Ellie and Kieran had my heart from their first scene together, but I wish I would've enjoyed their story more than I did. I loved this incredibly unique plot line of a celebrity chef and the ghostwriter writing his cookbook, and it helped the book feel fresh and new. What hindered my enjoyment of the book was the extremely heavy handed use of popular tropes, going as far as literally dropping the trope titles into the book. I don't need to be told Kieran "fell first" - I need to be shown it and believe it as a reader.

And for full transparency, I had to emotionally detach at moments due to Ellie's experience with grief and walking through that myself right now, which probably impacted my enjoyment of the book as well.

This book is indeed a slow burn. But a good burn. This book just felt different from a lot of other romance books. The setting, real life situations, and 'gasp' a man that isn't over 6"3'. The book was refreshing in many ways. Definitely would recommend reading.

This book was great! Kieran and Ellie’s relationship was *chef’s kiss* - pun intended. I love the growth that they experienced together.

The Slowest Burn is such a wonderful debut filled with big feelings that made my heart all happy. I loved watching these two opposites come together.

This was such a beautiful book filled with grief and self healing, and sweet, beautiful, tender romance. Kieran and Ellie were so good for eachother. Ellie, a widow, is a ghost writer, mainly writing cookbooks. Kieran, having just won a televised cooking contest, now needs to author a cookbook. The two are paired up, but can they overcome their differences in personalities and self battles to make this book come to life?.

I really loved this book. There were many layers to the book, which brought a slow burn romance between the two. Those layers though were what I loved, and brought many tender moments that made my heart burst with tears and joy.

Things you can find:
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Neurological rep
- Jewish rep
- Grief/loss
- Mother in law
- All the food and cooking!
- Self healing

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The title is truly accurate, but when the slow burn ends the romance is expedited and the romance all happens very quickly. The Slowest Burn is cute summery romance with great characters and a fairly unique plot. I was looking for more character descriptions, but overall would recommend as a light and fun read! 3.5/5 Stars!

This was such a fun book to read. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and growing with them. Ellie hasn't had an easy life, nor has Kieran. Both of them hold their emotions bottled up and when forced to work together, they learn that there can be trust and emotional goodness out there.
I really enjoyed the storyline revolving around food and cooking. As well as watching the characters gain self-confidence and learning to fight for what they want. The chemistry between the two main characters was amazing, their banter, tons of fun. There are some emotional Rollercoaster throughout, which just adds great depth to the story.
I highly recommend The Slowest Burn to those looking for a great read with laughter, self-discovery, warm feels and some playful romance.

The Slowest Burn was exactly that—a slow burn that had my heart bursting and my emotions going all other the place by time time I finished. Soft and heartwarming and heartbreaking, it’s a beautiful story. Ghostwriter Ellie wants her life neat and tidy, especially since she’s been widowed three years ago, but Kieran O’Neill has other plans with his unorganized idea for a cookbook, but the more these two work together, the hotter things get inside and outside the kitchen. To be fully honest, I didn’t think I was going to like this book when I started it. It is a really big slow burn, but oh once it hit, I was crying for Ellie and my heart was so full. Ellie is such a beautiful and genuine character. She’s funny and has been through so much, and she is a people pleaser who wants to take care of everyone, even at the expense of herself, and her journey through that and her grief and all of that, it’s just a really beautiful story to read. And Kieran is so sweet. I feel like his depth gets a little overshadowed by Ellie’s impactful story, but I loved the support and lightness he brings to Ellie. It’s a really striking romance and a great read.

This book was so fun. The author does a really lovely job of creating depth in her main characters - Ellie and Kieran. They are characters who have lived some life and come to each other with realistic issues. The author treats them with honesty and vulnerability. She managed the changing POVs well too. Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy! Well done, Sarah Chamberlain!

Oh this was delicious, pun very intended. Every people pleaser will be able to relate to Ellie. Kieran is this hot ball of energy that is her perfect foil. I love opposites attract, as well as a bit of a black cat/golden retriever dynamic, and this story does each of those tropes so well. Both of them find a safe place to be themselves with each other when neither of them have had that before. They are complex, perfectly flawed, and each of them go through a lot of growth. The slow warming up to each other that happens is wonderful until it becomes a fully fledged fire.

The problems they have to overcome felt real, not forced, and the food had me drooling. MCs that are chefs are my complete weakness. This is a poignant, lovely, witty, and swoony debut!

This was a cute, fun read! A great debut novel from Sarah Chamberlain!

- Dual POV
- Workplace romance
- black cat x golden retriever
- he falls first
- mental health rep

Thank you for this ARC, NetGalley.

This story ♥️ the characters, their growth, the chemistry, and the food 🫶Every part was good and I wanted to savor every moment.

