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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
This is an enemies to lovers story about Ellie, a ghost writer, and Kieran, a famous chief who is looking to write his first cookbook. Immediately Ellie and Kieran get off on the wrong foot and I loved their snarky banter in the beginning. This is a slow burn of a book for chemistry but it is worth it to keep reading.
Thank you St. Martin's press and Netgalley for the advanced reading copy.
Thank you St. Martin's press and Netgalley for the advanced reading copy.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A fun romantic comedy about a very type A ghostwriter and the rebel reality cooking show winner that she is paired with to write his cookbook. I appreciated that these two communicated - not always perfectly and not always directly but they usually got there in the end without annoying me too much (a long drawn-out misunderstanding is a pet peeve of mine in romances). I also appreciated these two helping each other discover their boundaries and how their dreams have changed over the course of the book. I felt it was a fun rom-com with some series side missions that made it a well-rounded novel.
**I received an e-ARC from NetGalley to provide this review
**I received an e-ARC from NetGalley to provide this review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Ellie was widowed at age 27. 2.5 years later she’s living in her in-laws’ in-law cottage, cooking them shabbos dinner every Friday, emotionally supporting her mother-in-law, and working to keep everything in control, all while working as a cookbook ghostwriter. When she’s asked to ghostwrite for goofy and energetic Kieran O’Niell, fresh winner of a celebrity chef reality show, her world is turned upside down and so is his.
This started out with a fairly typical enemies-to-lovers (with obvious attraction) workplace romance. Bickering between these obviously opposite characters started early and became a sort of foreplay between them. The cookbook writing aspect of this plot was new to me and I enjoyed watching Ellie and Kieran find their flow together while trying to keep everything professional as their attraction grew. I appreciated that we get less typical romance characters in Ellie as a 30-year-old widow (and curvy!) and Kieran as a 27-year-old, sober, short and red-haired man with ADHD. The way Ellie’s grief is explored and the relationship she has with her parents-in-law felt realistic and I could see who these characters were so intertwined after Max’s unexpected death. Kieran’s own interactions with his parents and his feelings of failure also brought a depth to the story I wasn’t expecting. On the surface it seemed light and zippy, but there was more to it than that. The true star for me was the setting. As a northern Californian, I recognized the Berkeley Marina, Ocean Beach, the Mission district, and so many other places mentioned in the book. This was more open-door than I usually prefer, but overall I really liked watching the love between this unlikely pair unfold and am happy to have read this lovely debut!
4.25 stars
— NOTES —
Genres: romantic comedy
POV: first-person, dual
Content: death of spouse (past), grief, ADHD, neglectful + overbearing parents
Romance: open door scenes in chapters 20, 21, and 30 as well as significant longing throughout the book
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC. All thoughts are my genuine reactions and reading experience.
This started out with a fairly typical enemies-to-lovers (with obvious attraction) workplace romance. Bickering between these obviously opposite characters started early and became a sort of foreplay between them. The cookbook writing aspect of this plot was new to me and I enjoyed watching Ellie and Kieran find their flow together while trying to keep everything professional as their attraction grew. I appreciated that we get less typical romance characters in Ellie as a 30-year-old widow (and curvy!) and Kieran as a 27-year-old, sober, short and red-haired man with ADHD. The way Ellie’s grief is explored and the relationship she has with her parents-in-law felt realistic and I could see who these characters were so intertwined after Max’s unexpected death. Kieran’s own interactions with his parents and his feelings of failure also brought a depth to the story I wasn’t expecting. On the surface it seemed light and zippy, but there was more to it than that. The true star for me was the setting. As a northern Californian, I recognized the Berkeley Marina, Ocean Beach, the Mission district, and so many other places mentioned in the book. This was more open-door than I usually prefer, but overall I really liked watching the love between this unlikely pair unfold and am happy to have read this lovely debut!
4.25 stars
— NOTES —
Genres: romantic comedy
POV: first-person, dual
Content: death of spouse (past), grief, ADHD, neglectful + overbearing parents
Romance: open door scenes in chapters 20, 21, and 30 as well as significant longing throughout the book
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC. All thoughts are my genuine reactions and reading experience.
Thank you SO much to Sarah Chamberlain, St. Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for an ARC of The Slowest Burn.
What a DELIGHT this book was!! I truly enjoyed every moment. Kieran and Ellie are such a textbook case of opposites attract but when they find the way they fit, it was truly a beauty to behold.
There are a lot of tricky subjects tackled in this book, and I think Sarah Chamberlain did a beautiful job handling them all with respect and grace while also filling the book with light and joy and love.
If you’re looking for a book to make you hungry, introspective, and overwhelmed with love, this is the book for you! I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical version.
POV: dual first person
You can expect: ghostwriter FMC, chef MMC, opposites attract, grumpy (her)/sunshine (him), short ginger king, forced proximity, fake dating, coworkers to lovers, combatants to lovers, he falls first.
Rep: grief, dyslexia, ADHD, depression, sober MMC, congenital heart defect (past character), queer side character, Jewish FMC, Filipino side character.
Spice: 2/5
CW: neglectful parents, emotionally abusive parents, death of a spouse
What a DELIGHT this book was!! I truly enjoyed every moment. Kieran and Ellie are such a textbook case of opposites attract but when they find the way they fit, it was truly a beauty to behold.
There are a lot of tricky subjects tackled in this book, and I think Sarah Chamberlain did a beautiful job handling them all with respect and grace while also filling the book with light and joy and love.
If you’re looking for a book to make you hungry, introspective, and overwhelmed with love, this is the book for you! I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical version.
POV: dual first person
You can expect: ghostwriter FMC, chef MMC, opposites attract, grumpy (her)/sunshine (him), short ginger king, forced proximity, fake dating, coworkers to lovers, combatants to lovers, he falls first.
Rep: grief, dyslexia, ADHD, depression, sober MMC, congenital heart defect (past character), queer side character, Jewish FMC, Filipino side character.
Spice: 2/5
CW: neglectful parents, emotionally abusive parents, death of a spouse
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is how you write a romance novel! I loved everything about it. The hate-at-first-sight enemies-to-lovers plot. The forced proximity. The banter. The pining. The personal growth. The amazing people the two MCs were. I can’t believe this is a debut novel!
I loved the MCs. Their personal trauma shaped them for good and for bad. So much mental health rep. And unpacking those layers was a beautiful journey worth taking. I loved the growth and self awareness they both had.
The setting and plot were very interesting. I’ve never thought much about how celebrity cookbooks are created, and I was fascinated by this behind-the-scenes look at the process. The side characters were perfect. Developed enough to be real, but not enough to take away from the plot.
In short, this was an amazing romance. Thank you to @sarahchamberlainauthor @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my e-ARC. I will definitely be preordering a paper copy to put on my shelf!
Thank you netgalley and st martins for the gifted arc.
I hate writing reviews like this but I’m not going to lie, this wasn’t a fun read for me. I was so excited for a slowwwww burn romance and expected lots of tension and banter. I really didn’t get that here.
I do think Chamberlains writing style is overall really nice, if a bit choppy. She had really great descriptors and I could envision the scenes. I was really excited to keep reading until about 35/40%. I do think the heavier topics in this book, like grief and trauma, were well done. I just would’ve liked to see more on page heading for these topics.
I really disliked almost every character in this book. Kieran was rude and immature. The way he was portrayed was so stereotypical of ADHD and seemed to infantilize him. Ellie was alright. I definitely understood her childhood trauma, but she was pretty bland. It seems like everyone’s trauma was their one defining personality trait.
I definitely didn’t get slow burn or enemies to lovers vibes from this. They were instantly attracted to each other but had immature bickering. I just didn’t really feel the tension. The chemistry between them was nonexistent to me and they were SO awkward. There were a couple moments I almost dnfed because I cringed so hard. Especially when Kieran randomly asked her to have sex while they were just chilling at the beach? 😭
I hate writing reviews like this but I’m not going to lie, this wasn’t a fun read for me. I was so excited for a slowwwww burn romance and expected lots of tension and banter. I really didn’t get that here.
I do think Chamberlains writing style is overall really nice, if a bit choppy. She had really great descriptors and I could envision the scenes. I was really excited to keep reading until about 35/40%. I do think the heavier topics in this book, like grief and trauma, were well done. I just would’ve liked to see more on page heading for these topics.
I really disliked almost every character in this book. Kieran was rude and immature. The way he was portrayed was so stereotypical of ADHD and seemed to infantilize him. Ellie was alright. I definitely understood her childhood trauma, but she was pretty bland. It seems like everyone’s trauma was their one defining personality trait.
I definitely didn’t get slow burn or enemies to lovers vibes from this. They were instantly attracted to each other but had immature bickering. I just didn’t really feel the tension. The chemistry between them was nonexistent to me and they were SO awkward. There were a couple moments I almost dnfed because I cringed so hard. Especially when Kieran randomly asked her to have sex while they were just chilling at the beach? 😭
emotional
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved the premise of this, and I really enjoyed the setting; as someone who loves to cook (and eat), all the recipe talk and scenes of cooking were really enjoyable. I liked the story, but I feel like it wanted to be an enemies-to lovers but actually turned more into a dislike to friends to lovers with a fake date along the way; not bad, but not great either.
Diane's character annoyed me, I wanted to slap some sense into her, but I adored her husband Ben. Ellie also needed a good slap and to grow a backbone, she frustrated me to no end. Know your worth woman!!
The third act breakup didn't help matters either; in the end I enjoyed it enough to finish it, but it didn't make a lasting impression. I felt the Diane storyline didn't get a proper resolve, only a passing sentence in the epilogue, and I needed more from it.
Thank you to St-Martin's Publishing Group and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.