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⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶

What a cute, steamy romance set in the Alaskan tundra. I really enjoyed the premise of this book, and for the most part, I found this to be a lighthearted rom-com with a few deeper insights about different aspects of love.

I really liked this kind of easygoing, almost laid-back narrative tone the story carries - it's of those books you can cozy up with a nice cup of tea on a rainy day. Forrest was the epitome of MMC tropes, and I did find myself laughing at the absurdity of it due to Margot being a romance author herself and being a professional on this. I think my biggest issue with the story was Margot. I found her to be really dislikable in some areas as her combative personality came off more as a writing plot point than her actual personality. But overall, it was very cute and fluffy rom-com with a nice handful of spice!

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Lavine, and Simon & Schuster for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

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Thank you NetGalley and Atria for this ARC. I really loved this book. Margot is a romance author who doesn't believe in love. She copes with this by writing alternative endings to all of her happily ever after's and when these endings get released, she is shunned from the romance community. In order to find herself, she goes to a remote cabin is Alaska where she meets Forrest and starts to have every single romance trope with him! I loved the relationship between Margot and Forrest and thought the whole concept was really fun and unique! I highly recommend this book to all the romance lovers out there!

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Any Trope but You follows Margot and Forrest and their budding relationship after Margot ends up in Alaska for 6 weeks to write a novel. She is a bestselling romance author, who has landed herself in hot water and been 'cancelled' after a doc containing alternate unhappy endings of her most popular stories leaks during a livestream. Following this her sister Savannah sends her to Alaska so she can try her hand at writing a murder mystery.

Overall the story was fine. Not great, but fine. I actually really enjoyed the side characters, Margot's sister Savannah was great as was Forrest's dad and Jo. My main issue was actually Margot herself. She was unlikable and not in a 'love to hate' kind of way. She was rude, judgmental, martyred herself and was honestly just pretty selfish. She almost burned her house down and it was somehow Forrest's fault. She never took accountability for anything. None of these qualities endeared me to her. It's no wonder her sister had to send her off to Alaska to finally get away from her. She infantilized Savannah and treated her like she was unable to care for herself even though she was a grown adult.

Forrest was of course a little too perfect. Also Margot was not really nice to him, and only really respected him when she found out he was a doctor. Before that he was basically a wood chopping caretaker in her mind, and I didn't love that she placed a limited value on him in her thoughts. What on earth could have made him like her after the way she treated him? He had moved back to Alaska to care for his father after a tragic accident, but Forrest like Margot also martyred himself, and just put his life on hold. Neither of them even stopped to ask what the person they were caring for actually wanted.

As the title suggests, there were a ton of tropes throughout the story. Some were executed well, while others not so much. And in the end, like the panties again? Just no. The ick factor was high just then. It was A LOT to pack in one book. And at the end I thought: This is a nice, perfectly lovely in-between book. I liked it, but I didn't love it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

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Omg! This book was so cute!!! I did not want it to end and I am just obsessed with everything about it. I loved how many tropes were covered without the story feeling cheesy! I think it was the way the main character approached each new trope that made it that way. If she would have swooned uncontrollably at every new one, it would have been cheesy. But because she had that “omg I can’t believe this is my life” annoyed attitude most of the time, it made it funny and cute and made me root for them because it felt like the universe bringing them together. Definitely will be recommending this one!

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Omg what?? This took me by surprise. We had witty banter, tension, steam, depth, fun side characters set in a wintry setting. Cant believe this was a debut novel. Will def look for more by this author.

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This was really cute! I think this has great winter vibes because of the setting but unfortunately it doesn't come out until April.

I think the relationship with overall underdeveloped but there were great moments of connection. I thought both of the characters' back stories were great as well. If you're interested in spice, this has some great scenes, too!

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4.5 ⭐️ this book was sooo good and the cover is adorable and matches the book perfectly!

It's about a romance author that loses her faith in real-life Happily Ever Afters. She of course meets a hunky cinnamon roll and experiences just about every romance trope under the sun with him, but it was done very well. The characters all learn a grow a lot-- I definitely cried (at least 3 times) while reading this novel. It's just such a feel-good romance with some nice spice 🔥 definitely a slow burn but the anticipation made it even better when they finally got together.

I very much enjoyed and would love to read more from this author ❤️

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Wow, wow, WOW. 🥹🥰
I loved this book so much. I just finished this, and without having to think on it much can already be sure this is a top 5 read for me this year.
Margot and Forrest are EVERYTHING.
This story is comical, witty, romantic, and so heartfelt. I can’t think of a single thing to change, and I cannot wait to see what others think of it as well!
Thank you to the author and the publisher for this arc. This book is out April 1st, 2025, and you’ll want to check it out! 🫎

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I flew through this book. The characters were tender, complex, and I just couldn’t get enough of them. More formal review to come, but this might be one of my favorite romance books ever!

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WOW. This book was beautiful. It had me feeling an array of emotions. I loved the tropes and I loved the family dynamics. I also loved that the issues/situation keeping the main characters apart were well written and not drawn out as they are in some books.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Margot is a bestselling romance author. She writes happily ever afters but after having her heart broken a few times, she doesn’t believe in them. After a file on her computer of alternate endings (happily never afters) is leaked and she gets cancelled, her sister books her a ticket to Alaska so she can figure out what to do next. Set to dip her toes in a new genre, she plans to write a murder mystery novel while staying at North Star Lodge. What she didn’t expect to find Forrest, a man straight out of a romance novel.

