Traditional format 📕 (digital). A TV celebrity chef meets a ghostwriting cookbook author and together they cook up more than just recipes.

This book was a bit more than a romance however. It was also about a widow finding herself and moving on in life and about a grieving family doing the same.

I generally enjoy books with a cooking theme but I found this book fairly average with not much plot to draw me in. I enjoyed the setting of the book (The Bay Area) and although I liked the characters I didn’t find a whole lot of slow burn chemistry like the title implied. It was also a little strange in that most of the book was “clean” but then at the end there was but if a spicy scene that just sort of fizzled.

Overall a mediocre read that I give a 2.5/5 to.

Thank you to St.Martin’s Press and Net Galley for a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for a review.

From the very beginning all the way to the end, I loved this story. I have always enjoyed watching cooking shows and cooking myself, so it was fun and interesting to read a story about a chef and the ghost writer for the cookbook they are working on together.
I really liked both characters and their emotional progressions through the book. Both characters have unresolved trauma they have to work through and it was satisfying to watch how they helped one another overcome and heal.
The title is correct and it’s definitely a slow burn, however I thought that the delayed gratification just added another element to the story. Kieran is absolutely swoon-worthy - the way he prioritized Ellie and the tender way he cares for her is just *chef’s kiss!*
Absolutely recommend checking this one out when it releases in September, especially if you are a foodie and love a sweet romance!
Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

What a fantastic debut from Sarah Chamberlain with, ‘The Slowest Burn’, we cannot wait to see what the future holds for her. Seriously, this book was something we didn’t know we needed, so if anyone needs us, we will officially be in our ‘chef romance’ era.

This delicious story brings to mind the sharp character intensity of ‘The Bear’ and the heart-pounding competition vibes of “MasterChef”. The enemies to lovers dynamic leads the way to some beautifully covered topics of finding love after loss and navigating the world as a neurodivergent individual.

At its very center, this story is a beautiful love letter to your inner self. The part of you that some people try to make you feel bad about because you aren’t who they want you to be. This book is a great reminder that, at the end of the day, nobody has to live your life but you, so celebrate your wins with the people who truly root for you.

Sweet story that starts a bit slow. Enemies to lovers is always my favorite trop! Love the relationship that develops between Ellie and Kieran.

this was a really cute read!! cozy, mixed some heavier topics in nicely without weighing down the book a ton, and complex characters that were very lovable. ellie was a great fmc, and for once i didn't hate the way that she handled every situation! kieran i was a little hesitant on at first but he really grows on you, especially as you understand more of his backstory. the fake dating trope was a little out of place and wasn't really explored in the way i thought it would be, and the time skips were a little confusing because it skips ahead at certain points more than others. but this was really cute, a good read if you're looking for a palate cleanser, something sweet and romantic!

I read this all in one day - it was sweet and special, with enough humor to keep me going. Nearly shed tears on the regular, and I'm a robot who doesn't cry for books. There were a couple 'over-explaining' bits toward the end, but didn't take away from the experience.

And now I have a book hangover. When I read romance, I feel like I’m eating dessert. It’s almost always my preference. There are sweet romances that satisfy my romance sweet tooth a lot like a fudgy brownie would. The Slowest Burn satisfied my romance sweet tooth like a double fudge brownie sundae with caramel drizzle on top. There was so much substance to this book that it wholly satisfied my brain and left me wanting to go back and start at page one again.

The story begins with our heroine, Ellie, and our hero Kieran. Ellie is a young widow, living in a casita behind her in-law’s home. She takes care of them and they lean on her heavily for companionship, especially her mother in law. I found this aspect of the story so well done and heartfelt. Ellie is a ghostwriter with an emphasis on cookbooks. Her boss assigns her to the latest “cooking show winner” hot chef named, Kieran. Kieran is just a love. He has ADHD and is dyslexic and has felt like a failure for his entire life, no thanks to his horrible parents. At first, Ellie and Kieran clash hard. Like hard hard. However, they get past the hate pretty quickly and become friends.

This book dealt with grief, mental health, neurodiversity, and body image in such a refreshing way. I was never once frustrated with either of the main characters and their thoughts and (re)actions because they were so believable and relatable. I loved that Ellie was short and curvy but it was never a “thing” and Kieran was short. So many touches like that created the layers to my double fudge brownie sundae which made this book an absolutely scrumptious treat for my reader brain. Will I reread this book? DEFINITELY! Will I purchase a paper copy of this book? YEP!!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
The first thing that comes to my mind after reading this book, is found family. Kieran and Ellie both struggled for any bit of attention and love from their families. Now they are grown, and while one of them doesn’t have relationships the other is a widow. This opposites attract duo both have a passion for food, and the way the author wrote about food and brainstorming of the cookbook is lovely. I was just as intrigued with the cookbook as I was with the main characters and their relationship.
I felt for both characters, but especially for Ellie. Like a lot of women, she gave and gave to others until she was exhausted. Whether in her personal or professional life she was the rock that everyone could count on. But she was unhappy and unfulfilled. Kieran found success in his career, but personally something was missing and he had overcome so many struggles with his ADHD, dyslexia, and alcoholism.
This is a modern-day romance with all the imperfections people bring to the table, and a beautiful second chance romance wrapped into one great debut novel. I look forward to reading more from Sarah Chamberlain.
**I will post a book review on Tuesday, May 13.

I really enjoyed Ellie and Kieran’s story. I liked that they both had flaws and worked through them together. I do think there were points where Ellie’s background felt repeated like we get it her parents sucked. It felt like she explained it one too many times. I like how Kieran became her champion it was very sweet. Also I wish Diane had a few more redeeming scenes than just the end. I felt that she was a very unlikeable character and it would have suited better for her to have some nicer moments with Ellie.

Thank you, NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press for this ARC! First off I have to start by saying that I was very impressed that this was a debut novel. The author did a wonderful job of creating a beautiful romantic, slow burn story. The main characters were very relatable and well written. I really enjoyed how they were so different in their personalities, but yet they come together in such a unique way. I really loved the book cover and all the food references were great! My favorite part of the book was the banner between the main characters and the dual POV really worked well with this book. I highly recommend it, and I will definitely be reading more books from this author!

DNF @ 20% - The beautiful cover of this pulled me in, as did the premise but neither could carry the story. While this is alternating POVs, i didn't feel like Kiernan or Ellie had distinct voices, and the story was all about the characters telling one another (and the reader) what was going on, instead of showing. There was a lot of inner-monologing as well. I think this debut will have success, but the telling rather than showing might put readers off the book too soon before they can get into the plot.

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

This debut novel pulled me right in. The characters were very well written and realistic, and the story engaging.

While I did enjoy this, I didn’t love it - the chemistry between Ellie and Kieran didn’t ever really come across for me and it fell more than a little flat for me. I also found the ending unsatisfying (but no spoilers).

Despite my issues, I will definitely check out the author’s future work.



Thank you to St. Martins’ Griffin and NetGalley for the DRC

I can't believe this is a debut novel for this author! Fantastic! I love to see people doing what they are meant to do and Sarah Chamberlain, you are meant to write! I loved how this book started off. The enemies portion was spot on and made you think romance would never happen between these two. I'm a sucker for rom coms that feature food so I knew this was going to be a good one. I also enjoy a good duel POV and this one definitely delivered in that category. The banter was the chef's kiss though! SO GOOD! It also dealt with some heavy topics too like grief of a spouse, so trigger warnings on that. I highly recommend it. Can't wait for the next! Thanks for the advance copy.

