📚 Book Review 📚

Title: Any Trope But You
Author: Victoria Lavine
Genre: Romance/Fiction
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This debut novel centers around romance author, Margot Bradley, who happens to not actually believe in happy-ever-afters. After a career-ending snafoo happens during a podcast zoom recording, Margot travels to Alaska at the insistence of her sister. With a handsome irresistible guy running the lodge she’s staying at, she finds a lot more than she bargained for.

This is a romance at its core, but with layers of heavier themes (i.e. breast cancer, death of a parent, autoimmune disease, and caregiving for a disabled parent). I enjoyed both the main and ancillary characters, and thought this was a cute, fun, and heartwarming story. My only complaint is that some parts were overly dramatic and saccharine for my taste. This book has SPICY 🌶️🌶️🌶️ scenes too, just a heads up!

*Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for this advanced reader copy. This book hits shelves April 2025.

'any trope but you' follows a romance author who doesn't believe in happy endings and goes to alaska to reinvent herself & write a new story in a new genre. this was overall really cute! i absolutely adored the setting, someone take me to alaska pls?? although i liked this one, i didn't love it. taylor swift is one of my favorite artists but when there are several references in a book, it's just too much sometimes 😔 i didn't really love the main characters.. i did love margot's relationship with her sister, savannah, and forrest's family was cute. the letters from savannah were so sweet and probably my favorite part. i would recommend if you're looking for a fun and easy escape to alaska 🫶🏻

thank you so much atria books & netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

-dislike to lovers
-cozy Alaska setting
-romance author/doctor
-one tent
-chronic illness/caretaker rep
-wilderness adventure
-spice
-dual POVs

I knew from the start that this book was gonna be amazing. Just the first chapter carried so much humor to suck me in and it just kept getting better and better. I think I spent the majority of the book giggling and smiling like an idiot. *still swooning*

But the plot carries a lot of deep and emotional themes as we witness both characters address those past hurts and current hang up’s. It’s a comeback and reinvention story you love to read.

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

The tension is sooo good. Take your typical hallmark movie/book but make it more unfiltered and spicy. It’s an entertaining ride as romance author Margot finds herself resisting trope after trope in her perfect MMC in real form, doctor and wilderness guide Forrest, during her six-week getaway to remote Alaska.

“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.”

“𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩.”

It’s the perfect mix of cozy winter vibes, humor, heartache, and spice. It was the perfect read and I’m only sad that it’s over.

Thank you @netgalley and @victorialavinewrites for opportunity to read this ARC! Release date is April 1, 2025.

Beloved romance author Margot Bradley has a dark secret: she doesn’t believe in Happily Ever Afters. Not for herself, not for her readers, and not even for her characters, for whom she secretly writes alternate endings that swap weddings and babies for divorce papers and the occasional slashed tire. When her Happily Never After document is hacked and released to the public, she finds herself canceled by her readers and dropped by her publisher.

Desperate to find a way to continue supporting her chronically ill sister, Savannah, Margot decides to trade meet-cutes for murder. The fictional kind. Probably. But when Savannah books Margot a six-week stay in a remote Alaskan resort to pen her first murder mystery, Margot finds herself running from a moose and leaping into the arms of the handsome proprietor, making her fear she’s just landed in a romance novel instead.

The last thing Dr. Forrest Wakefield ever expected was to leave his dream job as a cancer researcher to become a glorified bellhop. What he’s really doing at his family’s resort is caring for his stubborn, ailing father, and his puzzle-loving mind is slowly freezing over—until Margot shows up. But Forrest doesn’t have any room in his life for another person he could lose, especially one with a checkout date.

The best homage to the romcom ever! Totally loved this gem! I'm a sucker for any story about writers. This one was so well done it made me laugh. It made me cry. The 🌶️ spice in this book is top-notch. Pick up this amazing read. You won't regret it! 4.5⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Margot is a bestselling romance author who doesn't believe in Happily Ever After. After her fans find out about her secret file of alternate endings for her novels called 'Happily Never After', Margot gets canceled by the romance world. Her sister Savannah sends Margot off on a 6-week trip to a remote resort in Alaska to go on an adventure and write a new, not romance, novel. 

Not sure why, but I started this book with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised and would rate it 4 stars. I really enjoyed the dual POV, the banter between Margot and Forrest, the relationship between Margot and Savannah, and Trapper and Jo's meddling. As a romance reader, I enjoy escaping the shitshow of real life into a fictional story, but I would assume most people, romance authors included, don't believe in real life HEAs. I really enjoyed the idea Margot's file of Happily Never After and think it would be funny to read some of them. Margot and Forrest both have a sense of duty to care for their families and I'm glad they found each other and understand that it's okay to put family first sometimes. 

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

A romance author who doesn’t believe in happily ever after doesn’t seem right and when it comes to light, Margot gets cancelled. Fleeing to Alaska she works to find her new niche in murder mystery. Throw in a little romance and you got this book!

I wasn’t able to finish this book as the writing style didn’t align with my personal preferences. While it took some time to capture my interest, I want to emphasize that this is simply a matter of taste and not a reflection on the author’s talent. I appreciate the opportunity to read it—thank you!

There’s just something about an on the nose romance book that really does it for me. Every trope you could ask for is in this book - but rest assured, they are done beautifully. This was another one that I started reading after work and didn’t get off of the couch and back to real life until the last page. I can’t wait to read more by her!

Cuuuuuuuute. I want to fall in love with a hot wilderness expert while on a getaway in remote Alaska!!! Who do I email about that? Love when romance novels are self referential, it’s my favorite thing. That’s done so well here. Perfect level of steam. Hot tub sex!! Or hot tub sex-adjacent. Ugh, whatever, I’m trash for this book. Victoria Lavine, you are that girl!!!!

Thanks NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest (and unhinged) thoughts.

I went into this book very excited and intrigued by the concept of a romance writer who doesn’t believe in love and writes alternate endings to her books. It made for a very funny, heartfelt story of love. Margot is our classic city girl who goes somewhere out of her comfort zone and gets help from our MMC Forrest. I was laughing as soon as she arrived and had to take a ride from a man named Bear! The banter between Margot and Forrest was great and funny itself. I loved that Margot was pointing out all the tropes that her and Forrest found themselves in. The spice was a perfect blend in the plot and felt very well placed. Tears were shed at the sweet words from both Margot and Forrest. Side note: He read all her books!! I’m crying😭 4.5 stars!

A wallop of sexual tension….Whew! To say the leads, Margot and Forrest, have chemistry is putting it lightly. Some squeals may have escaped as the romance progressed. But it’s not all light and fluff, there’s character growth and a look at being a primary caretaker for loved-ones. As well as being very readable.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I loved this book!! The characters were all very relatable and easy to like. I felt that the setting and concept were very unique in a genre that can be repetitive. The banter and chemistry was perfection!!!

I LOVED Any Trope but You. 4.5/5 stars, easily.

My two-point-five qualms with this book are so personal, I'm giving it 5 stars so there's no doubt that these are my own personal issues. I dislike chapters ending with "everything was going great, I should have known it was too good to be true" or a variation along those lines. The feeling could have been laid out at the beginning of the next chapter. I also thew up a little at the time jump, it's a punch in the solar plexus for me. I also just wanted more Forrest! How could I not!?

I thought this was going to be a fun and easy, tongue-in-cheek book about romance writers, crazy tropes, and true love. It ended up being so much more. What could have easily been trite was full of heart and real emotion. Every piece of this book was believable and understandable and I loved it so much. This is a love letter to love, the romance community, and every single trope out there. Likely a top ten book of the year for me.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Atria Books for giving me access to this ARC via Netgalley!

4-4.5 stars. This book was a little difficult to get into at first, partially because I was distracted with life stuff, but also I have a hard time with ditzy main female characters. However, once I got about a third of the way into the book, the story finally was able to sink its hooks into me and I flew through the rest of it. The ending was SO so good and I approve of the setting for the inevitable HEA for our main characters. I really enjoyed how open and honest the main characters were with one another once they started to give into their feelings, and how a lot of hard truths for many of the characters (side characters included) were brought to light and dealt with by everyone involved in a proper adult manner, as it really shows how complex life can be and how one person's security is another person's "mild asphyxiation" (IYKYK). I also really enjoyed how the spice was written, it felt very realistic and relatable, which some other romances can sometimes fall short in one or both categories.

Thank you NetGally and Atria Books for this arc!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and felt like I was being pulled in and kept interested the whole way through. Such a cozy fun read with all the different tropes that I love pulled into one with the book boyfriend of everyone’s dreams.
Forrest was so loving and caring for those close to him and he spread that love and care to Margot when she came to the lodge. I love the way they bonded and slowly let their guards down to each other as they got closer through the time Margot was staying at the lodge.
They had some barriers they had to get past and accept that sometimes you have to let go of something you’ve been used to for so long that’s it’s become your normal and even if that’s all you know there’s a whole life to be lived for yourself that just hasn’t been unlocked yet.
Savanna’s letters really helped with Bringing Margot and Forrest together and was a great way for them to bond over both being caretakers for a family members. It was so special that Forrest got to help Savanna with bringing Margot out of her sell and push past her comfort zone to really see herself and her true potential.
Really loved this book and highly recommended it! Can’t wait for more to come from this author!

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for an advanced reader copy!

Margot is a romance author who has a dark secret. For every book she writes, she creates another alternate ending. Her happily never afters. When her secret is exposed and her world is falling apart, her sister sends her to Alaska to find herself again and maybe write her new book while she’s there. But make no mistake, she’s done with romance.

Enter Forrest, a rugged doctor who is currently in Alaska caring for his father after a terrible accident. To Margot’s dismay, he embodies the best features of the main characters in her novels. She makes it clear to Forrest that she is there for one thing, and it’s not him.

Despite her resistance, she begins to experience all of the tropes she is used to writing. They begin to bond over their shared caregiving roles and the ice starts to thaw! Maybe Alaska will bring her more than just a new book.

Any Trope But You is a fun, heartfelt rom-com that will have you smiling from page one! I absolutely adored following Margot’s journey from someone who secretly writes Happily Never Afters to believing in love again. The Swiftie sprinkles and pop culture references were the perfect touch that had me giddy! Learning the author was battling breast cancer (and winning!) while writing this book makes it even more special. If you’re looking for a feel good romance, add this to your TBR!

This was a cute read! I loved the setting and storyline of both the main characters! It made me want to go in a wilderness retreat.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this eArc.

"Every moment with you was greater than fiction"

Any Trope but You was original, laugh out loud funny and blush inducing!
Margot, a best seller romance author is seen as a fraud by her readers when her secret Happily NEVER ever diary that contains endings of her popular books gets hacked and shared publicly. Margot's sister knows just what she needs and sends her to remote Alaska to escape the chaos, the shame and try her hand at genre other than love. Despite trying to finish a manuscript - Forest enters the story, the Alaska resort's proprietor who embodies every romance book's ideal lead male and their situations at this resort seem to be every single romance trope rolled into one. Will Margot continue to only believe in Happily Never After or get a HEA of her own?

OBSESSED and will be reading every Victoria Lavine's stories moving forward.

This was such a cute boo to get into during the winter season and I recommned it to anyone who loves the diva x grump trope, cause this really fed into that. I also think those who enjoy the small town boy and big city girl trope will truly have the best time with this. I loved seeing a book take place in a nonrealistic location such as Alaska, so it was so fun for it to be taking place in a town that really gave off that snowy, cabin vibe. I really love the letters and how there was an actual mission in the story for the FMC to find herself after the scandal she had.

Any Trope but You was a really good read! The meet-cute between Margot and Forrest was lovely. This had me laughing and tearing (I'm such a cry baby lol) I would say a must to add to the TBR because Margot and Forrest are characters you need.