Well damn, what a book this was! I had no idea just how hooked I’d be to this story.

Charlie is a screenwriter who has been through some tough times with his ex wife that had him moving back home to be closer to his father but when his father passes away Charlie is left with a business he has no clue about.

Kate is a former actress that gave up her career to follow her then husband. After catching said husband with his secretary she’s reevaluating what mattered to her before him. Sending a desperate email to her former agent has Kate in a situation she wasn’t prepared for.

Kate and Charlie’s story was more than I ever expected. It was fun, it was brilliant and yet it had me tearing up multiple times.

If anything could possibly go wrong it would go wrong for Kate. The amount of mishaps this woman has is mad. From footballers on a train to trifle in a supermarket there’s so much going on and boy was it fun to read.

There’s an emotional blow when you near the ending and my heart just hurt for this poor woman.

I also quite enjoyed seeing Kate’s sister Liv because I know so well what lengths a sister would go to, to make sure her sister is ok and Liv was so on point.

Slow Burn Summer is exactly as it’s described, a slow burn read that focuses on the character and their growth. It’s a book about a woman’s journey in finding herself and having fun along the way whilst learning to love herself again. It’s beautiful, it’s sad and it’s utterly brilliant.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 stars!)

Thank you so much to Josie Silver and the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley! 🙏💌

Slow Burn Summer is a beautifully written, heartfelt rom-com. After her divorce, Kate takes on a surprising challenge: pretending to be a novelist on a summer book tour 📖☀️.

Along the way, she finds herself navigating not just awkward book events but also an unexpected slow-burn romance with Charlie, her agent, who’s dealing with struggles of his own 💕.

This book shines with its humor, emotional honesty, and the warmth of second chances 🌸.

Josie Silver brings so much heart to her characters you root for them, laugh with them, and feel their struggles. A truly charming read that fans of emotional, bookish romances will adore.

Josie Silver is one of my go-to romance authors. I've yet to read a book of hers I haven't loved. Slow Burn Summer was no exception. I was drawn in quickly, I just couldn't put it down.

I loved Kate and Charlie. They had great chemistry. They were both charismatic, clever, strong, funny, and loyal. I also really liked Liv.

Slow Burn Summer is the fifth book I've read from Josie Silver. The others are: One Day in December, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, One Night on the Island, and A Winter In New York, which were all fantastic reads.
It's full of romance, intrigue, drama, and humour.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I highly recommend.

4 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Especially for fans of Beth O'Leary, Lindsey Kelk, Christina Lauren, Sophia Money-Coutts, and Mhairi McFarlane.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin General UK, and Josie Silver for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by the author and this book was so adorable, sweet and a little heartbreaking.
Kate and Charlie both feel so relatable to me. They are around their 40s and have recently been divorced, each with different side effect. Charlie also lost his father recently whom was the former agent of young Kate. Both are very vulnerable and I was longing for their HEA. But first there was a lot of character development on both sides which feels genuine to me. A lot of weren’t said and I had a hard time getting into Charlie (no Dual POV) until the last chapters.
Overall, I think the author wanted it to be focused on Kates side, so I can’t criticize her choice. Because Kate is one of the best characters I’ve read about this year. Her correspondence with the real author is lovely, her sister Liv is a masterpiece. Meanwhile Kate steps up for herself (took her a while) without shaming her loved ones.
I hope I can read more of Josies books in the future.

It had a delightful "story inside a story" premise and was a charming, if somewhat predictable, romance. Kate, the actress in need of a second chance, and Charlie, the talent agent with more baggage than he cares to acknowledge, are thrown together in a publishing scheme that is equal parts smart and absurd. Kate posing as the author of a widely read romance novel is a lighthearted setup that leads to some clever banter and awkward but amusing scenarios.
Kate and Charlie have good chemistry, and the tale revolves around their simmering conflict. The novel's examination of second chances following divorce, both individually and professionally, was another aspect I found appealing. The way the "fake it till you make it" plotline encourages them to be truly vulnerable has a charming quality.
The plot, however, is largely based on the data. Some of the emotional beats seem more staged than natural, and the tensions and major revelations are obvious from a distance. The publishing backdrop and supporting characters are entertaining, but they are not given the depth they need.
All in all, it is a lighthearted, enjoyable book with a satisfying conclusion. This one can appeal to you if you like romantic comedy clichés and do not mind a formulaic plot.

