3.5

This was a cute, Romeo and Juliet(ish) retelling set in Brazil! The Romeo and Juliet in question are Lari and Pedro, who have been butting heads for years due to a multigenerational rivalry between their family's cafe businesses.

AND IT MADE ME SO HUNGRY. I want to stuff my face full with pao de queijo and try bolo de rolo because it sounds amazing (a guava roll cake... I'm drooling). The cultural and familial importance of food was woven into the story beautifully and wasn't just something on the *side* of the romance and family themes, but an integral part.

There were some silly and almost perfectly coincidental plotlines that felt a bit unrealistic, which might just be a given with any Romeo and Juliet type of retelling. Like, some of the drama felt a bit too dramatic, the long-lasting feud (and the cause of the feud) was a bit silly, but it was still fun.

If you like food, Romeo and Juliet but with a smidge less insta-love and a smidge more enemies-to-lovers, small businesses, and contemporary YA, then this might be worth checking out :)

The enemies to lovers trope is at its best in Salt and Sugar, a Romeo and Juliet inspired rom-com set in Brazil. Lari and Pedro's families own rival bakeries that are across the street from one another. When a large retailer comes to town and starts forcing small businesses to close, they have to learn to work together to save their families' legacies. Sparks fly between Pedro and Lari as they work to end the feud that has lasted for decades. This novel provides a great look into family dynamics and a sweet YA romance. Very enjoyable read.

A perfect blend of love, food, and family drama....Salt and Sugar is a great YA read providing a tasty avenue into Brazilian culture.

Salt and Sugar is perfect for romance seeking tweens and teens. Following an enemies to lovers arc, Pedro and Lari come from rivaling families with dueling bakeries, Salt and Sugar. The characters in the book are well-fleshed out and quite realistic. Personally, I found Lari’s over-the-top reactions and quick misjudgments to be a little grating after the first few chapters. Her behavior and negativity pulled my attention away from the plot of the story and made her seem very juvenile and petty. Once the story gave her and Pedro a common goal, the story became quite engaging. The only thing I wished for is a glossary or explanation of all the yummy treats they mentioned. For readers unfamiliar with Portuguese delicacies, the names of items were just that, names. This wouldn’t be such a big deal in most stories, but when the plot revolves around bakeries, more details should’ve been given. Nevertheless, I will be adding a copy of Salt and Sugar to our school library.

This book was a nice, cute read but it wasn't anything groundbreaking. The characters and romance were adorable, but it wasn't as good as some of the other contemporary romances I've read. But I liked the rival family aspect and the food parts, so I would still recommend this book.

Salt and sugar made into a masterpiece! This book was everything. We follow two characters who must work together to keep the bakery running and they happen to fall in love. I loved this book and would strongly
Recommend .

I really enjoyed this novel. It was a typical enemies-to-lovers novel with a slow burn type of romance, but it was so worth it. I loved how much we were able to be part of the community present in this novel and it was very feel good. However, there were so many misunderstandings because of the two families feuding (very Romeo and Juliet).

honestly, what is better than rivals’ love through baking and adorable characters?

with two families having rival bakeries placed only across the street from each other, it’s no wonder it’s chaos after lari’s grandmother passes and her family is swamped under stress.

across the street, pedro’s family would be lying if they said they were doing any better.
of course, the only way to win both of the bakeries back is for pedro and lari to team up, yikes!

lari and pedro had such a slick and lovable relationship as their genuine chemistry heightened as well as the banter. this was such an enjoyable and fun read!

thank you so much for netgallery for the digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
publish dates: november 1, 2022

A reimagining of Romeo and Juliet featuring two rival Brazilian bakeries. The story is romantic and heartfelt and gave me a sense of nostalgia while the characters were top-notch. So enjoyable, I cannot wait to recommend this one!

Really cute story, full of heart and love. Love the dilemmas of the MC , and how they fall in love and work together. Overall a really good refreshing read

There were a lot of things to love about this book, I always enjoy rivals to lovers! The subplot of Lari exploring her grief from her grandmothers death with no external support was well written. Along with both Lari and Pedro wishing to go against what their families want for them. But for some reason I struggled getting into the book and found it difficult to keep reading sometimes, so it took me a very long time to finish.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review! I know students will enjoy this book! I would like to add it to my library at school

Lari and Pedro have inherited a decades long family feud. All they’ve known is a life where it’s the Molinas vs. the Ramires. Both families own bakeries in Olinda, Brazil. What was originally supposed to be a joint business venture between their great grandmother’s, results in two separate bakeries, war between families, and an agreement that the Molinas will only bake sweet dishes and the Ramires will only bake savory dishes. Everything is as good as it can be considering their feud until a predatory supermarket chain moves into town and undercuts prices, forcing many of the small businesses to close.

Lari and Pedro can’t stand to see gentrification win, so they make a radical choice to try working together to save both of their bakeries.

This is a classic enemies to lovers family feud; Romeo and Juliet style with a Brazilian twist. And we can’t forget the bakeries which bring in the details and tradition of Brazilian cooking. I love food part of this story. I wanted to jump in the story and try everything.

I also really enjoyed how the story comes full circle. What we learn is not only has the family feud spanned generations, but the cycle was the same until Lari and Pedro finally broke it. The stronger together theme is such an important message, and I hope marginalized communities learn to work with instead of against each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the eARC!

I think that it was just so fun to read about whole community and their background. I loved how the food was incorporated and it really made me feel like i had the ability to make these dishes without an prior experience. I really loved the vibrant community and the side characters, cause they were just so full of energy and love and laughter. I do wish we got to see more banter between the two mcs, i feel like it was kind of lacking there but i still really enjoyed their interactions, especially when they were doing the will they wont they dance. Their whole "subtly" when they liked each other was so just so fun and sweet to read about.

This book took me back not only to what it felt like to be young and unsure of my future, but also to first love and figuring out my passion in life. I stayed up reading one more chapter, and then one more, and another. It made me happy to read about Lari and Pedro's journey together, and I'd definitely recommend it to someone looking for a sweet escape grounded in real-world challenges.

This book is everything a romance book should be. Has some tragedy, enemies, friends and of course love. I have a love for food which made immersing myself in these pages even easier. This is one book where you wish you could read for the first time over and over.

It did take me a bit to connect with the characters in this YA romance, but once I did, I was hooked. This is a heartfelt story, definitely based on "Romeo and Juliet", complete with feuding families, that still feels fresh and fun. One important change from the original: it does have a happy ending. With the Brazilian setting and mouth-watering descriptions of food, what's not to love?! Recommend to YAs of all ages.

Young adult books that are centered around food are a favorite. This book has its place among such titles as A Pho Love Story by Loan Le and Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kamp.

This one simply wasn't for me, and that's on me for not realizing this was an R&J retelling until after I started reading. Absolutely love the setting and food descriptions though!

meh. Sorry, but other than the unique setting and the delicious food, this book brought nothing substantially new to the Romeo and Juliet story. It was fine, but a bit boring and definitely longer than it needed to be for the story it was telling. It was fine, it's fine. But it's just fine. If you love YA and Romeo & Juliet retellings, then this might be fun one to add to your collections. For me, a lover of neither, this brought nothing to the table other than it's food. Unfortunately, I found the cooking descriptions became tedious for me. I found Lari's mother to be unbearably unpleasant. I would have liked the enemy families plot to take care of itself much earlier in the story and just had them fighting off the Big Chain Store together.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC