The Slowest Burn

LoveReading Says

Cookbook writer Ellie is trying to be efficient and independent, yet still living in the shadow of her deceased husband. Chef Kieran — aka ‘the Happy Leprechaun Pirate’ (quite a mouthful) — has just won a cooking tv competition, but hates his public branding, and worries his dyslexia and ADHD will make writing a book impossible. Together, they get off the wrong foot, but of course will end up being exactly the contrast the dish needed.

It cleverly combines many romcom tropes, including enemies to lovers, fake dating, and forced proximity, and romance genre superfans can enjoy the meta/self-aware references that the characters make — Ellie is herself a reader of romances, and I enjoyed the recurring joke about whether or not they have to share the ‘one bed’ on their writing retreat or in Kieran’s flat. Kieran does at one point literally Save the Cat. 

I really looked forward to reading on, and the characters have lingered in my mind a lot, even days after finishing the novel. Paul Hollywood would give it a handshake. 

Reviewed by Billy Lindon
Lily Lindon (Billy) is a writer, editor, and bookseller living in London.
More reviews by Billy Lindon

About The Slowest Burn

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...

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