Sarah Chamberlain's debut novel was an instant 5 star for me. I hope to read many more her in the future. Watching Ellie and Kiernan meet and fall in love was such a sweet story. I loved the title and the play on words as the characters were both in the food industry. Ellie is a disciplined ghostwriter for cookbooks, and Kieran is a free-spirited, up-and-coming chef.
Their partnership on Kieran's debut cookbook forces them into close proximity, slowly breaking down their defenses and sparking a genuine connection. I would love for some of the minor characters to get a sequel to this book, I can't wait to read the author's next book.

Sarah Chamberlain has written a sweet romance in her newest novel “The Slowest Burn” and I’m all about the food puns! So fun!

Ellie is a widowed cookbook ghost writer who lives in her controlling and co-dependent in-laws’ guest house. She is tasked to help write the cookbook of Kieran- a dyslexic, short, red headed cooking show winning chef. They are like oil and vinegar at first because he avoids working with her due to his uncontrolled ADHD. Ellie is also a rigid task master, which doesn't mix well. Ellie and Kieran end up connecting in more than one way after they spend enough time chopping and tasting and creating recipes in a small kitchen. These two start longing for each other and next thing you know they cannot get enough of one another.

This book was deliciously wonderful. I loved the characters and their interesting side stories. You will love all the yummy food references, or maybe you won't but I sure did!

I tried and just didn’t click with this book. It’s probably a bit for some people, but just not for me.

Sarah Chamberlain has cooked up a sweet little romance in her newest novel “The Slowest Burn” and I’m about to become a sous chef whipping up food puns so hold onto your aprons.

Ellie is a widowed cookbook ghost writer who still lives in her overbearing, co-dependent in-laws’ guest house. Wow, that’s a steaming hot mouthful of baggage stew, now isn’t it? She is tasked to help write the cookbook of Kieran- a dyslexic, ginger, short-king cooking show winning chef. They are oil and vinegar at first because he avoids doing work with her bc he has raging ADHD and she is a rigid task master. But as you know- if you shake up oil and vinegar hard enough it makes a sexy vinegrette…which is what happens with Ellie and Kieran after they spend enough time chopping and tasting and creating recipes in a small kitchen. These two start longing for each other and next thing you know vinegrette has been made and they are tossing each other’s salads in bed (ya, I went there).

All dirty sex/food references aside, this book was delicious. I loved the characters and their interesting side stories. If you are a foodie you will love all the yummy food references- though, spoiler alert- no food was used in any sex act, which is a missed opportunity, I think. Overall, I really enjoyed this one and I think you will too!

Smut- 2.5 stars
Romance- 4.6 stars
Story- 4.4 stars
Making vinegrette smutty- 7.9 stars

This book is definitely a slow burn, but I really enjoyed it. The characters are fun and so loveable you will find yourself constantly rooting for them. I slowed my reading towards the end because I didn't want the story to be over. It is a great romance with some added spice. I hope to read more titles from Sarah Chamberlain in the future and will recommend to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC to review.

I'm a sucker for a good dual POV book and this one was delicious. I raced through it and really enjoyed the anticipation between Ellie and Kieran.

What a satisfying book! What stuck with me more than anything was the way the author handled heavy topics like grief, adhd and dyslexia with such an authentic grace. I felt very deeply for both of the characters and really enjoyed watching them fall for each other. I was really rooting for them!

Overall, enjoyable!

What worked for me:

The cooking! Loved the food aspect.

Ellie's relationship with her in-laws was fascinating. Frustrating at times, but also an interesting situation, since her husband has died and she's still so intertwined with his parents in healthy, and non-healthy ways.

Ellie and Kieran were an unlikely pairing and I liked their banter most of the time.

What didn't work for me:

The grand gesture didn't feel right to me.

Some parts of the plot felt clunky. I was invested the whole time though, even when I didn't agree with some of the story choices.

This was a cute, somewhat spicy rom-com with characters that didn't frustrate me, so that's always a plus. I ended up skimming a lot, but it's a decent enough read if you're in the mood for something light.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Kieran is the new hottest chef, wanting to capitalize on his popularity he teams up with a ghost writer, Ellie- to release a cook book.
After butting heads they are finally able to form a partnership, that has all the ingredients (pun intended) to turn into something real.

This one was ok.
The story was cute enough, but very slow and didn't really hold my interest.
I didn't really like the characters either, they were all a little annoying to me.

Slow burns are fun. They make you scream and cheer and cry all at once. This one made me do all those things sometimes at once.

