This was the Epic Trope book that I didn’t know I needed in my life. Margot is a romance writer who doesn’t believe in Happily Ever After. Her trip to re-invent herself in Alaska she crashes into Forrest and their roads to self discovery while trying not to fall in love made for a captivating story. I loved how her romance writer brain calls out every single trope that comes up, in the most comical way.

You will love this book if you love the following tropes:
-enemies to lovers
-caretaker
-forced proximity
-one bed
-damsel in distress
-right person wrong time.

I’m sure there’s more but those are the most prominent ones. She’s a down on her luck writer/sister’s caretaker and he’s a doctor/father’s caretaker. They form a bond of mutual understanding of life circumstances. There is spice in this one but it is proportional to the plot which I always appreciate. The book ended well. I just wish there was an epilogue so we could see how everyone is doing after some time has passed. Otherwise, this book deserves all the hype and so much more!


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-arc of this book!

I was a little worried I wouldn’t like with a winter romance in the middle of spring, but this book totally won me over despite the snowy cover!

The story follows bestselling romance author Margot and brilliant medical researcher Forrest. Margot has a secret: she doesn’t actually believe in romance. Hidden deep in her computer is a private file full of raw, unfiltered thoughts: unhappy endings, doubts about her books, and confessions she never intended anyone to read. But when that file is leaked, Margot finds herself #canceled.

To escape the fallout and attempt a career pivot into thrillers, she retreats to a remote Alaskan resort to write her new book. What she doesn’t realize? This resort is totally off-the-grid, no internet, no Wi-Fi, and definitely not the cozy writing haven she expected. Enter Forrest, the resort owners son, who’s less than thrilled to see her and bets she won’t last long. Cue the grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers vibes.

As they navigate the wilderness (and their growing feelings), we see a much deeper story unfold. Both Margot and Forrest are caregivers for sick family members, and the emotional weight they carry adds such a tender, real layer to their characters. This book surprised me with how thoughtful it was, it’s not just cute and romantic, it also gives a compassionate look into the often unseen lives of caretakers.

And the cancel culture element is so prevalent in our media today. Margot was punished for expressing private doubts, feelings she never meant to share. It really struck me how unfair and toxic that kind of online judgment can be. I loved seeing her find resilience and hope anyway.

Overall, this book was heartwarming, surprisingly emotional, and totally worth the read, no matter the season!

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this truly swoon-worthy romance.

I loved the characters in this book so much. They are truly laugh-out-loud funny and so loveable. All the main characters (and side characters!) are perfect, but somehow Victoria Lavine writes them in a way that doesn't make you hate them in the a-real-person-would-never-be-so-perfect way.

Obviously this book crams in as many tropes as one book possibly can so no matter which one is your favorite, you'll likely find it here. You can probably predict some of them before they happen but I just thought it was such a delightful read that it keeps you in the moment and just enjoying the story as it unfolds. I didn't see the twist on Only One Bed before it happened, but I absolutely loved it!

I recommend this one for any lover of romance and can't wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

This is a cute romance novel that, unsurprisingly, contains several classic romance tropes. The relationship between Margot and Forrest is fun to follow, but the book is a bit predictable and I felt like the chapter 1 issue the FMC faces didn't seem super realistic to me. But overall a very cute story and relatively fast read 3.25 ⭐

Incredibly disappointed by this book. The premise was quite nice, but that was all. It was too long, I skimmed most of the chapters towards the end, it was getting too tedious.

I get the reasons these two did not jump to the opportunity to be together straight away, but they way it was solved, I didn't like it. They didn't do anything by themselves. Also, the romance was kinda forced as if it was supposed to be there, being a romance book. It didn't feel natural.

And, the book says it, but the topes are tooooo much in this book.

The letters the sister wrote and the banter was okay, though.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc, this is my honest opinion.

This book gave me total palette cleanser vibes in the absolute best way. First off, I love that this book takes place in Alaska. It's the perfect setting for this story. Is Forrest the perfect book boyfriend? I swear every time you learn something new about him, he just gets better and better! Margot is such a well developed character. I love her, she's relatable and just so real when it comes to love. I'm glad I got to see her character development. All of the characters in this book are just so lovable. Between the resort, Savannah's letters, Forrest and Margot's small enemies to lovers situation. Ugh, just loved everything about it!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Somehow between requesting, reading, and reviewing this book, I discovered "Any Trope but You" is Victoria Lavine's debut novel. Brava!
I love books about writers AND traveling to locations I've never been: This book delivers that and more as readers spend time in Alaska following a writer trying to give her career a fresh voice ... and then she meets the MMC. *Enter: All of the tropes!!*

The banter, the wit, the twists, and - of course - the tropes are top notch throughout the entire work. Such a fun book to read!

Thank you, Victoria, NetGalley, and Atria for this opportunity!

Any Trope but You is the debut romantic comedy by author Victoria Lavine. It’s a hilarious, relatable story which is a gift to romance novel lovers.

