A tragic accident leaves two godparents caring for their best friend / sisters children. Me straight laced Rip and perpetually messy Casey are complete opposites and can’t get through a conversation without fighting. This is a story of love, family and compromise. Such a fun book. I liked the premise and the roller coaster that it was. I wanted to punch Rip at the beginning.. also I can’t stand this name . I kept reading it as R-I-p. It was distracting . But the book was fun and I read it in a day. Recommend

I was a little nervous reading this book at first because it reminded me a bit of the movie “Life as we know it”. I realized the more I read the more I saw the differences. Ben and Viera were adorable and seeing how both Rip and Colby were with both of the kids was amazing. They both brought something to the kids that the other was not so good with. I loved seeing how the family dynamics shifted as they both grew into their rolls and sudden parents was heart warming. The history between Rip and Colby was interesting and seeing how they both had different takes on what went wrong in the past was interesting.

The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Start date: June 3, 2022
Finish date: June 4, 2022
Pub date: July 19, 2022


Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for a digital copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a short & sweet romcom! Very similar to the movie “Life as We Know It” but still a really enjoyable read. This would be perfect to get you out of a reading slump. Enemies-to-lovers, dual POV, forced proximity, best friends brother… this book has all of the above!

TW: grief, death of siblings/friends/parents

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for providing the ARC.

This book was a good, easy book to read. I feel very weird calling it a romcom, just because the subject matter surrounding how these two characters came together is very heavy. But the book had its cute moments and both Colby and Rip were really great characters.

I know that the point of this book was two people coming together to raise kids in the wake of tragedy, but I was still surprised by how gutted I felt when Colby and Rip received the news. To me, it almost would have been better if the author has picked up the story in the wake of the tragedy as opposed to before. It made it hard to read some of the happier bits because it seemed too soon to be happy, if that makes any sense.

Additionally, Rip was the absolute worst in the beginning. There were moments where I was unsure why Colby wanted to be around him at all, let alone in a relationship with him, because he was so mean to her. And I get that he was grieving in his own way, but he said some truly horrible things to her.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but there were a few facets that I had trouble with. It's a perfectly acceptable story with some truly amazing characters.

I loved this book! While the premise was familiar - it reminded me of the movie Life as We Know it - everything else took me completely by surprise. This novel was adorable and funny but also touching and sad. The inciting incident was tragic but handled so well. The author skillfully showed the progression of Colby and Rip's relationship while continuing to demonstrate the entire family's grief. The kids were so well fleshed out and there were moments I laughed out loud moments before choking up with tears. The banter was delightful, the pining between Colby and RIP was hot and I truly enjoyed every word. I can't believe it's my first book by this author. It will not be my last!

My favorite romance troupe is from hate to love.

This story is the perfect example. A bad date, unfortunate circumstances put this novel into play.

When Rip's sister and brother in law pass away unexpectedly, he is now responsible for their children with his sisters best friend Colby who he doesn't like at all. A bad date left their fragile relationship in trouble and now they are expected to grieve, take care of the children and learn to coexist.

Rip and Colby both learn their new role and fall deeply in love. One of the better romance stories I've read this year.

Rachel is my absolute #1 goto mafia queen but y’all she can write the heck out of rom-coms too. The Godparent Trap is a quick read that will have you laughing, crying, believing in the afterlife and hoping to see blue butterflies 🦋.

Colby & Rip are thrust into a life that neither had planned for themselves. Both have secretly had feelings for each other but never truly acted on it…until life happened. Now they are learning to raise a family & live a new life with each other without any clues on how to do either. They are each other’s opposite in every way but they complement each other. Rip makes Colby want to be a bit better organized and Colby brings out a side to Rip that he buried long ago.

The kiddos truly have my heart because you know 😭 I’m sure the next time I see a blue butterfly I will think of Monica😢

Fave quotes:
Good-looking men shouldn’t be allowed to do things like hold babies or smile at kids, it just makes a woman’s ovaries go, It’s time! Pick us!—💯agree😂

“That little shit!” “Swear jar!” Viera sang. “Swearing doesn’t count in sports,” Colby said. “Go, little shit!” Viera yelled. Colby slapped a hand over Viera’s mouth as we earned several stares, then used her other hand to squeeze my thigh. “Let’s go, Ben!”—THIS y’all I was laughing out loud because you know kids cussing is funny…unless it’s your kid cussing😂😇

Never thought I’d see the day—or the night—that I’d hijack a story about a frog, make it about me, and use it as a way to get a woman into bed. But here we were.—-you have to start somewhere buddy 😜

I have been wanting to read a book with this trope that I have only seen in movies. Were the friends of the couple who can't stand each other end up with joint custody. I love that it also gives me hate to love. Which is another trope that I love. This one ended up being more sweeter than I thought it would. I didn't want it to end, but I also couldn't wait to finish it either. Which in my book is the sign of good book. I look forward to more books by this author.

