Thank you to the publishers for an early copy of this book. I realized pretty early on that this book wasn’t for me. I thought it was going to be more of a romance and it ended up being more of a survival novel with very little romance. I didn’t care about the characters at all and didn’t find them very well developed. I wasn’t very invested in this and this was just a bit of a miss for me.

I read and listened to the audio, simultaneously, and it devoured my life for 2 days. How can one finish this book unscathed? My mind is still hungover and I just know that I will never forget this epic love story.

Ok. Wow. I don't know what I was expecting but that wasn't it. However, I loved it. I loved the characters, except Charlie. What a jerk. The pace was good, the plot was great. It really just makes you stop and think....what if?
Mia Sheridan is one of my favorites and this book didn't disappoint me at all.

Heart of the Sun by Mia Sheridan is a post-apocalyptic, slow-burn romance that had me hooked! Childhood friends to enemies to lovers, survival, second chances, and ALL the feels. Couldn't put it down.

Thank you to the Hive for the E-Arc and ALC of Heart of the Sun. This is my first book I have read from the author and I definitely see some potential here! I gave this rating a 3.5 stars for the book but I did like the ALC which was a 4 star for me. I enjoyed the focus on how others would react to a disaster. This definitely reminded me of vibes of The Last of Us and The Walking Dead. I think those who enjoyed those shows would appreciate the vibes this book brings.

This definitely felt more YA and a little rushed in my opinion of the love focus on Tuck and Emily. I wish it felt more organic and not rushed. The narration was nice! It felt easy to engage with the narrator and was easy to follow. He really set the scene for you as you listen!

I had the chance for a sneak preview of this book last August, and it definitely left me wanting more and to read it. Skip ahead and I was lucky enough to be selected for an eARC of Heart of the Sun.

This book was a journey! A dystopian setting where the world is plunged into darkness. Planes have crashed, cell phones and cars stopped working... former childhood friends turned pop star and bodyguard ... Tuck and Emily are trying to make it back to their homes in California.

This book is full of suspense and tension (romantic and otherwise). Think - Last of Us or Walking Dead vibes - where you are trying to survive and just make it back to your loved ones.

While I enjoyed this book and found it to be a quick read, I did at times question where this was headed - were zombies gonna jump out? Are they gonna die in the end and leave us gutted? What is even happening?! So there were a few parts where I was just wanting it to get to the end and tell me how it ends. The journey to get to the end was long, but then the end felt almost a bit too quickly wrapped up (and left me with some questions...)

I'd say this is a 3.75-4⭐ read. I was a little unsure of how I felt when I learned that the author was given the plot idea and didn't come up with it entirely on her own, but maybe that happens more often than we think anyway.

Childhood friends, second chances and a dystopian journey all in one novel. Emily and Tuck were pals as kids but they went down different paths. She's now a musician and he's an ex-con who she hires as her bodyguard. So what happens when they're in a plane crash and the world goes to pot? They must trek though all sorts of bad things but they find each other along the way. This has a lot going on but the dystopian part, which had promise, isn't as well fleshed out as it could be (think dystopia lite). Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. While this wasn't for me, I'm sure Sheridan's fans will enjoy it.

This book started out really strong, there was a lot of angst between our main characters that I was looking forward to seeing what would happen between them.
Things started to really pick up after what happened with the plane and we got dropped into this dystopian world where the characters had to fend for themselves.
I found myself very entertained and really wanting to find out what exactly was going on and how on earth these characters would end up being ok.
Once I was about halfway through the book, it really started to go downhill and I felt like there was a lot that was being repeated and honestly I was just bored.
I was bummed out because the first half of the book was really good, but the second half really sunk it for me.
Possibly it just wasn’t for me?
I am thankful to the Hive for my arc copy and these opinions are my own.

3.5/5 ⭐️

This dystopian romance was a different read than I’m used to. I have read a few of Sheridan’s books so I was excited to read this ARC.

It started off a bit slow but I enjoyed it as it progressed. I wish there was more romance in the beginning of the book and I feel like once the romance progressed it happened pretty fast. The concept of the book was interesting but it fell flat to me. I like Tuck as a character but I didn’t like Emily at all. I did enjoy the second chance aspects of this book.

Book Tropes:
-Second Chance Romance
-Childhood Best Friends
-Pop Star + Bodyguard
-Slow Burn Romance
-Dystopian Romance

Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the gift eARC.

I am not 100% sure what I just read.

I would like to start with a thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade for the advance copy of Heart of the Sun.

With that being said, I really should have paid attention when reading the description/blurb, my fault. For my first Mia Sheridan read, I was not expecting this. It got me at pop-star/bodyguard, second chances and childhood friends. The first few chapters I was liking it, especially Tuck's POV. I really liked his character, he was a little nerdy and loved his family orange grove and being a teen was feeling things towards Emily. With Tuck coming into the present and having being released from jail months prior he was a little lost and didn't know what do, he really didn't have anyone, I was still liking it.

Then came Emily's POV as an adult and I just did not like her. She had no sympathy, she compared Tuck's loss being equal to her and everyone else's, he lost his mother and she mentions her mother's promise to take care of Tuck when her mom's best-yet dead friend. That right there, I didn't feel like there was anything to redeem her. Emily kept getting annoying as the story went on worrying about her raise to stardom and being replaced after a plane crash, taking about being survivors with her movie star boyfriend doing benefits and whatnot. Her and Charlie (the boyfriend) were just irritating. I will say she got a little better towards the end, it wasn’t a high bar to be a good person at that point.

I was going to give this 3 stars because of Tuck, I really liked his character. Until he became all knowing, he was still the better part of this but I just couldn't get into after the plane crash and apocalyptic event and everything they went through to get back home. Like I said I really should have paid attention to the blurb and seeing where this was going, it really did have the chance to really engage me with something interesting and something that wouldn’t normally grab my attention but it didn’t.

Why not just DNF it? I have a hard time with that so I powered through and Tuck was still the better part of the story.

In the end it just fell flat and I hard time connecting what was happening with the characters and everything around them.

I gave this book until the 50% mark and it just wasn't doing it for me. There wasn't anything inherently bad about it, but it just wasn't working for me in any way shape or form. The first 25% were basically just backstory and the like. Considering this is supposed to be an apocalypse novel it took a LONG time to get tot he apocalypse part. There's also the fact that while this is also supposed to be a romance we still have the FMC with her (terrible) boyfriend (who is not our MMC) at the 50% mark. I'm sure there are some people this book will work for, but I was not one of them. I've heard good things about Sheridan's other books though, so perhaps I'll try one of those down the line.

I had the opportunity to read the e-ARC for this book through Net Galley and Harlequin, and I really enjoyed the story! I thought it was very sweet how childhood friends re-connected in a new relationship after they both had matured and grown. I thought it was interesting going from their childhood into adulthood and how second chances can mean everything! The setting also made the book unique and different from other books I had read previously. Thanks for the read!

This was not like Mia Sheridans other books, I made it almost 50% and I couldn’t do it. I had the eARC and the ALC. I usually don’t mind immersive reading and push through. Just was not for me but might be for you.

This book is definitely unique. However, it really was not for me. A dystopian love story, with a slooooow burn. I disliked virtually every character. So many strange things happened to Emily and Tuck on their adventure it was hard to keep up. Also, some of this seemed a little TOO realistic and it creeped me out lol!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin, and Mia Sheridan for the ARC!

I grabbed this without reading the synopsis so shame on me. I have loved a lot of Sheridan's books but this one was not for me. It was totally Walking Dead without the zombies.

I like how the story shows how people react to natural disaster. I didn't buy the love story between Emily and Tuck, they were thrown back into major catastrophe and there was no time to develop love. It felt like forced proximity and reach for comfort.

I sort of wanted to know what happened to Charlie as well and he just drove off and nothing.

I enjoyed the dual POV and André Santana and Annalee Scott's narration.

Thank you Harelquin Audio and publisher for a copy of the book.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publishing company for giving me the opportunity to read this arc. Now to talk book, let me start by saying that the intro was fantastic. I loved both characters immediately, but once we fast forward to their adult lives which happens about a couple chapters in well I did not enjoy them as much. I felt our FMC was annoying and our MMC was very dry. The story also felt all over the place and I couldn’t really grasp the things we were trying to focus on. Was it the romance? The apocalypse situation? Because both fell flat for me. There just wasn’t much depth in my opinion, and again maybe overall just wasn’t my cup of tea.

This one has been really hard for me to get through so I can't leave an accurate review that reflects a full-hearted read. I really love Mia Sheridan and own and collect all of her books but this one doesn't feel the same.

Emily is famous and Tuck just got out of jail. They've obviously been out of touch but Emily's mom urges Emily to hire Tuck as a bodyguard to help him get back on his feet. Emily is not excited about the prospect and realizes she still feels somewhat defensive and like her teenage self when he's around. Tuck hates needing Emily to do him a favor but he wants to work and it's hard to get a decent job as a felon.

When they are in a plane crash with Emily's boyfriend who is a famous actor, Tuck is a level-headed hero with survival instincts. As they realize that their plane wasn't the only electrical failure, they set off to return to California to check on Emily's parents. Along the way, they run into fans of the boyfriend's movie, Emily's music and even a friend from prison.

I felt a tiny bit bored at around 70% of the book because we had run into just about every type of desperate person/situation and I was ready for the resolution to their journey. Overall, I was happy to be on the journey with Emily and Tuck as they got to know each other as adults and as Emily recognized the vapid parts of her fame. Tuck supported and empowered Emily to become better on her own, as he admired her from afar. Dystopian books aren't my first choice but I like Mia Sheridan and she delivered. The book was interesting and realistic enough that I could enter into the crisis without having to suspend all thoughts of reality.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This book is just incredible. It is unlike anything I have ever read. I am a huge fan of Mia Sheridan who is such a talented story teller. The concept of this book is frightening, just thinking that something like this could really happen. But the resilience of the human spirit is a wondrous thing, as we see especially with Tuck and Emily. Tuck on his road to redemption and Emily realizing everything she thought she wanted and has now lost was really nothing at all, especially without Tuck.
I was so enraptured by this story and my emotions were all over the place. I tried to picture myself in this situation and honestly don’t know if I could handle it as well. Tuck is grace under pressure and when it is down to him and Emily as a team, they are such a good one.
I was not sure where this was all going to lead but I was very happy with where it went and how it ended.
I will not soon forget this gripping, intense story, or Tuck and Emily
and their poignant second chance love story amidst the destruction.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Two childhood friends, Emily and Tuck, are ripped apart by the circumstances of life and reunite after many years for a second chance at connecting. Emily is a rising popstar in need a security guards and Tuck is an ex-con in search for a new start, so she agrees to hire him as her new bodyguard. When a major catastrophe happens that wipes out the country’s electric grid, they find themselves in the middle of nowhere many miles from home and it quickly morphs into a story of survival and redefining a person’s worth in present day society by the skills they hold. I really enjoyed this book and had trouble putting it down. I think the largest downfall is that this book is labelled ‘a love story’ when really it is more of a present-day dystopian novel with a side of romance. Because of the label, I was anticipating more romance but thankfully I love dystopian stories so was incredibly invested in the events that take place and what would happen next. This book does have a romantic storyline but it is minor, especially compared to some of Mia Sheridan’s other books. I liked Tuck’s character from the very beginning but did not love Emily at first as she came off very superficial and materialistic, but she became more authentic and grew on me by the end. I would highly recommend it as it was a very enjoyable read for me! Thank you to NetGalley, Mia Sheridan, and Harlequin Trade Press for the gifted ARC in an exchange for an honest review.