Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC copy of this book!!

This book was categorized as a romance but there was very little romance throughout. This was a cute quick read dealing with Kate's journey of self-discovery and complicated relationships.

If you are looking for a more of a womens fiction that deals with a somewhat heavy topics (i.e. divorce, finding yourself, grief) then this is a good book to pick up. If you are looking for a true romance, there are much better options.

This was my first non-holiday Josie Silver book and I was so excited to read it!

The good: it has Silver’s signature wit and tone, and I found myself really immersed in the characters and their stories.

The “meh”: although I enjoyed the characters, the love story felt a little forced and less believable than I’ve experienced in this author’s previous work.

All in all, I enjoyed it as a fun read, but I can’t see it sticking with me long term.

Slow Burn Summer is the perfect summer romance with a slow building connection that feels authentic and deeply satisfying. The characters are relatable and layered, and the chemistry simmers throughout the story until it finally ignites in the most rewarding way.

The setting adds a cozy, sun-soaked vibe that makes you want to grab a cold drink and get lost in their world. This isn’t just a quick romance, it’s about real feelings, second chances, and taking the time to get it right.

I really wanted to like this story but it felt very contrived, unrealistic, and surface level.

Kate Elliot takes a suspiciously easy role as ghost-not-the-actual-author but all common sense eludes her. Somehow she makes basic mistakes that make you cringe. She forms deep relationships with the mystery author, and agent Charlie, based on incidental engagements.

It's hard to find her endearing and connect. It felt contrived.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and Netgalley for an ARC.

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @prhaudio for a free download of the audiobook.

★★★☆☆

I really wanted to love Slow Burn Summer, especially given Josie Silver’s reputation for heartfelt storytelling. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite resonate with me. While the premise had promise and the setting was charming, I struggled to connect with the characters. Their emotions and motivations felt distant, making it hard to invest in their journey.

That said, the audiobook narration by Anna Acton was a bright spot. Her delivery was warm and expressive, and she brought a gentle elegance to the story that made it easier to stay engaged. Even when the plot felt slow, her voice carried it with grace.

Silver’s writing is undeniably polished, and I can see how others might find comfort in the slow unfolding of this summer tale—it just wasn’t the right fit for me.

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #berkleypub #prhaudio #prhaudiopartner #sponsored #slowburnsummer

Another great Josie Silver read. This was such a cute book and also a sweet love letter to book lovers everywhere!

I love everything Josie Silver writes, and was so excited to learn she had a new romance coming out this year!

While Slow Burn Summer was an enjoyable read, I admit that I didn't love it as much as Silver's other books. The concept was fun, and I enjoyed Kate's journey as she navigated life in the public eye, and then the fallout that came later. But the book felt unbalanced to me--too much time was spent on that storyline, which made her budding romance with Charlie feel like an afterthought. While I liked both Kate and Charlie as characters, I didn't feel the chemistry between them.

Kate thought her acting career was over until she landed the role of a lifetime.

When failed actress Kate teams up with Charlie, a newly minted talent agent trying to salvage his father’s company, she agrees to pose as the face of a romantic novel written by a reclusive author. What starts as a simple photo op spirals into a full-blown book tour, complete with interviews, viral fame, and mounting pressure. Kate and Charlie have baggage, banter, and undeniable chemistry, and as the line between fiction and reality blurs until the truth behind the book threatens everything they’ve built.

Josie Silver delivers another feel-good romcom with charm, heart, and her signature slow burn. While One Day in December and The Two Lives of Lydia Bird remain my top favorites, Slow Burn Summer is light, heartfelt, and sweet.

This was a quick summer read book from Josie, which I appreciated. This was not my favorite Josie Silver book. The ending with the author seemed like such a far reach and slightly bizarre.

I enjoyed my time with it but wouldn't recommend it.

What a refreshing romcom! I’ve gotten so tired of the internal drama so many romcoms rely on. This was a new idea and so fun.
The feminist in me got annoyed by Charlie acting the hero, but I guess that was his job. Kate stepped up to it in the end. :) I love how she was able to resolve the conflict.
Josie Silver has such great character development and dialogue that I always feel like I’m witnessing actual events.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book should not be categorized as a romance. It's not even a slow burn romance as the title suggests. It's a women's fiction book with a sprinkle of a romance, one that's fine but it didn't really do much for me.

