I really enjoyed this, the characters were likable and easy to root for that by the end I was upset we didn't get more of them. Isla has made every decision in life based on expectations of others, but when she realizes all that it's given her is student debt, friends she can't depend on and secrets she realizes she needs to make some changes. With her brother out of the country she decides to utilize his apartment as her starting point to getting back on her feet, only to find his best friend is already crashing there. Needing Cade to keep her secret she agrees attend work events with him to help him get his match makers of coworkers off his back. I couldn't tell if the author was setting up the side characters for a sequel but they added a fun layer to the story and were very entertaining. I didn't love the epilogue and wrap up it felt a little disjointed from the rest of the story but overall enjoyed the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this eARC to review.

This was a quick and fairly fun book to read yet I found that this lacked a certain spark that would have made me enjoy it even more. I still recommend this book though as I know that a lot of people will enjoy this especially with the fake dating between Cade and Isla.

Quick cute read with Brother's Best Friend & pretend dating tropes. I loved the "can't be honest with your family because you're the disappointment" and how that was terribly handled (because if you have that kind of family, you never can) but it wasn't too "poor poor me" and I loved that too, even if it was hard.

A sweet, quick read with he-falls-first and brother’s-best-friend tropes. The chemistry was sweet and i appreciated the nods to real life challenges like debt and complicated family relationships. However i struggle with stories like this where the two characters clearly like each other from the get go. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out in August.

Considering ‘brother’s best friend’ and ‘fake dating’ are two of my favorite tropes, I should’ve loved this book. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I did.

It started out promising, and I liked the initial flirty banter between Isla and Cade, but it didn’t hold up the further I got into the book. Isla was struggling with postgrad life, and having graduated college in the middle of a recession I could relate to that. However, it felt like she constantly blamed every single external factor and other person she could for her problems, rather than owning the fact that she was making terrible, occasionally irresponsible decisions and choices time and time again that made her situation worse. I get that she didn’t feel like she could go to her parents for help and the attitudes and comments she was exposed to growing up made asking for any help difficult, but at some point those excuses run out.

The relationship between Isla and Cade eventually started giving me whiplash with all its back and forth. At first it seemed like they’d just always had a flirty relationship growing up, but then sometimes it seemed like they’d actually disliked each other, but then also were almost confidants at times and the way that was all explained was chaotic. Even when they finally gave into their chemistry, one of them would shift lanes so quick it was hard to keep up with the why of it all.

One character and role in the story I did love was Neeta. She was a great friend and not afraid to be blunt with Isla, which Isla definitely needed in her life.

The story was fine. The cover is cute. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the arc copy, all opinions are my own.

Is it me! Or the universe don't give us good romance anymore!!
Or i read too many romance book that everything seems cliche or toooo theatrical to me!
I am sorry, but i really wanted to like this book. I mean the name, the cover and blurb sounded soooo good!What went wrong!

Thank you, Alcove Press and NetGalley, for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rent To Be is about Isla, our millennial fmc who has a horrible entry-level job after getting her MBA. She can't afford her rent and goes to her brother's house to crash in his spare room. She doesn't realize that her brother's best friend, Cade, is also staying in her brother's house, and to keep him from telling her parents and brother, she poses as his girlfriend for some of his work events. Throughout the book, we see Isla navigating, trying to find a stable job with her degree, and managing her parents, who have always put lots of focus on their kids having a job and being able to support themselves.

I thought this story was very relatable, considering that I'm in grad school and tuition is crazy, but Isla annoyed me so much. I know her situation was not great, but omg her complaining grated me, especially anytime she mentioned her MBA. I did understand her motivations because of how her parents behaved and how overbearing they were. The romance was okay, but I wanted more. There wasn't much fake dating, and Isla and Cade living together made the predictable thing that would tear them apart more annoying. I wished we had gotten more of Isla's relationship with her brother, but by the end, I was satisfied with her development.

This was a related and cute book, there were annoying actions by the characters, but it was a quick and okay read.

This was a quick read with some of my favourite tropes but unfortunately it fell flat for me. I didn’t particularly like or connect with either of the main characters. This book had a lot of tell rather than show and that made the leads feel pretty one dimensional.

What did work for me was the childhood friends to lovers element. I enjoyed the flashbacks from Isla and Cade’s childhood and the mutual pining from both characters. Add in the brothers best friend element and that added a few more points for me.

Thank you to Alcove Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

I would give this book a 3 star. I think I was expecting more from this book but it came up short. The cover was great and I thought going into this book it would have had all the feels for me but it didn't. i just wanted more. I do look forward to reading again from Sonia Hart in the future.

Rent to be follows the story of Isla as she navigates life after college, realising that a fancy degree does not necessarily mean success. Having fallen behind on rent, her roommates throw her out, leaving her with no option but to stay at her brother, Seb's condo. However, once she gets there, she realises their childhood friend, Cade, is also staying at the house.

Not wanting to bruise her ego, Isla decides to stay elsewhere. She sets up a house sitting business to make ends meet and keep her way from any temptation around Cabe. However, when Cabe needs Isla to pretend to be his girlfriend for work events, the temptation gets harder to say no to.

This was a friends to lovers trope. However, I don't feel like this lasted too long. The inevitable happened very quickly. There was nothing I found engaging or endearing about either of the characters and felt that the over all story was just lacking. I really wanted to like Isla and feel some sympathy for her but I just couldn't. I love rom-com reads but this one, unfortunately just didn't hit the mark for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Algove Press for the ARC!

“If only I thought about you half as often as you think about me.”“If only.”

Isla has been forced to moved out of the house that she shared with her roommates because of failure to pay rent on time. As it turns out, she has a stable job but they pay minimum wages so now she has no other option than to move in to her brothers house while he is out traveling. But problem is that, Ilsa has some mommy and daddy issues so she thinks she has to survive on her own and not ask for help so she somehow lands a job of house-sitting for her co-worker. When she's moving some of her stuff into her brother's condo, she bumps into his bestfriend who also happens to be living there because his house has an ongoing renovation. Isla & Cade share some past history being childhood friends and while Cade is loyal to her brother, he puts forth a deal so that he would hold on from letting her brother know of her situation if she becomes his fake girlfriend so that his bosses stop trying to set him up with someone. They start to fake date and while spending some time together, old feelings resurface. The plot is all about that. The blurb made it seem like Ilsa & Cade would be living together but that wasn't the case, instead there was a fake dating situation thrown in but I would hardly call it that because there were very few scenes where Cade & Ilsa had to appear to be in a relationship. While I liked the writing style and the characters, some of their actions were immature and self-sabotaging tbh. Overall, I enjoyed the book and read it in one sitting and while the ending was cute, I expected something more wholesome from the epilogue ngl.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

Thank you Netgalley and Sonia Hartl for this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

It wasn't what I expected. Even though I like the trope of brother's best friend and fake dating, it fell kind of flat for me. I felt that the book was a bit too short and had no depth. However, I do appreciate the representation of financial struggle in this book and the relationship between the main characters.

Thank you once again!

A delightful love story between two long time friends. Isla is down on her luck. Riddled with student debt, no savings, stuck in a job she hates and out of an apartment. Her solution, crash at her brother's place while he's out of the country. Only, she didn't anticipate the presence of Cade Greenly, her brother's best friend. When Cade discovers what Isla is hiding he offers her a proposition, pretend to be his girlfriend at work events and he'll keep her troubles a secret from her family.

Friends to lovers is a new favorite trope of mine and this book delivers. Cade is so wonderfully attentive, you could tell he was down bad for Isla from the get go. I loved the build up of tension between them, when they finally gave in it was downright delicious.

My one complaint is that the book felt slightly unfinished due to some loose ends that weren't tied up. That aside it's a fun romance that I read out in one sitting. Fully recommend.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with a ARC of this book.

When Isla scrambles to prevent her life from imploding, she runs into Cade, her brother’s long-time best friend. We follow both characters through several weeks of fake dating, a friends to lovers journey, and plenty of steamy tension! The story highlights Isla’s journey of independence and self-assuredness, despite the problems with her life and her fear of letting others down. Overall, I enjoyed this story and found the childhood friends to lovers plot compelling.

I tend to go hot and cold with “brother’s best friend” stories, but I’m glad to say I enjoyed Rent to Be quite a bit. This is a story with plenty of heart, heat, and real commentary about struggle. A fun and quick read!

Wow. This story is so authentic and real, it feels like you're catching up with someone in real life. Some of your favorite tropes are here, but this is a very real-life look at millenial/Gen Z life these days. Tropes include: brother's best friend; fake dating; stuck together; friends to lovers.

Twenty-something Isla Jane is having the worst time of it. Every category of her life is going south when she washes up on the doorstep of her brother's condo. He's traveling for a month and she can at least crash there as she's in between apartments. Her brother's best friend, hottie nice guy Cade Greeley is also crashing at the condo while his home is being renovated. Cade has been around since all three of them were kids, so why is it so hard to be at peace near him?

As Isla tries to pull her life together, she and Cade explore the possibility of something more than friendship when he needs a fake girlfriend to accompany him to his company's social events over the summer. It's a lot: Isla's house sitting business is mostly a positive experience, and being Cade's pretend girlfriend is definitely enjoyable. But it's an illusion, really: pretending to life in these other people's homes, pretending to be with Cade. Isla's family doesn't have high hopes for her either, and the constant digs about her life and career really sting.

There's nothing fantastical or dreamy about the people or the story. Isla and Cade's struggles with imposter syndrome are all too relatable, as is Isla's frustration with her stalled career. Isla's challenges with her family are incredibly realistic, and the personal growth that she realizes throughout the story is interesting.

What I liked about this book was how honest and real it was about what it's like to be a young person these days. To have dreams that are put on the shelf in favor of a more solid career path, or a career path that doesn't exactly turn out the way you wanted. Dealing with parents who are difficult and not as understanding as you might want. Lots of real-life elements contributed to how believable this story was.



Thank you to Sonia Hartl and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

This is my second book by Sonia Hartl, the first being Heartbreak for Hire. I feel like if you liked that one, then you will like this one. At least that was my experience.

Isla is a millennial without a plan who thought she was doing the responsibile thing by getting a MBA, but is having trouble with finances. This book struck a little close to home because like many millennials, I had issues figuring out my life. Isla was enjoyable to read in that she didn't have it together, knew it and just kept on making mistakes while trying to grow. I love a messy heroine.

Meanwhile, Cade is the lead male character who is doing well and trying to prove he isn't his parents. I liked them together and I liked how much Cade cared for her.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read with some laughs to be had. The pacing did feel a little haphazard in places and the third act breakup was a little weird. However, I would still recommend this to anyone who must wants a lighthearted romance about people you would encounter in real life just trying to figure it out.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for this ARC!

This book was so much fun! It was a quick, easy, and cute read. Rent to Be is perfect for anyone that loves childhood friends to lovers, brother's best friend, and fake dating!

We follow Isla Jane, who is living the millennial nightmare. She has an entry-level job after graduating with her MBA, but is drowning in student loans and behind on her rent payments. When she gets kicked out of her apartment, she goes to her brother's condo knowing he is out of town on business for a month. However, when she arrives, her brother's best friend, Cade Greenley, is using the condo while his own is under renovation. Trying to find another place to crash, she desperately chooses to sleep at her desk and figures that her luck is about to change when one of the big bosses at her office needs someone to house-sit while she goes on vacation. Isla thinks her plan to take house-sitting jobs is the perfect for-now solution while saving up for a new place...that is until Cade catches her by the pool in a mansion that's obviously not hers.

So, Cade and Isla strike a deal. He will keep Isla's secret from her overbearing parents and brother if she agrees to pose as his girlfriend at his company's corporate events. The secrets and lies Isla keeps accumulating starts to be a little too much, but the one that is front and center is how she truly feels about Cade.

I related to some situations Isla was going through. The fact that a graduate degree can't guarantee you a well-paying job after graduation is terrifying. With student loans and rent to pay for almost everyone in their 20s and 30s, it's extremely hard to get by. I just can't imagine what that's like if you also have a family to take care of. So, I appreciated how Sonia Hartl created a character as relatable as Isla. Even though Isla was struggling, she still kept going, and I truly admire that.

Overall, Rent to Be was so freaking cute AND STEAMY!! Cade Greenly definitely made it on the book boyfriend list early on as I was reading; he's just too charming and lovable! Both characters are also really funny and both slightly idiotic, which makes for hilarious situations and banter. I have not come across many brother's best friend books, but after reading this one, it's one of the tropes I will definitely be looking out for!

Rent to Be comes out August 15, 2023, so mark your calendars! Happy Reading!

1.75/5 stars! This was my first book by author Sonia Hartl. The premise sounded cute and I was excited to hear this was for fans of Tessa Bailey. This story never came together for me. Cade and Isla were an interesting match, but I didn't even like Isla. She makes stupid decisions and then leaves Cade to like find solutions for her. The book had potential but it didn't pay off. Not sure if I would read anything else by this author.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily