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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Generally, slow burns aren't my thing, however this absolutely was! And truth be told, the title of slowest burn is misleading because the burn on this romance develops at a pace that works really well. What I loved about the story of Kieran (a reality TV show star who's writing a cookbook) and Ellie (the ghostwriter for said cookbook) was how that it was a story about them, but it was really a story about a whole lot of layers that they each navigated. It was about the cookbook and their work to build it and the romance they found along the way, but it was also about their people and figuring out where they each fit into life now, while also having some heavy pasts. I was rooting for their love, but I was rooting for them as they figured out their individual paths just as hard. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this September 2024 release.
This was really freaking cute. It felt like a classic modern romance book in the best way. The dual POV worked well, though it didn’t drive me a little nuts that there were sometimes two POVs in one chapter. My neurotic brain prefers each chapter to be a POV. But I really loved the neurodivergent representation with Kieran and I loved the way Ellie responded to him once she understood those parts of him. I very much got the opposites attract trope and loved the way the author made that work so well for Ellie and Kieran. I also loved how the story dealt with Ellie being a widow, never devaluating the relationship she had with her husband but using that to show her growth. I also very much appreciated the positive treatment of therapy and medication, showing it as a support and normal part of life. The spice was light but well written and fit well with the rest of the story. I’m really quite pleased with this book and very much looking forward to more from this author!
This book was such a cute and cozy read with some good spicy moments! Dual POV, semi-forced proximity, and I would consider it to be enemies to lovers. This book is def a slow burn, and had me thinking “come on already” in some parts! Also, If you like spice, this book mentions spicy actions in reference to personal thoughts from the main characters throughout the slow burn eventually leading up to full spice.
For this being a debut novel, it was a great read even though some of the tropes and parts of the stories didn’t feel fully fleshed out/thrown in. I also, and this is a personal preference, found some of the “spicy” internal thoughts to be a little out of the blue/ feel that it didn’t add to the story in the moments they happened. However, with that being said, this is a great little romcom read that of course has a HEA ending! I really enjoyed the read and will recommend this to my romcom loving friends:)
In my personal journaling I will mark this as a 3.5 star read but since we can’t do that on GR, I’m rating a 4 since it almost hit that mark!
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.
For this being a debut novel, it was a great read even though some of the tropes and parts of the stories didn’t feel fully fleshed out/thrown in. I also, and this is a personal preference, found some of the “spicy” internal thoughts to be a little out of the blue/ feel that it didn’t add to the story in the moments they happened. However, with that being said, this is a great little romcom read that of course has a HEA ending! I really enjoyed the read and will recommend this to my romcom loving friends:)
In my personal journaling I will mark this as a 3.5 star read but since we can’t do that on GR, I’m rating a 4 since it almost hit that mark!
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.
Oh this was delicious, pun very intended. Every people pleaser will be able to relate to Ellie. Kieran is this hot ball of energy that is her perfect foil. I love opposites attract, as well as a bit of a black cat/golden retriever dynamic, and this story does each of those tropes so well. Both of them find a safe place to be themselves with each other when neither of them have had that before. They are complex, perfectly flawed, and each of them go through a lot of growth. The slow warming up to each other that happens is wonderful until it becomes a fully fledged fire.
The problems they have to overcome felt real, not forced, and the food had me drooling. MCs that are chefs are my complete weakness. This is a poignant, lovely, witty, and swoony debut!
The problems they have to overcome felt real, not forced, and the food had me drooling. MCs that are chefs are my complete weakness. This is a poignant, lovely, witty, and swoony debut!
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
A great slow burn romance with food.
Full review: Well, this was a great romance to me at least. Fair warning, this is a romance dealing with a widow, I know some romance readers are not a fan of that, but it made sense in this one and I loved that Chamberlain did not try to hide the dead spouse.
"The Slowest Burn" follows Ellie Wasserman, a ghost cookbook author (yes this is a thing I am finding in my romance reads these days). Ellie is still dealing with the death of her husband, Max, from several years earlier. She lives with his parents (in a guesthouse) and finds herself wanting to move on from Max, but is scared to leave since Max's mother depends on her so much. When she gets offered the job to write for Kiernan O'Neill, she jumps at the chance. However, Ellie meets Kiernan and finds herself unimpressed with the new celeb chef. Kiernan finds Ellie bossy and judgmental. However, both start to realize they are interested in each other, way more than they should be.
The book jumps back and forth between Ellie and Kiernan's perspectives. I liked the slow build from enemies to lovers that we get. And I thought Chamberlain did a great job developing Ellie and Kiernan both. They both have hard backstories that just worked. I definitely wanted to beg Ellie to get rid of several people in her life. Also the love scenes were hotter than hot. I definitely enjoyed them.
The secondary characters (their two best friends) were great and I like them though the book moved away from where I thought they were going there.
The ending was wonderful and we get a HEA.
A great slow burn romance with food.
Full review: Well, this was a great romance to me at least. Fair warning, this is a romance dealing with a widow, I know some romance readers are not a fan of that, but it made sense in this one and I loved that Chamberlain did not try to hide the dead spouse.
"The Slowest Burn" follows Ellie Wasserman, a ghost cookbook author (yes this is a thing I am finding in my romance reads these days). Ellie is still dealing with the death of her husband, Max, from several years earlier. She lives with his parents (in a guesthouse) and finds herself wanting to move on from Max, but is scared to leave since Max's mother depends on her so much. When she gets offered the job to write for Kiernan O'Neill, she jumps at the chance. However, Ellie meets Kiernan and finds herself unimpressed with the new celeb chef. Kiernan finds Ellie bossy and judgmental. However, both start to realize they are interested in each other, way more than they should be.
The book jumps back and forth between Ellie and Kiernan's perspectives. I liked the slow build from enemies to lovers that we get. And I thought Chamberlain did a great job developing Ellie and Kiernan both. They both have hard backstories that just worked. I definitely wanted to beg Ellie to get rid of several people in her life. Also the love scenes were hotter than hot. I definitely enjoyed them.
The secondary characters (their two best friends) were great and I like them though the book moved away from where I thought they were going there.
The ending was wonderful and we get a HEA.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you NetGalley, St Martins Press and Sarah Chamberlain for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Slowest Burn is a book about Ellie, a cookbook ghost writer and young widow who prioritizes others over herself and Kieran who is a hot chef who just won the most recent cooking competition show and is now trying to write a cookbook. A curvy queen and a short ginger king.
Each have some childhood traumas that has resulted in strain in their adulthood. They both have good people in their lives (loved Nicole and Jay) and I few they need to set boundaries with.
Yes, it was a slow burn but it didn’t feel like it was drawn out just to torture the reader. The conflict seemed understandable and realistic - both of their insecurities were being pushed
The Slowest Burn is a book about Ellie, a cookbook ghost writer and young widow who prioritizes others over herself and Kieran who is a hot chef who just won the most recent cooking competition show and is now trying to write a cookbook. A curvy queen and a short ginger king.
Each have some childhood traumas that has resulted in strain in their adulthood. They both have good people in their lives (loved Nicole and Jay) and I few they need to set boundaries with.
Yes, it was a slow burn but it didn’t feel like it was drawn out just to torture the reader. The conflict seemed understandable and realistic - both of their insecurities were being pushed
soft dnf @ 25%
really struggling to get into the story and finding the characters super immature. hoping to come back to this another time!
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the earc
really struggling to get into the story and finding the characters super immature. hoping to come back to this another time!
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the earc
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Don't listen to the audiobook while hungry LOL