2.5 stars

Colby and Rip are forced into parenthood when their sister and best friends die in a horrible accident, leaving their two young children behind.

While I enjoyed this one, and flew through it, there were several things that I couldn't overlook. For one, it was a little too similar to the movie Life As We Know It with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel.
The tension between Colby and Rip felt juvenile for a reason that (in my opinion) wasn't a big deal, and definitely wouldn't excuse their interactions that were just plain mean. Rip was supposed to be grumpy, but he came off more pompous than endearing.
There was also an event at the end that seemed unnecessary and didn't add anything to the story.

Despite these things, it had some funny and very real parenting moments that I found myself laughing out loud at.

Maybe my expectations were too high or misplaced, because a lot of people loved this one. I would still recommend it to someone looking for a fun enemies to lovers with a parenthood twist.

Thanks to Forever Pub and Netgalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Ok, so I know this review is a little late but I’d like to thank Netgalley as well as the publisher for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

3.5

If you were a fan of Life As We Knew It this book is for you. This book was cute and fluffy( but also made me tear up multiple times). I did really enjoy this book, I thought the mmc was pretty unlikeable for the first 40% of the book but I’m a sloot for for a good book boyfriend and can forgive just about any behaviour. And once we started being nice he was very likeable!

I could have done without all of the tiktok references. That’s just a personal opinion though. And I did feel like the book wrapped up way to fast. The third act incident (no third act break-up) happened at like 94%. It was VERY fast.

Overall I would recommend giving it a read

I had high expectations for this book and can confidently say it beat my expectations! I loved her other books “the matchmakers playlist” and “the matchmakers replacement” both amazing books! This book intrigued me mostly by the author but then I found it reminded me of the movie “ life as we know it” which is one of my favorites! The author did so amazing with the character development for even the side characters! Banks was my favorite! I just wish he ended up with someone other than heather and wish I could have read another book on his love story. Rachel van dyken has become in instant buy for me from now on! I had been originally planning on getting this book the day it came out to treat myself after my procedure. I ended up getting the arc on NetGalley from forever (grand central publishing) and I don’t think I’ve screamed with happiness so much before! Even though I have read this book on NetGalley I know I don’t need the paperback copy but do I want to get one after loving it so much…? YES!!!!

This book was a funny and yet had plenty of emotional moments. Rip and Colby’s bickering and hate/love relationship was so cute and I loved it. I love how both of them came to realize that they cared for each of and were able to move past their “hate”. I also loved how they tackled grief, not just their own but that of the kids. It was a fun read with fun characters and witty banter.

This was such a cute book! I really liked the romance between Rip and Colby. The children were downright adorable. I enjoyed the banter and the overall hilarity among the members of this disfunctional family. I could literally picture the movie Life As We Know It as I read the book. Unfortunately, the needing fell a little flat for me. I thought it was a bit rushed and would have liked to see about 50 more pages in order to rate this higher.

thank you netgalley and forever grand central publishing for an eARC of this book.
i am genuinely so happy right now. this book had me smiling, laughing, and crying. rip and colby are some of my new favorite characters and the connection they shared with each other and with ben and viera was so precious. this book was great and i loved that it was dual pov. the whole premise of this book was that two enemies become coparents to their best friends children and they start to become a family with each other after a tragedy. the family bonding and healing that happened was very fulfilling and made my heart very happy and i loved the build up. please read this book :)

After a tragic accident, Rip is named guardian of his niece and nephew. What he didn’t expect was that his sister and best friend had also named Colby as a guardian. They could not be more opposite, or more out of control. While they juggle grief and their animosity towards each other, the years old sparks start to rekindle.

This was an absolute delight, even though I got fully red and puffy because of how often I cried. This straddles the line between feel good romance and tragedy with so much grace. The grieving that each of the characters goes through felt so genuine.

I’m a sucker for hilarious kids in books, and Ben and Viera were two wild children with so much love in their hearts. Hearing them talk about their family made me sob - sometimes in sadness, but a lot of the time because of how dang sweet they are.

I understand that Heather represents a different path for Rip, but her character felt unnecessary to me. I thought Colby and Rip had enough friction without her adding to the mix.

This is a clear your sinuses kind of book, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly. Seriously, grab a box of tissues - you’ll need it.

i really enjoyed this one! the godparent trap is about love, loss, and found family. i loved all the side characters, and the children?! stop it. adorable!! colby and rip are one of my favorites now, and rightfully so!! the ending felt a bit rushed, but all is forgiven bc we had an epilogue.

thank you so much to valentine PR and netgalley for the ARC!

4.5 🦋

I was approved for this eARC after its scheduled pub day (07/19), but I am still very excited to read this nonetheless! My two book besties described this as the perfect Enemies-to-Lovers romcom with also plenty of depth & sensitive handling of some tough subject matter. I can’t wait to dive in!

This story has it all. It was sweet. It was swoony. It was emotional and it even made me laugh. I enjoyed this story so much. Every Rachel van Dyken book I read makes me love her writing even more and this story was no different. I am so in love with these characters and found myself rooting for their happy ending. I loved being on their journey and seeing the way their relationship developed through out the book. I could not put it down. I absolutely cannot wait for more from this author and I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next.

It's been a while since I've read a Rachel Van Dyken book. This sounded interesting so I decided to pick it up. Rip and Colby are thrown into an impossible and tragic situation. I really felt for them and what they were going through. They needed to work together and be there for their two godchildren. Rip and Colby are as opposite as you can get. So, seeing them trying to mesh was interesting. I did like the interactions with the children. That was nice to see. I just wanted more when it came to Rip and Colby. It was hard for me to really see how these two could be together. Towards the end I could see it though. There were good moments where I was really able to root for this instant family. It has fine writing and I was able to see the potential. I just wanted more.

*There are some triggers so readers should pay attention to the warning.*

This was a quick read, I wanted to read it mostly bc the synopsis reminded me so much of one of the movie “Life as we know it”.

The book for having such a heavy opening and dealing with grief was funny and I liked some characters but the characters and dialogues felt flat and weak. The main characters go from hate to love all of sudden, the way Rip treated Colby at the beginning was really harsh and suddenly he realizes he likes her they forget everything he said… that really didn't work for me.

Overall, It was ok, easy to read but it was shallow and it lacked development and I had no real investment towards any of the characters.


Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to share a super cute book that I read this week - The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken! Thank you @readforeverpub for the #giftedbook.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Life As We Know it, starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, the plot will be similar. A couple tragically dies, leaving their kids to their godparents, Colby and Rip. Who happen to hate each other - but do they really? Colby is a bit of a mess and struggling adjusting to mom life and missing her best friend while caring for the two kids. Rip is anal and has a stick up his a$s and thinks Colby is ridiculous.

Let’s just say this book is #enemiestolovers at its finest, and will give you all the feels.

The Godparent Trap is available now, and if you are a romcom fan, go grab a copy!

I don’t know how this talented author has written a book that makes me want to weep, and then this book makes me laugh…innovative story that reads like real life…quirky characters…family dynamics…amazing novel…could be a memoir…the book was sent to me by Netgalley for review… thanks to the publisher for the electronic review…a sad story that turns I to one that works…don’t miss this…

I really enjoyed this and recommend it. Colby is a food blogger and travels all the time. Rip is Colby's best friend's brother and is a staid, follow the rules, very structured accountant. They have always had a spark that typically resulted in them getting under each other's skin.

Slight spoiler alert- (it is on the back of the book and is the premise of the book)- Horribly, a tragic accident takes their best friend/sister and her husband, leaving Colby and Rip as co-guardians of two adorable, grieving kids.

This has such a perfect combination of poignant grief that comes in waves intertwined with laugh-out-loud humor as Colby and Rip figure out how to parent (yes, legos are evil!). It's a quick read, and I was both satisfied and sorry when it ended. I absolutely could have stayed in this world longer.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy. All opinions are my own.

I've not read this author before and didn't really know what to expect when I began The Godparent Trap. The subject matter had the potential to be fraught with emotion but looking at the cover of the novel, one could reasonably expect the story to be a lighthearted romcom. It was both...and so much more than I expected.

The launching point for this story is the sudden, tragic death of a young husband and wife, leaving behind two young children, along with a brother and best friend designated to care for them. A brother and best friend who are polar opposites, had one disastrous date years ago, and have been adversaries ever since. They don't like each other, don't understand each other, and can't deny the simmering attraction that simmers below the surface in spite of that. Throw them into an emotionally volatile situation where they have to live and work together to care for two kids and, oh yeah, it's going to be messy.

One of the things I most appreciated about this book was that Van Dyken didn't shy away from those messy emotions that are part and parcel of navigating grief. Some of the scenes were heartbreaking and took me straight back to my own grief after losing loved ones but others had me laughing out loud and elicited memories of doing the same in similar situations. The evolving relationship between Colby and Rip - and the children - was raw, real, hilarious in many parts, and poignant in others. Rip and Colby really were enemies in the beginning with the author using biting humor and disdain (especially on Rip's part) to bring that point home. Kudos to her for giving them no easy fixes, which would have been easy to do. Instead, she took them on a winding journey filled with real-life challenges, attitude adjustments, eye-opening experiences (having full responsibility for two young children will do that), heart-tugging romance, and a slow awakening of possibilities.

Both humor and emotional depth are strong in this story, one equally balanced by the other. The characters are well developed, relatable, and felt very authentic. I was fully invested in Colby, Rip (once he got rid of that stick up his...and we began to see his heart), the kids, and let's not forget Rip's self-appointed, chatty best friend, Banks, the architect of more than a few of the humorous scenes in this story. Everyone should have a best friend that invested in your happiness. I adored him.

I recommend adding The Godparent Trap to your summer reading list. Keep the tissues handy but be prepared for plenty of laughter too, along with a satisfying HEA and some surprises along the way.

4.5 stars
ARC received for fair and unbiased review

This book was phenomenal! It was fast-paced and packed an emotional punch, which had me flying through well over half the story in one sitting. I loved Rip and Colby’s love story, watching them go from genuine dislike after a disastrous date to friendship and love as they struggle with the transition into parenthood. The death of Rip’s sister and best friend was shockingly emotional, which speaks to how well the book was written. Despite knowing the characters for one chapter before they died, I felt their loss acutely, and watching their children, as well as Rip and Colby, go through the process of grieving was heartbreaking. I love the found family that was created with Rip and Colby and the kids. The children in particular stood out to me. Each of them were distinctive and memorable, as well as surprisingly perceptive, which I really loved. As for Rip and Colby, I loved seeing how their relationship progressed, in all its opposites-attract perfection. Overall, this was a heartwarming romance that completely gripped me and did not let me go until I turned the final page.

Chaos meets calm in this roller coaster relationship. Two completely opposite personalities must work together for the good of two children. Enemies after a disastrous first date.
Colby lives a somewhat transient life. Always on the go, moving from place to place, eating great food and posting about it in her blog. Single, free from romantic relationships and kids. Her base is her married best friends and their kids.
Rip lives by order and routine. Time and place for everything.
When tragedy throws these two together, the fun begins. They both learn to lean on each other - to meet in the middle. It good to have chaos balanced with calm.
Emotional, fun, sexy with great characters. The supporting cast added even more to the story.

4.5/5 (rounded up)

I seem to be on a roll with romance authors I've never read, and the streak continues with The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken! This has a lot of romcom qualities to it and it constantly made me laugh out loud. I'm not too proud to admit that this was a cover read for me, so I hadn't looked at the synopsis ahead of time and man was I SHOOK when I found out what the plot of this book was. It starts out very tragically and I had tears in my eyes almost instantly. Thankfully after the shock wore off, it becomes a super sweet and emotional story about making the most of life and dealing with grief. It does handle some hard subjects, but at the same time also has a very lighthearted feel if that makes sense. For me, The Godparent Trap was the perfect blend of funny and sad and it wasn't at all what I was expecting.

It was also hard not to fall in love with the audiobook which is narrated by Maria Liatis & Jacob York. I have only listened to Liatis narrate before and they couldn't have been more perfect to voice Colby and Rip. I can't remember what I thought of Liatis in the prior book I heard her voice, but she did a fantastic job for Colby and in general, the audio is just really well done. There are times when Colby and Rip are texting each other, and I really appreciated having the phone sounds in the audiobook. It is little things like this that really make them stand out from the rest, and it was executed perfectly - highly recommend it! The Godparent Trap does have some steam but it wasn't as much as I was expecting, so if you are a fan of more closed-door romance this could definitely still work for you. If Van Dyken writes more books like this, I am most certainly going to be reading them.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4.25 stars--THE GODPARENT TRAP by Rachel Van Dyken is a contemporary, adult, stand alone romance story line focusing on blogger Colby Summers, and accountant Rip Edison.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Colby and Rip) THE GODPARENT TRAP follows in the wake of the death of Colby’s best friend and Rip’s sister Monica and her husband Brooks. Colby and Rip are the godparents of Monica and Brooks two children Ben and Viera, and thusly began co-guardianship of the young children but neither Colby nor Rip had any experience in parenting young children, and the resulting chaos pushed our couple to the edge of insanity. What ensues is the enemies to lovers relationship between Colby and Rip, as our couple struggle to navigate instant the combined fall-out of grief and instant parenthood.

Colby Summers believes Rip Edison is the ultimate evil. One date, years before, resulted in a lack lustre evening, leaving Colby struggling with everything that went wrong. Rip Edison believes Colby is lazy without a real job or direction in life, while Colby sees Rip as a numbers nerd whose ego is bigger than anyone can handle. From the outset our heroine Colby Summers is a mess; a woman inexperienced in child care, cooking, cleaning and basic survival, inexperience that screams failure in the eyes of our hero. Rip Edison is a man solely focuses on his career and the bottom line but he is no better at raising a family, regardless of ability to get things done.

The relationship between Colby and Rip is an enemies to lovers in which our couple are thrown together ,in their time of grief, to raise two young children who have just lost their parents. Rip believes Colby should be responsible for the children at home but quickly realizes neither one is capable of looking after themselves, let alone someone else’s children. Colby and Rip must band together in an effort to look after and raise Monica and Brooks’ children, children that will become a part of their forever home. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to the children-Ben and Viara, as well as Rip’s best friend and co-worker Banks, and PA Heather.

THE GODPARENT TRAP is a story of loss and grief, family and friendships, acceptance and love. The premise is emotional and captivating; the romance is seductive; the characters are energetic, struggling but learning to cope.



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