I do like a good romantic suspense story and Washington DC as a setting is always promising and the added element of being set in the White House was interesting. I have to say that Solheim delivered when it came to tidbits about the White House (so much so that I was curious as to how she did her research). In my opinion, it was fairly clear early on who was involved in the crime being investigated but there was still a bit of a twist at the end to keep it interesting.

Marin displays wildly vacillating feelings towards Griffin throughout the course of the book. I think this was supposed to reflect the mixed signals she was getting from him, but it really just kind of ultimately annoyed me. And honestly, I'm not sure if I entirely was won over by Griffin and I kind of felt like Marin let him off the hook for his dickish behavior a bit too easily.

From the attention payed to Griffin's FBI colleagues, I'm guessing they'll be getting their own books and I'll likely check them out as well.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Recipe for Disaster is the first book I have read written by Tracy Solheim. The concept for the book was unique, in that I don’t remember reading many stories that take place at the White House. Besides the unusual setting, the mystery of art forgeries leading to the President’s home is also creative. The author’s gets points for thinking out of the box for this creative concept that caused me to want to read this book.

The characters of Secret Service Agent Griffin Keller and White House pastry chef Marin made a curious pairing. Certainly their meeting wouldn’t have happened without the case that Keller was following, but significant events often seem to happen randomly in life all the time. They are dedicated workers as well as likable people. The supporting characters are mostly so but there are just so many minor ones. This made the important ones hard to focus on in the story. Still it is an imaginative mystery with strong elements of romance.

An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

just when white house pastry chef, marin chevalier, is desperate to find a date to her cousin's wedding, she meets special agent griffin keller. too bad she's his top suspect in an art forgery case that has been troubling him for months. recipe for disaster is part romantic comedy, part spy thriller.

marin has no idea why the secret service is everywhere she turns, or why a trail of dead people lead directly to her door. all she knows is that griffin is too hot and too charming for her sanity. his interest in her seems to blow hot and cold, and when she realizes what he's investigating she wants nothing to do with him.

except when it becomes clear that her life is in danger, and this art forgery case has strong ties to the president's inner circle at the white house. griffin has made it a point to avoid relationships, figuring that love would complicate his ability to make hard choices while on the job. but this time love and the job are inextricably tied together.

i'm still not quite sure i understand all the double-crosses and double deals going on at the end when the case is finally cracked open, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. because griffin and marin together is all we are rooting for.

**recipe for disaster will publish on may 7, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/tule publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Fantastic!

Intense, emotional, intriguing, engaging and suspenseful! I couldn’t read it fast enough.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

What a fun start to a new series by Tracy Solheim. I picked this one up and read it quickly. Marin was a sweet, fun character that ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time, which leads to us finding out just how strong she really is. Griffin shows up in her life, and seems to be around every time something goes wrong. I love the food aspect of this, the descriptions of Marin's creations made me want to get up and bake. The secondary characters, especially Griffin's best friends, provided additional interest. I found myself giggling at some of their conversations.
I enjoyed this start to a new series, and can't wait to see which of Griffin's friends gets the focus next!

Recipe for Disaster by Tracy Solheim. A great start to The Men of the Secret Service series. A great mix of romance and suspense in the White House. I enjoyed the characters and storyline in this book. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Light, fast paced and fun to read but with a good dose of suspense thrown in, Recipe for Disaster is the first book in the Men In The Secret Service series. Set in and around the White House, this story sees pastry chef and niece of the First Lady Marin Chevalier falling for Special Agent Griffin Keller despite her best efforts to resist him. With bodies piling up all around Marin, the race is on to find the mastermind behind a counterfeit and art stealing ring before Marin herself becomes a victim. I did find some of the connections in this story just a bit convenient and not entirely plausible but hey, it’s a good story so I was happy to overlook them and sit back to enjoy the read. Looking forward to book two.

Nice start to what should be an interesting new series. He's part of the secret service working to find an art thief who has infiltrated the White House. She's a White House pastry chef who has an uncanny amount of knowledge of the art world. Could she be the one he's looking for? Secret Service Agent Griffin Keller doesn't want to believe Chef Marin Chevalier is part of the art ring but unless he finds the real thief everything points to her. Working together they need to find out what is really going on before they both end up dead.

A nice little mystery with a dose of romance made this a very enjoyable read. Definitely a book I recommend.

Pastry chef Marin Chevalier and Secret Service agent Griffin Keller were quite the pairing of characters in Tracy Solheim's latest novel Recipe for Disaster. Some mystery, intrigue and entertaining moments that made for a good read. This is the first book in Ms Solheim's newest series Men Of The Secret Service.
Review copy received from Tule Publishing via Netgalley

Recipe for Disaster was an enjoyable read but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I expected it to be more romantic-suspense but it read more like a mystery with a somewhat forced romance.
I'm not saying I didn't like the relationship between Griffin and Marin but I wasn't completely satisfied with how it played out.
I loved the friendship between Griffin, Adam and Ben - I may even like them better than Griffin so I'm hoping they'll be featured in future books!

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC from Netgalley.

While I've never read this author before, I do believe I might try and read the rest of the series. Yeah, it was pretty good. I enjoyed the mystery/suspense and no, I didn't know "who dun it!" The descriptions were numerous on everything, however, I got over it and thought about whatever/whomever was being described and had a decent picture in my mind. I found it to be a pretty entertaining read.

I have chosen not to finish and review this title. I got about 40% into the book and wasn't able to like or relate to either main character. I get it, they work in the White House, but they are people too and that element was missing from the story.

***please note, as I spent my time reading to 40% I'm not willing to make this a "will not rate" as it doesn't count toward my feedback %. Until this changes, unfortunately I will have to rate and star DNF titles.

After reading this book I want to tour the white house now!! Marin is a pastry chef for the white house and Griffin is a secret service agent investigating a case that leads him to the white house. Tons of plot twists that will have you saying what just happened. Loved how a strong woman could keep pace with the man.

Great romantic suspense from Solheim to start the series. I can't wait for more in the series.

WOW! I loved reading Recipe for Disaster by Tracy Solheim, the first book in her Men of the Secret Service series. The title is fitting since our heroine Marin Chevalier is the Pastry Chef for the White House where her godmother is the first lady. Marin comes from a wealthy family that owns hotels around the world. She is a strong person who gives the impression that she can take care of herself. Her biggest problem at the moment is finding a date for her cousin’s wedding but her busy schedule does not allow her much chance to meet eligible men. Secret Service Agent Griffin Keller, our hero, is Alpha all the way. He always gets his man and woman. While chasing after an international counterfeiter, Griffin encounters paintings stolen from the White House and swapped with forgeries; his only clue to the thief’s identity is a dish towel from the White House kitchen. When Griffin appears in Marin’s kitchen, and everywhere else, Marin thinks she has found the perfect date. However, as near misses and scary accidents start occurring along with bodies piling up Marin convinces Griffin that she’s the victim, not the suspect and relies on him to help her stay alive.

I really loved reading this book and didn’t want to put it down. It grabbed me, not wanting to let me go. I loved the strength and intelligence of Marin and the caring heart Griffin discovered beneath his gruff exterior. Ms. Solheim wrote a wonderful story for these two and I enjoyed seeing the connection these two created. I highly recommend this book to other readers and look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Great start to this new series! I really enjoyed the story and Griffin and Marin. They are very likable characters. There was a really nice balance of all the good stuff; like romance, suspense, and even some plot twists thrown in.
I look forward to more of this series.

Loved this great 1st book in a new series by Tracy Solheim. This is an edge of your seat book, with a who’s lot of hot & sexy. It has just the right amount mystery/suspense & steamy desire to keep the reader interested. The sweet unassuming Marin was just the perfect foil for extremely hot Griffin. Secret Service agent Griffin has been after a money counterfeiting ring for 2 yrs & now it looks like the White House art is involved. The only clue he has is a cloth from the kitchen of the White House, which leads him to the head pastry chef Marin who has a strong link to the case...her family’s hotel chain. What he doesn’t expect is to have to play knight & rescue Marin several times when someone goes after her. With a case that he’s determined to solve on his plate, failing for the only suspect he has isn’t smart but when it comes to Marin he’s not sure about anything. This is definitely a series I will be looking for more in. Definitely recommend.

This was my first experience reading this author and I was pleasantly surprised! This is the beginning of a new series (Men of the Secret Service) and focuses on Griffin and Marin. A very enjoyable romantic suspense with an impressive amount of detail in the storyline. This author is obviously knowledgeable about government dealings and the Secret Service because the detail is outstanding and quite interesting. I felt there was the perfect amount of mystery, suspense and romance in this book and it moved along at a nice pace. I'm looking forward to reading Ben and Adam's books! I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

I really enjoyed Marin & Griffin's story. This romantic suspense is action packed with plot twists that will keep you guessing. Recipe for Disaster is a great start to this series. I look forward to Ben & Adam's stories!

I voluntarily read & reviewed a complimentary Advance Reader Copy.

This was my first book by Tracy Solheim, and it was quite good, a nice mix of romance and suspense, initially started out a bit slow but did well to introduce the side characters of this new series. I really liked Griffin and Marin grew on me as the story unfolded. Loved the suspense element and looking forward to more books in this series.

Firstly, let's start this off with a trigger warning. There's a dog in the story. He's a character, you'll see him play and interact and you'll grow to love him. Frankly, I liked the dog more than most of the humans in this book. He gets intentionally injured toward the end, we're even led to think he was killed. As an animal lover who has to change the channel every time that Sarah McLachlan commercial comes on, I have some pretty choice words for whoever thought it would be a good idea to put that in a book. Had I known about this I would have run as far as I could in the other direction.

Now with that said, the book wasn't all that great even before the whole dog thing.
One of my biggest pet peeves in books is tedious details. The book starts with us getting step-by-step directions as Marin commutes to work. Literally, she walks on H street, crosses on I street, goes one stop on the metro. Why?!?! Was this book meant to be read as part of a Washington walking tour? Like it or not, when I read a book I will imagine the setting as a city I'm familiar with (which for me is Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). The ridiculous level of detail made it impossible for me to connect and get invested in the setting of the book. Would it not have been enough to say "she walked to work" maybe talk about traffic or the weather?

If that's not bad enough, we're introduced to what seems like every staff member in the White House by name, appearance, and background. Some of these characters are never mentioned in the book again. It was information overload and honestly a lot of fluff.

That aside, the main plot line was kind of good. There were tension and action. I loved Griffin and Marin, I was invested in all the drama. I was engaged in the parts where it didn't feel like I was reading a map of DC. Griffen and his friends from the Secret Service were well developed. I appreciated the calmness he showed in every action-packed scene.

Admittedly, I don't read a lot of mystery/ suspense type novels and this was a love story but from what I understand a sign of a good mystery is when you don't who did it or why until the end. This book captured that well. In fact, I've finished the book and I'm still pretty confused about the motive!

Overall, Recipe for Disaster isn't worth reading. The central plot could be a solid 4 stars, the fluff brings it down to a 3. The dog thing makes me wish I could give it negative stars.

I don't like posting negative reviews. It's not something I've done before and I'm not looking forward to sharing this one. But I think people should have the opportunity to see the warning I was never given. I'm sure many people will be able to read it just fine. However, I don't think I'm alone in my aversion to injured or harmed animals.