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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 🥞

Summary
Colby is a free-spirited food blogger who travels the world. Rip is her best friend's older brother, a buttoned-up accountant who likes rules and order. When Rip's sister and her husband pass away in a car crash, Colby and Rip are thrown together as the guardians of their two children. Their differences make the new normal even more difficult, not including the fact they had once gone out on a really awkward date and Colby still has a bit of a crush on Rip. But as they work together to take care of two parentless kids that they both love and adore, Rip and Colby learn they may need each other more than they dislike each other.

Review
To me this book was like a cross between The Guncle and Sarah Adams The Temporary Roomie. A forced proximity, enemies to lovers focused around the common denominator of love of family and children. The tension between Rip and Colby was palpable. The kids, Ben and Viera, were adorable and just touched your heart as they dealt with their grief and latched on to their godparents. The side character of Banks was hilarious and I enjoyed the levity he brought to a story that could have been really sad. While it was sad, there was an element of hopefulness. It was a heartwarming story of coping with loss but rebuilding and creating a new family among the sadness.

Just reading the first chapter of The Godparent Trap had me hooked! I knew that it was going to be a book that I loved. This book really hit me in all the feels. One moment I could be smiling and laughing and the next thing I knew I had tears in my eyes. I’d have to say this one is a roller coaster of emotions, but in a good way.

The unimaginable happens to our main characters and complete opposites. Colby’s best friend and Rip’s best friend and sister die in a tragic accident and they end up with custody of their little boy and girl. While grieving they must learn to work together and help these kids find a new normal. Things get interesting to say the least.

I loved the tension between Colby and Rip, because it was clear more was starting to develop between them. Even though they both lead different lives and see things differently they try and call a truce for the kids they have to take care of now. It was fun watching them try and figure out to run a household while working and even letting themselves grieve a bit.

It’s hard to imagine having your life turned upside down like that and having to help two children grieve the loss of the parents they knew and loved. The kids were also definitely one of the amazing aspects of The Godparent Trap. So many times they had me laughing or just wanting to hug them, because I couldn’t imagine losing a parent that young.

The Godparent Trap is a book of dealing with grief, finding a new normal, love, and proof that family isn’t always blood. My only complaint is that this book wasn’t longer. I wasn’t ready to stop being a part of this family’s life.

This story had potential, but it was a little too similar to the books it was marketed alongside. I love Rachel Van Dyken's previous books, and was excited for her new one but...it just missed the mark. I read and loved Lif'e's Too Short by Abby Jiminez, and it's such a popular book that to write one similar to it, you need to write something unique, make your characters extra memorable, etc. Overall, this one fell flat.

I found this book to be enjoyable. It was a unique set up that was interesting to read. I would recommend this book and author to others looking for an easy read.

The Godparent Trap by Rachel Van Dyken is the most charming book! It had a lot of love, emotional complexity, and romance tied into it. It was a rather quick and enjoyable read; the characters were fantastic!

I found The Godparent Trap to be a cute love story surrounding some very deep topics.

I enjoyed the opposites attract trope. Family life and parenting was expertly depicted. The kids reminded me of my own.

I struggled in the beginning with Rip’s character - he wasn’t very likable. But as you come to learn more about him, he grows on you.

Colby is a freaking catch!! Glad Rip finally went for it!

I would recommend. Rating: 3.5

Thank you for the ARC!

This book had a lot of love, but also a good amount of sorrow mixed in with the laughs. Colby and Rip were opposites, but so full of love. The kids are awesome, and the story is just so good!

[Really liked it]
Open door, moderate details

This was a quick & enjoyable read. While the story was predictable, I was still able to really enjoy it and I think that’s because of the amazing characters. I absolutely loved the characters and how they fit perfectly within the story. I liked that it was dual POV. I found the writing a little all-over-the-place at times but overall it was good. The book cover / title of the book are a little deceiving, this is not just a cutesy book and it deals with some heavy topics. I personally love when a romance book tackles heavier topics but definitely check the trigger warnings for this one.

