This one took me a good minute to finish. This book had so much potential to be a great book but it sadly fell a little short for me. Or started off great, a romance writer who secretly writes her HEA books with endings that end in heartbreak? Sign me up! But I found Margot to be kinda shallow and a mean girl kinda. Like I wanted to like her so bad but she was just unlikable for me. I also didn’t care for the “insta love.” I wanted this to be kinda a slow burn and I was on like chapter 6 and they were obsessed with each other. Okay, to each their own ya know?

Theo was an absolute babe, I loved him from the moment we met him. I mean like how can you not? Leaves his life to care for his dad, goes into breast cancer research because of his mom??? Swoon. He is the sole reason for these stars.

This was definitely disappointing because the story had great potential. Romance writer + Dr. Hot As Hell living in the Alaskan mountains = ???? Super bummed.

Basic premise: Margot Bradley, successful romance author, is cancelled after her Happily Never After file is leaked. Her sister thinks she needs a change of scenery, and since Margot has decided she wants to write a murder mystery in Alaska, she sends her on a 6-week trip there. Margot meets Forrest, the too good to be true son of the owner. He’s a doctor studying a certain type of breast cancer, but he’s taking care of his dad after an accident. As a romance writer, Margot is aware of the many tropes that happen in those books, but when they start happening to her, she is very resistant.

I loved Margot and Forrest. I thought it was a little bit of a stretch that she would be cancelled for having a private file that had ‘true’ endings for her book characters, but without that, we don’t have a story. She also takes care of her sister who has an autoimmune disease. Forrest is the stereotypical too hot and good to be true MMC from any romance novel. Good looking, has a great career, researching something that would help the world, and taking care of his injured dad. And every trope is thrown at them.

Interesting meet cute ✔️
FMC gets hurt and MMC has to carry her ✔️
Sharing a bed ✔️
Seeing someone form of communication they weren’t meant to see which causes strife between them ✔️
Third act break up ✔️
Grand gesture when getting back together ✔️

Not that it makes the book and less. I loved it, especially because Margot is so over the tropes.

Very cute book. Definitely recommend.

This book was SO good! So many tropes, I loved it. I really enjoy reading books where the main character is a writer. A great read to remind you of the wintertime.

This was a cute and fast read. I really liked the writing style of this author, it felt very refreshing. However, the Taylor swift mentions did kind of take me out of the story.

Thank you to Atria for the ARC on NetGalley!

3.5 stars! This book had so many things I love in it so I’m not sure why I was struggling to get through it. The second half was definitely better for me than the first. I loved Margot and Forrest’s relationship. Margot’s aversion to the wilderness adventures was very relatable 😂 My favorite relationship in this book was the bond between Margot and Savannah. You could tell this book was written by a romance reader for other romance readers and that’s not a bad thing!

(3.5) Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A romance author who doesn’t believe in love goes on a trip — and finds it! Clichéd? Totally. But I’ll eat this trope up every single time. And Victoria Lavine does enough with this story to make it feel fresh and fun, not overdone.

Margot is having a really bad time of it. She’s still getting over a painful split and no longer believes in love. Then, a hacker leaks Margot’s happily never after list, where she gives her characters bad breakups and tragic endings, and her fans and publisher revolt. Margot’s chronically ill sister, Savannah, sends her off to an Alaska resort where there’s no contact with the outside world… but there is contact with Dr. Forrest Wakefield, who looks and seems like he came straight out of the pages of one of Margot’s books. The two don’t make a good impression on each other, but their forced proximity means their relationship quickly shifts and grows.

Things really can’t get much worse. Good thing Forrest is around!

Margot’s a fun character, even if she was a bit snobbish and rude to start and her choices don’t always ring true. She’s not outdoorsy whatsoever, but she’s giving it a go because on the other side of any excursion is a letter from her beloved sister who she’s missing desperately. (After a few mishaps, Margot finds herself in Forrest’s arms or skin-to-skin with him to avoid hypothermia — rough life!) She has a big heart, and she’s arranged her life to be there for Savannah and put her sister’s needs above everything else. That’s something Finn understands — he’s back in Alaska because his dad needs a caretaker after a bad accident, so he’s put his role as a cancer researcher in Los Angeles on pause to be that person. Finn is a dream.

The Alaska setting felt fresh and added a lively, outdoorsy aspect to the book. The slow-burn relationship and the will-they, won’t-they tension were well done. The dialogue was punchy, and the whole book felt smart. Somehow, though, the pacing and timeline felt off. The book happens over six weeks, but it somehow feels much shorter than that, and their relationship pacing didn’t quite work for me as a result. Also, can we get rid of the pop culture references in books? (Taylor Swift is mentioned five times — and none of it felt natural.) Some of the tropes were clearly there to pander to readers, but as I’ve already said, I’ll eat that up regardless.

