★★★☆☆

Slow Simmer brought a charming setup with a comic-book-store-owner meets big-city-director storyline, and while it had its sweet moments, it was a mixed bag for me. Mara’s journey to rediscovering confidence after being gaslighted had real potential, and Ford’s family reconnection was heartfelt. But the chemistry was often overshadowed by the story’s uneven pacing, and some romantic moments felt forced rather than earned. Still, the small-town quirks and themes of self-growth made it enjoyable, even if it didn’t fully pull me in.

TL;DR: A sweet, if somewhat uneven, romance about rediscovering confidence and connection in a quirky small town.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.
This book was ok. There were time jumps that I didn’t love and I wish we slowed down a bit. I don’t think I was the audience for this book and someone else might enjoy it more.

There were random time jumps that I don't feel were necessary. I just felt like it was forced and not giving what I wanted. It lacked chemistry.

This was a really fun book with well developed characters. We meet Mara, a quirky but fun comic book lover who has a background in video game development. She gave up that career to keep her brother vision of his comic book alive. She has a strained relationship with her father but a great relationships with other family members, and a close knit group of friends.

Ford is a movie Director who’s come back to Pennsylvania on a break to help his father . It’s a complete chance meeting between the two, but with her desire to keep her brothers dream alive and him with the tools to make it happen, it was truly meant to be.

I loved the copcept if this story so fun and instersting. Kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. . Would reccoemnd

Thank you NetGalley and the author for this ARC!

I was entertained with this book! It was a good read and I would absolutely recommend reading it to my friends. It was a bit long but other than that I liked it.

Ms Jeane is a new-to-me author, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up. The cover is cute, and drew my attention and when I read the blurb, I definitely became interested in reading it. I was not disappointed! The story was cute, fun, and flirty with just the right amount of spice. Ford and Mara were interesting characters and I enjoyed getting to know them and follow their story. This was the perfect slow-burn romance. Mara and Ford first form a friendly relationship. Mara has been burned in the past so she approaches romance with much caution. Ford doesn't want anything serious, but spending time with Mara changes his perception on relationships. The characters were well-defined with realistic qualities which made them relatable. There was no question about the strong chemistry between them, and I enjoyed their banter and interactions. Glad to have had the opportunity to read this one!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

A great read. I liked how it was told from both points of view, and wanted everything to work out for them both.
Looking forward to the rest of the series.

I was drawn to this based on Mara owning a comic bookstore, I love comics and manga, obviously I love books, but I don’t think I’ve read a book before where they were involved, to be honest on TV other than the Big Bang Theory they aren’t present much, so I loved this aspect and hope more authors might introduce them into their novels more, it would make this reader a lot happier. I loved the fact that Mara had given up her own dream to continue her brother’s legacy, it’s a hard because she is struggling to figure out how to still fit what she wants to do and how to fit around both, this is something so relatable as so many people do this for family and loved ones.
As a fan of slow burn romances this is another reason I loved this book, it’s a great example of the perfect slow burn, everything about it is spot on , an awkward start, the cautious friendship, the past burns that have scarred Mara’s feelings of romance, Ford’s initial reluctance to wanting anything serious, the proof that you can change how you feel when you meet the right person, I just found it addictive to watch them slowly be drawn to the other. I also liked the issues with their families and boy did I want a word with Mara’s father but I’m not saying anymore as I won’t spoil it, but it’s good for showing how families shouldn’t interfere, pressure, but instead they need to support their children. Sheridan’s characters are fantastic, she writes wonderful and relatable people, ones who goon a journey, learn, change and grow. It’s wonderful to read.
Overall it’s an addictive and wonderful romance, one I recommend to any fan of romance.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you, Flowers and Fullerton and Netgalley, for the ARC!

The blurb for this book was so interesting I had to check this out. However with the length of the book being more than 400 pages, I found it hard to follow the story line, probably also because the pace is rather slow and points were (to me) not really necessary to be discussed in the book. It's a very slow read to me, however no major plot that made me gasp, but still enjoyable all in all.

Mara owns a comic store that she made a reality when her twin brother passed away. Her dream was coding for games but she wanted to make this a success. Mara gave up her career for her family.
Ford is a movie director and between movies so is visiting his family, who he hadn't seen in a while as he was making something of himself with his career. He gave up his family for his career.
Then these 2 meet and they seem to fight obstacles to make a relationship work.
I wished I had known Mara's brother as he had already passed when the book started. Then we find out he had actually written one of the comic books being sold and now Ford wants to turn it into a movie. Mara is all for it but doesn't want hardly any changes made to the movie to keep it on point of the way the comic was written.
I liked all the characters except for Mara's father. I would have told him off a long time ago. He was mean to Mara and actually told her she was stupid. I think I would have blown my cool and told him that in the father department he failed and was an asshole.
I received this from NetGalley to review.

Mara and Ford are such interesting characters that captured my attention from the beginning. I was enthralled by their romance – loved the dates that they went one 😊 Ford is absolutely my latest book boyfriend. I found them to be relatable and enjoyed spending time reading their story. I enjoyed many of the secondary characters and found that some of them added to the fabric of the story.

There were aspects of the story that I found were mentioned with frequency that I wish had not (I won’t go into specifics as it would be spoiler). There were secondary characters and story threads mentioned at different times in the story that were dropped or never mentioned again, and I wished they had been better/more thoroughly developed. These are the aspects that made this story a 4 star instead of 5 for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book surprised me! I wasn’t sure what to expect, what with the length (420 pages), and an interesting blurb, I figured I should really give this new-to-me author a try. I’m so very glad I did - and not only that, but I grabbed the next book in the series, too!

I enjoyed the book the whole way through, and was actually sad when I finished. Even though the page count was higher than many, it was a very quick read. I couldn’t put it down because I had to know the whole plot and storyline, and exactly how it was all going to end. It was intriguing! I loved the characters, the town, and just everything about it. I can’t wait to dive into the next book!

The slow burn trope has always been a difficult one for me, but lately, with more authors going that route, it has slowly been growing on me. The very slow build romance between small town comic book store owner Mara, and big city, award winning movie director (returned to his hometown, just outside Pittsburgh), Ford, is thrilling. She’s got trust issues after a gaslighting ex, and he’s got no interest in dating or sticking around town after checking on his family… but of course everything can change when you meet your right person!

I definitely recommend this book to every romance lover out there - it has everything perfect about the genre. I’m really looking forward to picking up book 2!

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and Flowers and Fullerton, and this is my honest feedback.

3 stars

A light and easy read with a sweet, functional romance.

Mara walked away from her career as a video game designer to fulfill her and her late brother’s dream, and she’s now the owner/manager of a comic book store. The business is struggling a little, but she’s working hard to make it a success, even though she’s wrestling with feelings of doubt about whether it’s where she truly wants to be.

Ford is a newbie movie director who has just won a major award and is on the hunt for his next project. But first, his siblings have talked him in to travelling to his home town for a while to reconnect with his family – especially their aging father.

Mara and Ford’s first meeting is less than ideal, but when she challenges his career choices, forces him to buy a bunch of comics and then boots him out of her store, he is intrigued. And when he finds his next potential movie in the comics that she gave him, their lives become tangled. And then get even more tangled when attraction begins to blossom. Mara has just come out of a toxic relationship, and she’s hesitant to get involved, but Ford is a gentleman and a sweetheart, and he gently yet thoroughly wins her over with charm, sweet dates and thoughtful gestures.

“I’ve been searching for you all my life.”

It’s sweet, sexy and functional, and I enjoyed watching Mara and Ford come together. They talk honestly, they open up about their lives, and they come together easily and naturally. But they both have some soul searching to do to figure out what they want from their lives, and how and if that fits in with their new relationship.

Along the way we get to meet a whole heap of side characters – Mara’s book club who are an interesting bunch, and her and Ford’s families, all dealing with some twisted family dynamics, which are interesting to explore, and which add to the complexity of them trying to figure out their lives.

It’s an easy read without a lot of drama, but I did struggle to connect to it. It’s a really long book, it’s slow moving, and a lot of the scenes and plot details seemed unnecessary to the story, which made it drag a bit. But it ends in a good place, with a satisfying ending.

3 stars.

This was a cute read! I thought it was unique in some ways but then also kind of basic/predictable in others. Would definitely be a good book to read at the beach or pool as it is pretty quick. Thank you for the ARC!

I loved this romcom romance , such great characters and insight into all of them. I fell in love with Mara and her struggles to come to terms with how she could still have her dream but also honour her twin brothers legacy. She is an amazing strong female lead . I also loved Fords character and how is is portrayed as supportive male character and the love he has for family. The author did a wonderful job introducing us to many characters and this wonderful town in Pittsburg. As much as this is a romcom I felt it dealt with many heavier issues but it all blended well with the romance blooming between Ford and Mara. I can’t wait for the next book in this series to come out and see what adventures come to the rest of the characters.
This book was an easy read, I read it in one day ….did not want to put it down.

I voluntarily received a free copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

I would recommend this book to family, friends and my book clubs

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. It made me smile so much throughout. But I have to admit it: This story started out quite slow (still enjoyable with good scenes, but slow). It took me some time to warm up to it, especially with the number of characters it had and the pacing of the book. But towards the middle, things started to get really interesting, and I got absorbed into the story. I was enjoying it so much that it felt like the story ended so quickly :(

Anyway, that sudden increase in interest is thanks to no other than Mara Stellar and Ford Ross! The romance started picking up pace at around the 40% mark. Mara and Ford are so cute and perfect for each other. In Mara's own words, "Being with him made me see myself more clearly, a better and more capable version of Mara." They allow each other to become better versions of themselves. Ford is 10/10 a green flag, by the way. He's just so sweet. I loved the way they talked about their common interests even though they don't interest me. Some topics they talked about included art, movies, comics and superheroes. They're fun topics, though not those that I'm obsessed with. I didn't even know the movies they mentioned, yet I enjoyed reading them talk about them. I think it was the idea of discussing a common interest with the person you love that made me go <333

Apart from the main characters, I also loved the rest of the ensemble. From people in Mara's book club to those in Ford's men's cooking class and their family and friends, they were amazing. I loved the good people that these two had around them. While there may be some characters that were a bit distasteful, I think the awesome characters made up for it! The people of Sewickley are just so nice and friendly <3

This book really showed me how important it was for children to have support from their parents. Sometimes parents care about you but do it in the wrong way, maybe by being harsh, hoping tough love can steer you in the direction they think is logically better. Of course, sometimes what's logical isn't what's good for you. It's important not to butt into your children's lives and decisions (within limits). And predicting doom is also not the way to go, especially not when you're doing it on behalf of others. It's only discouraging and annoying. Stay positive! Stay supportive!

I feel like the author did so much research for this book, and I love that. There's just so much information! I learned about films that were filmed in Sewickley, where this book was set. That's a real place, by the way – near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I love it when authors actually bother to do research to write accurate (or almost) content. Love it. Love this book. As I said at the start of this review, it made me smile so much. The story might've started out slow, but once you get past that, it's so worth the wait.

I recommend this book to readers who love reading a love story about two people who have been hurt before but still try to love again. It's a good book and definitely worth a shot. I feel like people who enjoy reading superhero comics will like it a little bit more, though :)

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. I'm so glad to have read it.

This was a sweet romance story between Mara, a comic book store owner and Ford, a movie director. I appreciated the buildup to the duo's relationship before they got too serious. Their romance felt credible and the chemistry was evident as they spent more time together. I loved how they each had issues to resolve with their own families with the epilogue being exactly what the story needed to give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

Mara Stellar livelihood is in peril so when Ford Ross, a movie director arrives in town, she knows that she has to meet him. Similarly, when Ford meets Mara, he thinks he's found the perfect muse. They both realise that they must follow their hearts and their instincts if they are going to succeed. Together, they realise that they have to take a chance if they are going to have any chance at a fairy tale ending.
This is a slow burn romance between two very likeable characters. Mara is determined woman who has gone through considerable loss. Ford is a true gentleman who would do all that he can for Mara. Together these are two genuine people, working through their difficulties.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Slow simmer is an entertaining book, and that's honestly what I'm looking for in a romance. But there were some things that made me lower the score and made it not be on my top romance reads.

The MCs are Mara and Ford. Mara's character is one that we tend to read lately (thankfully) on roncoms: imperfect, with defined hobbies and clear flaws. I think that's great, because it's very realistic, but sometimes she acted in ways that weren't as in-character, at least in my perspective.

The problem is, in my opinion, with Ford's character. To be honest, it's not a this-book-only problem, but a whole-genre one: we must stop making (and, as readers, asking for) male characters as perfect beings that excell at everything. I didn't find him realistic at all, and that was throwing me off. I admit that he's great, he's supportive of Mara and he's trying to reconnect with his family (even though I feel like the author was short on showing us this plot), he's too perfect. He's flawless, he as no personal growth plots.

Besides, the author's writing was light and entertaining, even though there were some gags or descriptions that were way too long for me. This is obviously my taste, but I have to say that there were times that I wanted to skip some paragraphs.

The topics covered in this book (death of a relative, reconnecting with family, toxic parents...) are quite well covered and the author treated them with respect. If I were to say something is, as I said before, I think the author was too centered on the romantic relationship and kind of forgot about some of the more secundary plots.

Long story short, this was an entertaining book, but not quite as realistic. I would recommend it to people that needs something lighter to evade themselves, but they aren't looking for something extremely close to reality.