This romantic comedy is one of my favorite new books. It is everything I love to read in a romcom with humor, sizzling chemistry, and the appropriate level of angst that comes with falling in love. Cade is hot and Isla is a hot mess. I fell a little in love with both of them. The secondary characters of Nita and Isla's brother Seb are brilliant and I would love a story from their points of view. The audiobook, narrated by the talented Kirsten Leigh, is so much fun and a delightful way to experience this masterpiece of storytelling.

The narrators did a great job, and I loved all the tropes: fake dating, forced proximity, and brothers best friend. He calls her a very sweet nickname from their childhood. She has a dirty mouth, which I don’t mind at all. I wish there was a little more nuance to the story, there is a lot of miscommunication and a lot of time spent on her difficult financial situation. At times it felt like the author wrote out exactly how she meant the characters to act/feel rather than revealing it to us in layers.

Brother's best friend and fake dating - can a romcom get any better than that? I have been loving all the fake dating books of late and throw in a brother's bestie who is constantly on the lookout for our girl and I'm in. This book was a lot of fun and the proof of how much I enjoyed it was the fact that I whizzed through it in a few hours. The narration was also top notch - highly recommend listening to it if you enjoy audiobooks.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -NetGalley ARC Audiobook

Description:
“In this bright, laugh-out-loud rom-com, the grind of the millennial struggle is a lot more fun when you add falling in love to the mix, perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey and Beth O’Leary.
Isla Jane is living the millennial nightmare. 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 her miserable salary. Going home to her parents is not possible, but for once Isla’s brother may be her saving grace. He’s out of town on business for a month, meaning the guest room in his condo is blissfully empty.
Or so Isla thinks, until she runs into Cade Greenley, her brother’s best friend—who’s crashing there while his own condo is undergoing renovations. When a desperate plan to sleep under her desk miraculously turns into a house-sitting job for one of the big bosses at her office, Isla is certain her luck has turned—with no one, Cade included, the wiser. It’s a perfect solution—until Cade catches her sunbathing at a mansion that is definitely not hers, and she admits she’s house-sitting because she can’t afford rent.
The pair strike a deal—Cade will keep Isla’s secret from her overbearing parents if she agrees to pose as his girlfriend at a few upcoming corporate events. The fun and friendly vibe of his office is a surprise compared to hers, but the biggest shock is that each “date” with Cade feels less and less fake. Suddenly she’s looking forward to every minute they spend together while the chemistry between them sizzles. As Isla’s house-sitting scheme begins to unravel, she'll have to face the fact that her biggest lie of all is the one she's telling herself: that she's not falling in love with Cade.”


This book started off very light and funny, but then took a very serious turn when the main character decides to house sit for money because she’s drowning in student debt. Being a mom of a daughter who is also drowning in student loans I felt for the main character and the very real problem that higher education costs our children; not only in money but in stress and life choices. My mom use to tell me, “Do something you love and you won’t work a day in your life” Best advice I ever got. I personally loved the book, but if you don’t like romances with a serious storyline you probably won’t enjoy this. Tropes: Friends to Lovers/Fake Dating.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the chance to read and review this book. All thoughts are my own. #NetGalley

3.5 stars

When Isla Jane is kicked out of her apartment and onto the street her only option is to go to her brother’s house, tail between her legs and boxes in arm. He’s away on a work trip, and she’d be out before he came back...maybe he wouldn’t even notice? Although when she arrives there is already someone in the guest room, her brother’s best-friend, Cade. Suddenly the space under her desk at work seems more inviting than staying in the same apartment as him. The last thing she wants is for her brother to find out how much of a failure she is. Luck strikes when Isla overhears one that of the bosses at work is looking for a pet sitter whilst she’s away on holiday... and so her little housesitting business begins.

This book sure had its cute moments, but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. The focus seemed to be on Isla’s adventures whilst house-sitting rather than the relationship between her and the love interest. There was just so much going on that many important elements didn’t get enough spotlight – Isla was housesitting, trying to start a new business whilst still at her old job, her and Cade started fake-dating, she started a new friendship with someone at the library, she had family problems etc. I think all of these things can be in a novel and done well, but in this case, it felt so jam-packed. Nothing really developed between the main characters, it was rather stagnant. They had chemistry, they just didn’t have enough time for it to unfold. There was definitely potential, it just felt a little overwhelming to me.

Whilst this book has a good story, it's very sexual in places which may put some readers/ listeners off.
The characters were likeable and relatable. My main issue with it was the random and quick ending.

Thank you RB Media for the ARC audiobook via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own!

This the story of Isla Jane a millennial struggling with student debt and desperately wanting a promotion at work. Isla needs money to pay off student debt and pay rent. Her brother has to leave for a month for work so she takes full advantage of not having to pay for rent. Isla thinks this will work great until she runs into Cade Greenley, her brother's best friend. When her desperate plan to sleep over at work turns into a house-sitting job for one of her bosses. Isla thinks this is the perfect solution to getting ahead on her debt until Cade sees her sunbathing at a mansion that is most definitely not her own. The pair strike a deal to keep their secrets. Isla will pretend to be Cade's girlfriend and Cade will keep Isla's secret about not actually getting a promotion at work. Will they be able to keep their deal without catching feelings? Only time will tell.

I liked the narrator I thought they kept me interested when the story line did not keep me as much interested. I felt a kinship to Isla with the house sitting because I have dog sat in the past. It reminded me of those experiences. However, I did not feel like this story needed to be as long. I did not love the main characters.
I also know that the spice level wasn't my preference so that may play a part in the rating as well.

Content: Explicit sex scenes (Skipped with audiobook for my personal preferences), language (f words)

Read if you like:
Romance
Spice
Brother's Best Friend

3.5 stars! it was a sweet book!

i love a brother’s best friend trope especially when it dates all the way back to their childhood! cade and isla were such funny characters to follow. i think they complimented one another so well and all the hijinks they did for one another was just added chemistry and understanding to each other.

isla’s character was one you easily loved and wanted to win especially when it came to her circumstances. i just enjoyed following her around. i sympathized with her situation but for a romance book, there was a lot more commentary on capitalism than i was anticipating. not that i didn’t agree with it, i just wasn’t expecting it. i think had i been reading this and not listening, i would’ve had a harder time getting through it just because it slowed down the plot a little more.

the pacing of the plot was also a little slow for me. thankfully such exciting and funny things were happening so it pushed me through but i was at the end feeling like it was rushed and i still was curious about the process of everything else. it turned out fine, we got the HEA but it just felt like it was forced a little.

the narrator did great and i think she captured isla’s lightheartedness and wit well.

thank tou netgalley and the publisher for an audiobook arc in return for an honest review.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook. I loved the narrator very entertaining and easy to listen to. The book seemed very “poor me” the entire time until the epilogue. Both siblings were very unhappy and blamed everyone and didn’t do anything about it. The “love interest” was fine other than I’m not a big fan of no lead up to a romance. It felt like every love interaction was all or nothing to them.

I have a lot of thoughts about this book and none of them are positive.

So first of all, like I think I’m getting sick of the “torpe” of chaotic girl that just keep digging her own grave and not even maybe accepting that she is at fault to some of the bad things in her life.

Secondly, and this is the big one, I got annoyed with how she said that her and Cade didn’t have a relationship of weren’t friends. Yet every fucking chapter a new layer gets added to this “non-relationship”. It’s like he wasn’t JUST your brothers friend, he was your friend.

Third, they finally act on their lust then home girl start crying cause she doesn’t want to lost what they have. YET SHES BEEN SAYING FOR 60% OF THE BOOK THAT THEY DONT HAVE SOMETHING.

Fourth, and I forgot about this, FMC gets kicked out of her apartment by her roommates for not paying rent. She starts house sitting and I think in the first house she house sits, she like finishing out the owners wine, sleeps in their bed (I don’t have recollection if she said she sleeps in a guest room) and she even tried on the woman’s clothes. Now I will never let someone house sit my place.

this girl lives in Denial, and I just wasn’t having it.

UPDATE 72%

This is one of those books that the author wants to be deep about something possibly she has never experienced to be deep, but it’s just not hitting it. I can’t relate at all. It’s cringe. It sucks, but I can see the train wreck and have to finish it.

3.5 stars rounded up! Overall, I did really enjoy this book. The social commentary was probably my favorite part, as I live in the financial struggle every day. and it helped me to feel seen. This book was cute, and made me snort a few times as Isla is quit a character. The narration was great, with the exception of the spicy bits...I felt like the narrator described sexual encounters in the same voice and tone that she might use to describe petting a dog, and it was.....awkward :D Still, I had a good time with this one and do recommend it. :)

Isla is stranded. She has a brand new diploma she can't pay, and nowhere to live. She decides to squat her brother's condo while he's out of town, but his best friend, Cade, is already crashing there and she doesn't want him to know she's homeless. She miraculously finds a house-sitting job that pays really well and gives her a place to live. But Cade catches her and she has to admit what she's doing. So they strike a deal. Cade will let her live at her brother's place and not rat her out if she plays his fake date for his work events. But the more events they attend, the less fake it seems...
This was a fun, brother's best friend, fake dating, coming of age romance told in first person POV. I love how the MMC has been pining for the FMC forever. I liked the reality of the FMC trying to make her way into the world, that getting a diploma doesn't guaranty anything, and being in so much debt that she sometimes have to make hard choices. I liked that it touched such a serious subject without being overly dramatic. The FMC did come across as oblivious in more than one occasions, but it was otherwise a fun read, and the audio book narration is great.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

This rom com had it all - friends to lovers, 2nd chance, fake dating, almost one bed (shared apartment). It was a fun rom com with heart and depth that didn't take itself too seriously. I really liked both of our main characters and they had flaws and hesitations that made sense. This is a sweet book.

This was such a cute romcom. I really enjoyed how much of a mess Isla was and how Kade never faulted her for it. Definitely touches on many troubles of those starting out in the real world after finishing college and not ending up where you want to be.

Rent to Be was a super cute romantic comedy. It weaves in themes I can relate to like struggling at your job, financially, and as a young person in this world. I really enjoyed the relationships that were explored including the parental ones. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes cute rom-coms with modern struggles.

I love a good fake dating trope and had high hopes for Isla and Cade.

Struggling under a mountain of student loan debt to make rent, Isla is kicked out of her appartment. Her job isn't enough to make ends meet and unable to reach out to her family for help she ends up taking on a house sitting job to have a place to live and make ends meet. When her brothers best friend finds out, she trades him keeping her secret to her acting as his fake date to corporate get togethers. Of course, things falls apart as they realize they have real feelings for each other but they both have their own issues to come to terms with.

I expected this to be a lightharted romcom, however, the subject matters of millennials student loan debt and the larger family issues made it a heavier story. I enjoyed the book, but I was not expecting the heavier themes. I listen to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a super cute, fun, romantic, and quick listen! I was hooked, and I found it difficult to stop listening

Millenials will not find a more relateable heroine than Isla! Funny, timely, and expertly narrated. A recommended purchase in all formats for collections where romance is popular.

Rent to Be is an adorable childhood friends to lovers that touches on many socio-economic issues that face young people today.
Filled with many 'Aww' moments and interesting side characters there is lots to keep you entertained. Be warned if you read this is public, you may find yourself laughing out loud.
This is a fast and easy read, I finished it in one day. It set up a potential sequel well.
The narrator, Kirsten Leigh, Is easy to listen to.

I did find that at times this story could feel disjointed. I would have loved if her ending career had been woven into the last half or even quarter a bit so it didn't seem so abrupt and far fetched. I also feel it would have benefitted from hearing an additional POV. Personally the spicy scenes didn't hit the mark.

Overall an enjoyable read and I can see this being enjoyed by many people, especially those who haven't long graduated university.

I was gifted an audio copy of Rent to Be in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you Net Galley, RB Media and Sonia Hartl.

I'm newer to audio books and when I was sent this advanced listening copy I was happy to see what it would be like. I absolutely fell in love and listened to it in a day. I love Isla and Cade and their chemistry is so cute. I love all the references to school debt, livable wages, and of course the rich white man telling us to get over it. It speaks about the struggle of trying to make it in a career while also falling in love and making friends. If you're into friends-to-lovers/brothers best friend/fake dating you will love this book.