Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for this ARC.

Kate is a recently divorced 39 year old woman with a 19 year old daughter who would like to get back into acting and so contacts her old agent. Unfortunately, he has died but his son Charlie has taken over the business. He makes Kate an unusual offer - pretend to be the author of a hauntingly beautiful romance book that the actual author for some reason doesn't want to put their name to. Kate needs money, and how hard can it be, especially when she starts a lovely email correspondence with the mystery author.

However, far from this being a simple job, the secrets and lies eventually explode in Kate's face, and all hell breaks loose as the book world wonders who the real author is and why they don't want to get named. And why is Kate the one getting all the blame? Luckily, she has great people around her. Her sister Liv protects her like a lioness and Charlie keeps showing up knowing exactly how to help.

I have to admit I wasn't sure about this book at first. The premise sounded far-fetched (plus pre-nups are an American thing) and I disliked the pastel colours cover and title (where were the summer descriptions?). However, I like Josie Silver's work and I like books about the publishing industry, which crop up quite a bit at the moment.

The book community can be unpredictable, one moment ripping you to pieces, the next standing firmly behind you, and that is portrayed brilliantly here. Readers can be relentless, both in support or withdrawing support. The conclusion of Triflegate felt just right.

This was laugh out loud funny in places (imagine a male author raging while wearing a T-Rex costume, and a wonky crocheted mouse orchestra, one mouse with only three legs and one half purple) and quite serious in others. I loved feisty Liv and calm husband Nish, just being supportive. It's a very entertaining read, but the strong sisterly bond between Kate and Liv and even her correspondence with "H" was more heartfelt and pronounced than the relationship between Kate and Charlie, which felt sadly underdeveloped.

Altogether, this is a zingy, well-written read taking place in the book world, with great characters and a woman who rediscovers her self-worth. Read if you like humorous novels about the book community with a small slow-burn romance thrown in.

Kate, a former actress and recent divorcee, takes a job offer to act as an author for a new romance book written by a best selling author who does not want to be named. Talent agent Charlie is there to try and work with Kate to make this a success. Kate and Charlie both desperately try to play their respective parts but as summer heats up will they go off script?

I love a Josie Silver romance and have done ever since reading One Day In December. This one seemed slightly different to her usual books as the romance aspect seemed to come second to the other parts of the plot, but was still a fun, feel good read with strong characters that you grow to love. As the title states this was a slow burn, which I did feel when reading.

I really enjoyed the premise of this being based around the literary world and seeing what happens when an author produces a novel. I found this engaging and fascinating to read about. Although this wasn’t my favourite book by this author, it still ended up being another emotional, warming read, perfect for the summer months. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This was a brilliant book!
As soon as I saw it listed I was hoping I would be accepted! Thank you for the ARC copy of this I really appreciate it!

A gorgeous love story with plenty of plot twists. I love that the female MC and love interest are “older”. It’s refreshing to read about love and romance when both parties have been through so much already. I loved the mystery author element and genuinely had me suspecting Fiona and Charlie so many often. I loved Liv and the idea of family and how people around you also feel the effects of your decisions. Sweet (but not too sweet) and plenty of depth!

Slow Burn Summer is a sweet, funny romance story between Kate, a freshly divorced 39 year old ex-actress and Charlie, the son of Kate's old agent Jojo who recently passed away.

I really enjoyed this book! Kate made me genuinely laugh out loud throughout, I loved how even though her world was constantly turned upside down she seemed very secure in herself and believed in what she wanted to do. Charlie was so swoon-worthy and stable throughout the book, I adored how he always seemed to know when Kate needed help without overstepping.

This is a perfect summer read for all book lovers and for everyone who's wondered what it would be like to be an author of a best selling book (spoiler - it's a little bit crazy!)

Thank you to Penguin General and NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this wonderful book!

4,5 stars!

What a beautiful, heartfelt, humorous story this was! It felt like stepping back in time into a 00s rom com, with a little bit of Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, and even the famous Nora Ephron sprinkled in the margins.

