Dexterity Check cover art

Dexterity Check

Dungeons and Dating, Book 5

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Dexterity Check

By: Katherine McIntyre
Narrated by: Benjamen Filipowicz
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Summary

Eli’s sworn off irresponsible flirts, and Arjun’s one of the worst—aggravating, provoking, and everything Eli can’t resist.

After fifteen years in the military, Eli Reynolds has returned to San Francisco with broken dreams and a broken heart, courtesy of his now ex-boyfriend. He’s determined to avoid anyone like his cheating ex—which means steering clear of Tabletop Tavern’s resident flirt, Arjun Gupta.

Arjun wants a break. Ever since he added his grandmother’s nursing home to his monthly bills, he’s drowning in debt. On top of his job as chef at Tabletop Tavern, he’s been stripping at nights to cover the extra costs. She’s worth every sleepless hour, but he’s desperate for relief—of any sort. Too bad Tabby’s cousin Eli is too high and mighty for a fling.

Eli and Arjun can’t seem to avoid each other, and with each collision they realize more and more that they might have misjudged—especially when all those sparks spill over into something hot and unforgettable. However, when Eli’s folks decide to move across the country, Eli needs to choose: remain in the place that reminds him of his failures or start over fresh—and if Arjun isn’t here for keeps, Eli can’t risk his heart to stay.

Roll the dice on romance at Tabletop Tavern…

©2023 Katherine McIntyre (P)2024 Katherine McIntyre Literature & Fiction Romance Heartfelt San Francisco
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Listener received this title free

This series - set around a gaming venue called Tabletop Tavern populated by a colourful hotch of characters - is about found family and finding your 'tribe' and it had me from the start. I've not read books 1-4 in the series, and found the storyline and characters stood alone, it was a great one to dip into and discover this new world - I'll go back and read the others now. Arjun and Eli are an adorable cliche of a stubborn opposites-attract couple, and their chemistry was superb. Arjun's grandmother completely stole every scene she was in, and that was particularly well done by the audiobook's narrator - it's no mean feat to jump between saucy lady pensioner and burly ex-military male hottie and it made me smile to listen to.

Nerdy found family fun

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Listener received this title free

Dexterity Check is the fifth book in the Dungeons and Dating series. The author's writing style is wonderful, light-hearted and easy to read.
There are two interesting protagonists in Arjun and Eli. Arjun is cheeky, bubbly and enjoys life. On the other hand, he also has stress, because his Indian roots are important to him and he likes to look after his grandma. But it costs money.
Eli is exactly the opposite. He is grumpy and bitter and after his service in the army he has to make some basic decisions.
Eli keeps bumping into Arjun and it's sweet to see the direction in which they both develop. And it's also nice to see that they both gain trust, even though they are so different.
There are many lovely moments in the book and I loved how Arjun took care of his grandmother. Her illness is unfortunately very realistic, I often thought to myself, just like real life.

The audiobook was narrated by Benjamen Filipowicz, who is a new narrator for me. I thought his performance was great. I was able to distinguish the voices of Arjun and Eli well, but he also did a wonderful job of portraying the secondary protagonists

Another great addition to the series

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Listener received this title free

Arjun and Eli were so well developed, they felt like real people and I just connected with both of them instantly. I cared deeply for them and I wanted to hug them when they were feeling bad and I was happy when they were happy.
Arjun was so sassy and I loved his sunshine attitude and Eli was such a sweet and caring person.
Their romance had a grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers vibe and their chemistry when they finally got together was explosive. I also really appreciated the character development for both main characters. It was a romance but it was also a journey of self discovery. And Arjun's grandmother was the best. I loved her character.
The narrator was absolutely fantastic, I really really loved how he brought to life Arjun and Eli, the chararacter voices were perferct. Brilliant narration.

Amazing book

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Listener received this title free

I love Arjun – spunky, sassy, sparkly, snarky, and a lover of life. He’s also stressed, overworked, and unwilling to share his burden with everyone else. I love how important his Indian heritage is, and how much he loves his Noni.

Enter Eli – newly out of the army, bitter, grumpy, and facing a monumental choice after he just made the life-changing one of leaving the only place where he’d felt comfortable. He was betrayed, and now he’s incredibly slow to trust. After Arjun’s offer of a quickie in the bathroom – which Eli rejected out of hand – they’re wary of each other.

Then they start running into each other – a lot. At Tabletop Tavern where Arjun’s a chef. At the nursing home where Arjun regularly visits his grandmother and Eli visits vets. On the side of the road when Eli rescues Arjun after car trouble. At The Lighthouse where Arjun strips. Yep, Mr. Sassy loves to shake his bootie.

I was so empathetic to Arjun whose grandmother is in a nursing home that he had to pay for. I was empathetic to Eli who’d been burned badly and was aimless.

With their friends and family, though, things change. Eli finds purpose. Arjun finds possible solutions. Big surprise – the crew at Tabletop are there to help and I loved them for that.

Benjamen Filipowicz is a new to me narrator and I have to say I was so very impressed with his performance. The differentiation between Eli and Arjun’s voices was great. Secondary characters were wonderful. Benjamen didn’t narrate the other books in the series, but this book still fits in beautifully. I’m off to enjoy the finale now. Previous listening is not required, but why not pick up all the books and enjoy?

I need an Eli in my life

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Listener received this title free

M/M
Age gap (10 years)
Grumpy/Sunshine
Twink/Bear with Daddy vibes
Mutual Hurt/comfort
Slow burn
Found family

Arc Audio review

Story = 5 stars
Narration = 5 stars

This can be read as a standalone. This was my favorite in the series. I loved everything about it. I was drawn in by their very first snarky banter and fully invested til the very end. I loved both of the MCs. Snarky, sassy twinks and grumpy Daddy types to me are the perfect pairing. These 2 MCs were perfect for each other and they had amazing chemistry even though the story is a slow burn, there are sparks flying between these 2 the entire book. The story is fun and sweet. There's a few sad mentions but they are balanced out well. The 2nd part has some steam and I felt like it was the perfect amount for this particular story. There is some angst near the end but again I thought it was really balanced out well. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. There's also a dog and who doesn't love a dog Daddy.

Eli is home after 15 years in the military. He is staying at his parents til he figures out what to do next which he will have to decide on quick because his parents put their house up for sale and are moving states. He doesn't have anything tying him to either city so he debates going with them or staying. He volunteers at a nursing home visiting patients. Mostly veterans but also one flirty granny. He doesn't like casual dating and prefers relationships but he was recently dumped and has abandonment issues. He thinks arjun is hot but his personality reminds him of his ex. He assumes if he has his same good qualities, he must have his bad qualities too. Still he can't help coming to Arjuns rescue when he needs help even if it's makes him grumpy.

Eli lost his mom in car accident at a young age and his father dumped him off on his grandma who not only raised him but put him through culinary school. Working as the chef at TT is his dream job but his grandma needed to move to a nursing home for health reasons and he had to start stripping to pay for it. He is over worked and over tired and drowning in debt. He too has abandonment issues and refuses to date. Despite all his issues he comes off as a fun ray of sunshine.

The narrator did a fantastic job. He voice was pleasant to listen to and he kept a good reading pace. He expressed all the emotions wonderfully bringing the story to life. He gave all the characters their own distinct voice that suited them perfectly and made the story easy to follow. I was impressed with how he could make his voice sound really young and playful but also deep and mature. It was a pleasure to listen to this story.

My favorite in the series

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