Thank you NetGalley and Canary Street Press for an early copy of Heart of the Sun by Mia Sheridan. I love the mix of romance and dystopia in this story. The dystopian element adds an element of intensity and allows for unique storytelling. However, the storytelling fell a little short for me. I think what I struggled with the most was how quickly the story would move from one event to the next. We would meet new characters, and then they'd be gone within the next 5 pages. This made it hard to connect at times. As for the main characters, it was great to see the development of both Tuck and Emily in the story. I love the trope of childhood friends to lovers, and this was done well. This wasn't my favorite Mia Sheridan book, but her writing is always interesting and full of passion if that is what you are looking for!

3.5 stars

I’ve read several Mia Sheridan novels, and what I have learned is that she’s not afraid to write across genres.

Heart of the Sun begins like a romance novel: Emily and Tuck grew up on adjacent farms, their families were friends, and their moms made a vow to take care of each other’s child. Fast-forward, and Emily is a pop star who goes by Nova. Her boyfriend Charlie is a movie star, and she is far from the girl who grew up in orange orchards.

Tuck is home from prison, estranged from his father, and in need of work. He checks in on Emily’s family, and her mom suggests that he become part of Emily’s entourage when she goes on tour. Tuck becomes her bodyguard. It’s hard to imagine that these new versions of Emily and Tuck will be able to move past the tough facades they display.

Then the electricity goes out. Everywhere. The novel shifts from a romance to a dystopian journey. Emily, Tuck, and Charlie are trying to make sense of their surroundings, walking for days, and witnessing the downfall of society. Their goal is to make it back to California.

I am not a huge fan of dystopian literature, but I gave Heart of the Sun a chance. The mixture of genres was a little confusing, and I wanted to get back to the relationship of Emily and Tuck.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Im a huge fan of this author. I dont think I was expecting what this book was. With that said, I really loved it. Mia Sheridan is truly an amazing story teller. Thank you for the ARC

To start, I want to say that I did not finish this book. I ended up DNFing at 25% because I realized that I was not who this novel was meant for.

Heart of the Sun follows childhood friends Tuck and Emily as they navigate the world falling apart around them. We start off meeting the two characters as kids. Both part of families that own farms and we learn that Tuck has feelings for Emily. Fast forward to them as adults - Tuck is fresh out of prison, a convicted felon, and Emily is living her life as popstar "Nova" with her equally famous boyfriend Charlie. Tuck ends up becoming Emily's bodyguard and from here things take a turn. On a flight to New York, their plane crashes due to a "solar flare" that signals the beginning on the world falling apart.

This story definitely had a slower start to it. I found it to drag a little in the beginning and take longer to get to the main action in the story. Emily wasn't my favorite MFC, and I found in general I had a hard time connecting with these characters. I'm not someone who typically likes a "friends to lovers" trope or even a dystopian story. That is what pulled me away from this story more and made me realize that this just wasn't right for me.

I would recommend this for anyone who is a fan of dystopian/survival stories. It is different from anything I have personally read before. Mia Sheridan has a great way of building a world and developing her characters, so I would definitely give it a try!

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC, even though this story wasn't for me prsonally.

Heart of the Sun is considered a love story, but it’s so much more than that! Tuck and Emily are childhood friends who drift apart after a series of unfortunate events happen to Tuck. Fast forward to present time - Tuck is released from prison and returns to Emily’s family farm looking for work. Mrs. Swanson (Emily’s mom) hires Tuck as Emily’s bodyguard as she’s becoming a rising pop star. On a flight across the country, their plane crash lands from a mysterious, catastrophic event. The rest of the story follows their journey trying to get home to LA while the whole country is in chaos from this complete electrical outage - all while figuring out their relationship as adults.

