Business or Pleasure meets Evvie Drake Starts Over in this delicious opposites-attract romance from debut author Sarah Chamberlain.
Sometimes the perfect recipe just needs a little extra heat.
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.
Sometimes the perfect recipe just needs a little extra heat.
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.
Title: The Slowest Burn
Author: Sarah Chamberlain
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Expected Publication Date: September 24, 2024
Review:
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for providing me an audio galley of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Before I get into the production of this book, I want to talk about characters, plot, and pacing.
I need books that will make me connect with the characters. I want characters who are strong and reliable. Ellie was an interesting character to start off. A young widow who struggles to give the love to herself she deserves. Throughout the book, she shows how she chooses to care for others. Which is admirable. But I was so frustrated with her. She could not recognize people taking advantage of her, which drove me bonkers. Yes, I know this was part of her development, but she truly didn't see any of it until the very end. I didn't feel she developed and changed as she could and then the author chose for her to turn her whole way of looking at things around at the last minute. I wanted a strong character, someone who has gone through a tragedy and come out on the other side learning lessons. But she was just a wet rag that people were stepping all over. Kieran was fun and I really enjoyed his ADHD representation. Had I not been listening to the audio but reading the actual book, I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more. I like that he wasn't your usual sexy, tall, brooding male main character. He's short, and ginger, and has some mental health issues that are shown but not particularly developed. I did feel his anxiety throughout the book. But I would have liked to see more about his addiction issues and how they potentially interfered with his story line.
Pacing was pretty good in this book. I got through it rather quickly. There weren't really times when it was particularly slow. I do understand this was supposed to be part of the plot, the characters slowly getting to know each other and connecting, but it was more than their slow romance. It was just slow with not much going on underneath the surface to keep me particularly interested.
As for plot, I loved the idea of these two coming together to write a book and finding out each other along the way. It is billed as enemies to lovers, but I certainly do not get that. I get two people who now little about each other and who learn that through the story. What I didn't get was the chemistry between the characters. I just did not feel it. Not in the words the author used to convey how they were feeling about each other. The forced proximity trope brought them in close quarters, sure, but as for their attraction and it's development? Well, that was truly flat and I wasn't really rooting for them to be together. I didn't fee like I really cared if they were friends or romantically involved. Plus the sex scenes were super dry. I don't necessarily need spicy, but I do need to feel the attraction between the characters and it just did not strike me that these two were it for each other. Yes, it is supposed to be a "friends with benefits" situation to start, but it is also supposed to evolve away from that and I just didn't feel that there was more than sex between these two.
The cover of this one is quite beautiful. I really love the backdrop setting of the Golden Gate Bridge. At the same time, I don't see it matching any of the scenes in the book so I'm curious why this particular setting was chosen rather than one that would match what the characters were doing.
Now for the production. Unfortunately, I think the production of this book brought what would have been a solid 3 star book down to 2-2.5 stars for me. I did like the dual POV narration. That is something I always want to see in most romance books. And the female narrator, Kate Handford, drew me in. I would definitely try and find more books with her voice. But the male narrator, Hunter Johns, just did not fit the character for me. For a narration of a character with ADHD, his slow and measured candence just did not fit the character. Not to mention his long pauses while he was narrating scenes drove me insane. I had to speed the book up so I would not be taken out of the story. Plus there were a few areas in the book where the narration stalled and then skipped ahead. Finally, there were long pauses between the chapters I was concerned with. I kept thinking I turned the audio off.
All in all, I would not recommend or buy the audio version of this book. I could possibly see getting a Kindle or finished print version, but the audio really turned me off of the story. I do realize this author is a newer author with not much under her belt. Perhaps future books by her will be more fleshed out.
Author:
As well as a romance novelist, I am a food writer, editor, and cookbook translator whose articles have appeared in VICE, The Guardian (UK), Food52, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. When I’m not writing witty, sexy contemporary romance, I enjoy making dinner for her friends and family, watching Cary Grant movies, and setting records as an amateur competitive powerlifter. Originally from Northern California, I live in London.
You can reach me at sarah.i.chamberlainATgmail.com.
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