I was afraid that the constant in-book trope talk would make me not like this book, but I'm happy to report that I found it adorable! I feel like the characters really grew throughout the story. It was a cute, quick read!

Absolutely loved this!! Its was funny, there was spice, there were so many emotions and I absolutely loved Margot’s character. You see her nurturing side and her vulnerable side and omg I just loved it.

I loved how as a romance writer herself she called out the “cliche” tropes as they happen in her real life. Margot and Forrest have just such a great romance story and seeing them fall in love when they both have full lives is so realistic and beautiful.

When Margot’s career gets put on hold, after the world finds out she’s a romance writer who doesn’t believe in happily ever afters, her sister sends her to Alaska for an escape. There, she meets Forrest and despite neither being interested in love, they find themselves every romance trope there is.

This will be a top 2025 read and a perfect book for fans of Abby Jimenez, Jess Joyce, Meghan Quinn and Tarah Dewitt (I know an epic combo)! A romance set in Alaska with snow filled adventures, tropes on tropes, self-discovery, fantastic banter and writing that just sucks you in. There was so much depth and realness to both Margot and Forrest. I loved their backstories and how their experiences caring for others made them understand the other all the more.

Read if you like:
-Enemies to lovers
-Books about romance authors
-Breast cancer awareness
-One bed/ snowed in
-Swiftie references
-Debut novels
-Alaska setting

Omg i want to thank Victoria lavine and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book. This book was so good for getting me out of a reading slump it was so perfect. This is such a homage to the romance readers the way the Victoria put all the romance girls favorite tropes together in this book so good. 5/5 ⭐️’s

4.75 ⭐️

I was invited to read this book by Atria publishing.

This book is not out yet but I highly suggest adding it to your “Want to Read.” Romance writer Margot ships off to middle-of-nowhere Alaska after her file of miserable romcom endings gets released and her fans unceremoniously drop her. Of course there’s a meet cute, and dozens of romance tropes Margot desperately tries to avoid. She and Forrest bond over caregiver fatigue and their individual selflessness for those in their life that need them. I truly can’t believe this is this authors debut.

dnf at 69%

frankly, i should've known from the beginning this wasn't going to work from me. this novel was too "meta" for my personal liking, especially when it came to referencing tropes, but i decided to give it a go, and in the beginning it was actually very promising. i was interested in the very close relationship margot and her sister had, how she was savannah's caretaker, and how this mirrored forrest's situation with his father. it slowly but steadily went downhill, being in margot's head was exhausting and at times annoying, it felt very repetitive and at some point after another misunderstanding between the two main characters i just gave up.

ATBY follows Margot (My aunt shares this name with our FMC, except in her case it's spelled 'Margo' so I spent the whole book trying to undo 30 years of niecehood) and Forrest. Get it? A...forrrrrresst in Alaska?

Margot is an author who has spent years writing happy ever afters for her audience, the reading community. She's a highly sought after author who has made her living in the field! Yet secretly, she doesn't believe in them at all. Margot releases book after book out into the world with drool-worthy FMC/MMC relationships that help her readers to believe in love. Behind the scenes, however, Margot has a secret file titled 'Happy Never Afters' where she writes alternate endings to her bestsellers. Alternate endings in which the relationships spiral, ending in divorce, loss of youth and health, and so on.
That file is accidentally leaked, and the industry essentially tries to 'cancel' Margot. She leaves at the request of her very ill sister for some solitude in the wilderness of frigid Alaska.

"Margot, what is this? Is this real? It says here that Avery and Caleb ... get a divorce? That Caleb ..." A sharp gasp. "Gets a beer belly?"

A lot about this book that I really enjoyed. The concept was frankly hilarious. I highlighted quote after quote and the author did a stellar job with prose. The style of writing is 'let your hair down' in a way that really let me relax into the plot. She took a lot of chances with a more 'lax' but creative style, and I think it paid off nicely.

"Is wood chopping an Olympic sport? If not, it should be. I've never felt more patriotic in my life."

"Under the overhead light of the porch, he looks even younger. Almost Peter Pan-ish, if Peter had gone through puberty and taken up mountaineering."

This will likely be an unpopular opinion, but I think we could have done a little more in the setting, which might sound silly as there are several excursions that take place on this trip, but if you're going to Alaska, liiiiiiiive out there! Maybe I need to read that other book, the one about the guy living in his van in Alaska. Except, wait... I think that guy dies. Disregard.

The really amusing thing about this book is that Margot leaves home intending to leave romance behind, and instead, finds a guy who encompasses every single trope under the sun in one way or another. It's very funny and nearly to the point of satire, but in a good way.

"Is this another trope? If so, I'm okay with it. Huge fan. It feels like more than an olive branch. It feels like a gesture. A message."

Lavine also manages to sew in a few deeper moments, though the plot, for me, was largely lighthearted.

"But maybe some baskets don't want to be filled with warm and cozy feelings. maybe some baskets are destined to be decorative because they know hats can be pulled over eyes and scarves can choke."

This book does have a fair amount of spice so make sure you are open to that or willing to skip it (I am not a big fan of this, and skipped over portions of it. It did not take away from the story!). Only other thing I will say is that I did NOT agree at all with the characters idea at the end of the book of what a HEA ultimately is. But hey, maybe that's the romantic in me.

