I wanted to start by saying I have dnf’d this one, I am gutted because I have read other books by Josie and loved them. However this one just didn’t grip me at all.

I didn’t relate to the characters, their chemistry didn’t hit the mark for me and from what I did read this didn’t really feel like a rom-com. And I’m not sure this could be called a slow burn.

Overall, it’s just not for me and I’m gutted.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the arc 💕

Slow Burn Summer ☀️📚💛
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

This is my second Josie Silver Book and there’s honestly something special about everything she writes - I read this within 48hours which as a slow reader is only further testimant, but now I’m wishing I hadn’t because I’m not ready for Charlie and Katie’s story to be over

Slow Burn Summer is a true slow burn romance, the pacing was perfect! This really leant into the little things, those ‘magic moments’ rather than the usual big gestures and concentrated on really building a strong connection and allowing their spark to grow

Yes this book touches on grief, so bare that in mind going in, but there’s also so much hope and warmth - I also loved following the publishing process, although I really do hope some areas were ‘fictional’ 😅

💛 Fav Quote:
‘The world keeps turning, even if you hide yourself away from it.’

Im now realising I have a sudden urge to go to Cornwall, stay in a pink cottage and savour the rest of Josies collection 🩷💛

Publication Date - 17.07.2025 📆

#SlowBurnSummer #Netgalley

I really enjoyed this book and reading Kate and Charlie's story.
A bit different from Josie Silver's other books but still very good.

this book starts off great, and it has a great splash of humour and sweetness. But it feels like it falls flat after around 40% in. The characters didn’t have much chemistry, and whilst I understand that it’s a slow burn, it was a bit tooooo slow to the point I actually didn’t think the MCs were supposed to be together at all. I didn’t have deep emotions whilst reading and I usually am able to connect with characters quickly, but this was not the case. However, the plot of the book was good. Kate and Charlie are both divorcees and Charlie is looking for someone to play the part of author. In comes Kate, someone who has used the talent agency business before but with Charlie’s dad, who ends up playing the part

This book just was not for me.
I did DNF yet 20%.
Well written. But i just couldn't connected with the leads.

I was a fan of Josie Silver's tearjerker romance stories, and I was immediately curious about her take on rom-coms.

However, I feel like happily ever afters don't really work well.

The story was nice and all, it follows a former actress who gave up her career to become a wife, and regretted it when the husband cheated and left her, so she decides to go back out there. So, she gets the role of a lifetime: act as an author for a heartwarming novel whose real author doesn't want anything to do with it. She immediately connects with her agent, Charlie, the son of the agent she had when she was young.

The writing style - albeit unedited - was quite burdensome. There were many compound words that could've used a hyphen to break the words, and there were many sentences that didn't make sense, especially in her correspondence to H.

I thought that the build-up between her and Charlie could've used some more... ooomph. There was not enough chemistry between them throughout the entire drama.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Josie is a great author whose book I always enjoy. This was one that had me hooked from the very first page to the last. Highly recommend.

This was an absolute humdinger of a story and I loved every little moment, even the messy ones because it all came together in one lovely, beautiful ending and it made me feel every emotion there is, bravo!

I have adored every single book by Josie Silver in the past, but this I just really struggled with.

I’m sorry, but I simply couldn’t get past the premise. You’re telling me a sane, functioning adult just... accepts credit for someone else’s work? On purpose? And we’re meant to go along with that? Absolutely not. That’s not morally grey—it’s morally beige and deeply unpleasant.

It’s the kind of plot that had me pausing every few pages just to mutter, “No, but seriously, what are you doing?” under my breath like a disapproving aunt. And then we’re supposed to feel anxious about the lie being discovered? I wasn’t on the edge of my seat—I was on the edge of writing a strongly-worded letter.

Look, I love a good mess as much as the next person, but ideally not one built entirely on ethical quicksand. If I wanted to watch someone make bad decisions and lie about it, I’d just attend a work Zoom call.

So no, not for me, I’m afraid. If you enjoy yelling “YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF” at fictional people, you’ll have a grand time. Otherwise? Proceed with caution and possibly a moral compass.

Firstly thanks for my opportunity to read and review . I’ve read a few of this authors books so was excited to get stuck in.
This is a beautiful book about new beginnings, hope, taking chances ,loss and love.
It was funny and heartwarming as we follow the journey of Kate and her adventures in her new career .
There will ups and downs along the way .
A uplifting read perfect for a summers day !
Great characters and a fantastic plot .
Highly recommend

On one hand Slow Burn Summer was just that, a slow burn for the reader. It felt we were going nowhere fast and had to encourage myself to keep reading. I quite enjoyed the chaos magnet that was Kate. I can appreciate the idea that you get to a point in life and you are forced to review your life, and edit your own life story ruthlessly. But when my highlight of the book was the incredulity of the T- rex scene, I have to ask myself, did I miss something?

I appreciated the slow and deliberate relationship between Kate and Charlie that reflected a mature couple with full lives rather than the often explosive nature of seemingly  younger couples on paper. That said, I didn't feel the chemistry between Kate and Charlie. The letter exchange and interactions between Kate and the unknown author was a lovely touch.

I was sidetracked by the two other very strong ideas playing out on the page.
One, the concept of a ghost author.
Two, the idea that readers are  unwilling or unable to appreciate an established author offering something different leading to marketing fabricating a story for a story.

As a reader, I understood the choice of the author to maintain anonymity from a heart and vulnerability perspective. This is topical at the moment given a current release *might*maybe*could be* an author writing under the banner of a nom de plume in a genre they are not typically known for.  However, the ghost author angle also struck me as the kind of deceit AI generated publications might employ. And that was very uncomfortable.

I'm not sure if Slow Burn Summer is truly a romance read.  It certainly has the readability of a summer book that you can pick up or put down when you have a moment and I enjoyed many elements but it isn't one that I'd rush to have on my shelf. Maybe it's just me?

Many thanks to the author, Elsie Silva, Netgalley and Penguin General UK for a copy of the eARC to read ahead of publication.
All opinions and grammatical errors are my own.

This was a fun book! It would be a nice easy beach read for anyone that wanted to take it on holiday.

I really loved Liv and Kate’s relationship. Liv making the mouse orchestra for Kate was my fave part 😢.

The slow burn was slow ngl. Thanks Netgalley for the arc.

This was such a disappointment for me... I don't know quite what it was, but I just didn't feel the chemistry in this at all and I found it a drag to get through.

When you’re freshly divorced with no job and living in a flat above your sisters shop, of course you’re going to jump at the chance of a job where you become the face of a new book that the real author doesn’t want to be associated with.

What follows is silly, funny, romantic and heartbreaking. A perfect summer read

First of all, thank you to NetGalley, Penguin, and Josie Silver for an advanced copy of Slow Burn Summer in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, Slow Burn Summer didn't really do it for me. This is the first Josie Silver book I have read; however, I had heard a lot of positive things about One Day In December so I was excited to give it a go. I did think it was a fairly strong women's fiction book, the plot was different to anything I had read before, and the concept of a Ghost Author was intriguing, but marketing it as a romance is a mistake, I feel. The romance between Kate and Charlie was very much an afterthought and was pretty sloppily developed in my opinion.

There isn't anything objectively bad about this book, but it's not the sort of thing I would usually gravitate towards.

Slow Burn Summer releases 17 July 2025.

I will start by saying that I loved the relationship between Kate and Liv, they had me giggling to myself and there was joy in their bond. I liked the premise of the story and I enjoyed the bond that Kate had with H. I just felt that the romance and angle was a bit of an afterthought: I’m not saying it needed to be front and centre, it just seemed to bubble up out of nowhere. I nice gentle read with some excellent characters.

Kate is divorced, living in a flat above her sister's shop and looking for a way to earn her living again. Before she was married she had briefly acted in a TV soap, so wrote to her old agent to see if she could find employment as an actress again. Unfortunately he had died, his agency was now being run by his son, Charlie, who had previously been a scriptwriter in the US, with little experience of being an agent. He did, however, find a potential acting gig for her - with a difference.
I liked the idea of turning the position of ghost writer on its head - a famous crime writer had written a romance, but didn't want to be associated with it, so Kate was hired to act as the author for publicity purposes. I liked both Kate and Charlie, although his business partner Fiona is very scary. The whole publicity circus has its moments, both good and bad, and the growing attraction between Kate and Charlie keeps the romance interest going whilst there is the mystery of the identity of the actual author. Katie's sister Liv gives her strong support but this leads to triflegate.....
A slow burner with that interesting concept that I did enjoy, 4.5* as ever rounded up to 5*.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

Unfortunately, when I tried to read this book, it didn’t really resonate with me, and I wasn’t able to finish it. I’m still very grateful for the opportunity to read it in advance, and I hope it will find its audience.

Here are some of the tropes you can expect in the book:
🩷 Agent x Actress
✨ Hilarious banter
🔥 Slow burn
📖 Contemporary romance

Thanks again to NetGalley, and I hope you enjoy the book.

I always enjoy books by this author, but she has outdone herself with this one, it’s an absolute delight. Kate is the heroine for older, divorced ladies everywhere; determined not to find herself on the scrap heap of life. This book will be the ‘ must read’ recommendation of the summer. A celebration of book lovers, a commentary on social media, the importance of family and an array of great characters are all here, yet tenderly written and laugh out loud funny at times. It’s brilliant and will hit the bestseller list like the book in the story.

This had all the right ingredients but for some reason, it just didn’t click for me. The pacing felt off right from the start and while I kept waiting for that emotional spark or for something to pull me in, it never really landed.

The characters were… fine. I didn’t dislike them but I never felt fully connected to them either. Their relationship played out more like a series of awkward conversations than a romance. I get that it was meant to be a slow burn, but instead of building tension or depth, it didn’t have much impact.

That said, the writing was good and the atmosphere was cozy. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, it just didn’t leave much of a mark. In the end, it felt like a story that never quite found its momentum.

𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 : slow burn romance, forced proximity, fake identity.

Thank you to Josie Silver, Penguin UK & NetGalleg for my e-ARC copy.