This book was so much fun. Who knew romance authors could be so jaded? Margot certainly is, only, all her fans find out and she is cancelled big time. Her sister bans her to Alaska to essentially find herself again, to get uncomfortable, and hopefully write a new manuscript that is NOT romance. Of course, that all falls apart when she falls into her trope. After trope. After trope. Humorous, real-life situations keep happening to throw Margot together with her lumberjack-looking host. Is it a bit of a stretch for ALL of these things to happen? Of course. But it's fun and steamy with a great steady burn. Romance readers will get a kick out of it, I know I did. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the banter, the situations, and the tension. Perfectly paced and full of heart, Any Trope but You hit all the marks for me.

I read an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Victoria Lavine, and Atria books for letting me read the ARC for Any Trope But You. Seeing that one of my favorite authors is best friends with the author of this book set my expectations…and they were met! I loved the witty banter in this book, it had me giggling in public. At first I was annoyed with the miscommunication trope but then I realize CAITLYN THEY'RE COVERING MULTIPLE TROPES IN ONE BOOK, and then a brief facepalm. I enjoyed that there was a medical sensitivity reader, and felt that anyone with medical conditions will appreciate that. I loved their love and also the dimensionality of the story. I love a romance that has depth and covers hard topics, and this did that. The only critiques I have is the “she’s so faint I don’t want to break her” vibe irritates me, but that also could be part of the multiple tropes deal. As well as Forrest bringing up her sister while doing the dirty had me icked. Those are definetly personal preferences and overall I enjoyed this book a lot and will be recommending it to others!

I really enjoyed the concept of this book, it was both very self-aware of the romance genre and the tropes and how fun/ridiculous they can be, but also felt like a love letter to genre. The romance was cute, though I wanted a little bit more. It felt mostly the reason they connected was because they were primary caregivers and were physically attracted to each other. I think a little more depth was needed. The real fulfilling relationships in the book definitely were Margot and Savannah & Forrest and his dad. They were wonderfully fleshed out and honestly had me a little teary eyed at times.

I think this book was funny, sweet, heartwarming and well written. I definitely enjoyed my time reading it and it was a great debut novel!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I didn't like Any Trope but You as much as I was hoping to. I liked the romance, but felt like it was too insta-love. Perhaps it was my mood, but it also seemed like too much reflecting and internal thoughts between dialogue. By the second half, I was skimming.

3.75 rounded up. Cute enough. Good pacing. A little more open door than I prefer. Overall felt like a good, easy read. I find that since I read a lot of literary fiction and mystery/thriller, it’s nice to have a palate cleanser and this is perfect for that.

Advanced reader copy provided by Atria and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

I was literally covering my eyes when THAT scene happened. You know, the one in the blurb! My second hand embarrassment jumped through the roof. 🫣 I was literally going "omg noooo!" I'll admit though, the beer belly mention was H I L A R I O U S. I laughed really loud at that. 😂

Anyway! Onto my (semi-serious, because my reviews are never that deep) review of this gem of a book.

First off: I love how this starts with a mystery. Truth_seeker98, WHO ARE YOU? That was me throughout most of this book. I needed to find out who did this. 😅

Okay, with that out of the way, let me just talk about how much I loved the relationship the MFC had with her sister. I was getting teary eyed during some of their scenes. The MMC also has a lovely relationship with his father, which I adored. There isn't enough positive father/son relationships in romances (or any genre, really), so always nice to see this positive representation. ❤️

This book definitely passes the rom com vibe! It has everything a usual rom com has, especially the comedy. I was laughing every few pages. I really enjoyed the comedy (and romance, of course) in this. Victoria has a knack for that. 👌 And the spice was spicing! I loved the slow burn type of spice this novel has. The way Victoria writes the want, the heat, the longing. Everything about the spice in this novel presses my buttons. 🫦

Overall, this was a really enjoyable novel. Great main characters individually and together, lovely supporting characters, and a nice overarching storyline about finding yourself.

Ok this was super cute! It had everything and the kitchen sink thrown in and it works!
Margot is a bestselling romance author who because of her own experience, doesn’t believe in HEA. So while by day she writes her novels that her fans love, she has a secret file of Happily Never After that she writes just for herself. When that file gets leaked one day, she gets cancelled, big time, and on advice of her sister who she has been a caretaker for many years due to medical issues, she runs off to Alaska to write a whole new genre, murder mystery in the hopes that maybe people will forget all the past stuff and read this new book.
She bumps into the lodge owner, Forrest, literally, when she is confronted on her first day by a wild animal and he protects her. He turns out to be a doctor/landlord with a heart of gold and fills the grumpy meets sunshine trope and romance ensues.
If you’re a fan of: forced proximity, enemies to lovers, wilderness romance, slow burn romance and a gorgeous Alaskan setting, and even the occasional Taylor Swift mention, this is the perfect book for you!
Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Arc review: I loved the plot and this was really cute. I hate that every book has to have cancer In it though

This was cute. Not super memorable but entertaining enough. I liked the family members and the side characters. 3.5 stars rounded up

