This is a very cute romance. What happens when a romance writer doesn’t believe in the happily ever afters she is writing? She is being cancelled by the general public when her thoughts come to light. She then self exiles to remote Alaska to write her next book. It’s there that she finds the most amazing slow burn romance. I love the pairing of a romance and social isolation. This was a great read!

"Write your heart out, no matter what's hiding inside."

Oh, my GOD did I love this book. I'm not ashamed to admit I stayed up unbelievably late to finish it because I simply couldn't fathom going to bed without knowing how this beautiful story ended.

This book is perfection. I was enamoured and invested from page 1. I loved Margot's voice. How abrasive and a little cold should could be at times, but also how kind and selfless, determined and fierce. I loved her journey throughout this book. How she had to grapple with the fact that you can't forgo your own life and happiness when you give your life for the ones you love most. How you have to be brave and feel what you need to feel. How you can learn to trust and love despite your past heartaches and tragedies. I was crying at the end of this book; it truly gripped my heartstrings.

I adored Forrest. Give me a grumpy but soft man who knows and makes your coffee order and carries you down a mountain any day!!! Also, I'm obsessed with the fact that this book was set in Alaska - a dream destination for me, and now so even more.

I loved the tropes we go through in the book. It was hilarious and hot and heartfelt. I just loved everything about this book. It was written so beautifully, with a beautiful love story at the crux - between Margot and her sister, and Margot and Forrest - both were developed so well and with so much heart.

This book is a love letter to romance and the romance community. It was everything I needed and more. Do not even think twice about picking this up!

Endless thank you to Atria books for the advanced e-copy! It's one of my new favourite reads!

This novel expertly blends romance with deeper themes of responsibility and caregiving, as both Margot and Forrest struggle with the emotional weight of supporting their loved ones. Their slow-burning connection, filled with witty banter, jealousy, and swoon-worthy moments, makes for an engaging and heartfelt read. While packed with classic romance tropes, the story feels fresh, thanks to sharp writing and top-tier chemistry. Set against a vividly described Alaskan winter, the novel not only explores falling in love but also the struggle of falling out of the idea of love, offering a unique and thoughtful take on modern relationships.

I absolutely LOVED this book! The characters , the plot, the backdrop of Alaska, all chefs kiss. This book came together so amazingly and I am so excited to read more from Victoria Lavine!

I really enjoyed this one! Set in Alaska to try to get her writing mojo back was so fun to read about especially because she starts to fall in love with Forrest! I love the talk about all the different romance tropes.

This story was unique and refreshing! Margot is a best selling romance author who doesn’t believe in love and her “happily never after” alternate endings of her books goes viral making her go to Alaska to hide away and write a new book in a different genre to show she can still write. There she meets Forrest who is literally the perfect book boyfriend come to life! He also hits all of the book tropes making her rethink her stance on love.
Victoria knocked this one out of the park and honestly I can’t believe this is a debut book! Reading her authors note about what she went through while writing it also blows me away how she could accomplish writing such a great book!
I highly recommend if you are looking for a different take on a romance book filled with tropes!

I ADORED this book! One of the best-written and well-crafted romances I've ever gotten to read. Normally, I don't love when one of the characters in a romance is a writer, but the way Lavine crafts the story here, I loved it. Margot, being a romance writer, is the whole point of the story and the way it is used here is not only funny but so so important to her character's wound of never getting to see a happy ending so why would she ever believe it could happen for herself. The idea of a romance writer getting canceled for not believing in love and then going to Alaska to write her new murder mystery...only to find love along the way?? And the way this book is crafted to not only poke fun at romance tropes but also celebrate them made my romance heart soar!!!

I love how we have a double POV of both Margot and Forrest. Forrest also has his own wounds, and the way they mirror Margot's was masterfully done. Margot feels like she has to be her sister's caregiver, while Forrest has also sacrificed his career to be in Alaska, taking care of his father. The two of them completely understand one another and it was such a joy to see that on the page. This book was full of such delightful tropey goodness. It was so funny that the characters were aware of it, but it never got TOO silly or TOO mocking. This book hit the tone on everything so well. I laughed, got emotional and omg is this book HOT. Lavine really gives us everything we want with this book and I cannot wait to read more!

Thank you SO much to Atria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review. This is one of the best romances of the year, you have to give it a shot!

I LOVED this read. The book hooked me from the beginning and made me want to keep coming back for more. Perfect for anyone looking for something other than the typical romance beach read right now.

📖 Find love in the Alaskan wilderness in this charming rom-com from debut author Victoria Lavine! As you can tell by the title, this book pokes fun at all the classic romance tropes, and jam packs as many as possible into an engaging story about a romance author who has lost her faith in love and experiences a major public embarrassment as a result, causing her sister to pack her off to Alaska to recover and regroup as a mystery writer. Of course once there, she immediately encounters the ridiculously hot grumpy mountain man-slash-super successful doctor with past traumas who is running the place she’s staying to help out his dad after an injury. Oh, and he is an amazing cook, and he reads. All the tropes in one! It’s not all fluff, though - Lavine adds in a lot of layers of family love, responsibility for disabled relatives, past hurts, and personal growth while also nailing the banter and spice.

💭 I had a great time with the fish-out-of-water LA girl in Alaska concept and kept kicking my feet at all the adorable tropes - it was actually less eye rolling because of how Lavine embraced them as over the top and has the FMC, a romance author herself, call it out as ridiculous. The spice is well written and not over the top, or too frequent, I thought it was a great balance of sexy and sweet. The ending felt rushed, though, and stopped rather abruptly. I wanted more!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Publishing for sending this DRC for review consideration.

“Hey Siri- Play Fearless (Margot’s Version)

Any Trope But You is delightful read that cleverly plays with familiar tropes that we all have come to know and love. Margot and Forrest were honestly some of my favorite characters that I have read. Both have deeply routed issues that they are working through, but also trying to discover and find themselves. All while trying to care for their family members as well. Margot’s witty inner dialogue seriously had me rolling so many times. There were truly so many times that I was laughing at the things that these two got themselves into, while also simultaneously so many dang tears escaped while reading this story. Savannah is the honest true winner in this story with the care she showed her sister. I love that she made sure to push her sister out of her comfort zone to receive one of the letter she has carefully crafted for her. When I picked up this book, I thought oh look a super cute cover that is going to be a great winter read.. Not even expecting the emotional depth and character growth that was going to be in this story. I truly loved this book with my whole heart and can’t wait for others to experience this beautiful story.

“Stay safe, but not too safe”

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine is a laugh out loud, feel good rom-com debut that is full of witty banter, SO many tropes and emotional moments that will tug at your heartstrings!!

Margot Bradley is a best selling romance author who knows exactly what her readers want.. a "happily ever after". Disillusioned by weddings, babies and true love, Margot starts writing alternate endings to her books and calling it her Happily "Never" After document. After her alt endings are hacked and leaked to the public, Margot finds herself cancelled in the romance world and dropped by her publisher. When her sister Savannah books Margot a six week stay at an Alaskan resort, Margot decides to try her hand at a murder mystery novel. After a run in with a moose, Margot meets Forrest Wakefield who is the proprietor of the resort. Finding commonality over both being caretakers, Margot and Forrest start to fall for each other and who knows... maybe in the Alaskan wilderness Margot will finally start to believe in her own HEA! 💕

I seriously can't believe that this is a debut!! I wanted to take a break from my thrillers with a fun and fluffy read but I was not expecting the ride that this book was! I absolutely love that it is a bit over the top with all of the tropes and that Margot realizes it as well! The dry wit throughout the book is another plus. I especially liked the realistic problems that being a sole caregiver entail, most rom-coms that I have read don't have that emotionally bonded element. I highly recommend Any Trope But You and will definitely be on the lookout for more by Victoria Lavine!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Lavine, and Atria Books for this ARC! Publication day is April 1st 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Lavine, and Atria Books for the e-arc of Any Trope But You! It’s Victoria’s first book, and it was such a fun read and I loved spotting all of the tropes that occurred over the course of the story.

Margot Bradley is a best selling romance author… that doesn’t believe in HEAs. After her secret is discovered and aired on a live stream in front of all her fans, she’s positive that her career is over. Margot’s sister, Savannah, decided that Margot needs a nice relaxing trip to the Alaskan wilderness — complete with no WiFi, a hot and brooding proprietor, a pet moose (NOT bear) named Bullwinkle, and enough outdoor excursions to make any Californian want to curl up in a ball with an avocado.

Forrest Wilder left his prestigious cancer research job in California to return to his family’s Alaskan resort lodge to take care of his father. His only concerns should be handling his dad’s pain management, cooking for guests, and leading excursions in the Alaskan wilderness. What he did NOT count on was a beautiful Californian blonde to jump right into his arms at their first meeting (granted she thought a moose was a bear…).

Even though every romance book trope seems to happen to Margot and Forrest, they still have their reasonings as to why they need to avoid one another. Forrest needs to only focus on the lodge and his dad, while Margot is supposed to be writing a new book that will hopefully revive her career (and the fact that she doesn’t believe in happy endings). The tropes keep troping and soon enough the two of them will have to figure out if they can have a Happy Ever After, or if it’s another Happy Never After.

I LOVED this book. I think it’s a wonderful debut novel and it was so fun to read. There was dual POV in first person, so we get to know how both of them are feeling throughout the book. There are also just tropes everywhere, from a “meet cute,” to “only one tent” to the “hot doctor that seems to be good at everything” MMC.
I feel like we got an opportunity to see the characters grow, especially Margot. She went from being down and out, thinking the only thing she has left is her chronically ill sister to take care of, to finding her voice again and starting to heal from the past that made her question HEAs to begin with.
The spice was also GREAT in Any Trope But You. Even though the author chose to use words such as “entrance” instead of the usual words for vagina, the scenes were extremely well written.
The only reason why I’m giving this 4.5 stars instead of 5, is that I feel like the very end was rushed. I think I would’ve liked to have seen more conflict resolution not only between Margot and Forrest but also Margot and Savannah. Regardless, I LOVED Any Trope But You and everyone should read it.
4.5/5 ⭐️
2.5 🌶️

This is a fun play on all the romance tropes we know and love. It can be difficult to pull off a meta look at tropes, but Lavine does it really well. Forrest and Margot have great chemistry and I loved how their deepest bond came from how they loved and cared for their ill family members. The context of Margot's fans turning on her for not believing in HEA was a great setup for the story, too. Happy pub day to this one and thank you to Atria and Netgalley for the eARC!

I maintain that nicknames are my least favorite trope and give me the ick, though...

4.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the E-ARC. Margot (FMC) gets cancelled as a romance writer and her sister sends her to Alaska to write a new genre of a book. Enter Forrest (MMC) from Alaska. They have the cutest meet cute and he checks of all her prev book boyfriends that shes written about and they go thru all the tropes.....but Forrest is in Alaska taking care of his father who had a accident and Margot takes care of her sister who also has health issues. Uggg the way this book gutted me because of course there was a third act breakup....but is it a break up if its something that has to happen. This was such a easy read with just the right amount of spice.

This book is so fun. It had me laughing out loud. Sometimes at the banter and sometimes at the situations. This book does not take itself too seriously and throws all the romance book tropes at you. But in the most fun way.

Margot is a romance author who has fallen out of love with love and when her readers find out she flees to the Alaskan wilderness. She's trying to escape romance and focus on writing a different genre but the romance tropes keep popping up. They keep pushing her together with Forrest, a doctor who is caring for his father after injury.

Funniness aside, this book also explores disability and chronic illness. Not only for the people experiencing those things, but the toll it takes on their caregivers.

I love the Alaskan setting! It's so atmospheric! I will definitely read more from Victoria Lavine!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest opinion.

When romance author Margot is canceled after not believing in HEA, she flees to Alaska for a few days to write a murder mystery that hopefully will get her back on people's good list. Dr. Forrest left his cancer research job in California & moved to Alaska to look after his family's resort. The last thing he needs is to entertain a certain something who doesn't belong here.

This romance was funny, comforting, & steamy. Margot & Forrest' banter was hilarious & the slowburn was angsty. Even though they butted heads on some levels, they always were protective towards their families.

What made me chuckle was how Margot was comparing every sub-trope possible when it came to Forrest. That was lighthearted and added fun to the story. And of course the Alaska setting was a plus for me. Reminded me a bit of The Simple Wild.

<i>Thank you Netgalley & Publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.<i>

🫎 Book Review 🫎

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Publication: April 1, 2025

Rating: I loved it!

Oh my goodness! I loved seeing Margot and Forrest trying to figure out who they are while also tumbling in love with each other. The banter made me giggle and the writing was so easy to fall into. I found myself turning pages well into the night.

For fans of:
🫎 First person POV
🏔️ Dual POV
🫎 Debut
🏔️ Autoimmune disease rep
🫎 Disability rep
🏔️ Meet cute
🫎 Grumpy x grumpy
🏔️ Forced proximity
🫎 Both healing
🏔️ One tent ⛺️
🫎 Just one time
🏔️ Both reinventing themselves
🫎 Spicy but not too hot 🌶️

✨ What to Read Next ✨

🌟 Forever Never by Lucy Score (deep winter setting & similar romance vibes)

🌟 The Simple Wild by KA Tucker (Alaskan setting & deeper romance)

Since I'm pretty sure I’m not the one who wrote this book, I'm glad to know my entire existence can be described as a series of cliches put together.
And you may ask: why would you say that? Well, if there ever was a book that screamed “that's so me” and “I’d have written the same thing”, that book is ANY TROPE BUT YOU.

Don't be misled by the title; there are tons of our favourite tropes in this story — even if I missed the good old only-one-bed trope —, but the way they blend into one another and how they work in the biggest scheme of the whole book… *chef kiss*
(I feel like I must report I haven't cringed once because, most of the time, the FMC was the first to point out how ridiculous the situation was, and I just loved how completely normal and sincere the whole thing felt)

But perfection doesn't exist, and even if a book doesn't have to be perfect to be loved, I'm sad that this one lost me a little bit near the end.
The reason? I’d have liked for our dear first-born daughter, who raised herself and her sick sister, to stand up for the hurt she felt and dive a little bit more into that.
And, before you ask, there is a third-act break-up — if you think about it, it’s like a necessary trope to have in a book full of tropes —, which is completely understandable given the characters' situation.
But the very end, the big-speech-to-win-her-back moment, felt rushed and due, and maybe even something that didn't necessarily need to happen.

The ones who know me know I don't make this comparison lightly but — and please trust me on this —, if you love Emily Henry’s type of giggling-screaming-crying-throwing-up type of romance, then this one has to be your next reading.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Margot has lost her faith in Romance, and as a popular romance author that’s a problem, even more so when her private document, where she gives sad, bitter endings to her characters gets leaked all over the internet, getting her promptly cancelled by the community that loved her books.
Deciding to reinvent herself and start fresh in a new genre, she accepts her sister’s idea and travels to Alaska to stay in a remote and internet-free lodge deep in the wilderness.
Soon she meets Forrest , the son of the owner of the Lodge, and the one in charge of the weekly excursions that Margot is forced to attend, by her sister’s request.
This book was an intimate explanation of what it means to care for a loved one. How raw and sacrificing it is, while also being a surprisingly funny book.
The situations Margot find herself are often over the top and very much tropey, in a meta way, but I sure loved it

Solid 4.6⭐️. Wow, this book totally exceeded my expectations! From the start, I knew I was going to love it. The Taylor Swift references, witty banter, and mix of real emotion had my heart soaring. It’s the perfect debut fun, heartfelt, full of romance, and characters that you will fall in love with.

Any Trope But You is a love letter to rom-com fans, second chances, family love, and personal growth. The way the romance and family storylines blend together is just perfect swoony, funny, sexy, emotional, and powerful all at once.

Margot Bradley, a bestselling romance author, is burned out on love and after a personal journal of hers is leaked she isn’t sure whats next. Her sister sends her off on a 6 week trip to Alaska for a fresh start, where she meets Forrest, the charming son of the lodge owner and a doctor who is basically the embodiment of every quality Margot could ever want. Their instant dislike quickly turns into something much deeper.

This book is a trope lover’s dream, hitting all the classics, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, one bed, and more but with a self aware humor that makes it even better. The characters even poke fun at the tropes, which had me laughing out loud. But beyond the humor, there’s a lot of emotional depth as Margot and Forrest deal with real life struggles and family responsibilities.

I loved the dual POV, the character development, and how effortlessly the author brought the tropes together. It was a quick, fun read that I couldn’t put down. Margot and Forrest felt so real and I couldn’t get enough of them. I’m definitely looking forward to more from Victoria Lavine!

Big thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC!! I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to read this amazing debut!