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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Thank you to Canary Street Press of the advanced E-ARC of this title.
Mia Sheridan sucks me into every story she writes! This is a dystopian novel about childhood friends who both went completely separate ways, one a pop star, the other recently released from prison.
The dynamics of this were perfectly executed, highlighting their completely different walks of life after they last saw each other. The initial distrust of the person they have become, but the memories of who they each were.
The story takes a path towards desperation where humanity is tested, and true heroes emerge. I found myself smiling at the lack of survival skill of the celebrities. When push comes to shove, the Louis Vuitton purse isn't going to save anything.
As a reader you start to put yourself into the scenario, and I would 100% be Charlie. Throwing a fit with zero survival instincts. Leave me behind.
I did feel like the story lulled about 50% and it was losing the firm grip it had on me in the beginning.
However, Tuck and Emily have a fire in them and a palpable chemistry that was enough to keep me invested.
Mia Sheridan sucks me into every story she writes! This is a dystopian novel about childhood friends who both went completely separate ways, one a pop star, the other recently released from prison.
The dynamics of this were perfectly executed, highlighting their completely different walks of life after they last saw each other. The initial distrust of the person they have become, but the memories of who they each were.
The story takes a path towards desperation where humanity is tested, and true heroes emerge. I found myself smiling at the lack of survival skill of the celebrities. When push comes to shove, the Louis Vuitton purse isn't going to save anything.
As a reader you start to put yourself into the scenario, and I would 100% be Charlie. Throwing a fit with zero survival instincts. Leave me behind.
I did feel like the story lulled about 50% and it was losing the firm grip it had on me in the beginning.
However, Tuck and Emily have a fire in them and a palpable chemistry that was enough to keep me invested.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this book and the audiobook narrators were absolutely perfect. The dystopian/apocalyptic aspect was different from other books I’ve read by Mia, but it definitely kept me on my toes. I went in not knowing what to expect, my favorite way of reading, and was pleasantly surprised!
Emily and Tuck are childhood friends that grew estranged when Tuck moved away and then ended up in prison. Now she’s a hot shot pop star with a movie star boyfriend and she reluctantly agrees to him being her new bodyguard. On a flight to an event, their plane crashes and suddenly the whole world goes dark. As they navigate their way back to California, the tension and old feelings come to surface when they’re forced to travel miles upon miles and stay close together to avoid the new dangers lurking around.
I was really hoping to see the devolving of Emily and Charlie’s relationship sooner as anyone with eyes could’ve seen from miles away that they were terrible for each other and the tension between her and Tuck was undeniable. The character development also occurs later in the story and I wish we got to see a bit more of those changes earlier on with as high stakes as the plot was. But regardless, the book was gripping and when Charlie finally dipped out, that’s when everything turns and starts to get really good!
Lastly, I enjoyed the survival aspect and the sense of adventure that comes with this type of story. It made it more interesting to watch how the characters responded, but also to put it in the back of my head to think of how I would have reacted in a situation similar.
If you’re looking for a sweet romance like many of Mia’s other books, you won’t find it here, but instead you’ll find a high-stakes, dystopian, adventure-filled novel with a slowburn childhood friends to lovers subplot!!
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for an ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Murder, War
Moderate: Sexual content
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sadly this just missed the mark for me. I think my hopes may have been too high. I love EMP disaster stories and have been dying to have a romance related one but this just missed the mark.
I love second-chance romance and childhood friends who drifted apart for whatever reason but I couldn't relate to Emily or Tuck. Their childhood "friendship" didn't even feel like a friendship at all despite being told they were best friends. How? I didn't get that vibe at alllll. They felt like childhood enemies where you just bicker and fight. I believe they probably did play together but the scenes we got to experience as the reader was just them being brats to each other.
It also took way too long to get Charlie out of the picture so Emily and Tuck could actually reconnect and I feel that was one of the major issues and could have helped the romance pacing a bit better.
