i have been deep in a "culinary romance" kick and this book fit right in! i liked that this book took all my fave tropes (especially enemies to lovers) but put its own spin on it. the connection between MCs was palpable and although the spice wasn't major, the passion was there! the foodie in me absolutely loved every reference to good eats. can't wait for this one to hit shelves so i can snatch up a physical copy!

I truly enjoyed "The Slowest Burn" by Sarah Chamberlain. This food-centered book captivated me from start to finish. The grief of becoming a widow in your late 20s, or at any age, is unimaginable, and it made me so thankful for my husband. The evolving relationship between Kieran and Ellie kept me interested and eager to see what would happen next. Their journey was both heartwarming and compelling.

I really liked the ADHD and dyslexia representation. I also love how the characters are flawed in general. I struggled with FMC at first, I found her intolerant, rigid and at the same time kind of a pushover. I did love her journey, and the ending was satisfying. I found the chemistry ok, I kind of wanted more slow burn and instead at times it just felt too slow. Without the burn. I still enjoyed the story overall. 3 to 3.5 stars.

I have been having a pretty tough month and just needed a book that was SWEET and romantic with not so much heaviness in it and this is PERFECTION

In her debut, SARAH CHAMBERLIN kills it with the sweetest most adorable and delicious (in more ways than one) romance book that is a must read. I loved these characters so much. They were full of depth, enemies to lovers, but the best kind of enemies because they bickered like friends and not meanness.

This book has close proximity, slow burn, and dual POV’s that made this book so adorable.

Overall, this is a debut author that is a must read!!!!

I didn't dislike The Slowest Burn, but I didn't love it, either. The best parts happened in the beginning of the book—Chamberlain does slow-burn tension so well—but there was a lot of heavy topics (mostly depression and grief) woven throughout that I just wasn't in the mood to read, and I found Kieran and Ellie's relationship kind of schmaltzy toward the end.

For fans of Emily Henry or Abby Jimenez

Oh, how much I enjoyed this book!

I’m discovering that dual POV is my favorite writing style for contemporary romance. It’s nice being able to see inside both main characters’ heads, as it helps the reader understand where each individual is “coming from,” as far as thoughts, intentions, and emotions are concerned.

It’s imperative to understand that the title of this story is not a tease or misleading; it is absolutely a slow burn. There’s a gentle sweetness to it, seeing how Ellie loves (as a caretaker), but it’s also nice seeing how both she and Kieran develop and grow as time progresses.

The one thing that I felt was a drawback was that there could have been more expansion and depth on their backgrounds. Some more anecdotes on Kieran’s wild youth and why he did the things he did (we get more insight on him stealing a candy bar than we did on him stealing and crashing a car!), more personal and specific remembrances on Ellie and Max’s life together, etc. would’ve flushed out the storyline more, in my opinion.

Overall, an excellent story, especially for a debut novel!

PS - Ms. Chamberlain, as one Sarah to another (😆), I would absolutely love to see some of these recipes you describe!

•𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯’𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.•

I received a ARC review of The Slowest Burn from Netgalley. I loved the second chance romance. Ellie and Kieran have to collaborate to make his cook book after he gets famous. I like the opposites attract and how they complement each other. There is some triggers of loss and abuse which I found that most readers can find common threads to relate to these characters.
I like how they took a chance on each other and showed up for each other.
Very good story, recommend.
3.75 stars!

The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain is truly the slowest burn romance that is worth the wait!

This is her debut novel and it is witty, romantic, angsty, opposites attract and all set in the world of cooking and writing. One thing I really enjoyed was the literary and culinary world as a fan of cooking shows myself. The tension and banter was great! I love the forced proximity aspect of the story along with Kieran being neurodivergent with ADHD felt so accurate in the representation that I felt seen. Ellie and Kieran deal with a lot of things individually that shaped them and how they slowly heal each other but the chemistry between them is sizzling and so worth it. a must read romance!

This story follows Kieran, a chef trying to make it by making a cook book. And Ellie, food lover and ghost writer tasked with writing Kierans book.

This was definitely a slow burn! There was one aspect of the plot I wasn’t expecting (the fake dating bit) that added a little oumph to push the plot along. They were definitely missing a little bit of chemistry but made up for it with their friendship.

In terms of character growth- Kieran definitely grows into himself as the story moves along with the help of his growing relationship. He learns to be more confident in his career and keep a balance with his family. Ellie, however, is stuck in the same position for a majority of the book despite encouragement to grow. She stays in the same spot until she is confronted and only then starts to grow.

