Simmer Down by Sarah Smith

Simmer Down
 Author: Sarah Smith
Expected Publication Date: October 13, 2020
Check it Out: Goodreads

In this finger-licking good rom-com, two is the perfect number of cooks in the kitchen.

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?

I have to be honest here and say that this didn’t really wow me. I adored this author’s debut and was expecting to love this one as well, but I really didn’t. It had so many things for me to love. Enemies to lovers, a tropical setting, and based around food. What really dragged this book down for me was the main character, Nikki.

We only received her POV and she was quite draining to follow. There were so many things in her life that she could have changed just by trying. She left her friends behind in Portland when she moved to help her family and instead of reaching out and patching the gap, she just feels sad about them not being in her life. She didn’t even think to reach out until Callum brought it up. So many things she did went that way. The way she pushed Callum away even though she knew how she felt and he made it crystal clear that he wanted her, still grinds my gears. So many people in her life called her out on not letting people get close to her and each time she lets it go in one ear and out the other.

Romance wise, I liked her and Callum together. They started off on the wrong foot and both acted pretty rash towards each other for a while. Once they actually talked, we got to see that they had chemistry and built their relationship by getting to know each other. Sure, I think he could have maybe done better but that’s another story.

All in all, I thought this was okay. I had issues with the main character and prefer the author’s debut. If you like enemies to lovers, give this a chance and see if it might work better for you.

I received an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

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