I loved this book so much! The writing was really great. As a reader, I was sucked in immediately. I loved that Forrest and Margot were dealing with similar issues and bonded over the struggles caring for relatives. It provided a depth to their relationship that was sweet and believable. The playful exploration of tropes was so fun as well as the remote Alaska setting, side characters, and nature excursions. Really great full circle moment with the ending/grand gesture. Can't wait to read what Victoria Lavine writes next!

Ok this is an amazing debut novel for Victoria Lavine. This book made fun of all the typical romance tropes, but also showed how deep down most of us secretly hope for one to happen in our own lives.
Meet Margot. A romance novelist who has a big secret – she doesn’t believe in HEAs any more. She really only keeps writing romance for her chronically ill sister who she takes care of. When her true feelings are exposed, she is canceled by her fans and publisher. Her sister doesn’t want her to give up so she books Margot a trip to Alaska to do research for her next book.
As soon as Margot arrives, she meets Forrest… more like ends up in his arms! He embodies almost every book boyfriend characteristics – tall, handsome, cancer research physician, who gave it all up to take care of his father and their hotel/expedition business.
All the typical romance tropes ensue for the few weeks Margot is in town. Margot and Forrest’s banter and chemistry is just dripping off of the pages, and I was laughing out loud at so many of the scenes.
This is a fun, beautiful read. It helps you to believe that good things can happen in your life and to also show your true self, even the messy parts.
Thank you to Netgalley and Artria Books for the ARC.

I love just about any book set in Alaska so the setting of this one had me excited and invested in this one. Margot, however, did not. She comes off as extremely bratty and overall annoying. I get where she’s coming from for the most part – she feels responsible for her sister and has the weight of the world on her shoulder by her own doing. But several of the issues she has in this book are of her own doing and the lack of growth was frustrating. I did enjoy this as she started to settle in and I loved her with Forrest so this was entertaining as they slowly made their way together.

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

This was a cute debut!

Romance book author Margot Bradley spends most of her time caring for her sister with a chronic illness. In her spare time, she’s a bestselling romance author. However, Margot doesn’t actually buy what she’s selling. Margot doesn’t believe in Happily Ever Afters. In fact, she has a document titled “Happily Never Afters” where she writes alternate endings to her books that don’t work out as well as the versions she sells. When Margot gets hacked and the HNA document gets leaked to her most devout fans, Margot gets canceled in epic proportions. Seeing that Margot needs a reset, her sister books her an Alaskan getaway for 6 weeks to recharge and recenter herself. It just so happens that the retreat she’s sent to is run by a handsome doctor and caretaker that Margot can’t help but falling into every single cliche romance book trope with.

I was really excited for the premise of this book! The setting is super fun. I actually can’t recall reading any books set in the Alaskan bush (that sounds so wrong HA!). It was a nice change of pace from what I’m used to.

The characters were where it got kind of meh for me. Margot is kind of a brat to be honest. By the end of the book, we totally understand how she got that way and why she’s so skeptical of men, but if I were Forrest, I wouldn’t have given her another thought after the way she treated him. He is literally an angel baby, but for some reason, Margot feels the need to be a grade A jerk to him all the time. She gradually comes out of her shell and opens up, and there is a lot of character growth by the end of the book, but that sour taste from the beginning stuck in my mouth for awhile and made it hard to root for her and Forrest.

Forrest, on the other hand … what a DOLL! That man has no flaws other than caring too much for too many people. I know exactly what it feels like to give up parts of your youth to be a full-time caregiver for a family member. I did love that he and Margot were able to bond over that because it truly is hard to understand unless you’ve been there yourself. They could empathize with each other and understand each other’s decisions when it came to that. No spoilers, but I loved how their story ended in regards to what their family members did for them. It was beautiful. Sweet Savannah and Trapper. No, not every story of chronically ill family members ends that way, but I’m glad theirs got to, even if only in fiction.

I would recommend this book for romance lovers or people who know, or are themselves, chronically ill. That topic was handled very delicately, and as someone who has been on both ends of dealing with chronic illness, I’m very thankful for the author’s dedication to treating that with care.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Lavine, and Atria Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions stated are my own.

4.5 ⭐️ Rounded Up

I ate this book up in one sitting. I loved the drama, the shenanigans, the camaraderie, and of course the romantic tension. I also adore the fact that this is a very self-aware story that both makes fun of and embraces the common tropes and clichés involved in romance writing. It also feels like a homage to the romance community, and I thought that was really sweet.
Margot is a very relatable character. She’s feisty and funny, but also hiding her feelings after having been hurt one too many times. I have to imagine there are a lot of us out there who feel similar. Forrest is in fact the amalgamation of every leading male romance trope, and damn if he isn’t absolutely delicious. I love how they got off on the wrong foot at their first meeting, and enjoyed following along as they learned their preconceived notions were wholly inaccurate. The hint of a love triangle was fun, but mostly because I was never really concerned about the other guy. It just added good tension.
The theme of family duty and guilt added an extra level of dimension to the story which I surprisingly liked a lot. I’m not one for dealing with heavy topics when I read because I like to escape. However, I thought this theme really helped bring out another side to both characters. I liked how it strengthened their relationship, but simultaneously made them realize why they might not last, and how they would never be able to blame each other for it.
All in all, this book was funny, poignant, romantic, and spicy! It’s checks all the boxes for a great romance, and I look forward to reading more from Victoria Lavine!

Thank you to Atria & NetGalley for this ARC opportunity!

A delightful Alaskan adventure, a glimpse of all the favorite romcom tropes, the epitome of the cinnamon roll and the best scheming family members one could ask for!

When Margot's sister sends her up to Alaska for a self induced writer's residency to focus on her next novel, adventuring through the wilderness and falling in love weren't exactly high on her list of expectations. But when she meets Forrest......while they may start as enemies, their similar circumstances bonds the two beyond what they could have hoped for or expected and they start to lean into their feelings, falling deeper and faster than either could have expected. As much as I would have loved an epilogue, the positively sweet moments made this story that much sweeter.

There's something about the romances that take place in Alaska that make me want to get on a plane and find out for myself, and this one is no different!


Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Thank you to the publishing company and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
I started reading this book while in Canada on vacation (yes, I know. Spring break in the cold) and it couldn't have been a more appropriate read. City girl romance author with zero wilderness experience lands in middle of nowhere Alaska after her sister sends her off on a retreat to reinvent herself after her unhappily never after file gets exposed on the internet. Trying to escape from the aftermath of her fall from grace, she ends up falling into the arms of a walking, talking, breathing perfect Book Boyfriend.

I adored getting to know her sister, Savannah through the letters she wrote for her to read while on her retreat. I was able to get to know both of the characters by getting flashbacks from their lives together. And Forrest.... perfect book boyfriend. Checked off all the green flags you can think of. The third act breakup made sense in this book and didn't feel forced. The reconciliation was adorable.

Overall an amazing book that had me chuckling out loud (while on a plane no less), sighing and smiling. Amazing debut novel. I am definitely eager to read more from this author.

Margaret Bradley is a very popular romance novelist who writes sexy happily ever after stories, Unfortunately, after being dumped at the altar, she herself no longer believes in happily ever after. When her public discovers her personal alternate endings to stories she has written, her career is threatened. To help Margaret recover from this disaster, her invalid sister, who Margaret has devoted her life to caring for, makes reservations for Margaret to spend six weeks in a resort in Alaska. The resort, however, is without wifi, is in the middle of nowhere, and the activities involve excursions in the snow, Of course, there is the obligatory hunk who is in charge. Fun story, with thoughts about what is actually important, and fulfilling goals. A quick read, but too much Information about the sexual encounters for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc with no pressure for a positive review.

This book was not bad! I am not usually a big romance fan, so I am not the typically expected reader. However, that doesn't mean that I chose this as a hate read or anything. Since I'm not a romance reader, I pick certain books depending on whether or not I am interested in a specific aspect of the novel – the plot, the characters, etc. I picked this book because, like the main character, I am not a big romance fan, but I can hold my own in a room full of romance readers. When she is found out to be a bit of a fraud, she plans to write a mystery novel while she is away on a writing retreat that her sister set up for her. I found the letters that the sister is constantly leaving for her to be heart-warming, and the constant reference to certain tropes and how cliche that it is they are happening in this novel are a little on the nose, but at least they are aware of it. It was definitely a nice and easy read, especially during the last few months of the semester.

I really liked this one! I loved the setting of Alaska and felt investd in both of the characters. I liked how it was cheesy but owned it completely by agknowledging its cheesiness. The MMC was literally the perfect man. And liked how both the MCs had roles as caretakers that were more important than anything else.

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.