Absolutely LOVED The Godparent Trap. Enemies to lovers in a new and fresh way but also a deeply emotional and beautifully told story.

The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dylan is an opposites attract, forced proximity, enemies to lovers precious romance novel that also has the one bed trope. It’s dual point of view, which I loved being able to get both sides of the love story. This book made me laugh out loud several times. It felt like a love letter to the chaos of growing up, family & trying to balance the beautiful mess that is life.
It reminded me of Life as We Know It movie with Josh Duhamel & Katherine Heigl, but it does have its’ own spin on it with the uptight finance hero meets untamable blogger/influencer heroine.
It’s chaotic. It’s messy. It’s humorous & heartbreaking, but mostly it’s healing & heartwarming. It’s everything. This is the perfect book to sit down with after a hard week to just get lost in this beautiful family & love story. It certainly helped me after a rough week, so I’m very grateful. This was an easy 4 star book that was a bright spot & I loved it.
The author put a content guidance at the beginning of the novel along with resources to help, which I thought was super rad & really appreciated!
The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken comes out July 19, 2022!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for allowing me the opportunity to read an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: This book mentions &/or contains death/grief (specifically death of parent & sibling), ICU hospitalization & some bullying.

I will post on my Instagram as it gets closer & add links once I do.

Another greatly written book by Rachel Van Dyken and I absolutely loved every second of it. The plot is very similar to the movie Life As We Know It starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, Since I really enjoyed that movie I knew this book would hook me and it did. Great characters and an amazing story had me flying through this book. Can't wait to read what Rachel writes next!!!!

When two people who are complete opposites find themselves being the guardians of two kids after a tragic accident. This book is emotional and heartwarming. Reading about them navigating the impossible, their personal trauma and emotional growth is incredible. You can’t help but root for them.

4/5 ☆

TW: Grief, loss of a loved one/parent/best friend

I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. The synopsis just screamed the movie “Life As We Knew It” so why bother with a book? However, I was pleasantly surprised. I extremely enjoyed the characters in this book and the dialogue between the main characters and the tough conversations they had to have with the children.

Rachel Van Dyken was able to make light of a dark experience into one that was comedic and romantic. While I wish Colby and Rip’s relationship had been paced better and had bit more development, it still was a feel good book and I really appreciated how they came together to take care of the children. Their little moments when they texted and flirted with one another was sweet and their steamy scenes were just about right for a book that deals with grief/death and parenting of children.

The ending definitely felt a bit rushed, but I loved, loved Rip’s monologue to Colby at the end. It hit me right in the feels that made me want more, which is why it felt a bit rushed to me! We do get an epilogue, which is nice, but again, I just wanted a bit more! Nonetheless, it was a really good read! Quick one too!

Tropes:
-Forced proximity
-Grumpy/sunshine
-Best friend’s brother
-Guardianship after loss of a parent
-Found family

This book was adorable! The romance was very sweet and filled with some of my favourite tropes. I also really liked how the heavier topics were handled.

If you want something fast-paced and easy, this is the book for you. I didn't like the characters' lack of depth, they didn't have any chemistry and they were so terribly boring. The premise of the book had such great potential, it could have been an amazing family story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Godparent Trap was a bit slow to start and I found Rip to be too much of a jerk to Colby in the beginning, but it turned into a sweet story full of heart. I ended up really likening Rip and Colby and the adorable kiddos they become legal guardians to, Ben and Viera. I just felt like it was missing just a bit more substance.

The Godparent Trap was a cute enemies-to-lovers story with very little drama, and it was surprisingly low angst. An enjoyable read overall.

5 stars for The Godparent Trap! The chemistry between Rip and Colby was strong from the very beginning. You just wanted to scream at them to get it together from the start, but the wait was worth it. This book had me in tears throughout, but loved the ending. I only wish the Epilogue gave more details on Colby and Rip's career and more about their life. Also, I was surprised on Heather's ending. Other than that, would recommend to anyone!

Colby and Rip are Frenemies. The only reason they are connected is that Colby is BFF with Rips's sister. They are about as opposite as two people can get. Colby is a free spirit, who works, but doesn't have a desk job. Rip is buttoned up tight and owns an accounting firm. Need I say more?

When tragedy strikes, Colby and Rip suddenly find themselves guardians of Maddie and Boone's children.. So not only have they lost family and friends, but two young children have become orphans and they are in over their heads!

At first, things start out as a war zone, two different people, who love the children fiercely, but have different styles on how to get things done. Rip thinks his job is more important and leaves Colby in over her head to handle things at home. He also expects her to live up to his level of perfection, which creates a lot of tension.

Enter the sidekick, Banks. He decides to become Rip's new BFF. He offers to help Rip out in a hilarious way.

With incredible emotions that the author nails, from "hate texting" to clearing out their friend's belongs in the closet. She has it nailed. ( I know because I just did this with my mother's things).

