Page count: 320
Published on: October 13, 2020
Goodreads synopsis:
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 means jumping from the frying pan into the fire?
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Hey, guys!
A couple of months ago I was approved to read Sarah Smith's 2020 novel, Simmer Down; however, this reading experience didn't go as expected. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I anticipated. In fact, I DNF'd it.
If you've been following me on Instagram and Goodreads, you've probably seen the massive amount of romance novels -- a romance binge if you will. However, Simmer Down just wasn't what I was looking for. I've heard so many wonderful things about the author's work, but I was really let down by this novel. When going into this novel, I was really excited to read about food trucks, Hawaii, Filipino foods, and the promise of a heavy familial influence was really promising. However, when hitting the half-way mark of this story, I began to lose interest. By the 60% mark, I was completely bored and any of my interest in the story had disappeared.
This was just not for me. By 60%, I had begun to feel like the romance was forced and the angst and predictable conflict that naturally develops in romances just felt boring and uninspired. Their relationship, unfortunately, didn't really develop as I had hoped. They got together far too quickly, it wasn't even shown on-page, and it just was really frustrating. The moments that you would want from a romance -- the scenes where they begin to actually fall for each other -- were glazed over and their happiness in their relationship was established far too quickly. The angst that could come from the slightly forbidden aspect of their relationship was just nonexistent. The scene that allowed the characters to come into continuous contact was just really unrealistic and the heroine's behavior drastically changed in order to let that scene pan out. Overall, I didn't like this story. I DNF'd at 60% and I don't plan on picking it back up. I know that this romance will definitely be something that other readers will enjoy, but it wasn't the kind of romance that I enjoy.Happy reading!Olivia~Liv the Book Nerd~Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Goodreads // YouTube // Bloglovin // Book Depository Affiliate Code // Ko-Fi // Book of the Month
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