Thank you to net galley for the Arc. This was the perfect summer read for my holiday. Loved the story and the writing. Would recommend to all.

This book delivers love, sweetness, and a dash of humour, wrapped in a beautifully written setting. While the romance lacked the spark I hoped for, it’s still a light, pleasant read that fits perfectly into a summer afternoon.

As the title suggests, this novel was indeed a slow burn, but I loved how it all turned out in the end. It had likeable characters and a simple but lovely story that was easy to follow and perfect for picking up for a couple of hours of reading in the garden during the summer. I love Josie's books; in fact, a few of her titles are in my top 20 of all time. I can't wait for the next one.

Sooo this was cute but not amazing for me. The premise was fun and I actually liked the whole fake author thing, it felt a bit different. Kate was relatable and I liked her growth, and Charlie was fine too, the banter between them worked.

But honestly the romance felt way too slow sometimes, like I wanted more happening between them earlier. And then when it finally picked up the ending was kinda rushed and didn’t give me the payoff I wanted. Also a bit predictable at times, nothing that really surprised me.

Overall I’d say 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it but it didn’t blow me away.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for the arc!

Slow Burn Summer ☀️

I LOVE a Josie SIlver novel, so a big thank you to @penguinukbooks and netgalley for my eARC of this one.

Slow Burn Summer is, well, exactly what it says on the tin - it’s a wonderfully slow story that takes it’s time as it goes.

Kate is newly divorced and finding her feet in the world when a letter from her old acting agent brings her to meet his son, Charlie, and take the place of a debut author… covering for a well established writer who wants to keep their identity a secret. As the novel gains traction and Kate begins to become a literary phenomenon, she steps further and further into her new persona, and her professional relationship with Charlie starts to take a turn as well.

I enjoyed this novel SO much - it is the perfect mix of far-fetched premise and genuine, earnest characters that is absolutely perfect for a summer read. It’s a delightful bit of escapism; I read it while my daughter was still a newborn and it felt really special to be able to dive back in to it in the moments of peace that we got.

I loved Kate as a main character and I felt like she was a really wonderful anchor for the story. There’s a lot going on in this novel that isn’t necessarily romance related, but I think it all really worked to make Kate feel like an actual person. I particularly loved her relationship with her sister and how much they both very obviously cared for each other; the chapters that feature both of them were absolutely my favourites.

I also said this of Our Song, but I also really appreciated that both Kate and Charlie were ‘older’ than the main characters would typically be in romance novels I’ve read over the past few years. They are both characters who have lived some life and have experiences separate to those they encounter in the novel.

I enjoyed Slow Burn Summer SO much and if you’re still on the hunt for a summer romance read, this one should definitely be on your list.

well, this was a good one. i loved being in this world of authors and agents. i really enjoyed this plot, and the beautiful characters that make it feel real. but just so others know, this is not a romance (though you will find romance), this is so much more. this book gives you all the feels, breaks your heart, and heals it again. and my favorite part? the deleted scene that comes at the perfect time in the book.

thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

"Slow Burn Summer" by Josie Silver is a charming and heartfelt story that delves into the chaos of second chances. We meet Kate Elliott, a recently divorced ex-actress, who is in desperate need of a fresh start. Her life takes a turn when she’s hired to pose as the face of a bestselling romance novel for a reclusive, anonymous author. As she navigates this elaborate ruse, she finds herself drawn to the book's talent agent, Charlie Francisco, who is also grappling with his own personal baggage. While the romance between Kate and Charlie is a central thread, the true heart of the novel is Kate’s journey of self-discovery and reinvention. The story explores themes of authenticity, identity, and the power of finding yourself again after heartbreak. "Slow Burn Summer" is a delightful escape, ideal for anyone who enjoys a story with humor, relatable characters and a focus on personal growth.