Emily was just too vapid and self-absorbed for my liking. She needed to go touch some grass. She's a celebrity who truly forgot where they came from..And honestly, I think I would have been much happier without the celebrity/music star plotline for the FMC all together. I really wasn't a fan of it.
I still love Mia Sheridan, this one was just a miss for me personally
I love second-chance romance and childhood friends who drifted apart for whatever reason but I couldn't relate to Emily or Tuck. Their childhood "friendship" didn't even feel like a friendship at all despite being told they were best friends. How? I didn't get that vibe at alllll. They felt like childhood enemies where you just bicker and fight. I believe they probably did play together but the scenes we got to experience as the reader was just them being brats to each other.
It also took way too long to get Charlie out of the picture so Emily and Tuck could actually reconnect and I feel that was one of the major issues and could have helped the romance pacing a bit better.
Emily was just too vapid and self-absorbed for my liking. She needed to go touch some grass. She's a celebrity who truly forgot where they came from..And honestly, I think I would have been much happier without the celebrity/music star plotline for the FMC all together. I really wasn't a fan of it.
I still love Mia Sheridan, this one was just a miss for me personally
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4 ⭐️ I really liked this book but don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of problems with it too. For starters, it is not really a love story, at least not the main story. This at its core is a dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction with a side love story that finally heats up at the 70% mark. I do think the marketing is all wrong and if you expect a past Mia book like Archer’s Voice you are going to be severely disappointed.
This book is about Emily and Tuck, childhood best friends and neighbors and through tragedy they lose connection. In present day, Emily is a rising pop star by the name Nova and Tuck is a recently released ex-convict who gets hired to be Emily’s personal security guard. Their plane crashes when all electronics fail (in an unknown solar flare or EMP) and they have to make it from middle of nowhere Illinois (I think) back to California in a changed world where the worst in human nature is exposed due to rapidly dwindling resources. This book is long and is all over the place in terms of pacing and tropes BUT I loved the dystopian America parts, I need to read more of that genre. It is truly terrifying to read about what could happen to this country with the lack of electricity and modern technology. I could vividly see that part of the story come to life like a movie and I loved it. Their slow trek across the country and running into the various personality types from loathsome to compassionate were done well, even when there were times I rolled my eyes at the plot conveniences. I definitely got The Walking Dead and The Last of Us vibes at times and I love it all.
The love story is second chance, sloooooooooooow burn and I can’t even believe it says a love story on the cover because it plays second fiddle most of the time. I absolutely loved Tuck, he was written to be the hero and so perfect, kind and caring but also super rugged and sexy. Emily was a hot mess, giving her character the grace to grow and change through the ordeal, it was all very prescriptive. She even had the egomaniac actor boyfriend nearly the whole time to boot. This was also not a fast read for me, I managed to read about 10% of the book a night over several weeks. All the negatives aside, this one will stay with me for a while, so it gets a higher entertainment rating from me.
Also, some interesting information in the Author’s Note was that this is not Mia’s original story, she took the idea and concepts from others and fleshed it out into a book. So if it feels different from all of her other books, that is probably why. I just don’t want diehard Mia fans to be disappointed.
Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Mia Sheridan for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is set to publish on May 20,2025.
This was my 15th book of 2025.
Format: ARC Kindle ebook
This book is about Emily and Tuck, childhood best friends and neighbors and through tragedy they lose connection. In present day, Emily is a rising pop star by the name Nova and Tuck is a recently released ex-convict who gets hired to be Emily’s personal security guard. Their plane crashes when all electronics fail (in an unknown solar flare or EMP) and they have to make it from middle of nowhere Illinois (I think) back to California in a changed world where the worst in human nature is exposed due to rapidly dwindling resources. This book is long and is all over the place in terms of pacing and tropes BUT I loved the dystopian America parts, I need to read more of that genre. It is truly terrifying to read about what could happen to this country with the lack of electricity and modern technology. I could vividly see that part of the story come to life like a movie and I loved it. Their slow trek across the country and running into the various personality types from loathsome to compassionate were done well, even when there were times I rolled my eyes at the plot conveniences. I definitely got The Walking Dead and The Last of Us vibes at times and I love it all.
The love story is second chance, sloooooooooooow burn and I can’t even believe it says a love story on the cover because it plays second fiddle most of the time. I absolutely loved Tuck, he was written to be the hero and so perfect, kind and caring but also super rugged and sexy. Emily was a hot mess, giving her character the grace to grow and change through the ordeal, it was all very prescriptive. She even had the egomaniac actor boyfriend nearly the whole time to boot. This was also not a fast read for me, I managed to read about 10% of the book a night over several weeks. All the negatives aside, this one will stay with me for a while, so it gets a higher entertainment rating from me.
Also, some interesting information in the Author’s Note was that this is not Mia’s original story, she took the idea and concepts from others and fleshed it out into a book. So if it feels different from all of her other books, that is probably why. I just don’t want diehard Mia fans to be disappointed.
Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Mia Sheridan for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is set to publish on May 20,2025.
This was my 15th book of 2025.
Format: ARC Kindle ebook
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Heart of the Sun is an emotional and adventurous dystopian romance.
Childhood best friends, Tuck and Emily, grew up together on Honey Hill farms, which were family-owned orange orchards. Tragedy struck Tuck's family, sending him to LA to live with his uncle while his father sold their orchard. Tuck fell in with a bad crowd, landing him in prison years later. Emily, on the other hand, started growing in popularity as a singer. She needs a bodyguard for her tour, and Tuck is willing to take the job. While they are mid-flight, a solar flare hits, turning the world dark. As they travel across states to get home, Tuck can redeem himself for his past while Emily searches for her purpose.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I thought this was a great story. There was a sense of adventure as the characters traveled to California with many tense and unpredictable moments. They made many stops along the way and encountered many different types of people. Some of the people were kind, and others were not.
Tuck and Emily are lovable, relatable characters. When Tuck's emotions get the best of him, he quickly and easily shuts himself off. He carries a bit of shame and guilt that doesn't belong to him but makes it easier to put himself in danger to protect those who are unable to. Emily put in the work to get to where she was in life. She was never an entitled pop star, but in this new reality, she still lost a bit of herself. She felt useless, especially around Tuck, who was perfect in this kind of situation. But she was brave and generous. This situation brought the best out of both of them, and they made a great team.
Overall, it was a great story. The ending was very emotional for me. I couldn't help but shed a few tears.
apocalypse • bodyguard romance • childhood best friends • contemporary romance • dystopian romance • enemies to lovers • forced proximity • music • musicians • second chance • slow burn
Childhood best friends, Tuck and Emily, grew up together on Honey Hill farms, which were family-owned orange orchards. Tragedy struck Tuck's family, sending him to LA to live with his uncle while his father sold their orchard. Tuck fell in with a bad crowd, landing him in prison years later. Emily, on the other hand, started growing in popularity as a singer. She needs a bodyguard for her tour, and Tuck is willing to take the job. While they are mid-flight, a solar flare hits, turning the world dark. As they travel across states to get home, Tuck can redeem himself for his past while Emily searches for her purpose.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I thought this was a great story. There was a sense of adventure as the characters traveled to California with many tense and unpredictable moments. They made many stops along the way and encountered many different types of people. Some of the people were kind, and others were not.
Tuck and Emily are lovable, relatable characters. When Tuck's emotions get the best of him, he quickly and easily shuts himself off. He carries a bit of shame and guilt that doesn't belong to him but makes it easier to put himself in danger to protect those who are unable to. Emily put in the work to get to where she was in life. She was never an entitled pop star, but in this new reality, she still lost a bit of herself. She felt useless, especially around Tuck, who was perfect in this kind of situation. But she was brave and generous. This situation brought the best out of both of them, and they made a great team.
Overall, it was a great story. The ending was very emotional for me. I couldn't help but shed a few tears.
apocalypse • bodyguard romance • childhood best friends • contemporary romance • dystopian romance • enemies to lovers • forced proximity • music • musicians • second chance • slow burn
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced