Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Not a ton actually happened but this was so angsty, I ate this up!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Rape
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was incredible. As an Irish person it was so relatable , so funny and broke my heart all in one. I loved reading a book in lingo we use day to day and the characters were extremely loveable. I was laughing out loud one minute and sobbing another. I loved reading it and flew through it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'd like to request that my therapy bills be sent to Mrs Chloe Walsh 😭😭😭 my poor baby girl, Shannon!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Medical trauma
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒔.”
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒔, 𝒕𝒐𝒐”.
Thoughts: Binding 13 is Book #1 in the Boys of Tommen series. I will be honest, when I first bought this book the size alone totally intimidated me. It sat untouched on my shelf for over a year. But with all the hype around book #6 releasing this week, I finally picked it up… and wow.
This is not your light, fluffy romance. It is raw, emotional, and dives into some heavy topics, so definitely check the content and trigger warnings before reading. It completely wrecked me. I laughed, giggled, sobbed, and full-on bawled my way through it. The emotional rollercoaster was nonstop. I stayed up until stupid o’clock every night reading, and honestly, it was worth every minute of lost sleep. And that ending? Absolutely heartbreaking.
I will forever recommend this book.
The tropes? Absolute perfection:
❤️ Slow burn
💞 Friends to lovers
🏈 Popular boy x quiet girl
🏡 Found family
Synopsis: Johnny Kavanagh has everything going for him. On the rugby pitch, he’s a force to be reckoned with. Primed for stardom, he’s heading straight for the top. Nothing can possibly get in his way, right? Not even the shy new girl at Tommen College. The one with the sad eyes and hidden bruises. The one that distracts him like no one ever has.
Life has never been easy for Shannon Lynch. Bullied and tortured, she arrives at Tommen College mid-way through the school year praying for a fresh start and desperate to shake off the demons that plague her. On her very first day at the prestigious private school, she comes into contact with the notorious Johnny Kavanagh. Thrown through a hoop over her feelings for him, and desperate to keep a low-profile, Shannon finds herself once again the target of bullies as she forms a fragile alliance with rugby’s rising star.
Falling into a complicated friendship and grappling with their undeniable chemistry, Johnny and Shannon could never have foreseen the obstacles that will threaten their blossoming relationship.
Please check content/trigger warnings prior to reading this book.
♾️/5
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒔.”
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒔, 𝒕𝒐𝒐”.
Thoughts: Binding 13 is Book #1 in the Boys of Tommen series. I will be honest, when I first bought this book the size alone totally intimidated me. It sat untouched on my shelf for over a year. But with all the hype around book #6 releasing this week, I finally picked it up… and wow.
This is not your light, fluffy romance. It is raw, emotional, and dives into some heavy topics, so definitely check the content and trigger warnings before reading. It completely wrecked me. I laughed, giggled, sobbed, and full-on bawled my way through it. The emotional rollercoaster was nonstop. I stayed up until stupid o’clock every night reading, and honestly, it was worth every minute of lost sleep. And that ending? Absolutely heartbreaking.
I will forever recommend this book.
The tropes? Absolute perfection:
❤️ Slow burn
💞 Friends to lovers
🏈 Popular boy x quiet girl
🏡 Found family
Synopsis: Johnny Kavanagh has everything going for him. On the rugby pitch, he’s a force to be reckoned with. Primed for stardom, he’s heading straight for the top. Nothing can possibly get in his way, right? Not even the shy new girl at Tommen College. The one with the sad eyes and hidden bruises. The one that distracts him like no one ever has.
Life has never been easy for Shannon Lynch. Bullied and tortured, she arrives at Tommen College mid-way through the school year praying for a fresh start and desperate to shake off the demons that plague her. On her very first day at the prestigious private school, she comes into contact with the notorious Johnny Kavanagh. Thrown through a hoop over her feelings for him, and desperate to keep a low-profile, Shannon finds herself once again the target of bullies as she forms a fragile alliance with rugby’s rising star.
