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.

An engaging romance. I enjoyed the contrast between the main characters. I did not read the intimate details and I did not care for the frequent use of the "f" word. The back stories were compelling and heartbreaking. Eager to see the two get to their happily ever after. Also for the secondary characters to find happiness. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Thank you NetGalley, St Martins Press and Sarah Chamberlain for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Slowest Burn is a book about Ellie, a cookbook ghost writer and young widow who prioritizes others over herself and Kieran who is a hot chef who just won the most recent cooking competition show and is now trying to write a cookbook. A curvy queen and a short ginger king.

Each have some childhood traumas that has resulted in strain in their adulthood. They both have good people in their lives (loved Nicole and Jay) and I few they need to set boundaries with.

Yes, it was a slow burn but it didn’t feel like it was drawn out just to torture the reader. The conflict seemed understandable and realistic - both of their insecurities were being pushed.

It is truly a slow burn that has great character build up. It was a sweet love story with dual POV. It was an okay debut from Sarah Chamberlain and I am definitely interested in reading more work from her.

The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain
emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5

This was really cute overall. The exploration of grief was really interesting, particularly the relationship with Ellie's in-laws. I thought the plot was great and really liked the forced proximity/black-cat golden retriever-ness/enemies to lovers of it all. Loved the ADHD representation!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has so much more depth to it than the cover would make you believe! This was really well done and overall an excellent read.

"Kieran has a crush on a girl." "I do not have a crush. I just want to hang out with her all the time, and also make her come."

LOVED THIS!!

Was it a slow burn? Not in terms of spice. Once it heated up, a little under two-thirds of the way through, it burned bright. The slow burn came in the emotional growth of the two characters. Chamberlain did such a wonderful job establishing depth in Kieran and Ellie, and it was a joy to see them discover how they are both whole but can be whole with each other. It's a take that I don't see very often (but you also don't often see a short MMC, a younger MMC, or a plus-sized FMC where being plus-sized isn't her personality). It did a nice job of exploring learning disabilities, guilt after loss, and grief. I adored all of the cooking references and the look at cookbook ghostwriters - I had no idea the amount of work that went into cookbooks, and I have a whole new appreciation for them!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. Now brb as I go buy a ton of celebrity cookbooks.

SO CUTE!!!! Loved this sweet romance between Keiran, soon to be superstar chef, and Ellie, the ghostwriter tasked with he[ping him complete his cookbook. I love all the stories that incorporate those battling mental issues such as ADHD- this one was sweet and cute. Highly recommend.

The slowest burn is an opposites attract enemies esque to lovers cooking romance with all the right ingredients for a fun read. Ellie and Kieran are total opposites but when they are forced to work together to write Kieran’s new cookbook hot off the heels of his cooking show win, they find themselves forced to get to know each other better. There was a lot of funny banter throughout this book! I think that without the dual POV though I wouldn’t have bought into their romance as much but I loved the growth between them. All in all an easy and fun read!

If you’re into slow burn, friends or even slight enemies to lovers and fake dating, this is the book for you! I really enjoyed this storyline and the backstory of Ellie and Kieran working on a cookbook together. It is a slow burn book, but it’s so good at that. I enjoyed seeing their love and attraction build up and not having that insta love feeling. I usually am not a reader who enjoys too slow built books, but this one was just the right pace for the storyline.

I liked the characters a lot and I would even say if Ellie and Kieran had different characteristics, the book wouldn't have worked as well as it did. While Ellie is a very structured and organised person, Kieran is a bit of a chaos on two legs and that was very entertaining. Kieran is a genius cook without much of a plan but a lot of emotion when he cooks and Ellie is the one who brings his random ideas together. This is just a small example of why these two worked to well together. Both characters have great character development and growth going on throughout the book and That was great to read about.

All in all, I liked the way the story was built up, the theme of cooking and writing a cookbook and the characters as such. What I did not enjoy as much was the beginning. The first 4-5 chapters were a bit of a bumpy start, but then coming together nicely in a great story throughout the rest of the book. I hope this one was not Sarah's last book, as it was a 4.5 star read for me and I have high hopes for future romances coming from her.

(A review will be posted on my accounts on instagram @anns.book.chronicles and Goodreads close to pub date)

This book is a like an exhale when you've been holding your breath. A dreamy sigh. Quick. Effortless. With just the right amount of tension and also trope acknowledgement to where it doesn't jar the reader as much as a fourth-wall break but rather pulls us in on the inside joke.

Kieran? Love. Ellie? Adore. Together -- they are the cooking/cookbook-writing dynamos that we need.

I had set this book aside and it took me a hot minute to pick it up because I thought it would take me a little bit to get through. But I was wrong. It was light and breezy but you don't devour it like you're binge-eating a store bought chocolate cake. You savor it like a gelato from Italy.

Enemies-to-lovers. Workplace romance. Faking it. Only one bed. Grand gestures. And the loveliest happy ending. It's a book of second chances. Chosen family. Crafting your own happiness. And love. Always love.

If you love to get swept off your feet by a hot chef and swept up in the restaurant world -- this one's for you.

