Reviewed by Taylin
SERIES REVIEW: The Knight Club books 3-4
AUTHOR: C.J. Baty
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
TITLE: Learning Trust 
LENGTH: 84 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 17, 2018
BLURB:
Rio Garcia was not prepared to become a surrogate father to his seventeen year old brother, but he didn’t have much choice in the matter. He did have a choice of the men he could have in his bed. Steve Coulter was on his two strikes and you’re out list. Rio didn’t trust anyone especially cops. So, why did the man get under his skin and make him sweat.
Steve Coulter had never wanted anything more than to be a cop. Being gay did not fit into his career choice. Keeping things on the down low he could have both, but there was no way he was coming out. He didn’t trust anyone that much. Rio Garcia the hot bartender at the Knights Club made him want things he knew he couldn’t have, so why did he keep going back.
Trust. It’s a big thing. Can Rio and Steve overcome their past issues with trust to find a happily ever after that works for them? Life and family at the Knights Club is always a challenge.
This book contains material that is intended for a mature, adult audience. It contains graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations.
REVIEW:
Rio, the barman from the Knights Club, features in this tale. His parents were deported, but Rio and his brother Marcus were born in the US and so stayed. Having not heard anything, Rio is worried about his parents. He is also suddenly thrust into the position of father/brother to Marcus. His experience of government officials isn’t stellar, so when Steve Coulter, a cop from Seb’s old precinct makes his heart flutter, the signs aren’t good – especially as the man is stuck in the farthest possible corner of the closet.
The new police chief is phobic anything that he doesn’t believe is right and tells Steve and his partner Malachi (Seb’s brother) that ICE is coming to the precinct interested in some illegal immigrants. He sends them to the LGBTQ shelter to get a jump on anyone the FBI could be interested. The two know of the shelter through Knights Club and go to make enquiries/warn the owners.
Steve and Malachi are regulars at Knights. Malachi goes to see his brother, and Steve drools over Rio. A night of drinking too much puts him in a passionate clinch with Rio and their friends with benefits relationship is born. The solution seems perfect to them. Rio has secrets he wants to keep, and Steve, due to his job, and what Seb went through, believes he can’t be out of the closet. Rio accepts this. Things change when a blast from Rio’s past comes making threats against Marcus.
The alternating pov chapters makes an interesting contrast – barman vs cop. I’ll freely admit that I have a weakness for Police stories or anything with a man in uniform.
Learning Trust is a page-turner. There were parts of it where I couldn’t find out what happened quick enough and were heart-stoppers. Once again, Calypso comes out with some stunning one-liners. This is a fast-paced tale with some lovely depth to the characters. In some places, though, it would have been nice if the pace slowed and a scene or two savored more than they were. I’m not talking sex scenes either – those were volcanic. In previous stories, I didn’t find myself warming to Rio, but in this arc, my heart went out to him, and by the end, I loved him and Steve. Published in December this story also has a Christmas element, which added some lightness to events.
I loved the storyline, Rio, and Steve. As this is book 3, I am at the point where I care for the all those associated with Knights Club. They are forming into quite the family with indications of what may follow in books four and five. However, in the opening scenes, there are definite signs that immigration was going to play a big part. There are also hints through the story, and I was waiting to see how this aspect would play out as it simmered in the background, but it petered out. Maybe it was a red herring, or it will show up in later episodes. Either way, I felt bereft as it was something I was looking for and the lack of progression was a distraction.
While reading, I experienced a plethora of emotions, which is something I love a story to put me through. There is love, angst, drama, bitchy teens who come through in the end and an utterly gorgeous coupling in Rio and Steve. There were some five heart moments too that had me holding my breath. All the experiences helped Rio and Steve trust each other to talk about their inner secrets, fears and to trust. So, excusing the odd hiccup, a worthy addition to the Knights library.
RATING: 
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TITLE: Coming Out
LENGTH: 106 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 18, 2018
BLURB:
Phillip Hapner was smart and good looking. He just had one problem. He liked to gamble, trouble was he wasn’t very good at it. Now, he was trying to stay alive and convince the leader of the underground gambling syndicate, that he didn’t know who was in charge. Well, he did have one other problem, Malachi Brady. The cop who was protecting him. Phillip wanted him, even though he knew the man was straight.
Malachi Brady had accepted that his brother was gay. He believed everyone was intitled to love whom they wanted. He knew he wasn’t gay, but he was feeling things for Phillip Hapner he’d never felt before. When he was assigned to protect Phillip, the sexual tension between them exploded. Could he figure out what was going on in his head and his body and who was behind the gambling syndicate in Atlanta.
The people who work at the Knights Club are a family. And like any family, there are times when things just don’t go right.
REVIEW:
After a fallout between Xavier and Seb over Phillip, relations are strained. Eventually, Xavier and Seb came to an agreement, and their world starts to get back to normal. It doesn’t stop Xavier worrying over Phillip. He knows in his gut that something is wrong again.
Phillip is gifted with numbers and extremely intelligent. He also has a problem with gambling. After a series of murders, a beating, a spell in hospital and another attempted murder, Phillip is at risk from gangsters and is taken into protective custody by Malachi Brady, Seb’s brother.
Phillip is bi. Malachi is straight. Phillip can’t help finding Malachi attractive. Malachi is confused, he likes girls but can’t deny that something about Phillip is drawing him in. A heated moment puts both men into a communication shutdown — one with confusion the other frustration.
There are two aspects to Coming Out – the investigation and a possible relationship that has so many pitfalls; some would avoid it like the plague. The arcs though, feed of one another. The danger surrounding the investigation intensifies the feelings Phillip and Malachi have for each other. Avoidance, confusion and internal processing are natural reactions, but there isn’t enough time for either. Therefore, in some encounters, frustration reigns. While Malachi battles with his emotions, someone is after Phillip, and this is another juicy part of the story, which I won’t give spoilers for – except to say that I salivated over a twist or two and the use of some hardware.
The title Coming Out covers one aspect of this story, but not all of it because Phillip knows he’s bi, and Malachi has never had a cock twitch for a male of the species prior to Phillip. Perhaps Discovered Desires would have been a better title.
The action, angst, drama and sense of family this story invoked was lovely to read. The ending, too, made me worry, as it gave hints about the content of book five. Thankfully, as it is already out, I can read it immediately.
RATING: 
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