Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Finding Forgiveness 
SERIES: The Knight Club #5
AUTHOR: C.J. Baty
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 85 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 6, 2019
BLURB:
Xavier Knight lied and now his past was catching up to him. Sebastian Brady meant everything to him. Losing him wasn’t an option Xavier was ready to accept. Ghosts from his past threaten to open up a secret that needs to stay hidden. He wasn’t going to let Zach Brady or anyone else take his happiness away from him.
Zachary Brady had lived in the shadow of his father his entire life. He’d lost his family, his job—everything. What happened between him and Xavier Knight was long ago and best forgotten. He wasn’t going to allow it to sabotage his chance to be accepted by his brothers and sister as family again.
Neither man realizes that they don’t hold the key to their peace of mind. And when the truth is revealed, it will shake their worlds. Family isn’t always the one you are born into, sometimes it’s the one you create for yourself.
REVIEW:
The series starts and finishes with Xavier Knight. His past with Zachary Brady raises its head creating problems for not only Seb but others of the Brady and Knight family. At a time when Zach is trying to mend fences the secrets that come to the fore could do just the opposite.
How can a man atone for his past? A person is the sum of their genes and experiences. At long last Zach sees a person that he wants to be, rather than the person outside influences have made him. One revelation at the start of the story is that Zach is no longer in the police and looking for work. After taking out a gambling ring, I wondered why? Surely, he’d be the toast of the establishment? Maybe, after all, he’d been through and the anguish he’d caused in his past, a break was what he needed? But, the question as to why is never actually answered. I don’t know if that was on purpose or not. However, I was glad that Zach has a starring role in the story, as from the first book, I thought there was more to him than the brash mini-me to his father.
If he is to keep Seb, Xavier must confess the last of his secrets and risk losing him anyway. This part of the story had me glued to the page and brought a lump to my throat. Xavier has more than one secret that he shares with Zach, and it’s not only the one highlighted in book one. That ditty creates a twist or two that I loved.
To save the Brady boys, the Knight family, and their own personal sanity, Xavier and Zach must come to terms with their past, work together and in so doing, attempt to solve another mystery.
Similar to Starting Over (#1), finding forgiveness applies to more than one person, and more than one situation. This story doesn’t include any physical guns or bullets, but it does contain the symbolized smoking gun. As such the tale is delicately written and nicely done. The author has considered the fluctuating emotions of all the players involved and changed the tone accordingly. They include, I want answers, we need to be sure, I’m sorry, oh shit, I love you, I thought I loved you once, and let’s tread carefully. Between the plethora of reactions, there’s also some hot as hell sex.
As I have read and reviewed all five books in the Knights club series, I thought I’d add the below.
Every story involves at least one person from the Knights Club – owned and run by Xavier Knight – and some outsiders. With each new tale, the drama and angst intensify along with the reader’s knowledge of the characters personal lives, loves, losses and overall baggage. Characters that I didn’t care too much for at the start I found myself seriously vested in by the end.
Each story is told in the third person. None of them is technically perfect, with tense, pov, and a few spelling mistakes. But something that this author always provides is naturally flowing stories that never seem to forcefully engineer anything. The chapters alternate in pov and are named as such, which I can’t say I’m a fan of, but it seems to be the latest fashion, so I’ll have to learn to like them.
Individually, the novellas are sweet, entertaining and contain some heart-stopping moments. Given their length, novellas are notoriously fast moving and generally they don’t’ have the time to go into much depth. In this series, each story takes one couple and uses their past, ups, downs, fears and experiences to influence one timeline/event in their present. Doing this allows more depth than some short stories.
The use of the Atlanta police department and the LGBT home, also brought to light people who need help, and the fact that there are some truly good people out there alongside some ugly personalities too.
Together, the stories weave together, and make a better overall impression than individual ones. As a series, it shines, giving depth to the Knight family unit. The series contains, family issues, hot loving, anguish, drama, police situations, bullets, injuries and host of associated emotions. There is a splendid cast of varying personalities who grew on me. As already said, some, at the start, I didn’t like very much. By the end I felt as protective over them as Xavier, who is their overall father.
So, like the Knight family, the stories aren’t perfect, and the odd question was left hanging. But they are a good read and a family I fell for.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: