This book may be titled The Slowest Burn, but a slow burn romance this was not! Ellie is a ghost writer for cookbooks and Kieran just won a cooking show and is now doing a cookbook. He’s a little rough around the edges, and she’s a little uptight. They both had hard pasts with their families, and have their own challenges. But she is super career focused and he doesn’t do relationships. Tie in some forced proximity and fake dating, and we get ourselves one fantastic romance!

I loved these characters. They were both unsure and sure of themselves. But they grew together, both in their personal lives, in their careers, and in their romantic life together. This didn’t feel like a slow burn to me because most slow burns the excuses are lame as to why they couldn’t be together, or there is another lame reason. Here it starts out that they are just merely polar opposites and it just takes a bit for each of them to really see each other because they are both guarded in a way. Honestly, the best way for me to describe what happened between these two characters was that it was organic.

I’m not a foodie. But after this book maybe I could become one! I loved the way that the characters talked about the ingredients and being inspired by them. I loved the way that the thought about their cookbook, it was different than any other cookbook that I’ve looked at that is usually separated by apps, meats, breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts.

These two really had something special on multiple levels.

The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 2/5 🌶️🌶️

A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Sarah Chamberlain for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a heartwarming romcom filled with emotional moments, romance, food, and joy. This is an absolutely wonderful debut novel and truly showcases Sarah Chamberlain’s ability to write a romance filled with heart, growth, and a bit of spice.

One of my absolute favorite things about this one is how both MCs are multi-dimensional and we can see how they embrace their respective journeys as the story progresses. Seeing how they are working on overcoming their trauma and healing while building their relationship was incredible.

The slow burn romance was absolutely AMAZING and Ellie and Kieran complement each other SO well! Their chemistry is totally off the charts!

Overall, The Slowest Burn is a fantastic debut romance read! I look forward to reading more books by Sarah Chamberlain in the future!

Tropes:
- Forced proximity
- Dual POV
- Reverse Grumpy x Sunshine

I'm sorry, but I was skeptical of this book from the moment the FMC was described as a cookie and the MMC described as a leprechaun just because he was Irish. I should've known this book would be awful from that point, because it only got worse. I cannot stand when a main character ends up with someone who belittles and bullies them for no reason from the get go. He was struggling with ADHD and dyslexia and she gave him shit for everything he did at almost every turn. Absolutely not okay. And as for the title? It was definitely not a slow burn at all. At all. I was also turned off of this book the moment I realized the author basically looks exactly like the FMC/is described as the FMC on the cover, and that just made reading the rest of the book an absolute slog.

I'm not a big fan of the slow burn but I feel like I was warned up front about this one so I knew what was coming and because of this, I'm pleased to say I loved it! Give me a foodie romcom any day and I'm happy! The premise of Ellie ghost writing a cookbook for chef Kieran was a great storyline. I appreciated the ADHD and dyslexia representation in the book, which I feel the author portrayed well. The coming together of our two main characters was extra sweet in this case. They stood up for each other and overcame their loneliness and hurdles to get to their happy ever after. This was a fantastic debut by Sarah Chamberlain and I am excited to see what she writes next.

Did not finish at 13%. It didn’t grab my attention and I found the characters not likable. Thanks NetGalley for the arc.

This is a wonderful story. The plot is exciting and interesting. Kieran and Ellie have completely opposite personalities. Kieran is dyslexic and has ADHD, while Ellie loves rules and lists. Being forced to work together is torture. The story unfolds in a loving and caring way that readers will find enjoyable. The dialogue is easy to read and understand. It is a great story all the way through.

Chamberlain knocked this one out of the park! I loved the chemistry between our main characters. A story with love after loss trope can be difficult to navigate but it's done SO well here. Overall, the book is well written and keep me engaged the throughout.
Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

The title is true to it's premise but the wait is worth it. Ellie is a young widow ghostwriting for a hot young chef who recently won a (Chopped or Top Chefesque) cooking competition. He's attempting to capitalize on his fame, but can't seem to stay organized which is the complete opposite of Ellie. As they try to work together on his cookbook, their chemistry comes alive with food becoming their love language. I very much enjoyed this read. It was heavier than I was expecting but I liked the emotional ride. Thank you for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book.

Work rivals meets slow burn of friends falling in love. The book is a little hard to describe in trope turns but it’s a good one.

Ellie is Kieran’s cookbook ghost writer. They don’t get a long at first but a friendship becomes more. I liked this story a lot. Ellie opening herself up and Kieran falling first.

There is light steam. Not completely explicit but open door enough.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC.

A fun and sweet debut- 3.5 stars! This rom-com is, as promised by the title, a slow burn romance. I liked the main character, enjoyed the culinary themes, and loved the dual POV. There were other genre tropes tossed in but most lasted for the length of the page only. I felt like the chemistry between the main characters lacked a little intensity but overall enjoyed this book. I’m looking forward to other titles by this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC provided in exchange for my honest review.

This one wasn’t for me. It had some pacing issues and was just too slow. This book will work for other people just not me.

4.5⭐️

This book really was a slow burn, but in the best possible way! When it begins to burn, it really burns! I thought Ellie and Kieran had sizzling chemistry! I loved watching them go from butting heads on how to write the cook book, to better understanding each other and coming up with extraordinarily ideas! Even thought they are complete opposites, the mesh extremely well and bring out the best in each other! I love how the book handled topics like grief, dyslexia, and ADHD with sensitivity and care! Overall this was a super cute book that was definitely a fun time and kept me entertained the whole way through!