If you go into this expecting a romance, you may be disappointed! The love story is definitely there, but the slow burn feels secondary to the cross country journey and their experiences along the way. Overall, I liked the book! It had romance, adventure, and suspense.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced copy for early review 🧡

Well this wasn’t one I would pick up if I read the blurb. This is a post apocalyptic romance? The romance was definitely backseat to everything else happening in this book. Nonetheless I was intrigued the entire time. I was disappointed in Charlie’s departure, I felt like it was just kind of an easy out to get rid of that character. I also thought the ending was rushed. We had so much detail of events through the whole book but the end was just like ok they’ve been reunited & then boom 1 year later this is how they’re living. Overall this book captivated my attention & is worthy of 4 stars based on the detail of events even if it stressed me out, made me nauseous & made me teary eyed!

TOO REAL!

If you too have been spiraling at the thought of the country unraveling and the grid going down for the foreseeable future, maybe don’t read this one? At least, not yet.

Other than the apocalyptic vibes, the romance aspect is a little too stretched out. Yes, it’s a second-chance romance, but the slow burn is soooooo slow. So, prepare to wait.

(Thank you, HarperCollins and NetGalley, for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Mia Sheridan is one of my favorite authors, and dystopian/post-apocalyptic romances are one of my favorite subgenres, so the moment Heart of the Sun was announced, I knew I had to read it. And it did not disappoint.

Emily and Tuck have a complicated past—once childhood best friends, life took them down very different paths. Emily became a successful pop star, while Tuck ended up in prison. When they cross paths again, the tension is palpable. At first, they don’t make a lot of sense together, but as the story unfolds, their connection deepens, and I loved watching their relationship evolve.

Tuck is resourceful and strong, the kind of protector you’d want by your side in a crisis. But what really stood out to me was Emily’s growth. In the beginning, she’s completely out of her element, but as the world falls apart, she finds her strength. By the end, she’s not just surviving—she’s thriving, and I was so proud of how she proved herself as an asset to Tuck.

The story itself is incredibly engaging and original. The unpredictable twists kept me on the edge of my seat, and I never knew what was coming next. The mix of romance, action, and survival made for a gripping read. While it wasn’t quite a five-star read for me, I still really enjoyed it, and I hope Mia Sheridan continues writing in this subgenre.

This was such a great story! I haven't read anything with a dystopian theme in so long that this felt fresh and like a break from reality. I loved the second chance romance - these characters were wonderful!

Not a fan at all. I found it very slow and boring to be honest. Not something that I would recommend at all unfortunately. Mia Sheridan is known for great books but unfortunately she seems to fly under my radar.

I love a good romance and I'm a sucker for a thrilling dystopian novel, so imagine my excitement anticipating the mixture of both. Could this be the next Hunger Games?! But... no chance. In fact, what the heck was this? This book is so incredibly slow, that I got bored and thought maybe reading the ebook wasn't the best way to go. Luckily, I was approved for the audiobook ALC. But unfortunately, that did very little to help. The novel actually started out pretty strong, but once it took a nose dive (pun intended) it was game over for me. The dual narration was rather well done and I believe added more to the story than I had originally thought. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the gifted ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I think I miss the dystopian era so much, that when I saw this book I needed to read it immediately.

Our two main characters grew up together on neighboring orangeries. We meet them again 13 years later: Emily is a rising pop star in need of a security team, Tuck is an ex-con who needs a job.
Sounds like a good old bodyguard trope, huh?

This is where "Heart of the Sun" gets so good... Emily, her boyfriend and her now bodyguard Tuck fly from LA to New York when a cataclysmic solar flare disrupts the electrical grid, their plane crushes, so they begin their on-foot journey back home. But the world around gets more and more dangerous every day.

I'd treat this book more as a dystopian novel, than a romance. But don't get me wrong, there's obviously second chance frenemies to lovers happening all over.

I actually loved their entire journey across the US: all the people they meet (good and bad), all the places and communities, all the struggles and survival. Honestly, the "becoming-dystopian" society made me feel very uneasy with it's accuracy.

I absolutely loved “Archers Voice” so I was so excited to check out “Heart of the Sun” by Mia Sheridan.

The premise of the book is slightly apocalyptic /suspenseful with a dash of Romance. Two childhood friends (Emily and Tuck) reconnect after Tuck is in need of a job and Emily is on the rise as a pop star when suddenly the world goes dark with the electrical grid completely going out. My biggest issue with this story was that so much was left out of Emily and Tuck’s childhood. They were best friends but when the book opens they were more like frenemies whose parents were best friends and neighbors. I wish we would have gotten more of their back story and their initial friendship as children.

As the book moved along, it reminded me so much of “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler (minus the religious undertones). I couldn’t get past how similar the post-disaster world was. Ultimately Tuck and Emily finding their way back together combined with Tuck’s arc of redemption made this a great book. I would definitely recommend it as good read if you’re looking for some romance and suspense!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC!

This book was a slow burn thriller, sci fi, romance all wrapped up into one beautifully written story. We follow Tuck, Emily and Charlie through an apocalyptic tale as they try to figure out what happened to make their plane fall from the sky and disable everything within miles of them. Reading this book was also a bit scary because I think it could actually happen if we were faced with the same challenges.
It did start off a little slow but trust me, it’s worth the time to finish this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this title in return for an honest review.

Tuck was such an interesting character. He literally went through so much. There's so many layers to this character. Emily the person vs Nova the artist was interesting to read.

This has childhood friends, second chance, celebrity tropes.

I enjoyed the apocalyptic vibes as well!

It’s been a while since I read a dystopian book, but it’s always been one of my favorite genres. Most of the time, the means in which society crumbles seems far fetched. But in this story, my mind was whirling with the possibility of what the characters went through.

I struggled to get into Heart of the Sun at the beginning due to the multiple points in the timeline we were getting. But once the story took hold it all made sense. It was a shock to the system to go from this normal society to then instant chaos. But it made for such a good ride.

I loved the MMC, Tuck. His complicated past and need for redemption made him my favorite character. I definitely had to grow my love for the FMC, Emily. However, I loved her character development and the slow burn romance. Overall, an enjoyable reading experience (even if now I’m terrified of a solar flare lol).

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC of this book!

Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Childhood Best Friends
Slow Burn Romance
Second Chance Romance
Popstar + Bodyguard
New Adult Dystopian Fiction

I got approved for an arc of this book and I loved it to an extent. It definitely was something I hadn't quite expected, since the only other Mia Sheridan book I'd read was Archer's Voice. Both MCs had a lot of layers to them, especially Tuck. Then you have Emily/Nova, which it was refreshing that she eventually figured out her true self and dropped the whole Nova act.

Giving this 2.5 stars. Overall the story felt like it struggled to have its own identity. I liked the description of the tropes for this book and that’s what ultimately made me want to read it. However I don’t think they were very accurate. This was not a romance until the last 1/3 of the book. The romance could have been way better developed. Like Charlie? Pointless character. He could have left so much earlier. Overall I did like it once I realized I needed to take this as a dystopian/apocalyptic/ survivalist/ road trip book with a second chance romance . Will I recommend it to friends? Yes? Maybe? With a warning. I would have enjoyed reading this on a beach chair. By the end of the story I was looking forward to a resolution and I did like what was written for the ending.

Surviving a plane crash is only the beginning of the survival journey. Solar flares destroy all electronic communication and transportation, throwing civilization into survival of the fittest mode. With the political climate like it is could parts of this story become reality?

Overall, this book just wasn't what I was expecting and my expectations caused me to be let down. I saw Mia Sheridan and immediately thought 'I've loved her other books, I will definitely love this', what I didn't realize was this was dystopian book that focused almost entirely on the world falling apart then it did on the romance. It is a slow slow burn, not even a kiss until 70% in. I did like the characters and I was rooting for them, I just think the book had too much filler for me. I think if you want a modern day, the world is ending dystopian book with a sprinkle of romance at the end, you'll enjoy this. I wanted a normal Mia Sheridan book, so I think I just wasn't prepared for what I was getting into.

Thank you to NetGalley and HTP for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.