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🎧Song Pairing: In The Kitchen - Reneé Rapp

💭What I thought would happen:

Loves the gorgeous colours of the cover! Honestly when I hear slowest burn I kind of immediately think UTI…😂

📖What actually happens:

📒Cookbook collaboration
🔥Heat in the kitchen
😭Grieving widow for many years
🤬Enemies to lovers

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

Okayyyy so I know everyone has their types but arrogant short king with curly red hair is not my yum. Sorry if it’s yours but I will not be looking twice at your man 😂 my point being that is the book’s male MC. Immediately lost me there.

I’ve dated a short pastry chef and let me tell you, one of thee worst experience ever. Chefs are a no bueno for me and of course I married a man who cannot cook. Like at all 😂

I have a new appreciation for those who write cookbooks because I would absolutely give someone an aneurysm with my lack of measuring. I chop and pour with my heart okay?!

This was both enjoyable and boring. So while I didn’t hate it, I just can’t get on board with the love either.

Loved the grief and Jewish representation! And I really loved the main character. I really felt her loss and enjoyed the perspective of a young widow.

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?

When Ellie is brought in to ghost write Kieran's debut cookbook after his recent win of a cooking competition, they immediately get off on the wrong foot. But as they're forced to work together, they both learn that maybe Kieran could benefit from Ellie's grounded-ness and Kieran could help Ellie break out of the routines that have become suffocating after her husband's death three years earlier.

It's a great romance that builds slowly.

I really liked both narrators. I thought the way they did the voices worked really well together.

DNF @ 30%
I like the idea behind the plot but I just couldn’t connect with the characters at all. They didn’t have much chemistry. But definitely slow burn

Widow Ellie Wasserman is struggling to hold things together following the death of her husband. Reality chef Kieran O’Neill is at the top of his game, but struggling with his ADHD. When Ellie takes on the role of ghost writer for Kieran’s new book, sparks fly both in and out of the kitchen.

This slow burn, debut romance is perfect for those who like their romance to have substantial emotional depth as well as a love story. Told in dual POV, this story is as charming as it is bittersweet, and I enjoyed taking the journey with these characters as they learned about themselves as much as they learned about each other. It is in fact a slow burn romance, so prepare yourself. However, the payoff is worth it in the end.

The growth arcs in this story are fantastic. Dealing with grief, complicated family issues, neurodivergent struggles and other real world issues, these characters not only work to develop their relationship with one another, but work on the growth and development of themselves in a healthy way. One of my favorite secondary relationships is between Ellie and her father-in-law Ben. While not necessarily the healthiest of families at a certain point, his pure affection for her as his daughter (by love) was standout.

🎧 This was terrific on audio, helmed by Hunter Johns and Kate Hanford.

Read if you like:
▪️women’s fiction
▪️over coming grief
▪️neurodivergent rep
▪️opposites attract
▪️forced proximity
▪️foodie romance
▪️Jewish rep

Thank you SMP Romance and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies.

Lighthearted Romance at Its Best!*

This audiobook delighted me with its perfect blend of humor and romance. Well-developed characters shine in this character-driven story. Narrators were great, but 1.25x speed made it perfect. A must-listen for romance fans!

Rating: 3/5 stars

This was a fun, lighthearted story. The right combination of funny & romance. The characters were well-developed. This is a character driven story.

I listened to the audiobook. The narrators were good but they read a bit too slowly so I listened at 1.25 speed and it was perfect.

The Slow Burn by Sarah Chamberlain is a delightful and heartwarming listen. Ellie and Kieran's opposites-attract romance is a slow simmer, filled with witty banter, steamy chemistry, and emotional depth. Chamberlain does a great job of developing the characters and creating a dynamic that keeps you engaged.

Ellie is one of the best ghostwriters for celebrity cookbooks and her next cookbook is for Kieran O'Neill who is an up-and-coming chef who won a reality tv show and he is not used to being held to a schedule like Ellie likes. They struggle to work together at first, but as they spend more time together, their walls start to come down. Ellie was widowed a few years ago and has no interest in moving on especially when she lives with her in-laws who still are focused on their sons death.

I thought this was an interesting read with the ghostwriter aspect and with Ellie's relationship with her in-laws and how they are still mourning their sons death. The love story between Ellie and Kieran takes a while to develop and is a little slow, but it picks up towards the end and there is plenty of spice. Overall, a good, cute read!

THE SLOWEST BURN succeeded more as a tale of Ellie's personal journey than as a romance, for me.

Ellie's husband died suddenly three years ago. She now lives in a cottage on her in-laws' property, cooking them dinner weekly and providing late-night emotional support for her grieving mother-in-law.

Ellie works as a ghostwriter for celebrity cookbooks and is assigned the cookbook of a chef who just won a reality TV competition. Kieran, the chef, has no vision, theme, or ideas to guide Ellie in her work. He also doesn't feel capable of coming up with and communicating those.

This one had a lot going on, sometimes to the detriment of the romantic relationship that should have been at the book's core. But I did enjoy rooting for Ellie (even if I feel like she never got some of the apologies she deserved!). Narrators Kate Handford and Hunter Johns were OK, they helped keep me reading.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a free ALC, and St. Martin's Griffin for a free e-arc.

