A review by bribreez
Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

*Thank you to Atria and Victoria Lavine for providing me with an ARC of this amazing story! I greatly appreciate it!

4.5⭐️/ 3🌶️

Most romance authors believe in happily ever after, especially the ones they write about, and the tropes they include, but for Margot Bradley, she actually doesn’t believe in love. Although being a successful New York Times bestseller, Margot doesn’t believe in love nor the things entails, but if it makes her readers happy then that’s what she’ll do. Unbeknownst to readers, Margot actually has a secret document that details alternate endings to all her romance books which include not so happy endings. When an interview goes live, and a fan unleashed all of Margot’s secrets alternate endings, as well as her deepest about being a romance author, suddenly Margot found herself being cancelled and her career pummeling downhill. In an effort to scramble what’s left of her career, Margot ends up on a trip to Alaska to write a new novel that hopefully will show her readers the type of story she actually wants to write, but also redeem herself. In a remote cabin Margot meets new people one of whom literally is an embodiment of all the male characters she’s written, and let’s just say this man was HANDSOME! Victoria Lavine wrote a romance story, but with a unique twist that had me intrigued right from the synopsis, and definitely by the first few pages. A romance with a heartfelt connection, lovable characters, and one you’ll fall in love with. 

Margot wasn’t the kind of romance author I expected especially with her not believing in love, she had an interesting outlook on it. One would think, “why do you write about romance if you don’t believe in it?”, and that’s what I thought too about Margot, but even early on I could tell that something must have happened to Margot that resulted in her not believing in love. Furthermore, it seemed like Margot had a talent in writing romantic, swoon worthy stories that many people, including her sister, Savannah loved. I could understand where Margot was coming from in her opinion, but I felt bad for her when the scandal of her alternate endings/ true feelings were revealed to everyone. With Margot being in Alaska for six weeks to write a new manuscript, it seemed like a good idea, but once Margot realized all the obstacles she’d needed to overcome in order to not only complete her new story, but to achieve the hopes set by Savannah, it was an entirely new mission set forth for Margot. 

Forrest was a man who was use to living in Alaska, it was his home, where his family lived, and where the business of North Star Lodge originated. All in all, Alaska seemed like a peaceful, remote place, but it was also the place where Forrest came back home when his father needed help after his accident. Right off the bat, I instantly adored Forrest, from his competent manly man wood chopping, building an entire living accommodations for his Dad, being a doctor who researched in breast cancer, and was essentially the embodiment of what I would want out of a man, I could definitely see why Margot was constantly looking at Forrest like she wanted to jump him! Haha. Granted, there were some hiccups at first between Margot and Forrest not seeing eye to eye on things, but regardless there was still an obvious attraction between them! Anyways, I found Forrest to be lovable, intelligent, intriguing, swoon worthy, dreamy, and I could keep naming all the things I loved about him! Aside from his many great qualities, seeing the way Forrest put his career on hold in order to take care of his Dad was admirable and it highlighted how much family was his priority. With the topic of families coming up throughout the book namely about Dad’s it really hit me in the heart so, to see Forrest with his Dad was heartwarming and again made me love Forrest even more. 

(Sigh) I had a feeling I would like this book, and oh boy I was right! This book felt cozy, loving, heartfelt, swoon worthy, lighthearted, but also had depth that made me feel connected to Margot and Forrest as well as the overall story. I think the idea of a romance author not believing in love is such a fun, unique twist on your traditional romance book that it made this story intriguing, but also had the added depth of Margot and Forrest’s backstories connecting to the overall plot. This book had a little bit of enemies to lovers, winter vibes since the story was set in Alaska, family, a romance author and a handsome doctor falling for each other, and the quintessential romance tropes that we know and LOVE! If you’re a romance reader, I would highly recommend this book as it will leave you loving Forrest and admiring the way Margot found her way back to herself as well as kind of redefining her view of love. I think the fact that Peyton Corinne said lovely things about this book was enough incentive for me to read this, but to actually end up loving it was just absolutely great for me! Highly recommend!