2024 has totally been my year of reading cooking/chef romances. “Yes Chef” is my new favorite trope. Sarah Chamberlain cooked so readers could eat!

love when the author clues you in to the direction of the book in the title. I was very concerned at first because I really wasn’t feeling that these two had much chemistry. But that eventually showed up and I ended up enjoying this book

Big thanks to St. Martins Press for providing and advanced copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

If you love a slow-burn romance that simmers with real-life challenges and emotional depth, "The Slowest Burn" by Sarah Chamberlain is a must-read. This story dives into the lives of Kieran O'Neill, a rising star chef, and Ellie Wasserman, a ghostwriter barely holding it together. They’re thrown together to create Kieran's cookbook, but what starts as a professional collaboration slowly turns into something more personal and heartfelt. The rivals-to-lovers dynamic works beautifully here, especially as Chamberlain lets the heat build at just the right pace.

What really stands out is how well-developed both Kieran and Ellie are as characters. Each is dealing with their own personal battles—Kieran’s ADHD and the pressure to impress his distant family, and Ellie’s intense grief over losing her husband, along with the pressure of supporting her in-laws and brother. Chamberlain touches on difficult topics like sobriety, grief, and mental health in a way that feels genuine, not overly dramatic or forced. Both Kieran and Ellie have hard backstories, but instead of overwhelming the romance, it makes their eventual connection feel earned and deeply satisfying.

I also loved the way the book alternates between Kieran and Ellie’s perspectives, giving us a full sense of their journeys and allowing the reader to really root for them. Their relationship builds over nearly a year of creating the cookbook together, which felt realistic and made the slow-burn even sweeter. By the time things start heating up, you’re so invested in their story that you can’t put it down!

Overall, "The Slowest Burn" is a beautifully paced story that balances humor, heat, and heartache. With well-written characters, deep emotional layers, and a love story that feels real and earned, this book will leave you feeling warm and satisfied—just like a great meal.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and St. Martin's Griffith for this advanced copy! You can pick up The Slowest Burn on September 24, 2024.

Was this chef romance adorable and sweet? Absolutely. Was it also chock-full of grief and emotionally charged moments between loved ones? You bectcha. I really appreciated how Sarah Chamberlain handled so many kinds of moments between characters so well, including Kieran's struggles with his ADHD and Ellie's people-pleasing destructiveness. The way food played a role in their romance was charming, but it also hit home how much food is about people and community.

If you enjoy hate-to-love, fake-dating, and chef romance, this is your book!

THE SLOWEST BURN sizzles, snaps and is explosive in all the right spots. Okay, I definitely fell for the title, the cover and then the story, I confess. This is not your typical love story and I love it! It stars Kiernan O'Neill, a hot shot top chef who won a cooking competition. He is offered a high-paying cook book deal. He should be proud of himself, only there's his uptight family, he copes with ADHD, and he has a ghostwriter that is laced up tight like a trussed chicken. No humor whatsoever. He needs to work on his book with her. Will he?

Ellie Wasserman is a pretty widow who lives with her in-laws, while dealing with her insecurities. Ellie is coping with the death of her husband and her in-laws depend on her. She is working on her own cook book, but now she's saddled working with a stubborn top chef who won't answer her back. They need to write his cook book. Only, they are at odds with each other. She wants to buy her own house some day, so this book deal is perfect. However, working with Kiernan is like pulling teeth. She has to work hard to get along with him and him with her.

Over time they slowly open up to each other and they form a mutual interest in each other, which grows into more. Will they fall in love or just do the love tango in bed?

Wow! This a real slow-cooking pot roast of a story! When it starts boiling, watch out, because Kiernan and Ellie are one hot item! There are serious topics dealt with in this story, that makes for a simmering read. The author takes her time unfolding the delicious plot with juicy tidbits that follow. Also, family and in-laws get in the way and situations become messy. I love the way Ellie and Kiernan have each other's back when it's really needed. This is a beautiful story that I really enjoyed and am sorry to see it end. THE SLOWEST BURN is a real scorcher!

I had heard a lot of great things about this book before reading it, and unfortunately it didn't live up to the hype for me - the writing style didn't click for me. But the story was solid, there was good character development, and I loved the chef/food/cookbook aspect of it. I'll definitely be checking out what comes next from this author.

THE SLOWEST BURN by Sarah Chamberlain will almost certainly make you hungry. A "shoulda put recipes in the end matter" kind of book.

Kieran is a cooking contest celebrity chef, and Ellie is the ghostwriter helping him write his cookbook. It's an opposites attract situation, as he is a chaos Muppet and she's pure law and order. There are heavier topics woven throughout, as much of his chaos stems from having ADHD, she's dealing with her mother in law's grief, and both of them are fighting against their Traumatic Childhood of Parental Neglect and the ways that shapes their idea of love and relationships.

It is a slow burn (as advertised, lol) that plays with a lot of romance tropes without fully leaning into them. Just a hint of flavor, if you will. They're forced to sequester for a week to work on the cookbook...and then work together for another nine months. There's only one bed...and a futon. They fake date...for one night.

This debut comes out September 24.

This is an interesting premise of a ghostwriter and her chef client learning to work together in completion of his project. There were moments I really enjoyed, and others less so. There are some really sad, difficult topics and it sort of continues throughout. I think Chamberlain writes Ellie's widow story from an interesting perspective with some pretty realistic moments. I found Kieran's character to be lovely, and I really enjoyed his growth and understanding of himself. The romance however, just didn't click for me, in the midst of everything else going on with these characters. Perhaps it needed a little bit more time or Ellie growing personally on her own before the two of them get together. But the story pulled me along and it was overall enjoyable. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

This was such a cute book. I have a lot of respect for ghost writers. It's such a shame they don't get some credit. I like how she Kieran worked together and were able to find common ground. I'm also glad they were able to help one another realize they needed to set boundaries with the people they worked with as well as with family. I would definitely read another book by Sarah Chamberlain.