Falling into a complicated friendship and grappling with their undeniable chemistry, Johnny and Shannon could never have foreseen the obstacles that will threaten their blossoming relationship.
Please check content/trigger warnings prior to reading this book.
♾️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol
Minor: Miscarriage, Rape
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
for a girl who has crawled through 300+ pagers with such excruciating impatience i found it to be an incredibly easy feat to finish all eight-hundred something pages of this.
i've known about boys of tommen for a while, and i, assuming i'd hate it based off of multiple factors (the fact that it's this long, questionable bits i've seen on social media, and so on) could not care less about it before this week. honestly i've no idea what possessed me to read this, when i'm still in the middle of ruthless vows and a new copy of the seven-year-slip is sitting on my bedside table. but am i totally grateful towards my self for having picked it up? yes.
hell, i willfully added that god-awful cover in my kindle without knowing how long it would stay there. (i removed it from my library immediately after finishing. no story would make me keep any book when the cover looks like that.) the fact that i endured a cover with real people in it is a testament to my dedication, really.
of course, i am bothered by the fact that chloe walsh seems to have published the first draft with how filled to the brim this book is with unnecessary bits and pieces all about, that about two-hundred pages could probably be shaved off if it wasn't mentioned every two seconds how childlike and growth-stunted shannon was. but tommen has endeared itself to me so much i just chose to ignore that and went about my merry way enjoying every chapter.
these characters are wonderful. as seventeen as i am, i kept giggling at how they were (horrifically, sometimes) accurate. the embarrassing moments, the dynamics between everyone, the unnecessary drama — it felt like it wasn't summer at all and i was back in school for a bit. it consumed me, to be frank. like what do you mean i'm not irish, and that it isn't 2005? i have such a fondness for the aesthetics of this book. the old technology, the imagery of cork and the song references. i wasn't yet born in 2005, but nostalgia really hit me for something i never got to experience.
i get why everyone likes this book, despite its strange tendencies. (but really, the infantlization is really the only problem) i feel for everyone so much, most especially both johnny and shannon, and i am so excited to crack open the next book. which i will immediately after i finish writing this review.
i've known about boys of tommen for a while, and i, assuming i'd hate it based off of multiple factors (the fact that it's this long, questionable bits i've seen on social media, and so on) could not care less about it before this week. honestly i've no idea what possessed me to read this, when i'm still in the middle of ruthless vows and a new copy of the seven-year-slip is sitting on my bedside table. but am i totally grateful towards my self for having picked it up? yes.
hell, i willfully added that god-awful cover in my kindle without knowing how long it would stay there. (i removed it from my library immediately after finishing. no story would make me keep any book when the cover looks like that.) the fact that i endured a cover with real people in it is a testament to my dedication, really.
of course, i am bothered by the fact that chloe walsh seems to have published the first draft with how filled to the brim this book is with unnecessary bits and pieces all about, that about two-hundred pages could probably be shaved off if it wasn't mentioned every two seconds how childlike and growth-stunted shannon was. but tommen has endeared itself to me so much i just chose to ignore that and went about my merry way enjoying every chapter.
these characters are wonderful. as seventeen as i am, i kept giggling at how they were (horrifically, sometimes) accurate. the embarrassing moments, the dynamics between everyone, the unnecessary drama — it felt like it wasn't summer at all and i was back in school for a bit. it consumed me, to be frank. like what do you mean i'm not irish, and that it isn't 2005? i have such a fondness for the aesthetics of this book. the old technology, the imagery of cork and the song references. i wasn't yet born in 2005, but nostalgia really hit me for something i never got to experience.
i get why everyone likes this book, despite its strange tendencies. (but really, the infantlization is really the only problem) i feel for everyone so much, most especially both johnny and shannon, and i am so excited to crack open the next book. which i will immediately after i finish writing this review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail