This was a very sweet and quite cosy read. I loved Ellie and her character development through this book. Her whole life was centred around other people’s happiness and not her own. Meeting Kieran and their developing relationship showed her how to ask and push for what she wants.
I’ve never read a book centred so much on the food industry, so it was good to have all the food references and the thorough detail.
Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the sexual chemistry between Kieran and Ellie. They seemed too mismatched. I loved that Kieran was portrayed to be of a realistic character, but I think for romance books I need my MMC to be more “perfect” and someone I would want to lust after.

This was a fun & mostly cute romance. I do have some mixed thoughts about though - at times I enjoyed their relationship, it’s sweet and there was some laugh out loud moments. But it’s definitely an unconventional one for a romance book - it sometimes it felt like the author was trying to write Kieran as an unattractive man… which just didn’t sell it to me as a reader!

So whilst I enjoyed the plot and loved the food references (they were the best part of the book to me!), I really struggled to get on board with the romance side of things. It didn’t even feel like very much of a slow burn, which had me disappointed as I love pining and angst!

I like that the author tried to take a risk with penning an unconventional mmc (5’6, ginger, seems to live like a student), for me it didn’t pay off. Ellie was very likeable though, so her + the food made it a fun read still!

A cute and cosy romance perfect for the end of summer; I loved the food references (spent half my time hungry mind!) and the book certainly lived up to the title! For me, though it was the inclusion of an FIV cat Floyd which made me smile - with a spotlight on hard to rehome cats which I truly hope will encourage others to adopt those waiting in rescue.

With its beautifully developed characters, slow-burn tension, and deeply emotional romance, The Slowest Burn is great at building anticipation and delivering a pleasant love story. Sarah Chamberlain’s writing is heartfelt and immersive, if you enjoy contemporary romance with lots of food references this one is for you!

4.5 stars
This was such a great story with an amazing slow burn romance and detailed cooking scenes that makes you incredibly hungry!

I really liked our main characters and that we got to see the story from both their perspectives. Each has their own struggles in life and I honestly loved how supportive they were of each other, even when they were just starting their friendship! I think Chamberlain does a fantastic job of developing these characters, especially Ellie who I think grows so much throughout this story and really steps out of her comfort zone!

I throughly enjoyed The Slowest Burn and still cannot get over the fact that it's a debut novel. It was the perfect enemies to lovers slow burn which alsodeals with some heavier topics such as grief. I definitely recommend picking this one up!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this early.

The blurb of the book is what had drawn me in, unfortunately I just couldn't get into this story it just felt a little flat.
Rated 2 stars

Ellie is a ghostwriter tasked with writing a cookbook for cooking show winner Kieran. Dubbed ‘pirate leprechaun’ on the show, Kieran’s chaotic energy clashes with Ellie’s type A personality as the deadline draws closer and tension rises.
This book was a task to get through and I would probably have DNF it had I not requested the ARC. The book is told in dual POV and it’s one of the main reasons that I didn’t enjoy the book. While Ellie’s inner monologue reads as someone in their 40s, Keiran’s sounds like a whiny kid. (Both are supposed to be around 30). I appreciate the ADHD and dyslexia rep the book offers, but Kieran sounded like every stereotype shoved into one person. Also, the romance felt forced and chemistry was nonexistent. But, on the bright side - for people who love food and cooking there is still something to enjoy.
Many thanks to NetGalley UK and the publishers for this ARC.

📖: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5/5
🥵: 🌶️.5/5

The Slowest Burn follows Ellie Wasserman, a cookbook ghostwriter, and Kieran O'Neill, a chef who is trying to capitalise on his recent TV show win.

I loved this story so much. It was filled with so many different emotions, so much hurt and angst, it was such a pleasure to read. All the emotions were understandable and I felt they were all very true to the situations and the characters.

I loved all of the characters, especially the MCs, but I felt that everyone served their purpose well.

Ellie is such an endearing character. She had a difficult childhood and saw her mature at a very young age. She sees her role in life as a caretaker of other, often to the detriment of her own wants and needs.

Kieran is equally loveable. He feels so much pressure to prove himself to his demanding parents, but his dyslexia, ADHD and addiction have made his life a struggle.

They work so perfectly together, despite a rocky beginning, and it was lovely to see them grow together. Ellie is the confidence boost and trust Kieran needs, and he lets her be free to choose what she wants for once in her life.

This is my first book from Sarah Chamberlain, and I massively enjoyed it. I found the writing very easy to get on with, and very moreish! I finished this in just over a day! Can't wait for more.

After reading another restaurant/chef based book earlier this year, I was really excited for this book. I loved the way that the professions of both characters was portrayed, showing sides of the roles not normally seen.

I love the way the characters relationship developed from a sort of enemies to lovers - it was done well and didn’t feel rushed. It felt natural how the relationship built, turning to the the friendship into more gradually.

I appreciated the discussion and depiction of grief and how this can manifest for different people. It was really lovely as well to see a generally positive relationship between a person and their in-laws (not something i feel we often see in media).

I wasn't the biggest fan of how the FMS's weight was discussed in the book - I don’t think all the references to her weight were always necessary to the plot and sometimes felt a bit dated when her body was mentioned by other characters - but I would still highly recommend reading!

This was a really sweet romance and the element of cooking was really different and nice! Both the main characters went on a journey and I felt the grief was beautifully portrayed, particularly the way she felt towards her in laws. The MMC’’s height was brought up a LOT and though I appreciate that the author has strayed from tall, dark and handsome, I’m not sure comparing him to a jockey or a leprechaun helped me understand why the FMC was attracted to him! Overall a sweet read.

Definitely not my cup of tea. I have tried very much to read this but i couldn’t connect and continue reading about the characters, unfortunately i couldn’t find them enjoyable and although the story was what attracted me to this book, it lacked something im afraid

Clever, emotional and layered 💖

Kieran is a chef with ADHD and dyslexia. He’s just won a cooking show competition and scored a cookbook contract. Ellie is a ghost writer and needs the job. She’s also widowed and living with her in-laws. The title is a lovely pun on the way they cook together and the pace of their relationship. They’re at cross purposes from their first meeting where they start off really fighting - both being judgy and obtuse and my heart ached for them both - then the pace changes and it really started to get interesting ...

Kieran’s family dynamic is laid bare at the celebratory party - but they move on. Ellie's familial relationships are more complicated and harder for her to shift. This is a really thoughtful rumination on grief, obligation, family and gratitude and mental health and navigating expectations. Ellie is overwhelmed by the burden of her in-laws’ grief and they hold her so close.

There are tropes everywhere (fake dating - forced proximity - short king - plus sized - he falls first) and most of these are genre in-jokes so ultimately unimportant to this delicious love story.

There’s so many beautiful moments and turning points that become precious signposts in their lives - his new suit, cooking duck confit, the spinach, her ridiculous cat, the set down of Kieran’s mother. So many things to navigate between extended families and friendship groups. I also loved the genesis of the cookbook as they tested and developed recipes and found Kieran’s voice. There’s layers here and time passes as they do all the hard work on themselves so that when they finally, finally get together, it’s real and authentic. They are everything to each other - the language around food and sex overlap and I loved how they use all their senses to express themselves. Describing a level of steam feels a bit reductive because their emotional connection is so amazing.

Yes, I’m prattling on, but this book is a lot. It’s layered and textured and just so beautiful. There’s Jewishness and San Francisco and food words and grief stages which altogether bring comfort to them and to me. New author Sarah really lets the characters set the pace as they work through everything and we just have to keep up. The cover is beautiful and gives all the vibes you need to read this gorgeous debut.

Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Chamberlain and the publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Amazing. Thank you to netgalley and publisher for the early release.

Very sweet book. Love the characters

WARNING: There will be some minor spoilers.

The Slowest Burn is essentially 'The Bear' crossed with your typical romantic drama. I have a new found love for the 'chef' romance genre and its all thanks to this book.

Kieran and Ellie are both complex characters but so incredibly loveable. Kieran's struggled with ADHD are very relatable and perfectly written. There are so many elements that Sarah Chamberlain explores so expertly. The same goes for Ellie's innate sense of people pleasing; Hank's ineptitude is very typical of a second child who views the other sister as a pseudo-parent! I also truly felt Diane's grief throughout.

I love the story, the romance, the tropes... I do have to say, however, that I was not a fan of the references to Ellie being overweight. There were a few comments made without a lot of depth or conclusion to them. It's also worth noting that the woman on the cover of the book is not overweight, or in keeping with the comments made within...

That being said - I would happily reread this book and definitely recommend to others!

Many thanks to @LittleBrownBookGroup_UK , @sarahchamberlainauthor, and NetGalley for this ARC, which is published in the UK on 24 September. It's the author's debut novel, and the plot goes like this:

Ellie is a young widow who hasn't fully recovered from the sudden death of her husband: she's still living in her in-law's garden and cooking a celebratory dinner for her husband's friends, for example. She's a cookbook ghost-writer, who meets the client of her nightmares in Kieran, a sous-chef at one of the country's best restaurants and the recent winner of a television cooking show. Kieran is dyslexic and has ADHD, so despite having agreed to write a cookbook, he also wants to avoid all the work that goes with it. This leads to a lot of friction between the two, which leads to the duo being sent by the publisher to his country cottage...

