Page turning

Unforgettable

Repetitive

Binding 13

Chloe Walsh — 2018

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. Plagued with a hidden injury and desperate to impress the scouts watching his every move, Johnny has been placed on a pedestal so high, he has no room to make mistakes. Striving to maintain balance, and on the crest of the International Summer Campaign, Johnny needs to keep his head in the game. He needs to stay focused, and cannot afford to let distractions get in the way of the bigger picture. But what happens when a lonely girl with sad eyes becomes the only picture? 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 must face obstacles that threaten their relationship. Two teenagers from opposite sides of the tracks collide. Friendship, first love, rising fame, horrifying secrets, and pain all fuel together in Binding 13, the explosive first installment of a brand-new series from Chloe Walsh. Based in Ireland, the Boys of Tommen series is bound to captivate and lure you into the world of rugby, love, and teenage heartbreak.

Reviews

RJ@rhea

Aug 10, 2023

to begin i have three questions :

what was the plot?
why were claire and gibsy so annoying individually and together?
why did claire and shannon exclude lizzie (my girl) literally all of the time?

it’s the way i disliked most of the characters in this book besides lizzie, joey,aoife,katie, tadgh and ollie

shannon was okay besides being mildly annoying, i get that she was bullied but her being insecure with her looks was crazy to me because “i’m short and skinny with big blue eyes and long flowy hair and rosy lips” feels like the perfect beauty standard .i get how her parents relationship affected her and how the bullying caused her stress but i just felt like she acted like she was the most unfortunate soul as though she wasn’t being sent to an elite private school. it just bothered me a little although it’s justified. Also she acted like getting bullied made her different from everyone and that no one could understand her 💔

the amount of times the words “tiny” “huge” and “different” were used should come with a fee.

also why is everyone dating their look alike i was so distraught. the whole cast is blonde besides shannon and johnny who surprisingly share both an eye color and a hair color. meanwhile gibsy and claire were both blondes and joey and aoife were also both blonde (i hate blonde x blonde relationships) and then lizzie was also blonde (deffo not what i imagined her as, i literally made a pinterest board of what she looked like in my head and it made imagining the story 10x better)

the amount of embarrassment and physical pain i endured when reading this should earn me a spot in the guinness award book i swear.

i hope both shannon’s father and mother burn in hell personally.

that cliffhanger makes me want to push the author off a cliff (with endearment)

if they stay with their mother i’m committing arson.

This review contains a spoiler

tee@softeyed

Jun 19, 2023

shannonjohnny i love u

Ella@ellasully

Feb 12, 2023

Way longer than it needed to be but still an amazing book! I really hope Johnny pieces together that her dad is the abusing her soon!

This review contains a spoiler

🧸@lamiaa

Feb 1, 2023

reread: 04/01/2023– 05/01/2023 STARTING MY 2023 WITH JOHNNYSHANNON WAS A BAD IDEA BC IM BAWLING MY EYES OUT AGAIN 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 first read: 28/03/2022– 31/03/2022 WHY WOULD YOU END IT LIKE THAT MISS CHLOE

linhie@hehelinhiereads

Jan 26, 2023

5/5 ☆ !!! gosh this book was unreal. it was amazing and really touched my heart. so wholesome and the moments between johnny and shannon pulled my heart strings like no other :( there's something so comforting about this book and i cant wait to continue on with keeping 13! highly reccomend if you enjoy a more character driven plot in romance bc not much happens but the build up between the two characters leave you in awe and happiness in the end! basically getting to see how the two main characters fall in love with each other!! it was full of comfort and innocence gosh a new top fav for sure!! all the side characters are sm fun as well and cant wait for their books!! but also there are heavy moments/topics in the book so check tw!! johnny and shannon have my heart fr <3

mena @lovesickangel

Jan 23, 2023

5/5 omg, omg, omg. Finally! A good book that has me swooning! Attention people, new favorite book to my favorite bookshelf. It had excellent character building, excellent relationship building, just excellent all around. I loved the Ireland and prep school setting. I managed to adore all 8 characters. The romance!! It was slow burn and I was all for it. And I know this book is long asf but it’s like that because there’s more showing than telling and I loved this. I’m blushing and swooning over a high school romance. Everyone of them is so precious. Johnny oh! Johnny. He was all into denying his feelings and that frustrated me a little but it's part of the experience.

Lucy Drewett@lucydrewett

Oct 6, 2024

Emilia Holmberg@emiliabeatrice

Jun 8, 2024

maria garcia @maria_garc

May 8, 2024

Juliet Breakwell @juliet

Apr 23, 2024

Sanni@saari

Feb 12, 2024

Sofia @zofu

Jan 4, 2024

Tilda@tillytii

Nov 26, 2023

fleur@fleur_lettani

Sep 23, 2023

Cara 🤍@cararicho31

Aug 5, 2023

Annie@annekenikova

May 1, 2023

parker@rvelsamour

Apr 30, 2023

mariana@krwohours

Apr 10, 2023

Aurea Ramos@aurea_book_lover

Jan 4, 2024

grayson gruber@graysunnicole

Jan 2, 2024

maddie harris@readingiris

May 14, 2023

jae gibbons@gibbby

Mar 30, 2023

kayla le@kay_la_le

Oct 9, 2022

Lucy@lucygreen

Oct 2, 2022

Highlights

RJ@rhea

Because he was our protector.

He was the reason we were all in one piece.

He was our hero.

joey 🫶🫶

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

Because my mother had just ended my world.

She went to him.

He beat us.

Terrorized us.

Tortured us.

And she went to him.

She chose him.

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

"Leave her alone," Tadhg sobbed, throwing his arms around my body. "Please don’t hurt her."

guys i love them so much 💔💔💔

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

"You think you're all tough, but you're nothing but an alcoholic scumbag who goes around hitting girls!"

tadhg‼️‼️

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

Tadhg wouldn’t budge.

"I'll protect you," he told me before turning to face our father.

this is where my eyes started watering

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

"Joey says we don’t hit girls."

joey and tadhg 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

“Leave my sister alone," Tadhg growled, taking a step into the kitchen.

i almost cried

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

Tadhg on the other hand, was staring at our father with a terrifying look on his face.

I knew the look.

It was same look Joey wore.

he’s my baby guys 💔

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

You could love this girl your whole life, the crazy thought persisted inside my brain over and over, if you just let yourself

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

I just wanted her.

RJ@rhea

I loved Aoife Molloy.

I truly loved the girl as a sister,

my pookie ‼️

RJ@rhea

Sooner or later, he would be back, promising heaven and delivering hell.

RJ@rhea

13th of 1989

taylor swift 😎😎😎😎

RJ@rhea

The anger made me brave

RJ@rhea

"When the biggest bully of them all lives under this roof."

RJ@rhea

Experience told me that boys were dogs.

And fathers. Fathers were bastards

RJ@rhea

I wanted to be a shouter.

A shouter was much better than a crier.

RJ@rhea

Okay, yes, I was upset, but my tears were those of anger.

I was pissed off actually.

RJ@rhea

"When you say all, does that apply to just us –" Gibsie gestured from himself to Johnny, "Or all men?"

lizzie is my soulsister (all men)

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

You're all disgusting. Every last one of you rugbyheads.

get their ass liz‼️‼️‼️‼️

RJ@rhea

“Can you stop doing that!" Lizzie barked then, glaring at Gibsie.

"Doing what?"

"Screwing around with her feelings," she huffed. "It's not a game!"

"Lizzie, it's okay," Claire began to say but Lizzie cut her off.

"It's not okay,”

let’s all say “thank you lizzie” (claire is a horrible friend to her)

This highlight contains a spoiler

RJ@rhea

I could think of a million better things I could be doing with my time than sitting here pretending to cheer on a sport I couldn’t care less about.

lizzie is so real

RJ@rhea

Personally, I could have thought of a million places I would have preferred to be than watching oversized boys from Tommen bulldoze their way through oversized boys from Kilbeg

shannon was so real for that

RJ@rhea

"You could’ve come to me," Lizzie said. "I would’ve gladly kneed that eejit in the balls on your behalf –"

lizzie is me, i am her