I've come to the conclusion that the author's books are not just meant for me. While better than the 1st book, it's still not great. I had issues especially with the HUGE misunderstandings that kept popping up. It was unrealistic and eventually annoying. Also I didn't get any chemistry between the 2 of them nd their conversations in so many scenes were stilted.
The best thing about the book was the food descriptions.
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I was so excited to read this book, romance and food? A winning combination. Simmer Down was one of those books that was very easy for me to start reading and I quickly found myself liking Nikki. I really wanted to see her succeed and get everything she wanted for her and her mother. However, maybe its just me and my ever changing feelings on the enemy turned lovers trope, but I really did not Callum and the way he treated Nikki in the beginning at all. Sometimes there's a misunderstanding but in this case he was just a complete and total dick for absolutely no reason. I did really like that Nikki didn't back down, or let her attraction to him get in the way of standing up for herself.

I gotta admit that it wasn't until the airplane scene did I finally relent and allow myself to see Callum in a more positive light, from then on the book really picked up and got a lot more interesting for me. I also really liked Nikki and her mother's interactions. Their relationship seemed very realistic and I really loved their moments together. A big of advice though if you read this book, have a snack with you because when they describe the food you will get hungry.

Overall, a very fun romance that any Enemy to lover fans will enjoy

*A Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this. This is my honest review* ( )

A very fun read! For a book titled Simmer Down, this certainly provides some steam for its readers. Nikki and Callum run rivaling food trucks in Maui. Brought together by their competitive natures, love of family and a stray cat named Lemon - these rivals find out they have more in common than they'd like to admit. This book has me wanting to travel to Hawaii and go on a mini food truck tour, as well as enjoying some time on the nearby beaches! ( )

2.5 Stars. While this does spend a little time at the beach and the food truck is key to the plot, I was disappointed that overall I didn’t have a greater sense of the Hawaiian setting and I definitely would have liked more scenes actually working in the food truck. It seemed unnecessary to have the story take detours to London and to a restaurant when the main appeal of this book, what sets it apart from other contemporary romance options are Hawaii and the competing food trucks.

Callum and Nikki had decent chemistry and I was pleasantly surprised that even though there was kind of an overabundance of sex scenes the author still managed to convey that their relationship was deeper than just the physical.

I liked the characters, in particular the family dynamics, the way Callum is there for his brother, and even more so I liked Nikki and her mom, with her mom downplaying her health for Nikki and Nikki feeling like she needed to take over where her dad left off in caring for her mother and the food truck, it felt like an authentic parent/child bond.

What didn’t feel so authentic, where this book lost me time and again was how frequently the storytelling relied on coincidence and/or contrivances. In a romance, there’s a certain amount of happenstance I’m willing to chalk up to “fate” but this pushed the limits having Callum and Nikki cross paths practically everywhere they went, a beach, when her car breaks down, a veterinary clinic, an airplane, etc. Then there’s Callum who for story reasons somehow has time to volunteer at a veterinary clinic even though you’d think he’d be too busy helping his brother with the food truck and even though the brother is the one with chef aspirations, Callum who’s actual career is in finance somehow gleaned enough chef knowledge from working in a pub in his younger years that he can just fill in as a chef at a fine dining restaurant at the last minute all because the story wanted him to be in a kitchen with Nikki (and without sous chefs even?). Then there’s a cooking contest with a particular rule that seemingly had no reason for existing other than it required Callum and Nikki to keep their relationship a secret. Or how about this close mother and daughter having lost their husband/father sort of recently yet the mom goes to a friend’s house for Easter instead of spending it with her daughter all because the story needed Nikki to be free that night?

Throughout this book, situations and characters were forced in a certain direction even though with Callum and Nikki working in food trucks across a parking lot from one another there should have been ample opportunities for them to interact without having to manipulate it into happening. The characters, the basics of the story were solid, it just unfortunately didn’t play out as naturally as it could have. ( )

A light and fairly predictable romance with some enjoyable moments but an aggravating ending and romantic relationship dynamic. As much as I wanted to like this story in general, Callum's behavior towards Nikki's wishes and experiences with love was frustrating by the end of the book. In a key moment at the climax of the story, when she clearly (and reasonably) states why she doesn't want a public confrontation with Callum, he pushes her into one anyway (dismissing her concerns by man-splaining that she's simply afraid of letting herself love, and himself as being caught up in his own feelings) with predictable consequences (which she was understandably trying to avoid). His aggravating and insulting attitude and behavior towards Nikki in that moment, and her eventual acceptance of it DESPITE HER OWN FEELINGS made the end of the book and the resolution of their relationship journey a big disappointment. Honestly, if these were real people I'd worry for their uneven dynamic, in which she clearly expresses her reasonable concerns and he ignores them in favor of his (obviously more important) own wants and perceived needs. Argh! ( )