4.5 ⭐️

This was a love letter to romance readers and I ate up all of it.

Romance author Margot actually doesn't believe in the happily ever afters she writes about, in fact for every HEA she writes she writes a secret happily never after. Now she has just been cancelled when her computer is hacked and her happily never after file was stolen and posted online. Margot decides she is going to switch from writing romance to writing thrillers. Her sister decides Margot needs to get out of town for a while so she books her a six week stay at a lodge in remote Alaska.

Margot decides she will make the best out of it, but doesn't count on meeting Forrest, the owners son, and the human equivalent of every romance trope she has ever written.

This was such a fun read, I liked Margot so much. I really understood her desire to protect her heart but also her inability to stay away from Forest. I liked Forest and his desire to care for his family and also the fact that he wanted to keep Margot at a distance as well.

This book definitely went deeper than I thought it would, I liked the connections they both had to California. I liked how they both understood the other, Margot understood his need to be there for his father despite the opportunities he had back in California. And Forest understood Margot's need to be close to her sister for similar reasons. I loved the growth journey Margot went on throughout the book, I definitely would not have survived the Alaskan wilderness as well as she did!

I liked the sister orchestrating all of the Alaskan adventures from California and her letters really helped understand Margot and how she ended up with a Happily Never After file.

I, however, did not love the 3rd act break-up. I understood why Forest felt the need to be there for his father, but I also didn't appreciate that he had just finished telling Margot that she could live her life to the fullest and care for her sister and the next page he is ending things with her.

Overall, that was not enough for me to not love this book. This was a great debut and I can't wait to read more from this author!

Cute love story that explores all the rom-com tropes. Sweet and with the right amount of spice. Although set in Alaska in the winter, this is a terrific beach read choice.

I very much enjoyed this spicy book full of on-the-nose romance tropes! I laughed out loud at several points when reading it, so that's a win for me!

Margot and Forrest meet each other when Margot is sent by her sister to a remote Alaskan wilderness retreat. And the tropes ensue from there. :)

One important plot point of the book is that both Margot and Forrest are primary caretakers of their family members with serious health issues. I appreciated the disability representation and the experiences of caregivers, but I can also see how it might be a hard read for some, so do consider if it's the right book for you!

"Any Trope but You" was so wonderful. It has instantly become one of my favorite reads of the year so far. I truly enjoyed every minute of this one. From Margot literally living the plot of a rom-com to seeing her relatable feelings about love, it was such a breath of fresh air.

I will be stalking Victoria Lavine's socials waiting to hear more about any future works moving forward for sure.

Thank you Atria Books for selecting me for the ARC. I loved it.

This was such a good rom-com! While the plot was entirely predictable, I still found myself smiling throughout. The light atmosphere, quirky moments, and banter between Margot and Forrest made it an enjoyable escape. Margot’s journey from disillusioned romance writer to surprise leading lady in her own love story was fun to follow, especially with the Alaska setting adding a cozy charm.

Thanks to NetGalley & Atria Books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

“Any Trope but You” is an adorable, swoon worthy romance that is great for the winter time. Tucked in a cozy lodge in Alaska our romance hero is trying to overcome her embarrassing career canceling, while trying not to fall in love with the handsome son of the North Star lodge owner. I felt like the the main plot of Margot being canceled was a bit juvenile. Like I don’t think exposing her Happily Never After file should have been that much of an uproar and I think more people should have been outraged that she got hacked. But once she got to Alaska I loved it! The sauna seen. Crazy. Also how did they not overheat and die.

This was an adorable fun romance meant for romance fans and I loved every minute of it. This book follows romance author Margot after her true thoughts on romance are leaked causing her to flee to Alaska to work on her next book. In Alaska Margot is faced with nature and a handsome Dr who possibly could make Margot’s thoughts on romance change. This book was a lot of fun I loved how self aware this book is with poking fun at romance tropes that we all love. The characters were great and I found myself laughing out loud more than once. This was an amazing debut novel and can’t wait to read more from this author in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Huge thanks to Atria Books for the eARC via Netgalley!

From the moment the book started, I was hooked. This book was cute, funny and the banter and relationship between Margot and Forrest was chef's kiss. Margot is a romance writer. Scratch that, WAS a romance writer who had stopped believing in HEAs. That is, until she is forced into a remote Alaskan "vacation" with a hot doc/lumberjack Forrest from the forest. This enemy to lovers story is full of romance tropes galore, which, of course, Margot is trying to avoid at all costs.

I enjoyed this book. Was it a 5 star? No. But it was fun, cute and enjoyable. My gripe was the ending. I wish we could have had more- it felt really rushed.

All in all, I totally recommend.

This was such a fun and unique book. I am a sucker for any book that takes place in Alaska, but especially a romance - this book was a must read for me!
The narration was incredible and I really enjoyed the audiobook. It was a lot of fun seeing so many romance tropes come to life with the MMC & I adored the concept of a romance author who doesn't believe in love.

This was really entertaining, and still hit you right in the feels. I loved the letters that Savannah had for each week of Margot’s self discovery and reinvention trip. Their relationship was so sweet and I loved the growth between the sisters.

Forrest was such a great character and the trauma he was struggling with between his family, wanting to continue his career and then throwing Margot into the mix was so well executed. Margot dealing with her own trauma wanting nothing to do with Forrest but can’t escape home was brilliant. The relationship develops in such a positive way and I was living for it.

The banter was so charmingly witty and the spice that resulted from the created tension was so good! I can’t wait to read more!

This should have resonated with me. Such a fun premise with a romance author who is cancelled when her readers discover she’s a bit jaded and doesn’t really believe in HEA. She heads off to a remote AK location to write and reinvent herself.

What I loved:
-the Alaskan location
- the focus on autoimmune disorders
- The role of caretakers
- city girl struggling with life in the wilderness

What I didn’t like:
- Margot. I didn’t like Margot. Intensely. She’s rude & abrasive.
- If I can’t get behind the MC then nothing else in the story will work for me,

So much promise, but lacking in execution for me

I have to say, never before has a good* romance novel made me cry but here we are. This book is definitely making it to my top ten books list this year. This book has everything that a lot of new romance novels tend to miss, like actual time getting to know the other person, genuine character development, and fleshed out side characters that aren’t just there for comedic relief.

Margot’s life has gone up in flames and there seems to be no way to come back from the destruction that her Happily Never After file causes. Meeting Forrest, a hunky doctor who once wanted to be a pediatric-neurosurgeon-turned-breast-cancer-researcher-turned-dad’s-caretaker, is like meeting her romance hero’s come to life. Which - when you know love is a sham and men are generally shit - means there must be something major wrong with him. Maybe he’s a serial killer. Maybe he’s a misogynistic asshole. Maybe he eats oreo cookies cookie first and then the cream. At any rate Margot knows the attraction she feels is only skin deep… right?

I will say the only thing that bugs me about this book is the Happily Never After file hack. Not the fact that it happened, the fact that we get so little info about it. They caught the person who did it, but who is it? Why did they do it? How did they know what to look for? If they weren’t looking for that file then what were they initially looking for? That being said, I think the file was very realistic for someone to have, and I could see it being a real thing for some authors. I mean there’s no way every romance writer ever hasn’t experienced any heartbreak.

The author did something great though, something I feel like she could have delved into deeper if she’d had the time (but lets be real, then the book would be too long for a publisher to take a chance on) and that is to have the romance fans be fickle. These days it’s all too easy to be “cancelled” for something people have very little knowledge of and then have the tides change back in your favor once people get a fuller, deeper scope into what is going on. That back and forth tug of trying to be everything good and perfect while not being able to be, and being lambasted for not being perfect in the moment, is all too real for a lot of people. Margot spends so long wondering if these people will forgive her and take her back, for the crime of having a journal where she can express the bad parts of herself, the parts she didn’t want anyone to see. I think Forrest gave her a great opportunity to see that a lot of what was being said about her was largely unfair, and it sucks how easily the institutions around her were willing to drop her like a hot potato to try and keep their own image squeaky clean.

I’m bored and have no desire to finish.
The characters are annoying, the trope thing felt over the top, and I couldn’t care less about the conflicts at the heart of the story.

ARC: netgalley in exchange for honest review

Extreeeemely self aware book. I had a fun time reading it but I also think everyone should be in therapy xox
I laughed at the FMC recognizing the absurdity of the situation they’re in. I laughed at quite literally every trope being thrown in here and every single thing you love and hate about a story being in here. I really had a fun time, and yes it’s hitting all the cliches and all the cliches are hitting me. Thank you!

3 stars.

Loved the beginning of the story but I felt towards the end the story lost steam. I loved the Alaska setting and the characters. Would try this author again in the future.

4 stars! Margot was sent to Alaska to escape her life and eventually find the motivation to write her next novel. She was hesitant to go at first, but then she decided to go for it. Each time she completed a task with that her sister told her to do, she got the chance to read a letter from her sister. Her adventure wouldn't be complete without falling in love with a guy named Forrest.

... made me cry in a good way, 10/10 recommend

The tropes and the FMC's hate to love relationship with them were just soo >>>> the romance was peak swoony and I absolutely loved the MC's character developments ❤️

As a STEM person myself, reading a book with a romance author and a STEM researcher as the MCs was just the frickin best 🥲

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

A VERY highly anticipated read for me! Didn’t disappoint.

All of the characters were incredibly lovable, especially Savannah, who I hope gets a book in the near future (wink wink, nudge nudge). Margot (FMC) and Forrest (MMC) were two banter-filled lovebirds that I had so much fun with! They were both so broken and beaten down by life, but in the end they found each other to be exactly what the other needed. A love story like that is a love story I will always give my whole heart to. I mean, he even read ALL of her books. HOW CUTE IS THAT??? I swooned. The emotional depth to the romance, and even the story itself, was beautiful—painful at times, but still beautiful. These characters (and this whole story) were written so well!

And of course, being the diehard Swiftie I am, I ate up all of the Taylor references—made me like this even more. I’m helpless when it comes to my fellow Swifties!

The only reason this is getting a lower rating is because some things didn’t sit right with me, but that’s okay! I still had so much fun, and I would recommend this read to all romance lovers!

Came out of this book with a new favorite author and a fulfilled bookish heart—win win!

3.4 ★

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾!

3.5 stars rounded up! I can see why so many people loved this one and I did too!! It was just a teensy bit too long and something felt off for me.. might’ve been right book/wrong time because I can acknowledge os many great things about this book but I didn’t absolutely love it.

What I enjoyed:
The setting! I loveeee a rural setting, especially Alaska! Their adventures and outings were so fun to read!
The premise!! Very unique and set up well
The depth and characters! These characters were well thought out and well developed! They had complex back stories that were explained well and I really enjoyed getting to know them. Also the banter?! So good!!

What I didn’t love:
The long chapters uugggghhh I feel like this is why the story felt so long to me.
The pacing felt a bit slow at times! But then the ending felt so rushhhhedd.
The story and conflicts felt a bit over the top in the sense that when something went wrong, it was blown out of proportion.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did. Enemies-to-lovers is always a must-read for me, so I was already in. Victoria LaVine nailed all the classic tropes I enjoy, but she gave them a fresh spin that kept things fun and interesting. Even though I’m usually more of a “happily never after” romance fan, I really liked how the story showed the main character learning to open up and actually believe in love again.

The chemistry between the leads was spot-on, and their back-and-forth had me smiling a bunch. The pacing was pretty good, though some parts felt a little predictable, but honestly, that’s kind of the charm with these tropes. Overall, it’s a sweet, well-written romance that hits all the right spots if you’re into enemies-to-lovers and emotional growth. Definitely one I’d recommend if you want something fun but with a little heart.

Thank you Atria books for the eARC via Netgalley!