Salt and Sugar
Rebecca Carvalho
Inkyard Press
November 1, 2022
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About Salt and Sugar
The grandchildren of two rival Brazilian bakeries fall in love despite their families’ feud.
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?
My Review
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.
Content Notes for Salt and Sugar
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Representation
All characters are Brazilian.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.
Spiritual Content
None.
Violent Content
None.
Drug Content
None.
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