I loved the majority of this book! It's hard to write a postapocalyptic novel that sticks out with the amount of dystopian fiction out there right now - the addition of the romance was just what this needed to give it that edge! The characters were believable and the situations they found themselves in were equal parts terrifying and realistic. No spoiler - but the epilogue didn't do it for me. Slightly slow start, but the meat of the book was great!

Unfortunately, while I love this author, I didn’t finish this book. While it’s in the romance/sci-fi genre, I felt like the blurb of the book depicted more of a love story than a sci-fi book. I felt myself just feeling a bit confused by the plot and bored. I might give it another shot in the future now that I know what to expect, but I just don’t think this book was for me!

ARC review

Heart of the Sun surprised me with its compelling blend of genres. Seamlessly weaving together the emotional depth of a romance with the intriguing suspense of a dystopian setting, this book delivered a reading experience I didn't realize I craved. The characters undergo significant and believable growth, making their journeys all the more impactful. If you're looking for a read that will keep you on the edge of your seat with mystery/suspense, tug at your heartstrings with moments of love and heartbreak, and ultimately leave you with a warm feeling, Heart of the Sun is a fantastic choice.

First, I LOVE reading Mia Sheridan! I was unprepared for this one though! This was giving The Walking Dead kinda vibe minus the zombies. I did not know this was where this story was going but I'm here for it and loved it!

I loved Tuck and watching his character evolve. He was a truly good human! I loved the way he tried to pay it forward in every situation he was put in especially in a world they found themselves in!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade for letting me read this ARC for my honest review.

#NetGalley #MiaSheridan #HeartOfTheSun

This is more of a dystopian book with a romance subplot. It’s a good story but too much plot for me to follow. Others may like this. Thank you in advance for my netgalley copy.

I can’t get over this book right now. It love a good post-apocalyptic sorry and this doesn’t disappoint. Emily or Nova to her fans is a rising pop star. Tuck, her estranged childhood best friend just got out of prison and needs a job. She hires him to be her bodyguard and, along with her movie star boyfriend Charlie, they all set out in a private plane for an event in New York from LA. All the sudden the plane is crashes in the middle of nowhere Illinois and the group decides to head back home to LA. Civilization has collapsed. On their journey they encounter all types of people, the good and the bad of humanity.

I thought it was a well thought out novel and a good exploration of what people would do in this situation and a good look at how people approach relationships. There’s a little romance thrown in towards the end that’s a slow build during the whole book. If you like dystopian novels, this is a definite must-read!

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

I loved this book, couldn’t put it down, read it in one day!
It’s about an apocalypse and how you see ones true character when all materialistic items are removed.
There is also a second chance romance which tugs on your heart strings.
Definitely going to reread.

This book was super interesting! It honestly wasn’t what I expected. Which I love that. I loved the setting and the romance. Mia Sheridan is great when it comes to writing romance but the sub plot of the “thriller” aspect. I did feel like there was some plot holes but all in all it kept me hooked.

I have read other books by Mia Sheridan that I have enjoyed, so I was excited by the premise of her new book. However, the execution was lackluster and unfortunately, I did not like much about this book.

The book started off with some promising commentary on an ex-con’s difficulty in gaining a second chance after being released from prison. You are feeling sympathetic towards the MMC and hoping he will receive his second chance and find a home again.

But then for the first half of the book, I was annoyed by the FMC, which wasn’t a promising start for a romance. Emily was whiney, shallow and naive and although it was understandable that she didn’t fully trust Tuck with his past, some of her vitriol toward him was dramatic and uncalled for. Then, once we hit the apocalyptic portion of the storyline, she is pretty useless and insufferable in every situation. Although she was young and obviously living in the modern world, she did grow up on a farm so I’d assume she be at least a bit more versed in certain things. I tried to appreciate that Sheridan made her slow to accept the new reality as of course it wouldn’t be easy to suddenly be living in the chaos that was happening. However, some of her comments and actions were silly and juvenile and had me rolling my eyes a bit too many times to just brush it off as her being in denial, and really she needed a second chance on her entire character.

The romantic relationship between Emily and Tuck also seemed non-existent until the very end of the book. They started off butting heads but the rekindling passion was just the fact they got in each other’s faces during these fights, is that actually passion? I’m not so sure even if it was meant to be slow burn. Their interactions are mostly negative and although they have inner thoughts of finding each other attractive, there should have been a bit more substance to their conversations or flashbacks to wonderful moments when they were teens to redevelop a true relationship. Instead, even the flashbacks from their past are mostly negative interactions with no chemistry. It is not until very late in the book that they begin having positive interactions and then suddenly everything is rushed to push them together before the end.

I think this book would have benefited from being a bit longer in order to develop the relationship more as well as explain this new world they are navigating. I completely understand the initial slow reveal of everything happening in the world, as they wouldn’t have been able to receive more information in their situation. However, there weren’t enough scenes to truly build everything up and the ones that were added felt out of place, and true chaos comes completely out of nowhere in just a few days. Maybe that is a very accurate portrayal of what would happen in this world if we were cut off from technology and electricity since so much depends on that but again, some of what was described seemed thrown together.

I’m not sure if the annoying mannerisms of the FMC in the beginning made me annoyed by the rest of the book, and although she gets a bit better I never felt she was truly redeemed enough for the esteem Tuck then holds for her. Tuck himself is also not the most interesting character so I constantly felt a bit bored and frustrated by what was going on.

I would still recommend other books by Sheridan such as “Unwanted” and will try another of hers in the future.

I love a Mia Sheridan book and this one was a bit different than others. A post apocalyptic type love story. Second chance. The audio was wonderful with two narrators and it was engaging and exciting.

Mia Sheridan became an auto-read author for me from the moment I finished Archer’s Voice. But this one didn’t quite hit the same for me. It felt like it was lacking a lot. It started off way too slow for me and then the ending felt overly rushed. It was far underwhelming. The premise and the bones were good but I’m afraid it just didn’t deliver.

While I normally love Mia Sheridan books, this book was simply not for me.

This story follow two childhood neighbors (friends? could have beens?) who are at two drastically different places in their lives when a major phenomenon changes the way of the world.

Mia Sheridan books are usually some of my favorites because I love the way that she does a then and now setting, but I couldn't get into it with this book. I didn't see the attraction between them as teens that would then carry on as adults. I felt like I needed more from each character and they were simply there.

And the dystopian aspect to this book? Did nothing for me. A lot of walking, a lot of "we'll find something" and I just found myself bored.

Thank you Mia Sheridan, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Heart of the Sun by Mia Sheridan. It might have started out slow for me but once I got into it. Oh wow, it was a rollercoaster of a book. I didn't expect when I started the book it would go in this direction. I've enjoyed other books by the author and this one sure didn't disappoint me. I look forward to reading more by the author in the future.

Years after growing up next door to each other, Tuck and Emily are throw together during an apocalyptic world event.

Wow! This one is so unique! Here's what I liked:

The premise: Sheridan is so good at writing romances set in unique ways. Here, she has a pop star/bodyguard, former childhood friends set during the aftermath of deadly solar flares. The world is in chaos but Tuck and Emily are not only trying to find a way home but are finding a way to love each other. Because of this, the book is an action along with the romance. Neither is overdone; the book has a great balance.

The MCs: I really liked Emily and Tuck. They have a lot of things to get over and get through. But at the end of the day, they are perfect for each other. Tuck in particular, I really liked. His backstory broke my heart but it was also so realistic.


All in all, a great, and spicy, natural disaster romance!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

With the state of the world right now, I've been avoiding dystopian novels like the plague. But, when it comes to Mia Sheridan, there's nothing of hers that I won't read.

Heart of the Sun starts off like your regular romance novel.  Childhood friends separated due to unforseen circumstances.  It will be years before Emily and Tuck are reunited. They've both changed but still butt heads like they did as kids. But, when the world erupts into chaos due to a solar flare, all bets are off as they try to survive their new reality.

Heart of the Sun is a unique post-apocalyptic story.  I wouldn't necessarily call it a romance since it wasn't really central to the story. Instead this is a story of survival, friendship, and family. It was unpredictable and kept me on my toes.

While I found this story to be realistic and entertaining, there was definitely a lot going on and things felt chaotic at times. There was a lot of story to build along the way, but I do wish that things between Emily and Tuck hadn't been so rushed. I would have liked to see their romance develop more and their ending not so rushed.

Overall, I think this is a book you'll both love and hate. It's not perfect, but it's compelling and you won't be able to put it down.

4⭐️ 2🌶️ 5🎧

- Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic
- Second Chance
- Friends to Enemies to Lovers
- Pop Star/Body Guard
- Slow Burn

I am not typically a fan of dystopian/post apocalyptic books but I am a huge fan of Mia so I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book. I couldn’t put this book down! I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

I loved the emotions of the book. This book showcased the best and worst of humanity. I loved watching Emily and Tuck find their way back to each other. It was fascinating and terrifying watching the world as we know it end. For Emily and Charlie looking down on Tuck for being a felon to being completely reliant on him for his knowledge and protection.

Where I feel like this book fell a little short was in the details. It didn’t really make sense why some electronics worked and others didn’t. While I can appreciate that given the circumstances it makes sense for certain events to lack some closure and yet I couldn’t stop myself from disappointed when I didn’t see some characters get the karma they deserved. Both good and bad.

The audiobook was great. André Santana and Annalee Scott did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life.

I really enjoyed this one by Mia Sheridan. I’ve read quite a few by the author and always know I can count on her to leave me with a thought provoking story. This dystopian scenario was very interesting, especially when faced with so many recent events of disasters and seeing how people respond and wondering what if. Tuck and Emily’s story plays out in a situation that is the absolute worst of everything you can imagine and somehow they manage to retain their humanity despite the adversity they face. I switched between a digital copy and audio version of this book - I enjoyed the dual narration that swaps between Tuck and Emily. It was easy to get into the story with their style of storytelling. Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC.

Heart of the Sun, by Mia Sheridan, is a dual POV romance that follows childhood friends, Tuck Mattice and Emily Swanson. The pair find themselves thrown together through unusual circumstances [spoiler alert : the plane they are traveling on crashes in the middle of nowhere]. Emily and Tuck, and let’s not forget Charlie, Emily’s boyfriend, must not only navigate their way home across the country, but they must work together in order to survive this post apocalyptic world they are suddenly thrust into.

This was my first Mia Sheridan novel; I found her writing to be super descriptive and well thought out. I could picture each chapter unfolding as an action-packed episode on television.
However, at times the pacing felt off and I had a difficult time becoming invested in the plot. I wanted more from Emily and Tuck- more of their history and why this “second chance romance” felt important to them. Things picked up around the end of the book, but by then I had lost a little bit of steam with the story. I became more stressed with worrying about the “end of the world” and if I need to start planning a survival bunker, or start planting a garden and raise chicken.

Overall, I had high expectations going into this novel based on reviews of Sheridan’s past work. Feeling a little bummed that I didn’t enjoy this novel more but it won’t stop me from reading her other books!

I'd like to send a huge thank you to Harlequin, Canary Street Press, and Harper Audio for both the audio and digital early listener & reader copies of this book!

In this book, we get Emily (aka the pop-star Nova) and Tuck (former ex-con and now her bodyguard) and follow them after their plane crashes from (multiple) solar flares. We get to see what they experience through their trek home.

Have you ever thought about how you would act if the world/society as we know it crumbled?! Yikes, I sure know that I've thought of it (looking at you zombie tv shows....NO THANKS). Well now think about who you would want to be with you in the event of everything going belly up. Every time I read dystopian stories I always wonder if anyone goes to the libraries to get books on survival? I'd think some of the information there could prove crucial to help with agriculture, MAPS, and basic knowledge of plant-life. I'd also go to a garden center and grab all the food seeds I possibly could find. (All of this to say that - honestly - I'd be in a gigantic panic haha!)

All of this to say, that I really enjoyed their story and wished I got to see more in the epilogue =]

If you enjoy these tropes, give this book a try:
- Bodyguard x Popstar
- Former childhood friends
- Slow burn romance
- Second chances