This was a super fun, coming of age, fake-dating, brother's best friend roommance, spicy love story. I enjoyed how relatable recent college grad Isla is as she struggles to find an affordable place to live and a well-paying job she doesn't despise! The chemistry between Isla and her brother's best friend Cade is OFF THE CHARTS and it doesn't take long for them to give into their romantic feelings thanks to lots of forced proximity, fake dating foreplay. Good on audio narrated by Kirsten Leigh and definitely recommended for fans of authors like Falon Ballard. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review!!

This was a quick read with some of my favorite tropes, but it didn't work for me. I didn't care for or identify with any of the major characters. This novel relied much on telling rather than showing, which made the characters feel one-dimensional.

The element of childhood pals to lovers worked well for me. I liked the memories of Isla and Cade's upbringing, as well as their mutual longing. With the addition of the brother's best friend, It gained a few more points from me but overall the character development wasn't there.

Review: Rent to Be - Sonia Hartl

I was very lucky enough to receive this book as an ARC.

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.

📦Brothers Best Friend
📦Fake Dating
📦Forced Proximity

This book had me hooked from the beginning!!! I could not put it down!! I loved Isla and Cade’s characters!! I really enjoyed the storyline of Isla’s life being in shambles and Cade being her knight and shining armour in a way by wanting to always protect and look out for her. I really loved at the end of the book that Isla put everything on the line.

I definitely recommend this book!! I cannot wait to read another Sonia Hartl book soon!

Rating: 4 / 5⭐️’s

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Rent to Be seems so much more convoluted than it needs to be. At its heart it is a story of a girl who has crushed on her brothers best friend and vise versa for years. But to put them together the author has the FMC making a series of poor choices. Isla Jane is stuck with a low level entry type job even though she has an MBA. She is floundering as school loans kick in and she hasn’t made rent for enough months her roomies put her stuff on the doorstep. Taking her boxes in hopes of staying at her brother’s condo since he is out of town she is surprised to find his best friend Cade Greenley staying there while his condo is remodeled.

Instead of agreeing to share the apartment setting up a forced proximity situation, Isla lies and begins a new side job of house sitting. The blurb makes a big deal about a fake relationship. But Cade calls in the favor/blackmail only for a few work events so it is only a small part of the story. The point is to get them together where they can be tempted by their attraction and long held feelings. There is enthusiastic steaminess between the pair. And I will say the original meet up between the two was surprisingly funny.

But Isla also has parent issues. One of the reasons she can’t go home and ask for help is because of the toxic behavior or her mom and dad. And that is also felt to some degree by Cade who was welcome in their home growing up but always as less than. Of course you’re cheering for the two to get together. And extra kudos to the respectfully confronting the parents scene. But over all there is a lot of wrong choices that make it harder to relate to Isla. The epilogue is okay but it was surprising to see Cade isn’t a whole lot better with his finances than Isla. The story is worth reading but I tangled with mixed feelings on some of the characters actions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review. (3.5 Stars)

Isla is down on her luck. She is in a dead-end job and struggling to pay her rent and all her other obligations. When she missed a few months of rent and is kicked out of her apartment, her plan is to live in her brother's apartment while he is away on a business trip while she figures out her next steps. But it turns out his brother's closest friend, Cade, is already staying in the apartment while his own home is being renovated. Isla and Cade end up with an arrangement -- he will not share with Isla's family her secret that she is without a home, and she will pose as his girlfriend at his office's many social events. At first reluctant, Isla finds herself looking forward to the time she spends with Cade, and wondering if there may be a future even once their fake dating arrangement ends.

This is a delightful book, complete with engaging characters and a story that is both fun, funny, and often insightful.

Highly recommended!

This was a great read and I enjoyed it from start to end! It begins with a lot of fun and I flew through the first quarter or so, devouring all the hilarity and falling quickly for the fake dating scenario (one of my favourite tropes). I had a bit of hesitation at the parental conflict but love how it was handled and found it provided a realistic representation of how these things go. Life isn’t always tidy or fixable in three hundred pages so this resonated with me.

The main character was lovable from the get go and the supporting cast of new friends and old was the perfect balance to her. This is a single POV novel and I think it works well and the fake dating trope is well done.

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to read and review "Rent to Be"!

I really liked this book!

Isla and Cade were very cute and believable together, I fully got their romance and I was sold on the older brother's friend meets childhood friends to lovers meats fake dating trope mix.

The combination of romance and social issues was an interesting one.
But I feel it worked really well in this book.
Rich versus poor, capitalism versus socialism, financial issues, family/generational trauma, internal dialogue from "values" you received while growing up, millennial adult kids standing up to their boomer parents... it flowed through the romance and to me made it a more interesting read than some other romance books.

They are still VERY YOUNG (recent grads) though so made mistakes and are very messy at times, but it was almost endearing to me. At least, I (at the ripe old age of 36 years old) could think back to when I was 23-26 years old and shake my head at all the things I did wrong.

Bit surprised how Isla could do her fulltime job while housesitting as a fulltime job?

Secondary characters were fun and engaging.

A+ for the cute cover and punny title.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Lots of levity and lots of more serious moments. I think I would have preferred if it leaned I to one more than the other, but I enjoyed the chemistry eternity our couple.

I enjoyed "Rent to Be", but it wasn’t quite everything I wanted.

I loved Cade and I mostly liked Isla, but she was a little bit much at times. They were definitely very cute together and I had a lot of fun reading about their fake-dating relationship. The nickname ‘Rainbow Bear’ was unbelievably cute and I wish there’d been a little bit more focus on their romance.