Any trope but you? I’ll take two.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Any Trope but You is the debut novel by Victoria Lavine, and I'm completely obsessed! I read and listened to this novel within 24 hours. Margot is a romance author who needs to find a place to hide after disappointing her readers and fans. She travels to a family-owned resort in Alaska to recover from her fall from grace with her fans and publisher. She meets Forest, the son of the resort owner and the "real-life book boyfriend" she writes about in her novels.

I appreciate how these characters bond over their shared experience caring for family members. I laughed so many times while reading this book. Honestly, this will be one of my top romance books of 2025!

Read this book if you enjoy:
-Alaska setting
-Enemies-to-Lovers
-Forced Proximity
-"Just for now" situation
-He falls first
-One bed
-Romance Author/Doctor
_Cinnamon roll MMC
-Caring for family members
-Loss of parent to cancer (off page)

3.5 stars rounded up! Overall this was a super cute and fun read, especially if you’re an avid romance reader like I am! While definitely predictable, the storyline played into that with the romance writer/trope story and embraced it.

When a series of BookTok cliches come together into one novel. Forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, 2 established professionals, found family, 3rd act break-up, HEA,

Any Trope but You follows Margot, an established romance author, as her life takes a turn after the leak of her Happily Never After file, a document where she wrote alternate ending for each of her books. After being effectively "cancelled" by her fans, publisher, and BookTok, Margot's sister books her a vacation to Alaska in an effort to get Margot to reinvent herself. In Alaska, Margot meets Dr. Forrest Wakefield (MD, PhD), a former cancer researcher turned resort manager.

Both Forrest and Margot have dubbed themselves the caregivers of their family members, and have made sacrifices in order to ensure the wellbeing of those they love most. Though they get off on the wrong foot and have some communication issues (not sure if it counts as a trope but I was not surprised), they quickly realize just how they mean to each other. Naturally, this leads to some self-discovery, arguments with supporting characters about what is best for them, the 3rd act breakup, etc.

I enjoyed the storyline and flow of the story. Nothing felt rushed and or dragged out - until you got to the end. Everything after Margot returned from Alaska to California felt rushed. As a reader, I spent so much time with Margot and Forrest, understanding their choices, feelings, actions throughout their entire Alaskan adventure, that I felt the final few chapters were rushed. Once Margot returned to California, too many things happened in so few pages that I felt scenes were thrown into the book just to tie up any remaining loose ends.

Overall, I did enjoy and was excited to start each new chapter. This would be a great book for fans of Emily Henry and/or people looking for a quick and light read in between other books/series.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishing company for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really love the idea and the setting of this book, but unfortunately, it gave me the ick from the very first chapter. The FMC's canceling and journey to Alaska just had every ridiculous mishap possible and felt super corny. I was interested in The FMC's relationship with her sister and the MMC's relationship with his family. But even their romance felt off, probably because the guy was attracted to her initially just because she was hot.

Margot is a best selling romance author, or was one. Her list of Happily Never Afters (alternate endings to her books) releases to the public. Her publisher drops her, fans hate her… Margot’s career is seemingly over.

Margot’s sister Savannah sends her to remote Alaska to rejuvenate. Margot goes with hesitance, as she is Savannah’s full time caregiver. She goes anyway, and meets Forrest. The trope of all tropes!

The amount of tropes in this book, whew! I giggled every time Margot pointed another one out.

Lavine’s debut novel is a delight. I loved the dual POV, the sister relationship, and the character development.

The hype is real for this one, y’all!

Can’t wait to see what else Lavine will write for us in the future!

4.5/5 stars!

This book is so cute. It's about a romance author, as she goes through her own little romance novel plot, whilst making fun of every trope along the way. Her sister is also chronically ill, and I love to see that representation in a book. It also added depth to the story and complication to the romance.

The FMC and MMC both had great character depth to them I thought, and for me this was the right level of spicy. Probably 3 peppers out of 5? But that's always subjective! I'd highly recommend picking this one up for a unique romance.

Margot Bradley is a successful romance novelist who secretly does not believe in Happily Ever Afters. When her secret Happily Never Afters list, where she has written alternative endings for her books and other anti-romance things, is leaked online, she faces immense backlash from fans and is dropped by her publisher. Desperate to continue providing for her chronically-ill sister, Margot finds herself on a six-week trip to a remote part of Alaska with the intent of writing a murder mystery set there. Immediately after arriving at her resort, Margot gets scared by a reindeer and literally jumps into the arms of a handsome man who turns out to be the proprietor of the resort. No matter what happens with Dr. Forrest Wakefield, who is back at the family business to help take care of his ailing father, Margot is determined that he can’t be her Happily Ever After. Knowing that Margot will soon be leaving, he isn’t looking for a relationship with Margot, either. As they go through one trope after another, Margot and Forrest have to decide whether to overcome their fears and see what they might have together or become their own Happily Never After ending.

