Heart of the Sun by Mia Sheridan is live!
A post-apocalyptic drama with a childhood friends to lovers romance, this is an emotional and heartfelt read. It’s something very different for Mia Sheridan, but I was completely swept up in this story, and I loved it.
Amazon
Blurb
When the world is plunged into darkness,
Who would you turn to?
Amid the sun-drenched orange groves of California, childhood friends Tuck Mattice and Emily Swanson shared a bond that seemed unbreakable—until life ripped them apart.
Thirteen years later, Emily is a rising pop sensation in need of security, and Tuck, a brooding ex-con, is in need of a fresh start. When fate brings them together once again, Emily hires him on as her new bodyguard. They butt heads and bicker, just like the old days—yet neither can deny the heat rekindling between them.
But when a cataclysmic solar flare disrupts the electrical grid, society is suddenly plunged into chaos and darkness. For Emily, the familiar comforts of fame and fortune crumble, but for Tuck, this stark new reality could be the chance he needs to finally prove himself. As they come to terms with all they’ve lost and the bitterness that’s kept them apart, they must find their way back to one another and discover a new place, under the sun.
For fans of:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Childhood Best Friends
- Slow Burn Romance
- Second Chances
- Popstar + Bodyguard
- New Adult Dystopian fiction
- The HBO show The Last of Us
Review
4 stars
A post-apocalyptic drama with a childhood friends to lovers romance, this is an emotional and heartfelt read. It’s something very different for Mia Sheridan, but I was completely swept up in this story, and I loved it.
Tuck and Emily were neighbours and childhood friends who crushed on each other as teenagers until Tuck’s life fell apart in devastating circumstances. They lost touch with each other, and years later Tuck has been released from six years in prison, and Emily is a burgeoning pop star. Desperate for a fresh start, he asks Emily for a job and she reluctantly hires him as her bodyguard, though she’s not happy to see him. They bicker and argue just like they did as kids, but it’s clear that there’s more to their story and there’s so much history between them, and I couldn’t wait to see how their reunion would unfold. It’s a great set up, and I would have loved to read this as a story alone, but then comes the dramatic twist.
They’re in a small plane when a solar flare knocks out the electrical grid, and when the plane crashes, they are thrust into a world they never could have imagined. Everything with an electrical circuit is destroyed, and they are stuck thousands of miles from home in a dangerous new reality where they have to fight for their very survival. As they start the journey across the country to make their way home, it’s an exciting ride that is heartbreaking, uplifting, and scarily real. I loved the post-apocalyptic aspects to the story, the people they meet along the way, and the way they cling to each other through it all.
It’s a long and dangerous road trip, and they’re dealing with a lot; not just from the things they see, endure and do to survive, but Emily is realising that her new life as a popstar is over, while Tuck is searching for redemption, desperate to prove that he still has goodness in him. It’s a heartfelt journey that will leave them both forever changed, and the character development is really well written. I enjoyed both of these characters, and Tuck owned my heart as the ultimate good guy wanting to do the right thing and protect the girl he cares so much for. And as they work together, rely on each other, and fight to stay alive, they find themselves falling for each other all over again.
I was falling…God, it had happened quickly. Or maybe it had happened far too slowly.
The romance is a slow burn and doesn’t really hit its stride until late in the story, but I loved watching Tuck and Emily come together. Their love story is sweet and full of emotion, and brings the feels in the middle of terrifying and devastating circumstances.
It’s a very different read from Mia Sheridan, but she tells the story well, and though the romance isn’t as central to the story as her books usually are, I thought the story was balanced really well given everything else that is going on.
Rest assured the book ends well with a happy (yet still realistic) ending, and I really enjoyed this one.
4 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Find more great reads on our Mia Sheridan Author Spotlight