3.45!

So this wasn't the slowest burn but a slow burn for sure.

I have so many mixed feelings regarding this book like at one side it was so enjoyable and easy to read but the other side had me rolling my eyes because the characters did not act the way people in their age gap would. I would say that fans of Tessa Bailey would enjoy this book quite a bit as the writing was very similar and easy to read as Tessa has and the spicy scenes were a mix of hot and cringe so take what you will from this. The book follows two point of views, Kieran and Ellie. These two were charming characters and I had a good time but I feel like I will forget them soon

Ellie and Kieran were both had me interested with the way things started and oh my god the second hand embarrassment when Kiernan asks Ellie to have sex randomly like?? it was out of place but truly though it was fun reading about them and they made a good dynamic, their chemistry was there and so was the banter, I just feel like seeing these two together was all I was waiting for and it did eventually happen (for a slow burn, I thought it would be very slow, but it was not. ) and after they got together things just sort of dulled?? this is the exact same problem I had with the fine print by Lauren Asher but this was more enjoyable. The plot was there and it elevated the book for me but I still wanted it to be more gripping. It failed to grasp the characters full potentials and added a useless third act breakup :(

It was overall an enjoyable read, many may like it and it is easy to get you out of a slump!
___
The slow burn better be slow

(the covers so pretty 😍)

*Thank you to Netgalley for an arc of this book*

I love a good slow burn story & this was such a sweet and cute romance. I thought it was a quick read & a great little palette cleanser too! I felt the author did a great job exploring certain themes like grief, parental neglect & ADHD and I really liked how the characters handled certain conflicts as well! 😊

This story follows Ellie, a cookbook ghostwriter, and Kieran, a chef who recently won a reality cooking show. Kieran wants to write a cookbook & Ellie is tasked with being his ghostwriter & helping his vision come to life. Initially, Ellie is not a fan on working with Kieran but as time goes on & they start to work with each other & not against each other, things slowly start to change & something starts to grow between them ✨

This has tropes like forced proximity, opposites attract, grumpy x sunshine, found family & overall I great recipe for a 4 star read (see what I did there 😉).

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s press for the arc!

Loved this!

She is a list making perfectionist and he is a fly by the seat of your pants chef.

Opposites that butt heads immediately. The problem is she is his ghostwriter for his next cookbook. They have to call a truce to get the job done.

She grounds him and helps him focus. He teachers her to be free and be spontaneous. So much growth for both characters and just a heart warming romance!!

There are some super heavy topics (mentions of loss of a spouse, grief, depression, recovering alcoholic) that are handled really well.

Five stars for me! This was a sweet one.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and publisher for allocating me to read this as an ARC!

The title is not deceiving, this was a slow, slow burn but I enjoyed it.

Premise: Kieran just won a cooking competition & is paired with Ellie to ghost write a cookbook.

Challenges: These 2 did not get along at all to start with but once they were forced together at a vacation house for a bit to work things out and get a solid foundation on the book they slowly started to get better and better. Together they brought out the best & worst in each other & had great chemistry.

This book had a lot of challenges to confront and overcome beyond the cookbook. There was also themes of immense grief & the aftermath, deep parental issues & learning disabilities.

Characters: I thought all characters were written so well. My favorites were Kieran and Max, Ellie’s father in law.

Romance: Slow burn for sure but these 2 were so good for each other and knew how to bring out the strengths in each other.

Love The Bear? Here’s another take on the culinary world and fine dining. When Kieran, a reality cooking show winner, aka Happy Pirate Leprechaun, gets a cookbook deal, it’s dependable, super-organized young widow Ellie who gets saddled with the job of managing a reluctant “author” who just wants to be taken seriously, and not just seen as the chaotic fun guy as he struggles with his ADHD and dyslexia. Ellie is used to taking care of people, from her little brother to her still-grieving mother-in-law, smoothing things over and saying yes and making other peoples lives tidy as a kind of mitzvah. It is serving her or helping her to achieve her own dreams of a place to cook and write, and a cookbook of her own?

Kieran’s attraction is almost instantaneous, but when he fails to respond to emails, and then tries to show off by inviting Ellie and her best friend, a food photographer named Nicole, to a high-end Valentines Day dinner, Kieran and Ellie’s public fight over the shallowness of his cuisine goes viral, forcing the publisher to send them on retreat to his Sonoma cabin for a week to start hashing out the cookbook. On the road, they trade a question for a question in an effort to get to know one another.

When they finally subccum to their passion, Ellie sets a boundary that her place is for work and Kieran’s place is for fun, and they have to keep the relationship on the down low, as she could get fired for having a relationship with her cookbook author. The tension builds when they are discovered kissing during the food photography sessions.

Chamberlain’s food writing is outstanding; cookbook writing, recipe testing, the ghostwriting process, and a glimpse into restaurant industry are all lovingly rendered and fascinating. Judaism is a subtle thread of family, food, love, obligation, and service throughout, though Ellie isn’t traditionally observant (she doesn’t keep kosher or attend services).

