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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Colby and Rip are the true opposites attract! Through their grief and pain they found each other and it was so great to read about. It was similar to the movie "Life As We Know It" which is what drew me in since I loveeee that movie!! This book similar but different and still just as enjoyable.

The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken is a contemporary romance. Colby's living her best life: as a popular food blogger, she gets to fulfill her dreams of exploring the globe. But her world comes crashing down when a tragic accident leaves her co-guardian of her best friend's two adorable children. Not only does she need to put down roots—fast—but she'll be sharing custody with the one man she can't stand sharing a continent with, let alone a house. Accountant-extraordinaire Rip values rules and plans. But when he loses his sister and his best friend and becomes an insta-guardian all in one night, Rip sees his organized life imploding. What he really doesn't need is his sister's irresponsible, flighty—albeit kind and gorgeous—best friend making it worse. Rip doesn't trust Colby to take their new responsibilities seriously, while Colby can't believe Rip thinks children will thrive under his rigid control. Yet soon Rip and Colby discover they need each other more than they hate each other. Could it be possible that following their hearts is just what their new little family needs?

The Godparent Trap has some serious subjects throughout- mostly grief and coming to terms with loss and change. However, there is still some humor thanks to the secondary characters and the opposite's attract nature of the relationship between Colby and Rip. I was highly engaged in getting to know both characters and seeing them grow as people, caregivers, and a couple. I really enjoyed the interactions between Rip and Colby, and some secondary characters like Banks. There were moments that were hard to read, but that is more because of the topics at hand- like loss and the well being of children- than any lacking in the writing. I think the book was well written and the hard stuff was handled well including the use of content warnings for readers that might have difficulty with the subject matter.

The Godparent Trap is a solid romance with lots of feels and some laughs along the way.

The tragic loss of friends/family is what caused Colby and Rip to become the guardians of the children. Now they must figure out how to be parents while mourning their loss and trying to balance everyday life.What follows is a true look at how chaotic life with little kids, jobs, errands etc can be. Soooo many laugh out loud moments. I have to believe that anyone with multiple kids can appreciate the daily life these two find themselves in! My first book by Ms.Van Dyken and I couldn't put it down! I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Okay so I’ve been seeing this book everywhere and I was like huh this looks interesting! So then I I went on NetGalley to request it and see if I would get approved, I honestly really hoped I would get approved! The next day I checked my email and I saw that I got approved of this book by NetGalley and I was so happy honestly! lm so glad requested this book because the minute I got it, I couldn’t Stop putting it down 🤩🤩 that’s how good it was! Gosh where do I begin because I had a lot of parts of this book that I loved😊 I mean I sort of didn’t like rip because he was jus being awfully mean to Colby🥲 but the love he has for his niece and nephew is so adorable especially towards viera🥺🥺. she’s just to adorable, and as well as Ben, he was way to smart for his own age🥹💜 But then as I started progressing through out this Book, I was like okay rip I see you being all nice to her. And I instantly loved him🥰 I loved all the characters in this book especially the kids🤍and the banters and bickers🤣 I loved how they challenged each other, took turns to be with the kids, especially when Rip was trying to prove Colby that staying at home with the kids was easy loll! The flour and slime incident, and especially the moment they had when cleaning out both Monica and Brooke’s stuff🥺

I loved Colby because I loved how she was so driven to do things right/correctly for her and the kids no Matter how much rip tore her down she didn’t give up she still continued to do it! I admire her courage and ability honestly! I loved how they both didn’t admit they had feelings for each Other until they kissed and when banks was trying to make Rip jealous😂😂 Omg let’s not start with the Cat Stu he was to funny loll. I loved banks because he claimed to be rips best friend 🤣 as for heather I did not like her at all😒! The bicker and banter between rip and Colby was so funny lmao😂 I felt soo sad that Brooke and Monica had died :( but Ik they made a right decision on letting rip and Colby be their godparents😊🥰!
I can’t believe I finished this book within 2 days🤯 because I literally just started it on (7/24/22 and finished reading it 7/25/22 which is todays date ) that’s how amazing it is💜I wasn’t expecting me to love it this much!
(Ps I binged read a few chapters(okay a lot) in the morning instead of going to sleep😂, and then I finished the rest of it at night🥰)
Overall I’m satisfied because the chemistry they both had was chef kisses!
I believe both Colby and Rip were amazing Guardians and parents to him even tho they were their nieces and nephews💜 when I saw Rip caring for viera and Ben I was like yupp he’s definitely going to make an amazing day one day as well for Colby🥰
The ending tho got me so sad because I didn’t think she would of remembered🥲 but thank god she did honestly!

Definitely adding this book to one of my favorite romcom reads!

Rachel Van Dyken does not disappoint with making you fall in love with her story and all the characters in it. This one was an emotional heartwarming read, and I loved every single page of it.

Colby is our free-spirited food blogger, she gives so much positivity and happiness towards the people around her. I love how her personality, how strong she is, despite going through so much. The way she loves the children and of course Rip was truly heartwarming.

Meanwhile we have Rip, our grumpy hero, who despite all the walls he built around himself was able to genuinely show compassion and love towards Colby and the children. I love the way he loved his family.

Recommending this one if you're looking for an enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine, emotional yet also hilarious read!

If you want a quick read this is the book for you! I read this during my commute to and from work last week and it's super cute.⁠
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A forced proximity relationship with the best friends brother 😏 ⁠
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Co-parenting and learning from each other🥰⁠
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Semi-fake dating someone to make the other jealous 🥸⁠
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and spicy texting 📃⁠
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Thanks to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review and the opportunity to read this work of art.

Such an enjoyable read with great characters. The plot was interesting and I literally read this book all in one sitting :’) I highly recommend this book it has the best vibes!

This was so much fun and I loved every minute of it. The plot is very similar to the movie Life As We Know It but I think that it makes enough changes to be different. The kids were so cute and I loved that they were rooting for Rip and Colby and wanted them to get married.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Rachel Van Dyken est de retour avec une nouvelle comédie romantique ennemies to lovers. Une tragédie va amener nos héros à devoir cohabiter et nous allons nous délecter des échanges épiques entre eux.

Colby est une jeune femme un peu délurée dans le sens où elle n’a pas le sens de l’organisation le plus pointu au monde. Elle tient un blog culinaire mais on ne peut pas dire qu’elle soit la meilleure cuisinière au monde. Quand sa meilleure amie va périr dans un accident de voiture, elle devra cohabiter avec un homme qu’elle déteste. Elle a tenté un rendez-vous avec lui mais ils sont aux antipodes l’un de l’autre. Il est carré, elle va plutôt dans tous les sens. Par contre, elle sera adorable avec les deux gamins, Ben et Viera, et elle mettra tout en œuvre pour gérer son propre deuil et celui des enfants. Ce qui s’annonçait être un enfer sur terre pourrait donc lui donner du fil à retordre mais on sent au final qu’ils ne sont pas si ennemis que cela. Colby devra apprendre à gérer ses émotions et un nouvel emploi du temps tout en chérissant les souvenirs qu’elle a avec Brooks et Monica.

Rip est comptable, sa vie est réglé à la minute prêt et donc il est très carré et organisé. Cela va donc à l’encontre de la folie de la jeune femme qui était la meilleur amie de sa sœur. Il devra prendre sur lui mais cela très difficile. En effet, il a énormément d’à priori sur cette jeune femme loufoque qui n’en fait qu’à sa tête et qui semble irresponsable. Il travaille aussi avec Heather qui a fait vivre un enfer à Colby au lycée et donc certains souvenirs vont remonter à la surface. J’ai aimé ce personnage car il fait le contre poids avec le côté tête en l’air et loufoque de l’héroïne. Ils sont tous les deux dans les extrêmes mais c’est justement cet aspect qui nous donnera des scènes vraiment rigolotes. L’émotion sera aussi rendez-vous avec lui car malgré ses apparences froides et hautaines, la perte de sa sœur changera définitivement son regard sur la vie et cela remettra aussi en perspective sa vision du travail et sa carrière.

Bref, si vous lisez en VO et si vous envie de passer un bon moment de lecture, je vous recommande de lire cet ennemies to lover qui vous verra vivre de belles émotions. Rachel Van Dyken signe ici une belle comédie romantique comme on les aime.

What an utterly heartbreaking yet uplifting story. I absolutely adored it. But I can see how it might not be for everyone. There is a connection needed to understand some of the things these characters have to process and deal with.
Or maybe it's an open mind or belief system. And not that you need to believe what the characters believe in because they don't even agree with each other.
However that's the true beauty of this story. Rip is closed off from everything he wants control, schedules and rules, things to be black and white.
Colby wants to move with the breeze and follow the scents that entice her senses.
Apart they are night and day, but together once they figure out they don't have to change to work together they become each other's perfect extension. The yin to one another's yang. Now if they could just figure out the rest. Grab this incredible story to see if they do.
I have voluntarily left this review.

Colby and Rip's story was as cute as it was heartbreaking. From the beginning, I could see that these two were complete opposites, but somehow, I could see them together. Their loyalty to their family and their love for the kids was obvious, as well as their attraction for each other. Their initial bickering and one-upmanship only served to highlight this fact.

Their connection was set from the get-go, but as the story progressed and their flirty banter and support of each other made it to the page, their connection settled and it was awesome! Of course, their chemistry was superb. I loved it! Their encounters were steamy with an underlying sweetness that had me swooning and grinning throughout.

I also enjoyed the humor and the secondary characters. Banks was a great character. I loved his relationship with Rip and his new-found friendship with Colby. Rip and Colby needed the push Banks provided and seeing them interact with each other made for an even more entertaining read.

All in all, an emotional yet steamy, fantastic read.

Thank you netgalley for sending me this book from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) This book made me laugh and it made me ugly cry because i'm a parent. Truly you should read this book, it was a fast paced read with every feeling under the sun you feel all of it for Colby, Rip, Ben, and Viera!! highly reccomend!!!!

olby and Rip are your classic, quintessential opposites. Colby is a popular food blogger, living the dream and traveling the world. Rip is a buttoned up accountant, relishing in routine, facts, and figures. Where Colby is carefree and disorganized, Rip is regimented and controlled.

One night about a year prior, the two gave into the whole “opposites attract” thing, albeit briefly. Blip on the radar aside, the pair spend most of their time gritting teeth, eye rolling and just plain scowling in the other’s direction. After all, they can’t avoid each other completely. Colby is best friends with Rip’s sister, Monica and Rip is close to Monica’s husband, Brooks. Forever interwoven by association, the two are used to grinning and (barely) bearing it while in the presence of the other.

So when Monica and Brooks go away on vacation, Colby and Rip prepare to set their differences aside and share babysitting duties. Then tragedy strikes. An accident involving both Monica and Brooks kills them both, leaving their two young children without parents, and Colby and Rip without a net.

As godparents, Colby and Rip are thrust into a world of guardianship, coparenting and just plain coexisting. Temporarily tolerating each other is one thing, but this “for the rest of your life” stuff is really throwing them for a loop. Instantly critical of how the other is handling things, Colby and Rip find themselves at odds like never before. Can these two learn to see their differences as strengths, or has God destined them to feel trapped forever?

The Godparent Trap is an amazingly consumable read that I devoured in a few short hours. Delicately dealing with the loss of loved ones while making readers laugh in the process is no easy feat, yet author Rachel Van Dyke does exactly that. Also amazing? That I’ve never read anything by this author before. She’s only written about a zillion books, but I digress.

The only nit-picky footnote I’ll add about this book are the characters names. Brooks is the guy who dies. Banks is Rip’s snarky work friend, just screaming to have a book of his own. Brooks. Banks. Both unique names all of their own. Put them together in the same book? You might do a double take like I did so, you’re welcome. 😉

All kidding aside, The Godparent Trap was a delightful surprise of a read that has all the trappings of a rom com classic in the making.

Thanks to Netgalley and Forever for the ARC of this!

Wow! This gave me all the feels. A fantastic enemies to lovers, with a lot of grief, hope, and snark. Recommend if you’re looking for a crying romance!

As other reviewers have noted, this book is basically the movie "Life as We Know It" and honestly I was here for it. I loved that movie and was excited to see it play out on the page.

While I still really enjoyed this book, I had extremely high expectations for it.

First the good: I love enemies to lovers, grump/sunshine books, and this was done so well. I loved the two characters and how they fell for each other in the midst of becoming sudden parents. Also, the kids were so cute!

The could be better: This whole book seemed really rushed to me, especailly the third act. The main event kind of happened out of nowhere and I wish the author gave us more time to process it. Also the entire I couldn't help thinking "please get these kids into therapy"

Overall, a short and sweet cute with some heartbreaking and heartwarming moments.

This is the second book I’ve read recently that takes its theme from a popular movie, and I gotta say, I’m not hating it. Especially when the similarities are only surface level and a talent like R V D takes it to the next level.

Colby and Rip have only one thing in common. Her best friend is Rip's sister, and they both adore Monica, her husband Brooks, and their two children, Ben and Viera. When they become instant custodians after a tragic accident, it's all Colby and Rip can do to keep their head above water, care for two devastated children, and handle their own grief.

There's also the fact that Rip and Colby are complete opposites and barely tolerate each other. He's a buttoned-up accountant and she's a successful traveling food blogger, but all of that takes a back seat to becoming instant parents with no parenting experience.

Y'all, this one is amazing! Plenty of comedy with the hawt and swoony romance, but there’s so much sweet poignancy, tender emotion and touching heart that it makes this story extra special. I loved seeing these characters work through their discomfort and watching them grow and change and discover that their line between hate and love is actually nonexistent. With lots of laughs, swoony chemistry and tons of feels, this humorous, heartfelt story is the quintessential beach read and one of my top favorites this year!

I loved this book! Although the situation isn't new, everything else is fresh. I love the banter and I really enjoyed this book.