It was so sad and so heartbreaking, but also so interesting at the same time. yknow? I wanted to give the MC a hug.

Not a fan of this story, not enough character development, poor storyline, bad dialogue and far too much anxiety.

The story has an interesting set up, but is spoilt by all of the anxiety and poor writing.

I enjoyed Bailos previous novel but found this one lacking. I couldn't connect with the characters and just found myself bored as I was reading. A shame as I was hoping to enjoy this one as much as her pervious novel

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. There’s not one thing I’d change. It’s a very realistic view of people in society today. It handled the subject of mental health problems so so sensitively. Furthermore it dealt with sexuality problems too. No spoilers but I would highly recommend.

David and Erik

Erik is a writer and visiting Pamplona, Spain. To remember and honor his dad who past away.
At the local tourist agency, he meets David who works there.
With every hotel fully booked his only chance to sleep in a bed is to accept David’s offer.

We get to know them on tour together through Pamplona, the anxiety of Erik, the always kind and understanding David and, their blooming relationship.

To be honest I rushed a bit through this story. It was kind, nice, well written, but I missed some
action. The process of grieving, acceptance and learning their own strength was well done.
The place where it all took place was nice. The personalities ditto. But for real entertaining I missed something.

This was a fairly enjoyable and quick read. There's definitely some suspension of belief necessary. The relationship goes from 0 to 100 over the span of about 2 days. I would have liked a little.... more. I understand it was a shorter book but it definitely could have used some more time in the city. For a book about traveling they sure stayed inside a lot. There were certain aspects of the city mentioned but it didn't give a real FEEL for the city at all. I would have liked a bit more of that, more of the characters relationship developing, etc. For the length it was, it did what it could, though.

This was an enjoyable read and I was able to read it in one sitting due to it being a shorter read. Erik's struggle with anxiety was relatable.

The Sun Still Rises is a contemporary mlm romance novel written by Lauren Bailo.

Erik’s father went to Pamplona every year for the Running of the Bulls, and he always asked Erik to go with him. Erik always declined the invitation, and after his father’s death, Erik decides to go to Pamplona as a means to closure.

But his last-minute trip leaves him in a foreign country without any plan- no itinerary, no accommodations, nothing at all. The realization that he may have been too impulsive is exacerbating his anxiety.

Luckily, Erik meets David, a tour guide who speaks fluent English. David says that Erik can stay with him at his house.

And no, this isn’t as lurid as it sounds. The focus of the book is on the development of a friendship, and they don’t even kiss for the longest time, and then as soon as they do, they’re already talking about being boyfriends and how are they going to manage their long distance relationship. Maybe it’s just me, but they’ve only known each other for a couple of days, and sure, love connections are real, but it seems a little too hasty to be that much in love after kissing.

I would give this book 2.5/5, rounded up to 3. I did like the idea of a travel romance, and I did appreciate the inclusion of Erik’s struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. The romance was more like a YA with high schoolers, but the characters were both adults.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this novella, despite the dialogue feeling stilted and unnatural at times. I wish I could have learned more about the anxiety Erik struggled with. But for such a short book I thought the characters, city, and the description of the event were nicely developed.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

The story is cute, it's about a young man, Erik, a writer, who is dealing with the grief of his father's death and who decided to go to Pamplona, in Spain, because his father loved the festival with the running of the bulls. Arriving there without a clue, a word in Spanish and a reservation he meets a cute man, David, who decided to host him in his house. Of course they fall in love. They are actually very sweet, but the story is a bit predictable, the only real part was the main character's anxiety attack and even in that case I didn't like how it was written. Unfortunately, I didn't like the writing style. It's like the story have pontential, but the author listed everything like a shopping list. He slept, he ate, he went to the bathroom. It felt only an action list and really, really how many showers in three days one could have? He showered and ate. Slept and watched, blushing, David and viceversa. There are almost no places descriptions or feelings, emotions shown. There was a lot to be explored. Erik's relationship with his father, his anxiety attacks and everything felt so flat, like it was put there and not developed.
I found the story very unrealistic. First of all, David complimenting Erik when they just met and Erik falling in love with him right away, trusting him so soon. I found it weird,above all because he suffered from panic attacks. You trust a complete stranger and after a dinner go to his house? Pour your heart to him? No, absolutely. Too soon, too rushed, too underdevoped. "There was something about you that led me believe I can trust you" Are you for real? There are a lot of dialogues and it's really not my style, because I wanted to know more about their feelings and thoughts. It was interesting, though, learning a bit about the festival.. But, after reading everything in less of an hour, I have to give 1.5 stars