Thanks to Netgalley for gifting me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
The slowest burn is about two characters. One, a young female, Ellie Wasserman, who is a ghost writer specialising in creating cookbooks. But she has her own ghosts as her husband died a few years prior, and she still lives on the same property as her in-laws.
Then we have her latest client, winner of the latest reality cooking comp, Kieran O’Neill, who has app the charm and humour but has trouble expressing what he wants to do with his cookbook.
This is a story of love, loss, and grief but is also a story of self-discovery for both sides.
As you may have worked out by now, foodie romances are such a favourite genre of mine, and this is no exception. The references to the craft of making a dish and the description of Ellie working out how to turn a haute cuisine meal into a dish anyone could make was a wonder. Although I will admit I would have loved to have seen some of these actual recipes in the book to make it more real.
“And I thought I was having a romance-novel-induced hallucination,” she said.
Kieran o Neill is a charismatic, charming chef who has his own obstacles to overcome whilst doing this cookbook, including his ADHD which makes it hard to remain focussed on tasks. For me, this was a fascinating arc as I know several people with ADHD including my husband and so it was so interesting to see this representation in a romance and for the challenges of ADHD to be reflected so well.
Each character has a lot to learn throughout this book. Ellie needed to learn when it’s time to let go and move on with her life and not let ghosts hold her back from being happy. Kieran needs to learn how to lean on someone for support to help his realise his true vision and to see that a fancy, 4 star haute cuisine meal perhaps isn’t what he truly wants.
I loved the character arcs of both Ellie and Kieran as they were both so different, but each had their own mountains to conquer, which they couldn’t achieve on their own. Their dedication and commitment to their craft (cooking and writing) made them the perfect power couple to spur each other on, and soon, of course, we start seeing some serious underlying sexual tension. Oh, and did I forget to say this has multiple narratives? I know, it’s the cherry on top and just made the experience so much better.
“Your hair has so many beautiful colors in it. A person could spend a long time finding them all.”
But the star of the show… has to be Floyd the cat. His ongoing commitment to try and escape the house to get outside is both admirable and impressive. Also, he sounds cute, and you gotta have a cat in the book.
If you are into close proximity, slow burn, and foodie romances with cosy vibes, then I highly recommend this book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – a gourmet, cosy, romantic delight, from the first bite down to the last crumb. I loved the whole experience.
The Slowest Burn is out today!!
Do you love a good romance? What’s your favorite trope? Let me know in the comments below.
Much love ❤️
Lizzieslittlebooknook 