Overall I really, really enjoyed this one!!

I’m not going to lie, I’ve been really disenchanted with the use of the word “trope” in the last year. I don’t know, maybe it’s just a thing like people have with “moist” - but I will say that with the humor of this book and the MC being an author- it did it for me!

I enjoyed the main characters and the side characters were really enjoyable for me as well.

The setting is amazing- love that rural Alaskan life!

“Any Trope but you” is perfect for romance readers. It had allllllll of the tropes. Margot is a top selling romance writer who doesn’t believe in the Happily Ever Afters that she writes. She has a file of all her alternative endings of not so happy endings - which is exposed when someone hacks into her computer. On the brink of cancellation her sister books her a six week stay in the rugged Alaskan wilderness to find herself again and maybe her happily ever after. I really enjoyed the main characters in this book and the love story. It was cute but it had the characters dealing with real themes. Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for providing this advanced reader copy!

I absolutely loved this!! It is a feel good Hallmark story with spice!! I loved the Alaskan setting, Alaska is one of my favorite places so that part really drew me to this. Margot and Forrest will be living in my heart forever. 🥹

I was immediately pulled in by the humor, which had me laughing out loud many times, and grinning all of the time. Until it made me cry. Because I did cry actual real tears and felt my heart shatter, but then it got glued back together again and left me swooning.

I love the sister bond and the caretaker rep, the dedication they both have for their family is beautiful. I love how Savannah pushed Margot out of her comfort zone to help her grow, I’m tearing up again just thinking about it.

This book had so many emotional moments that I just loved, and the tension was perfect. I will reread this for years to come, it’s the perfect go to comfort book!

Thank you, NetGalley and Victoria Lavine for the opportunity to read this ARC! Release Day is April 1, 2025!

I got this book from NetGalley and I am so happy I did. If you were a romance book lover, you probably have your favorite tropes. This book combines all the typical romance tropes you see in the books in one book and she acknowledges that they’re happening to her. The scenarios in this book plus the quick whip between Margot and Forest are fantastic. Both of their back stories are a little sad, but they’re such good characters who care so deeply for those who are important to them. I honestly love this book and I can’t wait to read more by this author.

"Absolutely loved Any Trope But You! Victoria Lavine has crafted such vibrant, relatable characters that I couldn’t help but root for every step of the way. The chemistry between the leads is electric, and the story perfectly balances humor, heart, and just the right amount of tension. Every page had me hooked, and the clever twists on classic tropes were refreshing and fun. A must-read for romance fans!"

3.5⭐CHARS (that was a crappy reference sorry)

~thank you Netgalley for providing an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

18+ (y’all the hypocrisy)

romance: 9/10 (explicit descriptions of finger, oral, and penetrative sex. The only reason it’s not a 10 is bc it doesn’t use words like “c*nt” or “p*ssy”, which I find to be worse on the scale of smut scenes. *coughs in twisted* scroll down to the bottom of the overview section for chapters to skip. There are also mentions of masturbation)

cursing: 8/10 (damn, hell, ass, bitch, shit. Plus f-ck 102 times)

violence: 0/10 (nothing)

other: drinking/drunkenness. Talk of drugs. A married lesbian couple.

tropes: forced proximity, fish out of water, snowed in, one —bed— tent

tw: divorce, cancer, death of loved one

first person, present tense

dual pov

publish date: 4-1-25

**At what point did biology decide wood was the go-to scent for making men smell attractive?**


–OVERVIEW–

So, if I’m being 100% honest, this book was so cute minus the smut scenes.

As a 15 year old Christian, I did not read the scenes (on purpose at least lol, I zoned out while Margot was checking the light in the sauna and the next thing I know Forrest is sucking her breasts… UH)

I’m having such a good track record this year abt books with spice in it…. 🥲

The romance seemed a little rushed to me, and based purely on the sexual attraction they feel toward the other. Obviously, the first thing you would notice about a person is if you find them attractive or not, but this takes it to the extreme. Honestly, I was getting tired of hearing how Margot instantly was put on edge and wet like a slimy snail everytime Forrest brushed her elbow at the dinner table. Am I the only person who doesn’t like the “casual fling to something more” trope? Bc that’s essentially what this is. They know things aren’t going to work, and that after Margot leaves the resort they’re not going to see each other again. And yet, apparently Forrest’s dick and Margot’s vajayjay didn’t get the memo. They start off as f-buddies. Not exactly ideal 💀
BUTTTT the banter in this book was SO good. I was giggling and kicking my feet during the first half. And the ending was so sweeetttt, so like basically after you get past the middle which is freaky lust it’s so so cute.

