ，

I truly loved this book。 I have a special love for Anne and her world of green gables。 Starler did a fantastic job bringing Anne into modern times whe still capturing the world of green gables。

Linli ，

Ultimately not my cup of tea。 If you were a fan of the original， I'm not sure you feel about the modern changes to the book。 Perhaps it's better if one had not read the original， but then again， one would miss the nods to the original material。 This is the second title I've read in recent years from authors doing a new take on Anne of Green Gables （and I take my hat off to them taking on the task）， but unfortunately， the original is still the best。 Lightning in a bottle。 Finally， in case anyone Ultimately not my cup of tea。 If you were a fan of the original， I'm not sure you feel about the modern changes to the book。 Perhaps it's better if one had not read the original， but then again， one would miss the nods to the original material。 This is the second title I've read in recent years from authors doing a new take on Anne of Green Gables （and I take my hat off to them taking on the task）， but unfortunately， the original is still the best。 Lightning in a bottle。 Finally， in case anyone is thinking of giving this to a child because they love 'Anne'， this is definitely in the adult fiction camp。 。。。more

Gina Terry ，

Anne and Gilbert in modern day New York？Yes， please！Won't lie， pictured the late Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert， since he is the one and only version in my mind。 Swoon！ Anne and Gilbert in modern day New York？Yes， please！Won't lie， pictured the late Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert， since he is the one and only version in my mind。 Swoon！ 。。。more

More ，

Esto fue básicamente un fanfic de Anne y Gilbert pero anyway me encantó🤧

Tazrin ，

2。5 rounded up…it was fine

Sarah ，

I'm going to go ahead and give this 3 stars， though I DNF at 50%。 I read modernized adaptations knowing that they will rarely recapture the nuances of the originals。 Going in with that in mind， I hoped this would at least have the same sincere， curious， innocence I loved about Anne the child。 That didn't happen。 Don't get me wrong; this is still a well-written romcom that some will adore。 It's fun。 It's sweet。 The updated characters are interesting。 It's just not for me。 I found Anne the grad mo I'm going to go ahead and give this 3 stars， though I DNF at 50%。 I read modernized adaptations knowing that they will rarely recapture the nuances of the originals。 Going in with that in mind， I hoped this would at least have the same sincere， curious， innocence I loved about Anne the child。 That didn't happen。 Don't get me wrong; this is still a well-written romcom that some will adore。 It's fun。 It's sweet。 The updated characters are interesting。 It's just not for me。 I found Anne the grad mostly whiny and self-important。 Much of the conflict up to 50% could have been avoided with basic communication。 Overall I'd say if you want a fluffy new adult romance， give it a try。 If you want to recapture a love of Avonlea， give it a pass。 。。。more

saskia ，

Started off strong， but it lost me in the last half。

Shell ，

4。5 I love Anne。 I love Gilbert。 I really enjoyed this modern retelling。 I think if you enjoyed all the modern aspects of Anne With An E， you might like this。 If you're a purist， I'd give it a pass。 But I've been dying for a Anne retelling/adaptation/whatever。 This was fun and I thought pretty in character。 Are there some things that didn't work for me， sure。 But I'm still going to rec it to my fellow Anne and Gilbert lovers。 4。5 I love Anne。 I love Gilbert。 I really enjoyed this modern retelling。 I think if you enjoyed all the modern aspects of Anne With An E， you might like this。 If you're a purist， I'd give it a pass。 But I've been dying for a Anne retelling/adaptation/whatever。 This was fun and I thought pretty in character。 Are there some things that didn't work for me， sure。 But I'm still going to rec it to my fellow Anne and Gilbert lovers。 。。。more

Terri ，

Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite series from childhood。 It is still a comfort read now as an adult。 I really enjoyed this modern retelling of Anne of Avonlea。 It was great fun to revisit these characters and image what their lives would be like if their book was set today。

Kelly ，

Maybe if I liked romance novels？ Only the fact that it was Anne made me finish it and give it 2 stars。 Admittedly， I skimmed a lot。

Cristin ，

3。5

mily ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 More like a 2。5 star read， but I didn’t have any trouble finishing it （I might drop it down to 2， though）。 I was hoping to love it， but it was just okay。 I’ve loved Anne of Green Gables for a long time， and a modern retelling should be right up my alley。 However， these characters， aside from the supporting cast， don’t entirely feel like any iteration of Gilbert or Anne I’ve seen， and not in a good way。 I loved the flashbacks in the book （they were my favorite part）， but I feel like they should h More like a 2。5 star read， but I didn’t have any trouble finishing it （I might drop it down to 2， though）。 I was hoping to love it， but it was just okay。 I’ve loved Anne of Green Gables for a long time， and a modern retelling should be right up my alley。 However， these characters， aside from the supporting cast， don’t entirely feel like any iteration of Gilbert or Anne I’ve seen， and not in a good way。 I loved the flashbacks in the book （they were my favorite part）， but I feel like they should have been cut or shortened， as the “modern” plot was underdeveloped。 I didn’t even realize a whole school year has passed until Anne mentioned it。 The conflict came out of nowhere—if they were going to do a miscommunication plot line， I wish it had been something more along the lines of AWAE， or they could have had Gilbert propose that Anne move in with him， to which she runs away because that’s more of an Anne move。 Also， Gilbert making Anne’s harassment all about him—which he did—was silly， especially for a character who has obviously always cared deeply about Anne and her feelings。 I don’t know; I feel like if you took out the flashbacks and replaced the names， this would just be your run-of-the-mill contemporary romance。 。。。more

Krista ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 3。5 rounded up to 4。 Ok。 When I first browsed the ratings on this book before reading I noticed that people either loved it or hated it。 I honestly didn’t mind it - maybe because I didn’t go into it thinking that I would be reading something similar to L。M。 Montgomery’s Anne series。 Essentially this was just a fan fic of Anne of Green Gables。 It was interesting to see what this author did with some is the characters - and maybe this will be a gateway book for the younger generations to get into 3。5 rounded up to 4。 Ok。 When I first browsed the ratings on this book before reading I noticed that people either loved it or hated it。 I honestly didn’t mind it - maybe because I didn’t go into it thinking that I would be reading something similar to L。M。 Montgomery’s Anne series。 Essentially this was just a fan fic of Anne of Green Gables。 It was interesting to see what this author did with some is the characters - and maybe this will be a gateway book for the younger generations to get into AOGG。 I will add that it was weird to read Anne and Gilbert sex scenes。 Maybe I am too much of a prude， but I was ok with not reading those。 🙈 Overall， a fun escape read！ 。。。more

Katy ，

I wanted to like it so badly。 I love Anne and Gilbert。 Love them。 But reading the sex scenes in this novel were cringe。 Like reading about my grandparents getting it on。 I just couldn’t。 No thank you。 Nope。 Anne didn’t have the wordiness and intelligence and spark that she should have and Gilbert seemed pretty dreamy， I suppose， but it just wasn’t it。 There was switching perspective and flashbacks， but it didn’t flow for me。 It all seemed really forced。 Seemed like cramming any and all character I wanted to like it so badly。 I love Anne and Gilbert。 Love them。 But reading the sex scenes in this novel were cringe。 Like reading about my grandparents getting it on。 I just couldn’t。 No thank you。 Nope。 Anne didn’t have the wordiness and intelligence and spark that she should have and Gilbert seemed pretty dreamy， I suppose， but it just wasn’t it。 There was switching perspective and flashbacks， but it didn’t flow for me。 It all seemed really forced。 Seemed like cramming any and all character names in， wherever they could but not truly developing them。 Diana was disappointing too。 Sorry。 Just not a fan。 My kindred spirit that book clubbed it with me felt the same。 She apologized for suggesting we read it。 At least brunch was yummy as we discussed it。。。 and we both bought the book so we supported a writer。 Feel free to make your own decisions though。 It wasn’t even set with PEI as the hometown。 Sigh。 Okay I’m moving on。 。。。more

Susan ，

Audiobook provided by NetGalley and Harper Audio in exchange for an honest review。Wellllllllll。。。。 that was something。 And this is why I'm always hesitant to read re-imaginings of well known works。 They rarely turn out well and I wonder if the L。M。 Montgomery estate sanctioned this or not （not that they needed to， but it does cross my mind）。As a fellow spunky ginger， Anne Shirley has always been a favorite of mine。 I'll admit that it's been a long time since I've read Montgomery's series， but th Audiobook provided by NetGalley and Harper Audio in exchange for an honest review。Wellllllllll。。。。 that was something。 And this is why I'm always hesitant to read re-imaginings of well known works。 They rarely turn out well and I wonder if the L。M。 Montgomery estate sanctioned this or not （not that they needed to， but it does cross my mind）。As a fellow spunky ginger， Anne Shirley has always been a favorite of mine。 I'll admit that it's been a long time since I've read Montgomery's series， but they will forever hold a place in my heart。 So when I saw this audiobook come up on NetGalley I thought I'd give it a shot。 Honestly？ It reads like it's written as fanfic of Anne of Green Gables just so Anne and Gilbert can get down and dirty on the page。 There's nothing wrong with that， but that's not what this book is marketed as。In this modern iteration of Anne， she finds herself in a group home and sent to Avonlea on Long Island where Marilla and Matthew own a winery。 As with the original text， a paperwork mix-up has them welcoming a girl orphan instead of the boy they requested， but they choose to let Anne stay。 There she meets and befriends Diana。。。 and it's where on her first day at her new middle school， she has her first run in with Gilbert Blythe。 Fast forward and they're now all in grad school with Anne and Diana living in Manhattan together where they unexpectedly run into Gil at a bar and find out that he's moved back from California and is here to stay。 Oh， and he just so happens to now be in the same grad program as Anne。 Hmmmmmmm。Unfortunately， this is one of those books that likes to TELL readers what characters are thinking/feeling/doing rather than SHOW readers。 And all the magic from Montgomery's Anne Shirley is missing。 This isn't the same girl at all other than that she fights with Gil。 If you didn't know this was a reimagining of Anne of Green Gables， you would have had no idea by just reading this。 It's a generic romance book。 And for those who do know Montgomery's books， they would have recognized all the familiar names， but that's about all that made it into this narrative。 The story flips back and forth from current events to memories from Anne and Gil as children， providing some back story to go along with the present day plot as a will-they-or-won't-they flirtation grows between Anne and Gil。 Then， shocker。。。 there's a BIG miscommunication。 Hearts are broken， and just when it looks like things might turn around something BAD happens （cue eye roll for the biggest cliché move in literature）。 My take is that I would caution anyone well versed in Montgomery's series to think twice before jumping into this one as this is NOT the Anne you know and love and you may be disappointed。Carly Robins does a decent job with the audiobook， but they could only do so much。 。。。more

