ROMANCE IN RI: A Review of Riss M. Nelson’s A Love Like the Sun

The debut adult romance novel A Love Like the Sun, by Providence writer Riss M. Nelson, is the quintessential social media love story. Released on June 11, the novel deals with relationships in the modern day, exploring the divide of intimacy in the real world and online. The plot revolves around Laniah Thompson, the main character and narrator. A Silver Lake local, she struggles through her mid-twenties, looking for love and a way to save her small business. The natural hair shop that Laniah and her mother have worked tirelessly to keep afloat is about to go under. The boy she is texting is giving a thumbs down to her nudes, and worst of all, her childhood best friend Isaac Jordan is drifting further away thanks to newfound fame. Isaac is the perfect guy. He is kind, handsome, rich, famous, and, best of all, well-versed in the art of social media self-promotion. Issac is so good that he’s amassed millions of followers. His social media status forces him to wear disguises when he goes out in public. But when Isaac returns to Providence, surprising Laniah and hearing all her problems – things get complicated. He decides (against her wishes) to help the only way he can: posting a picture with her for his millions of fans to see. From there, the two start fake dating, and Laniah and her business get thrust into the blinding spotlight.

The setup is rife with drama, tension, comedy, and romance – which Neilson stretches to its most entertaining limits. At some point, social media feels like a character in the story itself. The reader understands public perceptions by way of comments below posts. But Neilson doesn’t just stop there. The novel reaches beyond its thematic ties to the internet, ingraining itself in modern pop culture and narrative trends in a meta-contextual way. The book seems handcrafted for social media users and lovers of TikTok and YouTube. It’s filled with present-day romantic tropes (boy next door, friends to lovers, spice). Done deliberately and intentionally, it strengthens the story instead of weakening it. In this way, its readers get exactly what they want from this book. If you enjoy BookTok you will absolutely love A Love Like the Sun. The novel (written for National Novel Writing Month, an event that challenges writers to write a 50,000-word manuscript each November) impressively holds its own against the best in contemporary romance. Books like People We Meet on Vacation and Malibu Rising are both cited as influences by Neilson.

At the end of the book, when Neilson discusses her personal history, the books, and real-life events that helped to inspire her writing, I found some of the best rewards from my reading. I also enjoyed the frequent references to Rhode Island landmarks and restaurants. After reading about Laniah and Isaac eating ramen at Ebisu and pho at Four Seasons, I checked out both myself. Though supporting a local writer was enough of an allure to get me to read and review A Love Like the Sun, I was so interested in this novel to expand my literary romantic horizons. Lately, I’ve been reading Jonathan Franzen’s oeuvre. They are full of romance, though of a very different nature – filled with toxicity, neuroticism, and cynicism. A Love Like the Sun was the welcome change I needed. The lighthearted and passionate story (though still brimming with tension) whisked me away. That may be the best compliment a book can receive. At times, I got lost in their complicated love. It’s the same way one may get lost while scrolling through social media. However, unlike social media, after I finished flipping through the pages – I didn’t feel like it was a waste of my time. •