Absolutely loved this debut! Obsessed with the cover. Loved getting to spend time with Kieran and Ellie, and watching them both grow and fall for each other. Looking forward to whatever Chamberlain writes next!

4.75 stars!!!

i looooooved this book so much !! i was EATING it up!!! the way sarah wrote this was truly incredible. like?? the food descriptions made me want to EAT. the internal struggle of loneliness reminded how it feels to feel alone. the hope and fragility of a new relationship made me believe in love again. i cannot explain to you how wholesome and beautiful and hot this book is !!!! forced proximity, a dash of fake dating & a whole lot of pining!!!

i absolutely love both ellie & kieran and adored their journey throughout the book - both individually and together. we saw SO MUCH growth from both of them. i was seriously cheering them on!! so many incredible scenes and moments that made me swoon & my heart burst UGH *chef's kiss*

hey, sarah... i wouldn't be upset if you shared some of those recipes ellie & kieran created ....

DNF. The writing style was not for me, and I didn’t enjoy the dialogue. Might be more enjoyable for other readers!

Definitely not a top read. It was hard to pick up and finish. It felt like you were dealing with bickering kids the whole time.

Definitely aptly named lol I enjoyed this but at certain times I was like "okay, we get the slow burn, let's go." It felt drawn out at times? I'm all for good tension, but this made it seem like the author was Trying To Make A Point. Overall entertaining, but wanted the pacing to be just a little less slow.

A lovely romance story can be found in The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain. Overcoming grief & childhood trauma to rediscover one's own strength & happiness along side someone you've fallen in love with is the setting for Ellie & Kieren in The Slowest Burn.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book on #NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own, but this enemies to lovers romance is a recommendation to add to your TBR list.

I really enjoyed this book and for the first 80% I was convinced it was going to be a 5 star read. However, I was really annoyed by the third act conflict. I was disappointed that this book fell into a formulaic plot structure in the last fifth of the book when the rest of it had been so unique. I really loved the premise of the main characters being a chef fresh from winning a competition show and a young widowed cookbook ghostwriter. This is not the slowest burn romance but it is a slow burn where the guy falls first and it's dual POV and I love that we get some pinning while working in close proximity daily. This book had two on page sex scenes but what made it hot was the chemistry and build up! I love that Ellie who is not yet 30 is struggling with remembering her husband while also moving with her life. While many people in her life take advantage of her selflessness, Kieran sees how strong she is and is her champion. Ellie and Kieran have very few people in their life who see each them clearly and they support each other unconditionally, which is why I was so annoyed by the out of character third act conflict. Overall, I did really enjoy this book and would recommend it.

I enjoyed this book very much! The characters were well-fleshed out and I didn't feel overwhelmed with the backstory/trauma that essentially defines their personalities for the first third of the novel. I love reading about couples who are compatible because they challenge each other's way of thinking, and Ellie and Kieran delivered. The pacing was well-done; I was always immersed in the story. Overall, an enjoyable read!

The title of this book is a perfect description of the romance. Kieran and Ellie started off as enemies, but learned there was more to each other than they thought. There was a lot more to both characters that slowly builds. The romance didn't drag the way a slow burn normally does because I was so invested in learning more about who the way were as individuals. This one was sweet and had me rooting for both characters in the end.

Took me a long. While to get into. I loved the rivals to lovers trope. I also really loved the mental health rep. For both the MMC ADHD and the FMCs grief. So much fun banter.

This was a sweet and wonderful little romance. Ellie has been a widow for two years, and she's definitely totally content in her life. She lives in her in-laws' backyard guesthouse, takes care of them, and basically does grief counseling for her mother-in-law. Professionally, she ghost writes cookbooks. Is it glamorous? No, but it's predictable and safe. Enter Kieran, a chef who's coming off the high of winning a cooking show and going to write a cookbook to keep riding the publicity. He's brash and chaotic, glib and ADHD, and very much unlike Ellie. So of course she's paired with him to help him write his upcoming cookbook.
The characters were so great. I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers, and she even through in a side dish of fake dating! Watching these two figure each other out was so fun and felt like getting to know the characters too. They were both so well-built, as were the side characters. All of them felt like they could easily star in their own stories. The pacing was also good, and very standard for the genre. The writing was very reminiscent of Talia Hibbert, whose writing I love, so this was very readable.
All in all a really fun and sweet romance and I really enjoyed it.