Rachel ，

In terms of creative works， you can trace a bell curve out of the ones that generate fandom interest。 In one tail lie the works that are so bad no one cares enough to create fanworks of them; the best example being， of course， James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’。 In the other tail are found the works that are so good they don’t need to be improved， and so they generate equally little in the way of fanfic – although they are good candidates for fanart。 Most of fandom can be found in the middle of the bell c In terms of creative works， you can trace a bell curve out of the ones that generate fandom interest。 In one tail lie the works that are so bad no one cares enough to create fanworks of them; the best example being， of course， James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’。 In the other tail are found the works that are so good they don’t need to be improved， and so they generate equally little in the way of fanfic – although they are good candidates for fanart。 Most of fandom can be found in the middle of the bell curve， fixated upon works that had loads of potential duly squandered by the original creators and eagerly snatched by fandomers ready to ‘fix’ it。Before this book， I would have put LM Montgomery’s ‘Anne of Green Gables’ series firmly in the ‘too good to require improvement’ area of the fandom bell curve。 （The only possible exception I can think of is the horribly racist and jingoistic ‘Rilla of Ingleside’， which is ripe for a better treatment than what it got in the direct xenophobic aftermath of WWI in Canada。） After this book， I still think that。 ‘Anne with an E’ is a show that has its （myriad） faults， but， like Rozema’s ‘Mansfield Park’， is trying to do a specific thing with its source material: demonstrate that there is no such thing as a ‘faithful adaptation’。 All adaptations are to some extent faithless， and both these productions harness the fandomesque power of taking the parts of a work that resonated with you and running with them。 ‘Anne with an E’ also added backstory that didn’t exist in the books， especially with regard to people in Canada who weren’t white Anglo-Canadians。 Aside from changing Diana’s race in a glancing， blink-and-you’ll-miss-it description， Starler isn’t a bit interested in updating any of the very 1910s race and class sentiments of the originals。 Instead， she gloms on to some of the more tiresome elements of the TV show， such as the fact that Marilla Cuthbert is given a teen romance with Gilbert Blythe’s father， and the actor playing Gilbert is cute in a very teen heartthrob way and wears a lot of teen heartthrob bakerboy hats。 Seriously: aside from clothes ‘clinging’ to him and having the standard romance-novel-hero cut abs despite never setting foot in a gym， in this book Gilbert's only active description involves a ‘cabbie’ hat。The Anne/Gilbert romance created by Montgomery stands for me as one of the all-time greats in the enemies-to-lovers Hall of Fame。 It also gets a nomination in the childhood sweethearts and lost ships categories。 I have no idea why or how you would want to retell it， let alone that anyone would think they could do it better。 I can see a strong argument for a Diana/Anne story， but what on earth could you change about Anne and Gilbert’s story？Short answer: nothing。 Starler doesn’t change a god-damned thing。 Her ‘updates’， when she attempts them， are minimal， and universally stupid。 For example: Gilbert， who’s always wanted to be a doctor in the real book， undertakes teacher training to fund his further education。 In this version， Gilbert is into education for its own sake， and is independently wealthy。 Baffling。 Anne is shown wearing pink， when in the real book she never wears it but longs to， because her hair provides too comical a contrast。 Anne’s first interaction with Mr Phillips involves her telling him that her name is ‘Ann’ but she prefers the spelling ‘Anne’。 THIS RILED ME BEYOND THE RECKONING OF IT。 Anne’s favourite thing about her name – the only thing about it she likes – is that it’s spelled ‘Anne’ and not ‘Ann’。 That’s where the ‘with an E’ thing COMES FROM。 She gets Mr Phillips’ back up by demanding he keep the ‘E’ and sets the course for her whole future with Gilbert in that moment。 Starler just changes that like it’s nothing， which leads me to believe she’s never actually read the book， and this is just a pathetic fanfic to the TV show。Starler then attempts to rack up representation brownie points by making Diana bisexual and Marilla and Rachel lesbian lovers。 Which， fine。 You don’t ever get to see these people having or developing relationships， so it’s really labels for the sake of saying ‘queer rep’， but it’s presumably better than nothing。 What really angers me about the choices for these characters are what she doesn’t do with them。 Marilla in the real book is one of those rare creatures， a spinster who isn’t treated with ridicule and filled with shame。 She ploughs her own furrow， accidentally becomes a mother in her sixties， and rises to the challenge。 She never， ever， ever evinces sorrow or regret over her single state， and she’s never once treated as a less of a person because she goes her whole life unpartnered。 In the hundred years since her inception， very few other spinsters have graced literature。 And what was the first thing Starler did to ‘fix’ her？ Shoved her into a relationship with a woman who， in the real books， forms one half of literature’s great， complex， platonic friendships – another thing we never get to see much of， with women。 FUCK YOU。Then there’s Diana。 I fully get why people think the great love story of these books could be Anne and Diana – but they would have to contend with the fact that what separates them isn’t just the sexual inhibitions of the writer’s era。 They also grow apart when Anne goes to high school and Diana doesn’t。 This isn’t Diana’s choice – her father doesn’t believe in higher education for girls – but Diana also doesn’t rebel against this stricture， or really seem to regret it much。 She’s engaged and married and a mother by the age of twenty， before Anne is even finished college。 They drift gently apart after ‘Anne of Avonlea’。 Anne makes other friends， like Philippa， who are more up to her intellectual and ambitious level， and Diana really isn't heard from much thereafter。 Theirs is an intense childhood friendship that doesn’t survive the rigours of adulthood – which would be a fascinating topic， if Starler bothered to notice what actually happened and transposed it to the modern day， instead of， as I say， just watching the TV show。 So what we’re left with is a story in which Starler adds in the two things that didn’t feature much， for obvious reasons， in the original: kissing and sex。 Anne and Gilbert share a kiss at their high school graduation party that leads to immediate regret and misunderstanding。 They don’t speak again until they both end up doing a Masters in Education at the same university。 They’re barely twenty-six doing this， which is yet another missed opportunity – Anne canonically took time out of her education to help Marilla and save money， which is the whole plot of ‘Anne of Avonlea’， and one that would have done very well in a modern setting。 Gilbert studying education is ridiculous， as I’ve said， but to be honest the field of educational studies is the most pathetic of all the academic disciplines。 At least all other areas of academia are finding shit out – education is just debating ways of disseminating information， and coming up with dreadful ‘solutions’ like flipped classrooms。 The potential of bringing together two antagonists to work on the same project is lost when Anne and Gilbert ‘make up’ their lame fight before it even begins。 They both teach creative writing， even though it’s never mentioned that either of them have published – or indeed written – anything to justify teaching it。 Anne drones on and on about how great it is teaching pre-pubertal scribblers how to vomit up literary fiction， and then turns around and takes a job teaching education to college-age students。 Wow， that is very consistent and believable characterisation。 Not。 The sex is really， really boring， both on a sentence level and because there’s no actual tension between these two characters。 “Now he wanted as a man wanted， with the urge to take her apart with his hands and put her back together with the words he’d whisper into her hair， afterward。 He wanted her to come home with him and the end of the night， and have her full and complete concentration。 He wanted everything she had to give – he was hungry for it。”I dozed off。 Until she uses ‘damp’ in a sex scene。 JAIL FOR MOTHER FOR A THOUSAND YEARS。Starler riffs off the audience's pre-loaded knowledge of their childhood aggro， which she seems to think excuses her from doing any of the heavy lifting。 Nuh-uh; as fandom knows， fanfic is about retelling a story with a spotlight on the things you think need attention。 Hence every Harry/Draco fanfic mentions the spurned handshake， a very minor event in the books， and a catalyst in every romance written about them。 What was missing in the OG AOGG that Starler wants to rectify by paying it more attention？ I have no idea， because this book never tells me。 Why does it even exist？ Fucked if I know。 There’s also a sexual misconduct story shovelled in here， because of course there is。 I’m tired of thinking about this book， so I’ll just say that Starler is basically writing Baby’s First Fanfic， so she should accept her own limitations and not tackle topics which she is not equipped to handle。 Conclusion: thanks， I hate it。 。。。more

