Taming 7 by Chloe Walsh

Taming 7 by Chloe Walsh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 464

Publisher - Piatkus

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

My Review

Taming 7 is an epic and unforgettable love story in the international bestselling and TikTok-phenomenon The Boys of Tommen series, from Chloe Walsh.

She's the quintessential sunshine girl. He's the lovable class clown. But storm clouds are rolling in, and this Tommen boy is about to get serious.

Tommen's cheekiest lad, Gerard 'Gibsie' Gibson, has always been a comedian, but most people don't see what lurks beneath the surface. He is haunted by events of the past and he uses humor to cope, hiding his true self from the world.

Claire Biggs, the epitome of sunshine, has always loved Gibsie, her brother's friend and her favorite neighbor. She has always seen a side to him that no one else seems to notice. She becomes determined to tame her wild-at-heart childhood best friend.

When lines are crossed, it becomes unclear whether Gibsie and Claire's friendship will survive. Will it blossom into something more, or will they lose themselves in the wild?

Following characters that readers have grown to adore, Taming 7 will only expand your love for the Boys of Tommen universe.


My Review

This is book 5 in the boys of Tommen series, this book focuses centrally around Gibsie and Claire, Gibsie has been a big character since the series started. He is fiercely loyal, big mouth, a womaniser however he has always had a soft spot for Claire and Claire has always loved Gibsie. She see's Gerard, the soft kind thoughtful sensitive boy under all the filth, banter and nonsense. Claire's brother is teammate and pals with Gibsie but absolutely doesn't want him near his wee sister, understandably so. The book we get to see more of Gerard and the build up and turn in the friendship/relationship between Claire and Gibsie.

So these books have always been YA and the main characters teens but I felt books 1-4 were always more mature and depth, like the characters just seemed older. Probably because of the issues they were dealing with and how mature they were and had to be. This one absolutely had more of the YA feel, the teen angst, the attraction between the two that was acknowledged but never crossing the line. Lizzie, Claire's pal absolutely hates and I mean HATES Gibsie and whilst she is and has always been barbed and cutting this book she really got worse. As the book goes on and reveals it's secrets you get more of an understanding of why Gibsie takes so much of her crap and why Lizzie is so emotionally damaged and as Claire says, hurt people hurt people. I found Lizzie really difficult to stomach at times, her behaviour and Claire was so doormat at times and I get it it is how she is and she does get pushed to a limit but I would have snapped. Conversations would have been had and I did think oh Claire nooooo don't do that a fair few times but then need to remember that these ARE young adults, emotions and hormones are high and they don't always do the sensible thing.

I am looking forward to the next book, much as I am not a fan of Lizzie's at all I think we will hopefully get more depth into her and her behaviours. The books are mostly around the same(ish) time so I would read the previous books before this one, if nothing else they are so good and you get a better understanding for the characters/dynamics.

There is humour, daftness, annoyances, romance, teen exploration and dark dark themes, Walsh does give trigger warnings so check yours. I did enjoy this book but it just wasn't the same level as the previous four for me, so for that it is 3.5/5 for me this time. Very much looking forward to the next and I am sure we have more to come from the author.

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Redeeming 6 by Chloe Walsh

Redeeming 6 by Chloe Walsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 766

Publisher - Piatkus

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

He's underwater, but she'll pull him out, whatever it takes. With his world unraveling around him and pressures rising at home, Joey Lynch's life has never been in more turmoil. Desperate to prove himself worthy of the only person he's ever put his trust in, Joey fights hard to save himself from his addiction, but the odds are stacked against him. Day by day, the water is rising. Giving into his demons would destroy everything he's worked for—but soon, even love doesn't seem like enough to reach the surface. Unwilling to give up on her best friend, the boy she's fallen for, Aoife Molloy fights back against Joey's self-destruction with everything she has. But she's drowning, too, in this world she doesn't understand, with only her fiery heart to guide her. As circumstances change and unexpected hurdles rise between them, hearts will break and mend and break again. All the while, Aoife refuses to turn her back on Joey—because he's always had hers, too. In the end, it will be up to both of them if their hearts are worth healing and their love is worth saving.


My Review

If you haven't read Saving 6 you need to as this is a follow up to that book, you could get away with not reading Keeping 13 and Binding 13 but I would read them anyway as they are good and also were we meet Joey but you can start with Saving 6. So we don't do spoilers in our reviews so I will try not to but as it is a follow on from Saving 6 some of it won't. So we left things with Joey and Aoife in a pretty sad state and this book delves deeper into that. Aoife is fiercely loyal to Joey despite how far he goes into self destruction, even to the point I was like GIRL!!!!

The book goes into a lot of dark places, abuse, addictions, domestic violence, family violence, alcoholism, drug use and ingestion, fighting, sexual violence, self harm, threats like so much darkness. The chapters go between Joey and Aoife's points of view, as things happen and Joey reacts to it and the fall out for Aoife. Family dynamics, secrets, betrayals, love, loss, spicey scenes and the characters are teens as you know so things that affect and are relevant to that age group.

I have the next two to read and looking forward to them but also have the fear because they are absolutely engaging but also have dark dark themes, 4.5/5.

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Saving 6 by Chloe Walsh

Saving 6 by Chloe Walsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 496

Publisher - Piatkus

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

He's a boy made of fire, and he's about to meet his match. The second son in a broken marriage, Joey Lynch has spent a lifetime picking up the pieces of an unraveling family. When his older brother skips town, twelve-year-old Joey finds himself thrown into the role of protector to his mother and younger siblings, plagued by self-loathing and furious with the world. Soon, he finds himself teetering precariously close to a life of addiction that threatens to swallow him whole. The only light in his dark seas is Aoife. His boss's firecracker daughter. His classmate. And soon, something far more complicated. Aoife Molloy has always moved forward, not backward. Bubbly, strong, and self-assured, she's never feared being led astray, even by her own heart. That is, until her first day of secondary school, when she collides with a hotheaded boy who sparks a burning curiosity inside of her that only grows stronger by the day. But their friendship is tangled and complex, full of unwinding secrets and feelings simmering beneath the surface. Aoife wants to let Joey in. Joey desperately fights to keep Aoife out. But even if it takes years, what's between them is bound to combust. And their hearts will never be the same.



My Review

So you could read this as book one instead of book three because this is Joey's story and it goes back to before and during the time of Binding 13 and Keeping 13. I loved Joey in those books and this one gives us more insight into everything Joey went through, not just the some/passing we do in the previous books.

I absolutely feel for Joey, his mother ugh, I really didn't like her in the previous books but the way she treats Joey in this. I get it she is in a horrible cycle and he looks like the man she seems drawn to and forgives everything but Joey is her literal saviour and she still treats him like that. He has so little self worth and self value because of how they (his mum and dad) treat him, it is heartbreaking.

The romance part, it doesn't have quite the same punch as Little Shannon and Johnny probably because he was the saviour, powerful one with everything. Joey is flawed, trying to save everyone and battling with self loathing, violence at home, addiction and then him and his bestie Aoife who becomes his other half. It doesn't happen easily or quickly, he didn't want to even be friends and whilst they continue to draw towards each other they have their own "romantic interests". Joey doesn't commit but is a stud and all the girls want him. Aoife has a long time boyfriend, Paul, the guy is a walking red flag, he comes from money and is popular he is also a total douche! I hated how long she kept him around though, that ground my gears I have to admit. Without going into spoilers as we don't do them but the parts that was giving Bella/Edward, if you know you know, ahhhhh!

I have the next book in the series to read and hopefully not be too long before we get to it, 4/5 from us this time.

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Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh

Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 937

Publisher - Piatkus

Source - bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Falling in love was the easy part. What comes next is the test . . .

Johnny Kavanagh has been living a different life since his injury sidelined him. He's never known life without his beloved number 13 jersey, and he feels lost. Luckily for him, there is a mysterious girl who is now taking up most of his thoughts.

Shannon Lynch has always been good at keeping secrets. She has realized that evil men aren't only in stories. They are very real. After her traumatizing trip to Dublin, she is trying to find a way to protect her little brothers above all else. She is beginning to revert to her old self, hiding away so that she can try to contain the few scraps of her future she has left.

There's only one boy who can pull her out of the shadows into which she is retreating. The boy who owns her heart. But what she doesn't know is that secrets are about to be revealed that could change lives forever. Will Johnny and Shannon's love survive?

Following the beloved characters from Binding 13, Keeping 13 will cement your love for the Boys of Tommen universe. This book is perfect for readers looking for:

New adult/YA crossover Irish romance
Dual POVs
Friends-to-lovers
TikTok books
Sports romance


My Review

If you haven't read Binding 13 then DO NOT read this one first, I often read books out of sequence however book one is an absolute before this one. It goes through how they met, everything about Shannon's home life, how they got to where they are but most importantly, this book opens where Binding 13 stopped.

So we know from book one this isn't just a YA romance there are some really deep dark topics visited. I said in my previous review if the author hasn't had first hand experience with this then she has done very in depth research, if you have ever lived through any of this you know, I actually wasn't expecting the level of emotion some of those scenes evoked. The alcoholic abusive violent father, the way the mother behaved it really did pull the rug a bit but if you read book one you know all this and are prepared. Whilst we visit all of that Shannon and Johnny are a couple , Shannon still has some issues from Johnny's bunny boiler ex, I really really wanted karma to get her good. We see more of Shannon's family, siblings, Johnny's parents and pals and Johnny's injury, rehab and focus for his career and future.

There is so much emotion in this one too, we know of Shannon's struggles but I feel we get more than a glimpse into Joey, aw Joey I just wanted to hug him. Domestic violence has such a long reach in the impact it has, far beyond the physical side of it. There is just so much to process, I loved the development in Shannon and Johnny's relationship, Gibsie and Claire get a bit more glimpses in this one. I haven't read the blurbs for the upcoming books but I am hoping Gibsie gets one.

With a lot of the main character(s) being teens there is a lot of sex type talk, banter, words/phrases that some may find offensive but it lends authenticity to the group/age of the characters. I don't have the next in the series, I do have two of the books in the series but I think one is that last and the other may be the fourth so I need to buy them. They are thick chunky books and I have been having readers block but I sank this, 900 odd pages in 3 days. They absolutely grab you, pull you in and I think if you come from that type of background you get emotionally wrought, ooft, 4.5/5.

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Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh

Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 618

Publisher - Piatkus

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

He wants to save her. She wants to hide.

She's damaged. He's determined.

Fate brought them together. Love binds them.

Johnny Kavanagh is the definition of popular. He is an all-star rugby player with loads of friends, which means he should be enjoying the many perks of his life. But what people don't know is that he has been dealing with a painful injury that could halt the magnificent trajectory of his career. This means he has no time for distractions or mistakes. Especially not a girlfriend.

Shannon Lynch has been bullied all her life. She is shy and would rather hide herself away to make it through school. But when she arrives at Tommen College for a fresh start, she meets the notorious Johnny Kavanagh on her first day in a not-so-romantic way. What follows is a complicated friendship that turns into undeniable chemistry. It seems that Shannon won't be able to hold onto the anonymous status she once hoped for. But maybe that's alright?

Johnny won't give up on Shannon. No matter what it might cost them both.


My Review

This is my first time reading this author, I kept seeing this series all over Booktok and Bookstagram so I had serious FOMO (fear of missing out). We know it is Shannon and Johnny romancey, she starts at his school, she is fifteen, moved to the private school as a last resort. Johnny is the catch, rubgy star, seventeen and attraction hits them both. That was the jist of what I had heard and knew but I absolutely was not prepared for what all it was. Folk saying oh get your tissues ready so I was thinking girl loves boy, boy ends up loving girl but inevitable heartache/break of some description, guys!!!!!

Chapter one gives you a heads up of the darkness and deep hard hitting issues, Shannon is tiny for her age, she has been horrifically bullied, like so so bad pretty much her whole life. That is essentially chapter one and this getting to the new school is the last chance for her. The dark themes are woven through and for folks who get triggered this book really hits some dark topics and authentically so. Like I said if the author has not experienced this first hand then she has done intense deep research because ooft.

The book absolutely covers the attraction of the two teens and how drastically different their lives and circumstances are. Domestic violence, domestic abuse, beatings, bullying, intimidation, failure to thrive, lack of protection at home are hugely central themes and really knocked me a bit reading it. Depending on your own history, experiences and survival stories will absolutely impact how deep this book can affect you. Ooft it was emotive for me and called a lot of stuff up from a long buried past, honestly either Walsh has survived it herself or has done impressive research!

Shannon is a wee scone, she is kind, sweet, unassuming, grateful - you just want to protect her - I recognise that wee lassie. Then you have the bullying humiliation she has endured and she is still the sweetest wee soul. Johnny is different, like so far on the opposite end of the scale, money, looks, head hunted, impressive physique, talent, respected. When him and the boys chat they are very much seventeen and very active. Johnny tends to be more experienced with older women and they talk quite crass as a lot of teen boys do so if you are offended by certain types of "locker room" chat again just a heads up.

Someone said have the next book ready for when you finish this and I appreciate the heads up because my response was NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, WHAT?!?!?!? that being said I did need to pick up a lighter read and genre switch because this book is very dark at times and harder hitting if you have any personal experience. Absolutely need to be reading book two asap because gurl needs to know!!! 4.5/5

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