Perfect for foodies and slow burn romance fans!

I was intrigued by the set up of the plot so I gave this a try. I ended up really liking it. It deals with deep topics like healing from trauma. I think the writer handled these topics well.

The romance is reverse grumpy x sunshine and a very slow burn. The build up to the romance was great. I mean I was swooning over this man and everything he said. He also kissed her hand! How sweet and charming is that?!

A great debut book !

this is really the slowest yet sweetest romance ive ever read
never wanted it to end cuz it feels so good
def recommended it

Strong story that pulls you in and holds on until the very end. Love lost, grief that won't let go, shadows of the past that taint the present - and ultimately rising above and finding yourself and discovering there is more, that you deserve more. Rollercoaster of emotions and strong characters make this a winner.

📖 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧

“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘶𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸.“

This book was quite literally the chef’s kiss! Start to finish I was drawn into the character’s stories and narratives. I have always been a fan of watching cooking shows and competitions, so it was really fun to read a book about two foodies, one a fancy chef and the other a ghost writer for cookbooks.

Both of our leads are overcoming trauma from their childhood along with Ellie still dealing with the loss of her husband. It was so nice to see how they both healed over the course of the book.

The tension and banter was great! I love the forced proximity aspect of the story along with Kieran being neurodivergent.

This is definitely a slowwww burn, but I don’t think it took away from the relationship at all. This man kisses her hand at one point and I seriously MELTED. 😮‍💨🔥 Kieran is a fantastic MMC and showed his love through little acts of kindness. Ellie prioritized everyone before herself, and Kieran prioritized just Ellie!

“𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳." 𝘈 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦. "𝘐'𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦."

I look forward to reading more books by 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 in the future! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 releases September 24. You are definitely going to want to check this one out!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my early copy of this story so that I could share this honest review! 💖

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
☀️ 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘺 𝘹 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦
💋 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺
🫶🏼 𝘋𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘖𝘝
🍷 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴
💖 𝘕𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘔𝘊
🥰 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴
🔥 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 (1.5 🌶️)

This is a terrific first novel from Sarah Chamberlain with strong, sympathetic main characters who have each overcome challenging childhoods. Ellie Wasserman is a ghostwriter working on a cookbook with Kieran O’Neill, a celebrity chef, courtesy of the reality cooking competition that he won.

Ellie is a young widow whose husband died suddenly three years ago due to a congenital heart defect. She lives in a cottage on her in-laws’ property; her parents were neglectful and are not meaningfully involved in her life. Her father was a musician who eventually abandoned Ellie, her younger brother, Hank, and her mother when Ellie was a young girl; and her mother is self-absorbed and has never really grown up. Ellie spent her childhood taking care of Hank and first got interested in cooking because she wanted to try and provide him some semblance of a stable family life.

Kieran’s family was better off financially than Ellie’s but his parents were no more supportive than hers. Kieran struggled in school due to ADHD and dyslexia and was constantly told that he was a disappointment and needed to try harder. His father is an alcoholic and Kieran also had a drinking problem but has been successfully in recovery for a number of years. Kieran got interested in cooking professionally because he felt competent and sure of himself when he was in the kitchen.

Ellie is a planner and organizer a people pleaser focused on giving the people she cares about what they need—especially her brother and her in-laws. The downside of this is that she doesn’t pay much attention to what she wants and needs. Kieran is more flexible and creative; his closest relationships are with his colleagues at the fine dining restaurant he works at.

Ellie and Kieran clash initially when they begin to work on Kieran’s cookbook together, but once Kieran opens up about his ADHD and dyslexia, Ellie realizes that her typical approach to ghostwriting won’t work. After she adjusts her style, they are able to work together better, causing both of them to reconsider their first impressions.

Together, they figure out what story Kieran wants to tell with his cookbook, and through the process of selecting and testing recipes for the book, they come to really understand and like each other, eventually giving into their strong attraction.

Their sweet, slow burn love story is filled with interesting details about recipes, cooking and the process of putting together a cookbook. It’s easy to root for Ellie and Kieran as they each work to surmount issues carried over from their painful pasts before they arrive at a HEA. Ellie boosts his confidence; Kieran ensures that Ellie is appreciated personally and professionally. Sarah Chamberlain shows plenty of promise in her wonderful first novel; look forward to seeing what she does in the future!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC.