Publisher: Berkley
Release Day: June 11, 2024
Many thanks to Berkley Publ. for an arc of this title for review! All opinions expressed are my own.
#BerkleyPartner #Berkley
Lifelong best friends spend a fateful summer discovering what might happen if they were to be something more in this radiant, heart-clenching adult debut.
Review:
A LOVE LIKE THE SUN is a highly emotional, friends-to-lovers, fake-dating love story. It's the story of two lifelong friends who are afraid to openly declare their true feelings for fear of losing the friendship that both depend on for survival. It's the story of two best friends deciding to fake date in hopes of saving a dream. This, my friends, is romance.
Laniah aka Ni and Issac have been friends forever - since early childhood when Ni's mom took Issac under her wing and proceeded to give him things he wasn't getting from foster parents. As time passes, Issac and Ni grow close and even when Issac leaves to chase his dreams in California, they remain friends with texts and visits when possible. Issac becomes a social media star gaining millions of followers showcasing his art and good looks. Ni is a homebody back in Rhode Island cleaning hotel rooms and chasing her own dream with her mom offering their hair and body products for sale. When their floundering business hits a rough patch and the funds dry up, Isaac has an idea of how to bring them new business. Against Ni's wishes, he posts on social media about his "girlfriend" and things get crazy fast. Business is suddenly booming, but the secret "pretend" relationship gets hot and steamy and both struggles to keep their real feelings to themselves. Ni and Issac are in love, but neither is willing to risk their friendship by declaring their feelings. To complicate things more, Ni has a chronic illness that has gone misdiagnosed for years in spite of her seeking treatment for her symptoms. She's continuously brushed off by her doctor as he jokingly calls her a hypochondriac. When she finally sees a specialist, the disease has progressed and is a threat to her future. Ni desperately needs her best friend, but she doesn't want his pity.
Author Riss M. Neilson has rendered a beautiful story of friendship, love and heartache. The story is frustrating in that misunderstandings could have been avoided by communication, but the lack of communication makes sense within the context of this book as each friend tries to protect the other. The characters are so well-defined they feel like friends, and the plot carries a much deeper message about seeking second opinions when your health needs aren't being met by your doctor. Doing so can save your life. Taking place over one summer, the story unfolds through Ni's point of view in present time with short flashbacks to their childhood. I loved the relationship depicted between Ni and her mother and her other friends. While the romance burns slow beneath the surface for most of the book, it erupts like a volcano with some steamy scenes later on.
A LOVE LIKE THE SUN is a sweet romance filled with love, mutual respect and devotion between two soulmates. While it takes them some time to recognize the love as the once in a lifetime kind, the journey getting there is beautiful. Highly recommended to fans of friends-to-lovers romance.
Synopsis:
Laniah Thompson is a homebody who craves privacy. Issac Jordan is internet famous and spends his days followed by paparazzi. She runs a small business with her mom in her hometown. He runs an international brand.
And they’ve been best friends since childhood.
When Issac comes home to Providence for the first time in months and discovers Laniah’s dream is slipping out of reach as she and her mom struggle to pay the bills at Wildly Green, their natural hair store, she refuses to take a dime from him. And so, he does what any self-respecting best friend would do: tells the world they’re dating.
Suddenly business is booming, and Laniah agrees to his ridiculous plan to pretend to be lovers for the course of the summer. Just long enough to catch the eye of an investor and get her dream back on track, like she helped him do so many years ago, he reminds her.
Too soon, though, Laniah knows she’s playing with fire, because for as long as they’ve been friends there’s an undeniable pull they’ve never given in to. And as the lines between art and life—real and pretend—blur, it becomes harder and harder to see where friendship ends and something else begins....
Told over the course of three sizzling summer months, A Love Like the Sun is about shared history, those who make us our bravest selves, and love in its many forms.
And they’ve been best friends since childhood.
When Issac comes home to Providence for the first time in months and discovers Laniah’s dream is slipping out of reach as she and her mom struggle to pay the bills at Wildly Green, their natural hair store, she refuses to take a dime from him. And so, he does what any self-respecting best friend would do: tells the world they’re dating.
Suddenly business is booming, and Laniah agrees to his ridiculous plan to pretend to be lovers for the course of the summer. Just long enough to catch the eye of an investor and get her dream back on track, like she helped him do so many years ago, he reminds her.
Too soon, though, Laniah knows she’s playing with fire, because for as long as they’ve been friends there’s an undeniable pull they’ve never given in to. And as the lines between art and life—real and pretend—blur, it becomes harder and harder to see where friendship ends and something else begins....
Told over the course of three sizzling summer months, A Love Like the Sun is about shared history, those who make us our bravest selves, and love in its many forms.
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