For a debut novel, I did like this book. It was a cozy little transition from fall to the holidays. It was a cute story but I found myself skimming through the second half. Although the idea of a walking, talking romance trope in human form for the main male character was a great idea, it felt as tough there were too many thrown in that didn’t quite fit the storyline. The will they, won’t they tension was a little too much for me and I wasn’t a fan of the conflict and multiple third acts.

I look forward to seeing what Victoria Lavine writes next!

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Rating: 4.5 ⭐️
Pub date: April 1, 2025
Thank you Atria and Netgalley for this E-ARC!

Any Trope But You follows Margot, who is a romance author known for her books that always end in happily ever afters. But when her document filled with alternate unhappy endings is leaked to the public, she has to figure out how to reinvent herself, and where better to do that than middle of no where Alaska! She finds herself in situations that are like the tropes she writes about, but will this result in her happily ever after? This is such an impressive debut novel from Victoria Lavine, and i’m so happy I was able to read it.

This was honestly one of my favorite reads of the year. The whole “you are every romance book trope” for Forrest was so funny. I was rooting for Margot and Forrest from the beginning and loved the tension and chemistry they had. This book was so funny, while also touching on some heavy topics. I just had such a good time reading this and I would highly recommend picking it up when it releases!

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Victoria Lavine’s Any Trope But You is a delightful five-star read that feels like a Hallmark movie with a spicy twist. Margot and Forrest’s chemistry is electric, delivering laugh-out-loud moments, swoon-worthy romance, and just the right amount of secondhand embarrassment to keep you hooked. The story strikes a perfect balance between being lighthearted and exploring deeper themes such as death, insecurities, and personal sacrifice. It’s a fun, emotional rollercoaster that will leave you with a big smile and a full heart.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this heartfelt rom-com set in Alaska. Both main characters are caretakers for family members and both have messy lives. You can guess how it ends, but the journey to get there is fun and entertaining.

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Thank you to ArtiaBooks for sending me an ARC!!

I really enjoyed the first 25ish% of this book. I liked the premise, and the idea of having an off-the-grid experience in alaska to reinvent herself (like come on that’s the perfect opportunity for character development). I unfortunately felt that the actual execution of this plot didn’t pan out as well as i hoped.

I loved Forest and Margot’s budding relationship but it felt that after they started to like each other, it immediately jumped to lust and a physical relationship. Considering she was only there for 6-weeks total, I felt that their relationship would’ve benefited from possibly not having smut scenes and focusing on furthering an emotional connection (especially because so much of their relationship was based on their similarity of caring for their family!) I also think the idea of having Forest fulfill so many of these tropes and being so “fictional character like” made the relationship rushed because he was doing so many things to seem so perfect.

Another thing that I disliked, which I won’t go into too much to avoid spoilers, is that I felt like the ending twist with Savannah was so rushed and underdeveloped. We rushed over what I thought was such a big moment of the book that offered a space to have a lot of emotional connections and character arc but it was rushed. That being said though, I really did love Savannah and Margot’s relationship. The letters were arguably one of my favorite parts of this book.

My last critique is that as a reader, I just didn’t enjoy the constant back and forth of Forest’s decisions. It felt extremely frustrating to experience him giving half thought out reasons for justifying staying/leaving Alaska, and then also not even fully thinking through alternative options to help with those choices.

Overall I just found myself wishing the pacing was more consistent and that the relationship felt more genuine. I didn’t love this one but I would still recommend if you’re looking for a winter romance with sister relationships and strong family themes.

[Bonus thought I had: The plot of this book is also extremely similar to “Book Lovers” by Emily Henry but if it took place in Alaska. ]

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10* stars. This book was so good. It had everything I love in a romance story. It was simply beautiful. And I look forward to reading more from this author.

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The inside is just as delightful as the cover! Any Trope But You is a perfect blend of humor, heart, and swoon-worthy romance. The characters are so relatable and lovable, and the chemistry between them is off the charts. I was hooked from the very first page! Whether you're a fan of rom-coms or just looking for a feel-good read, this book has it all. I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone I know—it’s the kind of story that leaves you with a big smile and a happy heart.

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I had so much fun with this book. It had everything you could want in a rom com and the title was just so fitting. I loved the journey of our two main characters and the struggle of allowing yourself the space to love and be loved was so relatable. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know that loves romance.

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Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the ARC.for my honest review. This was a cute debut and had a fun setting in Alaska. I would have liked a little more fun with the romance tropes.

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This book was so sweat omg I loved it. This is the authors debut and it was well written and everything flowed so well. This is an ode to the book and romance lovers and i liked the plot so much. The fmc is a successful romance who has stopped believing in love. Her feelings about romance is leaked and everything goes wrong for her and her writing career. Her sister books her a trip to Alaska so that she can get away from everything and write a mystery for the first time. She meets the mmc who runs the resort after running into his arms because of a moose.

The mmc was such a good character he is a Dr. who is a cancer researcher though he basically gave all that up to be his dad’s caretaker after his mom passed away from breast cancer. They instantly dont like each other cause the fmc doesn’t trust people or relationships and the mmc doesn’t want to lose anyone else in his life. They both find reasons to hate each other but they get closer to each other and eventually get together. I loved the Alaska, snowy no internet/wifi vibes cause the main characters really got to know each other. Both characters were lovely especially with how much they love their family.

The romance was so sweet and spicy i was here for it, i thought the third act breakup made alot of sense and i loved how the book ended. I recommend this book so much! Thank you Atria for this arc for an honest review.

Read for:
- Romcom
- Hurt/comfort
- Forced proximity
- Cabin life
- Romance writer
- Enemies to lovers

4.5/5 ⭐️

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