Heart of the Sun by Mia Sheridan had such a cool premise: childhood besties reuniting in a post-apocalyptic world? Yes, please. The second-chance romance between a pop star and her brooding bodyguard definitely brought some tension and heart.

The setup was strong, especially with the solar flare twist shaking up their lives, but the pacing dragged in places, and the emotional payoff didn't always land. I wanted more from the survival angle and less repetition in their arguments. Still, Tuck had his swoony moments, and the "friends-to-enemies-to-lovers" angle gave it depth. Worth a read if you're into slow burns and romance with a side of chaos.

I must confess that the versatility that Mia Sheridan demonstrates with each new work has me on edge, seriously, as she experiments with her pen and the works that she gives us every now and then have me very attentive and expectant.

In this case in Heart of the Sun, what seemed like a second chance romance has a dystopian element, when childhood friends Emily and Tuck reunite years after parting ways, she as a superstar while he as an ex-con who is hired as her bodyguard; so far you'd say it sounds promising, but wait for it... add to it that there's a climate catastrophe and the whole society falls into chaos, and they need to stick together to survive.

It's been very entertaining and has kept me intrigued by what could happen with each passing page, and I didn't know what else the author would come up with with this couple and this world she created.

I am 100% in favor of Mia continuing to experiment with her works, first with her suspense romance, now dystopia, tomorrow maybe fantasy and then (fingers crossed for selfish reasons) historical romance. Because what a pen she wields.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for providing me access to this ARc.

I am a huge fan of Mia Sheridan and was grateful to receive an Advanced Reader’s Copy on Netgalley! I thought the storyline of this book was interesting. Emily and Tuck are childhood friends/ neighbors who lost touch and are now reconnecting because Tuck is hired as Emily’s bodyguard. They are on a plane where a solar flare disrupts the grid and the entire world is dark without electricity. Together, they must navigate to make their way back to safety and to California without working phones or a car. From a romance standpoint, it was definitely a slow burn and it was not the main point of this book. I was not a fan of Charlie, Emily’s actor boyfriend in the beginning of the book. Overall, this was a unique read and I would recommend it.

What to expect:
Dystopian Fiction
Childhood friends to lovers
Slow burn
Second chance
Singer x Bodyguard

The synopsis for this book sounded interesting, but the story turned out to be different than what I was imagining.

I didn’t really feel the connection between the characters. The story did show them talking and bonding, rebuilding that friendship, but it was more focused on survival.

Despite this being set in a dystopian timeline and there being dangerous people mentioned, there really wasn’t much suspense. They ran into a few dangerous people and got away. And the ending seemed rushed.

I still enjoyed the this, though. It showed the perseverance and strength of the characters. And it also showed they still had their humanity, which helped them survive in certain instances.

I LOVED Archer’s Voice by her so I was so excited to get the ARC for this book! Sadly, this book was so hard for me to get through. I found it very slow and boring. No real character development and no surprises at all. I did enjoy the ending though! I will definitely read another by this author since I loved Archer’s Voice so much but this one was definitely not for me.

Thank you NatGalley, Mia Sheridan, and Canary Street Press for the ARC!

Although this book to me a bit to get into and the page count almost scared me away, it was completely worth it. Mia Sheridan’s character development for tuck and Emily was spot on. A romance novel with a solar storm is a description I couldn’t use for just any book. Would suggest as a great summer read.

i went into this not reading the synopsis, so i didn’t know it was set in dystopian times. i’m not sure how i would categorize this book other than romance because there wasn’t that much suspense in my opinion. the plot felt slow to me, and the characters were kind of boring. however, i did like how it ended. thank you to Netgalley and the author for this ARC!

Tuck and Emily were childhood reads, but life happened, and their friendship fell apart. Several years later, Emily is an up-and-coming pop star in need of security. Tuck is looking for a new start after being released from prison. Emily hires him as her new bodyguard. They are put into a situation where they have to rely on each other to survive the chaos and darkness they are facing.

This was not the story I expected; however, I was pleasantly surprised. In the beginning, you get a hide of Tuck and Emily's childhood friendship. As the story progresses, we see how they rebuild their relationship. I loved it! It was a wonderful mix of romance and the end-of-the-world story.

Highly recommend if you are looking for something new with your romance.

This one wasn’t quite my taste. The story didn’t hook me, and the pacing felt too slow for my preference. That said, I truly enjoy this author’s work and will definitely continue reading her future books.

This book was okay. I did like the romance but the plot wasn’t there for me. I thought it was boring and hard to follow. I really like the authors other books but I think this one was just not for me.

First, I want to extend my sincerest apologies to the publisher for the delay in getting this review out. Life got unexpectedly hectic, but I promise this beautiful book never left my mind. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read an early copy—I’m so grateful, and I truly loved every minute of it.

Heart of the Sun is everything I’ve come to expect from Mia Sheridan and more. It’s achingly emotional, deeply romantic, and completely unputdownable. From the first page, I was swept into a world of longing, redemption, and love that feels both hard-earned and utterly worth it.

The characters are gorgeously layered—flawed, tender, real. The romance builds with perfect pacing, balancing sizzling chemistry with emotional depth that made me feel everything. Mia Sheridan has such a gift for writing love stories that feel both fated and fought for, and Heart of the Sun shines as one of her strongest works to date.

