This was a cute debut - the middle fake dating bit and the ‘let’s just have sex’ threw me off a bit.

Thank you for a copy of the book for review

For me, the book’s biggest stumbling block was that I was just not attracted to Kieran. He was childish, often ignorant and he messed up frequently, particularly in the third act. Kieran came across as a big kid Ellie was forced to look after. I didn't feel the couple's 'slow burn' and their chemistry wasn’t the electric kind. I didn’t find their back and forth charming.

I appreciated the author's attempt at mining some pretty heavy topics. For example, Ellie had a complicated relationship with her deceased husband’s parents. I understood that her grief was complex and by remaining close with her in-laws, she got to keep a piece of her husband alive, but their dynamic was unhealthy. It was interesting to see this weaved into this kind of story.

In theory, this romance novel had some of the right ingredients, but crucially I was never won over by the leading man, who I found to be too immature and unreliable to root for. Ellie deserved better.

This was cute - a definitely slow burn romance between two total opposites, with heavier topics at its heart, such as grief. I have pretty mixed feelings about this book - it was easy to read, and I think I enjoyed it, but the characters felt very stiff at times, and I cannot tell how many times the male love interest Kieran gave me the ick (why was he growling all the time?!).

I did enjoy the storyline, and I personally LOVE a slow burn romance, so in most ways, this was right up my street! However, it was just the characters didn't feel like real people, so I struggled to stay in the story or believe in the romance. I did like how the book dealt with grief, and with the pressure Ellie felt to stay single out of respect to her deceased husband, particularly from having to hold all of her mother-in-law's grief on her shoulders. But I don't know, Kieran just cringed me out too much.

I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would! Not in a negative way at all, but my standards for romances are high, and this really put a smile on my face. I loved how he was there for her while she was there for everyone else.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️/🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

First of all! Thank you to NetGallery and Sarah Chamberlain for the ARC for this book. I’m so so so so sorry that it took me nearly two months after the book’s publication to read this. In saying this, let’s get to the review, this book follows Ellie Wasserman, a young ghostwriter working for a firm tasked with writing a cookbook for the most recent winner of a TV cook show. Ellie is strong, hardworking and stubborn, stunk grieving after the loss of her husband 3 years prior. It’s like her world is at a standstill, she’s gone to therapy and has adopted a cat but she’s living in the back garden of her in-laws’ house and feels like the caretaker of everyone around her, not knowing how to live her life post her husband. Enter Kieran O'Neill, the hyper, energy-filled redhead that Ellie now has to work with. Even though he’s fuelled by adrenaline from winning his cooking show, Kieran has his own skeletons in the closet. Living with ADHD and Dyslexia, only being diagnosed in adulthood, Kieran has always felt not good enough, like a burden and he’s always trying to prove himself, especially to his parents. As much as the book's premise intrigued me, the romance between a chef and a ghostwriter, there were many elements to this book. The trauma of grief, abandonment and trust, especially within Ellie’s character. She’s had to deal with being the caretaker for her and her little brother her whole life, especially since her parents weren't always there for her. I know these past traumas explain her choices throughout the book but it felt like a lot and not well explored for a book of less then 350 pages. The romance kinda flew, Kieran had heart-eyes from the beginning and Ellie soon followed but for a book titled “The Slowest Burn” the romance wasn’t a slow burn, it was kinda quick and the timeline wasn’t very pronounced. The side characters were good, but overall kinda forgettable but with that being said it was an easy story to get through and with the help of the audiobook was able to finish in 3 days. Like Kieran, I have Dyslexia so I found some of his methods for coping really relatable which is good. I would recommend this book for an easy read, I did have a fun time.

This book was unfortunately a DNF for me - I wanted to love this book. Everything about the synopsis and the cover art called to me, but I had a real hard time connecting with the story line and the plot.

This is marketed as a slow burn yes, but the pacing just wasn't there and I found it to be quite lacking meaning it fell flat at times for me, which then just killed my chances of getting through this book.

I am sad this wasn't for me, but I would be open to reading more from the author as I understand this is a debut and can see the potential in the writing.

Such a beautiful cover on this book, and such a beautiful, heartwarming story inside the cover. Loved Kieran and Ellie’s story. Two damaged characters figuring out they’re worth waaay more than they’ve been receiving. Ellie’s in-laws were TOXIC, and I’m so glad she realised that and put boundaries in place. Thanks Netgalley and the publisher.

This was a just a great read. I was just all in the story.
Loved the MCs. Lovely written book. i enjoyed more than I expected I would

Where was the slow burn I was promised? Not in this one that I can assure you. The characters had little to no chemistry, so the whole fake dating thing was just uninteresting, and I love fake dating so. Ellie's character had a lot of potential but I thought it was weird how her feelings were handled and didn't make sense with what I was being told about her. For fans of Emily Henry, not really.

I really enjoyed this novel, it was a different kind of romance novel for me but it was great to read. I really enjoyed the characters and their slowly developing relationships.

3⭐️

The Slowest Burn is a cute, easy read and definitely for fans of Tessa Bailey.

As much as I enjoyed reading the book, I don’t think it quite deserved more than 3 stars. I found some of the dialogue as well as the characters actions, so be quite awkward and cringey. They’re supposed to be 27 & 31/2 (I can’t quite remember Ellie’s age) and this definitely didn’t translate to the page.

I did enjoy the cooking references and loved the process of cookbook writing with ghostwriters, it was definitely interesting and fun to read.

All in all, if you’re looking for a quick, easy read, I would recommend this..

