A Love Like the Sun

By: Riss M. Neilson

Narrated by: Frankie Corzo

THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

“Perfect for fans of Abby Jimenez, Kennedy Ryan, and Carley Fortune (aka me).”–Emily Henry

“Beautifully blending beloved tropes and smooth, often lyrical prose… Two lovers navigate challenges related to mental health, racial identity, grief, and a chronic illness”–NPR

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.

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.

"Dazzling, tender, and romantic."—Carley Fortune

©2024 Riss M. Neilson (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Unabashedly swoony, angsty, and pining."—NPR

“A deep and sizzling slow burn.”—Boston Globe

"[T]he pining and sexual tension throughout this slow-burn romance will keep readers hooked.”—Publishers Weekly

Beautifully Written

Although it was sort of predictable in how things would play out, it was written so beautifully that it kept me engaged ready to see how it will actually play out. The narration of this book was well done. This is an author new to me but I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

Beautiful love story

This was simply a beautiful and wonderfully written love story! Truly enjoyed this read! Highly recommend

The love the main character and her bestfriend had for each other

I truly loved this story no complaints at all and a very great read! Black people that love black romance go read this!

We need an Isaac in our life

Absolutely loved this one! Isaac was the perfect friend and lover. He was willing to do what ever to make his friend happy.

Happy tears

Loved every minute and didn’t want it to end. Mushy heartwarming emotional story. Love the Arthur’s notes thank you for your support. Finished in one day!

Don’t walk, RUN to listen to this audiobook! So beautifully written.

10/10 no notes. This book is what the romance genre NEEDS in 2025. It’s a timeless story about LOVE. In a lot of senses of the word. The FMC will annoy you, she comes to her senses. Issac thoooooooo. Wow. This book is easily one of my all time favorites. Highly recommended.

I Ugly Cried

Thanks Riss for this beautiful story!! It’s now my favorite Romance. The narrator made me want to listen to this story nonstop til it was “The End”. Now I need to go purchase this book and put it on the shelf with my other favorite novels.

Cute love story

I enjoyed the story overall wish that Laniah didn’t have issues with communicating. I enjoyed the narrator.

This one delivers exactly what you need.

This one is written so beautifully and brings to the forefront some very important topics. I loved these two and wasn’t ready for them to leave.

Feel Good Romance

I fell in love with the characters and the love stories in this book. I feel as though it was lacking at the end. I would have loved to be able to get a more in depth telling of the events in the end because I really did fall in love with the FMC and MMC, and would have personally loved more details. All around a good book otherwise. I could find myself returning to re-read in the future. ❤️

Narrator
I wasn't a fan of the narrator's way of portraying male voices.. they all sound like smokers or like old men or like they can't to breathe. Other than that she did good.