One of my favourite romcom movies as a teen was Life As We Know It, with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, because it had everything you needed in a film, funny moments, sad moments, romantic moments and chemistry. The Godparent Trap had a very similar base plot but had some fresh ideas and scenes that made me laugh, cry, and want to shake both Colby and Rip into seeing how perfect they were for each other.

Colby and Rip are the godparents to Ben and Viera with Rip being their mum Monica’s brother and dad Brook’s best friend, and Colby Monica’s best friend, but ever since an ill-fated date night, they’ve been enemies. One night, tragically, Brooks and Monica are killed in a car crash, and it’s left to Colby and Rip to step in and raise the children, whilst dealing with their own grief and putting their differences to one side. Colby is the go with the flow fun godmother, who bring chaos and fun wherever she goes, staying home with the kids whilst Rip goes to work. Rip on the other hand is cool calm and collected, needing order and structure and can’t understanding how Colby is struggling at home, so Rip suggests swapping for a week to prove how easy it is. But of course, it’s not, and Rip struggles the same way, having been thrown in at the deep end to parent two children who are also grieving. Throughout all of these feelings, Rip and Colby start seeing each other in new ways, and realise that just because it didn’t work out the first time, it could work now. Can this new dysfunctional pull together and find happiness after so much tragedy?

Rachel has written this story so well because she doesn’t sugar-coat grief and how people deal with it in different ways, but she also added some humour into the story, so it wasn’t all dark, it felt realistic. Rip and Colby seemed like an unlikely couple at the beginning, so different but loving those children exactly the same, and stepping into a family home that was full of the same love is hard to do, especially when it’s for good. They had a level of attraction that had always been there but putting them in the same house made it come to the surface, through small moments and interactions, which were so cute to read. It was the way they came to the realisation that they were on the same team, they were having the same grief, that the highs and lows were to be expected but they just had to go with it and lean on each other.

Colby and Rip were very different, and all of their flaws were opposite of one another, and they would infuriate each other with how differently they worked, but by the end they had realised that’s actually why it worked between them, because they filled in each other’s gaps. I wasn’t a massive fan of how Rip spoke to Colby, I understand he was grieving but he spoke down to her way too often, and I do wish Colby hadn’t given into their relationship so easily when he admitted his true feelings, I think he needed to do some more grovelling! Colby did whatever she could for those children, she treated them like they were her own and would always put others first, which was so admirable, and was happy that she got to build her own family, as hers wasn’t mentioned much but hinted that she didn’t have a good relationship with them.

There was minimal conflict which was welcome in this story as there was so much going on within the family unit, you didn’t need extra drama from outside, but Rip’s friend Banks added some welcome humour to the plot, as well as being part of the driving force to push Colby and Rip to admit their feelings. The emotions this book made me feel were difficult, because it speaks about loss in quite a frank way, and shows different ways people handle it, which made it feel more real, as I could recognise similarities within my own family. It gave you a deeper connection to the characters, made you root for their happiness even more, even though you knew that the children’s parents would never be replaced, they just had bonus parents who would love them as much.

The Godparent Trap is emotional and raw, this is one of my favourite books of the year. It has everything you would need in a romance book, love, humour, steam, and cuteness, but also a deeper side to treasure every moment with your loved ones, as you don’t know when it’ll be the last. A must read.

🦋✨ the godparent trap review ✨🦋

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"You're a perfect mess. a perfect wreck. let yourself be the masterpiece of chaos..." 💭

🦋✨ SYNOPSIS ✨🦋

after the tragic loss of their loved ones, colby & rip are left to co-parent their best friend & sister's children. between grieving, learning to co-parent & lots of bickering soon Rip and colby discover they need each other more than they hate each other. could it be possible that following their hearts is just what their new little family needs?

🦋✨ MY THOUGHTS ✨🦋

⚠️ CW: CAR ACCIDENT, DEATH OF LOVED ONES & GRIEF, ⚠️

if you love the movie life as we know it, forced proximity & the enemies to lovers trope, grumpy x sunshine couples, lots of kiddie shenanigans, & crazy cats this book might be for you...

alexa play cover me in sunshine by p!nk 🎶

🌟 RATING: ★★★★★
🌶️🥵 RATING: ★★☆☆☆

omg i cannot remember the last time i read a book in one sitting. i literally could not put this book down. i laughed. i cried. and i fell in love with this adorably chaotic family. it was such a bittersweet read because you genuinely love watching them come to terms with their feelings for each other & become a family with the kiddos, but you also experience their loss and grieving process. it was such a wonderful book, probably one of my new favorites. ✨💖

This book had so much potential, but ultimately fell flat. It's the exact same premise as as the movie "Life as We Know It" with Josh Duhamel and Katherine Heigl, but is not as endearing. Rip, the male MC, is unforgivably awful to Colby the entire first half of the book. His jokes are just cruel, he preys on her insecurities, and he is completely out of touch with the work things take to be the stay at home parent. I love enemies to lovers and good character growth, but this was so not it. I don't think he ever truly apologized for his actions before he falls for Colby and frankly, she deserves better. I like Colby, but with how often she was put down by Rip, I never fully got to appreciate her.

The steam was minimal and did not make up for Rip's lackluster character. The book felt extremely rushed and maybe if it had slowed down, he would have had time for true character growth and some HEAVY groveling.

Of course, the kids were adorable and after Rip started acting like an adult, the book got a bit more enjoyable. The ending wrapped too quickly, but at least he wasn't a jerk anymore! I really wanted to love this book, but it's definitely a 2.5 star read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I picked this book up based on the title alone and I was not disappointed! The Godparent trap has everything. Schemes, romance, and all the warm feelings. Such a cute romantic book!

I love Rachel Van Dyken’s books and this one is absolutely no exception. Honestly, I wanted this book mostly because of the title, lol. I am the Godmother of 3 wonderful teenagers, whom I’ve always treated as my own. I love them with everything that I am. Then I read the blurb of this book and I was immediately hooked and couldn’t wait to read it. I went into this book expecting ‘Life As We Know It’ in book form and that's exactly what I got, so I really can't complain.

The story follows Rip and Colby, two people who have been in each other's lives for years, but have never really gotten along with each other. Colby has been crushing on the perfect, well put-together Rip for a long time, but he's always thought Colby was too much of a disorganized mess, to take her seriously.

Colby loves the fast paced lifestyle she has; traveling, eating fantastic food and then blogging about her experiences is everything she wants for now. Rip has good reason for his very structured life, he likes plans and preparations. Even during his grumpiest moments, the compassion he has for his niece and nephew will eventually win you over. That's probably the book's biggest strength is two total opposites coming together to form a family. The author does a good job of balancing the mean-spiritedness of Rip, with Colby’s kindness and generous spirit.

Unfortunately, when Rip's sister and her husband pass away suddenly, Rip and Colby are left with the custody of their two young children. Moving in together and caring for two kids while grieving the loss of their loved ones, changes the entire dynamic of their relationship and these two completely total opposites are left to figure out a way to move forward together. I loved seeing the development of their co-parenting relationship, but I also felt like the romance was not as natural as it could have been, I'm not sure I truly felt their connection. Banks and the kids were a highlight in the book and they brought much needed relief to the heavier moments.

The Godparent Trap was an easy read, even with subjects, like grieving death, that tug at your heartstrings. I really enjoyed it and I loved the progression that Rip had from a seemingly cold-hearted roommate, to a compassionate and swoony hero. I did have fun reading it and I was excited to have something new from Rachel, so it was a great experience. So if you enjoyed the 2010 movie, ‘Life as We Know It’ with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, then you will definitely want to read Rachel Van Dyken’s newest release, ‘The Godparent Trap’. But, if you have never seen or even heard of the movie till now, but you love hate-to-love/enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, and opposites attract as romance tropes, then you will love this book. Yes it’s like the movie, but I just read and very much enjoyed this version. So if you want a quick, sweet, funny, heartfelt romance, then you should check this one out!!

Loved this book so much! What a beautiful story. Was my first book by this author but won’t be my last

Loved this book! What started as terribly sad progressed quickly to a hilarious petty battle between two people who should know better eventually turns to true love. I loved watching Rip and Colby fight their own way through grief and learn about themselves and each other.

I think something like this has been made into a movie before with Katherine Heigle... Of course, Rachel Van Dyken had me cracking up and falling in love with the way her characters worked together in the best interest of the kiddos - and found that their distaste for each other might actually stem from that chemistry they are trying to deny...

Loved this one so much!! I was not expecting it to be so emotional but I definitely felt all the feels! There were so many funny moments in this book that I could relate to as a parent. I laughed out loud quite a bit. And I also tested up. I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity tropes in this book and I loved all the characters! So good!

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