Margot is a bestselling romance writer who's been canceled after it was revealed that she doesn't believe in love. But Margot is no quitter, so she decides to lay low and try her hand at writing a murder mystery set in Alaska. When her sister concocts a plan to get Margot to Alaska Margot is hesitant to leave her sister who suffers an autoimmune disease, which can leave her dependent upon Margot. Ultimately Margot decides to head to remote Alaska where she finds her sister has booked her into a remote adventure lodge run by a father/son duo. While staying in Alaska, Margot must participate in one ambitious adventure excursion a week - her reward is a letter from her sister. But the adventures aren't as bad as Margot had imagined when she finds herself in the middle of every romance trope you could think of with the proprietor's son, Forrest, who may end up changing Margot's mind about the possibility of Happily Ever After.

There were a couple of scenes that literally made me laugh out loud. The plot was a fun and fresh idea - one that I haven't read yet. I liked Margot's dry sense of humor and her general pessimistic outlook regarding love - a subject she should be an expert on. I also liked the heartwarming family connections between both Margot and her sister, and Forrest and his dad. I found the family-ties sub-plot to be endearing. My only complaint is that the paragraphs would be long winded at times, which made the reading not as easy and seamless for me (but, in all honesty, this could very well be a self-criticism because my writing style also tends to be wordy and complicated, and this could be something that doesn’t bother anyone else). While I saw the ending coming, this was a light, fun, entertaining read that I enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The title Any Trope but You is spot on—and yes, it might sound cheesy, but trust me, this book embraces every delicious cliché in the best possible way. Dr. Forrest Wakefield is basically every book boyfriend wrapped into one swoon-worthy, cinnamon roll of a man.

Margot Bradley, a famous romance author, is recovering from a major writing blunder—and to make things worse, her private thoughts (essentially her diary) get leaked to the entire romance community. Yikes. Her well-meaning sister decides the cure is some forced introspection and ships Margot off to a remote Alaskan lodge for some soul-searching and self-discovery.

The idea was to push Margot out of her comfort zone and remind her of the strong, independent woman her sister knows is still in there. What her sister didn’t count on? A ridiculously charming doctor who checks every “perfect guy” box—in and out of the bedroom.

This book is a quick, cozy, trope-filled delight. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, unapologetically romantic, and totally self-aware of the genre it’s playing in. If you love rom-coms that lean into the fun of tropes while still delivering heart and heat, don’t skip this one.

This was such a fun read!!! I loved all the tropes and the emotional conversations between the main characters. The spice is certainly enough to keep a reader warm in Alaska, and the mmc is even hotter. I did struggle to get into the book at first, but that quickly changed. Overall, I really enjoyed this read and I am impatiently waiting for Lavine's next release.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a 5/5 romance for me! Gorgeous setting, doesn't take itself too seriously, deals with real emotions and relationship issues, chemistry is palpable from the beginning but not forced or insta love, spice is incredible, etc. If you like romance at all, you'll love this one.

Margot is a best-selling romance author who doesn't believe in love and has a secret Happily Never After file where she writes alternate bad endings for her couples - the couple gets a bad divorce, or the husband cheats, or one of them gets a terminal illness, etc. - and vents about her readers' naivete in thinking happy endings exist. When her accounts are hacked and her Happily Never After file is leaked to the world, she gets "canceled" by her readers and her publisher. Margot is a full-time caretaker for her sister Savannah, who has a chronic illness, and so she needs to make money fast. Unbeknownst to her, Savannah books Margot a six-week stay at a lodge in Alaska so she can write in a new genre: murder mystery. Of course, when Margot arrives in Alaska, she immediately meets a man named Forrest who embodies every trope she seeks to avoid, and the rest is history :)

I really adored this one. Margot is witty, sassy, and not too self-deprecating, but she wrestles with her flaws and points of view and does real emotional work and growth. Forrest is obviously hunky af - I absolutely adored every time Margot thought to herself that it was so annoying that Forrest had so many romance hero tropes all in one - and Lavine's cheeky ways at putting them together are so funny and fun. As usual, I love when a romance book addresses the protagonists' whole lives, not just their romance, and this one did a particularly good book of parsing Margot and Forrest's issues and decisions to be made. The sex scenes are really well-written and not remotely cringy, and they were well-paced and furthered the emotional narrative. The Alaska setting is also breathtaking, and the lodge and cabins feel cozy and lovely. All in all, this one was a treat from start to finish!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really love this book! It felt so meta with a romance book about a romance author and calling out all romance tropes. Romance plot was good but forever hate a third act breakup. The writing was excellent and witty. 5/5 would recommend

It's honestly hard to not fall in love with a book titled <i>Any Trope but You</I>, especially when it is jampacked will ALL the tropes out there. Their meet cute may have been my favorite part. But also, the fact that a romance writer ends up experiencing all of the tropes all at once with one guy is so fun. There was great banter and chemistry making this an enjoyable read.
I will say that there is one part that I can't shake about the start of the book. Margot gets caught out by her fans that she does not believe in love and has secret alternate endings to her books. For me as a reader, I would have loved a spin on that. Yes, it looks bad, but I honestly think it would be funny to admit to instead of cower away from.
Regardless, this was a sweet reset on life and learning how to give in to love again.

