Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Keeping 13

Ok this book was incredibly, heartbreakingly beautiful.
THIS IS YOUR FIRST REMINDER TO READ TRIGGER WARNINGS.
When I said that I cried so much on the first book, I was NOT expecting to cry, sob, and have to take mental health pauses during this book. If I thought the first book was rough this was is so much worse. The writing of this book is so raw and the readers get to FEEL those emotions and be able to go along the journey alongside the characters. It’s very easy to get lost in the book, so easy to just seat and read and lose yourself in it and feel it to your core. I read it in a day.
Let’s talk characters.
Shannon, I love her. You can REALLY see her development more in this book. You can see her grow into herself and be able to stand up to herself but still be able to rely on her loved ones when she needs help and is struggling. She is such a strong girl and a survivor. SECOND REMINDER TO READ CONTENT WARNINGS. She has gone through so much that it’s just beautiful to see her come out of her shell a bit more.
Johnny, how can anyone not love you? This man loves Shannon so much that he would do anything and everything for her (and we CLEARLY see it in the book) I’m not going to say anything that could be categorize as spoilers but Johnny is really one of those characters that when he commits he commits and he will do anything to make the people around him happy and keep them safe. His development is also so good in this book, we can see him struggling a lot but being able to handle such rough and heavy stuff around Shannon’s life and be able to help her as best as he can while at the same time taking care of himself and his body.
The side characters in this story are just incredible. I said it in the review for Binding 13 and I will say it again. This book is not only about the love story and life of Shannon and Johnny, this story is about the relationship around them. Whether it be family relationships or friendships, we as readers are able to connect and see inside the lives and relationships that these two main characters have and we get to either love the side characters to death or hate them with our entire beings.
The brothers are such a light in this book Sean, Tadhg, and Ollie. Gibsie and Claire are the cutest and so fun. Joey is struggling and we can see that but we can also see the love he has for his family and there is no way one can hate him. Mammy K and John Sr are just beautiful.

All I can say about this book is that it is beautiful, it is heartbreaking, it makes you cry, it makes you laugh, it makes you love and it makes you hate. Just please remember to read the trigger warnings before you read (third reminder).

Would definitely recommend and would definitely read again

Content Warnings

clara01's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I loved both Binding 13 and Keeping 13, I think they are amazing books and well worth a read. I strongly advise anyone to read the triggers first, I went in blind and wasn't prepared for the heartbreaking and how disturbing it could sometimes be.
Shannon and Johnny have to be one of my favorite book couples and this book was the perfect ending (for now 🤞🏾) to their story.

The only thing I would say is I felt the book was just too long. At times it seemed to be really slow with not much h ppening. I think the storyline could've been covered in only 2/3 of the book.

Content Warnings

ssimplykath's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book was absolutely incredible. i laughed so hard, i cried equally as hard. this book was heavy, but also such a journey. i was glued to this book, thinking about the characters at all times even when i wasn’t reading. check trigger warnings before reading this book.

Content Warnings