A chef who recently won a cooking competition is paired with a cookbook ghostwriter to work on a project, and the two of them could not be more different. He's a neurodivergent mess of a man, while she is organized and deadline driven...but their slow burn ignites over time.

I was charmed by Kieran and Allie's love story, which really does take a while to develop, but their mutual attraction is palpable throughout and they have great chemistry. A bit slow at times, but sweet with plenty of spice.

The audiobook narrators were well cast.

I absolutely loved this audiobook! The plot was simply adorable, and the characters were beautifully developed. The way their relationships evolved felt natural and heartfelt, drawing me deeper into the story with each chapter. The narration really brought the characters to life, making it even more enjoyable to listen to. A perfect balance of charm and depth, this story kept me hooked from beginning to end. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a sweet, well-paced tale with endearing characters!
Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity

I enjoyed this. The narrators did a great job, especially bringing Kiernan's quirks & way of thinking to life. The story was good & entertaining, if not a little predictable. Floyd <3 Watching Ellie bend over backwards and sacrifice so much of her life for everyone else irritated me, but I think that's the point especially as a recovering people pleaser (first child!).

4.5 stars. This was surprising. I thought I wouldn't like this book because it's starts off poorly. And the male narrator sounds a little effeminate--and the character description of 5' 7" with red hair and I wasn't all that invested. But the characters really grow on you. As does their relationship. Lots of heavy topics are addressed: parental shortcomings; addiction; grief; ADHD and dyslexia; flaws of self, and depression. I loved how Ellie and Kieran bond over cooking--not just the cookbook and how their relationship becomes a partnership in more ways than one. The spice is perfect and it's certainly a slow burn. Great romance. Thank you to NetGalley for an audio copy

No one, I repeat, NO ONE needs that much Taylor Swift in a book. This should come with a content warning. If you aren’t a swiftie you’ll probably be annoyed- just like I was.

I enjoyed this foodie / ghost writer romance. Both characters have complex pasts that made them vulnerable, but also realistic. It enabled the storyline to have a back and forth pull as the characters get to know each other and themselves. When ultimately the moment comes where the characters split for good or realize what they have is real and lasting if they can get past themselves, it's not surprising but the execution of the way that moment takes place was well done. For me, the downsides of this novel were my pet peeves with two of the main characters. It was clear Ellie didn't really know herself and needed to start making herself happy vs focusing on others happiness and putting herself down/to the side, I wanted to see that self protection - self worth, develop sooner within the novel and grow more. Her mother-in-law is the neediest, most selfish person and her father in law is awful for letting it go on (at all). The woman clearly needed professional help in the immediate aftermath of her son's death and had no respect for Ellie in the way she treated her. While this brought a certain complexity to the novel, it was also annoying and made me want to skip certain parts. Overall, the book was a fun listen (read). I enjoyed the narrators, food, and ending of the novel. I would recommend this book to other romance readers.

3.5 Stars

The audiobook of The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain was an absolute delight. The dual narration by Hunter Johns and Kate Handford was *chefs kiss* perfection.

Ellie, a young widow, likes her life neat and tidy. She is a cookbook ghostwriter, and her well-ordered existence is upended when she’s paired with Kieran, a famous (and famously chaotic) chef, to create a cookbook together. He’s her opposite in every way—but once her frostiness toward him starts to thaw, and once she realizes that his quirks are actually neurodivergent behaviors—he’s dyslexic and also has ADHD—they end up connecting both in the kitchen and out of it. They challenge each other and want the best for each other, and their friendship and their chemistry ultimately result in some truly steamy hookups. But can they break free of other people’s expectations and live for themselves? Or will their pasts interfere with their present?

If you love cooking shows or friends to lovers, slow burns, and explorations of grief and what it means to move on, you’ll love The Slowest Burn, just like I did. Solid five stars. Thanks SMP and MacMillan Audio for my audiobook.

I enjoyed this book. The concept of a ghost writer for a cookbook and them having to work together was great, definitely a slow burn but worth the read!

I really enjoyed this romance between Kieran and Ellie. I loved that it dealt with issues of grief and learning differences. I also really enjoyed the slow burn aspect, and I think it was good that they spent time apart to work on themselves and then come back together. Please see my linked video for full review.

I don't usually read audiobooks so that may have had an influence on my reading experience but I thought this was just okay. I found it a bit confusing at times to keep track of the dialogue as there wasn't a lot of dialogue tags, and since this was in first person it would just flow right into their thoughts from their dialogue without any change or hint at when the dialogue lines were over. I kept trying to figure out if they had said something out loud or just to themselves.
The cover is really cute, but I wouldn't necessarily call this a slow burn romance. I thought the fake dating trope was cute but I was surprised when the characters jumped to a friends with benefits arrangements, it didn't match their relationship or personalities at all. It felt like the author was trying to include as many romance tropes as possible without fully fleshing them out. I thought this would've been better had she drawn out the enemies to lovers tension and not included the friends with benefits storyline at all. My favourite part of the book was when they were working on the recipes at the cottage--the whole book could've taken place there and I would've been happy. I also would've liked there to be more tension between them. it felt like she was telling us about the tension and attraction between them without showing us.
I did like the food descriptions in this and thought the ghost writer x celebrity chef combo was a fun premise.