I received Heart of the sun from netgallery for an honest review. I absolutely loved survival/suspense novels, but this one was very slow. I felt that from the beginning, Emily was just annoying, constantly complaining and crying. Tuck was smart and knew how to survive. Don't get me started with Charlie... what was that about?

anyways... 3 Stars for keeping me interested.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁:

So I went into this one blind and wow 😱 that took a wild turn! I’m not usually a fan of post catastrophic societies but this one was done so well, it showed both the dark and good side of society. What an amazing book full of character growth, resilience, compassion, love and humanity. I binged this book and I want it made into a movie!

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:

Tuck and Emily grew up in California on neighboring orange farms, and their moms were best friends. But in hs Tucks mom developed cancer and his world started to fall apart. Shortly after her death his dad sold the farm and it began his spiral. He went to live with his uncle and ended up serving 6 years behind bars.

Now he’s out and he’s realizing there is no place in society for a felon, no one will hire him. So he returns to Emily’s parent’s farm in hopes they will show him some kindness and give him a job. But they are struggling and can’t help him, however they had Emily hook him up with a bodyguard job.

Emily always loved to sing from a young age and she was preparing to go on her first tour as the superstar Nova. They are headed to the east coast when their plane falls from the sky. Emily, her boyfriend and Tuck miraculously survive.

Unsure of what happened they start their journey home. But the world is no longer the same and they will soon learn they will need to fight to survive on the path from IL back to CA.

𝙁𝙖𝙫 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:

Tuck: “I promised you I’d keep you safe, didn’t I?”

Emily: “Yeah, but even you can’t protect me from everything.”

Tuck: “Watch me.”

𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒅:

* Second Chance - Childhood Neighbors
* Pop Star x BodyGaurd
* Then & Now Timelines
* Six Years in Prison - Involuntary Manslaughter
* Solar Flares - Plane Crash in IL💥
* Post Disaster Survival - Grid Collapse
* Finding Way Home Through Obstacles
* Home “Citrus Row” in California
* Dual POV - Slow Burn w/ Mild Spice

☀️⚡️✈️💥 ☀️⚡️✈️💥 ☀️⚡️✈️💥⚡️☀️

The concept of this book was so interesting, and honestly a little terrifying. It’s unlocked a whole new anxiety in me, so thanks a lot for that! But although I’m now terrified of a world where the whole electrical grid is broken and everyone is left to fend for their lives (I lived through covid and have no faith in people anymore when it comes to not hoarding and working together for the common good), I still really enjoyed this book. It was very reminiscent of The Walking Dead (without the zombies). It definitely gave me so much to think about when it comes to what would be valuable and important in a post-apocalyptic world and how a person can work to survive without losing their humanity along the way. I feel like the ending was rushed a bit, and I was starting to question if this was going to be the start of a series. It did wrap up in the end, but I still feel like it had some unanswered questions and could have ended a little more smoothly. Otherwise it was a good read and totally different than anything else I’ve read before. I recommend giving it a shot if you’re brave enough to temporarily live in a world with no phones, electricity, government, food and water sources, or modern conveniences of any kind!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mia Sheridan is an absolute star at writing books that I cannot put down! I read this book in 24 hours and could have read it in less if I didn’t need sleep! The depth of the emotion woven into the story is amazing. I really enjoyed how the story progressed over the timeline and enjoyed the dystopian aspect.

Tuck is an ex-con looking for a new start. Emily/Nova is his childhood friend turned pop singing sensation. Emily's mother convinces her to hire him as her new new bodyguard. But on their way to her next concert, their plane suddenly crashes. Tuck, Emily, and her actor-boyfriend are the only survivors. Over the next few weeks they travel in search of answers. Why did their plane crash? What caused the power grid across the country to collapse? Will they survive and make it back home to California?

This was very different from any other Mia Sheridan book I have read. While it is a sweet love story at heart, it is also about surviving in a post-apocalyptic world. With so much talk lately of power grid failure, this made the novel a bit scary. I loved the characters of Tuck and Emily and their love story. But this story made me think about how me and my family would survive in the off chance something like this happened in real life. The story started off strong, but slowed down a bit after the plane crash. Midway through it picks up again, and I was invested in how their story would end.

I went into this book with no knowledge and no expectations. Having known the plots of her previous books, I was very interested in seeing where this one went.

Unfortunately, this book fell a bit flat for me. It was hard to keep focused, the pacing was all off for me, and I just wanted more from the romance.
I ended up switching between the ebook and audiobook (which I enjoyed), but ended up with a DNF around halfway.

I will still love to give the rest of her books a try!

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing & Canary Street Press for the eARC.

3.5 stars rounded up!

This was a decent read! I was very intrigued by the premise and thought the characters and their development fit the plot well. My biggest hang up, though, is that this definitely wasn’t a romance. The core of the story was surviving this unexpected change in the world, leading to a dystopian landscape; the romance was a very VERY minimal sub plot.

Overall with the right expectations this would be a solid read.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC audiobook for an honest review.

This started off well with Emily and Tuck as childhood friends which is one of my favorite tropes. There is separation and circumstances that takes their lives in vastly different directions. Emily now a famous singer and Tuck an ex-con who is hired as her bodyguard. This is kind of a dystopian storyline of survival, mixed with a second chance romance. However, I never became fully invested in our couple. Emily has a (horrible) boyfriend for a lot of the book. Sadly, I just didn't feel a true connection, love story for the two.

I have enjoyed other Mia Sheridan books so I will still check those out!

2.5 stars

#HeartoftheSun #NetGalley
I could see how the premise of the story had merit and some promise of intrigue, but it just fell flat for me as did the romance. It seemed as if Mia Sheridan wrote these characters with no real attachment to them and therefore granting us, the reader, no real attachment to the story.

3.5 Stars

I picked this one because I loved Archer's Voice and this sounded like an interesting mix of romance and dystopian. However, this was VERY light on romance and heavy on the dystopian.

Emily aka Nova and Tuck grew up next door to each other but they're lives took very different turns. When emerging pop singer Emily is in need of a bodyguard, her mom suggests she hire Tuck, who has recently been released from serving 6 years in prison. While flying to a show, the plane their on suddenly falls from the sky and the story quickly becomes one of survival as they meet obstacle after obstacle on their way back to California.

I was hoping for more romance and tension, but it was pretty minimal. However, I was still invested in their story of survival so I kept on reading! Overall entertaining, just not what I was expecting.

Definitely one of my favorite reads of 2025 so far! I couldn’t put the book down once I started reading it.. It fully sucked me in and the author really did such a great job on this. I can’t wait to tell all of my friends to check it out!!

Mia Sheridan is bringing back dystopian fiction with Heart of the Sun. It had fast-paced action, stressful survival scenarios, and an emotionally charged, sweet second chance romance. Tuck and Emily grew up on neighboring orange groves, but lost touch after Tuck’s family was struck by tragedy. He made some bad choices, but years later, is looking to get his life back on course. Emily has become a famous pop star, and at the urging of her mother, hires Tuck to be her bodyguard. While on a cross-country flight, the earth is struck by a solar flare, resulting in the collapse of society as they know it. Tuck adapts quickly to the new, brutal world and keeps Emily safe and alive as he fights to return her home. As they spend more time together, they get to know each other all over again and slowly fall in love as they learn to accept their new reality. I had a good time with it, especially the audiobook. André Santana and Annalee Scott did a great job voicing Emily and Tuck. They really brought the emotions and longing that these characters feel for each other to life and helped make this a compelling read.

Thank you to The Hive, Canary Street Press, Harlequin Trade Publishing, HTP Audio, Harper Collins, Mia Sheridan, and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC.

📔Heart of the Sun
✏️ Mia Sheridan
📆 May 20, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️

READ IF YOU LIKE:
🎤high stakes dystopian fiction
🎤bodyguard x pop-star
🎤childhood neighbors and friends
🎤second chance romance
🎤dual POV

Heart of the Sun by Mia Sheridan completely pulled me in with its emotional depth and slow-burn intensity. I’ve always loved a story about second chances, and this one delivered in the most heartfelt way. The romance unfolded gradually, which made every small moment between the characters feel all the more powerful.

What really stood out to me were the characters themselves. They were layered, flawed, and so easy to root for. I felt like I was right there with them, experiencing every spark of connection and every step toward healing.

If you enjoy love stories that take their time and dive deep into the emotional lives of their characters, Heart of the Sun is absolutely worth reading. It stayed with me long after I turned the final page.

⭐️⭐️½

I really wanted to love Heart of the Sun, and there are definitely some bright spots worth mentioning. I especially enjoyed Tuck—such a grounded, likable character who brought a lot of heart to the story. The audiobook narration was also really well done; the narrators brought good emotion and depth to the characters, which kept me engaged even when the plot felt a bit overwhelming.

For me, the biggest challenge was the pacing and sheer volume of dramatic events. In just the first quarter of the book, there are about 17 major, life-altering moments, one after the other, without much breathing room. It became a little hard to suspend disbelief at times, and I struggled to fully connect with any single thread because new twists kept coming so quickly. There are definitely good ideas and compelling pieces here—it just felt like it could have been three separate books, each focusing on a few of the events, rather than everything packed into one.

Overall, while this one didn’t fully come together for me, I appreciated the narration and some of the emotional moments along the way.

::Review::
How do you think you would handle a solar flare taking out the power grid across the world?
The statistics say 90% of the population would be wiped out within a year if that were to happen (no seriously.. look it up) but for Tucker Mattice, he refuses to let himself and anyone who he comes across to fall to that statistic.
This story follows a dual POV between Tucker and Emily Swanson, childhood best friends until tragedy strikes. It takes Tuck away from everything he’s ever known and changes him into a person he barely recognizes himself. This causes the two friends to fall out of touch.. until one day they are brought back together by fate (or a meddling mother).. Tuck gets the job as Emily’s bodyguard.
Emily is living it up in the spotlight, a massive pop star “Nova”, dating one of the biggest named actors (Charlie) and as she brings Tuck into the team they are leaving for a world tour.
Halfway to their destination their plane suddenly loses power and plummets to the ground.. crash landing in the middle of nowhere. And here starts “Day 1” of many with no power, little food, no cell service and zero clue as to where they just landed.
Heart of the Sun turns into an emotional roller coaster of a story.. pure survival, seconds chances between first love’s and forgiveness.
If you are a fan of The Last of Us/The Walking Dead type settings but dislike the zombie part, this book is for you! The only kind of monsters in this book are of the human variety because the end of the world will bring on some of the strongest fears you’ve ever felt. And fear makes people do dangerous to survive.
A beautiful, heart tugging story from beginning to end.

A really well-written dystopian novel with romance crafted throughout. I'm not gonna lie to you, my Amazon "preparedness" list grew tenfold while reading this book. The scenes depicted in this very realistic story are not for the easily spooked. The story definitely encouraged me to consider "what would I do in this scenario?" on more than one occasion while reading and any time a book makes me stop and think and imagine, it's well done in my opinion. While the romance isn't the focal point, I really enjoyed it. A slow-burn second chance romance with great characters and a surprise twist I didn't see coming. This book felt real to me. It triggered real emotions and was thought provoking on every level. Highly recommend!

2.5⭐️

while the premise of this book was interesting and gripping, it saddens me to say that it fell a little flat at times throughout my read. i adore mia sheridan and her books so this truly bummed me out that i didn't connect to this story.

i really loved the idea of a dystopian slow-burn - i literally grew up reading those types of books! usually, this genre is considered fast-paced but the writing in "heart of the sun" was all over the place and most of all, painfully slow. i wasn't sure where we were even going but i could tell i wasn't going to be too fond of it.

thank you to harlequin trade publishing for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let's just say that Heart of the Sun was not what I was expecting. Especially by the cover. And the tag line of "A Love Story". But it surprised me in a GOOD way and was such a unique take on what one might consider a love story. I honestly couldn't put it down. If Mia Sheridan writes it, I will read it, so I tend to go into her books blind. And I'm glad I did.

Tuck and Emily were childhood friends until life separated them and they are literally living completely different lives. One as a pop star and one as an ex con. But who would you want on your side when the world turns upside down?

Even the hardest parts of our lives provided positives from which to draw

I don't know what I was expecting but what I call a "survival romance" was not it. When a plane goes down and Tuck (the ex con), Emily (aka pop star, Nova) and her boyfriend Charlie (Hollywood star) are the survivors looking to be rescued and survive, I had no idea where the story was going to take us. A love triangle perhaps, but surely not a 'end of the world' scenario. It was about survival and trust in the midst of a world "turning dark".

As Sheridan has written a little bit of everything, I knew she would take us on an unpredictable ride. From a crash, to surviving and making ends meet with so little, we get to see how humans react differently in a post apocalyptic world. How they come together, or how they ultimately sacrifice others for themselves. I appreciated the way Sheridan seamlessly brought those ideals into the story as we we get to better understand each character and see their growth or their downfall. I did find that one character was around for way too long, but it did help open the eyes of another character.

Not only was Heart of the Sun all about the characters and their growth and realizing what they had to offer this new world they were in, but obviously the setting and the cross country trek played a huge role in the overall plot. The connections along the way, the danger, the back stabbing and ultimately the love and trust you put into the hands of others. I wouldn't call it so much a love story as a story of survival.

While the beginning grabbed me right away, the middle was filled with A LOT. Maybe a bit much. Chaos, danger and a world all looking to survive by their own hands. I really wanted to see the love story come to fruition earlier than it did, but that's not to say that the tension didn't build and have me biting at the bit. I just wanted it sooner and more of it. With all the action and danger lurking around every corner, I liked the way the ending came together, although it did seem to wrap a little too quick. With so much middle, the end could've been a little stronger.

Overall, I really liked the character growth for Tuck and Emily in their own unique ways and what they came to offer the new world. The story surprised me and I enjoyed all the twists and action along the way. With the mix of danger, romance, suspense and survival, this was a story that kept me on my toes. I just wish we would've gotten more of Emily and Tuck as a couple and less of the chaotic middle.

This dystopian book finds a popstar crash landing in the middle of the woods after a flash of light brings them down. Only to find that all of the electricity is down, no phones, no technology what so ever is working. Pandemonium ensues and it every man for themselves. This book takes a look into humanity and how quickly we turn on each other and also how quickly others show kindness and human decency.

This is a gripping, slow-burn romance set in a world turned upside down by a cataclysmic solar flare. Emily Swanson, a rising pop star, and Tuck Mattice, her childhood best friend turned brooding ex-con, are reunited when she hires him as her bodyguard. Their reunion is charged with tension, and when disaster strikes, they must navigate a perilous journey back to California, confronting their past and rekindling their connection along the way.

Sheridan masterfully blends romance with dystopian elements, creating a narrative that's both heart-pounding and emotionally resonant. The chemistry between Emily and Tuck is palpable, and their journey is filled with moments of tenderness amidst the chaos. Fans of slow-burn romances and post-apocalyptic tales will find this novel to be a compelling and satisfying read.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for an eARC of this book!