I think this book ruined my head. I keep thinking in swear words. ALSO can someone explain the overkill f-cks??? LIKE WHY 102? Most of them are awkward and unnecessary. Can someone give me a time machine to before I requested this book? I would like to warn past me…

-the writing-
It seemed a little juvenile to me? The style was unique. It was enjoyable enough, but quite obviously a debut. Usually I don’t care much about research inconsistencies, except when I know about the subject. Like with this book it was the snow machine (where I live we call them snowmobiles or sleds) scene. Margot and Forrest are seen weaving pin point turns around trees at a “breakneck” speed… which is kind of ridiculous to me. Like for one, those things are tippy as frick so the pin point turns at a breakneck speed??? Disaster. I grew up riding snowmobiles (in fact, the only way to get to my house in the winter is on one. Go ahead. Be jealous. I’m jsk it lwk sucks), so I know that it *might* be a possibility with a single experienced rider, but with a passenger (never advised bc it’s dangerous btw) who has no knowledge on how to lean, it’s pretty much impossible. Now I could just be envisioning the trees closer together than the author imagined them, but if so, then she did a bad job at explaining.
Which brings me to the descriptions. I had the most difficult time picturing the world in my head. At first I thought it was because I was tired, or needed another cup of coffee, but the more I read into this book the less and less that seemed the case.
I see the characters as faceless cardboard cut outs with the features they’re so fond of about the other. Which NEVERRRRR happens for me unless the writing is phenomenally bad. (*coughs* Powerless *coughing hack*)


I might just have controversial opinions on books tho hahaha

As promised, here are the chapters you’ll want to skip if you plan on avoiding the spice (my soul has been tainted from just skimming to find the beginning and ends of the scenes so you’re welcome)

End of Chapter 10 (a scene in which they’re dry humping in a sleeping bag??? Idk, it says the word “erection” so it’s a nono for me)
Chapters 17, 20, and 21 (full chapters)
Chapter 22 (some stuff at the beginning)
Chapter 25 (a bit at the beginning)
Chapter 26


**“I’m never going to be someone you can’t trust.”**


–PLOT–

After New York Times bestselling romance author, Margot Bradley’s secret Happily Never After File, a document in which she rewrote the endings of all her books with a turn for the worse, leaks, she is left reeling in the aftermath. Her younger sister books her a “Reinvention” trip to a wilderness resort in Alaska, trying to turn her into the next Taylor Swift of rebrands. There, she meets tall, dark, and handsome, Forrest of the Forest (heh). He is the embodiment of her ideal type, and a man who checks all the romance hero boxes. How much longer will she be able to pretend she hates him and ignore her extreme attraction?

(not long isttlga)

**“I can’t believe you read romance novels. You seems more like a Scientific American kind of guy.”
The tension breaks and he laughs in surprise. “I am a Scientific American kind of guy,” he confirms before his smile fades slightly. “But I guess I’m a Margot Bradley kind of guy now too.”**


–CHARACTERS–

MARGOT
-> she’s not a bad fmc. I just wish she was a little more consistent. Like how do you go years of swearing love is fake, only to change your mind after knowing a man for three weeks and having sex with him? I do not understand. I didn’t see much personality in her besides “protect sister” and either “dream abt screwing” or “screwing Forrest” (not in the business type way, mind you) which is sad 🥳🥳
Why was there such a large amount of sex scenes in this book? I swear, they take up like 40% of the book 🥲🥲
But I. Hate. The. “He’s so big she’s so tiny”. TROPE. It’s icky. Who would want to constantly read abt how his “giant muscled frame dwarfed her as he stood above her”. Frick to the NO. especially the “he’s to big to fit” vibe going on. Isttlga.

FORREST
-> ngl he’s also flat. But I loved that he’s a triple negative breast cancer researcher. That was so cute how he dove into that field after his mom passed. Swoony. And as someone who was born with a heart condition, I also loved how he wanted to be a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon. Isn’t that so adorable??? He’s a nerdy man who loves to read, has a phd. like brooooo.
But. all that’s on his mind is Margot’s little snail…. SAURRRR
*coughs*
Apparently he also has a giant dingaling. So at least his has that going for him 💀💀
Also, “Sweetheart” that’s the best you could do??? I’m sorry, but that makes me feel icky, bc like old grandpas and my dad call me that daily, so that fact he calls her that during sexy time freaks me out.

SAVANNAH
-> she was my favorite character 🥹🥹 but we don’t see much of her bc her sis is too busy banging 🥳👏
I ADORED her letters tho. Easily my favorite part of the whole book.

JO
-> she was a girlboss, and I loved the little thing she had going with Trapper, that was so sweet.

TRAPPER
-> he reminds me of my grandpa and I loved him (totally not projecting my own personalities on these characters bc they were flat asfrickkkk)

OLLIE
-> naur pookie. Stop trying. It’s just sad atp.


**“Nah, I only work out to Taylor Swift”**

–CONCLUSION–

The amount of dirty jokes my friends made that I didn’t understand until reading this book concerns me. What has become of me 🥲🫠

ANYWAY if you’re over 18 and you read smut definitely go pick this book up (for moral reasons I will not be recommending this book to anyone who is not old enough to legally buy a vape 🥳) (don’t mistake that as me encouraging vaping either bc that’s bad for your lungs. Go breath some oxygen please and ty)
It was an easy fluffy (minus the scenes which are not fluffy lol) read that I flew through.
So demure.
So mindful.
SAUR cutesy.

Anyway, tysm for reading lovelies <333

*“You love me,” I whisper, and it’s half a question, half-declaration.
“Of course I love you,” he says, raising a hand to stroke my dimple with his thumb. “Why else would I be here begging you to spend the rest of your life with me?”**

A hilarious, swoony and sexy holiday romance that all readers will enjoy! This is light hearted holiday romance feels “like every other” but the author was able to provide us with such fun original prose that you felt like it was the first time! These characters were so deeply connected, shared hilarious banter, had sooo much chemistry it oozed off the page and brought the spice in the best ways possible! This book is for all the romcom, holiday specific and light hearted readers out there who just love a good “of course it’s you” story.

I loveddd this book! Both characters were hysterical in their own way. I really liked the idea of a romance novel not believing in happily ever after, and I also enjoy the idea that she is continuing to right for her readers even if she specifically doesn't believe in it!

Something that made me chuckle the whole way through the book was that she kept finding herself thrown into book tropes throughout her time in Alaska. The relationship between Margot and her sister (Savannah), and Forrest and his father are so heartwarming and special. Both of the characters are putting their loved ones first, even if it costs love for themselves. The battle between giving your family members everything they deserve and giving yourself what you deserve is such a great battle in this book.

All the characters are so fun; I specifically love Margot trying to be outdoorsy just so she can get interactions with her sister. I love the internal battles Margot and Forrest are having at all times. Sometimes I just wanted to shake both of them for being so dumb, but also I have no idea what I would have done in that situation!

I truly enjoyed this book, even though I enjoyed it from the comforts of a vacation in Florida and not snowy Alaska! This is a book that I already have a few people I would either recommend it to, or physically buy it for them! I can't wait for it's release!

Absolutely adored this. Probably already a contender for my favorite romance of 2025. Such a fun nod to the romance genre & romance readers. So heartfelt & touching. Lots to say about loyalty to family, disability/illness, & trusting yourself & the power and importance of love. What an incredible debut. If you like Emily Henry, give this a try.

The setting became a character in this story set in the Alaskan wilderness. Cute and heart wrenching, a perfect winter read.

eARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book! The writing was well done and easy to read. I also loved the setting of Alaska. I enjoyed that the characters were very self aware and there was never blatant miscommunication. All the nods to romance book tropes and Taylor Swift were the cherry on top for me. I would recommend!

ANY TROPE BUT
By Victoria Lavine ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5


🏔️ Beloved romance writer Margo Bradley doesn’t believe in HEA! When her secret HNA file is revealed to the public, her reputation is tarnished and her romance writing career is canceled. In hopes of helping her escape and clear her mind, her sister books her a 6 week retreat to the Alaskan wilderness, where she hopes Margo will find confidence in herself again, and maybe something more. What she doesn’t realize she will find, is unlimited romance tropes around every turn. And something she never thought she would find… HEA…?
🏔️Dr. Forrest Wakefield has found himself back at his family’s northern Alaska lodge, caring for an ill parent, leaving behind a life he’s tirelessly worked for. When a beautiful new guest throws herself in his arms, he fights the inner battle to follow his heart, or to protect the reputation of his family’s business.
🏔️ As Forrest and Margo realize they have more in common than they thought, things start to heat up in the sub zero temps of the Alaskan wild! ❄️🩵❤️‍🔥

Kicking and screaming! This book was so hot! Who is this author, and when do we get more from her? ❤️‍🔥🥰
This book was fun from start to finish. If you’re a lover of romance and tropes and all things flannel, this book has it all!
All the fun trope mishaps, and quirks, but also real, raw emotions. Likable characters, character development, and a fun plot to follow along with. 🏔️


Thank you to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc.
As a well as @atriabooks
I loved every second of it and can’t wait to read more from @victorialavinewrites

Margot Bradley has two priorities in life: her career (writing bestselling romance novels) and taking care of her chronically ill sister but both of those are threatened when a hacker finds a document on her computer revealing that she doesn’t actually believe in the Happily Ever After’s that she crafts for her livelihood. Publicly canceled and unsure what to do, her sister books her into an off-the-grid resort in Alaska to try writing a different genre, thinking that the change of scenery but help her reboot her life. When Margot arrives however, an encounter with a moose sends her flying into the arms of the hot proprietor who is somehow the living embodiment of every male hero she’s ever written. He’s back at his childhood home to help his ill father while simultaneously running the family business. Margot can’t believe she’s been confronted with the every romantic trope possible but as they spend more time together, they discover they might actually work together but he can’t leave and she can’t stay.

I absolutely loved this book. I truly think it’s going to be one of the most-talked about romance novels this year! Victoria Lavine’s character development is so good and I really got lost in their lives. They’ve both been through some stuff and I couldn’t help but cheer for them. Final thought and a bit of a spoiler: the sauna scene might be the hottest thing I’ve ever read.

Thanks to Atria via Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Victoria Levine's ANY TROPE BUT YOU has two of my favorite aspects in a romance novel: playing with tropes and a gorgeous nature setting, especially in winter with lots of cozy fires. Unfortunately, the execution didn't work for me, largely because I'm tired of so many romance novels featuring my least favorite trope: city girl can't handle the great outdoors and is brought outside by a rugged mountain man. As a woman in a mountain town who loves getting outside and knows a lot of independent outdoor women, this trope is very tired to me. So this book wasn't for me, but it may be relatable and fun for a lot of other readers.

I did end up liking the relationship between Forrest (of course his name is Forrest) and Margot. However, I struggled to suspend disbelief around the reason for Margot's "cancellation" as I can't imagine this happening in real life. The main thing I loved about this book was Margot's relationship with her sister, Savannah, and how strong Savannah was as a character even though she was physically absent for most of the story. The representation of chronic illness and Margot's care for her sister — and how that part of her life brought her closer to Forrest — was sweet and well-done. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC!

What a fantastic debut! Loved this rom com set in Alaska! Great chemistry between the main characters and excellent banter!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

It’s hard for me to believe that this is a debut novel. The story is so well crafted that it hits everything you want in a romance. You’ve got all the tropes (which she pokes fun at), a little comedy, a nice pinch of spice, some emotional angst and the all-important HEA. Did I want to smack Forrest and Margot a few times for playing coy with one another, absolutely, but isn’t that the fun of the classic enemies-to-lovers tale? Anyways, I digress…

Here’s what I loved: The book has more than just romantic hijinks and while Margot had become jaded she wasn’t so far gone that she didn’t see what was right in front of her. The banter and relationship building between her and Forrest was fun, but not mean and it was easy to envision a relationship between them.

I also loved that the book poked fun at all of the romance tropes. Us romance readers love them in a book but we might side-eye the universe if they happened in real life so it was fun to see Margot react the same way.

What I didn’t like: For a tiny bit mid-book it felt like Forrest and Margot were going to be stuck in this “will they/wont they” holding pattern. It wasn’t long enough to lose my interest but it was one think I noticed.

Hoping that Victoria Lavine is already hard at work on book 2 because I AM going to need another one!

closed out the year with an amazing advanced copy, thank you atria books! i seriously loved this. what a debut from victoria lavine! adored our cast of characters, the setting and every trope that was included. <3 read this one!!

I feel this was so down to earth and real feels with great humor. I really enjoyed the main character and her path out of turmoil. I loved the main male character and both of them together had a ton of chemistry. The side characters and stories were fitting and helped the plot. I pretty much loved everything about this steamy romance. The writing was excellent and had wonderful pacing and flow. I felt part of Margot's world. I can see why the book is already so popular and I loved every chapter. Forrest was everything I want in a main male character, charming and supportive with his own character growth and arc. I loved how the tropes unfolded in the story. I highly recommend to anyone looking for a solid romance to dive into. 5/5 must-read, can't put down, won't put down.

5 stars

MY FAVORITE..... Women's fiction mashed with romance. Not to mention Dr. Forrest got me swooning. Now, I'm seeing the name Forrest in a new light

I was seriously impressed by the writing in this book! I've never read anything by Lavine before, but I was thrilled with the strong voice, turns of phrase and sheer personality that resonated throughout. This book had a bit of a "meta" feel about it (a writer writing a main character who is also a writer), and it honestly read like a love letter to the romance community. We got dual POVs, which I enjoy, and it was rather fun to read a book set in Alaska and all that entailed. A very pleasant read, overall, and perfect for true fans of the romance genre.