Joey and I had an older brother, Darren, and three younger brothers: Tadhg, Ollie, and Sean, but neither of us had spoken to Darren since he walked out of the house five years previous, following yet another infamous blow out with our father. Tadhg and Ollie, who were eleven and nine, were only in primary school, and Sean, who was three, was barely out of nappies so I wasn’t exactly flush with protectors to call on. My eyes landed on Aoife then and her golden hair as it blew around her face in the light summer breeze. She wasn't looking at me. Her entire focus was on my brother as she watched him like he was a precious jewel that could vanish at any moment.

Falling into a complicated friendship and grappling with their undeniable chemistry, Johnny and Shannon must face obstacles that threaten their relationship. One thing I don’t usually like is when the heroine chases the hero, but Aoife Molloy OWNS that trope now. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to ask for it, but once she gets rejected she knows her worth and doesn’t act desperate. Aoife is such a pusher and it’s hilarious, but she is never pushing Joey more than he is willing ... only far enough for him to admit that he might care more than he lets on.

Read Binding 13: Boys of Tommen #1

I'm still not sure which rating to give this. (4 stars?, 3.5 stars?) I liked Johnny and Shannon's books more, but I still found some aspects I loved in this one as well. It felt different than the first two books. Mainly because it follows Aoife and Joey over multiple years. In short: this book is AMAZING if you love dialogues, banter, slow burn, sassy heroines and bad boys that are actually too good for their own good. But the best part is that we have the second one coming in March!! Chloe really spoiled us this time 😭😭 The amount of angst, heartbreak and pain these two gave me. The way their love keeps getting more and more toxic with Joey’s drug addiction getting out of hand, but Aoife still holding on and loving him was so heartbreakingly sad. Aoife loving Joey, but losing part of herself in the process, but that’s still better than Joey landing on the streets with the drug dealers. 😭💔 god i’m begging you be merciful for once and give this boy some happiness and one moment of peace. c'mon that's really not that much to ask for. 😭😭😭 Was Paul a better option? No. If Joey's self-sacrifice doesn't come to fruition or serves its purpose, obviously, why does he insist on not pursuing the girl he loves and cares so much about, the only light he has in his life? Like damn if she's stupid enough to let Paul walk all over her and get away with it, Joey might as well have dropped the years long "friendship" bullshit where they flirt, banter and want one another like crazy. 👀 Much as I love Joey as a character, he's simply not my type of hero.

But John Kavanagh 🥵🥵🥵 I reached that age where it should be acceptable to crush on the son and the father at the same time LOL. If you read this book, you'll know. There is just something about successful lawyer, who are smart, kind and treat their family right that does something to me. Don't judge 🥵 😂 There is one scene where Daddy K is in the principal's office of Johnny's school and PLEASE the power play...Because foster system is not perfect. You have fantastic and loving foster parents and you have …the others. Some scenes in this book may be extremely upsetting for some readers. Due to its bad language and certain scenes, Keeping 13 is recommended for mature readers. okay you can get your pitchforks out of my face already... I kinda loved that Aoife has been emotionally cheating on Paul the entire time only to actually cheat on him with Joey later on in the book. 👹👹 All in all Aoife Molley pls marry me! Chloe Walsh couldn’t write a better heroine .. SHE IS PERFECT.

aoife molloy.. an angel. literally an angel sent from heaven to joey’s arms. idk how to describe my love for u. every time i thought i couldn’t be more impressed w how strong and amazing of a character aoife is.. she surpassed my expectations. Aofie and Joey Their moments here made me cry. I need to read Honestly Tadgh was my favorite side character in this whole book. He is a comedian and gave this book a much needed comic relief. Where is the petition to give him his own book he is already so hot and confident and he is only like 10. 🤣 The first kiss. When it finally happened?? Butterflies are real guys!! Even if they’re fictional ones and you’re getting them for another couple. I adored all the superfluous dialogue. Because, yes, while some of it had NO point whatsoever and did nothing to move the story forward, again: I loved spending more time with these characters.

Synopsis Binding 13: Boys of Tommen #1

i could see where it was headed, joey getting sober for love/aoife and that is great and all but I wanted his siblings to play a bigger role in the motivation behind his decision. it would've been much more impactful imo aoife cheating on the om with joey (yeah he deserved it but like why tf are you still with him??????) As much as I missed all my precious side characters (one scene of Gibsie got me all over the place), Aoife and Joey were more than capable of carrying this book on their own!! I love them so freakin much. She'll have my babies- You'll have my babies won't you? Say it," Johnny groaned, clutching my hand. "Tell me you'll have my babies. Just tell me you will," he begged loudly. "Just say it, Shannon! Please! I can't take it."'

The meaner ones labelled me a tranny, suggesting that the reason I was such a frigit was because I had boy parts under my skirt. I thought I was going to HATE Joey and find him undeserving of Aoife (you know, because of all his issues from Binding 13, Keeping 13) but then I LOVED HIM 🥺 From a small child, I had adored the ground he walked on; trailing after him and his friends, tagging along with him wherever he went. He always protected me, taking the blame at home when I did something wrong.

Latest Reading

honestly shannon’s pov in b13 & k13 really played down everything that joey did like those kids would NOT have been able to survive without him (everything he did in the first two books makes so much more sense now 🥲 my man deserves all the peace in the world)