This was definitely a slow burn. I love slow burn and the feelings of anticipation and angst that come with it. Ellie and Kieran were so sweet and I loved the story plot. There was much more than just romance as it included topics of loss and emotional abuse. Overall a sweet story for lovers of opposites attract, and forced proximity.

A hot chef and a badass ghostwriter work together to create steam and spice both in and out of the kitchen. What starts as sort of an enemies-to-lovers plot, quickly dives into a "he falls first" situation and I gobbled it up (pun intended).

The grief that Ellie went through after her (supposed) soulmate died in his sleep was gut-wrenching and you could feel it on the page. It got a bit much with Ellie's mother-in-law who just could not get over her son's death. I wanted to punch her in the face every time she was in a scene. Kieran was great to help get her out of this funk and start living her life. It was a really beautiful love story... love after loss.

Reminiscent of Katherine Center's books (which is a huge plus because I adore her). It's a reverse grumpy-sunshine romance with a little open door spice. Plus, there's a cat in it who breaks down the MMC's walls. We are here for it!

Thanks NeGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“The Slowest Burn” by Sarah Chamberlain
Two Tough Childhoods Meet and…
For me this story was a heart wrenching story of the trials faced to over come childhood learned coping mechanisms. But it was also a lovely story of finding unconditional love. I enjoyed my time within this story. This is a worth read. Happy Reading ! !

10* stars. I loved this slow burn romance. It had everything. It was heartbreaking to see what these two characters had to go through. The HEA made up for it big time and I loved the ending. I look forward to reading more books from this author.

A fun debut with rare short king representation!

The Slowest Burn tells the story of widow and cookbook ghost writer, Ellie, and recent reality show-winning chef, Kieran. The two are paired together to produce Kieran's newest cookbook and initially do not click. He struggles with ADHD and horrible parents, she struggles with grief and people-pleasing (with a side of terrible parents and complicated in-laws).

However, as the two spend more time together, they find how they fit together. Her strengths smooth out his weaknesses and vice versa. While Ellie has spent her life committed to keeping everyone else happy, Kieran just wants to be the one who looks out for her.

The tropes are expansive in this book, we have workplace romance, enemies to lovers (kinda), fake dating, forced proximity, and a meta fear of just one bed. At times, those competing tropes drag down the book, it feels like they are injected into the plot rather than being true to the storyline. The core struggles of both characters are plenty interesting and drama (not Drama) inducing!

Also, I know that the author doesn't always have control over the cover, but Ellie is self-described as fat in the book and there is plenty of talk about her curves. I'm a bit surprised to see a mid-sized depiction of her on the cover.

* Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review! *

I literally read The Slowest Burn in one sitting, unable to get off the couch except to make more coffee this morning.

I am floored that this is a debut book from Sarah Chamberlain--it was a nearly pitch-perfect romance with so much heart and depth. I loved the chemistry and the spark between Kieran and Ellie, that Chamberlain allows to grow slowly and naturally, to show how they complement each other's lives and needs. I loved that in a book about a chef and a cookbook writer, they actually, you know, COOK. Chamberlain spends time describing fabulous flavours and food, adding to the loveliness of this book.

A few stumbles with pacing keep it from being five stars for me, and while Chamberlain talks big talk throughout the book about dirty talk and sex, but when it comes to the actual "spice" in the book, it was, at best vaguely blurry; on page, yes, but not spice, per se. It's not a deal-breaker, but the book needs to decide if it's going to be "spicy" or not.

Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this and will absolutely be on the lookout for more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

The cover of this book is what initially drew me in, and what a cute debut it turned out to be! It is a dual POV, dislike-to-lovers, forced proximity romance that follows Kieran (a young, up- and coming-chef) and Ellie (a recently widowed writer whose job is to help Kieran compose a cookbook).

It’s clear upon their first meeting that these two are total opposites; but beneath the surface they’re quite similar, in the sense that they are so complex. I was actually surprised with their backstories, and how the lighter moments came with heavier ones (i.e., discussions of loss, grief, abandonment, and mental health).

My only complaints have to do with: ONE, the pacing—at times the storyline seemed to move super slow, and it actually took me awhile to get hooked/stay hooked. TWO, the addition of unnecessary tropes—Ellie & Kieran fake dated for less than 24 hours, which was pointless cause it didn’t add anything to the story. And THREE, Ellie & Kieran’s development. I enjoyed the buildup of their relationship, but was slightly disappointed when they finally got together. Once things got physical, they kind of plateaued… Not to mention, I couldn’t feel Ellie’s love for Kieran. The portrayal of his attraction to her was written well, but I couldn’t pinpoint the moment Ellie started to fall in love with him.

Overall, this book felt (at times) like more of a slow story than a slow burn, but it was a cute read. Like a hallmark movie in the summertime✨ (PS, this is kinda irrelevant but I hated Ellie’s brother Hank. He was a selfish, irresponsible, inconsiderate jerk, not to mention… HANK?! Why was that his name? I just found it to be such an odd name choice for a 25 y/o in the 21st century😭)

“The reason no one has put me in charge of America’s nuclear secrets is that I’d give them all away for a basket of French fries” 🍟

Thank you to the author + NetGalley.com for this Advanced Readers Copy

This was exactly what the title says — slowest burn. BUT that lends so much space for growth and deep communication. I’ll be honest, I noted in chapter 4 that if Kieran (the MMC) hadn’t been as self-aware as he was.. I probably would have DNF’d at that point due to what I considered outward awkwardness, immaturity and cringe. I grew to absolutely love him, even more than Ellie our FMC. Ellie who was widowed young is relatable in the sense that during such a tragic time you want to cling to anything that feels safe/normal. She struggled with creating boundaries and as a reader it was hard to endure how Ellie felt about herself. This felt like a solid 4 star read, and I did cry at least once.

3.5⭐️. This was a very solid debut romance about a cookbook ghostwriter, Ellie, who has to work on writing a book with Kieran, a hotshot young chef fresh off of winning a reality TV cooking show. Their working relationship does not have a strong start but over months of working together they begin to care deeply for each other.

I do think others will really enjoy this book, I just hate the word “lick” in sex scenes and it was used pretty gratuitously in this book.

This was cute and fun, but boy was it a sloooooow burn indeed. I enjoyed the aspects of mental health in this book.

I think the main characters chemistry fell a little flat for me at some points, but overall this was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange of my honest review.

This was so fun and definitely a slow burn but very worth the wait!! I loved the mental health elements and the depth with which they understood each other.

I loved this book! When Ellie is paired up as the cookbook ghostwriter to the latest hot shot chef Keiran, they don't immediately hit it off. There is such great character development, as the title implies, a slow burn, and real storyline drive. You won't regret picking this one up, but content warning for spouse loss and childhood neglect.

I DNF this book half way through. The it was cute but I felt the characters lacked chemistry. It took way too long for anything to happen. The cooking stuff honestly just bored me.

This book had more heart than I was expecting. I couldn't binge through it which is completely fine! I loved both Ellie and Kieran. But the way my heart bled for Ellie the whole way.

Both characters are flawed in ways that feel real and were easy to go along with. I think it's rare to see a romance with a character who is recovering from a loss the way Ellie is. It was just so well done and I really loved it.

This has a great slow-bun plot (exactly as the title suggests). The characters were at odds for the majority of the book until they finally started to warm up. It felt so slow at first, but it was worth it in the end. The portrayal of grief in this book was impactful as Ellie navigated her life moving forward after a loss. I loved all the foods they cooked together in the kitchen and the romance they grew into.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC.

I had a hard time with this one. I couldn’t connect with the characters and I didn’t like the writing style. Ellie and Kieran didn’t have a lot of chemistry and it felt pretty forced at parts. I had high hopes given the title and the description, but I don’t feel like it lived up to my expectations.

The title does not lie! This one was a slowwww burn, but their romance was worth the wait!

I love books about cooking almost as much as I love books about books. And this was about writing a cookbook, so... *chef's kiss*

I loved the slow build of Ellie and Kieren's chemistry and their banter. (And we love a neuro-spicy mmc.) I loved some of the side characters. But dang, there were some plot points that made me really sad - to the point I almost stopped reading. This book addressed some really serious and important issues, and it's really more of a reflection on me that I read for escapism and I couldn't hang. :)

Overall this is a sweet read about overcoming trauma and adversity to chase what brings you joy, finding your safe person, and eating a lot of good food in the process. I think we're all in agreement when we beg for some recipes to be included in the final version!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a cute book and easy read. I can’t say I fell deeply in love with it, but it had its moments! The build up kept me hooked.

I adored this book. Usually Slow burns are either a miss or hit in my book ;) but this one was so lovely, the whole process or distrusts and straight up not liking someone to start building trust, friendship and then love it is usually not showed as much, and even overlooked sometimes in regular romances, but in this one, It took my breathe away.
The tropes used, of her being the black cat and him being such a cute golden retriever with a found family and a sassy cat, it filled my heart with happiness.
honestly this book was amazing. A breathe of fresh air after I was stuck in a reader slum.

Perfect for fans of slow burn romance, enemies to lovers, fake dating, and opposites attract. As the title promises, this book delivers on a slow burn romance. Sarah Chamberlin does a excellent job of moving the characters convincingly from what initially seems like hatred to attraction and desire for one another. I love how initially Ellie and Kieran seem so wildly different from one another that it doesn’t seem possible that they could be a good match, but then slowly you can start to see how their differences compliment one another.
The book covers tough topics while managing not to get too heavy. Issues such as the unexpected death of a spouse, grief, family struggles, and managing life with ADHD are all covered in this book. This gave the book a nice dose of reality and made the struggles feel genuine and the connections between the characters deeper.
Lastly, this book is great for anyone that loves food. The recipes and foods described in this book made me want to run to the nearest farmers market to buy fresh produce to try my hand at some of the recipes described.
4 stars and looking forward to what Sarah Chamberlain writes next!