I had high hopes for Knot All Is Forgiven after really enjoying Knot All Is Perfect. The series brings a fresh angle to the omegaverse, touching on themes like discrimination, autonomy, and personal growth. But while the first book felt engaging and well-paced, this one left me a bit frustrated with how the story unfolded.
The story follows Jordan, a 30-year-old woman who has spent 13 years living as a beta, even though she knows deep down she’s an omega. She grew up with Pack Stargazer, believing she would eventually join them as their omega. But when she didn’t present by 18, the pack started pulling away from her. They even went as far as telling her they’d found their true omega match, cutting ties and breaking her heart. Left to pick up the pieces, Jordan faced years of mental health struggles, including an eating disorder, before carving out a life for herself.
When Jordan finally presents as an omega—thanks to an accidental meeting with one of her former packmates—it sets off a chain reaction. Pack Stargazer learns the truth and scrambles to make amends, but Jordan isn’t ready to forgive or forget. Now in her 30s, she’s built a life as a beta, and the idea of rejoining the pack that abandoned her feels impossible. To complicate things, she also bonds with Icarus, a doctor she’d been seeing, who turns out to be her fourth scent match.
At first, I was rooting for Jordan as she held her ground and demanded accountability. But the story quickly started to feel unbalanced. The pack’s attempts to make amends felt half-hearted, and their individual dynamics were frustrating. Cyrus, the former leader, was a classic "alpha jerk" who believed Jordan should just move on and be grateful they came back. Simon, the "good guy," revealed he’d been keeping tabs on her for years but never actually helped her when she needed it most. Rafe, the calm middleman, was mostly there to pine for everyone and felt like a missed opportunity for more depth.
Icarus was initially the breath of fresh air—someone who supported Jordan—but even he fell short. Despite claiming to prioritize her boundaries, he shared her private therapy details with the pack and kept secrets about meeting up with them. He also crossed a major line when he found out Jordan had gone to a clinic to see if she could revert to being a beta. Instead of respecting her space, he got a tip from a co-worker, showed up uninvited, and alerted the pack. It felt manipulative and diminished Jordan’s agency in her own story.
The ending tried to tie things up neatly, but it felt rushed. After losing her job due to discrimination and sabotage by a "friend," Jordan moves the pack into her home—on the advice of her therapist—and tries to make things work. By the epilogue, she’s running a successful business and seems happy in her pack dynamic, but the resolution didn’t feel earned. Too many serious issues were brushed under the rug, and key moments of conflict were resolved too easily.
The preview for the next book, Knot All Is Crystal, didn’t do much to reignite my enthusiasm for the series. It introduces Crystal, an omega trapped in a dark romance scenario with a crime boss, Kiran, while meeting her scent matches. Since this is part of a duet (The Prism Duet), I feel like the first book will be spent building up why we should hate the male lead before the second book redeems him. A setup where you could skip the first book entirely and still follow the story. I might skim Knot All Is Crystal out of curiosity, but I’m not sure I’m invested enough to endure another "redemption arc" like this one.