Mein Leseerlebnis

Das Buchcover ist toll und der Klappentext hörte sich frisch sowie spannend an, daher habe ich zugegriffen und mich aufs Lesen der Liebesgeschichte gefreut.

Den Einstieg in den Roman fand ich dann auch einnehmend und gut. Isla befindet sich in einer miesen Situation und ich fand die Momente, in denen sie systemkritisch ist, wirklich erfrischend. Ich habe zunächst gerne mehr über ihr Leben erfahren.

Doch je länger die Geschichte andauerte umso klarer wurde für mich, dass ich die Charaktere insgesamt ganz nett, aber nicht komplett überzeugend und faszinierend fand. Gerade Cade und Islas Bruder wirkten auf mich nicht lebendig genug .

Der Verlauf der Liebesgeschichte war ok und nett, konnte mich aber auch nicht komplett überzeugen. Beim Lesen war ich selten voll emotional involviert.

Die Geschichte um Islas Eltern wirkte auf mich gerade im letzten Viertel zu konstruiert. Sie sollte wohl Spannung in die Geschichte bringen, fühlte sich aber eher wie ein Störfaktor an, über den ich gestolpert bin.

Alles in allem ließ sich das Buch gut lesen, hat auf mich mit Ausnahme des ersten Viertels aber einen eher blassen Eindruck hinterlassen.

🖤🖤🖤

Für wen?

Schaut euch den Klappentext und die Leseprobe an. Spricht euch beides an, spricht nichts gegen das Lesen. Solltet ihr die Charaktere insgesamt faszinierender finden als ich, könnte der Liebesroman für euch gut funktionieren.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

An okay book. Easy reading - perfect for the beach or your morning commute.

"According to some millionaire (because it was always some millionaire), I coud've had a house of my own by now if I had just quit eating avocado toast."
This quote explains perfectly why this book is not for everyone.
If you are looking for a nice, funny romance you are not going to find it here; the story between the main characters is enjoyable, but not the best I've read so far, their actions (or better, Isla's actions) are often annoying and childish.
So why give it 4 stars you'll wonder. That's because this book just hit me right in the feels, not for the romance, but for everything that goes on all around that.
Being a millennial in this world is not easy, we have to survive with minimum wage while the price for everyhing just increases, having to decide which is the right choice between keeping struggling or asking for our parent's help (if we can); that while everyone reminds you that "at your age I already had a house and 5 kids", feeling hopeless because you can't even afford to pay rent for a room, let alone an entire appartment.
If then like Isla you grew up with someone that with the "I'm just joking" kept reminding you every mistake you made, asking for help is pretty much impossible, until it's just unevitable.
So yeah, if you want a look on how the life of pretty much everyone in that age range is going this is the perfect book, you have the hard truth sugarcoated with a really cutesy romance.

With all that said, the writing style was very fluid, and reminded me a lot of Tessa Bailey's style; the romance could be improved, maybe adding some more "fake girlfriend" moments, but in the end I really liked it.

I loved Cade!! He was sweet and charming and just seemed to have so much fun whenever he was with Isla. But I didn't love that you never really see Isla at her dead end entry level job even though it's referenced alot.

Overall, this was a really cute romcom with just the right amount of spice to give you all the warm and fuzzies!! Put aside an entire day to read it as once you start you won't want to stop!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

This was such a delight to read! From the first chapters Isla leaped off the page as a warm, headstrong character with a lot of spunk. The destitution straight after College due to crippling loans, lack of a good job and just life curve balls are handled matter of factly but at times with much needed humour. Isla running into Cade in her brother's apartment was such a hilarious scene with those tense undercurrents that always leave you wanting more.

I loved Cade too as someone who never really felt like he fit in anywhere but was safe with Seb and Isla. The complexity of his situation in trying to keep a sense of family that he loves and yet taking chances is done really well here.

The relationship Isla has with her parents could have been explained a bit more for me, maybe slightly more animosity shown. For at least half the book I wondered why she couldn’t feel comfortable enough to ask for help really from anyone. That is a smaller point in what was a well written, light and fun ‘friends to lovers’ story. Isla and Cade are characters you will want to meet!

I am thankful to #NetGalley and Alcove Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Sonia Hartl now joins Tessa Bailey on my “must read” list 4.25 stars for me.

This book was really sweet! As absolutely GRATING as I found Isla's stubbornness, I loved seeing her growth throughout the novel.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press and Sonia Hartl for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, but it fell short for me. While I did enjoy the spice, the storyline did get a bit boring at times.

However, I did manage to finish it as I was interested to find out what happened to Isla.

I loved the idea of this book!! It was super cute but had more potential!! Looking at the cover you think it’ll be a cute rom com and I just feel it wasn’t what I was expecting!! It was a cute fast read but I feel it had more potential! Isla and Cade were cute and loved the characters!! Thanks netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is a fun, light-hearted brother's best friend romantic comedy! I love the dynamic between Isla and Cade - their relationship is full of ups and downs and lots of laughs along the way. It's a fun story of hard work, grit, and love - and the reminder to never give up. Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for me honest review.

This was an adorable friends to lovers/brother's bestie romance. The only thing missing for me was a little bit more backstory to understand the connection between the two MCs. There was one really good flashback, but based on they relationship, there had to have been a little bit more.

