I'm a sucker for a good dual POV book and this one was delicious. I raced through it and really enjoyed the anticipation between Ellie and Kieran.

What a satisfying book! What stuck with me more than anything was the way the author handled heavy topics like grief, adhd and dyslexia with such an authentic grace. I felt very deeply for both of the characters and really enjoyed watching them fall for each other. I was really rooting for them!

Overall, enjoyable!

What worked for me:

The cooking! Loved the food aspect.

Ellie's relationship with her in-laws was fascinating. Frustrating at times, but also an interesting situation, since her husband has died and she's still so intertwined with his parents in healthy, and non-healthy ways.

Ellie and Kieran were an unlikely pairing and I liked their banter most of the time.

What didn't work for me:

The grand gesture didn't feel right to me.

Some parts of the plot felt clunky. I was invested the whole time though, even when I didn't agree with some of the story choices.

This was a cute, somewhat spicy rom-com with characters that didn't frustrate me, so that's always a plus. I ended up skimming a lot, but it's a decent enough read if you're in the mood for something light.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Kieran is the new hottest chef, wanting to capitalize on his popularity he teams up with a ghost writer, Ellie- to release a cook book.
After butting heads they are finally able to form a partnership, that has all the ingredients (pun intended) to turn into something real.

This one was ok.
The story was cute enough, but very slow and didn't really hold my interest.
I didn't really like the characters either, they were all a little annoying to me.

Slow burns are fun. They make you scream and cheer and cry all at once. This one made me do all those things sometimes at once.

The Sloooooooooowest Burn is a very apt title. However, it was worth the wait. Additionally, I absolutely love culinary romances. There is also just a lot to unpack here in terms of side plot and how it affects (mainly) Ellie. Working through her grief and parental strife really adds layers and gives you more to love about her as she pushes forward. I think once her and Kiernan warm up to each other, their chemistry is phenomenal. And again, the food.... gorgeously described.

This was such a fun debut! As a Bay Area native, I was initially drawn to the lovely cover with the artwork of the Golden Gate Bridge and was so happy to enjoy the story of Ellie and Kieran. Ellie is a ghost writer for celebrity cookbooks who is dealing with her new reality of being a young widow and also helping out her former mother-in-law who devastated by the loss of her sun. Kieran is adventurous and spontaneous and just landed his first cookbook deal. This was a wonderful opposites attract slow burn love story with a bit more depth than the run of the mill romcom. Just a warning for impatient readers, it truly is a SLOW burn. I'm excited to see what this author does next!

This book will take you on an emotional journey from beginning to end. It tackles many heavy subjects such as grief, toxic relationships, ADHD/Dyslexia, and people pleasing tendencies but, overall, it stays light hearted throughout.
Take the title seriously, it is definitely a slow burn romance. It has a few slow points but they don't drag the pace down much at all. Told through the dual points of views of Chef Kieran O'Neill and ghostwriter Ellie Wasserman flawlessly. There are perfect transitions from each POV to the other. I enjoyed getting both sides of the story and it flowed perfectly. Both characters were a pleasure to get to know.
I am extremely grateful to SMP Romance for the opportunity to read a digital copy of this heartwarming book through Netgalley. All of the opinions in this review are my own.

This was my first read by Sarah Chamberlain, and while I found it to be an enjoyable experience, it ultimately fell a bit short for me. The concept of a slow-burn romance is appealing, and there were moments where the chemistry between the characters shone through. However, I felt that the pacing dragged at times, making it hard for me to stay fully engaged with the story.

The characters had potential, but I wanted more depth and development to really connect with them. The writing style was pleasant, and there were some charming scenes that made me smile, but overall, it didn’t leave a lasting impression.

The Slowest Burn is a decent read for those who enjoy slower-paced romances, but I didn't find it particularly memorable. I would be open to trying more from Chamberlain in the future, hoping to see her growth as a writer.

This was cute! A sort of enemies to lovers?

Kieran won a cooking competition and is now famous and offered a book deal for a cookbook. Ellie is a ghostwriter, also a widow of a few years and our girl here is stuck taking care of all these people?!

Not only had she grieved from losing her husband, after he passed away she moves in with her in-laws, and her mother-in-law becomes very dependent on her, dumping all her grief on her daughter in law. The father in law notices it’s an issue, but doesn’t really do anything when clearly his wife is suffering from depression and enveloping Ellie in her grief as years later she’s trying to start to move her life forward.

Then we have Ellie’s brother Hank, who is also a leech who shows up and sucks the life out of her at some point too. All these people were annoying me and I wanted Ellie to RUN. Outside of all the family stuff, the romance thread was cute and Ellie deserved to be happy.

Overall, this was solid. Not the most amazing, but a quick read, a cute story, a little griefy but nothing too heavy. Don’t recommend audio, the narrators were a little stiff.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I think the best part of the book is the diverse struggles and representation in this book (ADHD, dyslexia, grief, depression). Although the title is spot on, this was one big slow burn. LOVED that the story was told by both Ellie and Kieran. Overall, I enjoyed the book and the plot :) Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Chamberlain and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary ARC of this book :)

I adored this one; so much fun once it kicks up. I likely should have anticipated the pacing of this book. Even still, I definitely found it to drag at points. The antagonism, while an inherent plot driver, did feel as though it lasted a bit too long. However, I did adore the crescendo once Kieran and Ellie finally do seem to "click". All of the loose bits of personality seemed to fit together perfectly. An interesting debut from an author that is undoubtedly gifted and has a knack for character development. I am excited to see how Chamberlain's voice connects to me with another story as a vessel.

A heartwarming and romantic read. Kieran and Ellie are loveable characters that you just can't help but root for. This book gave me all the good feels and had me reading through the night because I just could not put it down.

Definitely a slow burn. Can’t really say they were full on enemies, but there was some grumpiness between the 2 of them at the beginning.
The fact that she was stuck in the past with her in laws not wanting her to move forward (mostly MIL), made it harder for her to move on into the present and future.
Their slow burn was cute. I enjoyed the story overall, I unfortunately don’t think I would’ve made it through if it wasn’t for listening to it.

This story had a great plot and a cast of characters who felt real to me,

Kieran and Ellie have a great dynamic and i enjoyed the slow burn and the banter between them

Give it a go!

I am a fan of slow burns so I was excited to read this book. It was really fun and I liked it a lot. I love cookbooks so that aspect of the story made me very happy and I thought it was a very unique fun way to get Kieran and Ellie together. I thought the aspect of widowhood was handled well and overall I really enjoyed it.

Well this one was definitely a slowwwww burn. I honestly almost gave up on it because it was mostly just awkwardness rather than flirty slow burn banter. However there are also a lot of heavy topics happening in the background here. Ellie is dealing her grief on top of trying to navigate the new book she needs to complete. While Ellie and Kieran clashed at first they eventually warmed to each other. Overall I found it to a cute romance but at times it reminded me a bit of Tessa Bailey-cringey.

I already knew I like reading books about places I've never been or want to visit, buuuutttt I oddly enough like books that take place in areas I'm familiar with even more! Seeing how the author portrays that area compared to how I see is super interesting to me! This one mainly takes place in San Francisco/Berkley and has a small detour to wine country.

We follow Ellie who has so much past she's working through. I really enjoyed her perspective. She's a major people pleaser and we see how that is hindering her from growth and her own happiness. It was beautiful seeing her learn to be happy with herself and not depend on the happiness she creates for other people.

Then there's Kieran. Not going to lie, I kinda hated him to begin with. I understand he has his own demons buuutttt that's not necessarily a free pass to be an ass...he did grow on me with his devotion and persistence though. He definitely became Ellie's champion and I loved that.

As the title suggests, this was a bit of a slow burn. It always a bit of play on words as Kieran is a chef and Ellie his ghost writer for his cook book. I really liked how they made food and cooking for others a love language!

I'm giving this book 4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ if you can make it through insufferable Kieran beginnings, it'll be a good one!

Kieran has won a cooking show and now has to write a cookbook. That is like a nightmare for this man with ADHD who only wants to cook. He is assigned a ghostwriter, Elle, but she is not what he expects. She wants accountability but he will not answer her emails. When these two do finally come together, will they write a cookbook or find something more?