This was an adorable Romeo and Juliet story minus the tragedy. Rival bakeries and feuding families must put their differences aside to save the familial businesses from a chain store. Eventually, sparks begin to fly and love begins to bloom. The story was cute, but felt very predictable and there didn't feel like enough was on the table or at risk.

Thank you so much Inkyard press for this delightful arc! I loved this book! It was such a sweet and fun read. And I loved the rivals to lovers and how how the slow burn was having me on the edge of my seat begging them to kiss already. And when they finally did, it was amazing. I love the chemistry between Pedro and Larissa and how they compliment each other so well and how they each had thier own struggles and flaws and how Larissa's flaw actually affected her and Rebecca did a great job of showing and not telling about her clumisness. And I loved how this author showed Grief and how it can affect people and create feud between them. Even the side characters were all so good and fun! I want more, maybe an extra novella or something please? I need more about the Molina's and ramirez's love story and cooking skills! This book has made me hungry so many times. I only wish the fight between Pedro and Larissa had not ended so quickly but I loved the ending of the book, except the "is it the end... or is it?" WHATS THAT MEAN I want more Rebecca, GIMMIE MORE. But I definetly reccomend this book! Espically to people who want to feel extra hungry!

This book is adorable! I love the idea of not letting your families’ prejudices cloud your own life. This is definitely going to be the selection for my February subscription book box.

This was a sweet Romeo and Juliet story (with a happy ending!) set in Brazil. Lari and Pedro's families own rival bakeries, and their families have been feuding for years. When they decide to put their differences aside and team up to save their families' bakeries from the predatory big chain store that has been forcing all the small local businesses to close, sparks begin to fly both in and outside the kitchen!

Salt and Sugar is a YA romance novel with hints of a Romeo and Juliet twist. Pedro and Lari have lived across the street from each other their whole lives, their families’ bakeries competing against each other, the feud going back to their great-grandmothers. The will-they-won’t-they and secret truce give great tension to the story, and the description of the Brazilian foods they bake made my mouth water. The depth of the families’ despair, pride, and love for their craft is woven throughout the story as we read about Lari and Pedro’s budding relationship. This is a debut you don’t want to miss!

Super delicious story weaving young romance and family all into one. I wish this book at smell-o-reading because so many of the recipes sounded delicious!

It look me a little bit to get into the story. With our MC, I found myself having trouble connecting with her. Lari was very childish a lot of times. I know she was going through a rough moment in life, but for someone about to head off to college or take over a company… there were a lot of moments where I felt like she was 12 versus a teenager.

However, I did love how Pedro and Lari realized the good in each other even though so much bad was happening around them. Pedro was an amazing pick-me-up for Lari and I adored their moments together. The side characters were wonderfully written as well… I loved Victor, PC, & Cinitia. Everyone needs a good group of friends like that.

With the world, all the Brazilian food references were wonderful. It made me want to find somewhere to try them all asap! Not so sure traveling there is on my agenda currently, but I’ll be on the lookout for sure!

Overall, if you’re looking for a quick, cute read with romance and yummy food… this is it!

This was cute and enjoyable! I love a good rivals to lovers romance and this delivered exactly as promised. I also loved the baking aspect - I was hungry the whole time reading it. Definitely recommending this to anyone looking for a good romance!

This book is so very sweet. I teared up at least twice. It is a wonderful Romeo&Juliette type story involving lots of food - wasn't isn't there to love? But there are also delightful secondary characters, touching family moments, and a delightful slow burn that is fraught with misunderstandings.

More than just a story of a boy and a girl falling in love amidst their families feuding, it is also about generational trauma and mothers and daughters, and wanting to make those who love you happy and proud but without sacrificing who you are inside.

I adored this story!

A bakery. Decades long family rivalry. A big supermarket new to the neighborhood. Two young people that just might change their family's past history and prove bygones can be bygones while showing small businesses can make it.

This is a book that needs to be in every high school library because young adults will relate to the pressure the main character Larissa fells from her mom about college and her career path. I adored the relationship Lari had with her grandmother and I found myself thinking about my own as I read. Add this sweet one to your TBR list!

Summary: Two rival bakeries' grandchildren find themselves in a family forbidden love. Their families feud constantly due to the family businesses. They soon find themselves in a all out war of bakeries. And to add to this frustration a new big supermarket has entered town and in turn out alot of small businesses in jeopardy. Lari and Pedro, the lovers, work together against their families wishes to try to save their bakeries.

Review: This cozy little book was an adorable and heartwarming read although in alot of places it was lacking. The characters were bland but quirky in their own way. The story was not as original as I would of liked. But it was still an enjoyable read and something that I would read again as a low stakes palette cleanser between books. Overall my rating for this book is 3.5/5.

Extended Breakdown:
Story: 3/5
Characters: 3.5/5
Coziness: 4/5

A delicious mix of Romeo and Juliet with a pinch of enemies to Lovers. . What an incredible read, it was so amazing to read and identify different elements of Brazilian culture. The book is full of references to different cultural traditions and the setting is beautiful. . The author's writing is fluid and addictive, you are so enthralled by the story and characters that you end up immersing yourself in the story. An amazing and funny experience... The characters are young, while being very intelligent and very captivating. You find yourself hoping that everything works out for both families. Ah, the foods presented make you want to try them all. Congratulations to the author, I hope to read more of her books soon!
Review by: @contandoeuconto
Thank you so much to Inkyard Press and Rebecca for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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Uma deliciosa mistura de Romeu e Julieta com uma pitada de enemies to Lovers.
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Que leitura incrível, foi muito bom ler e identificar diversos elementos da cultura brasileira. O livro é recheado de referências a diversas tradições culturais e a ambientação é linda.
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A escrita da autora é fluida e viciante, você fica tão encantado pela história e pelos personagens que você acaba imergindo na história. Uma experiência muito boa.
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Os personagens são bem novos, ao mesmo tempo que são bem inteligentes e bem cativantes. Você se pega torcendo para que tudo dê certo para ambas as famílias. Ah, as comidas apresentadas te deixam com uma super vontade de experimentar todas.
Parabéns para a autora, espero ler mais dos seus livros em breve!

thank you so much to netgalley and inkyard press for an early digital copy of this book! <3

2.5 stars (but more like a 3 than a 2 - yk what i mean?)

salt and sugar follows a relationship that’s constantly on the edge of imploding and honestly - i think this book and i have a similar dynamic.

let’s start with the good! rivals to lovers, romeo and juliet inspired, long-standing feud based on food - great set ups for a love story. i think pedro, the love interest is a sweetie (pun very much intended), and i really enjoyed the way cooking and culture was infused throughout the story. safe to say, the descriptions made me very hungry.

also this cover is absolutely beautiful so - bonus there!!!

now for the not-so-good! SO. MUCH. SCREAMING. it felt like every single scene someone was either screaming, crying, or storming out. for two teenagers to be so exponentially more mature than the adults in their lives genuinely made me have to skim the same recycled fight scenes. pretty much every review around the 3 star mark has mentioned this, so i highly doubt you can get through this book without getting frustrated by how repetitive and out-of-proportion this feud feels. also, there are some i’ll-fitting pop culture references (although i enjoyed the one about timmy as laurie, to be fair).

finally, lari is also a good/bad split for me. in the beginning, she frustrated me (so very much) and i could not deal with her knocking another thing over. but by the end i did start to root for her and found the way she dealt with her grief to be touching.

also, i have to note: this is ya, and i am not a ya. so of course, someone in this age range may like this more (although i felt like this bordered on middle-grade territory sometimes, if it wasn’t so long).

easy & cute enough - by no means a “bad” book, just not a favorite for me.

cws: death of a loved one, grief

This book was fantastic! As someone who recently lost their grandmother, I had to set this book down for a good month after reading the scene where Lari walks back into Salt after her grandmother passes. The way Rebecca Carvalho writes hit all the notes of coming back to somewhere that used to be magic, but now the magic is gone because the person you love is no longer there. There are many other scenes where the writing is just spectacular and relatable and you really feel like you have lived in those moments.

I'm not the biggest fan of Romeo and Juliet retellings, but this one had enough fun elements that didn't feel stale to make the story really loveable. The ending perfectly ties together the story, and I'd love to gush about it here, but don't want to spoil it for people. All I will say is thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eGalley, and go check out this book when it comes out in November!!

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).