When people talk about enemies to lovers, this book should be the ideal definition of "enemies to lovers". There is no denying that Nikki and Callum are just... SO MUCH PENT UP PASSION! Seriously, I was shouting to no now and everyone when reading this book.

I am kind of obsessed with Finn... Callum;s brother, he is just the cutest ever and I am hoping we get like a novella from him. Seriously doubting anyone will hate this book!

This book had everything I could ask for, enemies to lovers, secret relationship, amazing food, cats, and a sexy British guy?! This book was incredible, I absolutely loved it.

I loved Nikki and getting to know her!! She was a wonderful character and it was nice to get to know the reasons behind her motivations. I also loved her relationship with her mom. It was super cute and it reminded me a lot of my own relationship!!

Callum is the British man of my dreams!! Sweet, thoughtful, sexy... need I say more? I loved his relationship with his brother and how you see him soften over time while getting to know Nikki.

I loved their relationship. I wouldn’t exactly call this a slow burn but the burn is amazing. They really complimented each other’s personalities so well!

Also, this book was SUPER STEAMY!!! I love a good steamy romance and this was great!!

Overall, I highly recommend this book to any romance lover or fans of jasmine Guillory or Christina Lauren! I think you will love this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley publishing for a copy of an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Nikki DiMarco moves to Maui to help her mother take care of her terminally ill dad. When he passes away she stays to help her mother with her food truck business, Tiva's Filipina Kusina. Proper food truck etiquette requires not encroaching on another truck's spot. Enter gorgeous Brit Callum James and his brother Finn. A turf war begins, but Nikki and Callum have a fierce attraction that they have a hard time resisting. Whoever loses the annual Food Festival will cede their spot and move to another location. All of the characters are likeable and spending a day off reading about them is good relaxing time spent.

Quick facts:
Enemies to lovers
Chefs
Food truck wars
Secret romances
Hawaii
Supportive, loving families
Good food

That is this book summed up! It’s seriously so good with the most unique premise, a lovely setting, and a super fun plot! The enemies to secret lovers is seriously such a fun trope and the food truck wars make me hungry.

My six word review:
Pairs with snacks and a COLD drink!

Love a enemies to lovers romance? Fan of delectable food and Hawaiian landscapes? This book is for you. Simmer Down by Sarah Smith is a fantastic romance filled with steamy romance, foodie antics and heart.

When Nikki DiMarco discovers new food truck Hungry Chaps encroaching on at her coveted Maui spot, she tries to give them a few pointers. Instead of being welcomed by her new neighbors, she makes an enemy out of British hottie Callum. When their heated arguments start making waves amongst the foodie bloggers of Maui they up the ante, whoever wins the Maui Food Truck Festival gets dibs on the beach spot forever and the other has to vacate and find a new location to sell their food. When Callum and Nikki find themselves in a compromising position neither signed up for, they realize they have more in common than they thought.

I loved this book from start to finish. It was the perfect amount of sweetness and sexiness. Thank you Sarah Smith, Berkley and Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC. It's going up in my favorites.

This is an enemies to lovers romance - my favorite trope! However, the "transition" was very abrupt. There was definitely chemistry between the characters and I loved the focus on food and food trucks! I did think the female friendships were too effortless and unrealistic. Overall, really enjoyed this book!

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nikki and Callum are the perfect enemies to lovers. They both fight for what they believe in, fight each other, and fight for love. I simply adored this book, even though it made me hungry for great Filipino and British food!

CW: Death of a parent due to cancer, parent illness

I really enjoyed Sarah Smith's first book, Faker, so I was really excited to jump into another enemies-to-lovers story from Smith.

What it's about:
Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn’t be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn’t expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten—or the competition to be so smoking hot. But Tiva’s Filipina Kusina has faced bigger road bumps than the arrival of Callum James. Nikki doesn’t care how delectable the British food truck owner is—he rudely set up shop next to her coveted beach parking spot. He’s stealing her customers and fanning the flames of a public feud that makes her see sparks. The solution? Let the upcoming Maui Food Festival decide their fate. Winner keeps the spot. Loser pounds sand. But the longer their rivalry simmers, the more Nikki starts to see a different side of Callum…a sweet, protective side. Is she brave enough to call a truce? Or will trusting Callum with her heart mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire?

What I loved:
-I loved Nikki's relationship with her parents. I completely felt Nikki's pain losing her father and I loved how she stays connected with him by going to his favorite beach and helping her mom with the food truck (the food truck was her mom and dad's dream). I also loved her relationship with her mom & its progression.
-The food. Mannnnn the food descriptions made me so hungry! Everything sounded so good. I'm honestly getting hungry just thinking about it😋
-Nikki and Callum's rivalry (in the beginning!). The pranks were fun and they had really great chemistry.

Why I didn't give it 5 stars:
-This was a five star read for me until the last 25 percent of the story. (It's hard to explain why without spoilers, so visit my blog for a spoiler review: diaryofaclosetreader.com)

3/5🌟

*I received an arc courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, it’s official - Sarah Smith is definitely one of my new favorite authors! Is it her dedication and amazing execution of the rivals-to-lovers trope? Is it her tall, badass, relatable heroines? Or charming, sexy love interests? It’s all of the above!

“Simmer Down” is Smith’s second book (following her debut, “Faker”, which btw I also loved). It follows Nikki DiMarco, an up-and-coming chef who leaves her dream job in Portland to join her mother in Hawaii after the passing of her father. It was always her mom’s dream to own a food truck, so Nikki joins her in selling their delicious Filipino food from their coveted beach parking spot. Trouble pulls up (literally, lol) in the form of Callum James, a British food truck owner who happens to park right next to her – a definite no-no in food truck etiquette. Thus ensues a rivalry and public feud between the two – filled with pranks, heated arguments, and… a spark of attraction?

I was just gushing about how much I adore the rivals to lovers trope, and Smith writes it to perfection. I loved the original setup of food truck owners, as well as the beautiful setting of Hawaii – but it was really her two main characters that sealed the deal for me in this book. Nikki was relatable, especially in her short-fuse hot-headed personality and dealings with the grief of losing her father. Some of my favorite scenes were actually between her and her mother, as they showcased how the loss of someone in your family can create tension between the remaining members and how you have to learn how to communicate in a new way with each other. Plus, I’m always ecstatic about a heroine who is over 5’5 (the standard romance heroine height, it seems), and badass 5’10 Filipino Nikki really checked all of my boxes. That being said, Callum had his own appealing characteristics: cat-lover, English accent, put off “mean Mr. Darcy at the beginning of P&P” vibes. Together, Nikki and Callum’s chemistry was pretty 🔥.

Overall, this book was super fun and steamy – but it also incorporated a very real understanding of grief and family. It had one of the most realistic parent-child dynamics I’ve ever read and had me crying at points. It also made me REALLY HUNGRY for some Filipino food – I am currently on the hunt for a good place around the Bay 👀.

Loved the Maui setting and food truck story line. And the love story between Callum and Nikki brought the perfect amount of heat. I will definitely be recommending this title to my romance readers!

I didn’t know that this author wrote a book before this one that I had seen before but never picked up. I solely read this one based on the blurb because anything about food I automatically want to read even though I will be starving by the end! This also had the enemies-to-lovers trope and I’m sure you know by now how much I enjoy it. Either way, I was hoping this would be a great read.

There were certain things I liked about this book. The writing was nice and I liked that Nikki always put family first even if it rocked the other relationships in her life. It can be hard to balance the two.

What I didn’t like was how convenient every plot twist seemed to be. There were also huge time gaps which made the relationship move quickly and we didn’t get to see much of the build-up for it. All of this led to everything about their relationship feeling a tad too unbelievable. I understand it’s a work of fiction but I need to feel something for them and it just wasn’t there.

If you are solely looking for a book with steamy moments, you get quite a few in this one.

Overall, it was okay but I just needed more development when it came to their relationship.

I'm a tad conflicted on my thoughts about Simmer Down. I have yet to read Faker so I cannot compare this authors other work.

I enjoyed the character development between the two main love interests. I love a good enemies to lovers story. This made me chuckle quite often.

My confusion comes in when I analyze how very different this could have played out if the characters just communicated effectively. I realize that one, this is a work of fiction and is made for dramatics and two, kany individuals do not have this skill set even after many years of a relationship.

I found while reading this that those things irked me. It wasnt until I lower my own involvement and just enjoyed the story that I was able to grasp a better reading experience.

I was taught a great lesson in reading this that I need to be better about enjoying the journey of the story, rather than trying to recreate it.

3.5 raised to 4.

Thank you so much @berkley and @netgalley for allowing me to review this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Nikki DiMarco and Callum James are rivals in the food truck scene in Hawaii but both are doing it to help their families. Nikki to help her mom after the sudden death of her father and Callum to help out his brilliant chef brother with bad business sense. In a classic enemies to lovers plot Sarah Smith writes a quick rom-com/ slight drama into a delightful novel. At times there is a little bit more depressive drama leading into at times melodrama but overall the book is a cute and quick read. My only real problem is that Nikki and Callum, both of whom are chefs, name one of their white kittens Lulu instead of Flour.

I loved Sarah Smith's previous novel, and this one didn't disappoint. Such a sweet, natural romance and delicious food descriptions. Plus, the cover is so lovely!

Thank you to Berkley Pub and NetGalley for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Pub Date - 10/13/20.

A romance featuring a Filipino food truck owner set in Maui? Sign me up! I have a soft spot for Maui because we spent part of our honeymoon there. This book was such a good walk down memory lane. The chemistry between Callum and Nikki was sizzling and the food descriptions were drool worthy! I've read a lot of enemies to lovers set in the work place lately so this was different and refreshing.

Was the plot predictable? Yes but who cares, it's a perfect escape during these crazy times. If I can't be in Hawaii physically, I can pretend via a well written romance novel - am I right or am I right?

It’s dark and gloomy here today but last night I finished an advanced readers copy of Simmer Down by @authorsarahs and @netgalley. Synopsis: Nikki works at a food truck with her mother in Maui after losing her father suddenly but when Calam’s truck imposes on her territory a viral war begins. A food blogger challenges the two to face off for their ideal spot in Maui at a food truck festival. What a sweet fun love story! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read time me. I loved the characters and their chemistry, slightly steamy but such a fun read! #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksofig #booksofinsta #booksofinstagram #booklover #bookaddict #bookaholic #romancebooks #romancereadersofinstagram #booknerd #books #booksbooksbooks #booksbooksandmorebooks

Simmer Down is the perfect read for those who enjoy contemporary romance, beach reads and the food scene. It made me dream of going to Hawaii and enjoying wonderful food on the beach.

I've been on a massive romance binge lately, but Simmer Down just wasn't what I was looking for. I've heard so many wonderful things about the author's work, but I was really let down by this novel. When going into this novel, I was really excited to read about food trucks, Hawaii, Filipino foods, and the promise of a heavy familial influence was really promising. However, when hitting the half-way mark of this story, I began to lose interest. By the 60% mark, I was completely bored and any of my interest in the story had disappeared.

This was just not for me.

By 60%, I had begun to feel like the romance was forced and the angst and predictable conflict that naturally develops in romances just felt boring and uninspired. Their relationship, unfortunately, didn't really develop as I had hoped. They got together far too quickly, it wasn't even shown on-page, and it just was really frustrating. The moments that you would want from a romance -- the scenes where they begin to actually fall for each other -- were glazed over and their happiness in their relationship was established far too quickly. The angst that could come from the slightly forbidden aspect of their relationship was just nonexistent. The scene that allowed the characters to come into continuous contact was just really unrealistic and the heroine's behavior drastically changed in order to let that scene pan out.

Overall, I didn't like this story. I DNF'd at 60% and I don't plan on picking it back up. I know that this romance will definitely be something that other readers will enjoy, but it wasn't my sort of romance.

This rivals-to-lovers-to-friends w/benefits story had so many of my favorite things going for it- witty banter, saucy steam, dueling food trucks, a hunky British love interest and Maui. While I enjoyed it, it fell a bit short. Specifically, in terms of the misunderstandings that the couple continued to face with detrimental fall out that could have been avoided if they just talked to each other. I can suspend a lot of disbelief for angst and a bit of misdirection- once. But by the third time I am less forgiving. All that aside- it would make a great lighter vacation read- say in Hawaii.

I love a fun, steamy, summer romance! This story had al my favorite entities - family, friendship, and romance! It was full of humor and heartwarming moments. I didn’t want to put it down!.
I love Sarah’s writing. I have read all her books. She is one of my favorite authors.