The two grow closer and Rip realizes that he truly wasn't looking for perfection in his life, he actually needed someone to "mess him up" and bring "a bit of chaos" into his life.

Colby says to Rip, "That's Satan's pigsty, and I have a feeling it's gonna be like that until we figure out how to balance our new...life". He replies, "We'll get there". That about sums it up. Life is about compromise. It's a bit of give and take. No one is perfect, but they could be your version of just right.

I loved the concept, but some parts fell flat.

After the death of both their best friends and his sister, Colby and Rip, are left to take care of their two kids.

My favorite things about the book:
- I really enjoyed the comedy aspects.
- The kids felt realistic.

My least favorite things about the book:
- It felt like there was a power imbalance between the two characters in the beginning of the book. It never really got resolved.
- He went from completely disrespecting her and what she stood for to being in love with her in 2 seconds.
- Wanted more Colby and her backstory
- The ending felt unneeded and rushed. Why was heather in the epilogue?

This story hit me in the feels so hard. As a mother, I couldn't imagine two single people randomly becoming parents to a toddler and a preschooler. Holy heck! But it worked. RVD is amazing at her craft.

The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken was a ride of emotional ups and downs. This book had two very stubborn and caring main characters, two adorable kids and a side character best friend that will having you shaking your head and laughing out loud (Max vibes).

This was a book that was funny yet heartbreaking. I could totally relate to the mess of life with kids and the ups and downs of daily life.

The main characters Colby and Rip are perfect for each other. They are opposites attract. There banter was great and had me in awe of both characters.

This book was an easy read that I couldn’t put down. Absolutely fell in love with this story and characters.

Rachel takes one of my favorite troupes and wraps it in a heart-warming story about love & family. It had enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and grumpy/sunshine. The forced proximity is my favorite, and Rachel did is justice. I loved this book.

Basically the movie “Life As We Know It” but gender swapped and in book form.

It was a cute and quick read, but it was a bit predictable.

How absolutely beautiful. With chaos and calamity comes a side of calm and learning to go with the flow.
Every single character developed over the course of this story, growing from something incredibly awful.
Rip was unexpected for me, I didn’t necessarily expect the extent of his change. Colby was the kind of girl I always root for in a romance novel.
Just absolutely fantastic.

Endearing, heartwarming, and enticing! The Godparent Trap is an adorable fun rom-com about two sworn enemies who become co-parents. Rip and Colby, their relationship and all of their ups and downs had me fully immersed. I can't wait to see what this author does next! Everyone needs this book in their life.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Joy can follow sorrow."

The Godparent Trap follows Colby and Rip, two longtime enemies who must put aside their differences to raise the young children of their close friends after a tragic accident leaves them orphaned.

While I initially went into this story expecting it to focus on the grieving process that follows an untimely death, I was pleasantly surprised how Rachel Van Dyken was able to create a romantic comedy in what might normally be considered a drama. The laugh-out-loud moments certainly rivaled the heavier aspects of the novel and it served as a great balancing factor, making The Godparent Trap somewhat of a still light read.

One of my favorite themes of the book highlights the idea that beauty can still be found within the darkest of times. It is a beautiful message and applies to individuals in all seasons of their life, not just those facing the loss of a loved one. The central concept that life is fragile and so the special moments should be held onto really resounded with me, and I think it will with so many others. This quote especially brought tears to my eyes.

"One thing I had already learned was that you had to hold on to the moments - even the ones that drove you crazy. Because you never knew how long you had to enjoy them."

Anyone who has watched and loved Life as We Know It will find a similarly enjoyable type of reading experience in The Godparent Trap.

Thank you to HBG, Forever, and Estelle Hallick for the advance copy.

**I will be posting on my blog and instagram in the next few weeks. I'll send links for that once I have them :) **

Colby and Rip have been in each other's lives for years. She is best friends with his sister and they went on one disasterous date. They are also Godparents to his sister and her husband's two young kids, Viera and Ben. When tragedy occurs they have to step in and raise the kids together.

The two of them had wonderful chemistry and banter. It was fun seeing the push and pull between them, especially as they tried to figure out the parenting thing. My favorite parts, though, were when they were vulnerable with each other about their grief, pain, and the past they shared. There are emotional and heartbreaking moments, but also lots of humor and sweet moments too.

The kids were great characters and were written realistically for their ages. I loved the bonds they formed with Colby and Rip and how they became their own family unit, figuring things out as they went.

This was a really great read and I flew through it in a day. I have read a number of Rachel's books but I think this is my favorite!

I absolutely loved this book! It reminded me of the movie, Life As You Know It. It really took me through all the emotions from happiness, laughter, sadness, love, heartbreak. I absolutely loved it!!

I loved the enemies to lovers trope and loved that it was two POV's. This book really had me rooting for the main characters and I'm so glad how it ended. I really enjoyed the side characters too!

All in all - this is a super cute book that is worth re-reading again!