Elizabeth ，

Extremely mediocre: a just-okay romance novel that didn't capture any of the true spirit of the original text。 Extremely mediocre: a just-okay romance novel that didn't capture any of the true spirit of the original text。 。。。more

Elissa Larsen ，

The characters were well reimagined while keeping their core。 Interesting reimaginingToo spicy for me: dropped it to 3 rating from me。

Katherine Cotton ，

⭐️⭐️1/2

Macaela ，

Anne Shirley has been brought into the present and is going to grad school in New York， getting a master’s degree in education。 She has one year to go and the bane of her existence has appeared on her campus and in her program。 Gil has been in California but moved back to New York to be close to his father， who has cancer。 They are forced to work together when their master’s advisor has them work together in order to graduate。 Gil has loved Anne forever， Anne， not so much。 But she starts to see Anne Shirley has been brought into the present and is going to grad school in New York， getting a master’s degree in education。 She has one year to go and the bane of her existence has appeared on her campus and in her program。 Gil has been in California but moved back to New York to be close to his father， who has cancer。 They are forced to work together when their master’s advisor has them work together in order to graduate。 Gil has loved Anne forever， Anne， not so much。 But she starts to see him in a new light as they continue to work together。 This was a fun read as they don’t quite understand the other and try to overcome that and their own issues。Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the copy！ 。。。more

Aldii - perfectioninbooks ，

Imaginé que me iba a gustar pero aún así me sorprendió cuán divertido y dulce me resultó！ También me sorprendió cuán rápido lo escuché y cuanto me costaba dejar el audio por el día！Debo decir que no he leído los libros de Anne of Green Gables aún， pero tengo planes de hacerlo。 Lo que sí he visto es la serie de Anne with an E de Netflix， que me encantó y por eso decidí que este libro me podía gustar。 Y realmente fue así。 Decidí con este libro escucharlo en audio y fue otra decisión de la cual no Imaginé que me iba a gustar pero aún así me sorprendió cuán divertido y dulce me resultó！ También me sorprendió cuán rápido lo escuché y cuanto me costaba dejar el audio por el día！Debo decir que no he leído los libros de Anne of Green Gables aún， pero tengo planes de hacerlo。 Lo que sí he visto es la serie de Anne with an E de Netflix， que me encantó y por eso decidí que este libro me podía gustar。 Y realmente fue así。 Decidí con este libro escucharlo en audio y fue otra decisión de la cual no me arrepiento。 Nunca había escuchado a la narradora y debo decir que su trabajo con este libro fue muy muy bueno。 Sentí que logró capturar el espíritu de Anne y transmitirlo muy bien a lo largo de su narración。 Los cambios en su voz， las emociones que se dejaban ver， la personalidad de Anne sobre todo， fue una de las cosas que más me gustó。 Respecto al libro en sí， me resultó un romance dulce， divertido y encantador entre dos personas que se conocen desde niños pero que recién como adultos logran conectar y resolver cuales son sus sentimientos por el otro。 No tiene drama innecesario， lo cual me gustó， sino que es sólo la historia de Anne y Gilbert logrando hacer funcionar su relación。 Lo que sí no me convenció del todo fue que los flashbacks a momentos de su niñez se extendieran por toda la longitud del libro。 Al principio me gustaba porque daba una idea， una imagen de ese pasado compartido entre los personajes。 Ya cuando vi que se extendían hacia la mitad del libro no me gustaban tanto， porque yo quería estar en el presente， pero de última no me disgustaban en tanto no fueran muy largos。 Ya para el final me pareció que no eran necesarios los flashbacks y que lo que ellos querían "reflejar" la autora ya lo había logrado con sus palabras de lo que sucedía en el presente。 Me deja un poco triste que el rating promedio sea tan bajo， porque realmente creo que es un romance contemporáneo bueno， dulce y encantador！ 。。。more

Leslie ，

Fun but not as inspired as it seemed from the premise。

Danielle ，

I was very excited to learn about this book--so much so that I preordered it back in January。 I was unimpressed。 While I did finish the book， I was left wondering if the author has actually read the original Anne of Green Gables， or if she has simply watched the Netflix series。 While the book is meant to be a modern-day retelling of the original Anne， I found way more similarities to the Netflix series （which diverges from the original book series in multiple ways）。 There were some instances of I was very excited to learn about this book--so much so that I preordered it back in January。 I was unimpressed。 While I did finish the book， I was left wondering if the author has actually read the original Anne of Green Gables， or if she has simply watched the Netflix series。 While the book is meant to be a modern-day retelling of the original Anne， I found way more similarities to the Netflix series （which diverges from the original book series in multiple ways）。 There were some instances of very good writing， but overall I was left feeling unfulfilled at the ending of this book。 I wanted to like it very much！ 。。。more

Georgia Twiss ，

This is a solid summer beach read and an interesting retelling of a classic book。 For people who grew up reading the original series， it's very fun to see how Starler updates various characters and changes certain plots to fit the contemporary setting。 It was also fun to get the Gil perspective， to balance out the Anne side of the story。 I will say， It did take a minute to vibe with the sex scenes， not because I am a prude （my god I read so much kindle unlimited smut lol） but because I read the This is a solid summer beach read and an interesting retelling of a classic book。 For people who grew up reading the original series， it's very fun to see how Starler updates various characters and changes certain plots to fit the contemporary setting。 It was also fun to get the Gil perspective， to balance out the Anne side of the story。 I will say， It did take a minute to vibe with the sex scenes， not because I am a prude （my god I read so much kindle unlimited smut lol） but because I read the original books when I was a child， and for whatever reason， I associate them with a certain veneer of chaste childhood innocence。 With that being said， I'm a sucker for an enemies-to-lovers romance， and the original Anne and Gilbert relationship was probably my first exposure to that trope， this one does not fail in bringing that tension to modern-day New York， both with sex and without。 I can see how people who are highly protective of the original books might bristle at the story being retold， but also。。。。how many Jane Austen and Shakespeare retellings do we get every year？？！！ AND， the Anne and Gilbert story is so perfect that it's fun to see it in a different setting with a few new things added！ Were there some og characters I missed？ Yes。 But also， I can always just curl up with a cup of tea and read Anne of the Island and be totally fine。 。。。more

Ashley Frost ，

I love Anne and Gil so much。 I would read any AoGG retelling。 They are the original enemies to lovers。 Something that did bother me with this book is the flashbacks。 I think the opening with a flashback when Anne is 12 makes it hard to draw adult readers in。 Also there was a flashback during a really climactic moment that really hurt the narrative for me。 The flashback did not seem relevant and it delayed the resolution unnecessarily。 I think most of the flashbacks from Anne’s first year with th I love Anne and Gil so much。 I would read any AoGG retelling。 They are the original enemies to lovers。 Something that did bother me with this book is the flashbacks。 I think the opening with a flashback when Anne is 12 makes it hard to draw adult readers in。 Also there was a flashback during a really climactic moment that really hurt the narrative for me。 The flashback did not seem relevant and it delayed the resolution unnecessarily。 I think most of the flashbacks from Anne’s first year with the cuthberts can be skipped with no harm to the overall plot。I loved that this retelling was aged up and modernized。 I think Anne and Gil would be great teachers and I love that Anne’s strong sense of justice never wavers。 。。。more

Julie ，

Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books！This is not Anne of Green Gables。 If you love Anne， don’t read this book。 If you love Manhattan， don’t expect Manhattan。 There is nothing of Manhattan here。 I did finish the book。 I wasn’t bored but it isn’t at all what I hoped for。 😢

Kennedy ，

For me， this book was just so cliche I found it hard to actually enjoy。 I managed to read the whole thing and just kept getting more and more disappointed as it went on。

Ronda Kelley ，

This review is coming from someone who is a lifelong fan of Anne Of Green Gables💚 I absolutely devoured this book & didn't want it to end！ I didn't realize how much I NEEDED a modern day romance of Anne & Gilbert。 I love how the essence of the original characters is there， although the location has changed。 Neat twist！ I didn't know if I would feel the same about a different locale， because PEI is such a presence in the original books。 It truly is a character itself。 But I was pleasantly surpris This review is coming from someone who is a lifelong fan of Anne Of Green Gables💚 I absolutely devoured this book & didn't want it to end！ I didn't realize how much I NEEDED a modern day romance of Anne & Gilbert。 I love how the essence of the original characters is there， although the location has changed。 Neat twist！ I didn't know if I would feel the same about a different locale， because PEI is such a presence in the original books。 It truly is a character itself。 But I was pleasantly surprised and it still have me that sentimental feeling of the original。 Thank you Brina for this modern day retelling。 。。。more

Tara ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 If we don’t get a sequel I’m going to be very upset。 I loved the Anne of Green Gables series as a kid， especially her adventures after leaving AvonLea and her ongoing relationship with Gilbert so I was predisposed to enjoy this one。 On top of that， it had the classic enemies to friends to lovers trop going on and honestly， I might have read too much fanfic， but the vibes were so reminiscent of James/Lily that I wouldn’t be surprised if JKR drew some inspiration from Gilbert and Anne。 I liked the If we don’t get a sequel I’m going to be very upset。 I loved the Anne of Green Gables series as a kid， especially her adventures after leaving AvonLea and her ongoing relationship with Gilbert so I was predisposed to enjoy this one。 On top of that， it had the classic enemies to friends to lovers trop going on and honestly， I might have read too much fanfic， but the vibes were so reminiscent of James/Lily that I wouldn’t be surprised if JKR drew some inspiration from Gilbert and Anne。 I liked the modern adaptation overall but ultimately felt like the build up was fairly predictable/linear。 I also wasn’t thrilled with the ending， like sure they confirmed their relationship but they didn’t address the reality of what their future will look like given gil’s unexpected accident （which I felt was an unnecessarily dramatic way to have Anne confront her feelings）。 I also wish her friendship w Phil has been more fleshed out。 I think modern adaptations are exciting cuz they allow for more time to be spent on side characters but felt that opportunity was largely squandered here。 Like， I’d read a book told from Fred’s perspective if it means I could get more detail on his tattoo shop。 The fast or characters has such potential so if there is a sequel I’m hoping we get more detail on the other relarionships， maybe in a Jasmine Guillory style。 。。。more

Elizabeth ，

I really enjoyed this retelling of Anne of Green Gables set in contemporary times。 I really enjoyed this retelling of Anne of Green Gables set in contemporary times。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Anne of Manhattan

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Anne of Manhattan&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Anne of Manhattan&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0