2.75 ⭐️
This was definitely an interesting story! I liked the concept a lot, and it sure was a whirlwind story. The romance plot of it all just kind of fell flat for me. It was kind of all over the place, and I just did not really see the chemistry between them, or see them as a couple at times. Also, the phrase "whiskey-cola eyes" is a phrase I do not want to see for at least a month lol. I feel like her family just disappeared in the second half. We do not see her daughter, sister, brother-in-law, etc. in the last 15%, maybe. I liked part of the ending, but I also feel like we do not ever find out what Charlie decides to do with himself. Maybe we did, but I did not find it memorable if so. Richard, her ex-husband, is actually a terrible person, and I was also confused by the way he disappeared after he said that statement about her breaking into his house. It was a cute concept, and it does deal with different cases of grief, but it was not my favorite story, sadly.

I love all of Josie Silver's books and this one was just ok for me. I finished but it took a while to get going .

Many thanks to NetGalley & the Publisher for an ARC un exchange for an honest review.

This was quick, entertaining, and had such a unique premise. I felt that the pacing of the romance was off, which in turn, affected the chemistry between the two main characters. There were also some other plot lines including the daughter and the ex that I would like to have seen better resolved. Still a fun summer read that kept me engaged.

The premise of this book was intriguing--an unknown actress is hired to be the public face for a book whose author wishes to remain anonymous. We all know this was never going to work. Despite figuring that from the start, you'd think the path to getting there would be more interesting. However, I found it pretty straightforward and uninteresting. The pacing was off. She was revealed too early not to be the actual author, which left too much on the back end for me. Additionally, there wasn't much chemistry with the love interest. The main character, Katie, was likable and relatable, but the supporting cast just didn't do it for me. I didn't look forward to picking it up like I did with Silver's other books! Maybe next time.

I really thought this was going to be a cute summer romance. I enjoyed the book; it also fell a bit flat at times for me as well. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC!

Absolutely loved this book! The perfect summertime read. I'll be recommending this to anyone looking for a beach read.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for this ARC! I really thought this was going to be a cute summer romance. Felt like the romance was minimal and a little scattered. I did love the commentary and some of the scenes. While i was reading it, i felt immersed in the story.

What do you do when you have an author who is too shy to go on her book tour? You hire a "novelist" to play her part. When talent agent, Charlie, finds Kate, he wants her to play the part for a summer book tour. She's a soap opera actress who seems right for the part. After recovering from a divorce the job seems to be just what she needs. Sparks fly between Kate and Charlie. Can they stick to their roles or give in to the temptation. Thanks to @NetGalley for the ARC of this book. It is very enjoyable.

This book was okay. It is more of a contemporary fiction story than a romcom.

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

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC

2 ⭐️ ⭐️

This book was just meh. I should have DNFed but I hate to do it. Normally I love Josie’s books but this was just fell short. Didn’t like the plot or characters much. Wish I did tho. Ugh.

As a Josie Silver fan I was hoping to love this book, but it overall missed the mark for me. I found some parts to be a page-turner, but was often slowed down by my overall dislike of the characters and their reactions to the events happening to them. I wanted to feel a sizzle between Charlie and Kate, but never felt that spark. I did love the Bridget Jones-esque predicaments overall, but felt like the book was missing something to support them. I think Josie Silver has amazing writing talent which is why the book is still 3 stars for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

This was a cute read with a secret author, a down-on-her-luck former actress, and her former agent’s son. Grief is a prominent theme in the story, but it has a lot of lighthearted moments too. It’s a good balance. I loved the supporting cast, as well.

Good story set in the world of publishing and talent agents!

Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver was a feel good rom-com although it should actually be labeled as women's literature because the romance was minimal but still incredible. This doesn't in anyway take away from the book because it's main theme her was grief. It was well written and the characters had depth. I recommend this book to any lover of feel good women's literature and rom-com feels.

This was a fun, easy, feel good summer read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review.

While overall I enjoyed the read, it also fell kinda flat for me as well. I just could not connect as well as I hoped with the two main characters. I did not really feel the romance in the book. Josie Silver is a great author, this book was just not my favorite of hers.

I was so excited for this book, but unfortunately, it just didn’t deliver. I promise I tried to love it—I really did—but I just couldn’t get past the premise. I mean, how can a sane person be okay with taking credit for someone else’s work? That’s just not something I can get behind morally. And then you’re scared the lie will be discovered? Yeah, no thanks.

