ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || ANY TROPE BUT YOU [thank you to Atria and @netgalley for my #gifted copy!]

Title: Any Trope But You
Author: Victoria Lavine
Genre: Romance
Format: Digital
Star Rating: ★★★★☆

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
After her secret stash of unhappy romance endings is leaked, bestselling author Margot Bradley is canceled by her readers and dropped by her publisher. To save her career—and support her chronically ill sister—she pivots to writing murder mysteries and retreats to a remote Alaskan resort.

But instead of crime scenes, she finds herself falling for the grumpy, gorgeous innkeeper, Dr. Forrest Wakefield, who left his dream job to care for his ailing father. As long, snowy nights and unlikely tropes draw them closer, they’ll have to decide if their story ends in heartbreak—or something more.

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
After reading a couple of friends reviews for this book, I bumped it up by TBR and I’m not disappointed that I did! This was such a fun story of a woman losing her way, thinking she found her answer, and then realizing that she was completely wrong.

Now, this book somewhat breaks the fourth wall over and over. But since the FMC is a romance writer, and a jaded one at that, it makes sense that she would be sensitive to the tropes popping up in her own life (and just how the man she meets in the Alaskan wilderness is basically too good to be true and must be written by a woman). It was honestly kind of fun to have the FMC have the same reaction to some of the ridiculous situations as you did as the reader.

The romance here is great - but honestly, I think the best part was the focus on family and how much you’re willing to give up for them. Both MCs in this book are forced to uproot their life in some way to take care of an ailing family member - and I think it’s such a beautiful look into that side of love.

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Lots of Tropes
Wintery Settings
Adventure Romance
He’s Too Good to be True
Grumpy x Sunshine

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 4.24 ⭐️
# of Pages: 336
Pub Date: April 1, 2024

This was such a fun book!! I know once it’s published I will be seeing it everywhere. Can’t wait to share with my fellow readers.

I love a forced proximity/enemies to lovers/one “tent/sleeping bag” & this delivered!

Dual POV helped a lot & I loved the fact that as she’s living her very own “meet cute” she’s asking the universe WHY?! Which I absolutely loved!

My only complaint is the stereotypical Alaska references- even making their names fairly cheesy.

I will definitely be recommending this cute romance!

Happy Eve of publication, @victorialavinewrites and a special thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the opportunity to read this one early! Without further fanfare (which will continue throughout), my review:

It’s hard to believe that “Any Trope But You” is Victoria Lavine’s debut novel, but it is and there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll devour whatever she writes next, just as I did the story of Margot and Forrest.

Margot is a romance writer who doesn’t believe in the HEAs she writes about in her books and, when she’s outed and subsequently canceled by her community, she begrudgingly goes to Alaska to reinvent herself at the insistence of her sister, Savannah, who, though a minor character, absolutely makes the whole place shimmer (IYKYK).

From the moment she arrives at North Star Lodge, she’s drawn to Dr. Forrest Wakefield (aka Dr. MD) who has his own reasons for being back in Alaska and who is not that dissimilar to Margot. From there, the universe seemingly transpires to push them together by utilizing just about every romance trope under the sun and I was ABSOLUTELY SMITTEN.

“Any Trope But You” is much more than a romance novel. It’s a story of hope and reinvention, one that speaks to hope not just being a passive feeling but an active choice. It speaks, too, though much more subtly, of how cycles of codependency can stifle personal growth, particularly in relationships between caregiver and the person for whom they care.

If you love a romance novel with an abundance of heart, then you shouldn’t pass this one up! If you, like Margot, find yourself questioning the reality of the quintessential HEA, then this one may just give you hope to keep on believing!

#books #bookstagram #bookrecs #booksbooksbooks #bookreviews #arcreview #netgalley #newreleases #bookgirly #HEA #atriabooks

Margot Bradley does NOT believe in HEA, even though she has become a tremendously popular romance author with every HEA imaginable in her books. After the discovery of her 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 files goes public during a podcast, her sister sends her off to Alaska for 6 weeks to continue her ‘research’ on her next book. Where she happens to have an unexpected meet cute with the man of her bookish dreams, Forrest. 🫎

“𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞... 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟.”

Their story is full of lighthearted tropes that are so unbelievable and yet both hold a deeper connection through family and caregiving. Figuring out how to put themselves first when self-care and love is also therapeutic and so important as a caregiver.

“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.”

Of course Forrest is literally the perfect man and while there were moments I was screaming “giirrrlll…” to Margot, they have a sweet & steamy connection and care deeply for the ones they love.

I also adored Savannah, Trapper & Jo!! ★ ★ ★ ★

Margot Bradley is a jaded bestselling romance author who doesn’t believe in the happy-ever-after endings she writes. When someone leaks her very private writings with alternate not-so-happy-endings for the fictional relationships her devoted fans adore, she is quickly canceled by the romance community and dropped by her publisher. Her sister’s solution is to send Margot to a desolate Alaskan resort to escape and work on her next book which is most definitely not a romance.

Well, best laid plans and all … Margot finds herself face-to-face with Forrest, the living, breathing epitome of every romance trope you can imagine. It’s her literal nightmare, until it’s not. Even Margot finds it impossible to resist the Henley wearing, forearm exposing, brilliant, sensitive, brooding, cinnamon roll man in flannel.

The complication? Both Margot and Forrest believe romance needs to take a backseat to caring for their medically challenged family members. The author does a phenomenal job depicting the challenges here and I love how supportive the characters are of each other’s sense of obligation.

I loved this book. The author looks at all kinds of love; not just romantic and it pulled at my heartstrings. It’s a terrific debut from Victoria Lavine and I’m excited to see what she writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the ARC!

Margot is a best-selling romance author who doesn't believe in Happily Ever Afters. She knows that's what her readers want and makes sure to provide that in her books. But in private, she has a Happily Never After document with realistic unhappy endings for her characters and all her deepest anti-love thoughts. When her HNA doc gets leaked to the public, her career and life implode. Margot decides it's time to change gears and write a murder mystery set in Alaska. Her sister, Savannah, surprises Margot and sends her to a remote Alaskan lodge for 6 weeks in order to help inspire her new book and get her life back in order.

Immediately upon arrival, Margot is thrown into the arms (literally) of Dr. Forrest Wakefield. He is here helping out his ailing father, and has zero interest in getting involved with a guest. Especially when he can't handle losing someone again, and Margot definitely has an expiration date.

Forrest and Margot somehow end up experiencing romance tropes that would make Margot's readers swoon. The more time they spend together, the more difficult it is to deny what's happening between them. Can they each overcome their fears before Margot's time is up, or will they end up in a Happily Never After of their own?

***

I absolutely loved this book! I loved the concept of this cynical romance writer being thrown into all these romance book tropes. It was so much fun! Not to mention the love I have for Forrest and Margo. I mean, Victoria Lavine basically said here are two enneagram 2s who never put themselves first... let's see if we can make them fall in love and realize it's okay to have something for yourself. (Not to mention that Forrest is perfect book boyfriend material!)

What a debut for Vitoria Lavine! I can't wait to see what other stories she has to share!

I'm so excited to finally post my review for this! I loved reading Margot's journey. Sisters are magical! I hope this becomes a series, because I would love to hear more about these characters and unique setting.

The Advanced Review Copy (ARC) was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Any Trope But You 🫎❄️🪵
5⭐️
3🌶️

Thank you so much to Atria for the free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book is an absolutely stunning debut novel! I was hooked from the very first page, and I absolutely loved the plot and character progression.

Margot was a super real and relatable character, and so was Forrest. I have also been in a position where I gave up everything to take care of family in need, so this really hit close to home with both characters for me.

I LOVED the setting of this book. As a Florida girlie I was afraid that Alaska wouldn’t work in my head, but it was perfect and it makes me want to visit! (Even though I know I couldn’t handle it LOL)

This book contains SO many of my favorite tropes and Lavine worked to put a new spin on them… only one tent???? Sign me UPPP.

Overall I really loved this book and I can’t wait to see what Lavine writes next!

Any Trope But You is one of the most enjoyable romances I have read in ages!

Margot is a romance writer who is secretly jaded by the concept of love & HEA. When a hacker finds & shares her Happily Never After file, which gives her popular books bleaker endings, Margot’s fans turn on her. Margot is left feeling lost & worried about her future as a writer & how to earn money to care for her ailing sister. With an idea to shift away from romance & turn to crime fiction, Margot’s sister Savannah sends her on a 6 week trip to a remote lodge in Alaska. Savannah believes the time there will not only protect Margot from the backlash, but also give her some new perspective & challenge her to grow. Upon arriving Margot immediately meets Forrest, the insanely handsome son of the lodge’s owner. Forrest is a prestigious doctor & breast cancer researcher, but is staying at the lodge to care for his father who is newly wheelchair bound. While the two & attracted to each other, they try to keep their distance for their own reasons, but there isn’t much to keep them apart when they’re in the middle of the woods in Alaska. As the two get to know each other & attempt to resist their connection, Margot identifies & calls out every trope as it is experienced in what is possibly the funniest part of the book. The most charming & touching part, however, are the weekly letters Margot reads from her sister. These are the best part of the story.

I always love when a debut blows me away, & that’s exactly what happened here. Romcoms have a tried & true formula & you generally know what you’re going to get. Any Trope But You checks every box for this genre, but brings a little extra magic along as well.

☑️meet-cute
☑️grumpy/dreamy loner
☑️doesn’t believe in romance
☑️forced proximity
☑️caretakers
☑️limited time together
☑️past hurts

Annnnd then some! This book was so funny, so delightful, so steamy, & made me fall in love with multiple characters, human & animal. Any Trope But You is out tomorrow!

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine was such a fun romance! This beauty releases on 4/1, and no joke, it’s going to be poppppppular! 🤩

Here we have Margot, a bestselling romance author, who flees to Alaska to reinvent herself and write a murder mystery when her Happy Never After file, a top-secret doc of the realistic alternate endings of her HEA stories, gets leaked. In Alaska she finds herself thrown into the arms of the rugged owner of the resort she’s at, and finds herself dropped into every romance trope possible. 🏔️😍1️⃣ 🛏️

This is such a gift to any romance readers. From the dedication being “on the other side of the stories we share, you’re my matching bookend,” to all of the tropes being hilariously done, to the highs and lows of the publishing world, this was just a true gem. 💎

Lavine’s writing style reminded me of the one and only Annabel Monaghan’s, and I don’t dish that compliment out lightly!! Lavine, like Monaghan, writes the most mundane things and makes it so funny. Example: “I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the only kind of real love. Everything else is cubic zirconia.” “I’m more jaded about love than a former Bachelorette star, mid-divorce.” “Is wood chipping an Olympic sport? If not, it should be. I’ve never felt more patriotic in my life.” “Holding a drill in the world’s most blatant display of competency porn.” “Okay, sorry, I’m done. Glacial Heat! Okay, now I’m done.” “They look cute but feel like a medical bill waiting to happen.”

Ok for the sake of me not direct quoting this entire book here, just take my word on it. No jokes!

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Lavine, and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Releases tomorrow, April 1!

I went into this book blind as part of an online groups’ choice for ARC of the month. I was so pleasantly surprised by how good this book turned out. I would never expect this to be Victoria Lavine’s debut novel and now I can’t wait to devour everything she writes in the future. I’ve included some of my favorite quotes from the book but there were so many funny moments and lots of banter. She definitely has a great sense of humor. But don’t let the cute cover fool you, this book also brought a lot of attention to some very serious topics and had a lot of emotional depth. Please make sure you check the trigger warnings.
 
Margot and Forrest’s chemistry is palpable. From their first meet cute moment to the end, you are rooting for these two to find a way to work things out so they can be together. This book had similar vibes to “The Simple Wild” with the California girl being dropped in the middle of the Alaskan wild and having to navigate the great outdoors with all the life lessons it has to offer. While Forrest isn’t quite a grumpy as Jonah, he still has some barriers up that Margot has to break down. Forrest is a complex man with a heart of gold and seems too good to be true but time and time again, he proves that he really does fit the Perfect Book Boyfriend Trope.

- 𝑨𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒚 𝑽𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝑳𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
✰ 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨
✰ 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
✰ 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵
✰ 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺
✰ 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯

This book was so charming! It was written in such a self amare way with all the tropes thrown at us that it was hilarious to read!
Any trope but you is a romance set in Alaska (which I always adore) following a jaded romance author... who doesn't believe in HEA anymore and a grumpy yet soft for her lodge owner. The dynamic between Margot and Forrest was delightful and so fun to read. I am a sucker for tropes and in this book i found all my favorites and they were handled perfectly.

Another part I truly loved and also found heartwarming was how both Margot and Forrest were caregivers for their loved ones. Their backgrounds warmed my heart and I just wanted them to be happy. I really loved the relationship between sisters Margot and Savannah had. It's the dream for everyone I guess and it was one of the best elements in this book.

It was a great read especially in winter, but it's fantastic even for the rest of the year. I highly recommend picking this up.

*arc kindly provided in exchange of an honest review

Margot Bradley is a romance author who doesn’t believe in romantic love, she does however love and take care of her chronically ill sister Savannah, who lives with her. Then one day her disbelief in love and happy endings is exposed to all her fans and she gets cancelled. Savannah sends her to an inn in Alaska for 6 weeks in order to write her new novel and find herself. Once there Margot meets the inn owner’s grumpy son, Forrest who is attractive and a brilliant doctor who has come home to care for his ill father. As the 6 weeks progress Margot sees all her romance tropes play out in her interactions with Forrest, except neither of them believe in relationships.

