Recipe for Trouble: A grumpy/sunshine queer MM romantic comedy

by Dylan Morrison

Witty, heartwarming, and deliciously swoony―a grumpy/sunshine workplace romance with found family, office intrigue, and all the feels.

Grumpy video editor Ben Blumenthal has perfected the art of cynicism... until he meets Pete Bailey, a devastatingly handsome chef whose sunny disposition should be annoying but somehow isn't. Ben's used to keeping people at arm's length; Pete's a walking catastrophe who somehow stays cheerful despite it all. But as Ben works side by side with Pete in the kitchen, he discovers there's much, much more to this beautiful mess of a man than meets the eye...

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Audiobook, M M Romance, Queer, Fiction

306 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2025

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cooking. Romance. Drama. Always good things in a book. I enjoyed the storyline, found it engaging and charming. Was a new author to me, but I'll continue to read more of their work.

[Kathleen in Oslo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dylan Morrison's first tradpubbed novel, Fall Into You, really worked for me, so I was excited to get an ARC for his second book. Unfortunately, this one fell flat, like that souffle I tried to make once. (Yes, there will be bad cooking-themed jokes in this review. No, I am not sorry.)

The annoying thing is that I could see glimpses of a good story here, but the whole thing felt over-edited. It was as though all the life had been squeezed out of it, like that lemon I used for that pasta dish the other night, except while the pasta dish was zesty and delicious, this was just . . . dull. Or if not over-edited, then at least over-tinkered with. For example, it seems that someone -- again, I'm guessing an editor -- got it into their heads that pronoun confusion is a problem in m/m. Which meant that the whole book -- a book that is entirely in Ben's POV, for reasons that have to do with the reveal at the end, which imo was to the book's detriment -- is sprinkled with "[blah blah blah] him, Ben, [blah blah blah]." And it's so! unnecessary! Because not once was it ever unclear from the context who the "him" that was being modified by the ", Ben," referred to, so it just felt oddly pedantic in a sort of patronizing way. And another example, in the beginning of the book, Ben stops to buy a (as in one, singular) can of some random mixed drink on his way home after a shitty day, noting that he is only very sporadically driven to this kind of behavior. (It's not presented as judgy, just as something unusual for him.) It's then mentioned over and over again that Ben barely drinks. But now he's so drunk off of one can of whatever. Because he hardly drinks. Thus his drunkenness. Because of the lack of drinking. And it's just? We got it? It's a pretty basic concept, actually? And yes, I realize that these two examples land pretty heavily on the petty side of the ledger, but the whole book is this way, like the (author/ editor/ whoever) doesn't think the audience can be trusted to understand context and draw inferences from it. And -- again, if I'm being petty -- I feel compelled to stress that this is a contemporary romcom. There is no advanced worldbuilding or leaps of logic here. The context is pretty easy! Like the food we get on my 12-year-old's dinner night!

A bigger issue is that, as I mentioned above, this is all in Ben's POV, for backstory reasons that ultimately have to do with Miranda, the stereotypically-verging-on-misogynistically evil corporate demon, and her book-long vendetta against Pete and Ben. Unfortunately, Ben's voice simply didn't jibe for me: anxiety rep in romcoms is a tricky beast, where if the author goes too hard, it veers into a rom-traum territory; whereas if they go too com'my, it makes it seem quirky and whimsical and hard to take seriously. But subjective vibing with the voice aside, on a story level, you end up in that situation that you often get in single POV where the narrator has quirky, whimsical intrusive thoughts self-esteem issues, which is that it's hard for the reader to understand why the LI falls for them in the first place. It ends up feeling super lopsided, which is a challenging basis for a believable connection. And the reveal, when it finally comes, is too little, too late. I can definitely see what the author was going for, but the problem was that the premise itself was pretty flimsy, and then gets increasingly ridiculous, so that by the time we're told why it got so ridiculous -- and there IS a reason, in fact quite a heavy reason, which is tonally out of whack with the rest of the book -- I was already pretty checked out.

The thing is, this author clearly has a lot of talent, and I'm glad they're reaching new audiences. I loved Mrs C and Rick -- all the supporting characters, really -- and I really enjoyed the more technical food and restaurant stuff. But -- and I promise I'm almost done with the cooking nonsense -- this really does feel like a case of too many chefs: the end result isn't inedible, but it's fussy and dull and aimed right at the median diner. Or maybe I'm just sick to death of low-heat romcoms. Give me angst! Give me banging! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GO ON A03 FOR FUCKING AND FEELINGS!!! The sooner this whole cartoon-cover, fade-to-black romcom mania ends, the better.

Anyway, file it under "wish I liked it more," like that pizza I got from that new place that I heard was soooooo great but was only fine and maybe a bit overcooked and probably suffered from my heightened expectations. And crossing fingers that this was just a sophomore slump.

I got an ARC from Storm Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[SJARR ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! Grumpy x sunshine romance with a fun food theme and plenty of cute awkwardness.

This story follows Ben and Pete.
Ben is a video editor who has been tasked with helping a disastrous chef film cooking videos.
Pete is the disastrous chef in question, who is helpless on his own.
Off the bat, Ben is no fan of Pete and his annoyingly happy-go-lucky attitude.
But, as the two start spending more time together, a forced work relationship blossoms into something more.

I love the dynamic here.
Ben is grumpy and a little mean, but nothing in the world seems to be able to dampen Pete’s mood.
I simply cannot help being obsessed with an opposites attract relationship, so this brings me so much joy.
Watching the character with the harsh, downer personality slowly change and open up as cheerful, happy character rubs off on them? I think that is so cute.

This may be weird, but I also loved Pete’s awkwardness. It was absolutely so endearing.
Throughout the story his primary struggle is how nervous he gets while recording.
He has a great personality, and is a great cook. But, he just can’t seem to do anything right when the cameras are rolling.
This brought in a lot of humor, and made for some cute, light-hearted moments.
I also have to say that I find this so incredibly real- which is probably why I liked it to much. As person that is also incapable of doing anything while someone is watching me- I see him and I relate to him.
Relatability always makes things more enjoyable!

Unfortunaltey, I have to say that I found the writing a bit hard to follow.
I didn’t feel like it read super easily, and there were a several points where my mind ending up wandering off.
I think this might just be a me thing, but I just wasn't hooked the whole time.
There seemed to be a few plot holes, and moments where I wasn’t sure how we got from point A to point B.
This very well might just be a result of my disconnection from the writing style, so perhaps other readers might not experience the same issue!

Overall, it is a fun and light story. I think it is worth the read if you enjoy MM romance, along with food/cooking themes.

Thank you to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and author Dylan Morrison for providing me with the eARC of “Recipe for Trouble”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: October 16, 2025

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very cute but very over-detailed story.

I like a lot going on in a story, but this isn’t what I mean by over-detailed. It was Ben describing every little thing in his life in great detail, so much so that a lot of the heart of the story gets lost in it all. It just didn’t keep me engaged and became hard to stay focused at points throughout.

If you can read between all that (or skip a little like it did), the story actually has good bones. Ben is stuck in a rut doing a job that makes him enough money to pay his rent but brings no joy to his life. He’s then asked to edit some footage of a cooking show and creates what turns out to be a viral video. He’s then brought in to do a short series of different cooking shows.

He ends up falling for the person he’s filming, but with a few wrong assumptions made about Pete, he chooses not to act on it until Pete does. It all seemed to go downhill from there for a bit. I won’t ruin why, but it gets a little emotional at this point.

Eventually, as with all romances, they get their HEA, and it is sweet. I loved Mrs C; she was great to get Ben out of his funk. I love the cooking theme as I love to cook myself. I loved the dry sense of humour, and I’m familiar with Ben’s type of inner voice. It really was a good grumpy/sunshine story, and I did enjoy it, but I just found it to go off in a tangent a little too often. I hope other people don’t find this an issue; maybe it was just a me thing.

[Aldi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhere in this there are the bones of a sweet, slow-burn love story about two thoroughly decent guys and the nurturing power of connecting through food. Sadly, the overblown writing style killed it for me entirely. It's third-person single POV in present tense, which I always find awkward outside of AO3, but the main issue was the overly neurotic, rambling style that dragged every metaphor or simile on for far too long, slapped three adjectives on every noun and two adverbs on every adjective, drowned every internal monologue in runaway intrusive thoughts, and did that super-annoying thing? In Dialogue? Where people? End every normal statement? With a question mark? And look, I can roll with rambling. I’m not a fan of overly sparse narration; I think “kill your darlings” all too frequently gets misinterpreted as “scrub every bit of verve or personality out of your writing”; and I will die – gladly, defiantly, passionately – on the hill of believing there’s a place for adverbs in good writing. But this was a mess, and needed at least two more rounds of rigorous editing.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, generously rounded up because I enjoyed the snark. And because I'm a little late with my review.

This is a slow-burn, opposites-attract, grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity romance between a chef and a video editor who work for the same publishing company and are thrown together after a cynical Ben snarkily edits video of Pete cooking in front of a camera and said video goes super viral almost overnight.

Told entirely from Ben's POV in present tense (which I don't love most of the time), we get to watch as Ben fumbles and Pete stumbles, and as their relationship evolves over time from colleagues to sort of friends to lovers to what the hell just happened. Pete is an excellent chef but so nervous in front of a camera that he ends up forgetting almost everything he's ever known about chef-ing and what to say as he prepares recipes he knows like the back of his hand. Ben realizes early on what Pete's issue is and tries his best to help him overcome the nerves, but is also under the impression that Pete is in a relationship with someone else, and therefore any feelings Ben has developed are wasted and shouldn't be mentioned.

I would have liked to see Pete's POV also, but we don't see that for reasons that become clear toward the end, but this also seems to be done only so the situation with Miranda, the rather stereotypical corporate bitch whose obvious vendetta against Ben and Pete is a wee bit over the top and non-sensical, even with the explanation we get at the end of the book, can be part of this book. There's a reason I have a shelf for "bitchy-only-females" because these types of characters, especially when written by a male author, tend to be unrealistic and bordering misogyny.

Bedroom scenes are fade-to-black, which is fine as I personally don't require on-page explicit sexy times, but there are readers who do, and the fact that spice is only added to the food both Pete and Ben cook should be clear from the blurb.

I loved the supporting character of Mrs. C who lives in Ben's building and turns out to be someone who is critical to the climactic situation occurring at around 80% or so. I did enjoy seeing Ben interact with this old lady, and being so kind and sweet with her, bringing her food and just being so nice.

Both Ben and Pete have family backgrounds that contribute to their characterizations and the plot development, and ultimately makes them perfect for each other, as they not only speak the same kitchen language, but also creates a balance between their individual neuroses which allows them to complement each other.

This was an enjoyable rom-com, with lotsa feelz, and I would recommend this for readers who enjoy snarky sarcasm, opposites-attract, and who don't require spicy bedroom scenes in their reads.

** I received a free copy of this book from its publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **

[Caz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A- / 4.5 stars rounded up.

Recipe for Trouble is Dylan Morrison’s second published contemporary romance, and it’s an absolutely delightful read. It’s an opposites-attract slow-burn romance between a grouchy video editor (Ben) and a ray-of-sunshine chef (Pete) who end up working together when Ben is roped in to editing a disastrous cookery video that ends up going viral. Like the author’s Fall Into You , which I reviewed a few months ago, Recipe for Trouble is told from a single perspective and there’s a lot of internal monologue – but the interiority feels more focused this time around, plus the romance is stronger, the chemistry between the leads is terrific, and the author’s dry, observational humour really hits the spot.

Ben Blumenthal works as a contractor for Formica Media on a video editing gig he hates. He loves editing videos – he’s good at it and enjoys the process of cutting things together to make them into a smoothly watchable whole – but editing technical and instructional videos is dull as ditchwater; it doesn’t challenge him, and sitting in mind-numbing meetings with colleagues he barely knows (and doesn’t like) about mind-numbing projects on topics he’s never cared about is soul destroying. It might pay the bills – but he feels himself dying inside a little more every day.

He’s on a break in the building’s coffee shop one afternoon when Rick, who works several floors up and stops to chat sometimes, approaches him to ask if he’ll do a few hours work on a project for him. The renowned foodie magazine Rick works for, Gastronome, wants to produce what the bigwigs are calling “accessible Gen Z content” – as in cooking videos using the magazine’s recipes - but their head test chef, who is otherwise extremely competent, turned out to be a total disaster once the cameras started rolling. Rick asks Ben to take a look at the footage and see if he can do anything with it and Ben, who has been a fan of Gastronome forever (he grew up working in his family’s restaurant and is a pretty good cook himself) agrees to see what he can do – it’ll be something different, at least.

When he sees the footage, however, he realises the situation is much, much worse than he’d thought. It’s worse than bad. It’s horrific. The chef, Pete Bailey, is around his own age, good-looking, more than a little bit hot and… a total idiot. Even though he is, presumably, talented enough to have landed one of the cushy, coveted positions at Gastronome, he “has produced what has to be the single worst collection of cooking footage ever created by man.”

After speaking to Rick again, Ben clues into what’s really going on. Pete has been pushed into doing the videos but doesn’t want to do them; Rick doesn’t want him to do them either - he doesn’t want to do them at all – and now Ben is part of their scheme to make the higher-ups think it’s a terrible idea. Furious at being used and fuming at the idea that Pete can so easily afford to throw away an opportunity like this – one Ben would have loved – a mad and slightly tipsy Ben gets down to work, and, after hours spent cutting, recording voice-over, adding captions and graphics, sends in his edit.

Life goes on as usual for the next week, until Friday afternoon when there’s an unexpected visitor to his cubicle on the twenty-seventh floor. A tall, handsome visitor who is even hotter in person than on the screen… and who doesn’t seem at all annoyed at being made to look like a bit of a jerk in the video. In fact, he loved it, and insists Ben has saved his bacon by making it look like he was so incompetent on purpose – which prompts Ben to blurt out that he’d thought Pete was faking it for the camera. Pete’s reaction to that is absolutely not the one Ben normally gets when he snaps at someone; usually they pull an annoyed face and get away from him (which is generally the desired outcome). But Pete cracks up like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard.

Ben’s problems really start, though, when the video drops the next day, and promptly goes viral. The execs are delighted and want to make a complete web series of nine episodes with Pete presenting and Ben… doing his thing and turning disaster into kitchen comedy gold. In the very first filming session, Ben realises that Pete’s on-screen incompetence is not only completely genuine, but that it’s because he has an almost pathological fear of being filmed – which makes him wonder why on earth Pete is putting himself through such purgatory and why the magazine doesn’t find someone else to do the show.

Needing to shoot, edit and deliver nine shows in a short time means Ben and Pete start spending a lot of time time together, although not all of that is spent in the test kitchen – sometimes they go out to eat together, or for drinks with the rest of the kitchen staff, which always somehow ends up with the two of them engaged in long conversations about everything and nothing. Ben knows developing a crush is just setting himself up for heartbreak because the guy is way out of his league, but Pete is kind and generous and fun, he never seems to forget anything Ben tells him about himself, he gets Ben’s obscure jokes, he just… gets Ben. By the time Ben realises what’s happening, it’s too late – he’s fallen head-over-heels.

I really liked both characters, and I especially enjoyed Ben’s dry humour and snarky narrative voice. He’s a bit of a social misfit who doesn’t have the patience (or inclination) to attempt to fit in with what everyone else deems socially acceptable – saying what you don’t mean and spending time with people you don’t like. He struggles with anxiety, he’s overly self-critical, and he’s cynical, often speaking before he thinks, which can make him seem mean, weird, or both, and which generally puts people off talking to him. (Fine by him.) The story is related entirely from Ben’s perspective so we’re in his head the whole time, and there is, as I’ve said, a lot of internal monologue here, but the author uses really well it to show us why Ben is the way he is and to help the reader empathise with a character who might otherwise be a bit difficult to like.

Pete, on the other hand, is a walking ball of sunshine – apart from when he’s in front of the camera. He’s very much the golden retriever to Ben’s black cat; he takes the whole Pete-is-terrible-on-camera mess incredibly well, he laughs, he jokes and he doesn’t get bent out of shape about it and seems like a totally carefree guy – although there are very small indications early on that Pete isn’t really okay and that there’s something more going on with him. Even though we don’t get into his head, we do get a good sense of who he is and of his growing feelings for Ben in the way he listens to him, looks out for him and puts his heart into cooking for him – while Ben is too blinded by his lack of self-esteem to realise that Pete is every bit as smitten as he is.

There’s a small but well-drawn secondary cast including Ben’s upstairs neighbour, Mrs. C., and some of Pete’s colleagues, and the writing is funny, vivid and engaging. The two leads are endearing, their slow-burn romance is very well done, and they experience real growth as the story progresses.

My main quibble with the book is that the backstory that drives much of the conflict feels rather flimsy, and the villain of the piece is a bit cartoonish. It’s clear from early on that Pete is essentially being forced into making the videos and that his camera-aversion is related to something in his past, but when all is revealed it’s a bit of an anti-climax. Still, by that time, I was so invested in Ben and Pete getting their HEA that I was prepared to suspend my disbelief a bit.

