A bestselling romance author flees to Alaska to reinvent herself and write her first murder mystery, but the rugged resort proprietor soon has her fearing she’s living in a rom-com plot instead in this earnestly spectacular debut by a stunning new voice.
Discussion of cancer and chronic illness.
Spice rating: 4/5 explicit open door.
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.
As long snowy nights and one unlikely trope after another draw Margot and Forrest together, they’ll each have to learn to overcome their fears and set their aside assumptions before Margot leaves—or risk becoming a Happily Never After story themselves.
Don't just take our word for it...
“Lavine turns many of the common romance novel tropes on their heads in this stunning debut. Top-notch banter will have readers laughing out loud as they root for Margot to finally achieve her own happily-ever-after.”
– Library Journal, starred review, Romance Debut of the Month 🌟
“Fans of Emily Henry’s Beach Read, prepare to be wooed by Victoria Lavine’s debut book, which follows romance writer Margot Bradley as she attempts to reinvent herself as a murder-mystery novelist…As the title hints, Any Trope But You is a swoon-worthy celebration of the most beloved tropes in the rom-com genre, from the enemies-to-lovers plot to a forced proximity situation.”
– Harper’s Bazaar, 25 Best Books Coming Out This Spring
“This is a sharp debut novel that spicy romance readers will eat up. First, there is an abundance of classic romance tropes to entertain you. Second, the main characters have substance and “real life issues” beyond their physical spark, from caretaking duties to grief and career setbacks. Beyond that, the Alaskan resort setting adds charm and coziness.”
– The Literary Lifestyle
Taste the very first page
Standing at the foot of my bed, I stare down at the two shirts I’ve laid out, wondering which one will make me look less like a liar. The flouncy pink one with roses is definitely giving Tenderhearted Romance Author (the exact image I’m aiming for), but is it trying too hard? The other option (crisp, white, sleeveless) has more of an edge, but is it too edgy? Will my readers take one look at the aggressively high neckline and know I’m hiding something?
I realize the same sort of wardrobe questions probably run through the mind of a serial killer preparing to take the stand. Except in my case, the jury will be hundreds of my most devoted readers, and instead of a court hearing, I’ll be feigning innocence during a live stream promotional event for my latest book. Which starts in—I glance at my alarm clock—twelve minutes. Shit.
I cross my arms over my bra in a futile attempt to self-soothe. After six novels and their subsequent book tours, one would think I’d have this whole living-a-lie thing locked down by now. Or that I’d at least be able to pick out a shirt. But according to my under- boob sweat, one would be wrong. Because despite occupying the body of #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Margot Bradley…
You might also like
Blood on Her Tongue
Lucy's twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, mumbles nonsensically, and is increasingly obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband's grand estate.
Tilt
Annie is nine months pregnant. She’s shopping for a crib at IKEA. That’s when the massive earthquake hits. There’s nothing to do but walk.
Junie
A young girl must face a life-altering decision after awakening her sister’s ghost, navigating truths about love, friendship, and power as the Civil War looms.
Flirting With Disaster
She needs a divorce from her husband—but a hurricane threatens to dredge up their stormy, passionate past in this sizzling romance.
Good Girl
An electric debut novel about the daughter of Afghan refugees and her year of self-discovery and a portrait of the artist as a young woman set in a Berlin that can’t escape its history.
Dead Money
Featuring jaw-dropping twists and a wily, outsider heroine you can’t help rooting for, Dead Money is a brilliant sleight-of-hand mystery.
Unromance
A recently dumped TV heartthrob enlists a jaded romance novelist to ruin romance for him—one rom-com trope at a time—so he never gets swept off his feet again…
Motheater
In this nuanced queer fantasy set amid the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, the last witch of the Ridge must choose sides in a clash between industry and nature.
The Resurrectionist
A twisty gothic debut set when real-life serial killers Burke and Hare terrorized the streets of Edinburgh, as a young medical student is lured into the illicit underworld of body snatching.
Under Loch and Key
A woman discovers that not all monsters are her enemy—the opposite, in fact—in this new paranormal romance by Lana Ferguson.
The Serpent and the Wolf
A thrilling romantasy debut combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.
What It’s Like in Words
A dark, intense, and compelling account of what happens when a young woman falls in love with the wrong kind of man.
American Rapture
The instant USA Today bestseller from CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly—a scorching and sweeping new novel about the end of the world as we know it.
Perfect Fit
A hilarious and heartfelt rom-com about having it all, slowing down to see the big picture, and finding out that the person you least expect could be your perfect fit.
Eleanore of Avignon
The story of a healer who risks her life, her freedom, and everything she holds dear to protect her beloved city from the encroaching Black Death.
How to Hide in Plain Sight
The unbreakable bonds of family and love are explored in this brilliant and tender story from the author of Guy’s Girl.
The Truth According to Ember
A Chickasaw woman who can’t catch a break serves up a little white lie that snowballs into much more in this witty and irresistible rom-com by debut author Danica Nava.
Mistress of Lies
A villainous, bloodthirsty heroine finds herself plunged into the dangerous world of power, politics and murder in the court of the vampire king in this dark romantic fantasy debut.
Catalina
A year in the life of the unforgettable Catalina Ituralde, a wickedly wry and heartbreakingly vulnerable student at an elite college.
A Novel Love Story
A professor of literature finds herself caught up in a work of fiction…literally, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Year Slip and The Dead Romantics.
Masquerade
Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman’s fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she’ll go to secure her future.
Whoever You Are, Honey
This darkly brilliant debut novel explores how women shape themselves beneath the gaze of love, friendship, and the algorithm—by a thrilling feminist voice for the age of AI.
You Know What You Did
In this heart-pounding debut thriller for fans of Lisa Jewell and Celeste Ng, a first-generation Vietnamese American artist must confront nightmares past and present...
Lovers and Liars
Three wildly different sisters reunite for a destination wedding at an English castle in this heartfelt and rollicking novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters.
Evocation
From The Sunday Times bestselling author of B&N's best books of 2022 A Dowry of Blood, comes a spellbinding and vibrant new series. The Devil knows your name, David Aristarkhov.
Happy Medium
A clever con woman must convince a skeptical, sexy farmer of his property's resident real-life ghost if she's to save them all from a fate worse than death, in this delightful new novel from the author of Mrs. Nash's Ashes.