I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

I was PLEASANTLY surprised by how much I liked this! I haven't read any Sonia Hartl before, but I might have to dive into her backlist.

Isla is a mess. She just got kicked out of her house. She has unmanageable student loans. Her job pays terribly. She's basically your typical millennial. "I did everything I was told I was supposed to do and the system failed me." Mood, girl, mood.

Cade is her brother's best friend. They all grew up together and he basically lived at their house due to his crappy parents. He's doing well, but he's not filthy rich, which I liked.

This wasn't a story of "I'm broke" and "I'm a billionaire!" It was just...two people who were basically raised by the same people, and have the same education/degree and one of them is doing okay and the other is basically homeless. It also talks about Isla's parents and their beliefs, and how those very vocalized beliefs made both Isla and Cade feel, and how it shaped the way they react to certain situations.

Isla doesn't feel like she can ask anyone for help. She would rather sleep in her car or under her desk at work than ask a single person for anything. (A lot of people didn't like her choices here, but I have to say, I GET IT. There was a lot of Isla's mentality that I related to. I would have to be 2 seconds away from losing my house before I asked for help, and I have LOVELY parents...but ya know...~trauma~ and all that.)

Cade on the other hand, has worked his ass off to make something of himself, to not rely on anyone and to not be looked at as the charity case. And because of this, he is VERY rigid in his thinking. He doesn't want to let loose at company events, he is worried about what his feelings for Isla will mean to her family dynamics and his friendship with her brother, Seb...it's all pretty valid and real IMO.

This book handled the "my life is falling apart and I don't want to ask anyone for help" in a way I could respect. Yeah Isla is a mess, but when you are in survival mode, you don't make the best decisions, but she still figured it out on her own. She was still working her normal job, and she picked up a side hustle (that conveniently gave her places to stay). She was saving money. She was paying people back (I wouldn't have, I'm just saying). I mean, she very much did start a pretty successful side business. Props to her, you use the MBA girl. This book did what I wish "Hello Stranger" by Katherine Center did. That book handles the "I don't want to ask anyone for help" thing in a horrible way where the FMC isn't helping herself, she's actually inconveniencing everyone around her and putting them in situations where they could get in serious trouble. Isla never did that. She just inconvenienced HERSELF.

Anyway, 4 stars! I'll definitely be checking out other books by Sonia Hartl.

Who has become a fan of contemporary romance against their better judgement?! 🙋🏻‍♀️ Yeah, that would be me.

Big thank you to NetGalley and RBMedia for the advanced listening to this audiobook.

Y’all I listened to this in one day. Every time I should have turned it off to be responsible, well, I just couldn’t.

The chemistry between Isla and Cade is written so well. I found the two of them often had me chuckling (with my husband and kids eyeing me strangely from the next room).

“Cade was everything I could ever want, wrapped up in a package I could never have.”

With hints of forbidden love and friends to lovers tropes, this contemporary rom-com will steal your heart, all of it.

this was fun! it was actually hilarious at times and the humor really did hit. i will say, isla’s situation was stressing me out so much but that’s the point i suppose. her relationship with cade was hilarious but also really sweet, they truly had amazing banter and i laughed so hard at some points. to be honest, everything about isla was really funny, especially her internal monologue or they way she befriended the librarian, it reminded me of kids in kindergarten asking to be each other’s friends😭. overall a really solid read, extremely funny and entertaining, 4⭐️

After Isla Jane was unceremoniously evicted from her apartment, she found herself with no other choice but to crash at her brother's place. Unfortunately, she didn't expect Cade Greenley, her brother's best friend, to be there. Now Isla is dreading the moment Cade will tell her judgmental family about her situation.
However, Caleb promises he won't say a word as long as she agrees to fake date him.

Things get complicated when feelings are involved.

Will they be able to keep things platonic?

✨Thoughts✨
Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for providing me with the ARC of Rent To Be.

I found the audiobook to be quite entertaining, and Kirsten Leigh's voice was perfectly suited for the character.

Isla's life was a bit of a mess, which led to many hilarious moments throughout the story. While there is a romantic element, the overall tone leans more towards women's fiction.

If you're a fan of the brother's best friend trope and enjoy a humorous main character, this audiobook is definitely worth a listen.

Isla struggles making ends meet after finishing her MBA was so relatable, and a unique set up for her to run into her brother’s hot best friend, Cade. I loved how their fake dating revealed real attraction and Cade was so sweet. Rent to be was a fun and fast read. I will definitely be reading more by Sonia Hartl.

Clever name for this book! All around amazing story. I love the friends to lovers feel this book has. Everyone knows pretending to date someone will always turn into someone developing feelings but these two childhood friends thought they would succeed.

This was an enjoyable quick read. It does start off very slow but gets better as the story progresses. This is a brother’s best friend/fake dating story where the Mfc hits rock bottom and learns how to pick herself back up while also learning about herself and what makes her happy. She learns how to love herself while also finding love.
There are some trigger warning in this story. There is a lot of talk of poverty, homelessness, and neglect and how these characters dealt with these situations. Overall this was pretty enjoyable story.

Honestly going in I wasn’t expecting much, lately audiobooks haven't been doing it for me, but I was surprised in the best way! This book is so much more than a cute brothers-best-friend romance. The struggle the main character goes through in this book is one that I can relate to on a certain level, any book where I’m able to connect to a character like this is always amazing to see. It makes my struggles feel seen and know that I’m not the only person going through it.

Spoiler section

Isla struggling to find a good job after going into so much debt for degrees she doesn’t even want to be stuck in a job that doesn’t appreciate her is so true to todays world. Like Isla says in the book, college is almost expected now in order to get a good job, and if you want to progress further, having a masters degree only gets you so far. It is all about who you know and who you’re connected to. I have 15K in student loan debt and I’m not done yet. Just knowing I have that debt sitting over me is terrifying, especially since I’ll be going into teaching, a profession known for being underpaid. But unlike Isla, I am supported in following the career path I want in life, though sometimes I think it might’ve been better if I fell to the peer pressure around me and choose something safer.

Another way I can relate to Isla, and I feel most everyone ever can, is the rough parental relationship. Islas parents are very vocal in their dislike of government handouts, a point I can agree to to an extent, but they make their kids feel like they can’t go to them for help because of how vocal they are. Isla and Sebastian both feel like if they aren’t overly successful in their job and when struggle with their jobs they don’t feel safe going to their parents for help because they’ll just be chastised. The other part, which is the part I sympathize with, is their parents making jokes at their kid’s expense. Isla is seen as the fuck up kid, the one who can’t do anything right, so she has it in her head that if she tells her parents that she’s struggling they’ll compare it to her brothers success in his work. Parents tend to not understand how deep their words hurt us, how much we pay attention to what they say and how deep we take it to heart. Sure, they want whats best for us, but sometimes don’t understand when it’s best to keep some opinions inside or when is the right time to say something.

Also, the fact that no one knows what Sebastian’s job is is hilarious. In my adult like I don’t know what half of my friends do even after they’ve explained it to me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

This was a fun and cute rom-com. A book that also made you feel for what the main character is going through. This book has brother's best friend, friends to lovers, fake dating, and much more.

Isla is kicked out of her apartment because she didn't pay rent. She thinks she can stay in her brother's empty apartment while he's away, but to her surprise, her brother's best friend Cade is living there for the time being. So Isla ends up house sitting for some of the rich higher ups in her firm to earn some money, at the same time she doesn't have to stay with Cade.

I agree with the main character that personal economy as a topic shouldn't be taboo. It should be something you can talk about, and asking for help doesn't make you a failure.

I liked this book, it was a fast and easy read that I really enjoyed and recommend.

The narrator of this book Kristen Leigh did a good job bringing this book to life, and I felt like it was a good fit for this story.

Rent To Be by Sonia Hartl is a cute Rom-Com with a little spice.
Isla is thrown out of her apartment, due to not paying her rent and has no money. Her brother, Seb, is out of town on business and so Isla goes to his place to crash. But when she gets there, Seb’s best friend, Cade, is there.
Isla has a friend, Neeta, that she confides in. I love the funny banter between them.
This was a quick and easy read, finished in one day. Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“How had my parents gotten so old when I still felt very much like a child?”
A modern day love story about two post-grads trying to find their place in the world and with each other. I would give this book 3.5 Stars. I loved many aspects of this book. I loved the love interest, Cade, her brother’s best friend. Introverted, kinda broody guy who only has a soft spot for his best friend’s sister. What I loved most was the commentary on what it’s like to be a young adult in corporate America. Isla is working at a big corporation who gives promotions out to people less qualified and has less seniority than her. Isla struggles to make ends meet due to her job, student debt and overall debt. My only issue with the book was the main character. It felt like she went out of her way to make wrong decisions and say the wrong things. Many times I paused the audiobook and just stared at my wall, wondering why she would say the things she said. That being said, she still slayed. Overall, it was a cute, easy read that made me feel seen and validated as a post graduate in the sparse job market of America.

This is the first book that I have read by Sonia Hartl. Let me tell you. It did not disappoint! This book is a laugh-out-loud Rom-Com. Isla is full of student loans and a not so reliable job. When she is struggling to pay rent her roommates decide to kick her out and leave her stuff outside on the lawn. When she goes to her brothers house she finds that their childhood friend Cade is staying there. Eventually they come to an agreement and pretend to date each other. However, is this fake dating what it really is or does Isla want more than she realizes? This book was honestly funny and I enjoyed listening to it.

I found myself laughing and just relating to Isla to an extent. This audiobook was an easy listen and the narrator did a good job on it as well. Thank you for letting me listen and review this. I truly enjoyed it and will be picking up more books from the author.

Stars: 4
Spice: 2

This was my first book written by Sonia Hartl and I would definitely read/listen to another by her! This was also my first audiobook narrated by Kirsten Leigh and I think she's the perfect Isla! I liked her tone/voice and she did a great job at reading as other characters. I LOL'd while listening to the book. It was a super easy listen and I would definitely recommend this format for the book!

Isla is truly just trying her best and that right there is SO relatable. I love when a book is relatable and even more when it has my favorite tropes!

Read this book if you like:
-fake dating
-brother's best friend
-friends to lover
-sarcasm & banter
-slow burn

Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for the advanced listener copy.

Rent To Be by Sonia Hartl has been one of the most enjoyably relatable novels I’ve read this year! This being the first work I have read by her, will certainly not be the last!

As an Geratric Millennial, the underlying plot of the story revolving around the struggle of someone dealing with finances, side hustles, questioning their career choices, student loan payments, and the stress of having to keep up appearances to our parents who drilled the idea of this being the route we needed to take in life in order to be “successful” left me feeling more of an emotional connection with the MFC, Isla, than I thought I would. I genuinely found myself taking notes in chapter 12 of witty life quotes and comparisons of The Game of Life to real life that made me giggle and nod in agreement.

Hartl’s writing had me hooked and wanting more. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen between Isla and the MFC, Cade, and how long the side hustle house sitting gig would continue before blowing up in Isla’s face.

Add to that the brother’s-best-friend/childhood friend, forced proximity, fake dating, rom-com tropes and Hartl has managed to give us a perfect summer read!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

This was a really quick listen for me. I thought Kirsten Leigh narrated this book so well. There were so many laugh out loud moments in this book. I though Cade and Isla were really good characters. There are times when you want to ask Isla what are you thinking in life but hey it's life. This was the first book I have listened to by Sonia Hartl but it definitely won't be the last. I highly recommend this audiobook!!

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for allowing me to listen to this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.

Isla is a hot mess! She has student loans up to her ears, she works in a dead end job that pays absolutely nothing and her roommates just left her personal items on the lawn for her to pick up. In a last ditch effort she goes to her brothers condo to stay since he is over in London only to find their childhood friend Cade staying there. In the end Isla makes a decision to sleep under her desk and hopes that no one finds out. To get extra income she starts house sitting for co-workers and ends up in an agreement with Cade to go to his work functions pretending to be his girlfriend. However, is the pretending too close to a reality that Isla wants.

The writing and story captivated me and kept me wanting more. I enjoyed how the story unfolded and how much all of us in our early years don't have our life together even those that appear to.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance listen!

This was a fun read that covered some heavy topics in a very digestible way! The story was well thought out, and the struggles of the characters were poignant without being overwhelmingly sad. I thought the topic of food insecurity was well covered, especially as someone who works to combat food insecurity professionally. The family issues were well covered as well. Plus just generally being right out of college and struggling financially was so relatable and well covered!

The steam in this book surprised me and came out of seemingly no where sometimes, but it wasn't too overwhelming and could be skipped over if you prefer something more closed door.

This was a fun read for sure!

Well, that was a book. That was my immediate thoughts after finishing the book. I did not dislike it enough to DNF but I also did not enjoy it enough to recommend to anyone.

I feel like the book was trying to do EVERYTHING at once. All the tropes, attacking issues in the work place, attacking issues with parents of all kinds, sibling relationships, the difficulty of finding friends as an adult etc. Everything all at once is just too much and I do not think any issue was fully resolved.

This book went from informative to erotica many times and I felt very confused for most of it.

This was cute. It hit a lot of my favorite tropes but I have to admit it fell a little flat for me. Cade is sweet but doesn't get a lot of page time, as we're in Isla's head the whole time. She's fun and bubbly and cute but also kind of annoying which created distance between me and the story.

The 'mutual pining' was about 90% mutual lust for most of the story, although I did start to believe the pining part towards the end.

I really liked how relatable it was. Like, yeah Isla's a disaster but it's not entirely her fault. Partly it is, because she makes some seriously self-sabotaging decisions when she's put on the spot, but she's been put in an impossible situation. Millennials will definitely relate to her.

I liked her brother Seb, although he really needs to re-evaluate the way he "teases" Isla. It's hurtful. I know he doesn't mean to be, and it's just the way he learned to interact from their parents, but I'm glad Cade calls him out on it an I hope they can grow past it.

Isla's parents are truly terrible. The trauma that she and Cade both have from growing up is something they'll have to work to get over and it's also super relatable.

The epilogue was a little weird, like it didn't quite fit. It tried to wrap everything up too neatly and force a reconciliation with her parents too early. She and Cade are both going to need therapy and time and honestly I'm not sure a reconciliation is even possible. Her parents are jerks and they show no signs of being willing to learn and change.

It also jumped too far ahead. Like they'd just admitted their feelings and confronted her parents and gotten together, and now they've been married two months. I felt cheated out of the ending almost.

The audiobook performance was great. The character voices were distinctive, the narration flowed smoothly and was easy to listen to, and the narrator's voice was pleasant to listen to.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Recorded Books for providing an early copy of the audio for review.

Audio note: The audio was good! Since the story is told exclusively from Isla's POV, it's a single narrator, but she does a great job. I'm not familiar with Kirsten Leigh, but I liked her voice, and she made it easy to distinguish between the characters. Her voice was also right for the tone, and this makes a solid choice as a workday listen, because it's a slow burn romance and the runtime is short enough to get through in a single day. There is some spice, but it's certainly not the focus, and most of it comes late in the story. I definitely recommend the format for this one.

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When it feels like your life is falling apart, the last thing you want is your childhood frenemy/brother's best friend around to see your fall. That's the premise of this women's fiction/romance crossover, where the foundation of the relationship is the years these two characters have spent feuding. I loved the history between them and how it influenced their present day decisions, and I loved that they knew each other so well. Our heroine is a hot mess who took the expected path in life and is now feeling the weight of debt and poor decision-making. It's relatable and has an authentic feel, which makes it stand out from the pack. I liked how the hero supported and uplifted the heroine - he's known her so long that he gets her in a way that no one else would. Add in an accidental towel drop and some fake dating to change the dynamic between them, and it's no wonder they found themselves becoming closer than either would've anticipated.

The story follows Isla, a 20-something who is broke, drowning in student loan debt, working a job she hates, and now without a place to live. Isla's brother is out of the country for the next month, so she decides to crash at his place until she can get back on her feet again. The only problem? When she arrives, Isla gets an unexpected eyeful of her brother's best friend, Cade. The two have unwillingly been a part of each other's lives for as long as they can remember, and seeing each other naked was never part of the plan. But Cade knows something is up with Isla, and he's not going to let her fall to pieces. When Isla agrees to attend some work events as Cade's "girlfriend," it changes their relationship even more. Suddenly, the two are getting to know each other in a way they never have... and that's sure to cause some problems.

While the romance is central to the story, I'd consider this more of a women's fiction crossover, simply because Isla's finances are such a big part of the book. It's something you don't read about all that much in modern romance, but is a reality that many readers face. I liked its inclusion, but this romance reader wanted less focus on finances and more on the budding relationship. It felt like every time the romance would gain momentum, it would get stalled by a side plot revolving around Isla's bleak financial situation. That's what loses this a star for me - I liked a whole lot of it, but I could've done with significantly less focus on Isla's burdens. We only get Isla's perspective, so spending more time with Cade would've given more depth to the romance and his character. That said, there was a whole lot of good stuff going on, and I liked that this felt fresh and modern in so many ways.