Simmer Down
BY Sarah Smith

Simmer down by Sarah Smith is a delectable and delightful read about competing food trucks in Maui between spicy Nikki Di Marco serving up Filipino dishes up against the enticing Callum James serving up British food in this fun and feud filled rom com. I just adore Smith’s writing style and she completely whisked me away to my mother’s kitchen and the beautiful beach side of Maui. This was the perfect read to start my year off right. An immersive read, a mother’s delicious home cooking, an appetizing rivalry only to see sparks fly in this amazingly hilarious read I thoroughly enjoyed.

Okay...a lot of tropes were put into play here but not actually executed well. I HATE miscommunication tropes and that’s literally the entirety of this plot. Also, I’m usually frustrated with the male behavior in romance books but instead I kinda wanna slap the leading lady. It is what it is.

Not gonna lie, I wasn't a huge fan of Sarah Smith's "Faker," so I was a little leery of taking this one on. However, if you want to make me drool over a book, set it up surrounding food and add in some rivals to lovers. Ugh, I loved this read so much and it made me SO HUNGRY.

I really tried to get into this one—LOVE the premise but I found myself having a hard time with the writing and the main character. I’m putting this one down for now but perhaps my try again down the road.

Hate to lovers is such a hard trope to get 'right', and this one was all wrong. I thought some of this story was catchy, and fun. But, it fell very flat for me by the end. The characters were more immature than I would of liked, and the angst was just miscommunication - there was no true plot movement to keep me reading, or character development. I just didn't care what happened.

What a great romance title! Sarah Smith does it again. Having found her other book, Faker, on NetGalley and read it and enjoyed it, I was excited to see how her second book turned out. Some authors who I have loved their first book, I did not care for their second book but this was definitely not the case here. This book gives you all of the feels and if you enjoy the "enemies to lovers" trope you will definitely enjoy this book.

The only thing I disliked about the book was that it didn't come with a trip to Maui or the ability to eat the food deliciously described in the book.

This was absolutely adorable! I’m a huge fan of Sarah Smith and the way she writes enemies to lovers—she’s great at it!

Couldn’t get into this one. I had issues with the flow, the plot felt scattered, and couldn’t find the desire to pick it up. I can understand the appeal, but it just didn’t do it for me right now. DNF at 25%.

For my second read of the New Year, I wanted to read a romance with a little spice and feel-good moments after reading a rather intense thriller. So, I chose Simmer Down (published on October 13, 2020) to read.

I loved the premise of the book - give me all the stories that incorporate cooking and a little (or a lot of) romance. But, there was no simmering down in this story as it was full of steamy moments that I could feel my cheeks turning red as I read through each interaction between Callum and Nikki.

I loved that Simmer Down reflected the point of view of only Nikki DiMarco. Now, don't get me wrong, I love being privy to both sides of the story, but there was something nice about not knowing what Callum James was thinking. Did he have feelings for Nikki? Was he looking for a casual fling with his rival? Not knowing is what kept me more intrigued as I wanted to see when Callum would appear next.

My only complaint about the book is that, towards the end, Nikki started to annoy me; she was constantly back-and-forth on what she wanted to do and what her feelings were for Callum. At times, I thought that a chapter would lead to one final wrap-up, but then the story kept going. In all honesty, it could’ve been 30-40 pages shorter, and I would’ve enjoyed it more.

BUT, I did find Simmer Down to be an entertaining, steamy read, and I’m glad that I began my year with this romance. I will be looking forward to reading the next book that Sarah Smith cooks up.

Simmer Down was an enjoyable read, featuring my all time favorite enemies-to-lovers trope! I am always down for a rivalry that leads to sparks.

Protagonist Nikki has left Portland to head home to her family in Hawaii, in hopes of running the Food Truck that her Father last requested before he passed, but discovers competition in another food truck when she gets there.

I love books with food and rich culture mixed in, and Simmer Down has it all. My mouth was literally watering at the mentions of the food featured, from the Filipino dishes to Callum’s British favorites, but the heartfelt story was just as sweet.

