I received an arc of this book from NetGalley. No spoilers ahead.

Lari Ramires and Pedro Molina are the grandchildren of two Brazilian families that have rival bakeries across the street from one another-- Salt focuses on savory and Sugar specializes in sweet.

When the Lari’s grandmother dies, Salt begins to financially struggle and her mother considers selling it. Likewise, across the street, Pedro's family is also struggling with Sweet. Though they are enemies, Lari and Pedro team up to save both of their family businesses and along the way mend their families' feud. This is a Romeo and Juliet story set in two Brazilian bakeries, and I was super excited to read it.

Admittedly, I do not tend to love YA books told in first person, and I struggled to enjoy the narrative style. However it was refreshing to learn about Brazil, the setting was gorgeous and intimate. Lari and Pedro's relationship was supportive and heartwarming. This was a touching story about grief, baking, and familial repair. I think younger audiences will really love this.

Lari Ramires comes from a long line of bakers and aspires to join their ranks at Salt, her family’s bakery in Olinda, Brazil. Across the street is rival bakery Sugar, which is owned by the Molinas, who have been the Ramires’ enemies for generations. Hostilities rise when an aggressive supermarket chain starts forcing neighborhood businesses to close their doors. After an incident places Lari in an after-school cooking club headed by classmate Pedro Molina, Lari begins to formulate a plan: if the two of them team up—after all, he is cute—they could bring their families together and stand up to big business. With nods to Romeo and Juliet, Carvalho uses the enemies-to-reluctant-allies thread to pull the story along while setting up a delectable romance. Although the families fight frequently and tears flow excessively, the author’s use of her own hometown offers a sweet authenticity to the proceedings. Multigenerational family dynamics, profound grief, and the timely struggle of small businesses to stay afloat against big-business encroachment make this debut a layered, delicious read.

I received an e-galley of Salt and Sugar by Rebecca Carvalho from Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review.

Romeo and Juliet meets two Brazilian bakeries facing one another on the same street - without the tragic ending - sort of. That is probably the best way I'd summarize it. I enjoyed this one - the tension, the family secrets, the talk of baking and cooking.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Lari Ramires and Pedro Molinas come from the same town, and their families both own and run bakeries. But their families have been feuding for generations. Now they are both getting pressure from a common enemy, a supermarket chain buying up existing property and underselling existing shops.

Lari and Pedro are in the same class, and their paths cross regularly—but suddenly they cross in an unexpected way, one that involves cooking. They are sworn enemies, but their teacher puts them into a situation where they must work together for the benefit of their classmates, something neither of them wants to interfere with.

Can their working together be the solution to multiple challenges—their grades, feeding those in need, and even the crisis facing their neighborhood?

A modern Romeo and Juliet story—with cake!

This was a great YA book about rival bakeries and two families coming together to save their businesses with the two teens falling for each other in such a Romeo and Juliet way that I absolutely loved! This book was full of heart, excellent family dynamics, and delicious recipes. I loved stepping into this world and walking in the shoes of another culture. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a YA romance.

Chapter 1 starts on my birthday so I got a kick out of seeing that. This is a great family feud story. I have read a story similar to this one, but the Brazilian culture sets this one apart from the other. It was nice to learn about the different foods in this story. Lari and Pedro come from two different families that run bakeries right across from each other. While Sugar is a family bakery that is full of sweets, Salt is a family bakery that swings towards the savory. It is clear that both families have a love for Brazil, but both businesses get threatened by a chain store. While these two characters reluctantly pair up to save their family's businesses neither one is ready for the sparks to fly. This is a sweet slow burn enemies to romance that is full of wonderful characters, food, and fueds that need to be mended. Some secrets get brought to light, too which makes this story even more harder to put down.

This made me actually like Romeo and Juliet. This was the cutest thing ever, and all I want in books forever is duelling bakeries and enemies to lovers.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Rebecca Carvalho, and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for a honest review.

Set in Brazil, Lari and Pedro are the grandchildren of rival bakers. Lari's world is turned upside down though when her grandmother dies and her mom is contemplating selling their bakery to a big supermarket chain. Lari does not want this to happen, so she teams up with Pedro to save both of their bakeries. Will their rivalry get in the way? Will enemies turn into more than enemies?

This was an adorable, fun and yummy YA read! I am not normally a fan of an enemies to lovers book, but I liked this one a lot. I enjoyed Lari's determination and Pedro's soft side.
I will be recommending this book to others!

