While I’m sure others exist, this is the first Brazilian contemporary romance I’ve read and it moved me to tears. The enemies to lovers trope played out beautifully amongst the richly accurate cultural nuances of the story and I found myself smiling along as I read things or cities that my family has mentioned or shared with me. A true 10/10!

I really enjoyed this book. It's a cozy romance with relatively low stakes and relatable conflict. The cover makes this book seem like it will have more adult romance tension. It does not. This is a YA romance that anyone can enjoy! It has themes of figuring out your dream, failing as you learn new things, friendship, familial obligations, and the death of a grandparent and the loss of a matriarchal figure.

A cute, fun, quick read about standing up and following your dreams, helping your community, and forgiveness. It is an enemies to lovers/ family feud and forbidden lovers trope. This was a sweat story and very enjoyable. I recommend it to those who enjoy YA romance novels.

Thank you Net Galley and Inkyard Press for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

I will post a copy of this review on GoodReads now, and to Amazon and B&N after publication.

Sugar and Salt is a heart-warming tale of a multi-generational feud wrapped with hope, love, loss, and mouth-watering baked treats.

This is the first time I’m reading a book set in Brazil, and I’m glad that this tender and uplifting book is the first one.

In this book, we meet Larissa Ramires and Pedro Molina, who had to break through a long-age family feud to save their competing bakeries against a predatory supermarket chain. I really loved the communal support that helped raise not only the main characters, but the community at large. This book is so tender with the revelation of secrets, the realization of mistakes, and the forging of bonds.

I could tell that the author put a lot of work into her debut novel. The book is inspired by her experiences growing up in Brazil; she wrote this when she was mourning; and she grew up in Olinda and Recife in Northeastern Brazil, where she grew up.

Thanks to NetGalley, InkYard Press, and the author Rebecca Carvalho, for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Give me all the food romances there can possibly be. Let me live in this world and space of adorableness. And the enemies to lovers trope fits perfectly within the folds of the pages. Set in Brazil, these families have been warring for generations. There's Salt, the savory side of a family bakery. And there's Sugar, the sweet side of a family bakery. Both are being threatened by big box chains but they can't lay down their frustrations from the past. Though Larissa and Pedro might be the ones to do so, who are we kidding? Of course they will because that's what a teen romance set around food would be about. What you see is what you get and I want all of it!

It's scrumptious. Their hatred and then romance is delightful. The pain that they have to work through is reality. After the matriarch of Salt dies, a lot comes to the surface from the past including an illicit love affair that went nowhere, but also possible closure, but a glimmer of hope because if they work together, sweet and savory always go good together. Love this start to finish, title, cover, everything!

Sweet and a bit salty. When two bakeries have been in a feud for decades it seems if nothing would ever bring them together. The Ramieres and the Molinas have been fighting each other for years. One bakery can only make sweet the other can only make salt. That was the deal in place... But when a supermarket chain threatens their livelihoods, Lari and Pedro team up to try and defend their homes.

This was a fun twist on Romeo and Juliet.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57814701-salt-and-sugar

I've read a lot of these lately, and I focus on what's promised:
Is the enemy part developed? Is the slow realization that your enemy is not who you think they are given time and space and credibility?
Is there a ton of talk about how much they love food and baking? YES.

What keeps me reading this type of book are the cultures I'm being introduced to through food and the character's connections to their families and their communities. You know what you're signing up for with this kind of plot, so instead I look for flavor (pun intended). I like how the author makes sure to develop this town in Brazil, the ins and outs of its daily life, the college entrance exams the students prepare for, the holidays and traditions. It delivers on that front. And now I'm hungry for Brazilian pastry.

Certainly a cute book, overall storyline is your run of the mill YA novel type of plot though so quite predictable. Nonetheless, I enjoyed seeing the culture and themes of family interwoven throughout the book alongside the romantic plot. Very cute and fun read!

I was entranced by the cover of this book and more excited to read it after reading the description. A fun take on Romeo and Juliet, we are immediately plunged into the feud between the rival bakeries and our two main characters Lari and Pedro. I enjoy so much that this book provides such a rich setting. We obviously have our bakeries and the family dynamics within this feud, but we get to see so much of Olinda and the neighborhood I felt like I was back in Brazil. If you are a reader unused to telenovelas, this might feel a lean into the dramatic, but I felt excited to turn every page and see what was going to be thrown next at Lari and Pedro as they started to see each other in a different light, all while struggling to fight off the evils of corporations. I did not expect to cry in this book and I did.

This makes me want to visit Olinda and try everything. Thank you for a fun ride!

4.5⭐️

Thank you netgalley for this ARC!
release date: november 1st 2022

Genuinely this book felt like a breath of fresh air. A YA romeo and juliette retelling set in the culinary world?? with two rival bakeries ?? I’m in love.

Not only was this story intriguing, as adorable, but I absolutely loved all the characters!! pedro?? loved him! he was so easy to relate to you & my heart melted with every page! lari, i absolutely loved her as a main protagonist!! & i have to say i have a soft spot for victor 😭❤️‍🩹

this was a plot i didn’t know i needed!! i felt like i was watching these two prepare for master chef!! the chemistry between these two had me kicking my feet, giggling! their banter, the build up?? SO GOOD.

definitely keep an eye out for this!!

It was a cute romance story that involved baking and family which is a concept that I loved. The story had good characters and great moments that had me crying at times. Unfortionatelly, I was not in love with the main character but I loved the story and how easy to read it was for me. Overall, I think that it is worth a read.

This Romeo and Juliet type enemies to lovers was such a good book! I loved the strong family bonds throughout, the way the story unraveled in the end, and the slow burn romance. The writing was so good, well explained, and flowed really well. The use of Brazilian words, foods, holidays was a beautiful touch. Those types of things can sometimes feel really clunky, but the execution here was well done. It didn’t feel forced or overdone, but natural. I cried in the last few chapters, when Pedro and his grandfather finally communicated, and when Lari finally comes clean with her mom. It was also a great idea that they didn’t win the contest. It makes it less sensational, and gives a better ending to it.

This one was super cute! I picked it up because baking romance, and ended up falling in love with its family dynamics. I wasn't always a fan of our main characters (they made some dumb decisions) but I loved their families! The emotional moments in this had tears in my eyes, they hit that hard. I do have to say that I had a slightly different version of the ending in my mind, but the real ending was just as fabulous. I'd definitely recommend it!

I tried to get through this book but it was utterly dull. The writing wasn’t polished and the story didn’t draw me in. The world building also lacked; I couldn’t tell you anything about the setting other than it’s a bakery in a small town. The characters were flat; not a lot of personality.

Salt and Sugar is the YA romance that is missing in my library. We have similar stories in that we have the enemies to lovers trope and multigenerational feuds. I even have a popular book that features warring pho restaurants across the street from one another much like the bakery called Salt is across the street from the bakery called Sugar. We have stories in which the teens' dreams do not align with those of their parents. But what will set Salt and Sugar apart in n my library is its setting: Brazil.

This romance will appeal to my students who frequent the love and romance section in our library. The two main leads Lari and Pedro hate one another because of the multigenerational feuds in their families and bakeries. But when a huge big-box grocery store threatens to destroy the mom and pop shops in the neighborhood, this exacerbates the family feud instead of having the two families unite against their corporate oppressor. However, Lari and Pedro can maybe unite?

Amazing depictions of food and teen emotions made this book come alive for me, and I think teens will agree.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

I would love to interview the author for pop-culturalist.com. Salt & Sugar is a hilarious rom com where bakers fall in love. I loved the rival businesses which reminded me a little bit of a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Best for fans of Hana Khan Carries On!!

This is a very charming story about two families that have had a multigenerational feud and the grandkids who are finally being brave enough to end it. While this is a highly predictable enemies to lovers plot, it honestly didn’t matter at all to me. All along I was invested in the path between. Beginning by the beautiful cover and supplemented by the author’s beautiful descriptions of the dishes, cultural celebrations and the community that was so important to both families in the book, the setting really came alive in my mind. An important theme in this story aside from the obvious ones of love and family, is the destruction big supermarkets bring to communities that thrive on small family owned businesses.

I saw a few reviews that rank this book a bit low and my honest opinion is that they’re failing to keep in mind that this is a YA novel, perfect for its intended audience.

'Salt and Sugar' by Rebecca Carvalho felt like home. As a born and bred Brazilian, I am often dubious of reading books about my home country written in English - and honestly, I don't remember when the last time was. My fear with reading books published in English about life in Brazil (or Latin America in general) is that often I feel like they are meant more for a foreign appetite rather than representing or capturing life, culture, and traditions in a genuine and nuanced way. But 'Salt and Sugar' managed to do just that. I am excited that young readers will learn about my country, especially our love for food, community, and family from this novel. I loved how I got so immersed that I sometimes forgot the book was not written in Portuguese. The story is cute and lighthearted, and a job well done for Carvalho's debut. Now, I need to go find some "quitutes brasileiros" to appease my cravings for all the delicious dishes described in the book!

A great YA enemies-to-lovers romance. It has a great premise for the enemies part. A family feud stretching back generations. I like how the author weaves in the generation aspects. It's hard to break free from that stuff! The main characters try and fail and try again to put an end to the feuding. The romance was sweet and the characters are good. I also loved all the food and cultural aspects and how the author weaved those into the plot. I've not read a book that takes place in Brazil, so that was cool.

Every character in the book had struggles and grew mainly because there were people that were brave enough to speak for unity. The main character in Salt and Sugar struggled but kept going forward. The raw emotions from grief came through and brought tears. The book is very well written. There are many lessons in this book. I encourage everyone to read it.