I am so sad that I ended up disliking this book. I was so excited to read it because first of all, the cover is stunning and the premise sounded amazing but in all truth; I hated every second of it. The writing was so passive aggressive, I ended up hating every single character in this book. Aside from that, I could look past that initial comparison and description of the mmc as a "leprechaun". I just couldn't. The spice was also very badly done in my opinion. Definitely not the book for me, sadly.

I love a book that is food centered and The Slowest Burn absolutely nailed it. Ellie and Kieran both have their own issues that they’re navigating, grief, adhd, and difficult parents. Their story brings hope and happiness.

The Slowest Burn is a book about grief, found family, and the joys food brings. Sarah Chamberlain is a magnificent writer that draws you in until you’re on the very last word. I can’t wait to read her future books.

The title "The Slowest Burn" is unfortunately apt. While I appreciate the ARC provided by Sarah Chamberlain, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, the novel's pacing was far too slow for me and ultimately kept me from being able to fully immerse myself in the story and characters. The writing style also came across as rather simplistic for my taste. Ultimately, this book wasn’t a good fit for me.

Foodie and romance lovers rejoice! This book is a foodie dream to read. I loved the chef/food ghostwriter as the main characters. This book tackled grief and tough family dynamics. I loved seeing both of the main characters’ growth throughout the book. There was a lot to love about this novel. The storyline was a little meandering and slow in parts otherwise this would have been a five star read for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I enjoyed this slow burn book it and develops into a lovely romance, but man I want the cookbook to bad it’s not real.

The Slowest Burn is an opposites-attract, hate-to-love romance between a newly famous chef and the ghostwriter he's partnered with to write his cookbook. Kieran was thrust into the spotlight when he won a TV cooking competition, and while he's keen to capitalize on his newfound fame, he is overwhelmed by the organizational challenge of creating his cookbook. He is charming, inventive, and has ADHD. Ellie is a dedicated, self-controlled, and experienced ghostwriter who needs to succeed with this project so that she can finally afford to move out of her in-laws backyard cottage. She's been a widow for three years, and she's having trouble beginning the next phase of her life without her husband.

Kieran and Ellie's differences lead them to misunderstand and fight with each other in the beginning, but as they're forced to spend time together working on the cookbook, they grow to appreciate the unique gifts that each of them possesses.

If you love a sweet romance with elements of forced proximity, fake dating, and opposites attracting, and you're comfortable with a little bit of spice (there's one on-page intimate scene), then The Slowest Burn is for you.

Sarah Chamberlain's debut novel really hit my chef loving heart. She was able to elevate the story by creating characterizations that resonated with reader beyond the romance.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

A fun read that entertained me. Good banter and enemies to lovers.

But the pacing could use work- I don’t at all mind a slow burn, in fact I enjoy them a lot, but it can be ruined when the last tiny bit of the book there is a sudden 0 to 60 situation on that front. Needs to be actual build up to avoid whiplash for the reader.

It definitely is a slow burn exactly like the title says. This has to be one of the slowest slow Burns. I have ever read. The majority of the book. They are in fact animes then they sort of become friends and then the relationship starts.

You have Ellie and Kieran. Karen has just won a cooking competition show and Ellie is hired to ghostwrite his cookbook for him. Ellie is a young widow with a lot of family issues going on. When they first meet each other they absolutely despise each other and it does not change quickly.

The weirdest part of this book for me was that it seemed to just throw in tropes at random thinking it would work when it did not always work weirdly you even have a point when Karen says he fell first, which just seems a little on the nose for me.

If you are a fan of slow burn romance with enemies to love her and fake dating, I would recommend this book. Just be prepared to wait most of the book for the romance to actually happen.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the arc. This was a 4.25 star book for me.

This was a lovely story about Ellie Wasserman and Kieran O'Neill. Ellie has been hired to ghostwrite the cookbook for Kieran, who just won a popular cooking contest on television. Ellie and Kieran are very different from each other. Ellie, thrives on order, and she lives to make sure those around her are supported, even if it's detrimental to her own health. Ellie's husband, Max, died three years before, but she lives on the same property as her in-laws, and their grief around the death of their son continues to envelop her life. Kieran has battled his ADHD all his life, and has achieved success in the culinary world, an environment where he is able to focus on developing his skills and creativity. Both Ellie and Kieran had dysfunctional childhoods, primarily due to their families, and they are still both coping with these relationships.

Ellie and Kieran start off like oil and water, culminating in a shouting match that's spread through social media. In order to save the cookbook, they're forced to spend one week together to work on it, and they start to respect each other's personalities and work ethics, in addition to finding out their respective histories. Kieran is very protective of Ellie, always wanting to make sure her opinion and self-esteem is respected, whereas Ellie is hesitant due to the cookbook they're writing together, how unprofessional it would look for her career. Circumstances take place, their relationship is exposed, and they both handle the ramifications individually and together.

I loved the relationship between Ellie and Kieran. The descriptions of them, and the rest of the characters in the story, created great pictures in my mind of how they looked. Chamberlain wrote a beautiful story, with lovely insight into Ellie's and Kieran's thoughts and feelings. I look forward to reading more books from Sarah Chamberlain.