I STRUGGLED with this book. I wanted to love it so badly, but I could not get invested in the characters.

The title of the book is right, it is a SUPER slow burn and really nothing happens that is of significance to keep you into the story. I didn't think there was any chemistry between the two and that the MMC was extremely immature.

This book was not for me, but I can definitely see it being for others. I just did not resonate with the characters at all.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one wasn't for me tried coming back to it a few times but wasn't able to get invested in the story or the characters. Ended up as a DNF for me. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review. I'm sure this is the right book for some people just a miss for me.

This is a slow burn romance set in the chef/foodie world, which we have seen before, but this one felt like a fresh spin! The concept of a ghostwriter & a celebrity chef writing a cookbook together was just cool. Ellie is a widow, & she is ghost writing a cookbook with Kieran, who has been catapulted into the world of celebrity chefs due to his appearance on a foodie reality competition show. I loved learning about how a cookbook comes together! Ellie & Kieran don’t exactly get along at first, but I wouldn’t call this enemies to lovers, per se. More like opposites attract, maybe? Anyway, the romance was definitely a slow burn, and it was perfectly executed for this reader. The conflict in the last 20% was completely believable & gave the story the gas it needed to get to a super satisfying conclusion. This is Sarah Chamberlain’s debut, which is so awesome. I can’t wait to read the other books she writes. I am a fan!. This was right up my alley!!!
4.25 stars rounded up to 5

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

The title is appropriate. It's very slow. I only made it to about 35% and in that time, almost nothing happened. There was zero chemistry between Ellie and Kieran even though it was insta-love for both of them. Not sure why as neither had redeeming qualities. Kieran acted like (and had the maturity level of) a 13 year old boy. I'd give Ellie a little more leeway simply due to her grieving, but that only goes so far. She was kind of awful and self-centered. I didn't care enough about them or the story line to continue till the end.

The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain lives up to its name: It's a slow burn but definitely worth the wait. The story follows Kieran O'Neil who is a chef that just won a reality tv show and is working on a cookbook; and Ellie Wasserman who is the ghost writer for his book and barely holding her life together after the loss of her husband a few years back. The two start out as enemies but soon discover there is chemistry cooking between them.
To me Ellie was a chronic people pleaser and definitely put herself last when it came to her in-laws and her brother. Kieran himself had his own family issues and combined the two were able to really help each other shine to their full potential. I enjoyed the plot of this story. The spice is pretty mild but that's okay. Overall this is a wonderful debut by Sarah Chamberlain. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this story in exchange for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Kieran O'Neill is dominating the cooking scene, winning a TV show, teetering on the brink of launching his own restaurant, and securing a cookbook deal. He should feel like he’s on top of the world but his family doesn't bat an eyelid, planning anything is a rollercoaster due to his ADHD, and his ghostwriter, Ellie Wasserman, is a tough nut to crack. Ellie is a widowed superwoman forced to juggle family duties and a high-stakes job... all while trying to rediscover who she is and carve her own path forward in her 30s. The Slowest Burn is a heartwarming love story told from a dual POV (my favorite in romance novels). Chamberlain effortlessly tackles heavy topics like sobriety, ADHD, deadbeat parents, and grief after loss. There was a considerable amount of focus on mental health and it was done in a way that didn’t feel cheesy. The foodie elements and Ellie’s cat made this an especially cozy romance. Both characters show significant growth throughout the story. The Slowest Burn has a great storyline with a slow burn that definitely packs some heat by the end! I hope Sarah’s next book is Kieran and Ellie’s cookbook!

When I saw this cover it captured my eye with the gorgeous sunset and the sweet kiss between the characters.
The Slowest Burn as highlighted is definitely a slow burn romance that spans over the course of nearly a year between Ellie and Kieran.
Ellie is ghostwriting Kieran's cookbook and not going to lie I want this cookbook!

The chemistry was lovely. In the age of spicy romance and quick smut, this story was a perfect rebalance of how beautiful storytelling can be through quaint moments and gestures.

There are definitely elements of fake dating, slight annoyance between coworkers, and friends with benefits.
I think the mental health topics were touched on with care and was written well including - grief , depression parent neglect, as well as a couple others.

I would definitely recommend this story

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for an ARC copy of this book.

The cover for this novel was gorgeous so I was excited to read it. While I enjoyed the book, I found some topics just too difficult- grief, depression and though I liked the ‘slow burn’ at times it was waaaaay too slow and I was like get on with it already.

Thank you to NetGalley foe the arc.

cute with a capital C!

My only qualm about this book is the fact that they kept mentioning his height - which I get (its to make him “average” and not some 6” dude that we always see in our MMC). Other than that I loved it.

Very enjoyable and was super quick to get through once you get to about 25% in!

4/5 stars