Super cute modern Romeo and Juliet story. I think my students will love this dueling bakery story with an enemy turned love interest storyline. Super cute and reads smooth!

This was a fantastic retelling of the classic, Romeo and Juliet. I love that it was set in Brazil, I was probably pronouncing most of the dishes incorrectly but it was fun to learn new words and look up what the dishes were. This book managed to make me tear up a few times as the characters faced hardship and loss. I love how each generation tried to end the feud and once their attempt failed, they jumped right into the feud with both feet and closed off any possibilities.

I will be keeping my eye out for future books written by Rebecca.

This book made me want baked goods so badly. The descriptions of the process of baking were absolutely tantalizing. Everything seemed like it would be absolutely delicious.

My favorite thing, though, were the Romeo and Juliet themes or references. I loved that there was so much more to the feud than fighting between the families. I also loved the pacing of the romance between Pedro and Larissa. They were adorable and sweet, and I loved rooting for them to figure out their feelings and finally get together.

In the story, Larissa has just lost her grandmother, a super important person in her life. Her grief felt so real and palpable. There’s a scene in which she visits her grandmother’s graveside, and I cried through the whole scene. It really struck me and made me remember those feelings about my grandma’s death, too. A good grandma is a really tough loss.

I also loved that the story is set in Brazil. The food, the culture and celebrations were all so present in the story.

All in all, it wasn’t love at first sight with this one for me– it took me a few chapters to really get into the book. Once Larissa gets talked into joining the cooking club, I was pretty much hooked, though, and that happens really early on.

I think readers who enjoyed WE CAN’T KEEP MEETING LIKE THIS by Rachel Lynn Solomon would enjoy this fun, sweet romantic book.

This book was so cute!!! I absolutely adored it. The main characters I fell in love with and the cooking group as well. The families were a bit tougher but once you peeled back their layers you loved them as well.

The main characters are mortal enemies. Or are they? I loved them getting to know each other even through their families years of feuding. My only complaint was the fighting was a bit excessive for me personally. I felt like it was every other chapter of the two mothers yelling at each other or fighting about something.

The cooking aspect really brought it to another level for me. I was getting hungrier with each chapter.

Pick up this book and get swept away in a cute novel.

Thanks to netgalley and inkyard press for this arc. I will be looking for more novels from this author

My Thoughts:

I do love an enemies to friends, Capulets and Montague trope centered on dueling food establishments. Lari Ramires and Pedro Molina come from dueling bakeries in Olinda, Brazil. Lari's family runs Salt and Pedro's family runs Sugar, and although they are competing, and although their families have had disagreements for multiple generations, they must work together if they are going to survive the large chain grocery that is buying out all of the small businesses in town.

There are interesting subplots, including a connection between Lari's grandmother, Pedro's grandfather and Lari's father. There is so much anger and grief between the two mothers that the children, Lari and Pedro, are hiding their individual dreams from their families. Lari just wants to be a baker like her abuela, but her mom has always wanted her to go to business school so when she is forced to go to a cooking club where Pedro Molina is the president, she tries to hide her lack of cooking ability while also trying to learn from the other students. Pedro Molina goes to cooking school because he wants to take over the bakery. But his grandfather fears that Pedro will change the traditional recipes and ruin the bakery.

This is a predictable rom com with nice little complex twists. Read first or read later:
A Phò Love Story by Loan Le
Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim
Café con Lychee by Emery Lee
From the Publisher:
The grandchildren of two rival Brazilian bakeries fall in love despite their families’ feud in this delicious debut rom-com perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Gloria Chao.

Trust neither thin-bottomed frying pans nor Molinas.

Lari Ramires has always known this to be true. In Olinda, Brazil, her family’s bakery, Salt, has been at war with the Molinas’ bakery across the street, Sugar, for generations. But Lari’s world turns upside down when her beloved grandmother passes away. On top of that, a big supermarket chain has moved to town, forcing many of the small businesses to close.

Determined to protect her home, Lari does the unthinkable—she works together with Pedro Molina to save both of their bakeries. Lari realizes she might not know Pedro as well as she thought—and she maybe even likes what she learns—but the question remains: Can a Ramires and a Molina truly trust one another?

Publication Information:
Author: Rebecca Carvalho
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Publication date: November 1, 2022

A great YA forbidden romance between two rival Brazilian bakeries and the teens heirs who slowly fall for one another and end up calling a truce in order to try to win a baking competition that will ultimately help save both their family businesses. This was a great Romeo and Juliet retelling full of heart and amazing Brazilian recipes! Great on audio and highly recommended for fans of Jenny Han or Jennifer Yen. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital copies in exchange for my honest review!!

This is a young adult romance that pairs food with an enemies to lovers trope creating an imaginative retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Salt and Sugar are neighboring bakeries that have been in a multigenerational rivalry. So what happens when the youngest members of each family decide to come together in order to save their family owned businesses? It's going to take a lot of trust and support for these teens to break this curse that lingers over them.

There were so many extra details that I enjoyed about this story. The setting takes place in Brazil. I loved looking up the places (Olinda) and traditions (St. John's night) that were mentioned throughout the story. I also looked up several of the dishes that the cooking club or bakeries prepared. This is definitely a book for foodies to enjoy. The descriptions will leave you with quite a few cravings. I wish it had included a few recipes.

This coming of age story touched on quite a few topics. This included grief after losing loved ones, coming to terms with realizing what you want to pursue as a career verses the expectation placed upon you by others, and the repercussions large chains have on small businesses. The rivalry between the two families showed how resentment and hate can bring about so much negativity. It also showed that these actions can easily be passed down through generations. It takes a brave soul to step up and go against those deep beliefs. I loved that these teens volunteered throughout their community and the impact that one small act of kindness helped spark a resolution at the end.

Overall, this was a really cute story. It's shelved as young adult, but I would even recommend it for middle grade. The romance is super light and the text was easy to read.

I received an ARC from @netgalley and @inkyardpress - all opinions are my own.

There is something so charming about romance and food, don't you think? Perhaps I was so drawn to Rebecca Carvalho's Salt and Sugar. This YA novel has a bit of a twist in that it is both romance and a retelling of Romeo and Juliet – bakery style.

As long as Lari Ramires can remember, her family has been feuding with the Molinas. In truth, they've probably been feuding with them since well before she was even born. It doesn't help that the two families run different bakeries – directly across the street from one another. Talk about heavy competition.

The feud between the Ramires and the Molinas could have lasted forever if not for outside forces. Yet the new threat the bakeries face is very familiar to small business owners – a mega-corp moving in and taking over the town. Will it be enough to bring these two families together?

I've always been a bit of a sucker for retellings (in case you haven't noticed). In particular, I'm fond of Romeo and Juliet retellings, as there is something about this story that works well in a more modern setting. And yes, before you worry – it works beautifully in Salt and Sugar.

It's a tale as old as time – two feuding families, two family businesses, and a bigger threat that will force everyone to come together (or tear everything down). Salt and Sugar had all the makings of a fantastic story, and Rebecca Carvalho ran with it.

There's a lot to enjoy about Salt and Sugar. Lari and Pedro's story is fun and fascinating, with that classic trope so many readers love (enemies to lovers). Also, serious bonus points for naming the two bakeries Salt and Sugar. Love it.

What surprised me was the way this novel tackled grief. It was so touching and beautifully done, making the story feel real and very (painfully) human. It's that added level that this romance needed.

An enemies to lovers story about teenagers in Brazil working to save their families' bakeries. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it was teenagers, but overall a decent romcom!

✓ enemies to lovers
✓ Romeo and Juliet retelling but with FOOD!!! (p.s. don't worry, no one dies 😂)
✓ coming of age story, family relationship, tradition
✓ Brazilian culture

This is a book that will surely leave you hungry and full at the same time. Hungry for food because of the mouth watering recipes and full because of the love and sweetness this book offers!!

I really like the pacing and build up of the story however there are times i find the feud too chaotic and messy which i didn't enjoy. But still a really good read.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkyard press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Salt and Sugar by Rebecca Carvalho was a emotional but sweet and cute enemies to lovers tale that with a Romeo and Juliet feel when the children of two rival Brazilian Bakeries fall in love. I loved the banter and writing style and the world building was chef's kiss. I additionally loved that the story wasn't set in the United States. I feel like books set outside of the United States(and not in a fantasy world) are harder to find. This book was truly adorable and took me on a journey of emotions. Special thanks to Net Galley and Bookish First for providing me both an digital arc and a print arc of the book. All opinions, however are my own.

This was the sweetest read! It starts slow but I appreciated the author building the setting and characters. The descriptions of the food were mouth watering so be prepared to be hungry. The author does a beautiful job with her descriptions of the town and provides beautiful insight into Brazilian culture. I enjoyed watching the main characters navigate their relationships with friends, family and their own selves.

Congrats to the author for writing such a lovely book!