The Slowest Burn follows Ellie, a cookbook ghostwriter, and Kieran, a reality TV star, as they collaborate on his debut book. Initially tense, their partnership evolves into a charming romance, complicated by personal struggles. Ellie is a caregiver for her late husband’s family, putting her needs last, while Kieran battles insecurities tied to ADHD and dyslexia. Chamberlain’s character development is exceptional, making their growth both touching and believable. Ellie encourages Kieran to take himself seriously, while Kieran helps Ellie rediscover her individuality.

Overall, The Slowest Burn blends lighthearted romance with deeper themes of healing and self-discovery. With well-paced storytelling and authentic, relatable characters, it’s perfect for romcom fans who crave more depth. This heartfelt romance is a standout, making Chamberlain’s work one to watch this fall.

I enjoyed this ‘meet and dislike’ romance set around a chef and his ghost writer. I found the ghost writing of the book fascinating. And I never thought about this aspect of writing before. Ellie had to make Kieran (a larger than life reality cooking show star) likable and engaging. She also wanted to know a lot about his recipes so they could come alive on the page. As someone who cooks and bakes from scratch - this was such a unique storyline.
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I loved the dyslexia rep
There is ADHD rep
Ellie is a widow (could be a trigger)
Kieran has chemistry right away
Ellie takes longer
There is Fun banter.
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Overall, I enjoyed this debut - but at times the pacing felt slower - but that’s my only critique. Thank you to @netgalley and @smpromance for the Advance Reader Copy.

This was a someone brutal read for me. I typically LOVE a good slow burn, but this was just uninteresting. I couldn’t connect to the characters and was really bored from about halfway on. The banter was pretty funny from time to time, but overall, it was just a bit of a trudge.

I enjoyed the main characters in this book. They were not physically your typical main characters, which was unique. It was indeed a slow burn. If that’s your trope, you are in for a treat.

Really enjoyed this food-focused romance set in the Bay Area. The characters had interesting back stories, loved all the Bay Area references, and the resolution at the end was satisfying and fun. Loved it.

This is so much more than just a love story! It is definitely a slow burn, just like the title, but it is also about starting over, second chances, and moving on from heartbreak.d

This book felt like trope salad. It had some cute elements but because it was trying to be so many things, it didn't do any of them well. Overall it was a miss for me.

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!

I don't know what I can possible add to what has already been said. This is a lovely book that I am so grateful to have read. Thank you for allowing me this advanced copy.

What a great fall read. Loved the chef x ghostwriter angle and the adhd and dyslexia representation in this. The title fits the book perfectly as it is a slow burn romance. There is a little bit of bit of spice. Thank you St. Martins publishing and Netgalley for a chance to read this I had a great time with it.

Easy read and a very sweet romance. Featuring a bit of opposites attract, found family, love after loss, etc. Ellie and Kieran were adorable together and their relationship felt natural and not forced. The spicy scenes worked well too, nothing cringey except for the state of the single man’s apartment. There were some tough scenes with Diane and Hank but they added to the story just fine.

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!).

The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain is the story of a widow, Ellie Wasserman that becomes the ghost cookbook writer for a celebrity chef, Kiernan O'Neill, much to his chagrin. Ellie lives with and takes care of her dead husband's parents, cooks a huge meal for his family and friends annually on the anniversary of his death, and is still working through the grief of having lost him at such a young age. Kiernan is the type that does whatever he wants and doesn't care what anyone thinks. Ellie isn't impressed by Kiernan and he wants nothing to do with her either, at first. But, as the story develops, so does their friendship, which eventually leads to a quite steamy attraction. The problem is that they both have incredibly difficult pasts that it doesn't seem like they'll ever work through it all so they can be together.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain.

I couldn't put this book down, even with it being a slow burn. I loved the cooking aspect and seeing the cookbook come to life as Kieran and Ellie come together to work on it. This hit so many yeses for me from the amazing best friends, all of the amazing food talk, an adorable cat and realizing that food and cooking can mean so much more.

Both Kieran and Ellie have a lot to work through and I loved the dual POV so we got both of their sides. This dealt with tough topics with grace and felt real and not just a plot.

I can't wait to read more of Sarah's books!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

I read probably 75% of this book, and I just could not push through that last 25%. I really wanted to like this book going into it; I liked the premise of a chef and a ghostwriter falling in love! I was so excited that there was mental health representation too, but sadly, it fell super flat for me with the characters. In the beginning, I thought Kieran was going to be a silly goofy dude who faces difficulties with his ADHD and dyslexia, but he just felt so juvenile and immature the farther and farther I went into the book. Their bickering wasn’t dislike to love, it was honestly just quite kind of irritating. I loved the premise and loved the representation, it just did not work for me!

I absolutely adored this romance book. I loved that the main female character had attitude. Not in a bad way, but in a way that let everyone know they couldn't walk all over her. I loved the concept of a ghost writer for a cook book, because honestly that is not something I ever thought of before. I loved that she was Jewish and there were parts of that incorporated in this book. And I loved that she embraced her size. The chemistry and banter between the characters was perfect and the pace of the book was really good, even though it is called slowest burn. It did not feel like a slow burn to me. I can't wait to read what this author writes next. This is the perfect romance to add to your fall reads.

Thank you to St Martins Press for the gifted copy!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

This book had so much potential...and honestly, I was expecting something different from the summary. While the story did surround Ellie who was a widow, I was thinking it would be more of her opening her heart up for a second chance at love. Even the premise of her being a "ghost writer" for Kieran's cookbook sounded promising. Sigh. I just felt no true connection with our couple. There was too much lust and explicit open-door moments that felt more cringe than loving. On the plus side, there was a cat. :)

2 stars

Fun, easy read! Overall, the plot and the characters were enjoyable. I liked that there were some deeper themes intertwined in the story.

There were things that felt a bit weird to me like the spicy scenes and some other cringy stuff.

Kerian and Ellie were real, flawed people, and I like that! They might not please everyone at all times but that's what makes the growth enjoyable.

As I said before, overall a good experience reading

Love a slow burn book and one with cute banter makes it even better. This is such a cutie book and I’m so excited for others to read it.