I generally don’t like books that are “slow burns.” I find that either you get so much of the characters pining after each other without telling each other how they feel like it’s just like, come on already, or that there is no chemistry and then all of a sudden these characters are together just because. That being said, Sarah Chamberlain’s The Slowest Burn didn’t deter me, because the premise really seemed more like an enemies-to-lovers situation than an actual real slow burn.

Ellie Wasserman’s life is neat and tidy, and that’s exactly how she wants it. Really. A top ghostwriter for celebrity cookbooks, she was widowed three years ago and has no interest in taking chances—not on writing her own cookbook, not on telling her still-grieving in-laws she wants to move out, and certainly not on dating, which is about as intimidating as a recipe with fifty steps.

Kieran O’Neill isn’t known for being organized. An up-and-coming chef who scored big on a reality television competition, he’s been the guy who cracks jokes and makes messes—something his chilly family has never let him forget. The only place he feels truly capable is at the stove. But when he’s paired with an uptight ghostwriter with cool blue eyes and distracting curves to write his debut cookbook, she shreds his class clown act like a paring knife cuts an orange peel.

As Ellie and Kieran are forced to work closely together in a hot kitchen for weeks on end, their sharp edges and harsh judgments slowly soften and sweeten into a wildly delicious attraction. Long, steamy days turn into even steamier nights, but they have to face their painful pasts to know if this tender new love can transform into something lasting.

I’m very happy to report that Ellie and Kieran didn’t take the whole book to get together (spoiler alert? But you know how I feel about slow burns) and that it was a true enemies-to-lovers plotline—my favourite. I thought Ellie’s backstory and relationship with her in-laws was complex and unlike anything I’d read before (which was refreshing) and I loved getting to know Kieran.

The one thing I will say is that the synopsis mentioned “steamy days and even steamier nights” and there really wasn’t that much of a spice factor to this book. I was expecting more considering it was actually specifically mentioned on the jacket copy. But that didn’t detract from the main characters’ relationship for me.

As a person who has worked in recipe development (not actually making the recipes, just part of the editorial packages and photo shoots), I thought that part of the story was pretty realistic—though with some romance-novel flair, of course (pared with a close proximity trope…another one of my faves).

I really enjoyed this story—especially for a debut novel—and can’t wait to see what Sarah Chamberlain writes next.

4.5 STARS

“I’ve made a good life in spite of my parents, not because of them. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with your son. I knew he was a survivor, too. But thank you for the compliments.” —Sarah Chamberlain, The Slowest Burn

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.