And if you think you know where this is going, you would be both right and wrong. The book is titled The Slowest Burn for a reason, so there aren't any scenes with just one bed (thankfully - I always hated that trope). Instead, the characters slowly become friends, and the story develops from there with lots of personal development along the way.

I really enjoyed this. It's heart-warming, both characters are sympathetic, and the character development was realistic. Also, the author has herself written cookbooks, so the descriptions of food are wonderful. My mouth was watering most of the time as I read, and I wanted to make so many of the dishes (I'm definitely going to have a go at duck confit with orange and radicchio salad at some point). The only thing that could have made the food talk better would be having some of the recipes included at the back of the book. I hope that if you choose to read it that you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Slowest Burn
4⭐️

Publication date - 24th Sept

* Dual POV
* Workplace romance
* Enemies to lovers
* SLOW burn

Cooking contest winner, Kieran O’Neill, is on a high. He’s on track to open his first restaurant before he’s 30 and he’s also landed a high-paying cookbook deal. With his ADHD making planning and organising impossible, he’s struggling to communicate with his ghostwriter, Ellie Wasserman.
Ellie is a 30 year old widow, living in a guest house in the garden of her in-laws. She needs this ghostwriting job to be able to buy her own home and release her own cookbook.
Will the 2 of them be able to see eye to eye and make their dreams a reality?

It’s got a great plot, good character building and a lot of micro tropes popping in and out. The secondary characters are just as good as the main.

There’s a lot of pain and grief on both sides but Kieran and Ellie make it through the other side together (eventually 🙄)

This is definitely a SLOW burn where the characters only start to heat up about half way through but it’s definitely worth the read if you want a cute and easy palette cleanser.

Thank you @littlebrownbookgroup_uk & @netgalley for send me an early release.

THE SLOWEST BURN- SARAH
CHAMBERLAIN - ARC
The slowest burn was exactly that, the tension was built so tight. I really enjoyed the different aspects of the 2 MC's thoughts and how their brains work. The adhd side really spoke to me and I do love to see that representation in books. Makes me feel as though I'm not alone in my struggles.
The spice was there although minimum which is perfect for me!
I love how the storyline built up more walls, knocked them down and then built them even better than before.
I also love a book with a proper ending and I felt like I got that with this book. Although I wouldn't say no to Jay and Nicole's story!
@rachaelmcreads

The Slowest Burn follows the story of Kieran, an up-and-coming chef, and Ellie, the ghostwriter of his highly anticipated cookbook. After their first meeting leaves Ellie thinking that Kieran doesn't really care and Kieran thinking that Ellie is the most uptight woman on the planet, to say they are dreading having to work together is an understatement. However, after the publishers force them to spend a week together working on recipes, they forge a friendship that slowly, as the title suggests, turns into more. With both of them dealing with their own personal issues, they must learn to trust, love and most importantly, get the book finished by the deadline.

I loved this! I went into it expecting a cute, quick rom com, so the level of emotional investment I developed by as soon as the 20% mark caught me off guard! There is so much wonderful representation in this book for things including ADHD, grief, dyslexia and complex family relations which added to the already well-thought out plotline and truly made me root for the characters' success. I loved the way cooking was at the core of this book; it became a universal love language between the main characters when talking failed and this only added to the enjoyment I felt when reading. I was kicking my feet and giggling at points. I also am obsessed with Ellie as an FMC. I'm always here for real, outspoken, independent and brave women on my shelf. 100% recommend for all lovers of enemies to lovers, workplace romances, forced proximity, slow burn romances and acts of service.

thank you for the arc! i hope everyone runs to read it when it releases on the 24th September! xxx

This is a combination of my two favourite things: a beautifully written slow burn romance and gorgeous writing about food and cooking. Kieran and Ellie's relationship felt realistic, loving and they both clearly worked to be the right person for each other.

I loved Ben, Diane and Jay; I could quite happily read about them for hours. I loved that over the course of the book Ellie realised she had grown and changed but that it didn't invalidate her past or her choices. I loved the growth they showed together and my only complaint was that this book isn't part of a series, because this was a truly beautifully constructed and written world.

Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for giving me this ARC to review.

As heart warming as your Grandma's secret cookie recipe, The Slowest Burn follows Ellie who joins with Kieran to be a ghost writer for his new cookbook after winning a Reality TV cooking show. The pair could not be further apart on the personality scale, or so their assumptions seem, where Kieran views Ellie as uptight and Ellie views Kieran as downright chaotic. But as time goes on and their inspirations for Kieran's cooking book slowly begins to appear, it would seem their assumptions of each other weren't so right after all and soon it is not just the kitchen that is cooking up a storm.

I rated this a 3-star as for me personally, I wanted something deeper to connect with the characters and the story line. But, I would still recommend this as an easy, heart-warming read that others would enjoy.