“I want to be part of your story.”

I enjoyed the book but at the same time feel confused. I expected a slow burn rom com from the title and cover but it was really more of a fun female finding herself kind of story. Which is great… just not what I expected.

The book is about a charming return to work actress who agrees to pose as a debut romance writer. She does a great job promoting “her” book and gets into all sorts of hijinx until the jig is up. I really loved the adorable concept and Kate is an absolutely lovable main character. She’s only outshined by her fiercely protective sister (deserves her own book!) who will do anything for her sister. Their relationship radiates I’VE GOT YOUR BACK🩷. Actually, I think I would have liked even more of their story on the pages!

My only disappointment is in the “rom” part of this “rom-com”. It has barely any air time and so feels very out of the blue and not believable…it’s strange, I wanted Kate and Charlie to be together, but there wasn’t enough buildup/angst to make it real.

Overall, I’m a Josie Silver fan, her writing gives my heart a squeeze and this book is no exception!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!!

I laughed, I cried and I smiled A LOT while reading Slow Burn Summer. Thank you for the eARC. Recent divorcee and former actress Kate signs on to be the public face of a beautiful love story that she didn’t write- because the true author wants to keep their identity a secret. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything and then some! Before Kate knows it she’s in the middle of a social media hell fire. H- the mystery author while supportive remains a secret and the energy between Kate and her agent Charlie electric. Thank you Josie Silver for this gem of a book! Add this to your summer reading list!

In Josie Silver’s Slow Burn Summer, Kate Elliot is an almost 40, former soap opera actress and divorced mother. She reaches out to her former talent agent hoping to find work. Instead of finding her former talent agent, she finds his son, Charlie Francisco. He has a role just right for her. He needs an actress to play the part of an author and promote a romance book written by a famous author who wishes to remain anonymous. Kate does interviews and book signings and plays the part well until she can’t anymore. The book is considered romance and women’s fiction. To me, the romance was a background theme in the book. It was more about Kate’s life and starting over. Kate was a fantastic character. I really enjoyed reading her story. The romance parts felt like they came out of no where, maybe a little forced. After I started reading the story, I felt like I was more interested in Kate’s story line and not the romance story line. It was still a great book and I love the characters. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the eARC.

This was a great read!!! I truly enjoyed it! Josie Silver is becoming one of my favorite authors. This story had all the fun elements: great banter between the characters, fun interesting characters and a wonderful story.

Kate Elliott, former soap star, is recovering from a divorce from her cheating husband. Her sister has taken her in and she is living above her dress shop. Kate decides to reach out to her old agent. His hottie son is now running the business and they have offered her to be the face of a pending book. The author of the book doesn’t want their identity revealed. Kate goes on tour and is wowing audiences. Unfortunately, things go horribly wrong. This is where the fun begins!!

Highly recommend this book! Absolute beach bag required. Thank you to NetGalley and Dell Publishing for this advance read. Be sure to pick yours up on release day June 10th 2025

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Kate Elliot's life has totally and completely fallen apart. After catching her husband having an affair with his much-younger secretary (and finding out just how iron-clad the pre-nup she'd signed as a blindly-in-love twenty year old actually was), sending her only and much beloved daughter off to college, and starting over in the apartment above her sister's fancy dress shop... it's fair to say life took a wild turn she hadn't been expecting.

So, in part desperation and part hope, when she sent in a letter to her old talent agent, she'd never expected to have a meeting with his son, Charlie Francisco. Back in town after leaving his marriage and career in L.A., Charlie never expected to be taking over his father's agency so soon-- his death was swift and devastating. However, he's determined to keep his legacy alive... even if it is on life support.

When a contract for an unknown actress lands on his desk just as Kate's letter does, it can't help but seem like fate. The job? Acting as a stand-in for the author of a romance novel; the publishing company has decided it wants a face along with the name for promotional reasons, and Kate (with her charming and down-to-earth vibe) fits the bill perfectly. However, the lines between professional and personal begin to blur for Charlie and Kate, and soon things spiral out of control in a way no one expected...

.

