Genre: Contemporary
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, Bi
Reviewer: Tony
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About The Book
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…
The Review
Wisdom Check is the second in the Dungeons and Dating series, where dungeons relate to the Dungeons & Dragons RPG which the employees of Tabletop Tavern meet up to play regularly. Tabletop Tavern is just the place to hang out if you are a member of the LGBTQA+ community and like any of the following: great company, board games, and good food.
Wisdom Check follows Caleb and Julian as they slowly give in to the attraction they feel for each other. Caleb Morgan has just gotten divorced from Sara and is still reeling from the consequences. His marriage was not a good one, but it was not one he wanted to end. He always wanted a happy family to make up for his own sorry past experience. Luckily, he has the support of his chosen family at Tabletop Tavern.
Julian Hale, one of the chefs for Tabletop Tavern, knows what the benefits of being in a happy family are – support and help when you need it. The problem for Julian is that he tends to be the one his family turns to when help is needed. With four younger siblings, this can be something of a passion-killer when you are getting close and personal with the potential love of your life. He has had to put his life on hold ever since his mother died, and his father has had to work long hours to support the family. When he realises that Caleb is as attracted to him as he is to Caleb, he starts to imagine a real life for himself.
What you get here is a lovely romantic story between two guys with a number of issues and a little two-year-old girl to factor into their plans. There are a few obstacles for them to overcome, some of them quite nasty.
Is it perfect? Close.
The story has a tendency to be a bit repetitive and long winded, but the main characters are well developed on a number of levels. The straight characters we meet are not particularly pleasant, with the exception of Julian’s family members, but then we don’t get to meet that many. so I can live with that.
I have not read the first book in the series yet but I did not feel like I was missing anything here.
The story stood firmly on its yellow-Doc-Martin-shod feet with all the poise needed. If Wisdom Check is anything to go by, I look forward to reading more in this series!
The Reviewer
Tony is an Englishman living amongst the Welsh and the Other Folk in the mountains of Wales. He lives with his partner of thirty-six years, four dogs, two ponies, various birds, and his bees. He is a retired lecturer and a writer of no renown but that doesn’t stop him enjoying what he used to think of as ‘sensible’ fantasy and sf. He’s surprised to find that if the story is well written and has likeable characters undergoing the trails of life, i.e. falling in love, falling out of love, having a bit of nooky (but not all the time), fending off foes, aliens and monsters, etc., he’ll be happy as a sandperson who has just offloaded a wagon of sand at the going market price. As long as there’s a story, he’s in. He aims to write fair and honest reviews. If he finds he is not the target reader he’ll move on.