I’m a marketing and publicity intern at Forever Publishing, so I am reading this for work. May post full review later.

I expected this book to be a lot like a movie I have seen with the same basic idea of two people that dislike each other that become godparent. I was pleasantly incorrect with that assumption and found this book hooked me right from the very beginning. I loved the writing style and dual perspective, allowing the reader to really experience what the characters were going through. I found it to be a gut wrenching story that represents what it is like to be dealing with grief and loss while having to be strong for young children. It’s also an enemies to lovers, so the chemistry and buildup was very entertaining.
I will definitely be recommending this to my friends going forward.

I hate the cover of the book, but I enjoyed the story a lot. This story reminds me a little of the movie "Life As We Know It" but with that being said, I liked the story and the characters a lot. I enjoyed the Colby's character and all that she brought to the story. I loved that she was chaotic, messy, funny, sweet, loving and had a lot of patience. I also enjoyed Rip, but I enjoyed him even more after he let his guard down and his feelings show. There were times I wanted to throat punch him. Ben, Viera, and even Stu the cat, had me laughing at their antics and it made me love them even more. This story deals with friendships, loss, moving on, love, and making lemonade out of lemons the best way you know how, even when things are chaotic and messy. Opposite attracts in the best possible ways in this story and for me, it is a story worth reading. This is the type of story that I can and eventually will read again.

Momma said if I don't have anything nice to say, I shouldn't say anything, so I'll write this: this was certainly a book. There were characters, pages, and dialogue.

Poignant and heartbreaking, this book deals with some difficult issues, especially for parents. In this book, Colby and Rip lose the two people closest to them: Rip's sister and his best friend who are Colby's best friends. They are godparents to this couple's two children. Learning to navigate parenthood while also dealing with another person you find difficult to understand, this enemies to lovers romance was heavy during much of the story. There were, however, instances of humor and adorableness, not to mention parts of the book where I was nodding vigorously in agreement (or empathy?), as a parent of young children.

While I overall liked the characters, I have to say that Rip and Colby both wore on me a few times. Written as total opposites, Rip was a little too judgmental. Colby was a little too flighty. And their exactly opposite personalities in this story felt forced in order to exacerbate the conflict that will eventually get resolved with a HEA. Overall though, I was completely invested in the story and there were a few tears shed for this beautifully poignant book about finding love in a time of loss.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an early read.

This book had a relatively different starting point than your average rom-com, & it was this starting point that piqued my interest. Colby & Rip are thrown together when Monica (Rip's sister and Colby's best friend) & her husband Brooks are killed in a car accident, leaving behind two young children under six. Colby & Rip are the designated caregivers, so they both move into Monica's house to raise the children. Of course, the two main characters hate each other, making this a bona fide enemies-to-lovers romance. The story takes the reader on the journey of Colby & Rip navigating grief, loss, & change, all while parenting two small children who are navigating the same things.

Here's what I liked: As I said at the top, the premise of the book was intriguing to me, as not many rom-coms start off on such a heavy note. I appreciated the author's ability to show joy & sadness simultaneously in all the main characters. People, even fictional ones, contain multitudes. While I am not a parent, I am one of the oldest in my extended family & have spent many hours watching younger cousins. Obviously this is not the same as parenting, but being in charge for an evening is exhausting, never mind it becoming a parent while grieving a lifelong friend. Van Dyken, in my opinion, did an excellent job showing the good, bad, & ugly about parenting, & I appreciated that it was not all sunshine & roses. As someone who does not laugh a lot while reading, the dialogue in this book was witty & got a few laughs out of me. The texting conversations were my favourite part of the MCs interactions. Colby & Rip certainly did not lack chemistry, & the progression of their relationship was reasonably believable. Ben & Viera were excellently written side characters & they came out with some gems throughout the book.

Here's what I didn't like: I felt like Rip could have been more fleshed out as a character. We know he raised Monica after their parents' untimely death when Monica was in 8th grade, we know he's an accountant with a fancy car, & we know he likes rules & regulations. Personally I got a much better sense of Colby's character throughout the book than I did Rip's. If there's a man version of the Bechtel test, I do not think this book would pass. He's not a complete cardboard cutout but it did feel like his main purpose was to be uptight, hot, & rich. It also would have been nice to see Rip grieve more. I realize that might sound silly, & of course everyone processes things differently, but Rip's grief felt a lot more shallow & flimsy to me.

Overall this book was a quick read that tackled some pretty heavy topics without feeling like a drag & did very well in the comedy department. Some more solid character development would have been nice, but otherwise I enjoyed the time I spent in Colby & Rip's chaotic world.

The Godparent Trap is a rom-com that definitely packs an emotional punch. The story is about Rip and Colby, having to become sudden parents of two kids after their parents die. Rip is a strict, buttoned up guy, while Colby is a flexible, creative; they both need to come together to parent these two kids that are grieving. Of course there is also a bit of history here.

This is a grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, forced proximity romance that was just what my heart needed. Rachel Van Dyken explores grief, and the many natural ways that people go through grief, in such a gentle way.

The author also does a great job of writing realistic characters. I find that often, when writing opposites attract, and author exaggerates both characters too far on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Van Dyken didn't do this. Both Rip and Colby were believable in their personas and it turns out that both characters had a lot of beliefs about the other that changed throughout the book.

I really liked the side characters in this book. Whether it is the two sweet kids, Ben and Viera or Rip's coworker, Banks, they really added to the story. I also really liked the dialogue and banter in this book, both characters interactions and inner monologues.

The one thing that I didn't like in the book was near the end there is an event that happened that I just didn't like. I don’t think it was necessary, and seemed to add a bit of drama for the sake of drama.

This book made me laugh, this book made me cry. It was a beautiful story of love and loss, but not super heavy. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever publishing for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

This book is essentially the rom-com "Life as You Know It" in book form. I love that movie so I was completely here for it. Colby and Rex are opposites and it is a struggle for them to work together to raise the kids. Chaos follows for a lot of the book. The third act drama really felt like too much for me and at that point I was kinda over it.

CW: parental death, car accident

Do not let the cute title and cover fool you. This book definitely packs an emotional punch.

Rip and Colby have a lot of history together and when unfortunate circumstances force time to act as team, there is a lot to unpack. This is your warning that Rip is an alphahole in the beginning of this book, but he definitely redeems himself IMO.

I really enjoyed the romance between Rip and Colby, and all of the interaction with the kids, felt very real. Being a SAHM I definitely related to that aspect of the book and was happy to it is portrayed. Also the loss it deals with is very raw and real which is something else I can relate too and felt it was well done.

Overall I really enjoyed this one!

Melli’s Book Breakdown
🤍enemies to lovers
🤍Best Friend’s Brother
🤍Grumpy/sunshine
🤍J/P Hero
🤍Slow Burn
🤍little spicy 🌶🌶

Thank you netgalley and forever publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The banter between Colby and Rip is fun, though it felt like they came together (from hating each other to being in love) too quickly. There was a lot of predictability, and the latter half of the book felt very rushed, which made a few plot points confusing, as they weren't fully fleshed out. Ben and Viera were my favorite characters, and I liked the dual POV. Fans of rom-com stories will likely enjoy this quick read, particularly if you've seen and enjoyed the movie Life As We Know It.

I really enjoyed this story. There were some parts I swear I’d read before, but after finishing I think it just reminded me of the movie Life As We Know It.

I really liked watching Colby and Rip learn to become a family. It’s not easy raising kids. I really enjoyed how relatable this book was for me!

I can’t even imagine the pain they all went through in this book, but one thing is Rip and Colby were the perfect people to keep the family together.

Once again Rachel has written a book that was hard to put down. I just wanted to see how it was all going to play out! I cannot wait for the next book Rachel writes for us!

This is a story of Colby, a free spirited easy going blogger and Rip, a tight laced accountant have their lives up ended when they suddenly find themselves coparenting and cohabitating. This books has grumping/sunshine, enemies/lovers, forced proximity, found family, hurt/comfort feel to it. It was a quick read, however I felt the story lacked depth. The interactions between Colby and Rip often felt rushed with little substance. I got more out of Colby and Rip's interactions with Banks than with each other. I really like Colby's character, the depth of her emotion felt real, you felt her loss. I didn't really like Rip. I get everyone grieves differently, but he never grieved ever, he was just mean and it didn't make him a likable character.

**received an ARC for an honest review**