Tropes
-forced proximity
-work place romance
-haters to lovers
-dual pov
-reverse grumpy x sunshine

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed the plot of this and the characters, however it was a little too slow of a burn. During the first half of the book I really struggled to pick this up - but the second half I couldn't put the book down. I liked that the two characters were dealing with a lot of their own personal issues that they had to work through before they could connect. They also worked together, which added its own twist to the story. Kieran is a chef who won a cooking competition and now has to write his own cookbook. Between his ADHD and issues with his parents, sitting down to write is a challenge. Ellie is hired to be his ghost writer. She is dealing with her own parental issues, plus becoming a widow in her 20s and the challenges she is facing moving forward with her life. Will these two opposites be able to work through their own challenges? and will these enemies turn into lovers?

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

The Slowest Burn is a wholesome, sweet opposites-attract love story. Quite impressive for a debut, Sarah Chamberlain’s writing gives us well-developed, layered characters with an in-depth storyline. It’s not all hearts and rainbows with this one. While love is in the cards, there’s also tough subjects covered such as mental health, grief, and childhood trauma. I appreciated the author’s delicate method of storytelling, which allowed me to really empathize with the characters.

‘Slowest burn’ is very accurate in describing this book. If you don’t like lengthy character development, this is definitely not the right read for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this digital ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

THE SLOWEST BURN was a good read for me, just mot a great one. I love reading a romance with characters living with challenges as well as flaws and this book dud great in that respect. The leads were both layered and interesting.

Kieran and Ellie's evolving relationship ended up feeling clunky at times and falsely forced at other times as I was reading. Add to that a very slow second half and an overwhelming number of side characters, many of whom did not end up pulling weight in the story, and this book didn't quite work for me.

I really enjoyed this book! I felt like the representation of grief and childhood trauma were well done and the character development felt realistic and healthy. My only qualm with the book is it felt a little close to 'insta love'. While our characters start off as... Unwilling coworkers that then developed into a friendship, and then to feelings. That all felt very real. I just felt like the feelings to full blown love was a little quick based on both of their backstories. Overall-- It was still a VERY enjoyable read. As someone who personally melts at acts of service... Our MMC delivered on that so well at the end and it left me swooning and kicking my feet in delight. I also appreciated the epilogues. Sometimes I feel like they aren't needed, but I wanted to see how their relationship stood the test of time.

The Slowest Burn lives up to its name! and I loved every minute of it! Sarah Chamberlain’s debut is a sweet, dual POV, opposites-attract love story that’s filled with all the right ingredients: a chef, the writing of a cookbook, and some wholesome characters. Sure, the plot is a bit predictable, but it's like comfort food—cheesy and totally worth it.
Ellie’s relationship with her father-in-law was a standout, adding an extra layer of heart to the story. It's an easy 4-star read that will leave you feeling warm and satisfied. Pick this one up—you’ll be so glad you did!

Thanks, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the ARC!

This one was super sweet - I loved the romance and all the talk about food gave me an appetite for delicious eats.

This was a fun romance read with mental health rep, ghostwriters, and a sprinkling of fake dating.

I really enjoyed the first half of the book - the angst, the back and forth, and the tension between the characters was so fun to read. I’m also a sucker for a chef, so reading about all the food they were making was perfect for me.

Towards the back half, the story slowed down a bit, and became less believable. There was a lot of conflict that felt manufactured, characters seemed to suddenly switch gears, and I began to lose interest. There were also a couple of characters who I wish had more background (like the agent and the ghostwriter boss), and some characters who felt unfinished (like the friends).

Overall I enjoyed reading it, but it left me wanting a bit more!

If you’re looking for light and fluffy, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for emotional depth between two people navigating adulthood after childhood neglect and loss with food playing a key role in building connection, this is a book for you.

Ellie has had a difficult life from childhood and beyond, and I really admired the way she was resilient in the face of it all. The care she showed for others spoke to her heart, though she could have been the poster child for putting her own needs at lower than the bottom of her own list. My heart ached for her as she struggled with the weight of feeling responsible for everyone else’s well-being to the detriment of her own. I wanted to shake so many of the people in her life for how much they took her for granted and took advantage of her, whether intentionally or due to lack of self-awareness. Part of what I loved about Kieran was that he was the opposite and didn’t want to take anything from her.

Kieran was a character I felt empathy for and often wanted to hug, especially early on when he and Ellie weren’t seeing eye to eye. He was someone I could tell worked hard every day to overcome the challenges in his life and had put in the work to learn how to manage in a healthy and functional way. The way he was misunderstood in the beginning made me sad for him. I loved how immediately Ellie’s views shifted in a professional standpoint once they began to understand each other.

The romance lived up to the slow burn title but it felt mostly true to who the characters were. Once it hit, it was a bit up and down for me, particularly with the third act where it felt almost too far to come back from (for me) but also found reflection and resolution in a way that both made the previous actions and choices understandable and authentic and come back around to a point where growth was evident and the bond felt stronger.

Bonus points for both Ellie and Kieran each having a solid best friend who wasn’t afraid to say the hard things to them.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.