This was so good! The slow burn was well done, and the premise felt original. The dual POV was well written and both main characters were likeable. This was an excellent debut novel for sure!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book. I loved that it was an actual slow burn and how it was a true enemies to friends to lovers. These two people really disliked each other when they first met and seeing how they were once they were together was perfection.

Kieran is one of the best golden retriever MMCs I've read in a long time and he's adorable. I also like that he has a real backstory and he's not one dimensional. I also really enjoyed seeing Ellie go from being stuck in her grief and her place in life and learning how to let herself live again.

3.5 rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! I'm from the Bay Area, so it was fun to see the hints of all these familiar neighborhoods/cities. I loved how they slowly got to know each other over food and how they were fully developed people with proper backstories. My only gripes were the unnecessary third act breakup and the early attraction (if it's a slow burn let it be a slow burn!), but overall I had a great time with this. Fun, cute summer read to pair with the heat wave we're having right now.

Nice writing, but very immature characters who I struggled to connect with. Took too long to really get to the plot. Not for me.

This was a great book, combining my love for romance and food. Ellie is a cookbook ghostwriter and widow, and also an oldest daughter who basically raised her little brother. Kieran is the chef who just won a TV competition show, but has always been disappointing to his parents. The two of them are teamed up for his cookbook, and they start out by butting heads. Once they find their groove, they start to understand each other and support each other. They recognize the past hurts that make them hesitant to trust or love.
I loved all the talk about food and recipe testing. There are some fantastic scenes in this book, like going to the tailor. I rooted for the characters both as individuals and as a couple. The book was a slow burn, but it never felt like it wasn't progressing.

I had tried to read this book via kindle first - I had a hard time getting into it, but I went the audiobook route and it was much easier to get into and kept my attention throughout. The narration was super well done and if you’re following / reading via kindle just hold out because overall it was an entertaining, enjoyable read.

I only have pretty insignificant, small issues with the book. I almost wanted the slow burn to be slower? I wanted more angst and build up to the drop, but it didn’t take away from the story overall. The writing was super easy to read and follow, but there were certain times where it was a bit too cringey and genetic for me. I had readers second hand embarrassment when he just randomly asked her to have sex. I hated the third act break up, i don’t mind a break up when it helps the characters grow or we handle it like adults but I feel like you could cut that out and the story would be EXACTLY the same.

Overall, it was a super easy read. It entertained me and i would recommend it to my peers. I also really liked the cookbook writing plot line. You got that plot, and the banter was there and spice.

This book was the cutest rom-com I've read in a long time. This was such a nice break from my fantasy obsession recently.
This is the book for you if you're looking for:
Enimes to lovers
Work proximity
Opposites attract

The title hits it dead on with The Slowest Burn, haha.

This one took a while to get to the heat.
I was longing for it to get started lol
The two MCs both were trying to find their place in the world.
Once their relationship picked up, they had some really great banter.
The cooking element was a nice touch + the cookbook!

While this seems like a light read,
Some of the themes were pretty heavy.
Check those TWs!

Such a cute romance! I would definitely recommend this book to romance lovers! The story was incredible and I also thought this book was well written.

(4.5 stars) Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the gifted digital copy of this incredibly sweet romance.

Kieran O’Neill, a celebrated chef fresh off a major cooking competition win, is a culinary star in San Francisco. Yet despite his professional success, he struggles with planning and feels like a disappointment to his family. Enter Ellie Wasserman, a meticulous cookbook ghostwriter whose life revolves around precision and order. When they are paired to collaborate on Kieran’s new cookbook, chaos ensues. He’s too scattered for Ellie’s structured world, and she’s too rigid for his freewheeling style. But as the months pass, they uncover deeper layers within each other—Kieran’s ADHD diagnosis and Ellie’s grief over the death of her young husband—and their unlikely partnership blossoms into something much more profound.

This book is a slow burn in the best possible way. The way food serves as a backdrop, anchoring scenes of joy, grief, and connection, is beautifully done. Watching Kieran and Ellie’s relationship evolve from frustration to understanding was a joy, as their contrasting personalities didn’t so much soften each other as complement one another. The exploration of grief was particularly poignant, as Ellie’s journey through love after loss, especially navigating her late husband’s family dynamics, felt raw and heart-wrenching.

One of my favorite aspects was how Kieran championed Ellie both in her personal life and her professional career. He becomes a source of support for her, contrasting the many people in her life who seem to take from her. Their love story is messy, tender, and real, with moments of vulnerability

I'm surprised by all the reviews complaining about the slowburn romance when it's literally the title! I thought it was a really sweet book. Ellie is a cookbook ghost writer for new popular tv chef, Kieran. They get off on the wrong foot & tension is high from the beginning. I like romances that show the characters actually getting to know each other before they jump into bed. I thought it was a sweet book & looking forward to reading more from the author.

Who knew chef romances were a thing and that I’d enjoy it so much?! Yes, Chef, indeed. Ellie is a young widow who struggles with people-pleasing and Kieran is a celebrity chef with imposter syndrome. Their chemistry was a bit of a slow start, but the second half of the book picked up speed (and steam!) and was an overall enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this ARC.

cute coming of age lgbt romance novel that warmed my heart and made me happy. i didn't feel super attached to these characters but still liked the story enough to rate it 4 stars.

A reality TV star chef is partnered with a ghostwriter to write a cookbook. The chef has dyslexia and ADHD and the writer is a parentified overachiever which leads to many mishaps and miscommunication. Cheesy at times but overall a fun lighthearted listen.

Read if you like:
•Forced Proximity
•Enemies to Lovers
•Forbidden Love
•Workplace Romance

🌶️🌶️🌶️ Open Door: At least one intimate scene with the reader present, euphemistic language for act and body parts.

For a debut book this one was really good!

4 ⭐️

I loved how slow slow slow of a burn it was. Initially it didn’t draw me in as much as I’d like, and I wasn’t sold on their chemistry at first but after a few chapters of Ellie and Kieran’s amazing banter, their chemistry really shone through. I loved hearing how they got to know each other and how Kieran talked about Ellie was so beautiful. “ I knew my ghostwriter a lot better now. When she was in the middle of a task, she would make up these dorky little nonsense songs with no tune at all, telling asparagus it was delicious or ordering chicken to cook faster. A tortoise could still dice vegetables quicker than she could, and tortoises didn't even have thumbs. She'd read pretty much every book about food and cooking, and she remembered it all. If they could give out a degree in knowing about food, Ellie would have a PhD.“ it’s just so well thought out and sweet. And when he puts the asparagus behind his ears to make her laugh and cheer up?! Ah I just love them.

It was tough waiting for them to finally get together but as the title suggests, it really is a slooowwwww burn. So worth the wait 😮‍💨😍

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this gem of a book early!

Title: The Slowest Burn
Author: Sarah Chamberlain
Length: 336 pages
Format: ebook arc
Pub Date: Sep 24 2024
Genre: Romance
Rating Out of 5: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Spice Level: open door
Summary:
Ellie Wasserman, a meticulous ghostwriter for celebrity cookbooks, avoids risks after being widowed—especially in writing her own book or dating. Kieran O’Neill, a laid-back chef known for his messiness and humor, finds himself paired with Ellie to write his debut cookbook. As they clash in the kitchen, their mutual attraction simmers, but both must confront their pasts to see if their new love can last.

Thoughts:
Despite its title, this book was anything but a slow burn! In fact, once I pushed past my initial distaste for Ellie (I mean, was it really necessary for her to be *that* mean to Kieran?), I found myself falling for these characters almost as fast as they fell for each other. We’re talking classic enemies-to-lovers energy, with a dash of forced proximity that really ramps up the tension—because who doesn't love two people stuck in close quarters while pretending they’re *not* wildly attracted to each other?

What really got me was that Kieran, the self-declared commitment-phobe, fell head over heels first. And beneath all the banter and heat, there’s a surprising layer of emotional depth as both characters work through their personal baggage, helping each other heal along the way. It’s the kind of character growth that makes you root for them all the more.

In short: great plot, perfect spice, and a love story that’s both tender and steamy. Highly recommend!

Special thanks to the @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

SHUT UP this was so good. I normally don't love slow burns, however this is an exception. You obviously are going to go into the book knowing this is a slow burn (I mean it is in the title of the book lol). I loved how Sarah approached the fact that out FMC was a widow. She didn't hide from that fact, which allowed the slow burn to make sense. Of course the FMC would be wary about being in another relationship after losing their significant other in the past. If you're going to go into this book upset that it is a slowburn, please give it a change. The burn is 200% worth every second of this incredible love story.

Ellie is a ghost writer who is tasked with a difficult “celebrity chef” for her next book.
How does she handle working with someone who doesn’t know how to finish a task outside of the kitchen.
Overall I appreciated this story but I felt there were missed opportunities for a deeper exploration of Ellie and Kieran. The author could’ve expanded on both of their emotional baggage on how it motivated them and ultimately contributed to their growth.
For the foodie in me I need more descriptions on food, I felt like the most descriptive we got was for a creamed spinach dish.
It’s a great debut novel, I just wanted a little bit more from Ellie and Kieran to ultimately fall in love with them.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Okay so I didn't love this book as much as I wanted to. I didn't feel a strong pull between the characters and their tumultuous start to the working relationship just kind of ruined any attraction for me. Their back stories were well developed and fleshed out but I didn't feel much of a connection to either character. I did like the representation of ADHD in an adult male - that part was well researched and represented. I also, unfortunately, didn't find the description of the MMC attractive which made it hard for me to "fall" along with the FMC. This book has such great reviews and I think it'd be a great read for someone else; it just wasn't for me.

This is a wonderfully complex romance novel featuring two very broken characters. Ellie Wasserman is the elder child of emotionally absent parents. In fact she was really raised by her grandparents and took it has her personal responsibility to raise her brother Hank. As a result, her self-confidence was very poor and took every step well planned and carefully executed. Physically she was described as rubenesque in stature and that affected her self-image.

Though Kieran O’Neill was a very successful chef as well as the winner of the TV cooking competition, “Fire on High”, he was anything but the “Happy Pirate Leprechaun” of his public image. The truth was that Kieran was both ADHD and dyslexic. That combination made it nearly impossible for him to write the cookbook that his support team insisted that he complete after his big win.

That is where Ellie came into the picture. Ellie was to be the ghostwriter of the book and in doing so maintain a professional distance from Kieran. That distance between chef and ghostwriter became harder and harder to maintain and time progressed and what made the book interesting was the intricate steps the author took to lead us through their unusual courtship.

In the end, the journey was well worth the trip. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it. I am grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review it.