4.25 stars

A coming-of-age story about a girl dealing with a lot - grief, anger, loss of control, holding on to the few things she can control, trying to figure out what she wants in life. Oh and add to that the normal teenage stresses, like graduating high school and making friends, attraction to a person you feel like you shouldn’t want, and balancing work with fun. Isabelle’s journey isn’t always easy or linear, but she’s working on it, and by the end of this book, she’s learned a lot about herself and what kind of life she wants to have.

I don’t blame Isa for being angry. She’s angry at her dad for cheating on her mom, for blowing up their lives, for changing everything, for never apologizing or explaining, for disappointing her. She’s also angry at her Abuela for dying, for putting herself at risk to help others, for leaving her when she needed her most. On top of that anger is a thick layer of grief over all that Isa’s lost in the past year - Lala, her family, what she thought her life would be.

Personally, I think everyone is too hard on Isa. She is overcome with grief and traumatized, and everyone just expects her to be fine. Diego was so annoying when he first arrived, pushing at all her boundaries and not listening to her. I wanted to scream at both Diego and her dad after the Cherries Jubilee incident. Yes, Isa had a lot of lessons to learn and things to figure out about what truly makes her happy, but she was going to get there without someone calling her a cancer on everyone around her because she made a mistake. That was needlessly cruel and made me really angry.

(And honestly I didn’t think what happened with Lucia was bad enough to warrant the reaction everyone had to it. Was it really a betrayal when Lucia should have been listening in the first place? And was she really that good of a friend when she’d spent the night before drunkenly throwing herself all over Diego and saying mean things to everyone else? The way she, Pippa, Diego, and Chef T reacted seemed way over the top to me, and Isa felt way too much guilt over it for too long.)

The good part finally came when Isa started having her own revelations, both about what it’s actually like to work in a tough kitchen, and how a place like that fits (or doesn’t) into what she might want her life to look like. Yes, Diego was there to encourage her to rethink her life ambitions and to inspire some spontaneity, but I think she would have gotten there eventually on her own. I’m glad he apologized for being so mean to her after the Lucia incident, at least. Once they started opening up to one another and being honest, I loved how sweet and thoughtful Diego was. Setting up the trip to Barcelona with Isa was especially kind, and it encouraged her to stop focusing on the technical aspects of cooking and instead focus on what she loved about it: the memories of her grandma, being able to create delicious things for the people she loved, exploring new flavors and learning new things. It also gave her a peek at a successful female chef who creates delicious food in a non-stressful environment.

It did seem a little like everything fell naturally into place the second her little sister was born - Isa immediately felt connected to her, and her dad sort-of apologized (though she really deserves a longer conversation than whatever that was), and suddenly Margo wants to eat her food. (Which, btw, I also assumed Margo hated her. She didn’t even TRY to eat the food she made? Yet Chinese takeout was fine? I have a hard time believing it.) But it’s nice to see Isa happy and comfortable in the end, surrounded by friends and family, working on making a life that brings her fulfillment and joy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book for review purposes.

Unfortunately around the start of the pandemic I requested a lot of books on cover alone.

I didn’t realise this was a YA romance and at 34 years old I’m not the target audience.

I will not be reading this novel.

I did not like this.
The character were so egocentric and disrespecting it was hard to even get through. I sometimes felt for her. I really did, but when she acted like that... nope.

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

What a sweet read. Lots of emotions going on in this book. Isa is attending a summer cooking school when her Lala passed away. On top of that, her parents are divorcing. The flashbacks of her Lala are so sweet and she could of easily been my favorite kind of person. While on her summer cooking adventure, her and Diego romanced very quickly after they weeded through the tension in the beginning. He was good for her. I feel like he had a hand in making Isa realize what her true dreams were.

This book was a sweet coming of age. I do wish the relationship developments were deeper but all in all a good read.

This novel really hit home for the teenager I once was. I completely understand the rollercoaster of emotions Isa is feeling; dealing with her best friend's death, her abuela who meant everything to her, moving in with her father and new stepmother with a baby on the way, and still not happy about her parent's divorce. The amount of pressure Isa is feeling to act okay with everything when she's not is evident. The author, Mayra Cuevas did an amazing job displaying the rough waters of adolescents with Isa's character and her passion for cooking. I love the subtly between Isa and Diego, their moments of light banter and serious discussion add depth to an already thought provoking book.

Salty, Bitter, Sweet was an enjoyable read and definitely one I would come back to again. I give it 5 out of 5 star rating!

I really enjoyed how complex the issue in this book is, which is what am I willing to do for my goal and is my goal what I actually need? However, the romance aspect really fell flat for me. I wish it had been more about her own personal journey to discover this and she had found a friend instead.

Easy read. I enjoyed traveling without leaving my house. I liked the concept of teens competing to work with a renowned chef. Overall this was a nice story.

Isabella Fields has a lot of balls to juggle - she is of mixed heritage (half Cuban-half American from her father's side, French by her mother's side), which palone is not the easiest of the experiences. Her beloved grandmother had died recently. Her parents are newly divorced and her father is already expecting a child with a new stepmother Margo. Isa lives with her father's new family in Lyon, France, for now, as she is attending a prestigious apprenticeship 3-week program in chef Pascal Grattard - and only one can win the apprenticeship. And yes, there is this impossible guy Diego, stepson from Margo's previous marriage.
Isa wants to be perfect in the kitchen, her happy place and her only dream. But can the perfection equal happiness?

I loved most of the plot conflicts here. The cutthroat atmosphere in the haut cuisine world is perfect to read. All the characters are interesting and the restaurant environment is somehow electrifying, if also making me wanting to tear my hair out! Isa's new friends Pippa and Lucia are interesting and Isa's bad move (no further spoilers!) feels very relatable and realistic given the situation (not agreeing! Just enjoying the spot-on plotting here).
If only such honest plotting could translate into Isa's other relationships! Only her relationship with her abuelita Lala is having a certain depth. Even if their story is told in retrospect, it is obvious how much Lala has influenced Isa and how much they loved each other. But here it stops. Isa's mother is fairly irrelevant during the course of the novel and no one cares about her heartbreak. Her father has his own place here - but while their conflict here is realistic, its course and solution lacks certain depth and his egoism and lack of care (he is a nice-talking guy, but not a real, caring father) is never really addressed. Diego is said to be dreamy, but he is too dreamy to feel real.
Luckily, chef Troissant makes for a teacher figure to follow (and fingers crossed for her personal happiness!).

The perfections vs. happiness (or better fulfillment) is very important to be told. I applaud the authoress to tell it and to decide this way to tell it. I like the modern dynamics and pattern and some stereotypes to be tossed to the trash can (amongst them the modern stereotype of superwoman fulfilling every role perfectly). It is very important to know and follow what fulfills you. I only hope that the ever- needed value of a hard work does not get taken wrongly as unimportant, as hard, honest work ethics is needed for a fulfilling life (any life).

The philosophy presented here is mostly inspiring and enriching (two exceptions - the sex debate needs more depth and Virgencita and reincarnation talks do not sit well together).

Having said all before, this YA novel is interesting and fresh and would make for a good book club debates!
And yes, said debates should be done in the kitchen, as this novel will make you hungry for sure - often! And this is a good thing!

This book is written by an #OwnVoices author and I'm trying to read more books that may be better representations of different cultures. This is a YA book that is also considered a "RomCom". It also takes place in the culinary world and I love anything food, from eating it to TV shows and competitions about that world. I thought the characters were interesting and realistic and also liked the drama between the various characters. Isa has many challenges for her age that she shouldn't have to deal with and I thought she dealt with them to the best of her ability. It was a good book, checked most of my YA boxes and I'd definitely read this author's next book.

Isabelle's life falls apart after her parents' divorce, her grandmother dies, and she has to move in with her dad and his new wife. She gets an opportunity to participate in a restaurant apprenticeship. She takes her grief and pain into the kitchen and leaves out with joy. The love for food was so inspiring. This young adult book themes our friendship, self-care, and acceptance. This story had me hungry with his mouth-watering descriptions of delicious food. The setting takes place in France. I think the message was women uplifting other women. And I really enjoyed this story. I'm reading more by this author. I give this book five stars.

This book was cute and very much reminded me of a Hallmark movie. Even though not everything was perfect, there was definitely a happy ending.

The main character moves to France to love with her Dad and step mother while attending a coveted culinary program. While going through the program she often thinks of her grandmother who was her mentor in the kitchen growing up. It's a wonderful story about life, love and learning to love your family even though they may not have always been perfect.

3,5 out of 5 stars

Salty, Bitter, Sweet (SBS) is a cute contemporary YA novel.
Isa moves to Lyon, France, for the summer to take part in a sort of cook-off in hopes of getting a year-long internship with one of the worlds best chefs. All she ever wanted to be is a chef. What she wasn’t prepared for is what she would have to leave behind and sacrifice for her dream.

I really liked the setting of SBS. In these troubled times it was a great way to travel without having to leave my house. I felt like I WAS in France and Spain. Sadly, I wasn’t a big fan of the cooking aspect of the novel. I myself am not a French cuisine foodie so the detailed descriptions of the food prep were not for me.

I did enjoy the romance between Isa and Diego. I loved his character and the way it leveled out Isas very intense one, because it was very straining to read about her in the beginning. She was a bit much.

The plot as a whole was a bit rom-com-y for me. Where in the beginning everything goes wrong (and I mean EVERYTHING) and later on in the book – like in a movie montage – she rises to the top was a bit gimmicky for me.

All in all a fun summer read. Would recommend. 3,5 out of 5 stars

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I'll admit I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. But I really enjoyed it! It was like a really delicious chocolate chip cookie, containing just the right amount of salty, bitter, and sweet (go figure, with the title).

Isa's life is somewhat complicated. Her ancestry is a mix of Cuban, French, and mid-western American, so she's got a lot of different expectations placed upon her by various family members along with the sense that she doesn't really belong in any of the groups that should include her. Her family is . . . tricky. She's currently living with her father and his pregnant wife, the "other woman" with whom he'd had an affair that led to his divorce from Isa's mother only six months before the start of the book. Add to that her own ambitions to become a renowned professional chef, as well as the expectations again placed upon her by herself and other people. See what I mean? Complicated. But Isa navigates through her salty, bitter, sweet life quite well, despite some pretty big bumps, until she finally figures out exactly what it is she truly wants.

The character development was very good, as was the dynamic created between the various characters. Drama, friendship, love, resentment, rivalry all tangled together quite naturally. Interactions between characters were very believable.

And Diego. Even though I don't like motorcycles, he pretty much had me hooked from the moment he he appeared on the page. He and Isa worked perfectly together.

Something else this book did well was bring in characters' backstories and baggage without making it a "broken people meet and fix each other" story.

And can I say that I had a little bit of appreciate for the acknowledgment that some women experience "morning sickness" (that name, honestly!) for their entire pregnancy. I was literally sick the whole time for my last three pregnancies, but the moment I gave birth, I got my appetite back and everything sounded delicious. So it's absolutely real!
Note: Maybe a little bit of swearing, but I don't remember. Isa considers the possibility of sex, but there's no sex nor anything specific about it.

Entertaining YA novel set mostly in a kitchen where teens and young adults are vying for the chance to apprentice with a renowned chef.

The weaving of love through the making of food is something that resonates with this Italian gal. Food is one of the love languages some use.

If there is one thing I wished for when reading this book, it is the inclusion of recipes of the dishes described on the pages. I now have a hankering for apple pie, too.

The story did not steal my heart, however it is an easy read that doesn't not require your mind to work at a fast pace . If you just want to chill out, this is the book. Easy plot and introduction of characters.

This coming of age novel had it all, food a diverse cast, and it was part of #OwnVoices which I just love. But, unfortunately I lost interest early on. I really just didn't care for the character and her seeing her dad kiss someone was just weird. It felt like the story lost focus after the book really got going.

4.5/5 ⭐

What do you get when you work hard, love food, and grow up loving your Cuban abuela's food and learning to cook it? Well, Isabella's abuela recently passed away, and her parents divorced, and that's all been a kick in the gut, but she's moved in with her father in France, and Chef Pascal Grattard's world-famous kitchen apprenticeship is nearby, so she signs up to chase her dream of being a Michelin-starred chef. Things get messy in the kitchen as she stumbles during her apprenticeship, and at home she deals with her now-pregnant stepmother and the pain of her parents' divorce, but Isabella keeps working hard to cook up delicious culinary creations that sizzle on the plate (and the page) as she competes with the other apprentices.

The many tantalizing descriptions of savory, mouthwatering, scrumptious food were a particular highlight of this contemporary YA story, but the real stars are Isabella and her complicated family dynamic and emotions. With emotions ranging from grief, to anger, to joy, Isabella rolls up her sleeves and gets right up to her elbows in delicious flavors and drama. I liked that Isabella worked hard for what she wanted, but I also wished that her mother had more presence, and that other family dynamics had more resolution. While it wasn't a focus, there is some romance, and given Isabella's character and everything she deals with, I don't think the romance was even needed, however I do think that romance and food do belong together so perhaps it was inevitable.

If you're a fan of delicious food, and like your drama as messy as a well-loved kitchen, sit down and get a taste of Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas.

I LOVED this book! Salty, Bitter, Sweet tackled so many issues, but it never felt like it was trying to take on too much. It can be easy for a book that discusses multiple issues (cultural differences, family struggles, loss, etc) to get lost trying to deal with all of them, but Mayra Cuevas succeeded in this.

There is tension between Isa and her father after she witnesses him kissing a woman that isn't her mother, and this spirals into a divorce and him marrying another woman. Isa moves in with him while she is apprenticing to be a chef. Throw in an odd/awkward romance between her and her stepmother's stepson, and this is practically a soap opera. And I lived for it. It was a page-turner because of the drama, and the other issues it conquered fell into place in between the central family issues.

This is certainly a book I will revisit. I should add a few CWs: ableism, death, colorism/racism, addiction