Kingdom of Readers

The thought pinging around my brain after finishing Heart of the Sun by Mia Sheridan was, “Wow… just wow.”

Seriously, I was left a bit awe-stricken by the entire experience of this story.

This book is full of adventure, sorrow and joy, good and bad, hate and love, the nasty and the beautiful. It’s a story full of contradictions and unconventional ideas, leading to a bittersweet ending—just like the rest of the journey.

Honestly, it was incredible. It was terrible. It was wonderful.

Although… labelling this on the cover as a love story?? A LOVE STORY?! No, this is not a LOVE story.

If you really break it down, this is a work of apocalyptic fiction with a hint of love. But… it is also about two characters experiencing an adventure through space and time to find their way back to one another.

In my opinion, the wording on the cover could be changed to dissuade readers from thinking of it purely as a romance, since it’s a bit misleading—but maybe that was the point? Who knows.

Continuing with a little bit of the nitpicking….

The book starts with an action-packed and thrilling prologue that immediately hooks your attention, but then it does dwindle a bit during the character-building sections. I beg people to hold on through to Chapter 13 though, which is where the prologue meets the present-day storyline.

Chapters 1–13 focus heavily on character development—exploring their backgrounds, setting up how they reconnect, and laying the foundation for the slow-burn romance. But yes… those chapters DO pale in comparison to the rest of the story, and honestly, they almost lost me, but… I am so glad I stayed on board because the payoff was phenomenal.

I found myself surprised a lot throughout this story… especially in terms of the characters’ real personalities—things that you just don’t expect from them (okay, some things I could have figured out just by reading the excerpt—like knowing Tuck was an ex-con—but honestly? I forgot about it… sue me! (JUST KIDDING PLS DON’T))

There were other surprising plot points, but at the same time, there were also some predictable elements—some that felt a little too convenient—but hey, you’ve got to keep the main characters alive somehow for that happy ending.

But, back onto the positives.

The Adventure & Romance

The adventure aspect of the book was great—fast-paced and gripping, keeping my attention locked in. The romantic aspect, however, was a slow burn.

Fate played a huge role in the story, making it feel like the characters were truly destined to be together and that certain events were meant to happen. Yes, this added to the predictability, but honestly? I kind of liked it.

In the end, it was bittersweet. I’m happy with where the characters ended up, but I still have so many unanswered questions—about their future, the future of the world, and even about other characters we met along the way.

I wish I could go back into the story, immerse myself in those words and pages again. But like I said—it’s over, and it’s bittersweet.

Final Thoughts

I would recommend people give this book a try. Just make sure to push through the slower chapters until you hit the point where the story meets the prologue, because from there? The adventure takes off.

I’d give this book 4.5 stars, taking off a bit for the slower opening chapters that just barely kept me hanging on.

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A small note about the narration, not pertaining to the actual story:

While I loved the female lead’s narration, the male narrator wasn’t my favorite. I pictured his voice differently—deeper, more gruff maybe. He wasn’t bad, but he added some weird tones to certain words, and overall, I just didn’t think he was the best choice for this particular story.