Brand new to Sonia Hartl, her refreshing writing style was right up my alley. The banter, the chemistry, the obnoxiously lovable characters - Rent to Be is a wonderful fake relationship, best friend's sister to lovers, quid pro quo trifecta! Sonia also makes a point to shine a spotlight on the real life struggles of those entering the job field after doing everything "right". For fans of Lynn Painter, I would recommend giving this one a try.

Just when Isa has thought she has hit rock bottom, the earth decides to split open and pull her down even further. Broke, recently kicked out of her apartment, and dressed to kill for another meaningless Tinder hookup, Isa is quickly running out of options. Saved by a lightbulb moment, Isa remembers her brother is in London and there is a whole apartment currently unoccupied for a month! To her dismay, she finds her brother’s best friend Cade has beat her to it, taking up residence while his apartment is being renovated. Determined to keep her current misfortunes to herself, Isa decides to find temporary residence is the most unlikely place. As luck would have it, her poor choice of a sleeping location leads to a perfect remedy for her homelessness - housesitting! Enjoying her recent good fortune, Isa relaxes in her temporary new digs and thinks she has finally come out on top, until she looks up from her poolside resting place and locks eyes with the last person she expected to see. Knowing how close Cade is with her brother, there is no way he will keep what she is doing a secret, unless she goes along with his proposition - pretend to be his girlfriend at corporate functions so they stop trying to set him up. Desperate to keep a lid on her downward spiral, Isa agrees with a few conditions of her own. Despite knowing Cade since they were kids, Isa hasn’t ever considered herself exceptionally close with Cade but when one on one pretending to be his girlfriend starts to feel a little too real, Isa has to decide what’s more important - keep her end of the deal or protecting her heart.

What I like about it: Isa was absolutely hilarious! Her back and forth with Neeta and Cade were some of my favorite moments. I loved her sarcasm, wit, and her perspectives. I didn’t even read the summary of the book before diving in and I knew right away there were some strong undertones between her and Cade. For that switch in her head to flip from disinterest to sheer lust meant something was always just below the surface between them - whether or not they choose to acknowledge it. Their constant one-upping each other is what really made this book vibe with me. Never allowing the other to be in a position of power, they consistently drove each other - either to excel or to the brink of insanity. I also enjoyed the inside take of house-sitting and the messed up situation that revealed.

The electricity between Isa and Cade could power New York City! How they didn’t realize there was something growing between them sooner is beyond me. The moments they did get together, all I have to say is Isa is one lucky woman! Even the intensity of something as minor as a kiss was still fire hot. The two of them did not hold back and the author captured the moments perfectly.

While the book was fun and lighthearted at time, Cade’s backstory was gut-wrenching! We learned so much about him through Isa - providing a dynamic perspective of who he was, how he felt, and why he held onto certain views (which clearly emphasized the importance of his bond with Sebastian).

Less than 300 pages, Rent to Be is a quick and easy read. If you weren't laughing at the shenanigans happening during each house sitting adventure, you were holding your breathe waiting to see what would unfold next at the company events. There is so much heart and love in this book that I would recommend it to anyone who needs acknowledgment that they are enough and that it is ok to speak up for yourself, even if the sacrifice doesn't feel worth the risk. Living up to someone else's expectations or perception of you (or who you should be) is not living.

This book was so fun! This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

I think Rent to Be is the book I've been waiting for! I'm a sucker for faking dating and brother's best friend tropes, and I loved every minute of this laugh out loud hilarious book! Isla is a hot mess express, and Cade is just dreamy. I loved them so much.

"Didn't accepting love also mean accepting that it could fail, and taking that leap anyway? What was love without trust, after all?"

Read this if you like:
Brother's Best Friend
Childhood Friends / Boy Next Door
Fake Dating
Friends To Lovers

Isla's life is not going exactly like she planned she had thought by getting an MBA she will land a great job and have an easy life however, now she is broke, homeless, miserable, has a lot of debt, and hate her job.
Even though Isla has always dreamt of being a librarian, she put that dream aside and stopped reading and blogging to prove to her parents that she could be successful like her brother and worthy of their approval.
So In order to make some money, she started house - sitting which led to Fake dating her brother's best friend Cade and then things escalated and emotions got in the way and things went downhill from there.

I loved reading Isla's journey which started from zero to hero. She opened up
Refused to give up
Faced her feelings
Dealt with her problems with her parents
And finally admitted to herself what she want and how to get it.
Cade &Isla were so cute loved their relationship.
In short, it was enjoyable and great read which I highly recommend.

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for approving my request for an ARC #RentToBe in exchange for my honest review.
Xoxo💋

I don't know why but this book did not get me interested in any way, shape or form.

I might buy this booknin the future, but I'm just not feeling it right now.

