Simmer Down

As part of my romance-themed February, I cracked open my copy of Simmer Down and dove into the world of food trucks and rivalry. The book, taking place in Maui, introduces us to Nikki DiMarco, a former restaurateur (or at least restaurant manager) who dropped everything to move to Maui in order to help her ailing father and mother. Once her father passed, she promised to carry on his dream: owning and running a food truck with his wife. Is the budget tight? Yes. Is it stressful? Sure. But it's still fun.That is until Callum James, another mainland transplant and a food truck owner as well, turns up the heat of competition. This book has some strong rivals-to-lovers themes, and what starts out as an attempt on Nikki's part to be kind but set boundaries, explodes into a full blown and fiery rivalry. Of course, events conspire to get Callum and Nikki into a bit of a force-proximity encounter, which leads them into some other, more steamy bits that are just as scorching as their rivalry.Overall, I thought this was a fun, romantic read. Were there some beats that didn't resonate with me as much as others? Yes. However, I definitely enjoyed the book and it helped take me away from my own worries for a while. For those who don't know, I read a lot of romance; it's my stress-relief genre, and for an entire day I was swept away from the stress of real life and emerged wholly and completely in Smith's world of food trucks and romance.

Originally I marked this book as 4 1/2 stars because right when I finished reading, there were a couple lingering issues that kept me from awarding full marks. BUT, now that a few days have passed I'm amending my statement. While I don't remember what the issues were that annoyed me at the time I read the book, I DO remember many of the sweet scenes between Nikki and Callum. I've found myself daydreaming about their romance from time to time and whenever I do that, it's a sure sign that a book should be 5-stars in my mind. This was a cute, quick read. Focus on the romance and you won't be disappointed.

Another great read from Sarah Smith. Her character development is deep. Her ability to set up a scene generally enables you to be in Maui, especially if you've been there. Her ability to fine tune the scene with the characters puts you there on the beach watching Nikki slowly walk with the crowd. The emotions of the characters are well defined and real. A great story.

I enjoyed this story. It was sweet and sexy, with some really heartfelt emotions. I found the writing style engaging and I the story flowed well. I also enjoyed the Hawaii setting and different cultures of the characters. Solid romantic read.

I loved everything about it. This beautiful love story of Callum and Nicki. 2 chefs that couldn't get along but had a constant sexual chemistry. After a twist bringing them together, they realized how much they not only had in common but how much they belonged together. A must read! It was super hard to put this book down.

I’m Filipino and the story of Filipino parents with a loving and domineering daughter is so real to me. Callum is so real!!! Love it!!

Any story with food in it then I am a fan. I liked the characters and how the story moved along. The author left me knowing the characters turned out well. Would reccomend this book.

AMAZING UNABLE TO PUT DOWN ADORABLE WHITTY AND FUNNY

I started out really enjoying this, as I found the first 25% quite fun. But it fell very flat for me for the middle part of the story. Their relationship felt too rushed; the hero, Callum, became very hard for me to like as I found him really pushy and didn’t seem to understand her at all; and I felt the author relied too much on misunderstandings and similar to drag the plot out a bit. The middle section just wasn’t enjoyable to me and I nearly DNF. I ploughed on because I wanted to know how it resolved, and I’m glad I did as I enjoyed the last part of the book quite a lot more. I feel like the author is very good at writing conflict, as the two parts of the book I enjoyed most were the ones where the hero and heroine were in direct conflict with each other. I wish that the book had the enemies part continue a bit longer, to be honest, and actually gave them a chance to get to know each other properly. I would recommend it if you want a rivals-to-lovers romance with some fun elements and a lot of foodie stuff.

The story started off strong with the usual spats and disagreements you’d expect from enemies to lovers and a Hawaiian setting. I did like the food truck element and the fact that Callum loved cats too! However, I felt like the ‘hating’ resolved pretty quickly and then the rest of the book relied on miscommunication and other conflict which made it drag in parts.

This book was so adorable, I really loved it.It was very similar to another book I’ve read recently, except food trucks instead of cupcakes but still - can’t go wrong with a classic rival story.

I adored this book. It has an emotional depth and rawness in delicate balance with the gorgeous and hot romance. Sexy, funny, sweet, hot, and deeply touching.

Callum and Nikki start off as competing food truck owners and chefs but through circumstances they end up getting to know each other better. The backdrop of Maui and the amazing food truck delicacies make this enemies to lovers romance a little more delicious than the average. Simmer Down is a special book. I highly recommend.