This is the kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page. I cried, I swooned, I highlighted passages I know I’ll return to again and again.Again, thank you for trusting me with this story, and I’m so sorry for the delay. I hope my love for the book still shines through. Heart of the Sun is absolutely radiant. 🌞💛

I really enjoyed how unique this story was!! This was my first read that contained a nationwide blackout/emergency- and I thought that it was very well done!! This was one of those stories where there is so much plot! I did not think that it would end the way that it did- but I loved the romance and the complex characters!! This was a change in pace to a normal second chance/body guard romance- but I adored Emily and Tuck!!

I love Mia Sheridan. I admire her ability to take a subject that many readers would find intense, sometimes even farfetched, and combine it with a romance to create a story so intriguing, captivating, and beautiful. This piece, Heart of the Sun, is an example of that.
Emily and Tuck, once childhood friends, are reunited after life took them on their own journey. Emily is now a famous pop star and Tuck, an ex-con. Emily is in need of a bodyguard, and Tuck is in need of another chance, so Emily offers him a job.
While they are on a plane heading to New York, a solar flare strikes, and the world is left in chaos and disaster. Tuck has sworn to protect Emily, not just because of his job and commitment to her, but because of his love for her. In the midst of all the madness and chaos, Emily and Tuck grow closer and finally give in to the undeniable attraction they have for each other.
I love the romance of this book. Emily and Tuck were always bickering as children, and even as adults, they still go back and forth, however, the love has always been there. The extent Tuck goes to protect Emily and make sure she is always safe is heartwarming. Now, the whole solar flare catastrophe, I wasn't sure if I would have been into it. From the blurb, it felt a little farfetched, however, Mia has a way of writing and crafting a plot that makes even the most absurd events seem not as outlandish. It's a dystopian survival story, yes, but it didn't feel as unrealistic as many others. I actually enjoyed this one. 3.5 stars
Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Mia Sheridan for this read.

I am a huge supporter of Mia Sheridan. This book was very different from all her other books with the dystopian world
, but still had the common theme of an epic love story that I can for. Tuck and Emily are one of a kind and went through some much to get to what they deserved. I did not care for the run away Wagon scene.

Thank you netgalley for the 'wish' to read this. Unfortunately it just wasn't my favorite, so I won't be sharing my review broadly.
This felt really pulled between two genres: is it dystopian, or is it romance? Sometimes these two genres can meld really well but hte majority of the time, I feel like you really need one to pull forward and that just didn't happen.
More importantly...it felt like neither storyline really had stakes. I wanted to feel propulsively drawn forward, and that just didn't happen. The romance didn't move quickly enough and while survival stories need to have some degree of rambling/ambling, that was really repetitive as well.
Again, this was ok, but I really struggled with connecting

I made it to 49% before giving up and skipping to the
end. Sometimes, the ending pulls me back in and has me finishing the book. Not this one, unfortunately.

The premise sounded good, but the execution was
lacking. The book started off okay, but after the plane crash, I lost a lot of interest. I didn't feel much for the characters. There wasn't any growth, tension, banter, or anything to keep me intrigued. Just ope, plane crashed. All communication and electronic equipment are down. Let's keep walking.

l almost thought we'd have zombies pop out of the
woods . It might've had "Walking Dead" vibes then. But no. Just run of the mill,boring bad guys.

Thanks so much to the publisher for the gifted ebook.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book! I really enjoyed Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan and was excited to get a chance to read another of her books. This was certainly an interesting concept! The story follows Emily and Tuck, childhood friends who grew apart as they entered adulthood due to unforeseen life circumstances. When we meet them, Tuck has recently been released from prison and Emily is a rising pop star in need of a security detail. After agreeing to give him a job, Emily and Tuck face some frustrations and ultimately decide to end their professional relationship on a flight to NYC from LA. That's when a solar flare disaster strikes and the plane goes down, leaving them stranded, alongside Emily's boyfriend, Charlie. What follows is a really harrowing story of survival, as they make their way across the country on foot, trying to get home and check on their families. In the end, they ultimately learn what really matters when the world feels like it is ending.

I thought this was an enjoyable book, even though it gave me a fair amount of existential dread! Sheridan has a lovely way of writing even horrifying details, which really puts you in the environment. That served this story well. I will say that I never fully connected with either of our leads, as they felt removed to me for the entire story. I did enjoy seeing them respark their relationship, although given the circumstances, it felt a little too on the nose and unrealistic. All that being said, this was very well written and leaned a bit more dystopian than I initially thought.

3.25⭐️
Heart of the Sun is a unique dystopian romance between 2 childhood friends who have each experienced significant life change and hardship before finding their way back into each other’s lives. While the book starts off fast paced, with a hook, the majority of the story felt more focused on the post-apocalyptic situation of the world vs the love story. There were definitely many parts that were interesting, but then there were also parts that were just a whole lot of walking from one place to another. I also didn’t love the last 20ish% of the book-some parts felt slow, others just felt more thrown in/out of place, and the ending felt rushed after how drawn out the story was in the beginning. Not a bad book, but not my favorite of the Mia Sheridan books I have read. Thank to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I have very mixed feelings about this story. Overall it was good. But I almost DNFd around 50% because I was not connecting at all to any of the characters. But around 60%, I started to care about them and then enjoyed the rest of the story.

A solar flare acts as an emp and takes out the world. A pop star, a movie star and an ex (not) con must work together after a plane crash to survive.

Ex best friends
Dystopia