Recipe for Trouble is utterly charming – heartfelt, funny, wonderfully romantic, and hard to put down, and I enjoyed it a great deal. On to the Keeper shelf it goes.

[Cori Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this fade-to-black -- all the spice is in the food -- workplace romance about grumpy video-editor Ben and sunshiny magazine chef Pete forced together to produce an unexpectedly viral cooking show.

The book is single-POV third-person, so we do get all of Ben's anxiety and self-criticism and less insight into Pete's thoughts, but I thought that worked well to help us empathise with what might otherwise be a difficult character. He is blunt to the point of being mean sometimes, so seeing inside why does help us connect with him as we watch Feelings develop too. These build beyond physical attraction to give very clear and beautifully described insight into how each of them 'gets' the other, and really sees them as they are. Which is powerfully romantic, honestly.

A few other reviewers comment on the writing style. If my review's own rather wordy style gives you the twitches, perhaps this book may not be for you. Or maybe you shouldn't let me put you off, since I'm nowhere near as smooth as the author. I am also not nearly as funny. I know this is a highly individual opinion, but I did laugh out loud far more than I'd expected thoughout the story. It's a dry humour, not banter; for me along the lines of Steven Rowley's The Guncle, or Nearlywed by Nicolas DiDomizio. YMMV.

All in all, a lovely autumn/winter vibes read, highly recommended!


This review is based upon a complimentary advance reading copy provided by the publisher.

[Corinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay for me. I really wanted to like it much more.

Let me start with what did work for me: I thought the characterization was solid (even for the non-POV character.) I also enjoyed the connection between the two main characters. The sense of place was pretty good (although, I'd be curious to hear from a New Yorker if it felt authentic to them - it felt a bit like movie NYC to me but what do I know?)

Now for a few things that were not for me but could be for you: I guess it is supposed to be a romcom but I found it way too heavy on the com shenanigans. It was simply too much disbelief for me to suspend. It also relied on a lot of interiority of the main character. Along with a couple of the plot devices and the way the book wraps up felt like wish fulfillment, much of it didn't work for me.

I think this book may have suffered because I read it close on the heels of reading TJ Alexander's debut, Chef's Kiss, which had a very similar premise but was better executed and I did enjoy this author's Fall Into You, so I'll still check out whatever they put out next.

I received a digital Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley and Storm Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

[Michael Mullady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank Netgaley for this one! Great slowburn fade to black apprach and really lovable characters. The fun of cooking and anxiety of being on camera plus compentent people who are good at their jobs and of course fall in love.

While I felt some parts were slow the overall story was fun and the I liked the interactions slow burn,

[tillie hellman · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read an older book of morrison’s a bit ago and i liked it but wasn’t blown away. this one was rlly enjoyable! partially bc i liked the content a lot (i’m a sucker for books about people who love to cook and also about video content/internet fame setups). really great slow burn and very unique and specific reasons for why they don’t get together for awhile and why they have smth of a third act breakup. honestly a very well plotted book which is one of the things i look for most in books these days both in the pacing and in the originality and meaningfulness of the plot events. i also quite enjoyed the characters and their dynamics! very cute banter and vibes, i liked the depiction of depression and anxiety. i loved the setup of the show, i do wish we had seen some social media stuff cuz i always enjoy that but also neither of the characters would have so i guess it makes sense.
small thoughts about jewish rep in this book: pretty much right away i was like IS THIS GUY JEWISH?! but we didn’t get confirmation until literally 50% through the book. i think overall it worked for me esp as he was very obviously secular. i wish there had been a little bit about him not keeping kosher (it’s never mentioned but there’s a whole scene about dietary restrictions and he eats pork multiple times) and as always, i wish the high holidays were mentioned during the discussion of holidays instead of the multiple hannukah references and (this was more appreciated) single passover reference. esp bc the beginning of the book took place in the fall… anyways. but compared to some books written by goys i’ve read recently, this felt like wayyy more accurate rep and i could feel it within his character in someways without the narrative ever being like “he’s like this bc he’s jewish!!!” once again tho, i wanna say to hell with writing a fantasy novel with big systematic critiques and just write a sweet jewish romance. anyways this has been not at all a small segment and i am just, i will admit, blogging at this point.
overall, really enjoyed this book and it was great seeing an author improve so much! the audiobook was delightful (except some of the voices were kinda absurdly weird LOL. a lot of high pitch nasally etc etc but the two mcs voices were amazinggg which makes up for it). i do wish it wasn’t fade to black but whatever.
in conclusion, not a perfect book but a very lovely one that i greatly enjoyed both in execution and in content! farewell, this has been another rambly goodreads review

[NariaS · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cuddle up with a warm blanket read! I spent much of the book on my papasan.

Ben is a video editor and gets roped into a job he's supposed to fail at. That whole situation leads to him spending a lot of time with Pete. Pete, a test chef, also wanted Ben to fail at first because he's an absolute disaster in front of a camera!

Ben is anxious and often speaks before he thinks, which tends to come off as mean. This book is very character driven though so you know exactly why he does everything he does, and he's a character I would love to be friends with. You get a pretty good sense of Pete's personality too, which is a bit golden retriever with more depth.

The humor was right up my alley, kind of dry and sarcastic, and I found myself smiling and laughing often.
It did take me a minute to sink into the writing style, it's different, maybe a bit formal? I ended up really liking it, but it does mean you have to pay attention a bit more than you would to a mindless beach read.

Overall I highly recommend this book, super sweet and cute!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have Thoughts, review to come!