This was your classic fake dating rom com with a quirky main character who doesn’t have her life together and her brother best friend who seems to have it all. Isla definitely made me mad at times since she just kept making mistakes and getting in her own way since she keeps trying to make her parents proud and not be true to herself and what she wants. I did like that the end wasn’t the typical everything is perfect now that we are together so that was interesting.
Thanks to Alcove Press and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

Isla Jane is living the millennial nightmare (and yes as a millennial myself I can vouch for that!). She’s got a shiny new MBA and no way to pay for it, thanks to her dead-end entry-level job, and nowhere to live, thanks to aforementioned miserable salary. When a series of unfortunate events leads her to crashing at her bothers condo, she ends up rooming with is best friend, Cade Greenley. Sparks will fly. . .

I absolutely adored this one and loved everything about Isla and Cade with their undeniable banter and chemistry right off the bat. So many topes I also happen to love in a rom com too including "childhood friends to lovers" / "let's pretend we're in a relationship and then actually fall in love".

It was super entertaining, littered with a few laugh out loud moments, and some heartwarming family / relationship resolutions too. Absolutely devoured it in a couple short sittings.

Would 10/10 recommend to any romance lovers and the likes of Tessa Bailey and Beth O'Leary!

Thank You to Netgalley and author Sonia Hartl and for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book has two of my favorite tropes - Brothers Best Friend & Fake Dating - total win! There were some moments where the main female character frustrated me but she went through a lot of growth by the ending which made up for it. The parts with her parents were hard but very real which was heartbreaking especially as a parent - I never want to make my child feel like he can’t come to me if he needs help or has feelings about something. Overall, I loved this book and can’t wait to read more from this author!

This was a fun cute read. I loved the message of the book, to go your own way, and carve out your own path. I'm not a huge fan of friends to lovers book trope, but thought I'd give this one a try. It was a good read, but I struggled to connect with the main character. I did like Cade, but together they just didn't make sense for me to truly be invested in them.

Rent to Be 3/5 ⭐️
🏡 Friends to Lovers
🏡 Brother's Best Friend
🏡 He Falls First

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Oh my god. This one was excellent. I fell HARD for Isla and Cade. I also loved Seb and Neeta. The setting was unique and interesting. The plot was (heartbreakingly sad) well-written. Overall, this book made me a Sonia Hartl fan for LIFE. The characters were so full and rich with detail while not bashing you over the head with ridiculousness. The plot was believable while still being fairly noteworthy. I truly enjoyed this book and devoured it very quickly. I was very unsure at first because in the first paragraph, Isla talks about going on a date with someone who looks up to Elon Musk who I think is despicable but this wasn’t a character flaw for her. So I was wary and proven completely wrong because I finished this in like 3 hours. Extremely well-done.

Read if you like:
♥️ Romances
💜 Lighthearted Books
😚 Fake Dating
😡 Enemies to Lovers
😂 LOL Rom-Coms
🛌 Forced Proximity

The chemistry in this one! I was swooning! I love a good enemies to lovers and then to put forced proximity with it it was truly fantastic!

And the spice!!! 🥵 just everything about this one felt like it hit the mark and was so fun!

I also loved the forced proximity and brothers best friend as these also worked so well with the plot.

If you want a romance full of swooning and laughing I highly recommend this one! Thanks so much to Alcove press for my ARC!

Overall, I enjoyed the feeling of this book and its overall message, it wasn’t a story that really grabbed at me. I’m not sure I got what I signed up for ultimately.

From the tag line “for lovers of Tessa Bailey” to the cover and blurb, anticipated it to be a funnier rom-com.

A lot of it felt a little too forced, and told rather than shown.

I thought the brothers best-friend/ childhood friends to enemies tropes were executed well, but the characters themselves didn’t particularly resonate with me.

A quick read but I likely wouldn’t pick it up again.

Thanks to NetGalley & Alcove Press for a copy in exchange for my review.

Well from Isla description about Cade, I can imagine he has feeling way more but make her agree to fake date? Dude.. that really smooth.. I can feel spark flying, high sensual tension, dare each other.. this book succses mix my feeling, i laugh, i feel Isla fear and anxiety, i horny with the tension between them, i love how tender and understanding Cade to Isla. New friendship with Neeta was sweet and smooth too.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#RenttoBe #SoniaHartl #AlcovePres #NetGalley #ARC

This book has some of my favorite tropes and it seemed like such an exciting storyline, but it did fall a little flat for me. I love a brother's best friend and fake dating trope and the chemistry between Isla and Cade was there for me. The two of them were sweet together and I love how much they knew and understood each other. With that being said, Isla was a bit of a mess, and it made me not relate to her. Some of the decisions she made throughout the story made me not like her and seemed to be self-sabotaging. I was also a bit confused as she never went back to her day job once she started house sitting, so I don’t feel like it was well executed. I love the representation of her financial situation because I am in a very similar situation right now, but I didn’t really like her character at all. I also didn't like the relationship she had with her brother, and I feel like most of it childish. Most of the problems within the story could have easily been avoided if she was more levelheaded and I think that was my biggest setback overall. I adored all of Cade's work parties and his coworkers. I feel like he really had his life together and I enjoyed learning about his childhood. I enjoyed the message to accept your mistakes and create your own path, but it wasn't enough for me to completely fall in love with the story. The ending was sweet and I'm glad Isla finally faced her fears and confronted her parents, but unfortunately this one wasn't for me.

Book Name: Rent To Be
Series: NA
Author: Sonia Hartl
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Isla has always been the butt of the joke when it comes to her family. The “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” family doesn’t create a supportive environment when you’re struggling so when things start to go wrong she tries to tough it out on her own. That’s how she finds herself sneaking her few boxes of belongings into her brothers unit while he’s away for work. That’s also how she ends up running into Cade, her brother’s best friend, who is also using the unit.

I love the familiarity of someone that you’ve known your whole life and how that relationship can grow from secret pining to something more. I believed the witty banter between Isla and Cade and the way they treated each other as friends. I love a guy who is genuinely supportive and noticed when you’re being treated like shit and stands up for you.

It’s was anti-capitalist propaganda, but horny (And I say that as a good thing). There was great commentary on class systems and the old adage of “if you just work hard then you’ll be successful” and how that can often be a whole load of shit.

“The rich sold the rest of us the promise of a better life as a way of keeping us in line, like everything they had could eventually be ours too if we followed the rules they set for us, all while conveniently forgetting to mention the debt and poor wages that would forever hold us down”

There was also some pretty great family stuff in there. That feeling of guilt you feel when your family are good and fine and all that but also have faults. When you want to feel grateful but you’re also not getting your needs met from the people who love you.

“It was okay to ask for better treatment from the people I loved. It was okay to walk away from them if they wouldn’t change. It was okay to forgive those who slipped up but were trying. It was okay to forgive myself for the same.”

Thanks to #NetGallery and the publisher. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Genre: Romance
Format: Digital
POV: Single
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ /5
Age suggestion: 18+

Summary:
♥️ fake dating
♥️ brother’s best friend
♥️ friends to lovers
♥️ he falls first
♥️ spice!

Review:
This is a classic fake dating rom-com and I was here for it! Cade and Isla are childhood friends, with Cade being Isla's brother's best friend. They find themselves needed a good old fake dating pact to solve their problems and I think you can guess where this leads.. I did wish there was more character development in both Cade and Isla, as I found it hard to connect to their growth. 3.5 stars.

A splendid romance that will tick all the right boxes while being a light read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a review.

♡Book Review♡
📖Rent To Be By Sonia Hartl📖
Rating ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶 🌶

My thoughts ~ soo I enjoyed the book however it was super hard for me to get into at first, there wasn't something that immediately grabbed my attention. I did like the fake dating and the relationship that Isla and cade formed over time and by over time I mean it lol I was like ABOUT TIME, half the time they had me mad it was kinda like a come on already. Isla is FULL and Pure chaos, it had me laughing but sometimes it was so cringe worthy she's a character to say the least but it definitely fits her😅 Cade is the complete opposite go with the flow but he becomes so Immersed in what Isla does that he starts veering off his normal path, understandably so. The whole book in itself was funny, cute and laughable I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys a quirky, chaotic, fake dating trope with tons of chemistry, a good love story and with relatable characters then this is for you.

Blurb in the comments

Thank you to @netgalley for the early copy of Rent To Be.
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Rent To Be is another palate cleanser, or rather the start of some lighter hearted reading, for a few books at least, coming my way. This one has a couple of those romance tropes that are really popular right now the first being fake dating the second is....Forbidden Love....kind of.

So we have Isla a young woman who has gotten her MBA and the debt that goes with it, but not the job that fits her title. Isla is doing data entry at a company and barely scrapping by. She finds herself kicked out of her apartment decides to crash at her brothers empty apartment and gets an eye full of her brothers best friend Cade. The logical thing to do with someone you grow up with is tit for tat. So then Cade gets an eye full, then comes the spiral.

Isla happens into the house sitting gig which gives her temporary housing and typically food for a week at a time. During a house sitting gig Cade spots Isla in a fur stole and bikini drinking by the pool and offers her a deal. She is going to be his fake girlfriend and escort him to work functions.

We know how this is going to turn out. My least favorite part of these types of books is the back and forth of the characters. Yes I love you! Yes we can be together! Has Sex. NO we can't be together it's too complicated! It gets tiring. Make up your mind already and who cares what everyone else thinks!

In the midst of the romance aspect we also have a little later in life coming of age story. Isla trying to figure out who she is, why she is the way that she is, and learning to cope with everything in a healthy manner.

Overall, I think this is a great little rom-com. The characters are fairly relatable, the love interest is great! The side characters need their own story because I really liked them and I bet their love story is fire! The spice is mild but there are a few spicy scenes, but not overly descriptive if that's not your thing. It is worth a read.

This was a delightful and adorable read that had me hooked from beginning to end. I live for the fake dating trope. Also, this book being a brother's best friend made it 10x better! I found myself completely engrossed in the romantic and entertaining journey depicted in the book. I found myself constantly looking forward to their interactions and dates. If you're looking for a cute and engaging read, "Rent to Be" won't disappoint!

Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for an ARC!