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.

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!