Just when Isa has thought she has hit rock bottom, the earth decides to split open and pull her down even further. Broke, recently kicked out of her apartment, and dressed to kill for another meaningless Tinder hookup, Isa is quickly running out of options. Saved by a lightbulb moment, Isa remembers her brother is in London and there is a whole apartment currently unoccupied for a month! To her dismay, she finds her brother’s best friend Cade has beat her to it, taking up residence while his apartment is being renovated. Determined to keep her current misfortunes to herself, Isa decides to find temporary residence is the most unlikely place. As luck would have it, her poor choice of a sleeping location leads to a perfect remedy for her homelessness – housesitting! Enjoying her recent good fortune, Isa relaxes in her temporary new digs and thinks she has finally come out on top, until she looks up from her poolside resting place and locks eyes with the last person she expected to see. Knowing how close Cade is with her brother, there is no way he will keep what she is doing a secret, unless she goes along with his proposition – pretend to be his girlfriend at corporate functions so they stop trying to set him up. Desperate to keep a lid on her downward spiral, Isa agrees with a few conditions of her own. Despite knowing Cade since they were kids, Isa hasn’t ever considered herself exceptionally close with Cade but when one on one pretending to be his girlfriend starts to feel a little too real, Isa has to decide what’s more important – keep her end of the deal or protecting her heart.

What I like about it: Isa was absolutely hilarious! Her back and forth with Neeta and Cade were some of my favorite moments. I loved her sarcasm, wit, and her perspectives. I didn’t even read the summary of the book before diving in and I knew right away there were some strong undertones between her and Cade. For that switch in her head to flip from disinterest to sheer lust meant something was always just below the surface between them – whether or not they choose to acknowledge it. Their constant one-upping each other is what really made this book vibe with me. Never allowing the other to be in a position of power, they consistently drove each other – either to excel or to the brink of insanity. I also enjoyed the inside take of house-sitting and the messed up situation that revealed. I never thought about the insincerity of the homeowners when they publicly advertise they are away, indifferent to what may happen to the person watching their house! 

What I love about it: I loved how Isa went through their history and realized her and Cade where never a matter of “if” but a matter of “when”. To see all the tiny moments that amounted to something so fundamentally big was beautiful. I also enjoyed how much the book focused on the significant impact “words” can have – from the comment to Cade from the neighbor, to comments and snide remarks Isa received from her brother and her parents. It took a lot of courage for her to stand up for herself and say enough was enough. It was also sad how much mental duress her parents did to Cade, Sebastian, and Isa even if it was never intentional – the gaslighting, the expectations, whether or not they were happy was irrelevant – they were taught to suck it up, get over it, and do what needed to be done – no matter the cost.  No wonder Isa was in dead end job, Sebastian was miserable, and Cade nearly killed himself (figuratively) to keep up the perfect image at work, all of them building up walls to protect themselves. I loved how Neeta was the little voice of reason, being the friend that Isa always needed and helped her realize that she was worthy of more that she believed.

The electricity between Isa and Cade could power New York City! How they didn’t realize there was something growing between them sooner is beyond me. The moments they did get together, all I have to say is Isa is one lucky woman! Even the intensity of something as minor as a kiss was still fire hot. The two of them did not hold back and the author captured the moments perfectly. I also liked the accidental walk in on her brother. Hey – he tried to warn her!

While the book was fun and lighthearted at time, Cade’s backstory was gut-wrenching! We learned so much about him through Isa – providing a dynamic perspective of who he was, how he felt, and why he held onto certain views despite the truth. I hated how Isa’s parents made him feel like a charity case, even if that wasn’t their conscious intent. The way his mother acted towards him and the absence of his father made you wonder how he even made it through life has a fully functioning human being (which clearly emphasized the importance of his bond with Sebastian).

Less than 300 pages, Rent to Be is a quick and easy read. If you weren’t laughing at the shenanigans happening during each house sitting adventure, you were holding your breathe waiting to see what would unfold next at the company events. There is so much heart and love in this book that I would recommend it to anyone who needs acknowledgment that they are enough and that it is ok to speak up for yourself, even if the sacrifice doesn’t feel worth the risk. Living up to someone else’s expectations or perception of you (or who you should be) is not living.