I ended up DNF’ing at 60%. Up to that point, there was absolutely no romance—it’s supposed to be a slow burn, but honestly, it felt like there wasn’t going to be any romance at all. It leaned way more into women’s fiction. And hear me out: if it had actually been marketed as women’s fiction, I might have enjoyed it more. But I think my expectations going in are what led to my disappointment.
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I just screamed when I saw that I got approved for this 😭 thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley for the eARC 💕💕

This was unique and enthralling. I finished it within a day. There’s witticism and warm, stranger-turned-friends tropes. Some social media topics that were handled well. And book-lovers-unite story lines. My only qualm is that I wasn’t fully invested, and I think that’s because the I wasn’t invested in the main character. She was lacking some development. I didn’t fall in love with her because I didn’t really know her, if that makes sense. All I got was that she was a good person coming out of a sad situation. Knowing more about her could have helped my investment. Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for the arc.

How I know this was written outside of the US: an ambulance was called without a second thought.

Rating: 3 ⭐️
Release Date: June 10 2025
Tropes/Themes:
• Actor x Agent
• Both divorced
• The secret comes out
• Dealing with grief

The premise itself was interesting. We are all familiar with ghost writers and pseudonyms, but what if we take things a step further and paste a whole new person on the cover and have an actor pretend to be the author? I also enjoyed being in the dark about the real author and trying to figure it out.

Unfortunately, I just really was not even feeling slow burn here... The chemistry was nonexistent between Kate and Charlie leaving us with fairly bland interactions. Kate makes rude assumptions and comments about Charlie pretty much the entire time up to the (entirely out of the blue) "I love you". It felt more like the author forced these two characters to be in love rather than actually let them find it themselves. The cheesy "I loved you since I first saw you" lines come off as insincere since neither Kate nor Charlie actually showed any signs of feeling that way.

Also PLEASE romance authors, please please please stop having characters go from doing nothing at all physically to straight up sex. Where are all the kisses and hugs and comforts of falling in love???

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an eARC of Slow Burn Summer in exchange for this honest review.

Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver is a heartfelt, beautifully written romance that captures the magic of a summer fling turning into something deeper. The slow build between the characters is incredibly satisfying, with Silver taking her time to develop their chemistry and emotions. It’s the perfect mix of tender moments and emotional stakes, set against a backdrop that makes you want to savor every page. If you’re in the mood for a romantic story with a bit of nostalgia and a lot of heart, this one’s a great pick.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Give me a British author and a romance and I’m here for it! This was a bit different from the authors previous books but I absolutely loved it!

Kate Elliott is trying to rebuild her life after divorce. A former actress, Kate reaches out to her former agent’s son and is hired to act as a novelist on a book tour for a romance author who wants nothing to do with its publication.

Charlie Francisco inherited the business from his father and is determined to prove himself as an agent. As Charlie and Kate work together attraction and romantic feelings begin to grow.

Kate Elliott was such a fantastic character. She was so relatable and I loved her determination to rebuild her life. Kate and Charlie’s romance is a slow burn but you really get to understand why they are the way they are throughout the story.

I loved the relationship between Kate and her family especially with her sister who is so funny. Charlie was a great guy but I wished there was a bit more chemistry between him and Kate.

This was such an enjoyable read with a fantastic plot and I highly recommend this summer read.

I’m really sad that this one just didn’t really do it for me. I loved so many of Josie’s other works but this just fell flat. The storyline itself was interesting but I saw ZERO chemistry between Charlie and Kate. When she told him she loved him at the end I was frankly baffled. They spent MAYBE 6 days together total in the entire novel. I honest to god thought this was going in the direction of her falling in love with the author. I also had a hard time with the idea of her going on all these talk shows and telling them personal information about herself and not thinking people would put 2 and 2 together and realize she wasn’t who she said she was. Does she not have a friend? Neighbor? Old colleague? Anyone who would be like that’s not her name? It just all felt very far fetched to me. And the storyline about the daughter and the boyfriend who outed her just felt thrown in to move the story along. We could not have cared less about the daughter and knew nothing about her. 2 stars because I liked the IDEA of the story and I liked Kate enough but this was unfortunately just not my favorite.