The Sloooooooooowest Burn is a very apt title. However, it was worth the wait. Additionally, I absolutely love culinary romances. There is also just a lot to unpack here in terms of side plot and how it affects (mainly) Ellie. Working through her grief and parental strife really adds layers and gives you more to love about her as she pushes forward. I think once her and Kiernan warm up to each other, their chemistry is phenomenal. And again, the food.... gorgeously described.

This was such a fun debut! As a Bay Area native, I was initially drawn to the lovely cover with the artwork of the Golden Gate Bridge and was so happy to enjoy the story of Ellie and Kieran. Ellie is a ghost writer for celebrity cookbooks who is dealing with her new reality of being a young widow and also helping out her former mother-in-law who devastated by the loss of her sun. Kieran is adventurous and spontaneous and just landed his first cookbook deal. This was a wonderful opposites attract slow burn love story with a bit more depth than the run of the mill romcom. Just a warning for impatient readers, it truly is a SLOW burn. I'm excited to see what this author does next!

This book will take you on an emotional journey from beginning to end. It tackles many heavy subjects such as grief, toxic relationships, ADHD/Dyslexia, and people pleasing tendencies but, overall, it stays light hearted throughout.
Take the title seriously, it is definitely a slow burn romance. It has a few slow points but they don't drag the pace down much at all. Told through the dual points of views of Chef Kieran O'Neill and ghostwriter Ellie Wasserman flawlessly. There are perfect transitions from each POV to the other. I enjoyed getting both sides of the story and it flowed perfectly. Both characters were a pleasure to get to know.
I am extremely grateful to SMP Romance for the opportunity to read a digital copy of this heartwarming book through Netgalley. All of the opinions in this review are my own.

This was my first read by Sarah Chamberlain, and while I found it to be an enjoyable experience, it ultimately fell a bit short for me. The concept of a slow-burn romance is appealing, and there were moments where the chemistry between the characters shone through. However, I felt that the pacing dragged at times, making it hard for me to stay fully engaged with the story.

The characters had potential, but I wanted more depth and development to really connect with them. The writing style was pleasant, and there were some charming scenes that made me smile, but overall, it didn’t leave a lasting impression.

The Slowest Burn is a decent read for those who enjoy slower-paced romances, but I didn't find it particularly memorable. I would be open to trying more from Chamberlain in the future, hoping to see her growth as a writer.

This was cute! A sort of enemies to lovers?

Kieran won a cooking competition and is now famous and offered a book deal for a cookbook. Ellie is a ghostwriter, also a widow of a few years and our girl here is stuck taking care of all these people?!

Not only had she grieved from losing her husband, after he passed away she moves in with her in-laws, and her mother-in-law becomes very dependent on her, dumping all her grief on her daughter in law. The father in law notices it’s an issue, but doesn’t really do anything when clearly his wife is suffering from depression and enveloping Ellie in her grief as years later she’s trying to start to move her life forward.

Then we have Ellie’s brother Hank, who is also a leech who shows up and sucks the life out of her at some point too. All these people were annoying me and I wanted Ellie to RUN. Outside of all the family stuff, the romance thread was cute and Ellie deserved to be happy.

Overall, this was solid. Not the most amazing, but a quick read, a cute story, a little griefy but nothing too heavy. Don’t recommend audio, the narrators were a little stiff.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I think the best part of the book is the diverse struggles and representation in this book (ADHD, dyslexia, grief, depression). Although the title is spot on, this was one big slow burn. LOVED that the story was told by both Ellie and Kieran. Overall, I enjoyed the book and the plot :) Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Chamberlain and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary ARC of this book :)

I adored this one; so much fun once it kicks up. I likely should have anticipated the pacing of this book. Even still, I definitely found it to drag at points. The antagonism, while an inherent plot driver, did feel as though it lasted a bit too long. However, I did adore the crescendo once Kieran and Ellie finally do seem to "click". All of the loose bits of personality seemed to fit together perfectly. An interesting debut from an author that is undoubtedly gifted and has a knack for character development. I am excited to see how Chamberlain's voice connects to me with another story as a vessel.

A heartwarming and romantic read. Kieran and Ellie are loveable characters that you just can't help but root for. This book gave me all the good feels and had me reading through the night because I just could not put it down.

Definitely a slow burn. Can’t really say they were full on enemies, but there was some grumpiness between the 2 of them at the beginning.
The fact that she was stuck in the past with her in laws not wanting her to move forward (mostly MIL), made it harder for her to move on into the present and future.
Their slow burn was cute. I enjoyed the story overall, I unfortunately don’t think I would’ve made it through if it wasn’t for listening to it.