4/5 Stars for Victoria Lavine's debut novel!

Big thanks to Atria books and NetGalley for providing me with this e-Arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Now I know I'm a little late for reviewing since this was released on April 1st, but I'm here now hehe.

What can I say? I really enjoyed Margot and Forrest's story. Margot, who is a bestselling romance author, accidentally gets her secret file of "happily NEVER afters" released to the public. After facing backlash from her fans and the book community, Margot decides to pivot from writing romance to murder/thrillers instead. All the while, her sister, Savannah, ends up booking her a 6 week long reprieve at a resort in Alaska. Despite Margot's efforts to take a break from the romance scene, she unexpectedly finds herself smack dab in the middle of her own developing romance with Dr. Forrest Wakefield. All thanks to a moose who literally has her running and jumping into this man's arms (what a meet-cute! lol).

Margot and Forrest's story is chock full of all the tropes we know and love:
-Enemies to lovers
-Forced proximity
-One tent/sleeping bag (OMG!!)
-Slow burn
-Author + Doctor

Things I loved in this book:
Caregiver strain representation - being that I'm a nurse myself, I could easily spot the caregiver strain on both Margot's end with taking care of Savannah, and Forrest's end taking care of his dad. It felt like both MCs were cut from the same cloth this way. They had an understanding of the endless love and sacrifice they had for their respective loved ones.

The banter was so cute! I literally had LOL moments, and moments where I was kicking my feet cuz they were being adorable!

The character development for Margot in regards to her relationship with her sister. I thought it was so sweet that Savannah put this whole trip together for Margot, while she's trying to find and redefine herself. The weekly letters really showed how much they cared about each other. And I loved that Savannah encouraged Margot to do things out of her comfort zone.

The only thing I didn't really appreciate in this book was the rushed ending. They had issues that were left unresolved in Alaska, and then all of a sudden Forrest shows up and they reconcile right on the spot. Then, THE END. In this case, I wish there was at least an epilogue to follow up on their story and make it feel more well rounded.

Although this story is set in a cold weather environment, it definitely has moments where things heat up. Definitely worth a read!

I absolutely LOVED the beginning of this book. I was laughing out loud so hard at that zoom meeting in the beginning. Margot sounded different from every other fmc. BuUut then we landed in Alaska and the tropes were laid on thick. I was truly hoping she wouldn't automatically turn into a damsel in distress. I thought she would do something interesting or something hilarious like how she was at the beginning but no.

One thing I did not like one bit is Margot heard about a situation with Forrest and a previous guest and automatically believed the random female influencer over a man who she can literally ask. The whole "believe all women" mentality is so damaging to men in general. That truly rubbed me the wrong way.

Shout out to Trapper and Savannah who I felt carried this book. Margot and Savannah's sisterhood bond was so well written I loved reading their sections. Trapper is a MVP for sure, his and Forrest's father/son relationship was so heartwarming.

I had such a fun time with this one! A romance writer FMC who finds herself feeling like she’s in one of her books. It has an almost break-the-fourth wall amount of tropes. Our FMC, Margot, fully acknowledges and even makes fun of them. Jaded and not looking for love, she meets Forrest Wakefield. Forrest is back in Alaska to take care of his dad and is almost too good to be true. It was fun to see these two bicker and get to know one another. They try to deny their chemistry, but we know how that goes. Victoria made me root for them to get everything they wanted- including each other. I loved the side characters, especially Savannah and Trapper. I enjoyed this debut and look forward to reading future books!

Thank you to Atria for my early read. All opinions are my own.

I’m all for some far-fetched romance plots, but I feel like the author should have done more research. Domesticated moose? Also December in Alaska with inadequate clothing and mentions of sunlight? Don’t even get me started on the insurance liability that is this lodge. But more than anything, I felt like the story remained very surface level.

This is a pretty bog standard romance novel, which isn't a bad thing and I think it is very aware of that with the emphasis on the many tropes throughout. As a grumpy/sunshine and enemies to lovers afficionado this wasn't my favourite, the conflict felt very forced and nitpicky, which is just annoying when the characters are over 30. There is also insta-love which I hate in almost every instance I see it, I'll admit to being a certified hater but also what do you mean you love them you've known them for, like, 3 weeks and have barely talked about anything of substance.
I really liked the different portrayals of disability in the book and the love and dedication it takes to be someone's carer is very real. I also loved spending some time in Alaska, it's a fun location for a romance book.
I didn't really buy the romance, but for some people this hits hard and I can see why, it just didn't hit as hard for me.

Any Trope But You is a funny debut romance with a strong emphasis on familial love in addition to romantic love. There were a lot of fun romance trope shenanigans and the book felt like a love letter to the romance genre at large. Lots of fun banter in this book!

While I primarily enjoyed this book, I struggled with the aspects surrounding the main character’s family members with disabilities. I LOVED that the book ended with the main characters learning that they have to respect the autonomy of their loved ones and not make taking care of them their whole lives, but as a disabled person, reading this book was hard at times. Reading about their disabilities from the perspective of the main characters (especially Margot) was difficult because they were really removing the autonomy from their loved ones. I really appreciated the ending, but it still feels like the main characters’ journeys/development were exclusively tied to learning that disabled people can have autonomy, which I have mixed feelings about.

Even with that, I did enjoy this book and I think that I might pick up future books by this author!

Any Trope But You:⁣ ❄️🫎💔
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Thank you @simon.audio and @atriabooks for my gifted copies! ⁣
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Let me get down to it: there’s a third act breakup. I’ll kick and scream about it, because I didn’t want it. It was redeemed with the grand gesture, but again, whyyyyyy.⁣
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Now that’s out of the way, this was so fun! Romance author gets cancelled for not believing in HEAs and proceeds to meet a walking MMC from our dreams. ⁣
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Jesse Vilinsky is such a favorite and I loved listening to her on audio. Tim Paige did a great job on the dual POV. I loved the audio and highly recommend.⁣
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I felt like it was a mini love letter to the romance readers of Bookstagram and I am thankful for it.⁣
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Out now!

Will review later...On my way to Alaska!!!

What a fresh take on a rom-com. Blatantly pointing out and making good fun of how these characters fit into these tropes that we all have read time and time again. But man, it worked. I loved this book. I laughed. I cried. I decided I would never hack it on these excursions. This book was probably my favorite rom-com I've read this year!

Thank you to Net Galley, Atria Books, and Victoria Lavine for an ARC of this book!

3.5/5...so I was super excited to read this book. It started out great. The FMC is a best selling romance author that gets outed about her not so subtle feelings about romance. Her sister sends her to Alaska for 6 weeks where she meets Mr. Grumpy Forrest. I love a good enemies to lovers trope but I felt like the author went to fast into them liking each other. I love enemies to lovers so so much but they stopped being enemies at like 25%-30% into the book. It would have been sooooo much better had this gone on for at least half of the book. The angst that happens with enemies to lovers is what keeps people engaged. All in all, I would give it 3/5 out of five stars. It was still a cute read. Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the advanced reader copy.

After her professional life as a romance author implodes when her for-her-eyes-only antithetical "Happily Never After” file gets leaked, Margot goes to Alaska in search of genre-shifting inspiration and instead finds kinship and every romance trope imaginable with a hot mountain man hero. This book had such a fun premise and I enjoyed how it played out. The humor was so good, and I look forward to reading more from this new author!

Thank you to Atria Books for gifting me with an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I decided to join a group of girls on Instagram in a challenge to try and read as many of our advanced reader copies as we could and Any Trope But You was one a lot of us decided to read together and I’m so glad we did. I couldn’t get enough of this book. The characters and their banter was everything I wanted in a romance book. All the tropes one of the other all throughout really kept me on my toes and I loved that. There was even a part where tears started to well in my eyes and its been years since I’ve cried from a book so I was very pleased that it could bring that much emotion out of me. I easily score this book 5/5 stars and would recommend to any romance book lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Lavine, and Atria Books for the eARC. I love a good romcom set in Alaska, and this one delivered! With all the delightful elements of a classic romantic comedy—humor, heart, and sizzling chemistry—it also spices things up for those who enjoy a little heat with their happily-ever-after. A fun and flirty escape!

This book was such a beautiful love story! I loved both of the main characters and found them to be well developed and nuanced. I laughed, I cried, I had the best time. It was a slow burn but the spice was amazing when it got there. If you love an emotional romance, this one is for you!

This book had me laughing out loud. It was a book that was read in a day. You go somewhere to get away to write a book but meeting a meet cute. They are very attractive, but this isn't how it supposed to go. What would you do? I will be looking for more by this author. If you are looking for a cute rom com book this would be it for you. Thank you #netgalley and #simonschuster for giving me the opportunity to read this book early.

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine is a delightful rom-com that had me hooked from the start. The story follows Margot, a romance author who, after a public scandal, retreats to a remote Alaskan lodge to reinvent herself as a thriller writer. There, she meets Forrest, the lodge's proprietor, and their initial antagonism gives way to a heartwarming romance.
Margot and Forrest's chemistry is palpable, and their witty banter kept me engaged throughout. The exploration of their personal growth and vulnerabilities added layers to the story. The pacing felt a bit rushed towards the end, with some plot points resolving quickly, but overall this was thoroughly enjoyable read.
If you're a fan of enemies to lovers romance, "Any Trope But You" is a must-read.
Thank you to Netgalley, the Publisher and author for giving me the opportunity to review this enjoyable read.

This one was full of witty banter and possibly every single trope you can think of. Our main character, Margot, does not believe in happily ever afters. Which as a romance author, might sound a little wrong! After a difficult incident, she decides to try her hand at writing murder mystery. She is sent to Alaska where she meets the sexy Dr Forrest, who was once a cancer research doctor, and is now working at his family’s lodge taking care of his father.

The character growth that ensues is just phenomenal. The setting was cozy, My only complaint is that the story ended too soon, I needed more of this couple! Thank you so much to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

Brief overview:

After being cancelled online for her real thoughts on happily ever afters, romance author Margot is sent away to a resort in the Alaskan wilderness to clear her thoughts and start a new novel in a new genre. What she doesn't expect is to arrive and instantly meet the human embodiment of all the typical romance tropes in a single man.

My thoughts:

The writing style in this story was really fun and playful and made for an immersive experience. The letters from the sister woven throughout the book are heartwarming and add a depth to the characters that may not have been as easily shown without it. The dual POV was enjoyable, though I did feel like the fmc kind of repeatedly expressed the same complaints/concerns and it did get a bit redundant in the middle, but Forrest's POVs helped to break it up.

The overall story really strikes at the pressure to be a caregiver for someone while also trying to maintain your own happiness. Very well done!

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc. i loved this book so much, i couldn't believe this was a debut for the author. i thought the writing was really good and the plot did not drag. the only thing i didn't like was the timeline sometimes. it felt like scenes skipped a day or two and when it got to a new chapter, you get filled in on what happened but for such a short trip inside the story, you'd think every detail would want to be spelled out.

This was a cute one. Filled with all of the romance tropes. I really liked seeing Margot push herself out of her comfort zone with the activities in Alaska. I liked seeing her push back against Forest. Their dislike to friends to more is so fun. I liked seeing Margot and Forest open up to each other and help heal the parts that needed to be given their previous relationships. The third act breakup wasn’t a surprise but somewhat made sense. And I did like seeing Margot being confronted by her relationship with her sister. Seeing how she needs to separate a bit.

This one was just fun and sweet. Really enjoyed.

Listened to the book via advanced listening copy courtesy of Simon Audio.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy.

This week’s headline? Life’s a trope, then you get your HEA (and eventually die 😂 I’m sorry, that’s probably not funny)

Why this book? Seemed cute.

Which book format? ARC

Primary reading environment? Bed

Any preconceived notions? This will be a 3 star read for me (and that’s not a bad thing! because I usually give romances three stars when I care to rate books)
Identify most with? Hating winter camping (what even)

Three little words? “the grand gesture”

Goes well with? Home cooked meals, romance novels, letters to your loved ones

Recommend this to? Romance lovers

Other cultural accompaniments: https://janefriedman.com/tropes-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

I leave you with this: “Not to mention I’ve already been through enough tropes with this man to fill my favorite Nora Roberts trilogy, and that was before One Bed got downgraded to One Tent.”
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Any Trope But You is so freaking cute. Margot and Forrest are a romance reader’s dream. Who doesn’t love a book filled with fun romance tropes, especially when Margot points them out in a breaking the fourth/meta wall kind of way. Perfect time to read this before spring really starts up for real.
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Any Trope But You is available now.