*many thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review. All opinions are my own

I must admit, I am a fan of a good enemy to lover narrative, and "Simmer Down" definitely fits the bill. Nikki and Callum run competing food trucks that are parking in the same area. What starts as a simple request from Nikki for Callum to find another spot, following unwritten island food truck rules, very soon turns into a viral all out food truck war. But the more they fight and run into each other, the better they get to know each other, but what is at stake and will their respective businesses always take priority?

The antics these two pull are funny, and it is so fun to be privy to their secrets when other characters are not. Also the descriptions of the food they make sounds so tasty. While it wasn't the most amazing, thought-provoking book I've ever read, it was definitely a solid read that I may very well read again. Would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are all my own.

Sassy, sizzling, and sweet. loved the foodie vibe of this delicious romcom. Nikki has moved to Maui to help her mother realize her dream of owning a food truck. They have found a prime location to park the truck and no one makes Filipino food quite like Nikki‘s mom. then one day Nikki shows up to park the truck and someone else is in her spot. Does this person not understand food truck etiquette? when Nikki conference the rival food truck owner she is not fooled by his English charm. Cullum refuses to leave and insists that they can coexist part next to one another. Nikki is not having it and so she proposes a bet. Whoever wins the Maui Food Fest gets ownership of the spot and the other person needs to move along. OK I am certain you know where this is going, right?

I thought this was a fun feel good story with a few flaws. Nikki and Callum were great characters and I truly love their banter. I also liked what a strong role family played in the book, both these characters were so loyal to their families. what I did not like was how long the misunderstanding towards the end went on. I seriously wanted to bash them both over the head with a frying pan. all in all a Sweet romcom that made me smile... and..... hungry.

This book in emojis 🌴 🐱 🍲 🏄 😋

*** Big thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

I loved the concept of this book, but the execution didn't appeal to me. While I enjoyed reading about Nikki and Callum's relationship further on in the book, it felt a little rushed at the beginning, which made it harder to believe further on. In the end, I did enjoy the book, so I'll recommend it in some cases, but it won't be a top choice for me.

Another lovely book from Sarah Smith!

I enjoyed her character development, the beautiful setting of Maui, and how lovely the plot was! I loved the emotion of all of the characters, how much emotional rawness there was!

I really loved this author's debut, and was really looking forward to this one based on the premise, but this one fell a bit flat for me. It took me a long time to get into this one and it just didn't really feel sucked into the story at any point.

I love Sarah Smith’s writing. Ever since I read her other book, Faker, she opened my world to a whole new type of book. I originally thought all romance books were heaving bosoms and broken hearts. Instead, I found contemporary romance with some heaving bosoms and some steam.

As I was reading this book, I was constantly hungry. The descriptions of the food made my mouth water.

I ALWAYS love the enemies to lovers trope. This book was just *chef’s kiss*

I loved the setting of this book. We have enemies to lovers, a beautiful tropical setting and let's not forget the food! What really drew me in was the food, being someone who loves to cook and eat. While I did love those aspects of this book, I wish it would have been dual POV instead of just the main female character. Some of her decisions and actions annoyed me and I just wish we could have had Callum's POV. Their relationship started rocking but eventually they were super cute together. I overall enjoyed this one just wishes it was dual POV. 3.75/5 stars.

This is such a mixed bag of good and bad but full honesty, this love story fell flat for me. The miscommunication trope was in full force throughout the novel, with Nikki so often jumping to conclusions about Callum and his feelings for her, and then refusing to JUST TALK TO HIM. Callum annoyed me too, because he never even pushed her to talk, and I'm all for respecting emotional boundaries, but that just leads to their arguments going on even longer.

The attraction between them also often felt mostly physical, and sex was often used as a way for them to make up without ever actually resolving whatever argument they've just had. In one truly infuriating scene, Nikki's freaked about Callum's tender feelings for her, Callum asks if she wants to talk about it, she says no, so they have sex and Nikki's happy again, but then they never actually confront those feelings for another 100+ pages.