On a personal note, I thought the author did a fantastic job of describing the mess one can find themselves in when they are over educated and still can't find a fulfilling job!

Normally one of my favourite genres, I have been quite disappointed in the contemporary romances I have been reading lately, with no exception being made for this title. While Rent to Be made for quick and easy reading, I didn’t gel with the main characters the way I had hoped and so the whole novel fell flat.

I loved that Cade and Isla had known each other as children and the snippets of shared history throughout the book were lovely – Rainbow Bear – but I kinda just wanted them to grow up. Especially Isla… girlfriend you are not stuck. Fix your attitude and fix your life!

While Cade seemed like a nice enough guy, as the male lead in a romance I wanted him to be more. More dreamy, more steamy…less awkward and WAAAAY less talkative in the bedroom.

I enjoyed the secondary characters probably more than the primary ones, but again wanted more.

The friendship between Isla and Neeta started out in an interesting way but then just faded into the background with the introduction of Isla’s brother. Cade’s bosses, lovely as they were, entered the story as part of the ‘fake dating’ trope just to leave again without any real impact on the story. Isla’s parents also played bit roles but didn’t feel all that connected to the storyline either – their role merely a outlet for Isla’s angst and blame for why she couldn’t get her life together. Again girlfriend…you are a grown up or at least you should be!

All that said, this book might be something that you would enjoy. For me, however, it lacked both dimension and direction, earning it only 2.5 stars (bumped up to three because I don’t know how to do half stars).

With thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for this advanced copy in return for an honest review.

A romance book that is unafraid to tackle some big topics! This is not your perfect escapism book, but wow did I appreciate it!! Our main character struggles with expenses and student loan debt. She explores our capitalistic and individualistic culture and struggles to find where she wants to fit in. Overall, it has a feel good ending and a great political message. The one weakness was the epilogue— it felt a little bit too neat for a book that’s charm was in its mess.

RENT TO BE is another charming and hilarious book full of swoons and sex appeal by Sonia Hartl! I really enjoyed the whacky premise of this one, along with the characters and their dynamics with each other.

This was SO CUTE even when it was so infuriating I wanted to grab them both by the shoulders and shake them.

First of all, Isla’s brand of chaos is so funny - whenever she panics in any way she makes an immediate and usually bad choice, but also an understandable one given her history. Cade on the other hand has never not overthought every single thing that’s ever crossed his mind in his entire life, so he is continuously bewildered and fascinated by everything Isla does (same, Cade). When he starts to also make rash decisions because she is apparently contagious, it’s to the absolute delight of me specifically because we love a man who is so obviously head over heels that he cannot form a rational thought. 10/10. Would read again.

Also I’m gonna kick her parents in the shins super hard but that’s a side quest so we can deal with it at a later date.

I enjoyed this book. I thought that the characters were fun and relatable. The best chapters were the first chapters and I did feel the pace slowed in the middle, however I still enjoyed it, the characters carried this for me.
I will be recommending to my romance lovers.

YES YES YES

I’ve never been one for mushy rom com books but somethings flipped in me lately and it’s all I seem to want to read. Thankfully Netgally came in trumps with approving this gem for me.

Isla has finished college and simply doesn’t know what she wants to do. She’s in a dead end job, temporarily homeless and in love with her brothers best friend. This triage of problems follows her as she tries he hardest to navigate life and her early twenties. Narrated in a way that feels as though you are one of her friends this was possibly one of my favourite reads of the year… How easy is it to set up a house sitting business in the south of England??

OKAY! Wow, where do I even start? Other than saying just please, please read this book when it comes out in August. I love this book so, so much. I fell in love with Cade & Isla and their story. I was hooked immediately and could not put this down once I started. It's such a beautiful, sweet story. I was in tears by the end. Now if they were happy tears or some other tears you will have to read to find out ;) Highly, HIGHLY recommend this book!!!

The book started off on a bad note! The writing felt lazy and as if the book was just explaining itself over and over. The characters chemistry was confusing, changed every time they met but added some sort of back story to try to make up for the weird dynamic. It was just not gripping.

3 stars!

A cute premise with some of my favorite tropes! Unfortunately, I had a bit of a hard time connecting to the two leads. I wanted to find Isla relatable (and she still was for the most part), but she was also a bit too much for me. I know it’s hard to work a dead-end job that doesn’t pay enough AND have a degree that nobody cares about, we’ve all been there, but I can’t help empathizing more with her roommates and imagining I were living with someone who isn’t paying their share of the rent for several months. I know, I know, the real villain is capitalism, but the opening was really rocky for me in terms of connecting with Isla. Caleb as well, was fine, just nothing really stood out to me or made me care too much about him, but I did like that Isla and Caleb’s relationship already had a foundation. They were childhood friends first, which is cute, and makes sense because Caleb is Isla’s brother’s best friend. The issue of the brother of course complicates things, but it doesn’t stop the two of them from embarking on a fake relationship of sorts when Caleb needs a pretend girlfriend at work. There’s humor, there’s drama, there are a few heavy subjects (emotionally abusive parents, debt, and more).

All in all, I still had fun reading it, if you’re looking for a quick read, a few laughs, and a happily-ever-after, this might be worth your time!

Things I liked about this book:

Friends to lovers
Brothers best friend
Fake dating
Cade

Things I didn't like:

Isla at times was unlikeable but I liked the person she became at the end

A solid romcom!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!