Salt and Sugar has an interesting concept and a cover that draws you in. The two main characters are likable overall, and the setting in Brazil is engaging, too. I enjoyed reading about a different culture, including its food and festivals, as well as traditions and details of daily life. The scene where Lari's mother is trying to buy her a computer for college and can't get her credit card to go through was emotionally impactful for me as an adult and a parent. What kept me from giving this book more stars, then? I simply got tired of the families in this book and their constant drama. I know that is a central part of the plot, but I felt like it was overdone. Pedro's mother seems to do nothing but yell or cry, his grandfather is either issuing ultimatums or crying, and Lari's mother is either shutting her out, screaming at Pedro's family, or crying. It just felt like there wasn't a lot of dimension to these characters. I finished the book, but by the end, I was kind of tired of the adults acting like they were less mature than the teens in this story. Teen readers might be drawn in by the Romeo and Juliet comparisons. At fifteen I probably would have enjoyed this story more, but as an adult, I would have liked characters with a little more emotional development.

Thank you to NetGalley and InkYard Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.75 stars.

Salt and Sugar, a debut novel, is a Romeo and Juliet retelling that centres around the culinary world. Our main character, Lari Ramirez has a family bakery, “Salt”, that has been rivals with the Molina family who run the bakery, “Sugar”, across the street for generations. She’s held a grudge against the Molina boy, Pedro, ever since she was a little girl. Due to chance, or fate, a large chain supermarket threatening both the family bakeries, and her schools cooking club, Lari begins to see that maybe Pedro isn’t so bad after all.

I thought that this book was an okay read. In my opinion, it felt quite surface level and I didn’t feel connected to the characters at all. As I kept reading, I slowly lost interest in the plot itself as well, which is unfortunate because I love a good Romeo and Juliet retelling. There were times where Lari’s internal monologue annoyed me a little bit and the entire book felt a little too immature for my taste, in a way. I understand that it is a YA read and I normally do like this genre however, something just didn’t click with me with this book. I don’t really know what happened the last 20% of the book because I ended up skim reading at that point.

That being said, I do think that this was a good debut. It was well written, but it just wasn’t for me! If you’re really into YA romances and looking for a “low maintenance read” you might enjoy this more than I did.

More Info:
- POV? Single (Lari’s), First person
- Spice? No
- Cheating? No
- OW/OM drama? No
- HEA? Yes

Key Tropes/Tags:
- enemies to lovers
- Forbidden romance
- Romeo & Juliet retelling
- YA romance
- POC mcs

Possible Triggers:
- mention of death

I have to say when I saw the characters were from the northern part of Brazil (I had the honor of visiting Belem for two weeks in 2009) and there were Portuguese words, I was hooked! Now I want to go back and see Recife and Olinda and visit the bakeries this story is based on. Not only was this novel beautiful written, I was salivating when I read about the pastries and Brazilian cuisine.

Even though the Ramires and Molina family are feuding, I respect Lari and Pedro because they are cognizant of the unfairness of the feud when they begin to have feelings for each other. In the town, it appears all small, family owned businesses are struggling to stay afloat due to the Deals Deals supermarket that opens up and threatens to expand by trying to open a cafe and buying either the Salt or Sugar bakery.

Both Lari and Pedro have dreams different from what their families expect from them and the struggle they go through to get through to their parents and connect with them is quite emotional. When they finally have that breakthrough moment between both families, it is the sweetest relief to both their fears; the build up to these moments are truly worth the wait.

I love me some food and young forbidden romance and this was just the sweetest “Romario and Julieta” cake! Thank you to Rebecca Carvalho for providing so much insight into the culture and the authenticity of the people. I found the town to be so charming and I felt right at home with the families.

Thank you to the beautiful Rebecca Carvalho, Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

***As requested from publisher: I will be posting my review on Instagram and Amazon on 10.25.22 (a week before publication date) and will come back here to add the link. I will be posting this on Goodreads immediately. Thank you!

4 STARS

First things first, I was given a copy of this book as an ARC, in exchange for an honest review. A big thank-you to NetGalley, Inkyard Press, and Rebecca Carvalho for allowing me to be an early reader!

This is a young adult book, centred around two Brazilian families, that explore their roots and love for baking. It has been a while since I’ve read a young adult book, and this book reminded me of why I enjoy them so much!

After Lari’s grandmother passes away, it is her mother’s job to run their family bakery, Salt. Lari has always wanted to help out in the kitchen and be a part of their family business, but her mother has never allowed her to be involved, saying that school should be her only concern.

Across the street lives Pedro. He also has a family owned bakery, Sugar, that he runs with his mother and grandfather. The only difference is that Pedro is actually allowed to participate and be involved in his family business. While Lari has always resented him for being able to bake, Pedro resents Lari for being the golden child who is good at school.

There is a big grocery store that is making many businesses go out of business. Now, the company is pitting Salt and Sugar against each other and trying to get one of them to sell out, to replace it with a cafe. Budgets are already tight, so the two businesses don’t know how long they’ll be able to continue without selling.

Lari and Pedro’s families have a feud that has been going on since generations back. Their mothers hate each other, and there are so many unbelievable secrets between their families. Lari and Pedro make it their job to uncover their family secrets, save their families businesses, and become the generation where the feud ends.

I love books that centre around families. It’s so interesting to see family roots, traditions, and drama. I also loved how this book is set in Brazil — I’ve never read a book like this and it had such a great representation!

I love books that have a baking/cooking theme. It’s so fascinating to see the traditional recipes and learn about foods from different cultures. Also, seeing Lari and Pedro develop their connection through cooking was so cute. I loved the characters and their development throughout the book was well done.

If you are looking for a young adult book about family feuds and bakeries, with Brazilian representation, then this book is for you! Be sure to make note of the release date of this book so that you can get your hands on it: November 1st, 2022!

Have y'all ever seen that movie Little Italy, starring Emma Roberts Hayden Christensen? Two feuding families determined to see who makes the best pizza in Little Italy, NYC - and their shops are right next door to each other? This is the YA, Brazilian version of that - seemingly a reinterpretation of Romeo and Juliet.

First, this book gets all the stars just for the description of the food! I live in Miami, so thankfully I knew a lot of the items they were mentioning - but food is one of my favorite ways to experience another culture and all the descriptions had me salivating!

I did enjoy the story here - rather aggressive and dramatic side characters, two main teenagers with hopes and dreams outside of their families' expectations, and growing love story. The one thing I disliked was the climax during the storm - it just seemed rushed and very random. Maybe I am just not familiar with the frequency of flooding in that neighborhood - but it seemed to really come out of the blue for me.

However, at the end of the day, I think this was a fun YA romance that left me hungry!

Salt and Sugar is a fun romance! YA romance is not usually my preference, but I really enjoyed this book. The ongoing feud between families was reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet and the Hatfields and McCoys. The teenagers are caught in the middle as they work together to try to save both of their family's businesses from the big supermarket that built on the same street. They start out hating each other on principle, but the longer they work together in cooking club to provide food for organizations in their community, the more they realize they like each other. It is a sweet little romance that also addresses the loss of loved ones and healing broken friendships.

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an advanced copy of Salt and Sugar.

I haven't read a Romeo and Juliet retelling in a very long time (if ever, now that I'm thinking about it). When I saw Salt and Sugar, a story about two young people from rival bakeries in Brazil falling in love, I knew that I needed to read it.
I would classify Salt and Sugar as a childhood-enemies-to-lovers rom-com and it delivered on every bit of that promised premise. Lari and Pedro were round and complex characters who were challenged with overcoming a bias that stretched back three generations and dictated most of their lives. Learning about the food and culture in this part of Brazil was immensely fascinating and a rare opportunity.
I recommend checking out Salt and Sugar for a taste of the love and life that blossoms in a kitchen. It's a quick read, but so adorable. I wish I could have given it five stars, but a couple of small things are preventing me. I don't think they're of much consequence to other readers though, so check out Salt and Sugar when it's published!

Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for this ARC!

This was a cute romance between 2 kids but I believe the familial theme was much stronger, with the topics of familial expectations and pressures that were shown.

After the death of her grandmother, who was very supportive, Lari has trouble connecting with her mom and her family's bakery. When she joins her arch-nemesis Pedro's cooking club to make up for her ruining other students' grades, she learns there's more to him and his family than she thought before.

I tend to like more laid-back and funny characters, which is not how I would describe Pedro, the male lead. He was a serious student who was worried about his club, his college applications, and his grandfather's opinions and it was really cute how he cared so much for others. It was also fun reading him get jealous of the other guy Lari goes on a date with.

I also liked reading about the development of Lari and her mother's relationship near the end of the book as Lari begins to show her mom what she does. I understood Lari's mother's need to do all the work so her daughter could have a better, stable life, but also seeing how much Lari was a part of the bakery and cooking, made her reevaluate the assumptions she had.

Overall, this was a sweet story between 2 rival families and how they overcame their issues.

I received an ARC of this book but the opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

𝟑.𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

**𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘬𝘠𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.**

𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 is set in the Northeast and follows 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 (h) in the aftermath of her grandmother’s passing as she deals with the loss of her presence in the family bakery ‘Salt.’ While it seems like Salt is in a strange limbo without her grandmother, she notices that Sugar, Seu Romario Molina’s bakery and her grandmother’s “enemy” is still open for business. After an accident with a cake mishap, Larissa runs into 𝗣𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮 (H), Seu Romario’s grandson, seventeen-year-old baker prodigy, Lari’s childhood bully and rival at school. With the fixed multigenerational feud between the Ramires and Molina families, the two are in constant conflict and never agree on anything. The two never believed they would be civil around each other for a while, especially standing long enough to work together. However, when Salt & Sugar is in jeopardy of being sold to Deals Deals (a supermarket chain that has settled in neighborhoods around South America that lower their prices against the products family establishments already offer), they realize that the feud is not the primary issue at hand. Throughout the story, the heroine struggles with the fear of losing the bakery because it connects her to her grandmother. With the help of Pedro, the two bond over their love of food and their respective family bakeries, and they discover something new about their dynamic along the way. The plot follows concepts of grief, love, family secrets, forgiveness, etc., and also demonstrates how setting aside personal differences to reach a common objective can lead to positive outcomes.

“𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧-𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐬”

This is a motto that the Ramires family lives by and will constantly be said throughout the book. It serves as a turning point for the story and forces Lari to reevaluate whether or not “Molinas” are as bad as she thought. As the reader, there are moments where we see Lari struggle to come to terms with her feelings for Pedro and learn to trust someone she was engraved to dislike. Regardless of their differences, the two identify what is most important (family bakeries) and halt their arguments.

If you are a food fanatic, this is definitely a book for you. Pedro Molina (H) is the President of the Cooking Club so there are a lot of kitchen scenes with great side characters (Paulo Cesar - PC, Cintia, Victor). Each person in this book has something to add and it is never a dull moment. The Cooking Club donates to NGOs since families rely on the meals and throughout the story there are encounters with some of the kids and their backstories. The presence of the nonprofit community centers that Dona Selma runs are a focal point to the book and how food often bridges the gap between two groups.

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚:

➤ 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴-𝘵𝘰-𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
➤ 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴
➤ 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰 & 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴
➤ 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 (𝘗𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘰, 𝘗𝘊, 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢 & 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘪)

𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋,

This is a great coming of age, young-adult book that has fluffy moments & will definitely make you cry, laugh and smile at the dialogue throughout the story. The two characters demonstrate a lot of growth in the span of the book and you won’t want to miss out on this!

Very cute book! It definitely had some Romeo and Juliet inspiration in it with the whole feuding neighbors and enemies-lovers aspect. I don't and rarely read Romantic Comedies but this was definitely one that kept my attention with the whole Bakery/Culinary spin to it. If you love cooking/baking shows, and Rom Com movies, this book is for you. Such a satisfying read with a HEA. Thank you NeGalley for the book.

I really wanted to like this, but I guess I just wasn't in the mood for something formulaic. I'm really tired of reading about how families mistreat teens who don't follow the family business or have a talent everyone else does. I want to see more families that celebrate all levels of ability. That being said, I think teens who enjoyed Encanto will like this.

Salt & Sugar, a Romeo & Juliette-inspired story will have foodies everywhere looking for their closest Brazilian Bakery. 👀🤤 Along with deliciously described food, Rebecca Carvalho's debut novel will leave you with all the feels. 🥰I laughed, I cried *✌️this many times* & I nearly died *of hunger from craving all the food🤤*

Lari Ramires & Pedro Molina are the grandchildren of two rival Brazilian bakeries, Salt & Sugar. They have known nothing but this rivalry, but things change when they are forced to work together for the sake of all small businesses in their town. Deal Deals *aka the big bad franchise 🙅🏼‍♀️* has come in & started to put all small businesses under. Lari & Pedro can't just sit by and watch their beloved town disappear. The team up, deciding it's better to work with the enemy you know, right 🤷🏼‍♀️ But what happens when feelings are caught & a family feud threatens to pull you apart?


Salt & Sugar was a pleasant surprise for me. Rebecca did a great job of holding your attention through the entire story. It was cute, quirky, and warm. I loved the pictures painted of the culture and town, as well as delicious descriptions of food!!! Overall I truly enjoyed this read.

💫Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for sending me an eArc in exchange for an honest review!


🥖👨‍🍳Read if you like:🧑‍🍳 🥖
Enemies to lovers
Forced Proximity
Romeo & Juliette - Family Feud
Tight-knit community
Small Business rep
Foodie
Overcoming loss / grief

Salt and Sugar by Rebecca Carvalho

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“We say we’re sorry a thousand times, not just for things in our past, but also for things to come. We stash up on our apologies, because we’re children of a multigenerational feud. We brace for the day when our families will clash again. When they’ll make us hate each other. And even worse, when we’ll feel compelled ourselves.”

Release date: November 1st, 2022

Trope/main aspects: Enemies to lovers, family feud, foodie, loss/grief

Location: Northeastern Brazil. The author chose this location because it is a “richly diverse region in Brazil that endured exploitation in its colonial past, and still faces social inequalities.”

Overview:
The grandchildren of two rival Brazilian bakeries fall in love despite their families’ feud.

Thoughts:
Salt & Sugar is Rebecca Carvalho’s debut novel. One thing I really liked about this book is the culture. Books give us the ability to travel, but they also allow us to step into someone else’ shoes. One thing the author stressed was that she was glad to be able to provide characters that were from Northeastern Brazil that were real and not characters that are “misrepresented and depicted as caricatures”. The author wrote about a setting she was familiar with to allow the reader to see the closeness of the community, the aspects of family life, and the pressures of small businesses worrying they would be pushed out by bigger competition with lower prices (which is a very real issue).

This is a love story, but before all of that, it is a story of hate. This is a story of how multigenerational feuds can effect the lives of individuals who never chose to have a feud in the first place. It shows how hate can trickle down through generations and shape the thoughts/actions of individuals.

I really enjoyed this novel. I thought it was well written and had several witty pop culture references thrown in. I would definitely recommend this to anyone 12+.

Thank you to Rebecca for this beautiful read and to InkYard publishing and NetGalley for allowing it to be seen and loved.

Thank you NetGalley and inkyard Press for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions and statements made in this review are purely my own and not affiliated with any brand.

This book was so fun to read! I really enjoyed the whole Romeo and Juliet retelling being two bakeries. I found all of the characters to be extremely likable. The story itself was well written and easy to read. Rebecca Carvalho did an amazing job of making this story feel fresh and fun! I would recommend this book to a friend.

That was emotional and so adorable! I really love that Inkyard has been releasing stories that aren't set in the U.S., but in other non-western countries instead. I loved learning about Brazilian culture, lifestyle, traditions, and food through this book. The food aspect was especially captivating--all the foods, sweets, pastries, and more that Lari, Pedro, Cintia, PC, and Victor made in their cooking club's kitchen and in Lari & Pedro's respective family bakeries sounded so delicious.

I really enjoyed this book! It was very cute and I loved the Romeo and Juliet references with the names. The Molinas and the Ramires. It took me maybe a bit too long to see that connection, but I was super fun and cute. I wish that the romance had developed a bit sooner between a main characters though!

This book was so cute 🥹

This book is about two kids whose families own rival bakeries, and them working together to fight for their homes and save their businesses. It’s about coming together and setting aside differences to fight for a bigger cause. Throughout their journey, they discover friendship, love for their families, passion for baking, and their true selves. Of course, because this is a book about bakeries, there’s so. much. food! So be prepared to be hungry lol

Honestly, I was unsure about this the first third or half of the book. It was just so slow and I found the main character, Lari, quite annoying. But it got SO much better! Loved seeing Lari grow. Loved seeing her and Pedro working together. Loved seeing her discover who she was and find out her own dreams. Loved the bonds she’s created. And I really also liked Pedro. The characters were developed so well (although it did take quite a while for Lari to get there lol)

After the slow start, I was so unprepared how quickly it picked up near the last third or quarter of the book. I wish it was a little bit more evenly paced. The ending was nice but it just felt so rushed.

Overall, it was a great read and extremely entertaining!

Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lari and Pedro are the granddaughter and grandson in a pair of warring families who run rival bakeries across the street from each other in Northeastern Brazil. The families have been nursing a feud for three generations already, and Lari and Pedro continue the tradition. However, changes in circumstance for each of them mean that they have to start working together at school. What follows is a modern day Romeo and Juliet story set in a bakery.

Oh, what a lovely book. Lari and Pedro are such wonderful characters, and you can't help but root for them to find a way around the feud so they can become friends, and help their families learn to trust each other after all these years. There were twists and new hurdles to clear all over, and it made the book more interesting with every turn of the page. I loved learning more about Brazilian culture, An added bonus was reading about the amazing food that is common in the region. I can't wait to recommend this to fans of YA fiction.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

I thought that this was a wonderfully written book. It was a beautiful representative contemporary romance set in Brazil, which makes this story unique for its genre. I loved learning about the culture as we learned about the different foods, celebrations, and neighborhood comradery through Lari. It made the book engaging and heart-warming.

Overall, I really enjoyed the writing style and pacing. I thought the writing was casual enough for a teen perspective but was still sophisticated enough to keep a range of audiences engaged. I loved having the dates to help keep track of the timeline because I feel like in other books, I often get lost with how much time has passed. I do feel like the ending was rushed though. The storyline wrapped up very quickly and the epilogue felt more like the author trying to tie up any loose ends more than giving the audience closure.

But, for most of the book I really enjoyed the development Pedro and Lari went through and their development with their families. It took a while to put any dinks in the animosity that was rooted in their family rivalry, and it felt organic as it happened. There were so many layers to the family rivalry that were revealed throughout the book it created a lot of depth for the characters to wade through to reach their ending.

This book was well-written and is such a great addition to young adult contemporary romance genre!

Food. Romance. Comfort. Culture. Warmth. Family rivalry.
Very cute story and a sweet read. I would recommend for Fall of course. Add to your lineup. It gives Romeo & Juliet which is one of my fave stories and I really never tire from variations of it.