Wisdom Check

Dungeons and Dating, Book 2

De: Katherine McIntyre

Narrado por: Zachary Zaba

Julian’s boss is newly single, ridiculously hot, and looking his way. He’s so screwed.

Cal Morgan’s life was going right on plan—got the wife, the baby, and the board game café he opened with his best friends. At least until his wife dropped the dreaded "d" word. Newly divorced and juggling custody of their toddler with his ex, Cal’s dreams of a family are burnt to ash.

Julian Hale’s been carrying a torch for his sexy boss, Cal, for far too long. As the oldest of five and surrogate mom to his siblings, Julian gets tugged in so many directions that he’s never made time for himself—his wants, his desires—and he definitely desires this man.

However, when Cal starts turning those scorching stares Julian’s way, he can’t resist, even though he should. They’re boss and employee, and Cal’s fresh out of a divorce with a two-year-old—it’s a recipe for disaster even if they’re both falling fast. But when Julian’s application to nursing school gets accepted, he’ll have to choose between pursuing the dreams he set aside when his mom died or the one man he could imagine a future with. Life taught him early on that he’ll never get both.

Roll the dice on romance at Tabletop Tavern…

©2022 Katherine McIntyre (P)2022 Katherine McIntyre

💚💚💚

Divorced and doing weekly custody trade offs with his frosty ex-wife is not how Cal envisioned his life going, and he most definitely did not expect to find himself attracted to his employee and friend, Julian.

Things shift between them when Julian, who has been a surrogate parent to his younger siblings for the last decade, offers to help watch Cal’s daughter when his boss is in a pinch, knowing how worn thin the man is.

The tension snaps between them and the pair fall head first into a hot and steamy relationship despite all the hurdles in their path, but theses two are definitely better together and make it work no matter what gets thrown their way. (Big FU to Sara btw lol)

Wisdom Check was a quick and steamy read, and I really loved the chemistry and dynamic between Cal and Julian. Also sweet Kaylee was so cute, and I wanted to squish her 😍

- single dad
- boss x employee
- friends to lovers

Sweet story

I enjoyed seeing the friend group continue to expand and become more detailed. The romance was believable and engaging, the challenges they faced felt a little dramatic but generally realistic and it wasn’t just a typical communication oversight.

Narrative did absolutely nothing for me

The storyline was incredibly fantastic! With just the right amount of turmoil yet the exact amount of chaos mixed with drama from a toddler, Julian and Cal were great, too. How Cal handled the situation with Julian, followed by Sarah, bravo 👏🏽

The narrator was not for me, I’ve heard a few of his narrations previously and his voice still makes me cringe. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not entirely the sound but more so the drawing out of the sentence endings.

Ready for it All

What a wonderful story of people who deserve the best in life, finally getting it!

Katherine McIntyre seamlessly entwines the lives of found family, many of whom are part of the LGBTQ community, as based around the Tabletop Cafe. Zachary Zaba does a good job providing narration of Wisdom Check.

Julian has been working as the cafe’s chef since its opening, and has loved working for the three best friend owners. But Cal has consistently kept his eye.

‘Handsome’ Jule’s teasing nickname for Cal, is in the process of suffering through a loveless marriage, with the only bright spot being his toddler daughter.

Once Cal is able to look beyond his own pain, he is surprised to find a friend in Jules. As often happens, friendship turn into more, and this budding romance means more to each of them every day they are together.

A Happy Ever After that is well earned!

Two Imperfect Souls forming a Perfect Union

Katherine knocks it out of the park with a nerdy group of found family, a chance at true love, the right amount of heat with the perfect narration to capture the voices of characters both major and minor. Jules and Cal take their roles as providers to the next level. Jules for his father and siblings following the death of his mother. Cal on the other hand is a devoted father and was a devoted husband until he was served divorce papers.Newyl single and happily and openly Bi he is ready to move on, but he doesn't expect his employee and friend Jules who he has been checking out more and more lately could feel the same. But Jules feels like he has too much on his plate and many previous partners have abandoned him for his devotion to family. Can too lonely men surrounded by others truly find a happily ever ever after?? If not for a VERY frustrating 3rd Act breakup this could've been a 5 star story. I loved how much once the guys got started they couldn't keep their hands to themselves. There was so much love to give and it was received so well.

Made family

okay I absolutely love this one. I've read the books I read the books came out and I knew I loved the books. I thought this narrator did a fantastic job with this book I enjoyed there personality that they put into each character and I absolutely love the voice they did for Cal. I highly recommend this series.

Jules & Cal

This is an entertaining hurt/comfort story that has the right amount of sweet mixed with heat. I enjoyed reading it as well as listening to Zachary Zaba's great narration.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

Cal and Jules are sweet together

I enjoyed the story between Cal and Jules. Jules is the head chef at Tabletop Cafe which is partially owned by Cal. Cal's in the middle of a divorce at the beginning of this one and while you don't have to have listened to the previous story, it would sort of set up Cal's marriage and give some background on others at the cafe. I enjoyed Jules as a character. He was loyal, a tad bit sassy, and flirty. Cal was a steady presence and I loved it when he interacted with his daughter. Overall, most of the angst comes from outside of the two. These two slot together really well and have a nice bit of chemistry. The one sticking point is that Jules really should have told Cal what happened between him and Cal's ex. To me, it didn't add up the way he felt that he could just exit Cal's orbit without drawing any questions. I love the characters that have made their own family at the cafe and look forward to what's next!

As far as the narration, I think it was fairly well done. I could definitely tell the difference between Cal and Jules. Sometimes Cal and Hunter sort of sounded the same, but it didn't really bother me. It wasn't flat necessarily but I also didn't feel like it was a particularly emotional narration.

Nerdy, sexy fun.

Cal is a single father who recently is going through a divorce with his wife. She isn't a nice lady at all. Julian is the head chef at the tabletop tavern that Cal is part owner of. The two have always been friendly but now that Cal is single, things between the two of them start changing. Their romance is fast and adorable. They are seriously made for each other! Such a great read!

audio makes the book better

Zachary Zaba has done it again he made a fun read better with his beautiful work. I enjoyed reading this book, but listening to it made it all the better. He makes this beautiful cast of characters more real, more loveable, just more. The mark of a great narrator imo.

The second book of this D&D series is a step up from the first. I'll admit I'm not a ff reader generally and prefer mm, so that likely is a good reason in my preference for this book.
Cal & Julian's attraction is believable as is their chemistry once they give it a chance. Overall, both characters are likable and love how they are very into their family and will do anything and everything to provide for them.
Fun read and makes me want to give the rest of the series a chance.