I'm excited to see what else this author does, I will surely read it! Thank you to Victoria and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an eARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

4.0/5.0

Loved it. Margot and Forrest were so god dang cute. Also I cried (it is not a heavy/super sad book, I am just a sap) because I just really loved them both and wanted them to get out of their own way. Adorable

What a fun premise, I also really loved the inclusion of the letters!! So many lovable characters throughout and I felt like each character was given depth and great development

I stopped after chapter 1 (6%) but I really liked the voice and the premise. This will be a great fit for contemporary romance readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC.

Tell me, if your favorite romance author got hacked, and it turned out they secret bad endings for all of their books, what would you think? Endings where the couples got divorced, had horrible MILs, things like that? I would think it was super hilarious. In this book, the author has gone through some horrible relationships and doesn't believe in love, so has a secret HNA (happily never after) file and gets canceled and dropped by her publisher when it gets released.

So off she goes to Alaska to try her hand at a new genre and get away from everything. Obviously, meet-cute bc of course. This book is so amazing! Definitely would recommend it to anyone would loves romance (unless you are looking for a clean romance, tons of smut).

Thanks to NetGalley for the free kindle book in exchange for my honest review!!!

An adorable, trope-laden romcom that is perfect for fans of Meghan Quinn! Margot is forced into a 6-week writing retreat by her sister, where her meet-cute with Forrest sparks a chain reaction of romance tropes that feel like there's a behind-the-scenes producer masterminding their interactions. This was sweet and fun, and I quickly flew through the banter and budding relationship between Margot and Forrest.

Fun and entertaining read. A little trope-y (we were warned with the title!) and cliche at times. A lot of the plot required a bit of suspended disbelief, but I was happy enough to go where the story took me. A decent mix of cozy and steamy. It's a decent fun/silly read, recommend if you're in the mood for that

I... I don't even know how to start this. Well first off, READ THIS BOOK.

I was skeptical going into this book. The premise felt very Book Lovers and Beach Reads adjacent so I wasn't sure how this book would hold up when I had that in my mind before I even read the book. I thought the name was kind of cheesy/quirky and that this would just be some cheesy rom com I read, moderately enjoyed and moved on. I am floored though. I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down.

This was a tale of self discovery, balancing obligations to care for others with your own needs and love. I adored the way this book wove in romance tropes while acknowledging how cheesy they are. The comedic timing is brilliant. I was cackling and smiling and giggling the whole book. I loved the banter between our protagonists. The entire relationship felt so organic and real. This really did remind me of Emily Henry's work in all the best ways.

All of the characters relationships felt so well fleshed out. The bond between Margot and her sister was so adorable. I also loved the dual POVs so we could really feel the inner turmoil of each protagonist. It just felt so wholesome and real.

This had probably the funniest opening line I have ever read, I wish I could quote it but I can't spoil that for you just yet. I find myself in awe that this is the authors first book. I am so eager to read anything else she publishes, I cannot say enough good things about this book.

Do yourself a favour and read this book if you enjoy romance novels with strong characters and great plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book gave me all the best feels. I laughed, I teared up, and I rooted for our main characters. I am recommending it to my book besties. I’m so glad I had the chance to read this!

This book is so aptly named because every single romance trope that you can think of except for secret baby is in this book.

Margot is a romance writer who doesn’t believe in HEAs and is outted during a live zoom meeting. Her publisher reconsiders her future and her agent is in limbo about what’s next for the writer. Savannah, Margot’s sister secretly books her at an Alaskan get away that is rustic, filled with wild animals and a hunky caretaker who is also a doctor ( trope hero) a breast cancer researcher, a good son, and fellow Californian. SO many tropes, so many ways to write a romance!

What ensues is a rocky start ( enemies to lovers) that turns into true love (HEA), that’s tested time and time again.

Forced proximity, hero rescues, and hot sex fill this story well.

I found this story delightful and I thank Netgalley and the publisher for a sneak peak.
4 stars.

This is the second romcom I've read cover to cover today (honeymooning rocks!) and I am pleased to report that this one was another great one. I LOVED the FMC's voice and the irony of trying to stay away from romance tropes when they kept happening over and over again. I liked that it poked fun at the genre without seeming over-the-top or cheesy. I felt like this was a very realistic story, and all of the characters were developed very well. There were a couple minor plot lines I could have done without, but they didn't burden the story too much. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book, and will now keep Lavine on my publishing watch list!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I wish I had known how spicy this book would be. Everything seemed so promising - the cover, the cozy setting, and the humorous play on contemporary romance tropes, However, I did not finish, as it was much too steamy for my taste. I fully expect this book to be popular, as the writing and plot are entertaining, and many people seem to appreciate the spice.

Special thanks to the Publisher, Atria Books, and Net Galley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Forrest from the forest, I loved that part. Margot meets Forrest during an Alaskan get away set up by her sister. She needed an escape and new motivation to write her upcoming novel. While she is there she has to reflect on happily never afters, especially after meeting Forrest who seems like the perfect guy. Overall a cute read.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Amazing, amazing, amazing. I loved this book! It had me laughing, crying, angry, you name it. I saw myself in Margo in so many ways. This book was beautifully written. I will definitely be recommending this to my fellow readers.

I received an advanced copy of this book for review. I did not receive any compensation for this review.