Margot Bradley is a bestselling romance author who secretly doesn’t believe in Happily Ever After since her fiancé dumped her a few years ago. Her younger sister, Savannah, suffers from an autoimmune disorder and is also is her biggest fan. Margot writes extra endings to her stories for her own enjoyment, which she calls “Happily Never After”. Unfortunately, one night during a webcast with fans, someone posts excerpts from those files, which they hacked from the cloud. Savannah is crushed and there is an immediate backlash from fans and Margot’s publisher.

Savannah decides that the only way for Margot to salvage her writing career is to reinvent herself as a murder mystery author. She books Margot a six-week stay in a remote Alaskan resort to gain inspiration and write in her newly chosen genre. Instead Margot finds herself running from a moose and leaping into the arms of a handsome doctor, making her wonder if she’s just landed in the pages of a romance novel.

Dr. Forrest Wakefield is a cancer researcher who has returned home to care for his ill father, but he winds up doing double duty as a bellhop at his family’s resort. He is bored until the fascinating Margot shows up, but he is determined to avoid getting involved with any guests. Every major romance novel trope is used to throw Margot and Forrest together, but they both have enough emotional baggage to fill a moving truck. They have a lot to work through over a short six weeks to figure out if they can have a real relationship which can evolve into Happily Ever After.

Any Trope but You is so well-written that it’s hard to believe this is a debut novel. The characters’ emotions are so relatable that readers will quickly engage with them. The descriptions are very vivid, and the dialogue is witty. Readers will have fun identifying the romantic tropes, even the ones that are less popular. While this is a slow-burn romance, it is mildly spicy. I highly recommend it for its many laugh-out-loud scenes. I look forward to reading more books from this author in the future.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) e-book from NetGalley and Atria Books for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was super cute. I kind of love all of the tropes thrown into this book. It was such a love letter and like a wink to romance readers to see all of them and for this writer to just be getting angrier and find the whole situation ridiculous.

The two main characters have such great chemistry together. Part of me almost hates the ending just because I want more! I want an epilogue, I want whatever I can get my hands on.

I will 100% read another one of this author's books.

This story is about Margot, a romance author who doesn't believe in love and happily ever afters. She's been hurt by every man in her life since she was a child, but her sister loves HEAs and she is Margot's biggest fan so Margot writes these books for her. But in a private file on her laptop, she has written her own happily never afters, alternate realistic endings to her books. When she gets hacked and all the happily never afters are released, her fans are crushed and want nothing to do with her anymore. So her sister sends her on a trip to get away from social media, regroup, get some inspiration, and try writing a book in a new genre. But when Margot arrives at the remote resort in Alaska, she quickly realizes she has basically landed in one of her romance novels, when she quite literally lands in the arms of the too perfect guy named Forrest, who's running the resort and caring for his ill father. As the days pass, Margot and Forrest keep being pushed together and they keep finding themselves in one "cliché romance trope" after another. And as hard as they try, their determination to stay away from each other starts to crumble. This was the author's debut novel, but it did not feel like a debut novel at all! The writing was so well done, so easy and enjoyable to read, such relatable characters, it was a story filled with depth, humor, and love. I really enjoyed this book! 🩵📚

Thank you to the author and to the publisher for this ARC of Any Trope But You, in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a good 30% to really get into this book, but once I did I loved it.
The name does tell you it is going to be full of tropes, but the initial scenario was just a bit over the top for my taste and it took me a bit to get over that hump. It felt unrealistic that the blow back from having a "happily never after" file would truly result in an author being completely cancelled.
But as the characters and storyline really started to gain some depth about a third of the way through, the book really found its footing for me and I became invested in both main characters and the storyline.

As far as writing style I love this book's pop culture references, it makes it feel fun and current and relatable. The author has a really strong use of metaphors and analogies throughout the book. In general it felt like "smart" writing, it was quippy and clever without being stuffy or unrelatable.

The author and FMC were very transparent in calling out or calling to all the romance genre tropes. But one of the main components of the storyline - being a caregiver for chronically ill/ disabled family member(s) was really well done, and not a particularly common plot point/ character trait in this (or many other) genres. The discussions, trade offs and influence of being a caregiver were addressed realistically and well.

The author provided enough medical context and details for it to feel real and not surface level, but not so much jargon or explanatory language that it felt overly complex and took away from the reading experience. Lavine also skillfully and realistically represented the complex feelings of both caregivers and the chronically ill individuals who rely on them. I also really appreciated that the story addressed the importance of scientific medical research by extremely accomplished and qualified individuals (breast cancer research) whil also validating the need to often supplement traditional western medical treatments with more homeopathic treatments for chronic illnesses (particularly autoimmune diseases).

The FMC and MMC had the perfect balance of stubborn lack of communication to create a little tension in the onset, but the healthy progression to predominantly open and mature communication in the face of conflict once they were actually starting to develop feelings/ pursue a relationship.

I hope to read more from Victoria Lavine in the future!

This was a really cute read! I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could!

The plot of a romance writer revealed to be a happily every after denier is such a fun premise, and having her go off to Alaska to run away from her problems and accidentally fall in love is the best kind of cliche. Throw in the complicated family dynamics for both leads, and it's no wonder this was a good read.

Margot was a very energetic character, and I found it easy to empathize with her as she struggled with her creativity, future, past, family, and heart. Similarly, I enjoyed getting to know Forrest, and I'm glad there were some chapters in his POV too.

I wish there would have been a little more falling in love on paper. The novel spans 6 weeks aside from the final few chapters, but there are really only a handful of days written. There's a lot of longing and avoiding going on in the in between, and I wish there could have been more in the way of relationship building before things got steamy.

Speaking of steamy, I could not handle the "Sweethearts" during the bedroom scenes. I would cringe and laugh and roll my eyes in embarrassment. I don't know, apparently it's an ick I didn't know I had, but I definitely do now!

I really liked the was Lavine wrapped up the novel, fully completing the family storylines following the characters impaired by illness. I thought the novel at large was a nice story about growth, healing, and, of course, love.

I quite literally finished this in one sitting. It was SO GOOD. From the meet-cute all the way to the ‘holy shit I’m in love’ revelation this was adorable & steamy.

It is filled to the brim with:
🌲forced-proximity
⛺️hurt/care
🫎’enemies’ to lovers
🎣 fish out of water
🧖‍♀️ ‘just for now’ level tension

Margot is a jaded romance writer that has had her whole career turned upside-down. After coming to the raw realization that she will always have a ‘happily NEVER after’ her sister persuades her to escape to an Alaskan wilderness lodge to reinvent her career by writing a murder mystery. But instead, runs into the rugged mountain man resort proprietor{literally}. Forrest is quite literally the ‘stereotypical romance MMC’ that Margot is trying to distance herself from.

The level of love and care that was put into every character in this story was delicious. Forrest was so kind and caring and exactly what you want in a man. The way he cared for his dad and Margot her sister was so heartwarming to read. The representation of autoimmune with Margot sister was perfection down to the way their relationship changed by the end of the book (that’s as far as I can explain without spoiling). Love. Love. LOVE!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this book. I love the struggling writer trope and I really liked the premise and heart in this one. I struggled to connect to the characters and really believe the love story in this. At times this was a little too predictable and it had one too many Taylor Swift references for me. Enjoyable and entertaining.. but not my favorite.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this advanced copy of Any Trope but You.

Unfortunately, I don't think this was the book for me. Had I not been approved for and advanced copy, this most likely would have been a DNF for me. Off the bat, I could tell that the humor in this book was not going to appeal to me. It felt forced, as did a lot of this story. Including, but not limited to, the conflict used to progress the story line. The FMC is crashing out over a negative review? Your entire fanbase grabbing pitchforks because you personally haven't experienced/aren't sure if you believe in a HEA?

Another thing I noticed with this story is that the author would say things like, "a vista of epic proportions, with unfathomable miles of wilderness." I kind of want MORE...like, paint me a picture, let me try and imagine this gorgeous scenery. I wouldn't describe a sunset by just calling it beautiful. It's too vague.

Things I did enjoy were as follows. One, this may seem small, but I have NEVER before read about fake breasts in a romance. Even though it was a fleeting comment about them "not being real" I honestly really found it refreshing to find that little bit of representation. Secondly, the ending of this story DID wrap up pretty nicely. I did have a slight gripe with the timing of how and why the MMC and FMC finally end up together.

Overall, this book was about 20 pounds of tropes in a 5 pound bag, but I think if the humor resonates with you in the first few chapters that you will end up enjoying this book a bunch.

The plot wandered, the characters were one dimensional and the dialogue was stilted- all in all a hard pass.

Margot is a romance author with a dark secret. She doesn’t believe in happily ever afters. And when that secret gets out her career takes a hit. Her sister decides that what she needs is a trip to Alaska to begin writing her first murder mystery. But then Margot meets Forrest and has to decide if she really does believe in happily ever afters.

This was cute and I enjoyed that it took the idea of all the romance tropes and wove them together in such a clever way.

The Alaska setting was fun, especially for a winter read. Although the idea of a pet moose was a bit much.

Overall a fun romance, although maybe not the most memorable.

4 stars.

This was such a fun debut from Victoria Lavine. Margot Bradley, who is a famous romance author, is publicly disgraced when her file of “unhappily ever afters” is released. She flees to Alaska, meets super hot Forrest, and then proceeds to experience one trope after another while trying to avoid actually falling for him.

The “feelings” were a tiiiiiiny bit too instant for me, but felt plausible enough. And the reason of why they couldn’t work out added the perfect tension and slow down of their relationship.

I also adored the family dynamics of being a caretaker for both Margot and Forrest.

This is really a great quick read (and really made me want to go to Alaska despite the freezing temps in the book).

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I loved this book. It was cute, adore, and the right amount of cheese.