There are no word to accurately describe this great book it has it all sadness,, love, best friends, true life parenting stories absolutely funny I will re-read this book again and again it's that good!!!

Sadly, this one did not work for me. It should have been a DNF, but I had a NetGalley copy and purchased the audiobook, so I pushed through. My struggle began early on (less than 10% of the way through) when I witnessed the way that Rip was treating Colby. Usually, an enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy contains some mutual dislike, but it doesn’t go beyond mild ribbing and/or simply ignoring the other person. In the case of THE GODPARENT TRAP, Rip surpassed that level and was cruel and emotionally abusive. He accused her more than once of being drunk, asserted that she was trying to make everything about herself (while she was grieving), and threatened to file for full custody. He belittled her and made her feel worthless. None of that was OK, and his apology via text was less than satisfactory.

It was very disappointing to see Colby try even harder to “do things right”, even though from a reader’s perspective, she was doing a great job with everything thrown at her. I felt that Van Dyken chose to gloss over Rip's actions rather than address them, almost romanticizing the emotional abuse he put Colby through. If I had a friend share that they were going through something similar, I wouldn't be encouraging them to pursue this relationship further.

I have additional thoughts, but I respect the fact that the author who wrote this is human, and therefore, I'll keep my negativity to myself. I did find it interesting that my lower rating was not due to the writing itself, which is often the case when I rate something 2 stars. In this case, it was because of the characters and their actions. I appreciate the complimentary copy from Forever, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Sad & Sweet. I loved how these 2 complete opposites came together in a time of tragedy and need. It was beautiful how they became a family after losing people they all loved. I highly recommend for those who love tears with their romance. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

This was a cute and at times emotional read. Our main characters are thrown together to raise two children after their parents tragic death. It’s an enemies to lovers book as the two deal with raising two children together and their grief at the same time. Well done, enjoyable, would like to read more like this from the author.

I tried to get through it but I couldn't. Rip was horrible. So horrible. The kids kind of annoyed me and does that make me a bad human? Maybe. But the Blaise faire attitude of a caretaker here. The emotional moments have been shortchanged. I dunno. Life's too short to read a book that doesn't bring you any sort of joy.

The Godparent Trap got me in the feels!!! The banter was immaculate. The secondary characters were hilarious. I will say in some places it feel flat and in others got incredibly heavy. Now I love when a book deals with heavy topics but I felt certain issues weren't dealt with which disappointed me. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend it but I think at the time that I read it, it just wasn't a total slam dunk.

Is this a near direct rip off of the Katherine Heigel classic 'Life As We Know It"? Yes! Did I still enjoy the hell out of it and for a split second crave domestic bliss? Also yes!

I was not expecting this book to be this good! The little cartoon cover throws you off!

This book is enemies to lovers and opposites attract. It also deals with death and grief throughout the book.

Rip and Colby are thrown into parenthood after their friends/sister are killed in a car accident. These enemies have to work together to raise their friend’s two kids.

The kids were hilarious and honestly I was CACKLING at some of Rip’s and Colby’s interactions.

I did think the death of Monica and Brooks was breezed over a bit but I get it, the book would be very long.

A hilarious (light?) read! Def a recommendation!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book drew me in! This was a book version of the movie “Life as we Know it” and I loved every minute!! This was a heart warming enemies to lovers book and I fell in love with these characters and the world Rachel created!

When Monica and Brooks both die in a tragic accident while celebrating their anniversary, their best friends are left to raise their two children! Rip and Colby are about thrown for a loop on how to raise two kids when they can’t stand one another in the first place!

This story was heartwarming and sweet and I was so sad when I brat to the end and had to leave their world!

Wow, this book overflows with feelings from anger, grief, friendship and love. Our heroine, Colby and Hero, Rip, become instant guardians of 2 young children when tragedy strikes. Colby's been harboring feelings for her best friend's brother for a long time, but they didn't seem to hit it off when they actually dated a couple years back. Rip is an accountant who likes this very orderly, so when he finds out his complete opposite, friend, Colby will be co-parenting with him, patience levels wear thin creating tension in the household. Somehow these two must find a truce to raise these 2 kids, and our author, takes us on their heartwarming journey filled with understanding, newfound respect and love.
I love when a story unfolds in a surprising way which leads me to appreciate the author more! Well done, Rachel!

One of my favorites by the author, she does an amazing job at drawing the reader into the story and keeping us there. Overall highly recommend.

I very much wanted to read this book, but when the MC has the same name as a sibling, it’s a little awkward so unfortunately i couldnt get into this.
But i have been told its very similar to the movie ‘Life as We Know It’ which is one of my faves!

I enjoyed this book!! It made me a bit emotional, but it had a strong, heartfelt story and I couldn’t put it down! I’ll definitely read more from this author in the future.

I've always enjoyed Rachel Van Dyken's books so I was excited to read this. Rip and Colby become guardians of his sister's two kids when his sister, (Colby's best friend), and her husband pass away tragically. Rip is a straight laced accountant and Colby is just easy going. Rip doesn't think Colby is responsible enough to care for the children, and there we have conflict, along with their attraction to each other.

I thought I would enjoy this book, but Rip was not likeable at all, and consume my impression of him throughout the book. The book was fairly a nice read, but nothing great.

If you honestly love “Life as we know it”, you’re going to love this.
Reading the blurb is literally almost like that? But guess what… WITHOUT THE INEVITABLE BREAKUP!!!!!!!!
I cannot say nothing bad about this book. Both characters were real; flawed, strong & beautiful.
They both know when they screwed up, they were both very aware of each other’s needs… now, this was kinda of a slow burn but their relationship worked out so good. They became a family before a couple and you felt every emotion with them
And the kids, they were so cute!!
Now it’s heart breaking how they actually ended up with them, but it’s honestly just what they needed.

Im definitely going to be rereading this book!

Tropes: slow burn, kinda second chance, traumatic events, forced proximity, BROTHER’s BEST FRIEND!!

This one was so much more than I bargained for. This is my first book from Rachel and I want to read more immediately. So good, emotional and heartfelt. I absolutely loved it.

The things RVD will put a reader through, but yet we love her all the more for it! The Godparent Trap was a take on the movie “Life As We Know It”, where the best friend and the bff’s brother end up as guardians to some precocious and grieving children. These opposites who’ve had a past flirtation are thrown together and have to try to find a way to both confront something so awful. Colby and Rip were stuck in their grief, but only Colby seems to express her feelings at first. Watching this pair try, fail and then stand up for the other was beautiful, frustrating and so many feelings. I laughed and cried and cursed Rachel, but in the end was so thankful for this story.

I chose to DNF this title. While I understand why, the focus on the reason they were together was not working for me as a romance and I decided not to complete this title.

"Life as We Know It'" in book form and I ate it up. The book honestly has far more depth than the movie. It hits harder on the emotional aspect of grief and loss while remaining heartwarming.

While it was contemporary enemies to lovers (I only specify contemporary because some people require enemies to constantly want to kill each other but I do not believe that necessary in lighter romance books) the characters had more to them than their hate for each other which I appreciated. It really was opposites attract more than anything.

I really liked both main characters and the kids were hilarious.

My only qualm would be the style of writing, it felt a bit immature but overall I will absolutely read other books by this author.

The Godparent Trap launches from a sad premise (dead parents/orphans), and Rachel Van Dyken navigates pretty deftly from there to bring free spirited Colby and rule following Rip together as co-parents to their god children. It's very reminiscent of the movie "Life As We Know It."

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.