This had potential but ultimately fell flat for me. The premise is essentially the exact same as that of the 2010 rom-com "Life as We Know It" with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel. In The Godparent Trap, Colby and Rip take guardianship of two young children when their best friends (and Rip's sister) unexpectedly pass away.

I wanted to enjoy this but the first half was really uncomfortable for me to read. I love a grumpy/sunshine storyline, but I struggled with Rip's character a lot. He's not an endearing grump. Rather, he's a pretentious, patronizing, cruel grump. Let me be clear... I live for snarky banter in a romance novel. Make fun of the FMC's polka dot dresses, or her quirky hobbies, or her singing voice all day long!!! Just don't constantly *rip* on aspects of her personality that she is genuinely insecure about. Rip had some cutthroat insults in the beginning of the book, specifically about how Colby was handling her grief. He yells at her for "making a scene" at the wake (aka tearing up and trying to console the kids in an age-appropriate way) and then drops this bomb: "I was there at the hospital, remember? When we had to identify the two best people I've ever known, and you passed out and made it about you like you always f*cking do!"

I'm sorry, I know everyone handles grief differently and it's not uncommon to take your anger out on people who don't deserve it, but these kinds of comments aren't what I want in a romance novel. Especially when he doesn't even apologize or grovel afterwards. As if this wasn't bad enough, Rip also has this endearing quality where he puts down everything about Colby because "she has it so easy" and "gets to stay home with the kids all day" while he goes to work. Now don't forget, these two very young kids lost their parents DAYS ago and their entire life has been flipped upside down. Also, Colby is still working as a blogger/writer while taking care of grieving children and dealing with her own loss. Rip comes home every day to yell at her for not keeping the house clean, for not feeding the kids (and him) more nutritious meals, and even for the stains on her clothes. Rip hits us with this swoon-worthy line multiple times: "Aren't you going to change clothes?"

Now despite all my complaints, this did have some pretty cute moments. It wasn’t a total bust and it was a really quick read so even though I didn’t care for Rip and found his character development lacking, I still tore through the story. The Godparent Trap was my first read by Rachel Van Dyken but I’ll definitely be giving her books another shot. Likely, this was just a case of one character missing the mark for me.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for allowing me to be an early reader.

5 / ⭐5
I loved so much this book! The narrative was so well written as the same for the main couple.
Truly one of the bests romances of the year!

I’m so grateful a friend recommended this and I bumped it up on my tbr. I feel like I haven’t seen much about it on bookstagram, but I absolutely adored this. It was so good that I read it in less than a day. I’m not sure with so much loss can also make me smile and my heart so full, but it did. I feel like it broke my heart, but also put it back together: Rip and Colby are literally thrown together as co-parents/godparents after her best friend/his sister and her husband and killed in a car crash. They have so many things to learn about parenting and coming together as a family. As a mom, there were moments that especially broke my heart. I also highlighted so many passages and laughed out loud so many times. Rip and Colby have such amazing chemistry and banter. They start off as enemies, but quickly become so much more. I really cannot recommend this enough!

I would like to first thank ValentinePR for providing me this ARC for a review.
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TW: Death, Grief
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Not only was this such a cute rom-com, it talks about life after losing a loved one unexpectedly. It was so memorable how each of the characters were trying to live life in a new family after losing someone dear to them. I really enjoyed how it is Dual POV, and we were able to see how both the main characters, Colby & Rip, deal with the children and facing their feeling toward each other. It did feel a bit rushed toward the end, but it was a cute rom-com with a side of emotional tug.
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It reminded me so much of the movie "Life As We Know It", as Colby and Rip are trying to raise their best friends/sister's children. It was a pretty fast-paced novel; I was able to finish this one in a day.

The Godparent Trap is Rachel Van Dyken’s newest standalone rom-com. I love that RVD can write mafia and hilarious rom-coms. She kills me with her humor and The Godparent Trap is one of my favorites. The characters. The storyline. So good!

Colby and Rip are complete opposites. He is all about rules, structure, and numbers. She is all about traveling, food, and fun times. They are tied together for life since his sister is her best friend. They even went on one date years ago and it was a disaster. Rip thinks she is a hot mess who needs to get a real job and get her life together. Colby thinks he has a huge stick stuck up his ass and needs it surgically removed. They try to stay on their sides but they are always thrown together. And now, they were living under one roof to raise two children under the age of six. Two children grieving their parents while they were grieving she was grieving her best friends and he was grieving his best friend and sister. They needed to figure out a way to do this. To give Ben and Viera all the love and joy. Together.

That’s really all I can say about the story but I will say that I love this two! Hard. Their banter is on-point. Hilarious. Flirty. And a bit dirty. I loved seeing these two navigate life, family, and love. I laughed so hard and swooned too. I so, so love Ben and Viera too. They are so much fun, smart, and just all around adorable.

I ♥️ Banks!

Quotes:

“Did Colby just...leave?” I asked the universe and the two children I had to keep alive for the next few hours while starved of caffeine.
“She left a note!” Ben grabbed the yellow sticky note and frowned. “‘Suck-er.’ Hey, isn’t that a lollipop? Are we getting candy for dinner?”

“Aunt Colby? Are you OK?” Viera tugged on my shirt. “You’ve been staring at Uncle Rip like he’s a cookie!”

“I’ve got this, just go to work, change the world one tax deduction at a time.”
“I really should wear a cape,” I teased.

This reminds me a lot of the older Harlequin romances I used to read, and part of my enjoyment stemmed from that, but I don't think this is one I'd recommend. I enjoyed the parenting/kid content, and Colby was nice enough, but I still don't understand why she was fixated on Rip. He shows himself to be an ass right from the start, and we get moments of "I was at work and you were home with the kids how hard can your life be" which instantly made me hate his guts, and things just never improved sufficiently. Yes, he ended up eating his words, but that wasn't enough to redeem him in my eyes.

I also can't ignore the fact that, even though Colby mentions "women supporting women", there's very much a bitchy high school vibe when it comes to the relationship between Colby and the only other woman we meet on page.

The way the story progresses is pretty predictable, especially the end. Wasn't a huge fan of the epilogue, either. The last thing that really annoyed me is the very first chapter getting repeated halfway without a lot/any changes. In a first chapter, it makes sense for an author to introduce us to characters by describing something about them, but that makes no sense when we're halfway through and I'm already very familiar with Stu the cat. It also regressed Rip's character, even though I felt we'd made some progress at that point, and just really didn't work in general.

Four lives are forever changed following a tragedy. How two adults navigate their new lives, protecting two others, could either be a disaster, or something special in the making.

Rip Edison is a successful accountant with his own firm.
Colby Summers is a travel blogger with millions of followers.
Now they are co-parents to Ben and Viera.

Aside from dealing with their grief and comforting two young children grappling with their own loss, they have to learn the highs and lows of parenthood overnight. Slime and all. From the get-go, Colby is failing at it. And Rip is judging her for it.

As a mother, I can relate to Colby's struggles caring for two children while juggling daily household activities, especially given her lack of experience. However, her poor handling of some basic things, like putting away food, seemed over the top at times. What I did like was when Kip and his judginess found out quickly how difficult it was when they reversed roles. A wake up call every father should experience.

Although the two co-parents initially seem to hate one another, when they put the grief and messy household aside, they learn more about one another, allowing them to work together to help the kids instead of against each other. While the romance felt a little rushed, when their backstory was revealed, it made more sense.

Despite the initial tension between the couple at first and their shared heartbreak, overall, this was a sweet story about new beginnings.

Following a tragic accident, polar opposites and sort of enemies are forced to co-parent.

I may have seen the film referenced in the synopsis, but I cannot recall much about it. Therefore, I picked up this book with a clean slate and throughly enjoyed this often amusing and very touching tale.

Van Dyken had me in tears multiple times. This book started with a HUGE tragedy, and this family grieved throughout the story. I thought Van Dyken did a wonderful job exploring the pain of loss they were experiencing. Their journey as a family seemed authentic, and I found myself shedding tears on several occasions. Those tears may have turned from sad to happy as the family slowly healed, and there were some rather beautiful moments where they shared memories of their loved ones which really touched my heart.

But this story wasn’t all tears. Not at all. In fact, there were so many rom-comish moments that delighted me. There were some great tropes in play (grumpy-sunshine, best friend’s brother, forced proximity) with the addition of young children who can often be a source of comedy gold. These lighter, comedic bits blended with the more emotional moments to produce a well balanced and entertaining tale.

There was no arguing with the romance either. I adore a couple with lots of history and some sort of pining going on. Rip and Colby went way back, and it seemed that their feelings ran quite deep. There was lots of denial, but their true feelings were obvious. The watching and waiting for the inevitable was tough, but worth the wait. The push and pull was often fun, but the text messages were probably my favorite interactions between them. They were packed with great banter and never failed to put a smile on my face.

Overall, this story was fun and sweet – two adjectives I love to see associated with any book I read. I loved the chaos and the history shared between the hero and heroine. I found the kids adorable, and the male sidekick was hilarious. All that was great, but it was those super emotional moments that really stood out. This may have been a romance, but it was also a story about a family that was grieving. I laughed, I cried, I felt a lot, and that ending was a cherry on top.

The Godparent Trap features the romance tropes of grumpy x sunshine + enemies to lovers + best friend's brother + tragedy bringing people together. It also features dual POV, alternating chapters between Colby and Rip. I think this book had an interesting premise, but for me, it fell flat on the execution. It felt rushed and sort of repetitive (lots of internal angsty thoughts as Colby and Rip danced around their feelings for each other). I found the story (mostly the romance part of it, to be honest) really cheesy, and I didn't really like any of the characters.

Despite all of my less-than-positive thoughts, I did find The Godparent Trap to be a quick, fun read. The 2 kids got into very silly antics, and Colby and Rip had this easy chemistry. I was able to finish reading it in less than a day! So if anything, this book did entertain me, and I'm sure it will find its way into the hearts of readers who will love the story. It just wasn't the right book for me.


Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a digital review copy of this book via NetGalley.

After an accident, Godparents Rip and Colby are forced to set their differences aside and raise two kids together.

This book has me in a chokehold. I devoured it. The romance was good. You have a grumpy MMC and a sunshine FMC, there is forced proximity, there is the enemies to lovers trope—all great.

But the romance aside, you see both characters work together in order to make the best out of their situation. You see both not only fall in love but also grow as a character. You see their grief, love, compassion and so much more. You see two people ready to shield the little kids from the world, but also raise them as their own.

Overall, this book was amazing. It made me cry, laugh, toss it across the room and all that.

Thank you Netgalley and Rachel Van Dyken for the advance copy!!

4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers book. Colby and Rip have known each other for years, but when his sister/her best friend and her husband are killed, they are now left co-parenting two toddlers. Needless to say things do not go smoothly as they try to figure out not only life with the kids and their jobs but with each other. This story has lots of emotion as Colby and Rip try to come to grips with losing their best friends but also being strong and a comforting for the kids. There are also lots of funny moments as you can imagine when dealing with 2 toddlers and their antics, in addition to Rip’s friend Banks. Once again RVD writes in a way that pulls you in and has you rooting for Colby and Rip to come together.

💗 "The most connected I've ever been with another person in my entire life, and it was someone who used to call me Satan." 💗
5 star read⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Perfect for anyone who is a fan of the film Life As We Know It 😍
An intense enemies to lovers story in forced proximity, with sizzling slow burn, chest aching moments, and complete honestly about the mess life can be.
Rip, everyone's favourite type of grumpy, brooding male, has to adjust to a new life with Colby, his sisters best friend, when his sister and husband die. They've always been at each other throats, not able to get over how different they are. Co-guardians of Ben and Viera, living together, getting under each other's feet. Sparks fly and tension builds by the day. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
The grief and real life representation were extremely relatable, the book was filled with so much emotion, but so much laughter, too. It was literally hilarious at some points, Colby was so unapologetic about her shortcomings, it was great to read! 👌😂
Following these two very different people adjusting to a life so far from what they're used to was not only humbling, but heartfelt and real as well as a joy to read. 👏
😍 "It was our perfect moment, the one that defined the rest of our lives, I felt it in my soul." 😍
It seemed a simple concept for the plot, but LIFE isn't easy and seeing struggles you face everyday makes you feel like you aren't alone in that.
IMO, a good author grips you with the supporting characters, too. And wow did I hate Heather, I wanted to see more comeuppance for her tbh, whereas I LOVED Banks, he was so upfront and charming. Yes, maybe I would have liked to have seen more growth or development from them - but here's hoping for a story for them.
The epilogue did confuse me slightly, it could have been developed a little more, it was a bit of an info dump, but I don't want to give spoilers.
Reading in the romance genre for so long, I've read a lot of single parent romance or things to that effect, being a parent myself I enjoy these. This is the first I've read like this, and I really enjoyed it. I couldn't put it down, I read it in one sitting. 😍
The romance aspect was perfect and the timing was done so well, the writing and dialogue were beautiful, flowed so well. The banter was top notch, I'm looking forward to reading more by RVD in the future. 💞
The spice was a 3 🌶🌶🌶 (HOT), when the HOT scenes arrive, they leave you panting!!
This book is great for fans of the following tropes: #slowburn #enemiestolovers #grumpyxsunshine #forcedproximity #sistersbestfriend #childhoodenemies

“I’m here. I can be your mess. I can be the chaos that you need.”

“You’re like a fucking hurricane–a chaotic beautiful mess of waves and wind, powerful, daunting, and any guy–especially ones like Banks–would risk his life during the storm just to see if he can survive it.”

From the moment I read the synopsis for The Godparent Trap, I knew I had to read this book and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Rachel Van Dyken delivered a heart-warming and emotional romantic comedy that gave me all the feels and had me believing in happily ever afters…

The Godparent Trap follows the story of Colby and Rip. Colby is living her best life while exploring the world and writing for a blog. Her life comes to a crashing halt when she’s named coguardian of her best friend’s children. She has no clue what she’s doing and to make matters worse, she’s got to figure it all out with her nemesis and best friend’s brother, Rip. Rip is a man who likes order and rules. The last thing he wants is a life filled with chaos. With no choice but to work together, Colby and Rip will soon find that the unexpected is just what they’ve been waiting for.

