Anu Recommends #51
Anu Recommends #51
Ten books to read as you count down to the new Bridgerton season, and a new release spotlight
Dear reader,
We’re already (deep) in the throes of summer here in India, so today I have for you a spotlight and mini review of one of my top choices for 2024 beach reads, and a fun themed book list in honour of Polin (whether you’re a Bridgerton fan or not, there’s plenty of diversity in choice, so I hope you find at least one book on there that’s a perfect fit).
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
The folks over at Berkley reached out to me earlier this year with the option to early read an upcoming release. I hadn’t read any other book by the author, but the blurb, which I’ve copy-pasted below, convinced me to give it a try—and I’m so glad I did! The book released on May 7, 2024.
Publisher’s blurb
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.
Carley Fortune is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After and Meet Me at the Lake. She is an award-winning Canadian journalist who’s worked as an editor for Refinery29, The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, and Toronto Life. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons.
Eat your weight in oysters.
Leave the city behind.
Don’t fall in love with my brother.
Three rules Toronto florist Lucy Ashby has to swear by the first time she visits Prince Edward Island, her best friend Bridget Clark’s hometown. Little does she realise that the very attractive stranger that she, alone for a day until Bridget flies over, meets shucking oysters down by the beachfront during her very first lunch there is none other than Felix Clark (Lucy is unaware of his nickname, Wolf). Each other’s identity dawns on them both only after they’ve spent a few very steamy hours together.
I couldn’t put this book down. Lucy and Felix’s chemistry is one of the best I’ve read on the page, and it helps that their insta-lust develops into an actual friendship over the five summers we’re privy to—along with all the pining and yearning and flirtation, don’t worry! The pacing of the flashbacks with the present-day storyline was smooth, and the story, as well as the evolution of their (forbidden) feelings for each other and their own personal transformation and growth, was well-plotted.
The book also had other (considerable) strengths.
Fortune expertly brings alive the setting, digging through beyond the clichés and effortlessly blending it into the narrative so it never felt shoehorned in. There are many Anne of Green Gables references, of course, but even they felt fresh, and made sense for the story.
Lucy and Felix were rounded characters with flaws and insecurities, and a certain amount of miscommunication/lack of communication, but not so much that it did my head in—you rooted for them to get together and make it work.
But it helped that the story didn’t tunnel-vision the couple; the supporting characters were crafted with equal care, and the special bond between Lucy and Bridget, in particular, wasn’t ignored in favour of the romance. This is as much a narrative about place, belonging, found family, and home, as it is about the love story, and all of it has a hand in making the story feel tangible.
Definitely a 2024 summer-read pick for me. Thank you, Berkley Publishing for sending this my way.
What to Read While You Count Down to Polin
For this list, I’ve stuck to books from the past five years (and/or in the current news) but in no specific order. Regular Storyteller readers will spot some favourites from previous issues in there too!
Dangerous Damsels trilogy by India Holton: Witches, pirates, magic, flying houses, charming rogues, strong-willed powerful women, and more collide in this rompy, witty, heartfelt version of Victorian London. There is effortless deadpan, tongue-in-cheek humour, plots that glide between understated and utterly over-the-top bonkers with wicked, mischievous, sparkling delight, deep character studies of lovable folk, delightful literary allusions, and subverted tropes, among other equally, hopelessly, charming attributes.
This Summer Will Be Different by Casey Fortune: As I’ve amply shared in this issue already, this one’s a summer must read—there’s the best friend’s brother, there’s forbidden love, there’s the right person at the most wrong time(s), there’s the enchanting Prince Edward Island in all of its island glory, there’s friends-like-family, and two leads with some of the best chemistry I’ve ever read.
Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou: Book 1 of a debut duology that’s blown me away and become an instant favourite (Book 2, Hearts That Cut released earlier this year). Io Ora is a descendant of the Fates in this Greek-myth-urban fantasy-dystopia-climate-environmental-survival-murder mystery, and she’s the only one who can save their world…or break it apart. Themes include fate, choice, change, sacrifice, privilege, ambition, personal desires, love, and the sometimes impossible nature of the “right” way, especially in a kill-or-be-killed world.
The Wake-Up Call by Beth O'Leary: Alternating POVs as with every Beth book invite us into Izzy’s and Lucas’s worlds in this holiday-themed romcom. Both are “arch-rival” hotel receptionists at the crumbling Forest Manor Hotel who race against time to return four old wedding rings from their Lost & Found to their rightful owners. It has Beth’s trademark brand of fizzy, flirty, cosy, but with heart and depth. I will warn you that a miscommunication lies at the bottom of their “rivalry” and as someone who normally hates this trope, I found it pretty well-handled here.
Swordheart by T. Kingfisher: A standalone novel that takes place in the author’s World of the White Rat and follows Halla, a middle-aged widow who suddenly inherits her great-uncle’s estate, and Sarkis, an immortal swordsman trapped in a magic sword. When an unsuspecting Halla unsheathes it, Sarkis is duty-bound to protect her as she decides to flee from her late husband’s relatives who want to steal her inheritance. There’s fantasy, there is humour and silliness, there is heart, and adventure. This one was a surprise favourite from last year!
The London Highwayman series by Cat Sebastian: I read Book 2 (The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes—very Robin Hood coded) before I knew it was a series, but suggest you start with 1 (The Queer Principles of Kit Webb) because there is some chronological overlap of their respective narratives. The books are set in Georgian London and feature roguish highwaymen with hearts of gold, very unaristocrat-like aristocrats, liberal queerness, and lots of adventure.
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola: I’d loved many stories from Bolu’s debut book, a collection of short stories titled Love in Colour, so I was happy to pick up her debut novel two years ago (I’d categorise it as New Adult). Kiki Banjo, a young Black British university student, has no interest in love but finds herself in a fake relationship with the very man she warned her girls about. The author has an ear for the rhythms of spoken as well as written language, and while her writing style can be sensory overwhelm at times, her characters are crafted well and even when you want to shake some sense into them, you want the best for them.
Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald: A YA debut novel from the brains (and face) behind the brilliant mythology-themed comedy account @chaosonolympus (she is also on TikTok, for those of you who can access it). GGQ is a welcome fresh, witty, sensitive addition to the Persephone-Hades retelling pantheon that not only takes special care to remove the icky plot points of the most well-known versions of the myth, but in doing so allows this to truly be a story of empowerment (for starters, Kore takes a calculated risk and jumps into the Underworld of her own will).
For the Love of the Bard by Jessica Martin: The first in a Shakespeare-homage series that features a quirky Bard-obsessed town, unabashedly cheesy, nerdy, over-the-top, hectic shenanigans, characters you’ll want as your immediate friends, and tons of Bill-adjacent puns. The trilogy is centered around the trio of Barnes sisters—Miranda, Portia, and Cordelia, in that order, though there is a delightfully varied full supporting cast. The Dane of my Existence is a worthy successor to this introduction, and I’m looking forward to Cordelia’s turn to twirl in that spotlight.
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston: Unabashed wish-fulfillment that has plenty of feel-good magic that works because of its well-developed cast of characters. Ellen Claremont is the first Madam President of the USA. Alex Claremont-Diaz, along with his older sister June, and the VP's genius granddaughter Nora, are the “White House trio”, a new millennial marketing strategy. But when Alex has a confrontation with arch-nemesis, Henry, Prince of Wales, at a royal wedding, the photos threaten American-British relations. As damage-control, a fake friendship is staged between the two that soon leads to, well, more.
Let me know in the comments which one catches your eye—or if you do read any of these, I’m always up for a bookish chat 🤓
Please feel free send in recommendations—books, movie, TV shows, authors to interview, ideas of what you’d like me to write on. Let me know what you’re currently reading and watching, send me rants/ramblings/excited monologues, GIFs and memes (especially them) and more. Just drop me a line and turn this into a conversation, even if just to say hi and let me know what you thought of the latest issue. Or share this with someone you think might enjoy it. I always enjoy hearing from you 😊
Take care and I’ll see you next on May 26!
Anu
You can find me on Twitter at @AnuNande (follow for all the football chatter) and on Instagram at @booksinboston.