Title:  The Slowest Burn  
Author: Sarah Chamberlain
Genre: Romance   
Rating: 3.8 out of 4

Kieran O’Neill should be on top of the world. He’s just won a cooking reality TV show, he’s on track to open his own restaurant before he turns thirty, and he’s even got a high-paying cookbook deal. Still he can’t impress his stuck-up family, his ADHD makes planning ahead impossible and, worst of all, his ghostwriter is the most uptight, humourless woman he’s ever met. But to be seen as a serious chef like he’s always wanted, he needs to finish this book…

Ellie Wasserman is barely holding it together. She’s a thirty-year-old widow living with her needy in-laws, her little brother won’t adult without her help, and instead of working on her own cookbook, she’s ghostwriting one for the chaotic, impulsive Kieran O’Neill. Or would be, if he’d ever answer her emails. But to own her own home like she’s always dreamed of, she needs to finish this book…

As their deadline gets closer and the heat between them builds, can these two driven, lonely people let go of their past hurts and make something truly sweet together? Or will their fragile new love go up in smoke?

I found Kieran to be low-key annoying about half the time, frankly. I liked Ellie, but she spent most of the book being pretty passive about everything…why are you putting your own life on hold and letting everyone around you tell you what to do? The food scenes were fantastic—and everything sounded so good—but the rest of the novel wasn’t as engrossing. Maybe the voice just wasn’t a good fit for me.

Sarah Chamberlain lives in London. The Slowest Burn is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)