This was a cute, self-aware rom com! Occasionally it’s a little over the top, but it leans into that. I wish I could read the book Margot wrote that’s set in Alaska. The letters from Savannah were great.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Romance author Margot Bradley has a dark secret, she doesn’t believe in Happily Ever Afters. Dr. Forrest Wakefield meet when a moose chases her into his arms. The story is well written and has a very good storyline and a happy ending. This is a new Author to me. I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Me again, your friendly sporadic book reviewer! Back with a book breakdown.

I got an advance copy of Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine. This is a debut novel from a new author and while I enjoyed it, I am excited to see this author create more!

Let’s get into it.

Margot is a romance writer who doesn’t believe in happily ever afters but writes about them. She gets canceled for reasons. She goes to Alaska and meets Forest. They have an instant attraction but she’s a no-to-love girl and he’s an I-don’t-have-time-for-this guy. Irritation and attraction ensues.

3.5 out of 5 stars4 out of 5 steam level

What I loved: I loved the setting in Alaska a LOT! I liked Margot going on different excursions. I liked Forest a lot. Margot was also likable (more on her later). I liked the autoimmune disease representation. And I love a book featuring books. I thought the author did a great job of creating situations for Forest and Margot to be around each other a lot.

What I didn’t love: The sauna scene. I’m a sauna girl. I use one multiple times a week. I can tell you what isn’t on my mind when I am drowning in sweat with an insanely high heart rate. The arc of growth for Margot in relationships with all characters, not just Forest was too slow for me. (I’m talking about her with her sister, Forest and Oliver). Oliver’s storyline dragged for me.

Overall I enjoyed this one and I would read more from the author for sure. For me, I would borrow it, rather than hunt down a special edition copy. (unless it was super cute bc I’m a sucker.)

happy reading,

Dux

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Atria Books and NeGalley for the ARC of Any Trope but You in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I laughed, I kicked my heels and I had a good time. ATbY was a romcom Inception - making fun of romcoms, while being a romcom… a character that’s had her fill of romcoms while being in one herself. It was refreshing, but somehow I wasn’t head over heels.

The chemistry was there, but I didn’t feel like I had enough Margot and Forest time to really understand what gave their love story three-dimensions. They found each other hot, they found each other interesting and spicy and sweet… is that enough to move across the country to be together?

I feel like I was being told how much they were into each other without really being shown how much they were into each other.

All in all I had a good time, and that’s what reading is for!

I could tell from about 15% in this wasn't the book for me. Maybe it was a case of right book, wrong time? I have read a lot of romance this year. This REALLY leaned into the romance clichés. I understand it's called ANY Trope but You. The author actually tried to fit in as many tropes as possible. My problem with that is it made the characters feel really surface level and the story was predicable.

I keep seeing that this is a super spicy book. I'd say no. There are about 2 real on page spice scenes. One of which was entirely too long. The characters didn't even get together until like 60% into the story. That also made the 3rd act conflict way too close to the end. Everything was then wrapped up in 3 chapters. There wasn't enough time to settle into their relationship.

Victoria Lavine's writing was easy to read and the story was decent for what it was. All things considered, I would try a future book by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for an eArc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is like a giant warm hug with spice and endless laughter. If you like the Pumpkin Spice Cafe, Summer in the City, and A Novel Love Story this book is a MUST READ.

The FMC is a romance author that has been ostracized by the book community because the world learned that she did not believe in happily ever afters. In the heat of the hatred, her sister ships her off to the middle of nowhere Alaska to attempt to write a thriller. Only for the FMC to spend weeks struggling with her belief in love (and maybe just maybe falling in love along the way).

Thank you Net Galley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Any Trope but You
By: Victoria Lavine
Published: April 1, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

This book needs to be on your to be read list immediately! Such an amazing romcom that just hit all the feels. Any Trope but You is the perfect blend of fun, banter, heartfelt moments and the perfect boy boyfriend. There’s not much more to say about Forrest, except you have to read for yourself!😍

This story was more than just a romcom though. The relationship between sisters and also finding yourself was beautiful. Margot & Savannah were the definition of sisterly love.

Although “happily never afters” could be real, “happily ever afters” do exist. Thank you @victorialavinewrites , @netgalley , @atriabooks for this ARC!

For being Victoria’s debut novel this book was incredible. The chemistry between Margot and Forrest was *chefs kiss.* Such a cute cozy read.

Thank you Atria Books, NetGalley and Victoria Lavigne for the ARC!