"The Slowest Burn" was one of my favorite books that I read in 2024! I was really rooting for the two main characters, who were complete opposites, to finally fall for each other. Here's a quick summary: Kieran, an up-and-coming chef, is trying to extend his time in the spotlight by publishing his first cookbook. However, he is paired with Ellie, a ghostwriter who has a very Type A personality and sticks to her rules a little too closely. Despite their differences, they must work together to achieve their goals. Of course, things always have a way of heating up in the kitchen.

This book not only provided elite banter and romantic pining, it also covered sensitive topics and allowed the character to be fully realized people, not just fluffy characters who's only purpose is to hook up and live happily ever after (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

I loved the way that the theme of grief was portrayed in the story. It effectively depicted the struggle of moving on with Ellie's mother-in-law holding on too tightly to the past, and Ellie facing the challenge of allowing herself to be happy again.

The Slowest Burn lives up to it's name of really making you wait for that spice! It is so worth it!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to get a physical copy for my bookshelf.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sarah Chamberlain for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ☆☆☆

One thing that really stuck out to me about this book is how unique it was! I've never read or seen a book with this plot before and that made it even more fun!

The tropes in this book? Literally could not stop squealing :) Ellie and Kieran totally gave workplace enemies to lovers and I'm here for it! The way they worked together and slowly started opening up to each other made me swoon. Kieran is such an amazing mmc, he's so so sweet and made me literally laughed out loud so many times, i love him! I also really connected with Ellie and love how strong of an fmc she was. But them together? Unstoppable.

Another aspect of this book I adored was the realness & hard truth of battling mental health. I love when an author can bring real life struggles to a book and make you feel heard, Sarah did just that!

Such a cute story! I'm obsessed with the way these two are together, I could nottt get enough of the cooking scenes because them together is INSANE chemistry!

It was definitely the slowest burn (wink, wink), but so worth the wait!

This was a really sweet debut romance! I appreciated that their story was different than what we typically see and that Kieran wasn’t a towering 6’4 hulk man (this was truly refreshing)!

I know part of Ellie’s character was that she’d already grieved and was ready to move on but I would’ve loved to see her dig into the issues with Max more—we got a few cues but kind of just skated past them. Also would have loved more of her friendship with Nicole—did they go on the trip??

Very cute story overall!

✨MINI ARC REVIEW✨

Firstly I want to say thank you to @netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was such a palette cleanser and it’s a sweet and touching story. This romcom is filled with forced proximity, humor, tension and spice. A ghostwriter forced to work with a reality cooking show winner to write a cookbook, despite their differences. She is strict and likes order while he flies by the seat of his pants.

This story has depth as both sides of our couple have their own tragic backstories, one side filled with abandonment and the other with loss of a loved one. Watching the development of each of our characters and how they overcome their own hurdles separately and together was an amazing sight.

I will admit it was a bit slow to get into and our FMC does come off a bit … harsh at first, but as you get deeper into the book and start peeling back those layers, I didn’t want to put it down.

Neither of them wanted to be in a relationship, but as they were forced to get to know each other, they realized the other is exactly what they needed. Despite their rocky start, the couple brought out the best in each other.

A fun romantic comedy about a very type A ghostwriter and the rebel reality cooking show winner that she is paired with to write his cookbook. I appreciated that these two communicated - not always perfectly and not always directly but they usually got there in the end without annoying me too much (a long drawn-out misunderstanding is a pet peeve of mine in romances). I also appreciated these two helping each other discover their boundaries and how their dreams have changed over the course of the book. I felt it was a fun rom-com with some series side missions that made it a well-rounded novel.

This book was really sweet and touching. It’s a story about finding love after loss, grief, and food!
Kieran is so sweet and a major golden retriever which is my favorite! Ellie is navigating life after losing her husband. I loved these two characters together and reading their journey of falling in love.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this read. The main characters were lovable, relatable, and their chemistry was excellent. Sometimes, cuisine-focused novels feel excessively focused on the sensation of food, and this novel did a great job balancing the romanticism of cuisine with character development - it didn't rely on food descriptions to carry the sensuality and emotion of the story. Will be watching for more from this author!