Nikki DiMarco quits her job and moves to Maui to help her mom serve Filipino dishes on their food truck. Little did she know how tough the food truck scene is. Then Callum James arrives right next to their coveted beach spot. A big no no in the food truck scene. With a big public feud between them they decide the upcoming Maui Food Festival would decide who keeps the spot. Leading up to the festival their rivalry simmers. They see different sides of each other. Should they call a truce?

I loved Simmer Down, it is a fun food truck competition, enemies to lovers story with great character backgrounds. You should know by now I love me a good enemies to lovers book and this one nails it! Fun characters with well developed back stories. Sexy sexy scenes. And a cat. Plus I loooove lumpia's and this book talks a lot about them. Made my mouth water!

I wish we could’ve had a few chapters dispersed throughout the book from Callum's point of view. Nikki is so bossy about their situation and he never voices his opinion, which is frustrating. I'm very open with my thoughts so it was hard to understand why Callum wouldn't speak up so if I could've heard his thoughts it would've been easier to connect I think. But I loved their chemistry so much! It was fun and sexy!

I loved this one so much that I had to go out and buy the paperback copy! I need more from this author asap! So heartfelt and cute.

I’m loving this spicy, romance sooooo much!

I may have a new book boyfriend and a female lead I want to be my new bestie. If you like spicy romance then this one is for you. It’s extra spicy 🌶 🌶🌶🍆🍆🍆!

I wanted to be in this book. I loved the setting and the food truck scene. It hit a little close to home because my boyfriend has always wanted to own a food truck. Too bad it wouldn't be in Hawaii.

Thank you @authorsarahs and @berkleyromance for this gifted book. It’s getting me through the week!

I love romance books. I love smut. I love watching characters get over themselves to let someone in.

This one had a lot of cis-het tropes and it really took me out of this novel. Overly aggressive male (which is read as "protective"), entire relationship based around sex, and the timeline doesn't make sense.

This one stings the most because I had high expectations. I really wanted to love this one. Maybe I'm not the right audience for this. Maybe this was too straight for me. Maybe it didn't experiment with prose, themes, or narrative enough for me. Idk.

Interesting story, though it blurred the lines between enemies-to-lovers and competition porn in ways that felt a little muddled. Appreciated where this way trying to go, but it just didn't land there for me.

I wanted to like this. Enemies to lovers are my favorite story lines. But I really wasn't invested in these characters. I really dont enjoy the miscommunications situations and only having one POV.

Simmer Down is the kind of book that makes you HUNGRY. Hungry for the incredible food described, hungry for the chance to see Hawaii, hungry for more. Smith does a fantastic job at world building and creating interesting, multi-faceted, believable characters. I enjoyed the dynamic between Callum and Nikki, I loved Lemon, and like I said, the food aspect was *chefs kiss* to die for.

I will say, I know that A MISUNDERSTANDING is a staple of the romance genre, but it felt forced and at times frustrating in this book. This book is the epitome of *if they just had a single conversation, this wouldn't be a problem.* So, at times it was frustrating and in that aspect it seemed to drag on near the end (after the final competition).

Overall, Sarah Smith writes interesting, steamy romances that are compulsively read-able and I know that many of my romance-loving friends will enjoy Simmer Down. Thanks to Sarah Smith, Berkley Publishing Group, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This had such a cute cover, and the rivals to romance element is typically a lot of fun, but I found the actual story here to be very shallow - in a dull way rather than as fun brain-candy. The first sign of trouble was when the rivalry portion of the story had a big time jump, but it was pretty apparent that the structure was going to be an issue when the "forced to spend time in a confined space together" element, so familiar from stuck elevators, came in...and it didn't make my heart race at all. Additionally, that the writing, dialogue especially, didn't exactly crackle with wit, and the characters were fairly bland. I thought the grief element was fairly well-portrayed, if not exactly innovative, and the plot point of Nikki having detached herself from her former relationships more interesting but not deeply explored.

It's not a terrible read, and it is a bit fun and foody, but I never felt particularly invested in any of the pieces of it.

I liked this book a whole lot more than her first book. I will definitely be trying her books out again in the future! Thanks Berkley, you rock!

What’s not to love about a modern romance between two rival food truck owners, set in Hawaii?! Sounds like a dream!

Reading Simmer Down felt like I was on vacation some pandemic-free alternate universe where people can travel freely and go to food truck festivals and fall in love with strangers. It was bizarrely twilight-zoney, but at the same time, it was also a really lovely escape from the real world.

I was initially drawn to Simmer Down because I love food trucks, and because it’s set in Hawai’i - a place I’ve never been but have always dreamed of visiting! So, its no surprise that they turned out to be two of my favorite parts of this book!

I absolutely adored Nikki and Tiva’s food truck, Tiva’s Filipina Kusina. The descriptions of their delicious dishes and recipes had me absolutely drooling - I wanted to reach through my kindle and steal some of their adobo wings and lumpia for myself!

I also really enjoyed Nikki as a character and I was very pleasantly surprised by the wonderful depth in her backstory with the loss of her father, and in her relationship with her mom. She was an endearing protagonist who was also a lot of fun to root for!

The romance was where this one fell short for me. I realize that I’m very picky about my romances, so lovers of all things love should take my cynicism with a grain of salt… but I thought Callum was a bit of a one-dimensional cagey hot guy and I found their enemies-to-lovers romance to be a bit too predictable.

Overall, I thought Simmer Down was an enjoyable escapist read and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a light, uplifting love story… I think I just wanted a bit more of everything - more Hawai’i, more food trucks, more depth in Nikki and Callum’s relationship, and definitely more Lemon the cat!

I received an ARC through Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this book! It's a melding of beautiful Hawaiian tropics and descriptions of delicious foods. You'll want to keep a napkin handy to wipe away the drool :)

Nikki left her dream job behind to be with her father before he passed. Now she is determined to take care of her mother and help fulfill her parent's dream of running a food truck in Maui. The food truck business is cutthroat, and Nikki and her mother Tiva are barely making ends meet.

When Callum and his food truck force their way into Nikki's area, she's furious. Their rivalry leads to pranks - and becoming a public feud, much to the delight of their customers. To settle their disagreement, Callum and Nikki decide the winner of the Maui Food Festival gets to keep the spot, and the loser has to find another.

As their rivalry heats up, Nikki realizes that Callum isn't really all that bad. In fact, she's starting to see a whole lot of yummy where Callum is concerned. Nikki needs to figure out what is most important in her life, and what she's willing to sacrifice to get it.

Thank you so much @BerkleyRomance & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 13 October 2020)

SYNOPSIS | Nikki DiMarco quit her dream job to move to Maui & help her mum run Kiva's Filipina Kusina food truck after her dad passed away. She didn't expect the food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten & one day, a British food truck parks next to them (owned by Callum) in her coveted beach parking spot. Nikki politely explains the unspoken rules to the newcomers, but they refuse to move & start stealing customers which fans the flames of their public feud

WHAT I LIKED:
- enemies to lovers trope
- that food & cooking was a focus

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the miscommunication between Nikki & Callum led to most of the conflict. This is one of my most hated romance tropes.
- i wanted more focus on the "enemies" & less on the "lovers". I got whiplash between the amount of times they flip flopped between the two.
- as a British person, I was offended that the only British cuisine mentioned was fish & chips. I get it, we have amazing fish & chips but really?
- that we only got Nikki's POV. I would have really loved alternating chapters from Callum's perspective.

Simmer Down is a rom-com featuring a food truck war that takes an unexpected turn. I feel like I’ve been giving this disclaimer a lot lately, but wow will this book make you hungry. Overall, Simmer Down was a cute, fun rom-com! I’m always a huge fan of the hate to love trope and it was fun to watch as the romance developed in this one. Plus I liked getting a behind the scenes look into the food-truck world.

While Simmer Down definitely isn’t perfect, it’s great if you’re looking for a light read with a guaranteed happy ever after (and who couldn’t use one of those to destress in the next few weeks?).

*Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I really love Sarah's writing, her food, her Filipino representation. This book was the perfect pandemic read.

I interviewed Sarah in my podcast and we chat in depth about her books.

3 Stars
* * *
If you watch as much reality TV about food as I do, then Simmer Down is a must read just for the discriptions of the food alone.
Picture, family stuff, trying to hold a family together...
The Beauty of Maui...
Food Truck NORMAL RULES...
And A NewComer with Attitude Not Obeying the RULES...

Throw in a Contest for all the Foodtrucks, The Covided Parking spot and then a romance which should not happen but does...
And this is the feel of Simmer Down.

Nikki moved to Maui in a rush to care for her dying father. Now that he's gone, she's grieving, helping her mom run Tiva's Filipina Kusina food truck, and trying to figure out her place in the world. But when a British food truck starts parking in the same lot and stealing her customers, Nikki ends up in an all-out war with her hot, brooding competitor.

LOVED the food truck drama as an enemies-to-lovers plot, and since I visited Maui last year, it was fun to take a book vacation back to Hawaii! This book made me so hungry with all of the amazing food descriptions. I wish we'd gotten a little bit more about Hawaiian history and food in the mix. And Callum didn't really do it for me as a romantic lead (although I'm gay, so that's probably on me). But overall, a really refreshing, fun read!

When Nikki pulls into her usual food truck spot, she's not too thrilled to see that there is another food truck there. Since she was once new to the food truck scene on the island, she decides to pop over and let the owners know the unspoken rule among food trucks. Never park in another food trucks spot. However, the owner of the food truck doesn't want to hear it, and refuses to leave. Which prompts a sort of war between Nikki and Callum, the other food truck owner. However, when hate turns to love, things get pretty complicated for these two.

This was a cute enemies to lovers romance. Since their first encounter doesn't go all that well, it's safe to say that these two have a bit of a feud going on. Especially since they are always trying to sabotage the other. Nothing overly major just putting out signs stating that their food is healthier or that the other food is inferior. However, when they find themselves stuck in close quarters for an extended period of time, they call a truce and soon realize that the other person isn't so bad. Nikki runs the food truck with her mom because it was her father and mother's wish to own a food truck, but he never got to see the day come to light due to cancer. So, Nikki took up the mantle to help her mom get her dream, and to do her dad proud. Meanwhile, Callum is helping his little brother succeed in an endeavor that nearly made him bankrupt. Not to mention his brother's drive to be a food truck owner pretty much severed his relationship with the rest of the family, so Callum is all he has left. With that understanding, they start to see the other person in a new light.

I really liked that the food truck aspect played a large role in this. We got to see the characters in their element while they worked the food truck, tried new creations, and tried to broaden their customer base. While this story is only written from Nikki's POV, we do see quite a bit of Callum due to their close proximity to each other. Just being witness to what it is like to run a food truck was pretty fascinating.

Simmer Down is a cute enemies to lovers romance that revolved around the food truck business. It had the right mix of brooding male, to determined female ratio. Were the characters perfect? No! However, that's what made this a good story. They had their own flaws, made mistakes and assumptions, and learned from them along the way. If you're in the market for a cute romance, give this book a read!

From the beginning of this novel, the reader is already drawn in by the complexities of the main character, Nikki. Sarah Smith does a great job of making the reader feel like we know her, what she goes through on a daily basis. I enjoyed that Smith did not shy away from making this a fluffy romance novel, but instead allows the normal ebb and flow of real life take over. Granted, it feels like a lot of this is the universe gifting Nikki second chances, like meeting Callum on the plane, or seeing him at the vet's office, but it made for a great storyline. A great read for someone that wants romance with a hint of food porn!

Nikki DiMarco and her mom Tiva run a food truck in Maui called Tiva’s Filipina Kusina. It was her father’s dream to run this food truck and after his death Nikki moved to Maui to make that dream come true with her mom. Struggling to make ends meet they finally get a great spot along the beach when another food truck run by Finn and Callum James, tries to hone in on their spot. Nikki and Callum take an instant dislike to each other and become social media famous for their escalating arguments. Does this dislike cover up a hot attraction? You bet!

After reading Sarah Smith’s last novel, Faker, I hadn’t planned on reading another but I’m so glad I did! Unlike Faker, Simmer Down didn’t have any of the awkward descriptors and instead relied on a great plot and plenty of attraction to reel the reader right in. I’ll admit, I’m also a sucker for romance novels where food is the third character. I’m not that familiar with lumpia’s but after reading all about them in Simmer Down I want to run out and try some Filipino food!

Nikki’s heart was broken by her father’s death and she hesitates to let anyone get close. Callum’s disagreeable facial expressions hide his true feelings and when they sit next to each other for 9 hours on a plane Nikki realizes that he’s actually as charming as he is hot and has a hard time keeping her heart out of the relationship. I don’t think it’s a secret that my favorite trope is enemies to lovers and this was a really good one. The only reason why it didn’t get a 5 rating is because the ending seemed a touch too predictable. I did like their characters and the food. OMG! I need to find me some lumpia’s quick!

I received a copy of this ARC through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

3/5 Stars

This was a very middle of the road book for me. I do enjoy books about food and the food truck aspect was a fun touch. The romance was okay, I just wasn't a fan of the love interest. Overall a quick and easy romance read, It's great if you're looking for something fluffy.