I really enjoyed this book! I got into it straight away and really took to the main character Kate. I was totally routing for her and felt the ups and the downs of her story. I don’t think the title of the book really goes with the story, the title makes it sound like an all out romance novel, but it was more like a romcom. Definitely recommend this book, thank you #netgalley

Kate is a former actress and Charlie is a talent agent, both are recovering from divorces. Charlie needs someone to pretend to be an author to promote a book after the author decides they want nothing to do it after publication and so obviously in comes Kate. The only problem is that it means 2 broken people coming together for a summer to promote a book all about love!

I really wanted to love this book but its far less romcom and far more family saga than I was expecting (don't judge a book by its cover eh?!). Both Kate and Charlie have their own baggage and spend more time working through their own feelings than anything else, which means that the chemistry was lacking for me. It's almost like it was written as more of a book about 2 people helping each other to recover from past relationships than a romcom and then the author was told to add some romance to help it sell. The characters are nice, bar Kate's hateful ex, and the ending ties everything together but the story was a little lacking for the whole second act in my opinion. Maybe it would appeal more to someone actually post or mid divorce?

This is my first book Josie Silver I have read, although it wasn’t what I was initially expecting from the book I really enjoyed reading this.
Thoroughly enjoyed Silver’s writing style, the plot of this book was great! At it’s core this story was about the grief of loving a loved one, but also has a strong plot of losing yourself over the years and regaining your life and yourself back throughout this story.
The only downside to me, I picked this up thinking it was a romance book however this is only a real small part of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced digital copy - all thoughts are my own.

Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver

3.5/5 Stars

This is my first Josie Silver book, and although this one didn’t scream at me, I will be checking out the authors other work. I really loved her style of writing, it was a nice pace and very well written. Unfortunately Slow Burn Summer was a DNF for me, purely because I was so irritated by the FMC. I don’t know where I started to dislike her but it slowly built to the point I couldn’t read anymore.

Which is completely annoying but I won’t leave a bad review for a book I didn’t finish.

Unfortunately I am unable to review this book as it’s expired. (My old kindle was broke & I can’t download it to my new device due to the expiry).

Unfortunately this book didn't quite hit the mark for me. It felt like it was trying to be a romance but didn't really reach that requirement for me as there was very little relationship building for me until suddenly there were love declarations. I liked the concept of it, but it felt clunky in parts and didn't really come together as there were too many strands being managed and none of them were given the time they deserved. The 'deleted scene' at the end probably should have been in the book as the actual prologue as at least it would have provided a bit more context and actually matched the information given in the blurb - instead it was kind of withheld from the reader for unknown reasons. I did like Silver's writing style and did find it very readable.

#Review: *Slow Burn Summer* - Josie Silver - ARC [16+]
4.4/5✨
1.5/5🌶️

I'm pretty late with my review for this book, having it in my Netgalley list for a while but I said that I must read it while it's still summer 🥰. I loved what I've previously read by the author and I was excited about this one😊.

Kate Elliott was trying to find herself again after she divorced from her husband. So, only one letter will change her life. That message will be received by Charlie Francisco, who will see in Kate the perfect candidate for what he needed: for her to pretend to be the author of a book, because the original author didn't want to have anything to do with it. So, Kate will find this a really tempting offer but she didn't know what to expect from all of that. And she was pretty right about that, because her life will have to suffer from this and will challenge her to the fullest. Will Kate be able to get her happy ending and fulfill her dreams?

I was super curious to find out what was with that book Charlie offered Kate to pretend she wrote, knowing nothing about the actual writter. This road changed Kate so much, having to fight so hard to overcome her fears and trying to overcome her current state. Charlie was there for her as much as he could but he disappointed her too, thinking that maybe he was someone who could heal her heart. But that might be only a good dream because nothing that beautiful could be permanent. Kate's life has suffered such a drastically change and I hated how many things she had to endure with this new change in her life.

I must admit that I needed a bit to get used to the 3rd person narration, because I didn't read that many recently. But the more I read, the more I got more invested into the story, wanting to see how everything evolved with Kate and the mystery behind the book.

✨Tropes
#StartingOver
#StrangersToLovers
#WillTheyOrWontThey
#WorkplaceRomance
#MildMystery
#CloseProximity

Such a fun summer romance and would recommend josie silver always! Loved one day in December so decided to request this and I find her writing style so easy to get into.