It follows a forty something year old former rising actress, who reaches out to her former agent in an act of desperation after she’s left practically penniless after a divorce. Instead of her former agent, however, she meets with his son. He has a strange offer for her: to be the face of a romance novel, written by an author who doesn’t want to be associated with it publicly. What follows is a series of hilarious events and a forbidden romance between agent and client.

My favourite part of this novel was the hope laced throughout it. It was funny and dramatic, but with a beautiful message laced within its fabric. The romance didn’t overpower this, instead it enforced it.

I felt what Kate felt, and had to bat away tears at certain aspects. This would be such a beautiful and heartfelt movie, with its serendipitous moments and dramatic flair for humour.

I’d say my little critique would be that the title is a bit misleading: it isn’t as much of a slowburn or summer vibe as you’d expect, although it didn’t bother me too much during the story, I think there could have been better candidates for a title just to establish expectations a little better!

Overall: a wonderful read!!

Unemployed and newly divorced, Kate agrees to pose as an author of a soon to be published book. Her agent, Charlie, is behind her all the way, but when the act is exposed, and her life is in tatters, how will Kate cope? Perfect summer reading, hard to put down .

It’s clear that there was a lot of heart and thought put into this story even if it wasn’t my favorite. Josie has a knack for writing and there were some funny jokes and nice descriptions.
However, it didn’t feel like a romcom to me. Much of the plot was centered around the publishing industry which was boring to me. The characters did not evolve at all in my opinion.
I did not like Alice at all and her actions were too childish for her age.. also Kate’s parenting was VERY questionable in many situations.

I think this is a good easy read. It's got an enjoyable storyline, a good variety of characters that you love and maybe hate (sorry Fiona!) and an ending that both wraps into a neat bow whilst also taking you all the way back to the start.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin General for an Arc copy to review.

4,5 ★

“𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚.”

This was soooo goooddddd😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 this is the first arc that I genuinely enjoyed from start to finish and the sole reason for this is bc it was <i>fun</i>. This was such a fun story to follow along 🥹🥹 I loved the sister dynamic, the small and unbelievable slow romance that we got and everything in between. Getting into this I was expecting a true romance story, but even though this wasn’t the case I wasn’t disappointed at all bc this story truly delivered.

“𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜?”
“𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚.”

The romance felt soooo little but the snippets that we got? Incredible. It was truly fun to follow them go from strangers to friends to lovers. I did think that the “I love you” was very abrupt. I would have liked it if we moved towards that instead of having them like each other and then have them say “I love you”. The slow burn was good, the I love you was abrupt. We also had one smut scene??? do you know how amazing that felt 😭 there was no lust, no sexual talk- just a romance story with a separated smut scene that didn’t mix itself into the story by making the relationship sexual.

“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡.”

There are some things I wish were different:

- I wish we got to see parts or quotes of the book, that would have made the story feel a little bit more real.

- More of the daughter. She is such a big part of the moms life but we get nothing of her- the scenes or mentions we did get of her just made me dislike her bc what do you mean you fck up your moms life and you don’t even think about going to her to apologize and stay by her side but instead go on a holiday with your dad and the woman he cheated with??? And let’s not even TALK about the fact she is only emailing and texting her mom bc she never picks up the phone for her????? I don’t understand some people.

- At times, I felt like I wasn’t able to connect with the characters as much as I wanted to and idk why. I just felt…distant from them.

- Even though I loved the romance, I do feel like it should have been more “romantic” I didn’t really believe them when they said they loved each other. It didn’t feel real so even though I loved the romance, I do think the romance wasn’t romantic enough to make me believe they loved each other.

Overall:
I loved this.
You should read this.
Thank you NetGalley & the author for the arc!

Smut:
1 scene

🌟🌟🌟 (3/5 stars)

A little bit of fake, a little bit of fate—this summer romance brings the heat, even if it doesn’t fully catch fire. ☀️🎭💕

Kate’s life is in reboot mode—newly divorced, unemployed, and grasping for a fresh start. When she gets the chance to pose as the author of someone else’s novel (yes, really), she jumps at it. Enter Charlie Francisco: chaotic, charming, and trying to hold together the pieces of a publishing empire left behind by his eccentric father. Together, Kate and Charlie fake it ’til they (maybe?) make it. 📚🤝🔥

There’s definitely charm here—London in the summertime, the tension of a fake identity, and that classic romcom friction between two opposites. But while the setup is clever, the execution feels a little too drawn out, and the emotional beats don’t always land with the depth you'd hope for. 🎬📖😅

Still, if you love light, slightly zany romance with a dash of theatrical flair and a message about rediscovering yourself, this might just hit the spot. A cute, cozy read—but not quite the showstopper it aims to be. 🎭💬✨

just wrapped up Slow Burn Summer and… sadly, it wasn’t really for me.
the story felt a bit flat, and the romance between the main characters didn’t quite land. it felt more forced than natural, and I struggled to feel a real connection between them.

that said, it’s an easy, breezy read—so if you’re in a book hangover and just need something light to pass the time, it could still be a good pick.

Thank you Penguin & NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

First of all a huge thank you to penguin and Josie for asking me to review her new book i was over excited i have loved reading Josie books for such a long time i was fan girling hard !!

i loved the plot. This story begins with newly divorced Kate who is really trying to find herself again which i could relate to been.
there done it yay !! lol, she gets in touch with her old agent which sadly is no longer with us but waits for the company taken over by the hot son charlie he made this book the best part for me wink wink . joking aside the story is very emotional at times so i had the tears at times then flip it and i am belly chuckle and at times quite deep and plenty of swoon worthy moments i think my perimenopause was living its best life with this book .i thought the story was brilliant .

i loved every character all with their own amazing personality . Kate's life is a roller coaster she in a whloe new era of her life its great reading about how she takes back her life which was heartwarming and very real ..
this book is a book of re-discovery i loved it so very much


im giving this slow burn emotionally charged book 5 stars

If its written by Josie Silver, im reading it!
This is the 3rd book ive read by this author and another I have thoroughly enjoyed!

Read this book in one cosy day.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

What a great holiday read! Kate is recently divorced and is looking for a new career. She is given the opportunity to act as the ‘ghost writer’ for a novelist who wants to remain anonymous. This leads to drama, hilarity, anguish and even romance as we follow Kate’s journey on her new career. Loved it!

Thankyou netgalley so much for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!!!

Slow burn summer. Still search for the summer vibes and this was painfully not slow.
I’m still searching for the romance cause this felt forced asf.
I didn’t feel connected to the charcters and I didn’t see any connection between our MMC and FMC.
How this books has 5 stars im not sure.
This is my personal opinion and if you don’t like it then fuck off, respectfully ofc.
this book wasnt for me but its for someone

2,5 stars

I don’t know what this book was—surely not a romance.

Kate is almost forty, freshly divorced, and broke. She badly needs a job, so she accepts a very strange gig: posing as the author of a romance novel. The real author is a big name in a different genre and doesn’t want to be associated with the book, so Kate’s job is to lie to the world and pretend she wrote it.

The whole idea was so bizarre I had trouble relating to it. Kate’s emotional investment—and the way she acted like she’d actually written the book—didn’t sit well with me. She might have been likable if it weren’t for her penchant for lying. Sure, she was hired to fake it, but the ease with which she did it gave me the ick.

The romance between her and her agent, Charlie, felt like an afterthought. They had zero chemistry—really, zilch. The one spicy scene had all the heat of a traffic violation report, and the love declarations made me roll my eyes.

Somehow the book had a decent flow, and the writing wasn’t terrible, so it wasn’t torture to read—but the story was weird, and it didn’t give me the summer-romance butterflies.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A ‘slow burner’ love story with great characters and some humour throughout the story. You can’t go wrong with a Josie Silver book and this one won’t disappoint.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

definitely a slow burn!! i really enjoyed reading it, even though nothing super romantic happened until the end.

Trifles and T-Rex Costumes are now two things I will never be able to deal with seriously…

This book had me on a real emotional rollercoaster of will they, won’t they? But, I was completely here for the ride.

The whole concept of the book being around a book and involving the book loving community was awesome and made this such an easy read. I am normally a slow reader but managed to finish this in just two days.

If you love a swoon worthy romance with just a tiny sprinkle of spice this is the book for you. A perfectly easy read!!