As one of my most anticipated reads, The Godparent Trap hit me with all the feels and is easily one of my top reads for 2022. This story is heartbreaking at times and will take your emotions on one heck of a ride. The chemistry between Colby and Rip is palpable and bleeds right off the pages. They hit all the marks with their opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers romance. And I honestly couldn’t get enough.

The Godparent Trap is a story of loss and grief. A story of learning to let go and just go with the flow. A story of finding peace and balance amongst all the chaos. Of an instant family and finding love in the most unexpected place. This story was well-written and thoroughly entertaining. I laughed. I teared up. I swooned. I fell completely in love with the chaotic mess and I never wanted it to end.

I’d love to interview Rachel for pop culturalist. I won this arc through a giveaway and it’s been awhile since that happened to me. I’m a massive fan of The Parent Trap so I’m thrilled that this retelling did not disappoint me!!

I always love RVD's books and her ability to deal with difficult topics with so much grace and making it a light, funny read that brings smile to your face. The Godparent Trap is an absolute delight and i enjoyed every second of it. I finished it in one sitting, its so darn fantastic that i couldn't stop reading. It's like i was watching a rom com movie with lots of feels and emotions.
Overall a great, easy read for one summer evening that i wholeheartedly recommend!

"What do you see when I look at you?" "Love. Acceptance...with a side of annoyance that I'm pretty sure I'll always see."

This book is about two characters who've lost two amazing people from their family and are now trying to bring their lives back to normalcy by creating a safe and happy environment for their niece and nephew. Rip & Colby met through Rip's sister Monica who was Colby's best friend. After a date gone wrong, they have usually tried to keep their distance but when a tragedy strikes that takes away Monica and her husband Brooks forever, Rip & Colby being the godparents of their children- Ben & Viera have to take up the responsibility of raising the kids. So they move in together and what follows is a cascade of chaos that is suddenly hurled into Rip's perfectly clean life. This was a good story which had depth in the plot. It was a journey of healing and greiving. Both Rip & Colby leaned to not only work on themselves but also learnt how to work together.

"It was like Colby and I had found solidarity through the chaos. We were a team. Connected by love for these kids and panic over our inadequacies and... something else that I really didn't want to think about. "

Both of them were really great with the kids. They were patient, understanding and had a good rapport with both Ben & Viera. Colby was a great example of how it's okay to be overwhelmed and a mess sometimes, not all parents can figure out the parenting gig instantly. Rip on the other hand was a perfectionist. He was a clean freak and wanted everything in his life to be the way he preferred it- to be followed by rules but then Colby came crashing into his perfectly crafted life with all her sunshine and chaos and he wasn't sure if he wanted his life to go back to the way it was. While I loved seeing Rip & Colby together, I couldn't help but dislike Rip's hypocritical thinking at the start. He always thought that Colby was a failure and couldn't see how hard she was trying to take care of the kids. I was so glad that he got the taste of his own medicine later though. Overall, it was an emotional read with two main characters who had palpable chemistry, they were flawed but also interesting. This was a story about love, loss, family and the unfairness of life. If you're into the kind of books where cute children are involved with two adults who are in forced proximity to take care of them, then this book is the right pick for you!

I received the ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

SWOOON!

Colby and Rip are just so swoonworthy! I was sucked into their story from the first sentence onwards and it reminded me so much of one of my favorite movies. It really had all my favorite elements of a steamy rom-com with emotion.

I loved the interactions between Rip and Colby aswell as with the two kids and obviously I have to mention Banks who was one of the funniest characters I‘ve read in a long time!

5⭐️

What a cute and light read! I loved how quick it was - and how much it made me giggle! I didn't always 100% buy into the chemistry, but overall a huge stan of the grumpy/sunshine trope so it made it all worth it! :)

This was a fun & really quick & easy read! It was cute, a bit cheesy, but made me laugh out loud a few times which was exactly what I needed. The plot was interesting but the miscommunication in this book bothered me a bit. While the characters fell a bit flat for me I did enjoy the chemistry between them, & I always love the grumpy/sunshine trope. Overall, a cute, entertaining book to read in one sitting!

Rip and Colby couldn’t be more opposite, but after a tragic accident, they take over as guardians for their best friend’s two children. This is a heartwarming story of love and family that I read in one afternoon. You’ll join the pair on a rollercoaster of emotions as they navigate parenthood and grief and blooming attraction. The author did a great job tackling heavier topics while blending in humorous and lighthearted moments. Really enjoyed this one and recommend picking it up!

Thank you Forever Pub for my advance copy.