Isla’s career struggles were relatable and I enjoyed the message of finding your path and doing something that makes you happy, but at times this took away from the lighthearted feel of the book that I was really after. And Isla’s path at the end isn’t really what I expected from her.

Also, I know it’s not exciting to read about characters just going to work, but with how little Isla’s actual day job was mentioned I was starting to wonder if she was still going to it throughout all the housesitting.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WHAT A SPICY FUNNY BOOK! I was so here for a romcom that had a lot of com! If you like the fake dating trope this book is for you. It's got some great chemistry between the characters, which keeps the pages turning. As well, it was easy to relate to the main character Isla. The other great thing about this book is the side characters that Sonia Hartl has created--pls write their book as a follow up!

This is a great summer romcom to take with you on vacation or to the beach! It's even great curled up with a blanket at night!

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Brothers best friend is honestly my favorite trope and I think there’s fake dating?? I fully believe that their romance is going to be good! But I don’t think this is going to the escape I’m looking for. And while I think talking about the real struggles of life after college is so so important - I am VERY much living that life - I don’t want to read about it at this time

So this not a reflection in the author or even the book. I would willing to give this author and even the book another chance at another time

Thanks to Netgalley and Alcove Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions

Thank you to Author @hartlsonia @alcovepress & @netgalley for providing this ARC; all opinions shared are my own.

This was such a fun fake dating, brothers best friend romance and it was easy to get sucked into the quirky personality that is Isla. She and Caden had such a push-pull relationship and I enjoyed as we witnessed more of their defining childhood memories together to explain their actions in the present.

The way that the Author discussed debt and the financial situation of many newly graduated young adults was engaging and I can only imagine that many people live through what Isla does throughout the book. It was nice to have an FMC who had flaws but stood her ground and defended who she is.

Look out for publication on August 15th 🥳

I’m all here for a brother’s best friend story so I knew I had to check this book out. Hartl writes a story about a woman who needs a place to stay after having no money and stays at her brother’s place but his best friend is also there to live for a while. The author did a great job with the storyline and bringing the plot that was promised. It was fun, entertaining, and steamy with learning experiences for the characters. This book is only told from the FMC pov which wasn’t bad but I also didn’t enjoy Isla’s character. I often found her annoying though I did enjoy seeing her grow. Cade is the love interest and I enjoyed his character. It would have been nice to see his perspective in the book too. There were some side characters in the book but they weren’t the main focus in the book. The romance is brother’s best friend, fake dating, and forced proximity with some steamy scenes. The romance was well done and I loved the chemistry between the two characters. The ending was sweet and I thought it was perfect for the book. Hartl did a great job with writing this story and I can’t wait to see what else she comes out with next.

I loved Sonia’s first book, but unfortunately Rent to Be was a miss for me. I had the hardest time liking Isla and the choices she made. I also found the beginning in the book very slow and hard for me to get into.

Such a funny cute read.
Isla is living a nightmare where nothing is going her way. She has an MBA but her entry level data job just isn't paying enough to even pay her rent, so when she comes home to find all her stuff on the lawn of her rental she heads to her brothers apartment to stay. Problem is that her brother's best friend Cade is staying there and when she walks in she is shocked to find Cafe completely naked. She ends up starting a house sitting business whilst hiding the real situation from her family and friends with Cade being the only one knowing the truth. He keeps it a secret in exchange for her being his fake girlfriend at his weekly work social events. As any romance fan knows this is always a recipe for a real romance.
Fun spin on a proven trope. The characters are fun and interesting and it is a story about not settling in life and finding what makes you happy.

Fake dating! Friends to lovers! Isla is miserable- she hates her job, she's got huge student debt her parents are awful, and she doesn't have a place to live, But then she decides to stay in her brother's guest room and it all changes because Cade is there too. He makes the deal with her- pretend to be his girlfriend and he'll help her, And you know what happens, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is trope-y trope-y trope-y but I suspect there are many out there who will sympathize with Isla's plight,.

Cute!

I loved this book! It is cute, witty, and covers topics that are under discussed. HOWEVER, I did knock it a star because (especially at the end) it gave me some major cancel culture vibes with a touch of agenda. While there is a place for that . . . I read fiction to get away from the BS of reality. So, it took away from the story for me.

What I loved was Isla and Cade!! She is a mess, but in a way that makes her completely relatable. Cade is the boy next door whose story broke my heart. What creeped me out was 100% the NDA house. You will know what I’m talking about when you read it.

100% recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC!

Isla Jane’s life is going nowhere fast, with a dead-end job and bills galore. The only way she can get ahead is to leave in the guest room of her brother’s condo, whilst he is away. Little does she know that her brother’s best friend, Cade Greenley is also planning to crash there whilst his own condo is being renovated. So, when there is the possibility of staying a mansion that is not hers, she has to admit that she can’t afford to rent. Cade agrees to keep her secret from her parents if she will pose as his girlfriend at upcoming events. Soon, their fake dating seems to be so much more. What Isla is not sure of, is whether Cade feels the same.
A quick read with the familiar friends to lovers’ aspect. I enjoyed reading about their past, through the flashbacks which helped me appreciate their history. I would have liked to have read more about them as a couple, as the ‘fake dating’ seemed to have more time devoted to it, than the actual romance. An enjoyable read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Love it soooooo much!!!!:)

Thank you so much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

The housesitting scheme in this book felt overreaching and a little creepy - yes, I'm sure it happens, because millennials are in desperate straits, but it hampered the enjoyment for me.