A review by bribreez
Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh

emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

4.25⭐️

*Check Trigger warnings before reading.

“It is time…”, I finally started, “The Boys of Tommen” series, and I was more than intrigued to read about Johnny and Shannon. This story detailed heavy topics so please be sure to check trigger warnings before reading. This story was set in Ireland, and followed Shannon as she transferred to Tommen after brutal treatment of bullying at her previous school. On her first day at Tommen, she unexpectedly met the golden boy of the rugby team, Johnny. Johnny and Shannon came from different backgrounds, but slowly through their chance encounter of meeting, it started the chain of events that have made people fall in love with them and their story. 

Shannon and Johnny came from different upbringings, and yet, the way those two had this connection that grew over the course of this story was intriguing and sweet. From the beginning, I could tell that Shannon’s life wasn’t easy. Between the vicious bullying at school and her home life being equally miserable, Shannon has no stranger to feeling anxious, scared, and lonely. Johnny was the popular guy at Tommen College, the golden boy rugby player, and with a promising future to make it into the big leagues. When Shannon and Johnny met, it was definitely not the meet cute you would imagine, but nonetheless from that first meeting, Shannon and Johnny locked onto each other, and couldn’t help thinking about each other. I think it some ways, with everything that was going on in Shannon and Johnny’s lives, their story felt like a slow burn romance, which I wasn’t mad about at all. 

While Johnny and Shannon shared some longing looks across the lunch hall, and shared some sweet moments, there was also the fact that Johnny was adamant on trying to stay away from Shannon. The main thing for Johnny, at least in the beginning half was that he was two years older than Shannon. With Johnny being seventeen and focused on his rugby future, Shannon was fifteen, and younger. With Shannon, it was a combination of her age and the way Johnny didn’t unexpected feeling so protective over her, as well as having some not so friendly thoughts (IYKYK). I’ll admit, the amount of times Johnny said, “no she’s younger than me”, was a bit much like, yes I get it, but you don’t have to constantly remind me. On the bright side, at least Johnny was aware of the age difference even though in my opinion it wasn’t a huge age gap compared to other stories I’ve read where the age gap is a lot more. 

The more the story delved into Shannon’s life, the more my heart broke for her. Now I see why this book has always been said that’s it’s a heartbreaking story. I found myself crying a bit throughout the story, and ugh I just wanted to protect Shannon from all the horrible things that had occurred in her life. For a fifteen year old, Shannon had seen and experienced things no teenager should have to endure. I guess in some ways, it makes sense why Shannon behaved older than her age, because of the role she took on as helping to take care of her younger siblings, and more. Shannon was a victim of vicious bullies from her old school, but even her home life brought her so much anxiety to the point that she often feared what she’d be walking into each day. Shannon was a sweet, and shy girl that often felt like she only had her brother to protect her, but Johnny slowly became that other person to be there for her. 

I went into this book open minded and hopeful. While I did enjoy Chloe Walsh’s writing, found myself unable to stop reading, I unfortunately didn’t experience the same sense of obsession that I’ve seen many others have. I do think that Shannon and Johnny were great characters, I enjoyed seeing them together, as well as how they navigated their lives, but again I didn’t experience that spark of, “OMG THIS IS OUT OF THIS WORLD”. Not sure if maybe it’s because this is the first book, and I still have to continue the rest of the series to see what everyone else is talking about, but there were times that I debated if this was a series I should continue. In the end, I do think I will read the rest of the series because, one I want to read Gibsie’s book and I honestly really liked Chloe Walsh’s writing, and how she fully immersed me into Shannon and Johnny’s story. 

This story was character driven, with found family, angst, heavy topics, and a slow burn romance. I found myself intrigued, and curious to see why so many people loved Johnny and Shannon. The characters in this book were unique in how each had different personalities that made them shine in their own ways. When I think of the one character who stood out to me aside from the main ones, it’d have to be Gibsie. For all the emotional and heartbreaking moments in this book, Gibsie was the comedic relief which I enjoyed. For this being a 600 page book, it didn’t necessarily feel long, but it could have been because I was more focused on Shannon and Johnny that I often forgot about the length of the book. I think this was a good book, and I’m hopeful the next one will shed even more light on Shannon and Johnny’s story, as well as enlighten me as to why so many people love this series.