And then Callum decides to do his grand gesture confession of love at the worst possible moment. Given how driven Nikki is in her career, I can actually understand why she blew up in this case, and I was totally side-eyeing Callum for his timing.

And THEN came a whole other series of truncated conversations, miscommunications, and mistaken assumptions. I'm all for angst, and I think the miscommunication trope CAN work, but there was just too much of it here.

Just not my cup of tea I'm afraid. Though I absolutely loved the setting and world of food trucks I just couldn't stomach this heroine and definitely not this absolute boor of a hero. I knew I was done as soon as the absolutely awful Callum James arrived on the scene and could never work out exactly what Nikki saw in him. I just didn't get why these two would even like each other.

I want to first give a huge thank-you to @berkleyromance and @authorsarahs for an advance copy of this book! This book not only helped distract me from how cold I was while waiting in a food truck line, but also gave me all the feels (and lots of ear-to-ear smiles).

"Life doesn't always care what you have planned. Sometimes it pulls the rug out from under you and takes one of your parents with it ..."
-Nikki DiMarco, Simmer Down

Simmer Down, Sarah Smith's sophomore novel, had me hooked from page 1. I mean, what is there not to love about an enemies-to-lovers romance set in the island paradise of Hawai'i that focuses on cooking and a food truck competition?!? Add to that a British accent, mouth-watering food descriptions, witty and passion-fueled banter, and two drop-dead gorgeous main characters, and you've got yourself the recipe for a delectable romance (pun absolutely intended).

Protagonist Nikki DiMarco helps run Tiva's Filipina Kusina food truck with her mother, Tiva. A culinary arts graduate with plenty of high-end restaurant experience, Nikki's world was turned upside down nearly 1.5 years ago, when her father was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. Dropping everything to be with her parents, Nikki left her life in Portland behind and relocated to Maui (her parents' retirement destination), where her parents hoped to run a food truck. Passing away only a few months after his diagnosis, Nikki and her mom are left to learn the ropes of the food truck world, pay off medical bills, and keep their new business afloat amidst their grief, and just when they feel like they might be making some headway, brothers Callum and Finn James (newbies to Hawai'i and owners of the Hungry Chaps food truck) breach some major food truck etiquette when they park a little more than three yards from the DiMarco's truck. When Nikki tries to explain the rules to Callum, things get ugly, and an all-out turf war begins, complete with viral videos, pranks, and hijinks. The stakes get even higher when Nikki and Callum decide that whoever wins the Maui Food Truck Festival will get to keep the coveted food truck spot.

With fiery tempers, spicy food, and plenty of Maui sun, the heat is definitely on in the kitchens, but could there be some potential heat between Nikki and Callum, as well?

As a huge fan of Top Chef, Iron Chef, Chopped, and Cupcake Wars, this book easily made its way to my heart. In addition to making me crave both Filipino and British food (give me all the fruit salad, lumpia, rice noodles, and meat pies, please!), I couldn't help but fall in love with Nikki. From her relationship with her mom and ongoing grieving of her dad, to her defense mechanism of keeping people at arms' distance, I completely felt for her. I loved how Smith emphasized the importance of family, not only for Nikki but also for Callum, and I enjoyed how competitive and driven they both were. The food truck angle was unique and cute, and I adored how Nikki and Callum ended up calling a truce (definitely one of my favorite sections of the book), and how everything panned out in the end (have some tissues on-hand).

The only thing I didn't love? The poor communication between Nikki and Callum toward the end. All I wanted was for them to let each other know how they were feeling - so much drama would have been avoided and so much time could have been saved! Regardless, I loved reading this romance! It was fun, heartfelt, and steamy, and I highly recommend it if you're craving some escape or need something to get you out of a funk or reading slump! I'm most definitely picking up Faker (Sarah's debut) and her novella, If You Never Come Back, ASAP, and Sarah, I can't wait to read what you write next! Amazing job!