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.

This book had potential but it fell really flat for me. I usually love grumpy/ sunshine tropes but I really, really disliked Rip. I thought he was so cruel and had almost no redeeming qualities. Unfortunately, this book was not for me.

Colby is a little bit of a free spirit that can sometimes is described as a hot mess. But she knows how to have fun and has a crush on her best friends brother Rip.
Rip is a successful accountant that owns his own firm. He likes to be in control and have everything perfect. His sister’s best friend Colby drives him crazy.
The Godparent Trap has a lot of emotions throughout. In the beginning it gives a trigger warning about losing a sibling, and as someone who lost my brother and sister-in-law in a fatal accident I was a little hesitant going in. However, I found myself absolutely loving and enjoying this book. So although their is a tragic event that takes place Rachel with her amazing writing managed to add a lot of joy and even laughter throughout this touching story. I greatly enjoyed Rip and Colby’s story and watching them navigate their new situation. This is a book I would highly recommend reading!

I thought this was done well. It's a tricky balance to write a slow burn forced-proximity romance while also exploring the grieving process. It's a cute story. I enjoyed the chemistry between the leads, just wish we'd gotten a little more. Overall, I'm happy I gave this a shot, and will look out for this author's work in the future.

This is one of those books that Got. It. All!!!
A heart-wrenching, heart-warming, heart-everything story with all the feels. It'll make you laugh. It'll make you cry. It'll make you groan and scream in frustration ... and probably due to other things as well ...
Highly recommending this story about overcoming the biggest loss, learn how to navigate life when you're getting the biggest curveballs of all and loving someone for simply who they are. Again, RVD at her best!!!

If you enjoyed the movie Life as We Know It, I think you would love this book! I ended up flying through it in less than 24 hours 😊 This was such a fun read as I loved seeing the family dynamic develop throughout the book and seeing the struggles the main characters faced as they learnt how to parent and take care of a household. This book was genuinely just loads of fun to read and there were several cute scenes that I loved. I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters and there were lots of funny moments that had me genuinely laughing out loud. One thing I enjoyed which set the book apart from the quite similar movie was the ending - I won't spoil anything but I liked how it added another layer of depth to the story and I thought it was really touching 🥰 The only thing that was a bit off-putting at first was the fact that the prologue kind of spoiled what was going to happen (although it was kind of predictable anyway) but I could have done without it and just waited for the slow burn moment instead. If you are looking for a fun, quick read with themes of parenthood and grief (+ the best friend's brother trope and dual POV 😍) then I would suggest checking this out!

Rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love a good enemies to lovers, ad in slow burn with lots of sexual tension, I'm in book heaven!
I also love books where children are a huge part of the story.
Writing about grief is not an easy task, especially where children are involved. I liked that the author mixed a heavy subject with humor and the result us a book I couldn’t put down.

"I always fell short. And he always ended up on top. And not in the good on-top way where toes are curling. "

Rip and Colby's relationship was strained at best. He was condescending and didn't take her seriously, just because her job was what he considered, not of an responsible adult.
Being thrown into the role of a parent, he continued thinking she wasn't taking her role seriously.
But Colby loved those two children from the bottom of her heart, nobody could contest that. Gradually Rip started to understand that the difference in their personalities wasn't all that bad , they could teach each other how to balance out the chances from aunt and uncle to that of a responsible parent.
Doing that while all of them grieving wasn't easy, but it was Colby the one who thought Rip the first lesson. She challenged him to stay home with the children while she worked.
The story was equally sad as funny, exceptionally well written, I especially loved the ending that mentioned the side characters future too.

After finishing this book all I wanted to do was burst into tears. This was the best sort of happy, serotonin inducing, all around great romance book that I needed. With all that’s been going on in my life lately I’ve been feeling really anxious and The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken was the best sort of healing balm I needed.

Think of that Josh Duhamel movie (Life As We Know It) when he and his costar Katherine Heigl are left as guardians of their friends’ baby when they die… except so much more better. I have to admit, it hurt my heart how mean Rip was to the female lead Colby in the beginning. How her job of being an influencer was deemed as non-work in comparison to his accounting firm. But as these two navigate parenthood that was thrust onto them when Rip’s sister and Colby’s friend Monica dies along with her husband.. we slowly but surely start to fall in love with these characters.

I was so beyond happy that the author didn’t stretch out any drama between the two leads and rather showed them slowly healing as love and two beautiful children brought them together. I loved this book so much that I promptly sent a copy of it to my best friend, it’s a complete must read!