Okay, let’s melt my ice cube of a heart with all of its Happily Never Afters, because Forrest & Margot are all I need to get my heart to flutter again. This book has everything and would absolutely be the best new romcom, down to a funny and supportive cast, so many tropes, and some of the most embarrassing moments one could ever think of. I wholly enjoyed this one. :)

3.5-4⭐️ Best-selling romance author Margot Bradley secretly hates the HEA, but with a sister who suffers from chronic illness, she relies on them for financial support. When her secret “Happily Never After” list, a document in which she swaps happy endings for unhappy ones, is released to her adoring fans, she is all but cancelled.

Determined to save her writing career, Margot decides to write a murder mystery instead. When her sister books her for a 6-week stay in an isolated resort in Alaska, the last thing Margot expects is to meet someone in Dr. Forrest Wakefield who will challenge her ideas about romance and whether or not the HEA can only be found in fiction.

Overall, this is a cute romcom centered around the idea of romance novels, their tropes, and HEAs (Happily Ever Afters). While seemingly surface-level in nature, the book tackles heavier themes such as living with chronic illness, parental loss and grief, and learning how to let go of the reins. There is a wonderful sense of found family, as Margot settles into her stay in Alaska, and so many of the characters were both charming and lovely.

I loved the initial meeting between our MCs and the enemies-to-lovers vibes they give off originally. That is, of course, until Margot realizes Forrest is much more of a cinnamon roll hero, what with being a breast cancer researcher and all. If you are someone who loves open-door romance, there was quite a bit of steam here (a little too much for me these days), including the beloved “one bed” trope, although in this case, it happened to be one tent and even one sleeping bag. The love story itself, however, is a very slow burn - something I always prefer to its counterpart, instalove.

Although this is a solid debut in its totality, there were a few things that took my rating down a bit, including frustration with the characters’ decisions and actions. Let me give just one example of this. We, of course, are treated to the 3rd-act breakup, not surprising for a book about the stereotypical romance novel. However, in one scene, Forrest is reassuring Margot that even if she lives her life to the fullest (i.e. continues a romance with him), she can still be there for her sister too. Too bad he then completely forgets this minutes later when he gets word that his father has had a seizure and he blames himself and his romance with Margot for not being there for him, at which point he proceeds to dump her. I was hard-pressed not to want to throw my book against the wall. However, the majority of the book was still enjoyable and an overall impressive romcom debut (especially in a sea of romance books).

🎧 I have a feeling this book is better as an eyeball read versus an audio read. While the narration is perfectly fine, I think in a way, it emphasized the flaws more and made them harder to overlook. I would therefore recommend doing this solely as a physical/ebook read.

Read if you like:
▪️slow burn
▪️enemies-ish to lovers
▪️forced proximity
▪️one tent/sleeping bag
▪️books about books
▪️Alaska setting
▪️chronic illness rep

Thank you Atria and Simon Audio for the gifted copies.

I adored this book so dang much!

A very cute nod to romance lovers. It didn't feel overly cheery or forced. It was very much written for romance readers by a romance reader. I didn't feel like it was making fun of the genre or the readers like many others who tried to pull off a "tropey" book. This one was perfect!

As for the story, my gosh I loved Margot and Forrest so much. The jaded romance author and the grumpy resort manager/owner. I had so much fun with their banter. The back and forth, how much they wanted to resist each other but were always ultimately pulled to each other. I seriously loved them.

I was not expecting the tears at the end. I was having a jolly good time and then I was assaulted with emotions! It was beautiful and every bit of it made me want to explore Alaska even more than I always have.

i loved this one!

while it felt a little insta-lovey i think it was done well — it was presented more as they both fell for a fantasy of each other and their connection (romantic, sexual, platonic, etc.) happened gradually overtime. i think it relied heavily on tropes but it was fun and considering she is a romance writer, it makes sense she views a lot of her life through what she writes so i didn’t find that a bother too much.

anyway, this was fun and it was great and i’d recommend this as a really nice palate cleanser!

If you are looking for a debut fun rom com with all the tropes, look no more. This one is filled with:
- Disastrous meet cute
- Forced proximity
- Enemies (sort of) to lovers
- Only one bed

Margot flees to Alaska after a leaked document of her un-HEA to her well loved romance books. She meets Forrest, the inn owner's son who is there to help with running the place as well as take care of his dad.

They are total oil and water and Margot drove me nuts in the beginning. She was in an Alaska and not prepared and didn't ask for help. Forrest was a total grump but I appreciate how he took care of Margot. I liked that this was a slow burn and both held back.

The romance was fun but what I really loved was Margot's relationship with Savannah, her sister. They were best friends and the letters really showcased their relationship.

I look forward in reading what Lavine writes next. Thank you @atariabooks for a copy of the book.