4.5 stars!!!

In this new novel by Mia Sheridan, childhood friends Tuck and Emily are reunited after thirteen years apart. Emily, now a pop sensation, hires Tuck, an ex-con, as her bodyguard. As they navigate their old bond and the heat between them, a cataclysmic solar flare disrupts society, forcing them to find a new way forward.

I delved into this book blindly, drawn in by its captivating cover and promise of a love story. Occasionally, I like to take a break from dark and gory reads and indulge in some feel-good books. Little did I know what I was in for!

The story begins innocently enough, following two characters, Emily and Tuck, who have been separated by life for a long time. Despite their vastly different circumstances, fate seems to be pushing them back together. Without reading the blurb, I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by the gripping narrative that unfolded.

This book is ahead of its time, painting a picture of a future that feels eerily plausible. It made me ponder what would happen if the power went out, forcing us to rely on our survival instincts rather than modern conveniences. The characters are well-developed and endearing, making it impossible not to root for them and hope for a happy ending.

The story left me contemplating its implications long after I finished reading. The e-book and audiobook versions were equally engaging, thanks to the talented narrators who kept me on the edge of my seat. I found it difficult to pause the story once I was immersed in it.

This book exceeded my expectations, offering a unique blend of thought-provoking themes, enemies-to-lovers dynamics, slow-burn romance, and dystopian fiction. If you enjoy a captivating read that challenges your perspective, this book is must-read. Just wow!

Thank you, Harlequin Audio and Canary Street Press, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The thought pinging around my brain after finishing Heart of the Sun by Mia Sheridan was, "Wow... just wow."

Seriously, I was left a bit awe-stricken by the entire experience of this story.

This book is full of adventure, sorrow and joy, good and bad, hate and love, the nasty and the beautiful. It’s a story full of contradictions and unconventional ideas, leading to a bittersweet ending—just like the rest of the journey.

Honestly, it was incredible. It was terrible. It was wonderful.

Although... labelling this on the cover as a love story?? A LOVE STORY?! No, this is not a LOVE story.

If you really break it down, this is a work of apocalyptic fiction with a hint of love. But... it is also about two characters experiencing an adventure through space and time to find their way back to one another.

In my opinion, the wording on the cover could be changed to dissuade readers from thinking of it purely as a romance, since it’s a bit misleading—but maybe that was the point? Who knows.

Continuing with a little bit of the nitpicking....

The book starts with an action-packed and thrilling prologue that immediately hooks your attention, but then it does dwindle a bit during the character-building sections. I beg people to hold on through to Chapter 13 though, which is where the prologue meets the present-day storyline.

Chapters 1–13 focus heavily on character development—exploring their backgrounds, setting up how they reconnect, and laying the foundation for the slow-burn romance. But yes... those chapters DO pale in comparison to the rest of the story, and honestly, they almost lost me, but... I am so glad I stayed on board because the payoff was phenomenal.

I found myself surprised a lot throughout this story... especially in terms of the characters' real personalities—things that you just don’t expect from them (okay, some things I could have figured out just by reading the excerpt—like knowing Tuck was an ex-con—but honestly? I forgot about it... sue me! (JUST KIDDING PLS DON'T))

There were other surprising plot points, but at the same time, there were also some predictable elements—some that felt a little too convenient—but hey, you’ve got to keep the main characters alive somehow for that happy ending.

But, back onto the positives.

The Adventure & Romance

The adventure aspect of the book was great—fast-paced and gripping, keeping my attention locked in. The romantic aspect, however, was a slow burn.

Fate played a huge role in the story, making it feel like the characters were truly destined to be together and that certain events were meant to happen. Yes, this added to the predictability, but honestly? I kind of liked it.

In the end, it was bittersweet. I’m happy with where the characters ended up, but I still have so many unanswered questions—about their future, the future of the world, and even about other characters we met along the way.

I wish I could go back into the story, immerse myself in those words and pages again. But like I said—it’s over, and it’s bittersweet.

Final Thoughts

I would recommend people give this book a try. Just make sure to push through the slower chapters until you hit the point where the story meets the prologue, because from there? The adventure takes off.

I’d give this book 4.5 stars, taking off a bit for the slower opening chapters that just barely kept me hanging on.

A small note about the narration, not pertaining to the actual story:

While I loved the female lead’s narration, the male narrator wasn’t my favorite. I pictured his voice differently—deeper, more gruff maybe. He wasn’t bad, but he added some weird tones to certain words, and overall, I just didn’t think he was the best choice for this particular story.

2.5 stars. I have incredibly mixed feelings about this. It’s a. Interesting premise and had potential for the plot to POP, but then fell flat. Aside from their initial terrifying ordeal things seemed to come almost too easily for our MCs as they made their way through this new landscape. The timeline didn’t make a lot of sense to me either as it seemed things happened too fast.

My biggest gripe is that Heart of the Sun just didn’t sound like Mia’s voice, and that kills me because I LOVE her writing. In the acknowledgments she does credit Temple Hill for the general outline, so perhaps that was it?

Narration did a good job capturing emotions. Andre did not seem a good fit for Tuck as I imagined his voice rougher.

3.5 stars rounded up!

I’ll start by saying I absolutely love Mia Sheridan! I did audio for this one & absolutely loved the narrator’s!

This book was much different from anything I’ve read as by her so far. I was expecting a romance book and while there is romance, this was more of a dystopian fiction! This was my first in that genre and not my usual storyline. However, I did enjoy this book! I think I just expected more of a love story and this was definitely more romance subplot. Still extremely well written book for that genre and I loved the character development in this one! Would definitely recommend if you love dystopian fiction or post apocalyptic vibes!!

Heart Of The Sun - Mia Sheridan

What will you do when the end of the world, as we know it comes? What are you willing to do to survive? Will you hang on to your morals or will you adapt to survive? Is it possible to do both?

I had no idea what to expect when starting this book. I assumed that it was just a romance, but to my absolute THRILL, it is a dystopian romance!!

Tuck and Emily are childhood friends whose lives go separate ways. After Tuck is released from jail, up and coming singer Emily hires him as her bodyguard. When the world goes dark, they are stuck together, along with Emily's boyfriend to navigate the new world. If you're looking for a regular romance, this may not be for you as it is a veeeeery slow burn but if you are fan of dystopian books, then this will be right up your alley!!

I LOVED every single second of this novel! I was anxious and excited to find out what would happen next throughout the book. Where will they go? What and who will they encounter? Will they make it in one piece?

So, so good!

The audiobook is a duel narration with good narrators. Even though I listen to 150+ audiobooks a year, I don't think I've listened to either of these narrators before. I liked both and will recognize their names going forward as good ones!

I think with the current state of our world - the theme of this book was a tough read for me right now. Maybe I would enjoy it down the line, but for now it was hard. Its also a sloooooowwwww burn which sometimes can lose me.

(Thank you, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley, for the e-audiobook in exchange for my honest review.)

3.5 Stars

Former childhood frenemies are reunited 13 years later. One a rising popstar, the other a former felon looking for his purpose in the world...and that world just struck with disaster. Emily, her boyfriend, and Tuck are trying to make their way back to California after their plane crashed under crazy circumstances. A solar flare has struck the US rendering all electronics useless. Cars don't work (unless they were made in the 70s), people are turning on one another, and food and water are scarce. But Tuck has found his protector purpose and is determined to get Emily home to her parent's farm. And though they have grown apart these last 13 years they both can feel something still between them from when they were teenagers but refuse to admit it.

Heart of the Sun was an interesting read for me. On one hand I was prepared for more of a bodyguard/popstar story but I did end up loving the survival story. The FMC, Emily, was a bit unlikable at times but mostly she was okay. Tuck was a much more enthralling character. He's been to prison and ultimately just for trying to do someone a favor. He feels such guilt and has the urge to make his life worth something and is always looking to help someone out. He flourishes in his leadership role and makes Emily's boyfriend look like such a chump for the entire story. Granted, the guy is such a jerk it's not that hard for Tuck to do but Emily stood by him way too long anyway for my taste.

The adventure storyline was a bit slow paced but I was still entertained by it and got a lot of Walking Dead vibes minus the zombies. It was interesting listening to all the stories of the people that they meet along the way home and it makes me a little anxious to think what would happen if this type of solar flare disaster did actually occur!

I was blessed with an ALC of this book and I really did enjoy the narrators Andre Santana and Annalee Scott. I think their voices fit both of the characters well and they each had a good ability to switch character inflections. I listened to this on my normal 1.25x speed with no issues whatsoever. I'll be on the lookout for future narrations from both of them.