I loved the premise of this novel. It felt fresh and teeming with possibility; and I really enjoyed the first half. However, <spoiler>once Kate's identity as a ghost writer is publicly revealed</spoiler> the book fell flat for me. It felt redundant and predictable, and I kept waiting for some sort of twist to enliven the plot. All in all, SLOW BURN SUMMER was a fine read, and definitely won't put me off picking up more Josie Silver, but I can't say this will be my favorite book of the summer.

A beautifully written ode to love stories and the people who write and shepherd them. Slow Burn Summer is a sweet and gentle novel about all kinds of love brimming in both the quiet and big moments in our lives. The writing was beautiful. Although it was slow to start, I was pleased with the novel’s trajectory and conclusion.

Thank you to Ballantine/Dell and PRH for the ARC! Slow Burn Summer is something special. Get your copy on June 10.

I absolutely adored Josie Silver’s Slow Burn Summer. It was the most endearing summer read. It’s been three years since I read a book by Silver so I was so pleased to receive an advance copy of this new release. It was a heartfelt and engaging read.

Slow Burn Summer followed Kate, a divorced ex-actress, who took on the role of pretending to be the author of a bestselling romance novel. The novel's real author, whose identity was being kept secret, was missing in action, and Kate's agent, Charlie, was hiding secrets of his own. As Kate and Charlie navigated the book tour and the lies they were perpetrating, their relationship slowly developed into something deeper than just professional collaboration.

Kate and Charlie’s relationship was endearing even though it wasn’t what I expected. Their relationship progressed at a slow pace. I actually ended up liking because it allowed for a more gradual and meaningful development of their relationship. I also found that Kate and Charlie’s personalities were well developed and charming. I enjoyed watching their story unfold. I particularly liked Kate’s persona. Kate's journey of self-discovery and how she regained her life after her divorce showed her strength and determination as navigated new challenges and found her sense of purpose. I also enjoyed learning the backstories of Kate and Charlie and their relationships with others. I had the utmost empathy for them as they faced their struggles.

Besides the richly layered characters, there were a variety of themes portrayed throughout the narrative. When reading romance novels, I always fancy ones that explore themes that focus on second chance at love and the relationships complexities, and Silver delivered both of these tropes in Slow Burn Summer. She also addressed identity, self discovery, grief, loss, and female relationships. Above all the tropes incorporated, I most enjoyed following Kate's personal journey and reinvention. Even more, I liked how the romance added a layer of warmth and potential for a "real-life love story" for Kate. It was heartwarming.

All in all, Josie Silver’s Slow Burn Summer lived up to its title. This was not only a slow burn romance between Kate and Charlie, but it was also about Kate’s self discovery. I’d recommend this to those who love emotionally charged slow burn romances.

Thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.8/5

I love Josie Silver, and one of my favorite books ever is by her, but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought I would.
The story follows Katie and Charlie. Katie used to be a soap opera actress when she was younger, but after she got pregnant and married, she stopped working altogether. Twenty years later, after discovering her husband is cheating on her, she decides to restart her life. That’s when she contacts her old talent agent, Jojo Francisco — but his son, Charlie, is now in charge. Charlie is a screenwriter, recently divorced, who has just moved back from Los Angeles to London.
He calls Katie because they have a job for her: she needs to play the part of a romance author for a book that is being published, but the real author doesn’t want to be known.
Both Katie and Charlie are going through similar life transitions, and working together on this project teaches them a lot — and maybe even brings to life the romance story they’re trying to sell in the book.
I liked the characters a lot. I think they are very relatable and interesting to read about, but I felt there was a lack of character development. The first half of the book really hooked me, but then it felt rushed. Some unimportant scenes were drawn out, while more meaningful ones felt too short.
Katie is a strong, tender, and realistic female character. Her relationship with Charlie made sense because of the forced proximity, but I felt there should’ve been more romantic buildup leading to the moment they realize they’re in love. For a romance book, I really needed more of those scenes.
I really liked Charlie as a male lead — he was sweet, understanding, and gentle. I also adored the relationship Katie has with her sister; I think that was one of the strongest themes in the book.
Overall, I had a good time reading it. I would have liked some things to be done differently and definitely wanted more slow-burn, romantic moments. I’m a big fan of Josie Silver’s writing, and even though this wasn’t my favorite book by her, I think other readers may enjoy it more than I did.

Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced copy of Slow Burn Summer! I loved the chemistry, descriptions, and development of the characters. Kate was a strong, independent, talented older woman-and I LOVE that! It’s fun to read about older women being the stars ⭐️

Thank you @dell @prhaudio for a copy of this book. The premise of the book sounds interesting with Kate, a recently divorced mom looking to get back into acting. Her new job is to play a writer for an author that does not want their identity revealed.

She works with Charlie, her agent, who is also divorced and helps her navigate through this acting job. The story is cute but I did not buy the romance between the two characters.

I enjoyed the nod to the book community. The subplot of the real author was also interesting.

Anna Acton did a great job with the narration. I wished there was Charlie's POV to give me insight to his thoughts.

Thank you NetGalley, Josie Silver, and the publisher for an advanced copy of Slow Burn Summer. I normally fly through Josie Silver books, but this one was a little slower and harder to get into. The concept of an actor taking on the role of pretend author is intriguing and even believable. I just think that the story went on longer than it needed to and it was definitely a slow burn romance, to the point of being almost nonexistent until the end. Josie is still a great author and I will still buy all of her future releases, but this one wasn’t my favorite.

Kate Elliott is throwing herself back into the acting ring. It’s been decades since her short stint in acting before running off with her (now ex)husband & having her now teenage daughter, Alice. She’s at a crossroads in her life & feels like acting could be where she should be headed. Her plea to her old talent agency falls into the lap of Charlie Francisco, son of the deceased powerhouse agent Jojo Francisco. Charlie sees potential in Kate & offers her a very peculiar role…to be the author/face of a novel. The real author does not want their identity to be revealed in any capacity, so Kate would have to handle all of the press, publicity, signings, & social media. How hard could that be?

This story was very unique! I loved all the little “Booksta/BookTok” nods throughout the book, & how big of a role the book community played in the story. Kate was a very lovable character that the reader naturally wants to root for. There was some “slow burn” romance, but I honestly would have loved even more!

3.5 on this ARC. I liked it. I thought that it was a creative idea but I didn’t really buy in to the slow burn of it all? Like the focus was more on the book than the romance. I think the Fiona and Jojo last wasn’t explored enough. I needed more.

Josie Silver is a season-pass, auto-request, must-read author for me. I love how different her books are from one another, but I have loved every one of them. Slow Burn Summer is no exception. This book was a delightful, fun read to kick off my summer.
Recommended for purchase by the Scottsboro Public Library.

⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

This was very sweet, and I loved the connection between Kate and H. The identity reveal was fun! However, I feel like their relationship was a stronger and more intriguing plot than Kate and Charlie. Don't get me wrong, Kate and Charlie had some cute moments, but when they professed their love at the end it surprised me. I didn't feel that they were there yet?

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the ARC copy!

2 stars- Slow burn summer was too slow for me. i had to put down my flag at 52% through. thanks netgalley & the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Thank you Dell & NetGalley for the e-ARC! 💘
Overall this was a great summer read & contemporary romance! I really enjoyed it. This was my first read by this author but I really liked her waiting - it felt clear but also different and fresh. The relationship had a great progression, but my favorite relationship was probably the one between our FMC Kate and her sister Liv!
Overall I highly recommend this, for a summer read or to read any time!

I was really looking forward to this book (One Day in December was one of my favorite reads last year), but this just completely missed the mark for me. The premise of it was intriguing (hiring an actress to play a writer instead of ghostwriting), but for this to be called "Slow Burn Summer", I was expecting something to be burning and nothing was. The FMC and MMC did not seem to really have any initial attraction to each other or any spark whatsoever, so when they randomly start thinking about each other in a romantic light almost halfway through the book, it's kind of jarring. This was just not satisfying and honestly difficult to convince myself to get through at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC!!

Talk about a book that swept me off of my feet! Slow Burn Summer is that book and I'm here to say it made me smile and chuckle while falling hard for Kate Elliott and her sudden whirlwind life. Josie Silver gives us such a clever and unique premise as Kate is to be the face of a new romance written by a well-known crime writer who doesn't want his/her name attached to the project. We follow Kate from the moment she shows up for what will be presumed to be a disastrous meeting with her former agency that she had been represented by before she left the UK to marry what she thought was the man of her dreams, had a now 19-year-old daughter and gave up her promising future, to the offer from said agency and a formidable publishing and marketing team hiring her to be the woman who wrote a truly beautiful love story. Everything goes from zero to sixty as this divorced mom goes on a journey that is wildly humorous one minute and sadly despondent the next. But Silver manages to not only give us a smart bird's eye view into the world of publishing but all that could and does go wrong when too much is put upon Kate's shoulders and she is desperate not to fail anyone most importantly herself.

I have to admit that so much of my love for this book is how much I gleaned about the world of publishing as it opened my eyes as to what is expertly planned every step of the way for a new release. Silver perfectly combines that aspect with Kate's somewhat stagnant life which is also thankfully filled with great love and undying support from her standout sister Liv and that woman's fierce nature no matter what might be happening around her. Liv is a force to be reckoned with and her talent for dressmaking is just one incredible attribute she shows us, along with fighting with her most formidable opponent: the ornery Fiona Fox. These two could have a row that would be epic...I'm just glad things stayed somewhat neutral with Liv earning a bit of respect from Fiona that surprised them both.

But then there is the very unexpected love that begins to bloom between Kate and Charlie Francisco, the son of her former agent. This is the ultimate sweet addition to the book that had both recently divorced and romance-shy people suddenly coming out of their shells. There was an immediate spark and I just adored how both Kate and Charlie kept their guards up even when you could tell they didn't want to. How trusting again would be difficult but with everything that goes down as Kate's true identity is suddenly at risk and this whole facade of her being someone she isn't could blow up in both their faces, I was beyond impressed with Charlie and how he did everything possible including standing up to Fiona (who btw was his dad's partner before his untimely death) in order to prevent Kate from any more fallout with all that transpires. And to say it's a muck-up of epic proportions is quite the understatement!

In fact, it's the selfless nature of most of these characters that endeared themselves to me over and over again. I couldn't wait to turn the page and find out how this wild journey would ultimately conclude and if we'd ever find out who the mysterious 'H" was while hoping that everyone involved even in the smallest of ways would get their due. And I'm here to say with a few grand gestures that actually had me tearing up a bit combined with great humor when things seemed all too dire, that this book answered all of my questions in the best possible way. Along with a burgeoning love for Kate and Charlie, yeah, I'd say this book truly has it all and then some.

I've become such a great fan of Josie Silver's work and to me, it's like she really did open up her own real life a bit with this latest work, showing us the ups and downs of the world of books and how smoke and mirrors may actually play a part sometimes in the stories that we love to devour. But there is no faking Silver's talent and I know she'll be more than proud to have her photo on his latest book since it is one of her best yet, no question about it.

When looking for a story that is not the same old same old, grab Slow Burn Summer. You'll have the time of your life losing yourself in this talented wordsmith's words and finish those last lines happily grinning from ear to ear. The Power of Love indeed.

5+++ huge stars!

Kate is recently divorced and trying to get back into the working world after being a stay at home mom for many years. A former actress, she sends a letter to her former agent asking if he would be willing to give her another shot. Only her agent suddenly passes away and his son Charlie is taking over. Charlie and his business partner Fiona think Kate could be the perfect candidate for a new and unconventional role - being the face of the author of a new romance book written by a best-selling author that wants to remain anonymous. After reading the book and falling in love with the story, Kate agrees to be the author and the book becomes a best seller sending her on a whirlwind media tour. With all the attention on the book, can their secret stay safe?

This one was mostly a miss for me. While I enjoyed the mystery of the unknown "real" author of the book, the romance felt forced and I didn't sense any chemistry between the two leads. And if I had to read about Charlie's "whiskey-cola eyes" one more time, I was going to poke my own eyes out. I did enjoy some of Kate's journey and the anonymous author story is the only

Overall: 3/5
Spice: 1/3