A PopSugar Must-Read for October!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 … 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?
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Nikki DiMarco has seen better days. She’s dishing up Filipino food in a food truck in Maui with her mom – but they’re barely making ends meet. Her food truck is beat up, her mom is working herself non-stop and they’re still grieving the loss of her father who passed away less than two years ago. But at least she has a steady customer base at her usual beach spot – that is until one day there’s another food truck parked in her same area!
Cullum James and his brother don’t care about food truck etiquette and decide the beach spot is a great location so showcase their British food. Nikki and Cullum immediately start off on the wrong foot and fans love their hate for one another. Soon they’ve decided to compete in a food truck competition with the winner getting the prime beach location! Will these rivals continue to try to best one another or will they eventually start to get to know one another better?
I loved the banter between Cullum and Nikki! I’m a huge fan of enemies-to-lovers and right from the beginning I could feel the tension between these two! I do think that the beginning of Simmer Down was a tad slow and I was always wanting more interaction between Nikki and Cullum. I absolutely loved their text messages back and forth. There were certain parts of the book that had a grin on my face the whole time while I was reading!
I really enjoyed Nikki’s relationship with her mother. Their relationship felt real and it wasn’t always an easy relationship. I absolutely loved that they bonded over their love of Filipino feed. Don’t even try to read Simmer Down if you’re feeling hungry. You will be craving all the food that Nikki makes in the book.
If you’re looking for a heartfelt enemies-to-lovers romance that will definitely make you hungry while you’re reading it – pick up your copy of Simmer Down!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
Fun, sexy, and sweet. Lots of smiles with a nicely tied up ending.
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I have to say this book got me in my emotions a few times while I was reading it. But it also had many areas that annoyed me too.
I absolutely love the premise of the story and the characters were beautifully matched. This is a sexy spicy little story that really ramps up the passion for not only food but for the delicious Callum.
If you were a foodie, then you’re going to understand the passion these characters feel for their craft and for each other…. as friends with bennies.
But sometimes I disliked how Nikki always made it about her. Her problem, her dropping everything for her parents, especially her mother. I have an issue with that. In that aspect, I felt the story was very one-sided and maybe should’ve been written in the first person, her views only.
But the story overall, the highs and the lows, the passion and the feels that the author imparts made for a wonderful story that caught me a few times. Especially when we get to the heartbreak that seems to always end up in these types of stories. I hate drama.
A fun, unique, and frisky story that includes a range of emotions for the characters and for the reader. I wish we had gotten more of the happily ever after. It is the best part if the story after all!
If I see a book involving chefs, I know I have to read it. This was the perfect rom com!
Nikki and her mother have a food truck in Maui and when a competitor parks a little too close to her, she kindly lets them know the rules. Callum has come from Chicago, left his job in finance, to help out his brother Finn with his struggling food truck. Callum believes in Finn and will do anything to ensure he succeeds, so when Nikki tells him they can’t park there, sparks fly.
The tension between the two is palpable, you can tell it is going to get worse before it gets better. They come up with ways to try to sabotage the other’s truck and some of it is quite funny. They are both entering a food contest to win 10,000 and there is so much at stake for each of them.
You can tell quite quickly that these two are going to give one another a run for their money, but it becomes clear that Callum is falling for Nikki pretty early on. They agree to only be friends with benefits because Callum is leaving and Nikki doesn’t have time for anything else. These two fall hard for each other though, and that is a recipe for disaster.
I would have liked to see a little bit more of a slow burn with this one, which is something I rarely say. I did enjoy the banter between the two, but I wish it would have lasted a little longer. I really loved Callum. He was so sweet and I could feel all the love he had for Nikki. Nikki was understandably overprotective of people in her life, but it got to the point it did annoy me a bit. It was nice to see Callum get her to open up. I enjoyed this book and it was a light cute read. Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an early copy!
I can count on one hand the number of romance books (that I didn’t write) I can say I relate to. Sarah Smith’s Simmer Down is now officially one of them. Multicultural, deliciously foodie, with a fantastic sense of place, super-tight family and community relationships, and steamy sexytimes. It got me hot, made me cry, and had me craving Filipino food, MY food.