Reviewed by Anna Lynn

 

TITLE:  Forgiven: Con

SERIES:  The Four #3

AUTHOR:  Sloane Kennedy

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  243 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 24, 2021

BLURB:

Con

I have everything I’ve ever wanted… so why do I still feel like the kid who came from nothing?

Please help him …
Three little words that have haunted me for years.
Three little words that I know I’ll take to my grave.

It was supposed to be just another fight. Another few minutes of using my fists and my so-called natural “gift” for fighting to raise the cash I needed to save my little brother’s life.

But it wasn’t just another fight.

Yes, I had walked away with the prize money and yes, I had saved my brother, but I’d also destroyed not one, but two lives. I’d left my opponent broken on the ground with his eight-year-old brother begging the onlookers around him for help.

Begging me for help.

But I’d walked away…

Fifteen years later and that little boy is now a bitter, broken young man standing over his brother’s grave; the grave I might as well have put him in. I want nothing more than to help Micah Fox escape the hell his life has become, the life I condemned him to, but he wants nothing to do with me.

But I can’t walk away this time.

I won’t.

Micah

I’m so close to escaping my ugly little world that I can practically taste it. No way in hell am I letting the man who put me there try to play hero now.

That night was supposed to change my life.
It did.
Just not in any way I could have ever conceived of.

Fifteen years ago, the man known only as Zeus to his fans left my brother a broken man who wanted nothing to do with the world around him. I couldn’t save my brother, but I sure as hell can make sure my niece and nephew have a future… the one their father should have had.

Zeus or Con or whatever the hell his name is wants to help me now? Not happening. He might know how to turn on the charm and play to his legions of adoring fans, but he and I both know what kind of monster lurks inside him.

Okay, so what if strange things happen in my belly when he touches me? What if I feel a little stronger when he wraps his arms around me and promises me that everything will be okay?

It’s not real.

It can’t be.

Because hate is all I have right now. If I let Con take that from me…

Like I said… it can’t be real.

I won’t let it be.

REVIEW:

The Four is the spinoff series from The Protectors by Ms. Sloane Kennedy. We met the eldest brother of five, two biological brothers and three adopted brothers, Vaughn ( we met him in Unbroken, Book Twelve of The Protectors, he is now engaged with Aleks, who is Dante Thorne’s, another Protector, younger brother) is the eldest of the five and next comes Luca whom we met in Forgotten: Luca, Book One of this series. And then Book Two was Foreseen: Lex where we learned more about Lex, another adopted brother and his partner, Gideon. And now this is book three where we get to know Con/Zeus more.

 

Con is the MMA Fighter. He has made his name fighting. His stage name is Zeus. Fifteen years ago, he defeated a guy named Brady Fox. He left him broken on the mat. His younger brother, Micah Fox, begged Con/Zeus, or anybody who’ll listen, to help his brother but Con walked away from the young boy and his brother. He never forgot them though. He kept tabs on them, in fact, he sent them money every month. At first, it was just a small amount as Con was still trying to make his name but as he became more and more popular and his fights became bigger, the monthly amount grew. Not only did he regret not helping the brothers when Micah asked him to, but he felt guilty over what happened. He should have helped the brothers then and there. He should have done a lot of things back then.

 

Micah has been responsible for himself ever since his brother lost his fight fifteen years ago. Not only did his brother lost but his body and spirit was broken too. Enough so that he started to get bitter and bitter each and every day, lashing out at Micah more and more.  After a few years, his brother got paralyzed and his son and Micah’s nephew, and a second child, a daughter, born from another man but his sister in-law’s child, became Micah’s responsibility. His sister in-law began using drugs until she couldn’t take care of her children anymore. They were living with people who abused him. And his fear that it will one day include his nephew and niece kept him awake in this nightmare called his life. It did happen a few days after he buried his brother, his nephew became a target and it would have happened too if he was just a minute late, it would have happened and destroyed his nephew’s life forever. And if not for the man he loathed being there and helping him, this time as he was made into a punching bag, he would have been gone too. Luckily (yes, luckily), he only had a broken arm and bruises on his face and body, this time, because Con/Zeus was there at the time and was able to stopped his abuser from killing him.

 

As Con tries to convince Micah to give him another chance at helping him and his “children,” Micah starts to see that maybe he was wrong about Zeus/Con too. But trust is not something that he can afford to give, thus Con has to show him that he is worth another chance. These two men who have been broken time and time again will have to be strong enough to give each other another chance because it could be their only chance at peace, happiness and love.

 

Ms. Sloane Kennedy is one the best writers we have in this genre! That is a fact! She incorporates everything in every book she creates, you find angst, fear, despicable human beings, Protectors, amazing humans, redemption, forgiveness, second chances, acceptance, kindness, family and love. Imagine being able to read a book with all of these and more, WOW! That would be one amazing book, in this case, several amazing books. I love her stories. I love the way she weaves storylines and put together characters who will gut your hearts out but then puts it back together again. Congratulations Ms. Sloane Kennedy, another bestseller!

 

RATING:

 

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