Title: Salty, Bitter, Sweet
Author: Mayra Cuevas
Release Date: 3.3.2020
Review Date: 1.19.2020

I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Seventeen-year-old aspiring chef Isabella Fields’ family life has fallen apart after the death of her Cuban abuela and the divorce of her parents. She moves in with her dad and his new wife in France, where Isabella feels like an outsider in her father’s new life. The upside of Isabella’s world being turned upside down? Her father’s house is located only 30 minutes away from the restaurant of world-famous Chef Pascal Grattard, who runs a prestigious and competitive international kitchen apprenticeship. The prize job at Chef Grattard’s renowned restaurant also represents a transformative opportunity for Isabella, who is desperate to get her life back in order. But how can Isabella expect to hold it together when she’s at the bottom of her class at the apprenticeship, her new stepmom is pregnant, she misses her abuela dearly, and a mysterious new guy and his albino dog fall into her life?

I really enjoyed this one. I don't tend to pick up contemporary novels but I do love to read the ones that I can just devour. (Haha see what I did there.) The food descriptions in this book where amazing. Some of them made me hungry, and then of course some of them I was grossed out. I have never read a book featuring that much cooking. I liked most of the characters and the setting of France. The romance was also enjoyable. Recommend.

Anyone who loves reading YA novels and who also enjoys watching Top Chef, MasterChef, Chopped, Hell's Kitchen, etc. will like this book. I know I did!

Isabella loves to cook and dreams of becoming a Michelin-star chef. Her culinary skills scored her a spot in the prestigious summer cooking program with world renown Michelin-star Chef Grattard. The student who scores the highest marks in this program will win an apprenticeship with Chef Grattard and work alongside him at his Michelin-star restaurant! This would be a dream-come-true for Isabella and she would stop at nothing to ensure her place at the top of the class.

There were so many things that I liked about this book. I loved the diversity - Isabella is Cuban-French-American who doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere. This is something I could completely relate to as a Chinese-Swiss-Canadian.
"...I come from divergent worlds while not wholly belonging to any of them. Never Cuban enough, or French enough, or American enough - that's me, a dissonant three-course meal."
Other diverse characters include her friends Pippa, an African-British girl, Lucia, a Catalan girl from Barcelona, and Diego the Spaniard from Barcelona..

Diversity aside, I also loved the character development. Isabella started off being kind of a loner with laser-like focus on achieving her dreams of one day becoming a Michelin-star chef. She has incredibly high standards and little patience for anything that might get in her way. To be honest, she wasn't very likable at first. But she eventually grew on me. Her passion for food and culinary arts was depicted very realistically (I would know, my entire family works for the restaurant industry!)

The only thing that really bugged me about this book was the romance. I didn't feel it was necessary and definitely not with Diego (it's a very strange family dynamic bordering on the taboo - he's her step-mother's step-son from a previous marriage). If anything, I think I would've preferred if a romance developed in the kitchen instead (perhaps with Snake Eyes?)

Overall, I really enjoyed this book with all of it's mouthwatering descriptions of food!

I have debated numerous times about the star rating for ‘Salty, Bitter, Sweet’ by Mayra Cuevas and after reminding myself that I am not the typical target audience, then perhaps, I should give the book the benefit of the doubt and opt for 3 stars.

The story is about a Cuban American girl, Isabella, who at the age of 17, desperately wishes to become a professional chef and is now embarking on a life changing training/internship at the famous Grattard restaurant in Paris. Isa is battling with her grief at the recent lost of her abuela Lala, and the startling breaking up of her family. And now, just when she needs to focus her attention is torn by the attractive Diego and the competitiveness of the competition.

After finishing this book, I stopped at our local French patisserie as I was absolutely starving for a delicious pastry and this is testament to the wonderful descriptive writing of Cuevas, when writing about the food and cuisine that she clearly loves.

On numerous occasions, I found myself becoming frustrated with Isa and her lack of comprehension for her new family situation – and this is where I had to remind myself that the book is aimed at a considerably younger audience. And in this way, I applaud Cuevas. Isa is not without her flaws and when she deliberately sabotages her competitor (and friend) Lucia, the author does not hesitate to point out this error to the protagonist via the reactions of other characters. The author reminds Isa of the importance for the female competitors to work together, rather than infighting. A good lesson in life for females of any age!

Towards the end of the novel, there is a considerable learning curve for Isa and while I have my doubts about her relationship with Diego (for me, their relationship is a little too obvious and the signpoints are there from their initial meeting), overall, this is an enjoyable story, which falls into the genre of ‘OwnVoices’ and provides the reader with some lessons about life when you are not the standard – Caucasian Irish/ American etc.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of the eArc of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Salty, Bitter, Sweet is hands down one of the most well-written books I've read. Isa is a girl with a mission to be the best chef and someday earn her own Michelin star(s). She's also dealing with the aftermath of her parents divorce, a broken heart over her Abuela's death all while learning to fall in love. The character arcs, the plot arc as well as the subplots were well fleshed out. Every cooking scene made me hungry and helped me understand the main character more. This author took me on her character's journey and made me cry. I will be reading this one again! I wish I could give more than 5 stars.

Sweet, warm and friendly, this book tells about a teenage girl striving for her dream of workingin a professional kitchen. For three weeks, she is part of an intensive course in the restaurant of a famous French chef. At the end of the course, one participant will win a coveted apprenticeship.
Alng the way, Isabella must deal with her new stepmother, her grief over her grandmother, her relationship with her father after his affair and subsequent divorce for Isabella's mother. And the infuriating Diego.

This is a novel about dreams, ambitions, and family, and about figuring out if what you think you want, is what you really want. It focuses a lot on the characters, and how they interact, which is something I personally enjoy in books. I would have liked it if the secondary characters had been a bit more fleshed out, but that's difficult in a first-person narrative. Overall, I found this to be a very good coming-of-age book, and thoruoghly enjoyed the food and cooking focus.

Seventeen-year-old aspiring chef Isabella Fields’ family life has fallen apart after the death of her Cuban abuela and the divorce of her parents. She moves in with her dad and his new wife in France, where Isabella feels like an outsider in her father’s new life, studiously avoiding the awkward, “Why did you cheat on Mom?” conversation.

The upside of Isabella’s world being turned upside down? Her father’s house is located only 30 minutes away from the restaurant of world-famous Chef Pascal Grattard, who runs a prestigious and competitive international kitchen apprenticeship. The prize job at Chef Grattard’s renowned restaurant also represents a transformative opportunity for Isabella, who is desperate to get her life back in order.

But how can Isabella expect to hold it together when she’s at the bottom of her class at the apprenticeship, her new stepmom is pregnant, she misses her abuela dearly, and a mysterious new guy and his albino dog fall into her life?- Goodreads

Trigger Warning: Death, Adultery, Mourning, Drugs (ish)

Despite the trigger warnings this book wasn't that deep and I would peg it as adorable and touching read. 

I loved the cooking within this novel and the author really should have included a chapter or a page with all the recipes that were highlighted within the novel. Cooking is very important to me. Its one of those things that take so much energy out of you but in a good way. A lot of love and heart goes into cooking if you do it right and the author, Cuevas, doesn't just use that as a foundation but it is what the entire novel focuses on. I was soaking it up. 

Isabella for the most part has a one track mind and for most of the book only sees one road to her dream. There is huge character development for as sometimes our dreams take different turns and for Isabella that take some huge turns. What I love about that point in the book is she isn't doing it because of a boy. Is there romance in this novel? Yes. Does some things happen? Yes but it is a series of events, conversations about her career that she has with other people that brings things to light. I was so happy that the boy (although amazing) was not the reason for how things play out. 

The pace of the novel was slow. It moved slow and at some points you just wonder why Isabella makes things so difficult for herself sometimes. There could have been more things fleshed out within the novel such as more details about her mother and her mother's mother. I also wanted to see more of a relationship with her father. These were the areas that could have been developed and again . . . I really wanted to see those recipes. 

Overall, this was a good novel. It was inspiring. 

3 Pickles

The title of the book could reflect the protagonists story arc. Isa is dealing with grief, a recent parental divorce, an impending half sibling and being in an intense cooking competition.
She starts off sad after her grandmother died, then to anger as she lets the pressure of the competition get to her and make questionable decisions towards her friends, then ends on a sweet note with her having learned from all of the people within her life. As well as these intertwining plot points, their is also an enemies to relationship component.

A light fun read worth your time. I would definitely use the story to inform my teaching.

If you like With the Fire on High or ANY cooking show this book is for you. I am no chef (I barely make pasta and eggs) but the visual explanation of the prep and execution of meals literally had my mouth watering. It makes me want to learn how to cook!

I love the family dynamic it is just complex as real life but with a hint of hope. The divorce representation was good, I only wish to have seen the mother possibly find happiness as the father did.
As a Cuban/African-American having an Abuela who fills the kitchen with love is so heartwarming.
The women's friendships were AMAZING! Pippa, Lucia and Chef Troissant were all strong independent women doing what they love.
All the characters, no matter how small, had so much heart and passion. I particularly enjoyed the presence of a young five year old boy who enjoyed Isa's cooking. Each character had so much history and depth.
The only thing that bothers me a little was that the romance between Isa and Diego felt too easy. In the beginning, there was so much tension. I would have loved if the two of them opened up to each other in either a slower process or not have forgiven that tension so quickly. Being vulnerable is a huge thing and having a first love can be as messy as the family drama.
But it is nice that love was not the main focus.

Overall the exploration of all these people, all different ages and backgrounds, trying to discover what fulfills them is hands down the most beautiful part of this book. I enjoyed that this book makes us question our need to succeed and be the best, rather than focus on finding what makes us happy and doing that.

I would recommend this to everyone!