Loved this funny and warm hearted romance between a chef and the ghostwriter for his cookbook! A sprinkle of enemies to lovers (well, at least from Strong Dislike to lovers…), plenty of food content and a wonderful cast of characters. I read the whole thing over the course of an afternoon and it was the perfect mood brightener!

The Slowest Burn was a fun and enjoyable read. It follows the story of Ellie, a ghost writer, who has been employed to write a new cook book for the talented Kieran O’Neill. When these two first meet it is a complete clash of personalities and Ellie has her doubts that this project is ever going to work.

I enjoyed this book. The growing relationship between Ellie and Kieran was very entertaining to read. Be warned, it is a very slow burn! But that just adds to the tension. Both characters deal some heavy issues such as grief and parental neglect that really influences the decisions they make in their personal lives and towards each other. However, as Ellie and Kieran begin to grow closer, their fears and worries are accepted by the other.

A fun, flirty and romantic read that I would recommend

First thank you to Sarah and little brown books for letting me review this wonderful book .

I thought for Sarah's first book i thought was a brilliant story and so much fun to read .

i loved the plot to this book i thought that Sarah was so amazing with how she added in the ADHA rep she was very delicate where some can go off on a crazy ride with this she kept it real .
the characters together and apart was so good they did really compliment each other . i really enjoy how there is learning about self love as well as self discovery i found it so refreshing .

also i thought it was great just how much they are alike in the story without seeing it .

Sarah writing i thought was wonderful she got such a great dry sense of humour i really thought that made for for this book some people may not get it i thought she did this so well , her character building was the best.

i can see so many people enjoying this story

im giving it fun loving 4 stars

The Slowest Burn is such an enjoyable debut! The two major characters, Ellie and Kieran, were excellent. The two POV were such a lovely addition.

The Slowest Burn is a fun, reflective and heartfelt rom com, set in a foodie world, complete with close proximity and a wonderful furball of a cat named Floyd.

I really admired the attention paid by the author to create such a diverse cast of characters, and capture the complexity of their experiences. At certain points it felt like there was a bit too much going on, but the overall effect was a story full of heart, reflection, and love, that was heartwarming and satisfying.

The portrayal of grief, particular the dynamic between Ellie and Diane, felt authentic and honest, a mix of sadness, guilt and misplaced love. The journey of self discovery for Ellie and Kiernen was as much if not more a focus on the story than their romance. I loved the way they supported each other to find and celebrate their true selves.

This was a great debut novel, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for the authors next work.

Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for this read. Opinions expressed are my own.

The characters themselves seem pretty interesting, and work together as a couple. They are diverse and complex characters who have their own personal struggles to overcome as well as those faced as a couple, which I do like.

This book did kind of remind me a the Hallmark movie ‘Recipe for Love’, so I think the uniqueness that a lot of people have been talking about in this book, was maybe not as much because I had watched this film which is about a celebrity chef and his ghostwriter falling love.

I think for me the main thing is that I just never felt like the whole thing was natural. There were multiple moments, build-ups, tropes that felt like they had been pieced together and thrown in because they had been written versus having been the intended part of the story.

→ 3.5 stars

Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with the story or with the characters. The slow burn was really very slow burn for me and even though I truly try to like the book I couldn’t.

It was a shame as the synopsis of the book made me think it was interesting.

Arc generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Ooh has all of the elements of fire!! Oxygen, fuel and sparks, This book has it all. Including a male character coping with his ADHD and a female character too nice for her own good trying to please everyone due to a troubled childhood and tragedy in young adulthood.
Also a good helping of mentions of delicious food, which will have you reaching for your recipe books. Definitely recommend.

The slowest burn is about two characters. One is a young female, Ellie Wasserman, a ghost writer who specialises in cookbooks. But she has her own ghosts as her husband died a few years prior and she still lives on the same property as her in-laws.
Then we have her latest client, winner of the latest reality cooking comp, Kieran O'Neill, who knows he is good but has trouble expressing what he wants to do with his cookbook.

This is a story of love, loss, and grief but is also a story of self-discovery for both sides. But can she put the ghosts of her past behind her enough to see what is in front of her?

As you may have worked out by now, foodie romances are such a favourite genre of mine, and this is no exception. The references to the craft of making a dish and the description of Ellie working out how to turn a haute cuisine meal into a dish any Tom, Dick and Harry could make was a wonder. Although I will admit I would have loved to have seen some of these actual recipes in the book to make it more real.


Kieran o Neill is a charismatic, charming chef who has his own obstacles to overcome whilst doing this cookbook, including his ADHD which makes it hard to remain focussed on tasks. For me, this was a fascinating arc as I know several people with ADHD including my husband and so it was so interesting to see this representation in a romance and for the challenges of ADHD to be reflected so well.

Each character has a lot to learn throughout this book. Ellie needed to learn when it's time to let go and move on with her life and not let ghosts hold her back from being happy. Kieran needs to learn how to lean on someone for support to help his realise his true vision and to see that a fancy, 4 star haute cuisine meal perhaps isn't what he truly wants.

I loved the character arcs of both Ellie and Kieran as they were both so different, but each had their own mountains to conquer, which they couldn't achieve on their own. Their dedication and commitment to their craft (cooking and writing) made them the perfect power couple to spur each other on, and soon, of course, we start seeing some serious underlying sexual tension. Oh, and did I forget to say this has multiple narratives? I know, it's the cherry on top and just made the experience so much better.

But the star of the show... has to be Floyd the cat. His ongoing commitment to try and escape the house to get outside is both admirable and impressive. Also, he sounds cute, and you gotta have a cat in the book.

If you are into close proximity, slow burn, and foodie romances with cosy vibes then I highly recommend this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - a gourmet, cosy, romantic delight, from the first bite down to the last crumb. I loved the whole experience.