I absolutely loved the relationship between Kate and her sister Liz. It was hysterical and such a loving relationship.

Slow Burn Summer was a decent read, but I felt it lacked the punch of Silver's previous book, One Day in December. I enjoyed the main characters Kate and Charlie, but felt the premise of the book (Kate acting as a novelist with Charlie as her agent) could have been executed better. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

Kate has just come out of a painful, embarrassing divorce and it's time to start over. She finds herself going back to where her career started - as an author. She reaches out to her former agent and is met with a surprise when Charlie, her agent's son, has just the part for her. He needs an actress to play an author in real life. The real author of a promising romance novel does not want to be associated with the publication at all. Kate is hired to be the "author" in real life. It's an exciting opportunity for Kate as a reader and hobby writer, but unlike most acting jobs, this one clearly blurs the lines between fiction and reality.

This is a cute rom-com that book lovers will adore. This is a unique premise that feels fresh with all the romance, drama, and laughs of a rom-com. Kate is such a likeable character from the first page and I just wish I could keep following her adventures.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Dell for the ARC of Slow Burn Summer.

This story was a fun premise but the romance felt flat/forced for me. The idea that she was faking the fact that she was the author of a book for a well known author who was trying out a different genre was interesting but the ease in which she was able to lie and keep up the lie was a little unsettling. Thank you to netgalley for the gifted copy.

Slow Burn Summer was such a cozy, emotionally and heartfelt book. Josie Silver has a way of capturing the quiet, in-between moments of life and love that feel so real and truthful. This one really leans into the idea of healing, emotionally, romantically, and even physically. The romance is slow burn and it hits just right!

I really liked the characters! They felt like people you’d actually meet in real life, with real baggage and growth. The setting adds a lot too! It has that nostalgic summer vibe that makes you want to soak it in. I really enjoyed this one!

☀️ Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver, pub date 6/10
⭐️⭐️⭐️(3/5)

This was the sweetest story. Recently divorced Kate is hired by an acting agency to pose as the author of a romance novel for the book release. Her agent, Charlie, is handsome, charming, and recently divorced as well (of course!). I really enjoyed the more mature love story. In addition, the book actually has a plot, a real story; it wasn’t all about the romance angle. It has supporting characters who give the book a little more depth: a sassy/protective older sister, an intimidating boss bitch business partner, and a kind grieving widow author. The romance was a true slow burn romance, I mean, it’s in the name of the book so it should be expected, but wow…sloooooow burn. While I did really enjoy the book, most of the second half kind of dragged for me, hence the 3 stars. I really enjoyed the first half and the ending, so overall it’s still a like and I do recommend picking it up if you are in the mood for a quick-read sweet little love story.

Thanks to @Netgalley and @Ballantine for the ARC copy of this book.

Admittedly I don’t know if this book will stay with me for the long term but I held my interest and kept me reading which is a feat these days! Ultimately I think the pace of the plot felt off to me. I wanted maybe a bit more from Kate and Charlie because he was a great love interest but in the end their relationship seemed a little lackluster. The relationship between Kate and the author was very sweet, I’m glad that the book ended with them. Solid summer read!

Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver is a charming, emotionally rich rom-com with a clever premise. The slow-burn romance with Charlie is tender and heartfelt, and Silver’s writing captures themes of reinvention and vulnerability with warmth. Though the pacing lags at times and the chemistry is more gentle than sizzling, it’s a satisfying, character-driven read for fans of thoughtful, slow-building love stories.

God I loved this book, I was kicking my feet in the air rooting for the main characters.
I loved the chemistry between the MMC and FMC, the sweet sibling bond between the FMC and her sister, and the intrigue of the whole ghost author plot. This was overall a fun book, thanks Josie Silver for delivering yet another sweet romcom.

This book was a "slow burn" and took awhile for me to get into. What is a talent agent supposed to do when one of his client's has no interest in promoting a novel? Of course, the obvious answer is to hire someone to play the part and see what happens from there! For those who are a Josie Silver fan, this is not one of her best but is still a quick read.