This debut was super cute, a tad bit spicy, and purposely predictable in a meta sort of way. Every time an obvious romance trope plays out, Margot calls it out and so it became less obvious and I really liked the premise. The backstory of caring for an ill family member was done really well and brought an element of depth and heart to this otherwise light romance. As in most woodsy romances, the other guests created an entertaining and fun background to the romance. I whipped through this one on a Saturday when I was relaxing and it was the perfect Saturday read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC to review

This book was so fun! Literally laughed out loud several times! Margot is an author who helps care for her sister with a chronic illness. Files are leaked and her world of writing is turned upside down. Her sister plans a surprise trip to Alaska for Margot where she meets Forrest. The journey these two go on working through grief, accepting love, all while finding out what they both need was perfect! Thanks for the chance to read this early!

2.5 ★

Well, this is a disappointing rating for a book I've seen almost everyone give at least 4 stars. One who has a premise as fun as a romance author trying to find her footing in an Alaskan resort after getting exposed for not believing in Happily Ever Afters, only to find her own with the man in charge of said resort who seems to check every trope she's been avoiding.

“I came here to turn over a new leaf, but here I am, sitting next to a man who seems to embody the entire genre I'm trying to put behind me.”

You see, I liked the beginning of this book. The first chapters had me giggling, highlighting a bunch of funny quotes, and so eager to see how the romance would develop after our MCs Margot and Forrest's meet-cute. I was charmed by the other guests and everyone part of the resort, had fun with the outings and activities they were doing, and wanted more of Margot and Forrest... but this didn't last long. By 30%, I started noticing how fast their feelings were moving and how so not ready I was for them to develop something more or cross any lines. Their connection felt purely physical then, and for a long time after, it stayed like that. They had some conversations here and there, but those weren't proportional to their feelings for each other.

“Christ Almighty. One kiss with this woman and I'm already planning our future together.”

Thinking about what I just said, and as ironic as it sounds, things went simultaneously too fast and too slow for my liking. Too fast because, like I mentioned, their yearning and longing seemed to intensify as time passed, but it was entirely sexual; too slow because a love triangle (of sorts) with a secondary male character delayed Margot and Forrest from admitting their feelings and acting on them. It was such a mess that by the time they finally crossed the line, I wasn't as invested as I should have been. I even skimmed through the majority of their sex scenes because, when it came to them, I didn't care about that; I didn't care about their physical connection. I was looking for that "something", that spark I felt was missing —one I never found.

“I think he knows. I think he sees every hidden part of me, and for the first time ever, being known doesn't feel like a threat. It feels like coming home.”

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a completely terrible experience. I got into it again by 85% (not ideal, but better than nothing) and thought Margot and Forrest were kinda cute together. I enjoyed how much they understood each other since they both take care of chronically ill and disabled family members (she takes care of her sister, he of his dad) and loved the beautiful bonds they had with said family members (including the sweetest letters that Margot's sister wrote to her). I also found the writing super easy to follow and wasn't supremely annoyed by all the unnecessary Taylor Swift references (I even found the 'Margot's version' and 'Savannah's version' cute). The last two chapters were adorable, and the very last paragraphs super cute, but that wasn't enough for me to rate this higher or tell you I enjoyed it more than I expected because I didn't.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC ♡ I'm in the minority over my feelings on it, so if you're still interested, pick it up when it comes out on April 1st!!

So many rom-com tropes wrapped up in 1 book and it worked! After the first few chapters, I wondered if I’d be able to get into it but it picked up and I couldn’t stop giggling. I believe this is her debut and will definitely read more by this author.

Atria eARC
I am so impressed with this debut. It had the perfect balance of heavy and light; seriousness and fun; and pining and tension. She pulled me in right away with Margot being canceled and immediately kept me wanting more after meeting Forrest. I loved the isolation that the Alaskan setting gave this story. I love the forced proximity trope, and it's done so well here. I also liked the comments about all the romance tropes throughout the novel. It made it lots of fun to read. While it was fun, the author also managed to explore some heavier topics with excellent communication between the characters. I was so impressed with how all of the different conflicts were handed. This was excellent, and I will definitely be reading this author from now on.

Margot's career as a romance writer is in jeopardy after her "Happy Never Afters" diary gets leaked. To wait out the fallout, Margot's sister sends her on a 6-week sabbatical to remote Alaska, where she meets Forrest. Margot faces her worst fear as she encounters trope after trope with Forrest, and despite her contempt for love, she can't help but fall for him.

Margot and Forrest have the best chemistry from the start. I really loved their banter and the tension in the beginning. This book felt like a love letter to romance novels, with trope after trope. Margot and Forrest were both really lovable characters, both acting as devoted family caretakers and were both really well rounded. and selfless I really loved seeing them navigate their relationship with each other and with their families.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy of this book!

A romcom about a writer who escapes to Alaska to write her next novel. I loved the setting and the fish out of water vibes. I also really liked the chronic illness representation. The chemistry between the two characters wasn’t quite there for me but otherwise I liked it.