5*
A Love Like the Sun is a beautiful, moving, friends-to-lovers romance set in Providence, RI between two 20-somethings who first met at age 13, bonding over being bullied for being poor and then over the loss of their parents at too young an age. They are each other’s champions, and the healthy need Issac and Laniah have for each other keeps them connected even when he moves to Los Angeles and becomes a major influencer and model with videos in which he talks about finding his soulmate while working on his mixed media art. Given how handsome and personable he is, it’s no wonder that his star rises to the point that he’s a paparazzi magnet and has millions of adoring fans. In the meantime, the natural homemade beauty care store Laniah and her mother opened three years ago is closing, so Issac announces on his platform that he and Laniah are dating, confident that it’ll help save their business and attract investors. Will these best friends be able to resist the growing spark between them and can Laniah handle the (often hostile) fandom and media attention?
Although I’m not a fan of the trope where one of the couple resists crossing the friends boundary for fear of being hurt in the future or, worse, makes a decision to end a relationship prematurely to protect their friend rather than letting them have agency, Neilson handles it well. Both Issac and Laniah have struggled with the grief over their parents’ deaths, and Laniah has health concerns that her doctor attributes to anxiety, making her feel like a hypochondriac (which Neilson expands on in her author’s note), but their love for and commitment to each other is solid if she can just get out of her own way. Fans of Kennedy Ryan and Tia Williams will love this! Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
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