Overall a good one from Mia Sheridan, not stellar like Archer's Voice but still really good. I'll still keep reading anything she puts out in the future. Thank you so much to Harlequin Audio for gifting me this ALC in exchange for an honest 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!

We've got a second chance romance. Tuck and Emily were childhood besties. Fast forward and she is a popstar who hires Tuck, her childhood bestie, now an ex-con, as her bodyguard. They reunite, a solar flare hits and wipes out electricity, etc. I'll spare the as details; too much could spoil.

I chose this book for 2 reasons. Reason #1 is that Mia Sheridan got me out of a major reading slump in the past with Where the Blame Lies. I've recommended that book to several friends. What really had my attention was the "for fans of The Last of Us" description, a show that I love and believe is done extremely well. I think the apocalyptic factor was bland, which wouldn't be an issue if the romance pulled its weight, but it didn't. I feel like too many things were trying to be reached, and as a result, all of those things were left underdeveloped. I think it'll be a good choice for someone who likes a slow burn romance with a very soft approach to other territory but not necessarily someone who reads a fair amount of dystopian or survival type fiction as it is lacking the complexity. Ultimately, I'd give it 2.5 stars for a solid effort and good narration. I do believe it was a mistake was saying that this book is for fans of The Last of Us, because that statement set the bar high and honestly is probably what caused part of my let down. Do keep in mind, I hold that show to very high standards.

Thank you so much NetGalley & Harlequin for the advanced listening copy.

This book took me by surprise! I loved the new adult dystopian vibes it had and I love a second chance romance! For the like the first half of the book Emily did make me soooo mad. I feel like she was so unfair to Tuck and I felt so bad for him. Other then that I really did enjoy this book!

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, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley, for the e-ARC and e-audiobook in exchange for my honest review.)

I will admit that this book disappointed me a tiny bit. It wasn't a bad book but when you say "dystopian aspects" I kind of want that but for a friends to lovers romance with a weird plot point it was good.

Narrators did an amazing job! The book was beautifully executed and the character development and plot was done amazing!! Was captivated start to finish!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio
for the audio ARC.


Childhood friends Tuck Mattice and Emily Swanson had a bond that felt unbreakable—until life pulled them apart.

Thirteen years later, Emily is a rising pop star who needs protection, while Tuck, a brooding ex-con, is looking for a fresh start. When fate brings them back together, Emily hires him as her new bodyguard. They clash and argue like old times, but neither can ignore the spark between them.

Then, a powerful solar flare knocks out the electrical grid, throwing the world into chaos. Emily’s fame and fortune start to fade, while Tuck finally has a chance to prove himself. As they face their losses and the pain of the past, they must find their way back to each other—and a new life under the sun.

This just wasn’t the book for me not my genre. Although I did enjoy the psychological thrillers Mia Sheridan has written.

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.

The narrators on this books were great on this book. I was excited to listen to this because I’ve loved some other Mia Sheridan books, but this one was kind of a let down.

Admittedly I had no knowledge of the author going into reading this beyond vague recognition of her name. Had it not been printed on the front of the book I would have been very surprised that this was written by a New York Times best selling author.

I am thankful to have gotten the ALC for free from Harlequin Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

As far as the audiobook and its narration, it was well received. Both narrators did a great job with the material and while the 1x speed was on the slower side it was still listenable. I did end up listening to the majority at 1.75x speed .

As far as the book itself I found the plot to be incredibly disjointed with pacing that was made better with narration but still rough. I felt like the author had no connection to the characters. As if it was a homework assignment or something you would find on sites like WattPad.
Admittedly, I’m not someone who generally flocks to the dystopian but the premise and love story seemed intriguing. So I was disappointed that it fell so flat.

The book comes out May 20 2025.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

⭐️⭐️⭐️
.5(🌶️)

This story was a bit all over the place and I felt that as the book was coming to its conclusion not much happened.

The second chance romance was cute. The healing of their friendship was written well.

The dystopian vibes were off in my opinion. As the MMC and the FMC are journeying home and learning how the world is to be now that humanity is being challenged after a solar flare, you expect a different kind of journey. I just felt the story progression was very slow. We got introduced to stories and characters and the suddenly they are all but forgotten.

I did love the story of the father and the milk.

The audio was good. I had no issues with the narrators. I think I enjoyed the story more due to the dual narration.

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 audio ARC copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I read the physical book and listened to the audiobook. I still love it!! The narrator did a great job. Solid 4 stars!!