Reading With Tyler

Name: Binding 13
Series: Boys of Tommen #1
Author: Chloe Walsh
Publisher: Piatkus
Format: Kindle
Genres: Upper YA, Contemporary, Sports Romance
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Review:

Binding 13 is the first book in Chloe Walsh’ Boys of Tommen Series. There are a lot of rough topics discussed and suggested meaning the author recommends this for an audience of 18+ despite it being marketed as YA. I have put Upper YA for that reason. Please read the authors warnings before going into this book / series.

Binding 13 has been a book that has intimidated me for a while now. From the “marketed as YA but absolutely isn’t YA” comments, to the clips of being sobbing their hearts out… I was terrified to pick up this book. Not to mention, it’s contemporary! Which means not my cup of tea. So when the prompt ”read a book that intimidates you” was pulled out of the jar… well, this was the perfect read.

Binding 13 is told from two POVs, Shannon and Johnny. Shannon is a 15 year old starting at a new school mid way through the year after the bullying she was experiencing at her previous school was becoming so violent that it quite simply couldn’t be brushed under the rug (so to speak) and her mum took action to move her. Johnny is a rising rugby star, he plays for his school’s team and the Under 18s, but is hoping for a call to join the Under 20s in France with the goal to be playing for Ireland… And he’s damn good too, all his focus is on the game… that is until he meets Shannon.

I love these two. I love them so much. They are both struggling with issues, neither of which is comparable to the other, but they are struggling. And within each other they find a safe space – for Shannon, a literal safe space, and for Johnny he finds himself compelled to speak with her, to speak the truth not that he understands why. Their unlikely friendship and the romance that they fight against was beautiful.

Not only their friendship, but Tommen school brings some excellent friends onto the scene. Including Gibsie and Claire, being the two that I really want to shout out. Because I quite simply adore them. I have high hopes for the found family of this story to only improve with more installements in this series. Gibsie is almost like the class clown of the book – he brings the banter and it is impossible not to love him – he is Johnny’s best friend. And Claire is Shannon’s best friend, she’s also at constant odds in a flirty way with Gibsie. And I love them both as best friends to our MCs and as friends to each other.

Shannon’s brother Joey is not in this book a lot after she moves to Tommen, but he’s in it enough that I am actually really quite scared of his book. Because I know after Keeping 13 the focus shifts to Joey and his girlfriend Aoife (who I also love)… and I don’t know if I’m prepared for what that could bring, given that they’re both older than Shannon. Joey is going through his own shit, but what we see him go through at home with Shannon and the family… yeah it’s just… the whole situation is awful.

As you can tell, Shannon’s story is dark. I had expectations of some serious abuse in her back story – and whilst it is there, for the most part it isn’t on page. Until it is on the page. So, please please please, do not read this if you’re under 18. Even if you’re over 18, please read the warnings from the author at the start before you decide whether or not you want to go into this. Because whilst I expected it to be so much worse throughout the whole thing… it meant I was almost in a false sense of security when it really started happening. I was caught off guard because I’d convinced myself ‘oh this isn’t that bad’… Don’t be me.

This is absolutely a 5 star read and honestly I have a feeling that whilst not a 6 star read, that this is going to have changed the game for me and the series may be considered a god tier series for altering the brain chemistry… Time will tell on that one! There is minimal spice – with Shannon being underage and all – but there is talk of it and some actions on the page, so I’ve used two chilli peppers to rate the spice in this book.

I think at this point I’m both rambling and running the risk of getting into spoiler territory and I as always, don’t want to do that. So I’m cutting off the review here, with one last comment – you best believe I abandoned the TBR to pick up Keeping 13 after that ending. You best believe I did.

Okay one last thing, sorry, whilst looking for a quote to include I found myself crying. Again. Definitely have tissues when you go into this story… definitely have tissues.

“Boom, Boom, Fucking, Boom.”