Oh my goodness! I was absolutely pulled in to this story from the start. Yes, Rip is very grumpy, very stuck in his ways but he's mourning the loss of his sister and his best friend. The story has tragedy, heartbreak and loss that twisted up my heart and I could feel that pain. There are moments that hit harder than others that I found myself wiping away tears. Keep that box of tissues nearby. Colby is sweet, loving, full of heart, has her own way at looking at things and definitely opposite of Rip... but that's what makes it work. The little ones are perfectly precious and I just loved them. This is a must read!

I know the work of RVD can be inconsistent. I was introduced to her work with The Matchmaker's Playbook (which I liked) and have managed to pick up a couple more from her... and also put a lot onto the DNF shelf.

This was nearly one of those. Started this on a flight to Hawaii months ago and could not get into it. The opening was whiny, chaotic and just too much. I realize that may have been the intent, but it was exhausting. I guess I'm tired of how we are portraying children as menaces and our main hero/ines as stunted characters who will eventually grow their Grinch-like hearts, dumbass clumsiness (both emotional clumsiness for oopsie mouthy moments and physical for the slapstick comedy) or perceived shallowness/sluttiness/controlling/whatever cliche into something our hot enemies to lovers can overcome.

This is just some of the standard rom-com shtick, but when written well, it could be enjoyable. Overall, RVD's writing felt really phoned-in and lazy. We all deserve better.

2.5 stars rounded up

This book follows polar opposites, Colby and Rip, united only by their love for Monica and her husband, Brooks, their two godchildren, Ben and Viera, and their disdain for one another. When Monica and Brooks are in a fatal car accident, Colby and Rip are thrust into co-parenting, in the midst of grief and forced to put their differences aside scrambling to bring stability to the kids lives.

This book piqued my interest because its synopsis reminded me SO much of Life As We Know It starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel - one of my comfort movies. I liked this book because it was an entertaining and quick read, the banter between Colby and Rip was witty, and it explored different ways grief can manifest. Something to note with this story, because it heavily features two small children as characters, is that the dialogue between the kids and the adults felt authentic and added to the story, rather than forced and cringey! This is something that can really ruin a story for me, and Rachel Van Dyken did a wonderful job here.

The reason this story was just okay for me was because the pacing of the story was felt rushed and inconsistent, The setup was choppy and I think the story being so rooted in grief it needed a bit more depth at the beginning. The story only spanned a couple of weeks, which felt far too rushed for Colby and Rip to overcome their differences and for the healing process they went through - it would have been better with more romantic build up and a deeper exploration of feelings between them. I also think that in trying to showcase the hostility between Colby and Rip, Rip's character was far too mean to Colby - especially taking into account that they were both grieving - and this wasn't addressed well enough for me to believe Colby would forgive his harshness towards her so easily.

Overall this book was a page turner because the dual pov was engaging and easy to read, the side characters and banter kept me interested, but for the heaviness of the topics addressed the story was pretty surface level and entirely dependent entirely on tropes, rather than tangible build up between the characters.

CW: Car accidents, death of parent, grief

Thank you #NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the arc!

Laugh out loud funny. The scene between Banks and Rip regarding being a stay at home parent - I was crying with laughter. The chaos of parenthood, trying heal after a major loss, have a life, somehow fall in love while battling children under the age of 5? Spot on.
Monica - Rip's sister and Colby's oldest friend, and her husband are killed in a tragic accident while on vacation. A vacation that Rip and Colby arranged. Left as their children's guardians, Rip and Colby do their best to adjust.
But Rip cannot stand Colby - rule following accountant and a food/resort critic who lives with dirty dishes.
Rachel does such an amazing job capturing the tragedy while providing humor.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Forever for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

RVD is one of my favorite authors so I may be a little biased.

This is an enemies to lovers book who were secretly in love with each other from the beginning.

Colby is Monica's best friend and Rip is Monica's brother and best friend of his brother in law. In a tragic accident that took the lives of Monica and her husband, Colby and Rip find themselves as co Godparents to their two children. They couldn't find two different people to raise their children. Colby is the fun aunt and isn't concerned with a perfect life whereas Rip has to have everything perfect and is all about his company. Thrown together to raise these children also helps them both to understand each other more and they end up falling in love.

Although this is a romcom, it does have some emotional moments as they all deal with the loss of their family. I liked both characters eventually. Colby I liked from the start and well Rip once he stopped being so grumpy. They both had growing to do and hearing Rips story helped to see why he was made up the way he was.

Overall, this was a very cute book. There were laugh out loud moments, parts that made you cry, and not to mention the steamy parts!!

One of my least favorite parts of e-books is not fully understanding the heft or length of a book. When the physical sight or weight goes, so does my ability to grasp the length of what I'm reading. This book felt so fast and easy to read, I almost felt like it was a novella. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I did move very quickly through the whole thing. I contemplated, did this need another layer, but ultimately, I don't think it did.

Remember the movie Life As We Know It with Josh Duhamel and Katherine Heigl? I honestly don't remember it that well, but in my head, it's very similar to this book. You also have whispers of The Unhoneymooners (a messy, fun lead and a straight-laced, tightly wound one).

Rip (ugh, you know how I feel about stupid, fake names) and Colby suddenly find themselves the guardians of Monica and Brooks' kids (Monica being Rip's sister and Colby's BFF and Brooks also being Rip's BFF). Their personalities couldn't be more different, but they are united in their love for Viera and Ben. Their differences result in them making a great team though - and they certainly struggle with becoming insta-parents (though... not that hard).

The plot is primed for emotion, so don't be surprised to find yourself a little weepy. But there are a few nice doses of not-too-steamy steam, and a really sweet romance. The lack of communication between Rip and Colby felt authentic and not forced or frustrating, and the way they both built their walls and then let them down similarly felt appropriate. And there are a couple LOL scenes with the kids and their cat Stu - so this really just hits all the high notes.

What this book is not - despite a lot of emotion - a roller coaster ride. It felt like a pretty steady climb the whole way. So does that leave it feeling a little one note? Not necessarily, but for some it might. Sometimes it's nice not to be yanked around.

(Slight spoilers here:) This is excellent for romance readers who are sick of third-act breakups (though I'll admit the final climax took me a bit aback) and who want drama without meanness or cruelty.

3.5 stars.

I was sold on the synopsis and let me tell you, I WAS NOT LET DOWN. I ***devoured*** this book. The chemistry! The substance and backstory of the MC's ... a recipe for perfection. The author balanced a truly tragic storyline with the romance and I didn't want this one to end.

This book is beautifully written, and the character development was excellent. The characters are genuine, engaging, and hilarious. This book was so freaking cute and sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: death of loved ones in a car accident, grief, sexism, discussions of religion, bullying (past)

I'll be honest I'm really torn on this one. I adored the writing, it was snappy, witty and handled grief well with sparking in moments that had me cackling. I adored the kids and how this book did not glamorize at all what it's like, the chaos, and also how much aunts/uncles can adore kids.

While everyone grieves differently Rip ultimately came off as mean and misogynistic in the first half of the book and just never groveled or seemed to realize what he was doing. Heterosexual gender norms were really pushed. I wanted to like him but that was difficult to get over. And the religion talk was unnecessary

Steam: 3

Fun and quirky, this story takes you on a wild ride between two people who couldn't be more different. The circumstances surrounding the story is heartbreaking but seeing Colby and Rip in all their banter was so worth the read. I loved the ideal of the concept behind this story as the author puts her own spin on it and it made for an enjoyable read!

I received this book as a gift and let me tell you wow it was so amazing. As you watch them work through their grief and find out that yes love can come from Grief. I truly thought this book was amazing. Their loss for the kids and how they work through everything that was thrown at them was just a pleasure to read. Watching them fall in love was just as wonderful

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Rachel Van Dyken, you have my whole heart!!

