A deliciously sweet YA rom com with so much culture embedded in. The characters are relatable and understandable.

Lari Ramires cresceu em Olinda em meio a guerra entre sua família e os Molina, uma briga que dura gerações e parece que nunca terá fim. Lari está passando pela dor da perda da avó, e se sente mal ao ver a mãe tentando comandar a Salt sozinha, mesmo que qualquer tentativa sua de ajudar acabe em desastre, e que sua mãe não a queira envolvida nos negócios. Na escola Lari tem que conviver com Pedro Molina, com quem está sempre competindo, assim como suas famílias.

Após uma das competições não acabar bem, Lari aceita entrar para um clube na escola para poder dar um ponto extra para sua turma, mas não imaginava seria o clube de culinária que é comandado por Pedro. Lari não sabe cozinhar e teme que Pedro use isso contra ela, mas quando o futuro de ambas as padarias fica em perigo, eles precisam de unir para tentar salvar os legados de suas famílias antes que seja tarde demais.

Salt and Sugar traz o cenário de Olinda e um pouco de Recife com pratos que conhecemos bem, e confesso que fiquei com vontade de comer tudo. Eu fui positivamente surpreendida com a profundidade dessa história, tem algumas questões além da briga entre as famílias, uma delas é como o comércio local pode ser destruído por grandes empresas.

Eu me apeguei muito a Lari e Pedro, eles tem suas próprias dificuldades quando se trata de família e futuro. A Lari tem a pressão da mãe para cursar economia, sempre é lembrada de que será a primeira Ramires a ir para a universidade, mas sente que não é o que a fará feliz, ao mesmo tempo que não tem coragem de dizer isso para a mãe. Pedro quer comandar Sugar um dia, mas encontra resistência em seu avô que não aceita suas novas ideias e nem que ele faça um curso mais moderno de culinária.

A Rebecca Carvalho é Recifense, mas hoje mora nos EUA e foi sua família e infância que inspirou essa história

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, but can I trust them? Lari and Pedro's families run rival bakeries that are across the street from each other. With Deals Deals moving into town, the bakeries livelihoods are at stake. The two team up to try and save their respective bakeries but the blood between their families seems insurmountable.
Opinion
The book was a bit slow at first but the feud between Lari and Pedro reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. I really wanted to know what happened between their families to make them such enemies. The little hints interspersed throughout the book kept me reading. By the end of the book, I was in tears, laughing and having that warm "feel good" moment time and time again.
I would put this book into the hands of any middle/high school student who loves romance. The farthest the romance goes is a kiss, which is perfect for younger readers. The story would also appeal to middle and high schoolers because Lari and Pedro are both in high school and struggling to find their place in their own families.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Inkyard Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

3.5 stars. Enjoyable, with some great food descriptions and character growth. Sometimes it felt like there was too much going on, but overall a solid YA enemies to lovers romance.

This book was fun. I was happy to find that it is a clean rom-com. There was no cussing and no sex. We need more books like this in high schools!

I really loved the premise of this, enemies to friends to lovers, Romeo and Juliet trope based around small bakeries that are rivals. Lari Ramires and Pedro Molina come from Brazil where Lari's family runs Salt and Pedro's family have Sugar. The premise being despite decades of disagreements between their families they have to work together Ito take on the large chain grocery store that’s decimating the town.

This coming of age story touches on issues such as grief, overcoming family expectations, and the affects of large scale capitalism on small businesses and lives. I loved the banter and chemistry of the characters, that it was set outside of the US which is always a delight to read something non-western-white. The writing style and world building is just fantastic.

I really appreciated how the history of rivalry between the families emphasises how resentment and hatred can fester and run out of control and how these are passed from generation to generation. That ending too, it just got me and Iwas in tears, this book was such an emotional read and I loved it, I need more , I really would love more , please ?

Overall a fabulous, beautifully written debut, one which I wholeheartedly recommend.

Thanks to netgalley and Harper360YA for a free copy in return for an honest and voluntary review

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!!