The chemistry is there, Chamberlain expertly draws out the sexual tension, and the consummation includes consent, safety, and boundaries. Their childhoods, trauma, and struggles are portrayed in a way that shows they are ready for healing, and for each other with a maturity and grace and depth that is refreshing and heart-wrenching. The way they build each other up and support each other is lovely, from Kieran pushing for a writing credit for Ellie to Ellie showing up as Kieran’s fake girlfriend at a family function. Kieran, a red-head, is trying to uncouple himself from the caricature he’s been saddled with. A little younger, and a little shorter than curvy, world-weary Ellie, he is the one who makes her snort with laughter and feel joy again in a world she was just bleakly existing in, even as she made her plans for a life that moved forward, apart from her marriage.

Secondary characters are drawn in 3-D. Ellie’s support for her Jewish in-laws and the strain it puts on her is balanced with their care for her, and their memory of their son Max. Her best friend Nicole’s flirtation with Kiernan’s front-of-the-house bestie Jaye has just enough tease to make the reader want them to get their own novel, next.

I received an advance reader’s review copy of #TheSlowestBurn via #NetGalley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press. The review will publish on the release date on HLBB.

I tried multiple ways to read this book. I know it’s called The Slowest Burn but the story was just super slow. I found myself not paying attention. I wasn’t a fan of the audiobook either.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and St Martins for the gifted copy of this book.

This is a sweet, opposites attract love story. Ellie is an uber organized cookbook ghost writer dealing with (or perhaps not dealing with) the death of her husband three years prior. Kieran is a sous chef at one of SF’s fanciest restaurants. As his star continues to rise, he struggles to break out of the box the media and his family put him in. He also deals with a severe case of ADHD.

Both of the characters grow TREMENDOUSLY over the course of the story, both in healing from personal trauma and in their relationship with each other. They go from hating each other to in love, but we mostly just see the hating each other and early signs of thaw, then it skips to having feelings. I wish we’d seen more of the in-between period where they become friends before falling in love. The author sort of tells us that it happens rather than shows us, and I think a few extra scenes in the middle where there’s little to no tension, either antagonist or sexual, would have made their love story feel so much more authentic. Overall, not a deal breaker though — still an amazing story.

I also LOVED the cooking aspect of it. I dare you to read this and not want to learn to make risotto or supreme an orange. Absolutely delightful!

Overall ratings
Exact star rating: 4.44
5-pt star rating: 4

Attribute ratings
Characters: 3.5
Atmosphere/Setting: 5
Writing Style: 4.5
Plot/Pacing: 5
Intrigue: 4
Logic: 4.5
Enjoyment: 4.5

Dare I say it, I was hoping for *more* of a slow burn? 🥰😃 I loved Kieran and Ellie, before they got together. I loved the banter and the threat of one bed and how well they ended up working together on his cookbook. The longing glances and heated touches were the icing on the cake. But despite all of that, the chemistry once they got together didn't feel all that believable. There were hang ups with other characters that didn't quite feel resolved, but overall this was a fairly light hearted book with a little bit of spice and a million and one recipes I wanted to try!!



Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review!

The Slowest Burn is the story of Ellie and Kieran, two lost souls who find comfort in each other. I enjoyed the character development and focus on cooking throughout the book, but I did not care for how the story evolved. Instead of feeling like a delicious, tension-building slow burn, the enemy vibes at the beginning felt caricature-like and the it just felt like the pacing was off. The "spice" also seemed abrupt and just awkward. Overall, this was a decent read, but it just wasn't my favorite.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting me with an ARC to review! All opinions are my own.

Actually 4.5⭐️

I really enjoyed The Slowest Burn, especially the fact that while numerous tropes were used (enemies to lovers, close proximity, fake dating, etc) the story still felt believable and not rushed.

I will definitely recommend this to others looking for an enjoyable romcom to read.

This was good -- it took awhile for the momentum to build and it was definitely a slow burn. I didn't love the ending but this book definitely had its really great moments. And I loved both Kieran and Ellie -- plus the cooking was fun. Give this one a try!!

The Slowest Burn comes out next week on September 24, 2024 and you can purchase HERE.

She looked at me with her blue eyes, warm and sharp at the same time, and I felt good enough.
I wanted to bottle that feeling. And then I wanted to wrap it in bubble wrap, put it in a safe deposit box in the world's most secure bank, and visit it whenever I wanted, take it out and hold it up to the light.

Thank you Netgalley smp and MacMillan audio for the free ALC and earc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I loved the narration the voices were pleasing to listen to.the story I'm still a little confused what the story was there was lots of little things happening and not a fan of 3rd act breakup...

3.5/5☆

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Ellie Wasserman has been hired to ghostwrite “Fire on High” champion chef Kieran O’Neill’s first cookbook. But they seem to get off on the wrong foot from day one. Kieran’s editor forces them to spend time alone together to work out their differences and (insert shocked face here) there are two beds! Can Ellie and Kieran admit that they’re falling for one another slowly while dealing with their issues? Read to find out!!

I actually loved this book. It had the perfect mix of cooking show, reality television, and romantic comedy. I loved that Sarah Chamberlain didn’t rely on too many tropes too soon and when she did confront the characters back stories, she did it in a really tasteful and meaningful way. There is a character who is dyslexic who has trouble reading messages and emails, and the author is not afraid to show how the character copes with that. There is another character who has lost their spouse. She does a great job of honouring that relationship while still embracing the new.

Read this book if you love :
Cooking shows
Reality TV
Stories about overcoming challenges
Stories about overcoming differences
Family drama
Family moving past their drama
Plus sized heroines
Leprechaun like heroes
Spicy spicy books
And happily ever afters

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I am usually not a fan of slow burns, but this book has my heart. I feel that it was very nicely pace and didn’t have those awkward/boring slow sections that some slow burns tend to have. This book also somehow perfectly balances cute, rom-com style moments with very intense, heavy scenes. We go from playful banter between two characters that are complete opposites to discussions of grief and struggles with addiction.
The heavy topics discussed in this book are done so well, I truly applaud the author for being able to touch on those subjects while keeping the book light overall. Kieran was such a wonderful and accurate representation of ADHD. The way he struggles to fit in with his “perfect” family as well as his addiction issues really show you the real side of anxiety that I don’t see represented in media much. Often times, ADHD is discussed as something “quirky” or even “cute” instead of as debilitating as it truly is.
The author also shows the different ways people grieve in such an interesting way. The drastically different ways Ellie, Ben, and Diane are dealing with the loss of Max really show how different grief can be for each person. There is no exact timeline.
Overall, this book was adorable. Kieran is definitely one of my favorite book boyfriend’s of all time. I especially love the detail of him describing Ellie in food terms since cooking ultimately becomes the common ground between them that helps form their bond.

I adored this book. I literally finished it in a day! The chemistry between Ellie and Kieran was top notch! Sarah did a great job getting us to connect to these characters! I loved it so much!

I gave up half-way through the book. There were a few things that led to my DNF. I thought the pacing was super slow. I didn't feel motivated to keep reading. I wish there was a bit more excitement to keep me engaged. I also struggled connecting with Ellie. I'm not sure what it was about her, but I just didn't click with her character. I wanted her to be more assertive with her in-laws. I didn't think Kieran was all that bad! I enjoyed his POV chapters. Although I liked the dual POV's, I found the transitions and writing choppy. I also thought there were too many elements to the story. I think this book would have benefitted from less plot points. I'm bummed out that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I was going too. Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC.

Synopsis: Ellie is a ghostwriter for cookbooks who is struggling with grief over the loss of her husband three years ago. Kieran is a hotshot chef who recently won a cooking competition. When Ellie is assigned to ghostwrite Kieran’s cookbook, their personalities immediately clash.

Thoughts: This book had all the *ingredients* for a sweet romance, and I *ate it up* (lolololol). I love when there is a chef or foodie elements in a romance, and this was such a fun and unique incorporation of that vibe. As the title says, it is definitely a slooooow burn, but the payoff is worth it. Both main characters have so much depth and are incredibly well-developed. The dual pov works so well in this one. If you don’t mind a slow burn, I highly recommend!

Read this if you like:
🧑‍🍳 slow burn romance
🧑‍🍳 cookbooks
🧑‍🍳 forced proximity
🧑‍🍳 dual pov

The chemistry between the two main characters, and the banter is just perfect. The slowest burn is just that a slow burn romance, slowly growing and learning each other as they work on a cook book together. He’s a big time chef and she’s a writer.


🔹fake dating
🔹slow burn

I was excited to read The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain when I saw the cover and read the description. The cover is beautiful! This book is definitely a slow burn. There is a lot to unpack with this one, so many different dynamics happening. Ellie, the FMC... wow. I did not like her at first, she was not nice, she was taking out her grief on everyone else. Kieran also wasn't great at first. I plugged along and the middle of the book I really enjoyed. The forced proximity trope worked well in this book. However, once they were back in the city and back to their regular lives I started to get bored. The slow burn continued until the end. If you can get past all the different dynamics there are definitely some cute parts of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of The Slowest Burn for an honest review.

I won't lie, I picked this book because of the food, and I was not disappointed. Ellie is a ghostwriter who had big dreams before being widowed at 27. Now 30, she is asked to work on a book for a younger chef dubbed the "pirate leprechaun" and she can't even pin him down to talk to her.
Kieran isn't sure how this cookbook situation is going to work. He is dyslexic and it takes him extra time to read and write so he just basically finds work arounds so he doesn't have to. It is why he became a chef. Now Ellie is asking more of him than he can handle.
The two butt heads until they are forced to spend a week together and hammer out recipes and an idea for the book. While together, they learn more about one another and Ellie learns she has been going about it all wrong.
Kieran knows that Ellie is too good for him but he can't help but fall for her, bit by bit. They are working together so it is off limits and Ellie loves her rules, but maybe she has been looking out for everyone for too long and this time she needs to take what she needs.
Kieran was smitten from the get go and I loved that about him. I loved how both Ellie and Kieran were so patient with one another (after the beginning) and how they gave each other what they needed. This book was so sweet and sent a great message. 4.5 Stars.
Thank you to St. Martin's, Netgalley and Sarah Chamberlain for an early copy.