I LOVED this story! From an Alaskan setting to the lighthearted joy of the book I just didn’t want it to end!

This book is f.u.n.n.y. and has gifted me with my first book boyfriend of 2025. What a trophy, right?? :)
Romance writer Margot Bradley is caught with her pants down. Literally. Her fan base is shocked to discover her Happily Never After file where all of her books have an epilogue breaking up her couples in devastating ways. She's abruptly canceled and encouraged by her sister to take a trip to Alaska to plot out and jump into a new genre sans romance. Her arrival is met with a moose and every dream of a romance hero combined in the proprietor's son, Forrest. But she knows he's just like every other man who has disappointed her in the past and to steer clear. Forrest is also carrying wounds that tell him to avoid her as well.
I really can't believe this is a debut. It's an absolute knockout. The humor, the tension, the setting, the cast all work magically to make this one entertaining read. I especially loved the letters Margot gets from her sister, Savannah, and they ways Margot is pushed out of her comfort zone. Victoria's descriptions are uniquely perfect (like who describes a scent as cedar and muscles and yet it perfectly makes sense??) I am a fan and am excited to read Victoria again and again.
Thank you to the author for the traveling arc copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was such a cute story. I loved their relationship and it really seemed like they were made for each other. While being sweet, both main characters had such depth and other things that they had to get through to be with each other. The only reason it’s not a 5 stars is because the trope thing got a tad annoying. Like I know it was the point of the book, hence the title, but it got a bit repetitive. And there was also a part where they called her a grumpy romance writer, which I thought was a little cringe. Other than that I loved this book and will recommend it to everyone I know. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you Atria for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

First five star read of 2025!! Any Trope But You is for the romance readers. It’s clever and swoony and brilliant. Plus, Forrest is 100% book boyfriend material.

I had so much fun reading this book - I loved the Alaska setting! The characters were likeable and relatable.

This book was super cute. The title intrigued me and I will say that it did not disappoint! This was such a cute romance with many of everyone’s key tropes being hit throughout while also dealing with the idea of family obligations and sick family members. I loved the personal growth that Margot went through during this book as well as Forest and how with each others help they realized that they could do things for themselves every once and awhile. Plus, the spicy scenes were top notch and I’m glad that Margot and Forest got their HEA!

OH MY!!! I LOVED this book! I highly recommend this book to any romance lover!

The writing was clever and fun! This story was a breath of fresh air!! I want to say Thank you to Net Galley and Victoria for allowing me to read this book!

Finding love later in life, loving your family so much it hurts and you are willing to sacrifice everything for them! This story had so many “tropes” but that was the point! This book was written for every lover of the romance genre! Thank you Victoria!! This is my favorite read of January 2025!!

Eeee my first romance rave of the year! Victoria Lavine knocked this debut out the park and straight into the remote Alaskan forest. While meta, tongue in cheek romps are nothing new in the romance genre, what I wasn’t expecting was so much emotional depth in a cynics to lovers rom-com.

The set-up is a cute take on a familiar set-up: a romance author who secretly hates the happy endings her loyal fans swoon over has her life upended after a super hacker/toxic fan shares her secret with the world. She flees to a remote Alaskan lodge at her younger sister’s insistence to lick her wounds and try her hand at he murder mystery genre, only to literally find herself leaping into the arms of the embodiment of every romance hero she’s ever written mere minutes after her arrival. Not only does she endure the most tropey of all meet-cutes (much to her chagrin), Forrest also happens to be an altruistic, sensitive, doctor in the body of a Greek god by way of Paul Bunyan. Margot is definitely not interested… just like Forrest is definitely not interested in this beautiful blonde hurricane of a woman who barrels into his chest and his life, throwing him completely off balance. She definitely does not have him second guessing his firm “North Star Lodge guests are off limits” rule.

I had a great time getting to know these two and their hijinks through the dual POVs. The chemistry was hot, the relationship growth felt authentic, and the cast of side characters were also wonderful - from Bullwinkle the moose to Margot’s spitfire of a sister Savannah, everyone had a moment to shine and/or pack an emotional gut punch.

My only real minor quibble was the repeated references to how small Margot is, especially when coupled with reminders about how big Forrest is. I get this a romance novel, intentionally calling out various genre tropes, but in such a fun read that excels at flipping a lot of well-tread tropes on their head, do we need constant reminders of the big strong man and small dainty heroine who drowns in his borrowed t-shirts and might be crushed by him during sex?

Quibble aside, I loved this book and can’t wait to recommend it to everyone! Many thanks to Atria/Netgalley for the eARC - I swear Atria always nails it! One of the best at finding and amplifying debut authors!

This book was LOL funny from the start to about halfway through. I loved the premise. A romance author is exposed as cynical of true love and her fans turn on her. Her sister sends her to Alaska to re-energize and there she has the perfect meet cute. Our FMC and MMC both understand the duty and responsibility to family, which impacts their love lives and careers.

If I had one piece of feedback, I wish the back half of the book kept up the humor of the first half.

I loved this book!! :)  Does it have every last romantic cliche, and romance trope that could possibly exist rolled into one book? Pretty much yes, yes it does. But does the author somehow manage to create scenarios where all of these things happen in an endearing, compelling way? Also, yes she does!

I adored all of the characters in this book, including the supporting ones, which isn't always the case. I loved seeing how the main characters' love story developed. And, I loved the happily ever after ending that worked out in the best way possible, even though I couldn't figure out until the big ending how it could possibly all work out. This was one of those books that breaks your heart multiple times, then puts it all back together in the end.

I finished this book several months ago, and yet find myself still thinking about it from time to time. If romance is one of your favorite genres, then this is an absolute must-read for 2024! Love, loved it!

I enjoyed this story! The Alaska adventure was really fun and cozy. My critiques are that there were two breakup / tension scenes and it made the last third of the book drag on too much. I also don’t like Taylor swift references in books, it feels like a lazy way to make people like the book more, and there were way too many in this one. It just takes me out of the story. Overall, I enjoyed it but the last third was not my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for gifting me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

What worked for Me
- the Alaskan setting
- the banter between the two leads
- Dual POV
- the sister relationship
- the emphasis on caretaker roles

What Didn't Work for Me
- the romance felt rushed
- slight miscommunication trope
- 3rd act breakup
- would have liked to see more time spent with side characters
- MMC felt a little flat / "too perfect"

I think what made me give it three stars is that while it had such a fun and interesting premise, it didn't feel all that different from other romances that I've read before. But overall, I think this was a fun read, and a good debut from a new author! And just because it wasn't my perfect cup of tea doesn't mean that it won't be for others.

This was such a catchy opening line that grabbed me immediately! Margot’s voice comes through so strongly in the narration, and the dual POVs felt distinct. This book felt made by and for romance lovers. It was tongue in cheek and witty about tropes and HEAs while still delivering a great romance.

As a chronically ill — but often healthy-appearing young person — I really appreciated the disability rep in Margot’s sister, and felt that the relationship exploration there felt real.

Thank you to @netgalley for an ARC copy of Any Trope But You by Victoria Levine. The comments and reviews of this book are my own and not influenced or affiliated with anyone else.

Margot is an acclaimed romance writer who has been lying to her audience for some time. And when her secret comes out her career takes a major set back. To reinvent herself she decides to take a trip to Alaska to hopefully start a new book to win back her audience.
Forrest is the son of the owner of cabins in Alaska. He takes care of the place and the customers that come and stay. While dealing with some past things of his own, Margot shows up at his resort in an unexpected way. Not knowing how to deal with their emotions about each other Margot and Forrest have to figure out what's best for themselves and together .

I really enjoyed this book. It was super cute and refreshing. I enjoyed the concept and you can really tell the author's love of books throughout. There were some minor plot holes but other than that the book flowed perfectly. I absolutely adored Margot's relationship with her sister and I loved the relationship between her and Forrest. I give it 4 stars.

This book is a delightful ode to the romance genre, served up with a wink and a nod. Silly, sweet, and spicy, it also has my personal favorite find: well researched, believable medical subplots! I loved reading this book and I’m excited to see what this author does next!

Seriously, what a lovely debut from Victoria Lavine! A cute and funny trope-within-a-trope, self aware rom com in Alaska? What more could you ask for?

4.5 stars rounded down to 4 for the purposes of this review.

I really loved Any Trope But You by Victoria Levine. Witty, cheeky, heartfelt and heartwarming. Margot and Forrest were perfect romance main characters - I loved their banter so much. A book that can both make me laugh and also cry? I’m sold! I’ll be recommending this to everyone I know!

I don't know...not exactly what I expected? I liked the premise of a romance author no longer believing in the romance she wrote about but I didn't like much outside of that. I understood the struggles both mains faced while acting as a caretaker for a loved one as I could relate to that and I liked that representation.

Unfortunately, I can't say I cared for either character until around the 65% mark. The side characters were all quite enjoyable, but it took way too long for the mains to really draw me in.

Given the title, the mention of tropes didn't bother me as I obviously expected as much. I even found it funny how someone trying to avoid romance continued to fall into one trope after another. The writing itself wasn't even bad, I'd even say this was good for a debut, but the many metaphors kind of took me out of the story. And for the life of me, I just couldn't feel the chemistry between the two of them. The most they had going for them was their physical attraction, so I will say that the author wrote their intimate scenes tastefully.

Lastly, the Taylor Swift references. It's such a small thing, but it's a small thing that, over time, grows into something big enough to make my eye twitch. Romance is one of my favorite genres but what I find most annoying about it is that every fmc (or someone close to them) absolutely loves her to the point where they'll mention her multiple times. It's annoying and I find that many recent and upcoming releases do it and this was no exception. Pop culture references in books are a demon in itself, but always referencing her when there are thousands of other musical artists the characters can be a fan of is ridiculous. If you're a fan: cool, fine, whatever; you must love it. But I know that those that don't care for her are over her inescapability.

I've seen people enjoy this so my disdain for it is definitely a me thing. Maybe I hyped this up too much in my head and it didn't live up to those expectations, I don't know. I'm obviously in the minority here so I possibly missed something.

Thank you NetGally and Atria Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed "Any Trope but You." Usually, I don't enjoy reading romance books with a romance author as the main character. It tends to be a little too on the nose for me. However, Lavine did a great job intriguingly incorporating this detail. I thought she leaned into it enough that instead of it being too cringy, it felt more aware and gave it humor. This book felt like a love letter to the romance book community, which I liked.
The storyline of the romance author having a "Happily Never After" file with alternate endings for all her books was unique, and I thought Lavine gave the main character, Margot, enough character development to justify her having it in the first place. The intricacies of Margot and Forrest's lives added to the story without being overwhelming. I liked the way any unrealistic aspect of Forrest's character was pointed out and picked at in a cheeky way that gave a nod to classic romance tropes. It made each of the tropes incorporated feel fresh and not as overdone without reinventing the wheel, but more developed the plot and characters. Overall, this was a great read.

Oh my goodness. This book is an immediate A+ for me. The writing is spunky, tender, emotional, and so real. I was apprehensive about the trope-y-ness of it all, but it was so well done and tasteful (not cheesy).