I wasn't sure if I would like The Slowest Burn when I started reading it. But that first chapter, when Ellie and Kiernan met in person, interested me. The deeper I got into the book and Kiernan and Ellie's lives, the more attached I got. They each were dealing with so much: Kiernan with his addiction issues, ADHD, and that he will never measure up to what his parents want. For Ellie, it was dealing with her husband's death and managing her mother-in-law's grief. By the end of the book, I was alternately sobbing (Kiernan had the most beautiful things to say to Ellie) and laughing my ass off.

3.5 stars

Ok so, enemies to lovers is usually my jam, and while I really enjoyed the snark and banter between Ellie and Kieran, the pacing of this is what really bummed me out. It was too slow for me up until the end where it went from 0 to 100 and became too rushed lol still a fun read though!

I could not get enough of this book!! I picked it because of the title, slow burns are one of my favorite tropes & I fell in love with the characters, the banter they shared, and their lives. It was more than just a romance but truly made you want to be friends with the characters. The author, Sarah touched on hard topics such as depression, grief, addiction, and parental neglect/verbal abuse.
The story follows a widow, Ellie, who is a ghostwriter & a popular chef, Kieran. The two are forced together, I also love forced proximity, even when they can't stand each other (enemies to lovers/golden retriever & black cat energy) when they are working on his cookbook. Similar to things in the kitchen, the tension between them continues to build until you get to the perfect end result. I don't want to share too much of what went on, you can get the idea from the title. But I believe this is the perfect romance novel, it has a little bit of every trope... even jokes about there only being one bed.
If you want a cute, slightly cheesy and heart warming romance, this is the one for you!
I am so happy I got to read this book! Sarah Chamberlain is setting high expectations going forward with this being amazing for a debut novel. I highly recommend everyone run out and get this book when it comes out on September 24, 2024!
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Thank you, NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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Favorite quotes:
- "so it'd be a seasonable book, but, like personal seasons."
- "oh, good, two beds."
- "the kisses had felt like a fourth of july's worth of fireworks."
- "you're my queen, and I love being on my knees for you."

Classic romance setup “enemies to lovers” which never fails to entertain. Good use of neurodivergent representation without making it central to the character’s development throughout the book or a convenient excuse for the third act breakup. This might be the first book where I was actively hungry the entire time?? Someone make me the duck confit + citrus salad 😍

When this started off, I had to take a pause to come back to it. But I am so glad I came back to finish. Such a sweet, wholesome story. Kieran was the epitome of golden retriever MMC. Sarah wrote them in such a compelling way that I was rooting for both of them the whole time. The storyline was great, the characters had perfect development, and the plot flowed well after I got into the first 40 pages.
I was honestly so shocked to see this is her first book, Sarah writes like a veteran and I am looking forward to seeing what she does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book was a delightful, well-written slice of romance, reminiscent of Emily Henry, that tells the story of a young woman overcoming her grief for a lost husband and trying to figure out how to live again. I have to admit that the book cover threw me off - it gives the impression of a light-hearted rom-com, where this book was much more grounded and serious in the way that Henry's books often are - grounded in reality, that is to say. Our character feels real and tangible, and the writing just flows. We get a glimpse into Jewish culture, but also handling the difficulties of having in-laws whom you love, while learning to move on and grapple with guilt. This book is rich in its depiction and will be a a genuinely great addition to the romance novels out there -- and I hope to see our author take on characters who are not writers in the future!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc! this was such a cute story!! I look forward to seeing what the general public has to say about this one!

I was so looking forward to diving into this book after reading the blurb, but I hate to say it, I had to force myself to pick it up. It just didn't flow for me and I couldn't connect with the characters, but I will not give a negative review based solely on my likes and dislikes. Unfortunately, I hate to admit that I did not finish this read, but please don't take my review as a negative one -- please give it a try if it sounds good to you. It didn't connect with me, but it might with you! I'm grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advance copy of this book.

The Slowest Burn truly lived up to its name, and I savored every moment! As a fan of cooking shows, I was delighted by this wonderful debut. (Yes, chef!) The incredibly sweet love story between a chef and a ghostwriter collaborating on his cookbook makes for the perfect cozy romance read. Filled with beloved tropes and rich, layered plots, it’s a heartwarming treat you won’t want to miss!

4.5 stars, rounded to 5 for the sake of the NetGalley rating system.

Kudos to Sarah Chamberlain. What a debut! This sort of contemporary romance is my favorite - sweet, grounded characters dealing with real-life issues. Nothing too cutesy or cloying, but rather a (mostly) realistic romance with some depth.

Ellie & Kieran, whether they realize it or not, are two sides of the same coin, both people struggling to leave the confines of their current lives, both needing to graduate into something new. Even though they butt heads initially, they find strength in each other.

Honestly, there is so much to love about this book. It handles various issues such as grief, co-dependence, substance abuse, and neurodivergence in a sensitive and well-informed manner. Kieran and Ellie are great together - their relationship arc is believable and their chemistry is palpable. The plot and pacing were enjoyable, and I found it hard to put this book down.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy of this book, provided in exchange for my unbiased opinion.