If you liked the movie Life As We Know It, you’ll probably enjoy this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

OVERALL RATING –5 stars

RECOMMENDED FOR: those that like frenemies encountering unexpected parenting, cute kids, overcoming grief

First my usual points:
- I do not do spoilers unless warned.
- Read the summary above; it will tell you what the book is about. I will not reiterate.
- This is a standalone
- No errors that I caught as far as editing.
- The author was new to me

BOOK:
- Contemporary romance
- 1st person alternating POVs

Star Ratings - 1 (poor) – 5 (READ THIS BOOK)
· Writing Quality: 5 stars
· Story ingredient: 5 stars
· Ease of reading/Pace: 5 stars
· Plot strength: 5 stars
· Steam Level: 4 stars - High on romance.

Notes/Opinion (personal):

I was new to this author but I love the unexpected parenting troupe. It’s a heavy subject that the book centers around - tragedy and grief – and coming out of it but it’s handled well. There are lighthearted, funny moments and there are the anger, fear and sadness that accompany such events. The frenemies only stem from misperceptions and fears and ultimately the HEA comes amidst the anguish…and it’s beautiful. I loved it in the end.

When I finished The Godparent Trap, I was quick to get on Twitter to express my love for this story. I loved it and knew it was going to take a bit to gather my thoughts. If I'm honest, I have a feeling tis review is still all over the place. The ultimate consensus is that this is a really good one.

When I first read the premise, i was immediately reminded of the movie Life As We Know It. I saw that movie in theatres and had really enjoyed it. The premise for both is that two individuals who sincerely dislike each other suddenly find themselves co-parenting their godchildren when their parents are involved in their fatal accident. While the premise of the storyline are the same this is where most of the similarities end.

Rip and Colby are the godparents in this story. They become responsible for Ben and Viera, two of the sweetest kids. Their parents, Monica and Brooks, had previously tried to set up Rip and Colby which ended in disaster. They are polar opposites - Rip needs control in order to feel secure while Colby is much more footloose and fancy free. When tragedy strikes, they must come together in order to do what is best for the children. If only they could stop bantering.

The bantering is hilarious and does not just have one focus. They banter over the children, how they dress, how they act, and how to process their grief. Grief plays a huge role throughout the book. Both Colby and Rip are grieving in their own way while also trying to help Ben and Viera. I really like how grief was handled and how it was not overshadowed by the romance. The bantering did build a good sense of chemistry and helped form the bond between the characters.

The other thing that is strongly represented is how chaotic parenting can be. The house isn't always cleaned, the clothing can be stained; but the love for the children is always there. Colby and Rip bond over the chaos and learn from each other how to handle it. All of it felt realistic to me.

The Godparent Trap is comedic but, also truly pulls on the heartstrings. The situation that they are in is not an easy one. Honestly, it is one that I cannot even really imagine. The characters feel genuine and experience growth and change together. They come together in the most beautiful way.

This story.. oh it did break my heart just to mend it and make it more robust in the end... so don't let this colorful and optimistic cover fool you. Rachel Van Dyken deals here with some problematic topics!
Colby is the main female lead in this story and she has her life planned as an easy-going one - she travels a lot and there as a food blogger she's eating some amazing dishes! To be honest I'm jealous of her job - sounds miraculous. In this life, she has a best friend who managed to have two children that she can love as an auntie. She's like a tornado going on the way it wants, as no restraints are kept over her head. The only person she can't get along with is Rip - the brother of her best friend - so he will bare him for the sake of friendship!
Already mentioned above - Rip is Colby's polar opposite, he's stoic, has every part of his life planned and no issues can make him sway... so how someone like this tornado girl can be friends with his sister! There is no way - but they will have to somehow coexist for the sake of his sister, as breaking her heart would destroy Rip.
Those two are like Mars and Venus (planets), they should never collide, nor should it be even possible, but what if their world will shake and break apart in one moment... They will end up as godparents to two kids and their custodians - with shared obligations to two little people. Living together becomes hell - kids needing their parents, learning to deal with the grief that consumes even adults - how can children cope? Be ready for tension that will be cracking on age like electricity - whenever Colby and Rip were in the same room and got some funny exchanges between them. They come from two different worlds they will have to change their lives, to make sure they can run everything together. I had some sad moments but also I was laughing out loud during this book!