[Mikaelah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recipe for Trouble by Dylan Morrison [ARC - Releasing 16 October 2025]
4 Stars
Spice - Fade to Black
Tropes - Black Cat x Golden Retriever, Workplace
Format - Single POV, Third Person Present Tense

Thanks so much to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

Recipe for Trouble is a fun, foodie romcom set in New York City during the holiday season (though Christmas gets much less of a cameo than you’d expect, given the Christmas lights on the cover). It follows Ben, a video editor with the tendency to lash out at others, and Pete, a sunshiny chef with a crippling fear of being on camera, as a one-off video gone viral sees them working together to produce a cooking show for fictional food magazine Gastronome over the holiday season. Most importantly, however, this book is about a cat named Roux, whose prickly personality mirrors Ben’s in a lot of ways, down to her undeniable soft spot for Pete.
This book is told entirely from Ben’s perspective. Though it is written in third person, the prose is steeped with his wit and sarcasm. I found it charming and funny, though I can see how it might not hit for some readers.
I thought it was well paced, with an engaging balance of chaos, banter, and sweet moments. My one real sticking point was an extended subplot where Ben assumes Pete is already taken. I found that the “is this cheating?” of it all put a bit of a dampener on the joy of watching Ben and Pete’s relationship develop.
Overall, Recipe for Trouble is a sweet, character-driven romcom, well worth picking up for readers who love queer romances featuring snippy introverts and the golden-retriever types they can’t seem to push away.

[Rosario]

I read about a quarter of it before giving up. The writing just didn't work for me. I did not believe a single character, Ben's POV was a mess of random blah blah blah and he'd get angry about things and I did not understand why, and the thing just dragged and dragged. Nah.

I should mention that the naked marketing in the actual title of this book also pissed me off. This is not called "Recipe for Trouble", it's called "Recipe for Trouble: A grumpy/sunshine queer MM romantic comedy". This is such BS. It didn't affect my decision to DNF, but ugh.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing an early copy for review

A sweet, charming romance!

I've never read Morrison's work before, but this was a lovely introduction. The writing style is engaging, vivid, and funny; the characters are entertaining, if a bit over the top, and have complete arcs. I do wish that it had committed to the holiday romance aspect a bit more - the ending makes it feel like this is definitely the vibe the book is going for, but it took probably 50% before I felt that. Still, a fun time, with scenes that I could imagine perfectly in a movie.

I would say that some of the reveals - in fact, the secrets that most of the conflict and driving force revolve around - just...feel unrealistic? It's clear from the beginning that Miranda is more or less blackmailing Pete into doing the videos, and that his camera anxiety is rooted in something in his past; these two being connected makes sense. But when the backstory finally comes to light, it feels strangely overblown. It doesn't feel believable to me that someone like Pete would allow his life to essentially be ruined by something so small, or that it would be something Miranda would threaten him with given its relative insignificance. It's an original backstory, don't get me wrong! It just doesn't quite fit the stakes here.

But, overall, this was a really enjoyable little romance. I'll be interested to see what Morrison does next!

[Nicole Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recipe for Trouble is mm romance that focuses on Pete and Ben. The two are forced to work together and create food videos for their respective companies.

Ben is the genius behind the editing while Pete is the “talent”. I use that word cautiously because Pete is a hot mess when the camera is on.

I had high hopes for this book based on the description, but it was a miss for me. The beginning was so long and repetitive. Pete and Ben making content, Pete having stage freight and taking way too long to make content. I also didn’t understand their relationship. I was 60% through the book and their want even a declaration of feelings from either party. Then, suddenly Ben is in love with Pete.

I did finish this book in hopes I would become more into it, but sadly that wasn’t the case.

Thank you NetGalley and Dylan’s Morrison for the advanced copy.

2.5⭐️⭐️
🚫🌶️

[Ron Haislip-hansberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Recipe for Trouble" is a high five slap in the air kinda book. Ben and Pete work in the same company but in different divisions in NYC. Ben is asked to edit a new cooking webshow that Pete stars in and it becomes a surprise hit. Pete is a competent chef until he is in front of a camera where he develops panic attacks. It is only through Ben's careful, thoughtful guidance that Pete is able to get through a show. The relationship ship grows from acquaintances to ... I absolutely adore Ben's compassion and insightfulness and Pete's tenacity. I love this book! It warms my heart. "Recipe for Trouble" is one of the top non "spicy" mm romances I've read over the last year. Be sure to pick this up in October when it will be released. You'll thank me. Thanks to @netgalley @stormbooks_co @dylanthyme for letting me review this wonderful book. #lqbtqiaplus #mmromancebooks #romance #netgalley #stormpublishing #recipefortrouble #gaybookstagram #bookstagram #foodieromance #foodiesofinstagram

[ullianachase · Rating 2 out of 5]

a waste of time

книга ооочень долго раскачивалась, Бен никакой не грампи, он просто на просто интроверт и иногда болтает лишнего, а Пит со своими загонами совсем не саншайн, романтика поначалу была довольно пресной, но как только появилась искра, так сюжет свернул в какие то мелодраматичные кусты и каждый сюжетный ход вызывал во мне раздражение и волну возмущения (о чем я поорала в тг)

в общем разочарование какое-то, единственное что понравилось, так это описание процесса готовки

тг канал про книги и прочее

[Chelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this reading this. I thought it was quite cute and sweet.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Marcos “MSMDragon” · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 ⭐️

Recipe for Trouble was a sweet, MM romance. The vibes and all of the cooking made it a great read for this time of year!

[Beaumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

Overall I had a lot of fun with this book. The MCs were cute and relatable. I also loved the humanity this author brings to his characters and stories. It’s missing from the vast majority of romance novels (because frankly humanity is not a major theme in romance for good reason), but it’s not so bogged down with reality that I’m not having a good time. I truly enjoy that. And normally I do NOT enjoy a slow burn romance with zero sex scenes because I’m just not invested in the characters enough individually. Ever. But this book and the last one from the author have me gently but firmly invested enough that I enjoyed the slow burn.

While this is not a slice of life novel, it has slice of life pacing. If you read any fanfiction between like 2000-2015, you’ll know the ones that were long and slice of life-y and just kept going but you couldn’t stop reading them. This book is like reading one of those. Actually the other book by this author was too. I mean this as a compliment, but also as a heads up for people who want a faster pace or more explosions or something. It’s very nostalgic for me, and I enjoyed it a lot, especially as read by the very nice narrator.

Ben is a cis 28 year old gay man. He’s a freelance video editor with a background in the restaurant business. He switched careers for something that offered a somewhat higher income and marginally more stability. He’s introverted, can be cranky, and has trouble forming connections with others at times due to people suck and also his history being hurt or kind of ignored by loved ones. He’s very loyal and protective of anyone he considers his own, however. He’s determined and stubborn when it comes to taking care of those who matter to him.

Pete is a cis gay probably-20-something man. He’s a chef at an online publication and does recipe development and testing. He had a traumatic incident as a child back in the early 2000s and as a result is so anxious on camera he’s almost nonfunctional. Otherwise he’s personable and people like him a lot. He’s dealing with some health issues of family members that put stress on him as well. Pete also has a lot of affection for those he loves, but he isn’t as determined as Ben about it and he lacks a spine a good portion of the time. But he’s kind and a good-natured person. The spinelessness did get to me a few times. Luckily he remedies this at the end. Not enough of an apology for me, but certainly better than nothing (or blaming Ben. I wish I was joking but this happens a LOT in books).

Contains:
—gay MCs
—bisexual tertiary character (Ben’s neighbor’s late husband)
—complicated family dynamics
—slow burn
—height difference (not emphasized)
—holidays
—chef x video editor (who also used to be a cook)
—dislike to friends to lovers to dislike to lovers
—MC with depression
—MC with anxiety
—panic attack on page (or almost)

Other:
—third person single POV (Ben)
—cheating: no. However, Ben at one point thinks Pete has a boyfriend and sleeps with him anyway and even plans to try to convince Pete to dump the boyfriend. Ben feels intermittently bad about this, but it turns out there’s no boyfriend at all. I thought this whole thing was hysterical!
—romantic rival: no
—breakup: yes, third act. Though technically they weren’t officially dating, it definitely had early relationship vibes. Pete knew they were planning to fire Ben and he didn’t say anything, didn’t defend Ben, and stood there while Miranda was awful to him and fired him for something she blew out of proportion.
—kids: no
—sex: completely fade to black, reference to the MCs having sex once.
—HEA: yes.

This villain felt nearly identical to the villain in the apple orchard book. Not bad necessarily but until the very end of the book I couldn’t see any difference in motivation at all.

I loved the themes of difficult family relationships that this author seems to do a lot. It’s all distressingly relatable to me half the time. For example, Ben loves his family and vice versa, but they much prefer his sister to him, and he can’t even blame them. They don’t hate him, but if they could choose they wouldn’t choose him. He doesn’t blame his sister at all and even sees the appeal since he loves her too. I have something similar with my own family, which sucks when you realize while you don’t mind the differences between you, they fine your own differences extremely grating. It’s not an active or cruel thing, it’s like being mad at someone for having seasonal allergies - it just is what it is. Anyway, very relatable.

Ben, by nature more than intention, is the sort of gay man who’s never quite grasped “camp” as either an adjective or a verb; whether you cover him in sequins and feathers or drop him in the middle of the woods, he’s going to find himself wishing, in fairly short order, that he was at home in his sweatpants. Ezra, on the other hand, is the sort of gay who gets his nails done professionally, and flirts salaciously with anyone who happens by, and often feels called to express himself by bursting out in song. It’s entertaining, of course, and he’s got quite a good voice, but being around him sets Ben’s teeth on edge a little, leaves him with the raw, uncomfortable itch of not quite fitting into your own community. It’s not that Ben begrudges him expressing himself—if anything, he wishes that he, Ben, had more to express.
Still, it’s nice to have someone else openly queer around.
Here Ben acknowledges he’s a bit uncomfortable but mostly it’s from stuff about himself and not Ezra (part of it may be how extroverted Ezra is vs Ben being introverted, but that’s regardless of queerness or straightness), and also knows he’s not going to change. Nor does he blame Ezra. I really liked this because unlike every other book I’ve read that has a similar moment, a queer MC who tends to pass as straight is not blaming the easily-clocked-as-queer person for feeling the “uncomfortable itch of not quite fitting into your own community.” I think it’s usually written as more of a “how dare you, ticking almost all typical boxes for a straight person doesn’t make me appear less queer, you’re the one acting TOO QUEER” tends to be done when the author feels they’re not “queer enough” and it ends up feeling like a rant or a lecture to the reader. Which I hate. As a queer person who tends to pass as straight myself, it’s a combo of my socialization, preferences, and knowing it’s always safer that way even though it can “itch” sometimes. Not everyone can or does pass as straight. Because it generally shakes out for me to tick more “straight boxes,” I’m privileged with a layer of safety others are not. It would be lunacy for me to be mad about this and think people who never or rarely pass as straight “have it easier” in the queer community. Yet that’s what I always see in books. Though not here, thankfully.
Anyway, rant over for now. This really bothers me because it’s essentially punching down to make yourself feel better about your choices and that sucks big time.

It’s like talking to his sister, Renata, about her hideous tendency, in spite of more than a decade of avowed bisexuality, to be all but exclusively inclined towards dating terrible, poorly behaved men who treat her like dirt.
LOL! This is extremely real!



“Letting Pete know him feels like… like… like the way sometimes, when Ben was a teenager, he’d take his camera out in the woods and stand very still, and after a while, the forest would forgive him his humanity and forget he was there. They’d come out, the birds and squirrels and chipmunks, and go about their business, as though having assessed him as worthy of knowing their secrets, not dangerous enough to hide from. The benediction of a chickadee landing on top of his head—that’s what it feels like, showing Pete this video. Like being chosen as worthy of something rare and singular through some mechanism Ben doesn’t understand, but is desperately grateful for.”

…the slow, sinking-in-all-over realization of how easy it is to talk to Pete. How easy it is to just be with him. How it’s never a long, intricate argument; how Pete never makes him feel disappointing, or like he’s singing a slightly different song than everyone else, and in the wrong key, to boot.

He wonders why he never considered before the glaringly obvious answer: that home isn’t a place, or a building, or a sign. Home is being with people who make you feel like yourself.

“I think it’s sweet, for what it’s worth. You trying to defend my honor like that. Misdirected, sure. And I guess you could say a little hypocritical, given that about an hour beforehand I had you⁠—”
“I know,” Ben groans again, though he shivers a little at the memory of the position he suspects Pete’s talking about.

Pete’s fingers are warm over Ben’s, and suddenly, Ben is grateful. …he’s grateful for his years alone, every late night wondering if he’d live out his life like one of those solitary bees, toiling away by his lonesome until the day he dropped. …It was worth it, whatever happens from this moment.

[Karen Rós · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this!! it was funny and charming and basically hit all of my buttons. it also reminded me of TJ Alexander's food books (in a good way!) - I love books where food is a central theme in some way or other, especially when the main character isn't a chef or similar.

I think it's fair to say that there's only one main character here, as this is single pov close 3rd person. (my favourite pov for romance novels tbh. dual pov is fine, but most of the time I prefer to get to know the love interest through the eyes of the pov character, and here it really worked.) Ben was delightful, sardonic and sarcastic at times but not mean, and very creative with his language and ideas in a way that made this a fun and delightful read from start to beginning.

also I want to add, this is one of few New York books that don't make me feel tired of New York as a setting, as if everyone is supposed to love New York etc etc - this book managed to make New York feel like it could have been any other big city as it was less about New York as a concept, and more about making a big city home, for better or worse. It almost made me want to actually visit New York, until I thought better of it; I know within my heart of hearts I would hate, so really it's best to enjoy it from afar, through the filter of fiction.

anyway, what else is there to say - loved the chemistry between Ben and Pete, the rising tension of the webseries and Evil Corporate until it snapped, the aftermath, the happy ending, the cast of supporting characters. if I had to make one complaint, it is that it would've been nice to see more of the supporting characters, but I have a feeling this book was already quite long and editorial probably would've frowned upon a 10k word padding of supporting cast.

I had a great time reading this and it put me in a good mood and I'm happy. loved it. recommended for anyone looking for an uplifting funny and delightful holiday romance.

I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Delibes · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 – Recipe for Trouble

Going into this, I really thought Ben would be the sunshine half of the grumpy/sunshine duo—but nope. He’s grumpy in a sneaky, low-key way. Not the loud, broody kind, more the “quietly annoyed at existence, owns a cat, hates his job, has zero friends but still somehow mingles with people” type. And honestly, it works for him.

The whole thing kicks off when he’s supposed to cut film material of Pete cooking and tries to make the video bad on purpose…except it blows up and goes viral. Karma said: hi bestie. And yes, Ben has to deal with the consequences.

Pete, on the other hand, is awkward as hell on camera but actually a really good chef. He takes the whole viral-mess situation surprisingly well—he laughs, he vibes, and he doesn’t get dramatic about it. He seems carefree, but there’s this little undercurrent that tells you there’s more going on with him. You can just feel that something deeper is coming later.

What really surprised me is how naturally Ben and Pete click. They grew up in similar environments—both around restaurants, both with one non-American parent—and their humor lines up perfectly without even trying. They just get each other in a way that feels easy and believable.

The twist with Ben’s personality made me laugh, and I enjoyed that Pete didn’t get offended or overreact. Their dynamic is fun, their banter works, and even with the tropes, it doesn’t feel stale.

Overall, it’s a light and enjoyable read with characters that sneak up on you. Not perfect, but definitely a solid 4/5 and easy to keep reading.

[Andrew M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of reading the Arc of Recipe for Trouble by Dylan Morrison. If you enjoy romance novels that combine the setting of a reality cooking show and all the emotions of a heart-gripping romance movie, this book is for you. This story follows Ben and Pete, who work for a media company in NYC. One day, Ben is asked to be a video editor for a new cooking web show that stars our other main protagonist, Pete. When Ben watches the raw footage, he realizes that Pete isn't the most graceful in front of a camera, but after hours of editing, it becomes an overnight success. Throughout the rest of the book, you watch their relationship grow and how they navigate specific problems together,

Recipe for Trouble is a beautiful romance novel that succeeds in eliciting strong emotions from the reader. I loved the characters in this novel and got to know them well. By the end, I was personally invested in how they would grow as people. The story gripped me by the heart. I found myself having to keep going to find out what would happen next. One particular moment that touched me was the big scene at the end when Pete went on live television to win Ben over. The ending was satisfying and left no questions unanswered.

In terms of pacing, the beginning moved a little slow, but it was integral for setting up the rest of the story. The plot of the book was well-paced.

When I finished this book, I was left with tears of happiness streaming down my face. I was so happy to get the opportunity to read this book. I definitely would recommend this to readers.

Thank you to Net Galley, Dylan Morrison, and Storm Publishing for letting me read and review this stunning novel.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recipe for Trouble - 5/5 stars

"Pete seems to have a similar effect on him, unwinding some part of himself that is usually tangled up and pulled taut."

*This was sent to me by Dylan Morrison and Storm Publishing via Netgalley for an honest review; thank you so much for the opportunity*

Trigger/ Content Warnings
Depictions of multiple sclerosis (MS)
Blackmail plot point

Review
This book follows Ben (a video editor for a large media conglomerate based in New York City) who through the job offer from an acquaintance, the seemingly incompetent chef in the footage and a lot of alcohol makes the edited video go viral on social media. This leads him to land a job with his childhood favourite cooking magazine and eventually, through a mildly slow burn, a boyfriend in Pete the chef from the viral video.

I really enjoyed this book. The two love interests were funny, charming and overall engaging. Their romance felt realistic in its slow pace and altogether adorable. Through misunderstandings, a small blackmail plot line against Pete and public declarations these two have a beautiful romance that is perfect for those who love a cosy romcom (especially this winter).

This book is the second book I've read in a row where the love interest's parent has MS. That is a weird coincidence but regardless, this book handled it a lot better in my opinion as it wasn't just a throwaway line. Instead he was a character in the story who's connection to Pete was obviously affecting his actions in his relationship with Ben due to being a carer to someone with a degenerative disorder. It was a clear motivator for Pete but also a block. Pete's dad wasn't demonised for his disability despite not fully understanding and accepting his limitations (something common with neurodisabilities as I've seen with my own father who is a stroke survivor), which I greatly appreciated as it is too common to see those with disabilities become the villains of the story.

Overall
Overall, I think this book is perfect for someone wanting to read a cute, grumpy/sunshine queer love story. This is a wholesome queer story with a happy ending and a lot of fluffy moments and I recommend it to anyone interested in such a love story!

My Links!
Instagram | TikTok | Blog

[Cayce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Pete and Ben! This book is grumpy/sunshine, hurt/comfort, co-workers-to-lovers, workplace bullying (not by MCs), all mixed together with a healthy dose of anxiety and depression-rep. If that doesn't sound particularly uplifting, I get it, but this was a mostly joyful read and I found myself laughing out loud numerous times.

The story starts off with Ben, a video editor who does boring contract work for a magazine conglomerate getting the opportunity to edit some car crash footage for the flagship cooking magazine, Gastronome. Ben's a little, shall we say, annoyed at how badly the presenter Pete is and thinks he must be doing it on purpose. So Ben takes the opportunity to cut together a funny but biting edit of how hopeless Pete is at cooking. The video gets posted, goes viral, and surprise! Pete and Ben are teamed up again to make more video content. But, it turns out that Pete has extreme camera anxiety (he wasn't being bad on purpose!) and that sets the scene for the two to get to know each other.

This is a slow slow-burn, closed door book, lots of yearning and second-guessing. There were some parts through the middle that felt a little slow, but I was invested enough in the couple to carry on, and I was happy with the HEA.

Finally, I loved the epilogue, which was set during Christmas-time, so perfect for reading around the holidays!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Mare · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️/5

I would recommend this if you enjoy:
- LGBTQIA+ romances
- MM romances
- Workplace romances
- Forced proximity
- Reluctant coworkers to lovers
- No spice

Thank you for the ARC Netgalley and Storm Publishing. All opinions are my own.

This book follows Ben, a video editor, and Pete, a cook, who meet when Ben edits Pete's cooking video and it goes viral leading them to have to work together.

This was a cute romance with yearning and a slow burn that was well written. I enjoyed the scenes where the characters bantered and comforted one another and I think that they were well suited. I didn't like that Ben was fully in love with Pete before 50% as it made his character seem a bit desperate in places.

The food show aspect was interesting to read about as I've watched shows similar to the one in the book and the behind-the-scenes of how they actually do it was a great addition. While I enjoyed that, I didn't feel connected to any of the characters so at times I felt a bit bored. I did like that the author wrote the romance with tension and no spice as it felt right for the characters and what they were going through.

Overall, I would recommend this book for a cute, fun MM romance but I probably won't read it again. I did like the author's writing style and I would pick up another of their books.

[Meg Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Recipe for Trouble by Dylan Morrison is a joyful, character-driven romcom that I enjoyed more than I expected, though it lands somewhere between a 3.5 and 4-star read for me.

On the plus side, I immediately adored both Ben and Pete. What could have tipped into insta-love instead felt like the realistic pull of unexplained chemistry—the kind of connection where you meet someone and everything just clicks, even before there’s a clear reason. The character work is strong, and the little twists on microtropes were delightful; the thoughtful details Morrison weaves in really elevate the story.

That said, there were moments where I had to pause and wonder how or why things were unfolding as they were. I also would have liked more time spent on Pete’s larger, more serious secret. The imbalance in how the two “secrets” were handled threw me off a bit, especially since so much focus was given to the lighter one.

Overall, though, this is a sweet, fun read. The slow-burn dynamic between the grumpy Ben and the sunny Pete is heartwarming, the foodie backdrop adds charm, and the humor and awkward moments made it very relatable. Perfect for a cozy afternoon read, especially if you enjoy MM romances with character-driven plots and gentle romance.

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

💙 Recipe for Trouble ARC Review 💙

Thank you so much to Dylan Morrison and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Recipe for Trouble is a standalone contemporary MM romance. Grumpy video editor Ben is content with his life. Nothing crazy ever happens, and he likes it this way. So when he’s thrust into Internet fame after a work project goes viral, can he handle the pressure and his new coworker?

This was a cute read! I really liked Ben as a character and his anxieties were really relatable. Pete was a great match for him and i enjoyed how well they learned to work together to overcome their struggles. Though i enjoyed the mental health rep, i felt like most of the book revolved around that and found myself wanting to see more of these characters outside their anxieties

Overall this was a solid three star read. I enjoyed the story and characters overall, but would personally have liked to have seen more facets of these characters. This book does have some potential triggers, so please check if you’re sensitive. Though this book does have a romantic plot, there was YA levels of on page spice, so one flame for spice

If you’re a fan of MM romance with relatable characters, mental health rep and foodie vibes, then absolutely pick this one up!