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meowlson's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The feud was believable. Lots of misunderstandings, but, reasons for why they were misunderstood. It didn't feel like the overused miscommunication trope.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
passionatereader78's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A modern twist on Romeo and Juliet set in the kitchen. Pedro and Lari are the latest generation in the bakery feud. When they refuse to work together in Math class they loose the extra credit points for their classmates. Lari tries to make it right and the teacher agrees to give the class extra points if she joins the cooking club. Lari is excited but nervous until she finds out Pedro is the club president. Now they have to lie to their families as they create new recipes together and try to save their family businesses. This is an emotional story however it is beautifully told. I enjoyed every moment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
laheath's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Sweet YA romance, though slow to develop as the main characters are from families who have been feuding for generations. Their competing bakeries, frequent misunderstandings, and past relationships all contribute to the hard feelings that only the youngest seem willing to look beyond. As they get to know each other and work toward a common goal, all while trying to end the feud between their families, they each learn more about themselves, their pasts, and their goals for the future. They also help each other learn how to advocate for themselves and how to cope with grief.
With all the descriptions of yummy-sounding Brazilian foods, I wish some recipes had been included!
With all the descriptions of yummy-sounding Brazilian foods, I wish some recipes had been included!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
cozylifewithabby's review
3.5
I enjoyed this book. I liked learning about small town life in Brazil and the problems faced by family owned establishments when big box stores come to town. The pacing of this book was so weird though. Most of the book took place in the last 25% with a convenient ending, but it was good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, and Cancer
instalovewithbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
RTC.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Death
novelty_reads's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I absolutely devoured this book.
I absolutely devoured this book.
Salt and Sugar was one of my favourite books I’ve read last year. It was sweet, salty and full of heart. Focusing on a family feud between rival bakeries, the book is an enemies to lovers novel showcasing how love can conquer all, and the power of small business.
We follow the book in Lari’s perspective. Her family has owned, run and baked for Salt their entire lives. However, their business is struggling thanks to the competition of a big brand supermarket wanting to take over Salt and its rival competitor, Sugar. In need of a miracle, Lari teams up with Pedro Molina, the great grandson of Sugar’s owner who needs Lari’s help too. The two hatch a plan to enter into a baking competition and use the prize money to save their neighbourhood and businesses from going under.
While being a cute romcom, it would be unwise to label Salt and Sugar as just another love story. This is a story about grief and continuing on with life without that person in it. Lari is struggling after her grandma’s passing with it having taken a toll on not just her or her family, but her neighbourhood as well. Things are getting tougher now as many businesses start selling their stores to a massive supermarket chain who have their sights set on Sugar and Salt. Lari doesn’t know what to do. She wants to continue her family legacy and continue baking but things feel really dire. She joins the school cooking club to help her learn how to bake where she realises she’s not the only one who feels helpless in this situation. She realises Pedro and the Molina family are also struggling to keep their traditions and neighbourhood alive in the midst of constant change.
Even though the focus was on grief and the main character’s experience of it, I liked how we also got glimpses into side character’s too. I liked finding out more about Pedro. He really cared for his family and wanted to pursue cooking in the future by changing up a few recipes and making things more modern and unique. I enjoyed the interactions between him and his friends too however, I wished we had more scenes with them because they were really fun to read about. I also liked how Pedro treated Lari. You could tell they cared for each other and their chemistry felt real and believable.
The only negative I have is with the competition at the end. I wish we had more parts showcasing the preparation because even though we knew the competition was happening, it felt so background even though it was a big part of the story.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves the enemies to lovers trope, likes books set in bakeries and books that aren’t afraid to tackle big topics.
ACTUAL RATING: 4.8 STARS
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Death of parent
drtx_bwt's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Death
markedwithanm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
lettuce_read's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent
jessicaludden's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Be free to be the baker you want to be.”
Thank you to BookishFirst for a copy of this book!
I loved this book. It was so cute. I loved getting to see Lari and Pedro's relationship develop from enemies due to their families' feud, to friends, to lovers. They got to know each other so deeply and slowly began to realize that they have more in common than not. Their love of cooking and their passion for their families' bakeries brought them together. These characters had so much depth to them, I loved getting to know them. Some of my favorite moments were the quiet conversations they had with each other where they finally had their guard down and were vulnerable with each other. Lari and Pedro both had their insecurities and it was amazing to see them encourage each other to go after their dreams and be their true selves while learning to trust each other. I really like the plot and main conflict between local, family-owned bakeries and the bigger corporation, Deals Deals. It made the stakes very high while putting this story in a very realistic context. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this! There were many laughs, many tears, and many butterflies. It has all the romance I wanted and all the family relationships I wanted as well. I would definitely recommend it.
Thank you to BookishFirst for a copy of this book!
I loved this book. It was so cute. I loved getting to see Lari and Pedro's relationship develop from enemies due to their families' feud, to friends, to lovers. They got to know each other so deeply and slowly began to realize that they have more in common than not. Their love of cooking and their passion for their families' bakeries brought them together. These characters had so much depth to them, I loved getting to know them. Some of my favorite moments were the quiet conversations they had with each other where they finally had their guard down and were vulnerable with each other. Lari and Pedro both had their insecurities and it was amazing to see them encourage each other to go after their dreams and be their true selves while learning to trust each other. I really like the plot and main conflict between local, family-owned bakeries and the bigger corporation, Deals Deals. It made the stakes very high while putting this story in a very realistic context. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this! There were many laughs, many tears, and many butterflies. It has all the romance I wanted and all the family relationships I wanted as well. I would definitely recommend it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Car accident