The Godparent Trap effortlessly reached every corner of my heart — I devoured this romcom through compassionate tears, heart-aching longing and genuine laughter. I truly, viscerally, felt every emotion explored through these beautifully complex characters and I deeply commend RVD for her meaningful representations of family, love, grief, parenthood, growth and healing.

The Godparent Trap takes the shape of an enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy because while Colby has been helplessly in love with her best friend’s brother since elementary school, Rip misidentifies his distain for Colby’s seemingly carefree lifestyle as hate, unable to name the propelling force of his emotions as love.

“𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱-𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘱-𝘺𝘰𝘶-𝘪𝘯-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘣 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥.”

After the tragic passing of their best friends Brooks and Monica (Rip’s sister), Rip, an accountant and owner of his own firm, and Colby, a food + travel blogger to an online community of over 3 million, are thrust into chaotic family life as the guardians of Viera (3) and Ben (5). In this dual POV, grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity and opposites attract masterpiece, the “enemies” balance their careers, new roles as parents, co-existing and feelings for each other amidst the insurmountable ebbs and flows of grief. RVD thoughtfully handles grief as it weighs on both the children and adults through poignant and transcendent reflection that will resonate with all readers. She disperses these beautifully throughout the humour, lighthearted sarcasm and hilarious scenes (we are talking a kitchen coated in glittery slime, stuffed animal stovetop fires and perpetually stained clothes), making it a meaningful but not a heavy read.

“𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦? 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵?”

Fifty-seven annotations later and my only con upon finishing this book is that it took me this long to discover RVD — the author’s note lists that she is the best-selling author of over 90 books!? If you need me, I’ll be buried in her backlog.

P.S. Special mention to Banks, RVD’s seriously cheeky, captivating and hilariously entertaining secondary character. Y’all will L-O-V-E him!

***Post on Bookstagram forthcoming! Scheduled for September, 2022.

Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange of my honest opinion.

This was a very fast-paced book, with loving characters. I truly enjoyed how different Colby and Rip were, in their life but also in how their both dealt by grief in a way of their own.
This romance felt more then just that, and the author succeeded in explaining grief great.
The plot was therefore present, and good, and the characters were absolutely wonderful. I loved how all of them were relevant to the story. During my time reading this, I kept wondering how could they manage parenting this good!!
This was very emotional, but at the same time light.

Colby and Rip have mutual friends but they don’t get along. When tragedy strikes, these two are forced to work together. Can they do it or will they destroy each other in the process? Is all the built up tension just attraction that they are both fighting?

Wow - I flew through this book in record speed!

#TheGodparentTrap was a good mix of all the things I like in a book. It had lots of emotion and a tragedy. It had an unlikely pairing that had to get through something extremely difficult together. It had an #enemiestolovers romance. It had kids who are sassy and funny and cute (when did I start liking kids in books?!😆). It had scenes that made me laugh. It had great side characters. It had steamy scenes. It had heartfelt moments. AND it had a wonderful fluent writing style that was new to me as this was my first book by #RachelVanDyken (but definitely not my last🥰).

Now, you might be wondering; if I liked this book so much, why not give 5 stars? There's two simple reasons for that:
1. I wanted the book to be longer. Sure, I flew through it because it was so good, but I wouldn't have minded more details, more pages, more cute, steamy, funny scenes. I just wanted a little more. I had one or two moments where the progress surprised me just a little bit, so I guess I wanted more ENEMIES to lovers, more of the foreplay if you want to say it like that.😂
2. I would have liked a little more grief and scenes where all of them are coping with their loss. Now, don't get me wrong please. The scenes in the book that dealt with the grief were wonderful! It broke my heart seeing these little kids wanting their mummy and daddy and RVD did a great job putting this on the page. What I mean with my 2nd point is I wanted to have more scenes with just Rip and Colby sharing their grief. I absolutely adored the scene with the "burn box" and I would have liked 1 or 2 more scenes just like this one.

All things considered, the book was GREAT and even though I have these two point where I wanted a little more that should NOT hold anyone back from reading and experiencing this book. In fact I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book! This is just my personal reference and I will definitely put Rachel van Dyken on my highly anticipated authors list and will check out her past and new releases from now on.

Total #bookrecommendation !🤩

If you enjoyed the movie Life as We Know It with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, you are in for a treat. The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken is, at times, a heartbreaking romantic comedy about two opposites who find themselves raising their best friends’ children after they are killed in an accident. The book begins a few weeks after Colby and Rip take shared custody of their godchildren, and honestly everything is falling apart. Colby is doing her best, and Rip hasn’t grieved so his grief comes out in anger toward Colby. How will these two set aside their differences and do what is best for the kids?

I devoured this book in almost one sitting. In fact, I blame it for my current reading slump as nothing has compared to it. I loved Colby and Rip individually, but together they are magic. The chemistry was a little hard to buy into though. Rip is not nice to Colby from the moment we meet him. She’s constantly trying, trying to be a good mom, trying to be someone she isn’t, trying to please Rip, and she fails at every turn. Rip’s grief is slowly eating away at him. He didn’t just lose his best friend. He also lost his little sister. Now, he has to raise his niece and nephew without them and with a woman who drives him crazy. Cue the frustratingly funny moments.

Van Dyken utilizes two of my favorite tropes in bringing Colby and Rip together: forced proximity and enemies to lovers, though the latter is a lighter version of the trope. After Monica and Brooks die, Colby and Rip learn that the pair chose them to raise the kids in their will, not separately, but to coparent. This makes sense from a parent standpoint. These two people are their best friends, the kids are familiar with them, and their personalities balance each other out. To Colby and Rip, it is a nightmare. Not only are they grieving, but they have to learn to live with one another and somehow help the kids through their grief. While this is a romantic comedy, it is also a found family story showing how the four become a tight family unit.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Godparent Trap. It was easy to root for Rip and Colby from the start, even when Rip was being a bit of a jerk. I loved the kids. They were a fantastic addition to the story. Seeing what was happening through their eyes was heartbreaking, but also uplifting. With laugh out loud moments and times where the tissues are required, The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken is a must read for fans of heartfelt, romantic comedies.

This is such a sweet story about two children who lost their parents. They have no other family besides their godparents (their uncle Rip and their mom’s best friend, Colby).

Colby and Rip have to drop everything, move in with the kids, and raise them together.

I don’t normally enjoy sad stories but this one had just the right amount of grief mixed with sweet and funny moments that made it very enjoyable.

This quick read was easily a five star review from me.

SUPER fun! I really enjoyed this story. Rip and Colby were the perfect opposites attract meets new parenting through crisis. RVD is always a favorite of mine and this didn't disappoint.

Don't go into this one expecting a romcom - it has romance and there is comedy but it's an emotional read as well. Van Dyken writes grief so realistically and I found myself tearing up more than once. I just wish I had connected with the romance as much (there didn't seem to be a real reason why these two weren't together) and I also found the timeline a bit confusing since it starts in the middle and works backward and then forward. But no matter - I still found myself rooting for Colby and Rip even though I wish they got together sooner and we got to watch them navigate their new life from there.

Thanks to Forever for the copy to review.

✨Unpopular Opinion! Book Review✨

I just finished "The Godparent Trap" by Rachel Van Dyken and while it was fun, there weren't enough twists for me. 2.5⭐

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Colby & Rip are thrust together as godparents of two young kids whose parents have passed unexpectedly. They hate each other but after living together and trying to care for the kids, Colby & Rip begin to form a begrudging friendship.

🏠 I was waiting and waiting for this to be different than the movie "Life As We Know It," but the twist I was waiting for never really happened. The characters fell in love too easily in my opinion, which felt like an unrealistic 180 from hating each other. There was some action towards the end but generally this was not plot-driven enough for me.

👧 I did enjoy the author's writing style and I thought the kids' characters were well-written. Rachel is a Mom and you can definitely tell! I also thought the themes of grief and coping were written really thoughtfully.

⚠️ tragic death, hospitalization, car accident

Shareability: readers who enjoy opposites attract and enemies to lovers tropes might like this one

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Pairs well with: pancakes 🥞