Honestly this book is really easy to sum up. Shannon like the river is very small, frail, weak, skinny, every adjective that goes with the previously mentioned, and has fried egg breasts. That's basically her entire personality. She has so. many. conversations in her head. Guess what they're about? Mostly about how small she is. Everyone around her is constantly telling her the same thing. She needs help to do basically everything because she's tiny. And if you think I'm exaggerating I'm not. It's at least once a page if not more.

Johnny, or rugby god as I will now be referring to him, talks about his dick for about 80% of the book. Older women throw themselves at him 🙄 but yet he obsesses over 15 year old Shannon like the river. There's truly nothing spectacular about rugby god. He's basically just there in the book to serve the role as knight in shining armor and he even fails at that.

Honestly nothing really happens. It's like 600 pages of Shannon like the river talking about being small and rugby god pining for her. She's constantly being both sexualized and infantilized which is really gross. It really only got a second star for Joey and Gibsie. They carried it.

I feel lied to by every single person who gave this a good review.

This book was everything I was wanting and more! It has all of my favorite tropes. The shy girl and the popular athlete, who turns out to be a good guy. This book focuses on the characters, friendships, relationships and family dynamics. This book has all of it- slow burn included!

The author really focused on character development and relationship building. It made for a great read! I thought this book may be a little YA, but it didn't feel that way at all. I highly recommend picking this one up!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Binding 13 is the story of Shannon and Johnny. After Shannon is physically and emotionally bullied at her school, she is sent to Tommen for a fresh start. Unfortunately, a rugby ball hits her in the head. Enter Johnny, rugby star, who is filled with fierce protectiveness for Shannon after accidentally injuring her. After their dramatic first meeting, they are told to stay away from each other. Yet something keeps bringing them back together. They become friends and consider the idea of something more. Johnny soon realizes someone is hurting Shannon. But can Johnny help Shannon when the worst source of abuse comes from outside of school?

Johnny and Shannon have an unlikely romance that is steeped in angst. They sort of orbit around each other, before inevitably crashing together. Even though aspects of this story are flimsy at times, something kept me reading. I loved Johnny’s protectiveness, even if it didn’t particularly make sense. The abuse that Shannon suffers is pretty extreme, so I’m hoping the sequel allows her more agency and freedom from it. I’m hoping to see her grow in confidence as well. Gibsie is by far my favorite character. He’s the best! Gibsie is a loyal and hilarious friend to both Johnny and Shannon. I also loved Shannon's relationship with her brothers.

Ultimately, I don’t think it needed to be quite as long as it was, though I always enjoy spending more time with the characters. If you can suspend disbelief and are intrigued by the premise, check this series out. Binding 13 would be good for readers who seek unlikely romance, hurt/comfort, and the highs and lows of (high school) rugby. I will be picking up the sequel to see what happens next!

Thank you to Chloe Walsh, Sourcebooks Bloom Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a great start to the series and i can't wait to read more. Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for this.

I love that this book focuses more on friendships, relationships and family than most typical high school sport romances. I went into this expecting the stereotypical popular jock meets shy geeky girl. Realizes how beautiful girl truly is and starts to fall for her. But this book was so much more than that. It was beautifully written and such a unique story compared to other I've read.

Binding 13 is such a wonderful start to the boys of tommen series. Johnny and Shannon have captured my heart and mind. I loved their interactions from the jump. The writing wasn’t the best and the book was a bit too long. Despite it all, I still really loved this book. Looking forward to the next one!

this book did not need to be as long as it was. i genuinely thought since it was so long there would actually stuff happening in the book. i was mistaken. it is basically just johnny driving shannon home every day and them having the same conversations.

personally, i am not a fan of slow burns and maybe that’s why i didn’t love this book. kind of annoyed that i read 600 plus pages for johnny and shannon to only have kissed a few times and for the book to end on a cliff hanger. will i read the next book to find out what happens next, I am not sure.

thank you to BloomBooks for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bloom Books, and Chloe Walsh for this arc.

I had no idea going into this what this book was about. I seen the cover and was like one this looks cool. I was not expecting the emotional rollercoaster I was put on! I felt like I was reading an episode of Degrassi or Skins.

I felt so much when it came to Shannon and her family. I found myself screaming at the book. I just wanted Shannon to catch a break and Johnny just needing to protect her from everything was refreshing. I found myself liking almost all of the characters.

I've read a few sports romances like your typical hockey and baseball but rugby was a new one for me and I'm OBSESSED. I think the only thing I didn't like was that it is long and slow however I'm still giving it 5 stars because I couldn't put it down.

I need the next book ASAP!

i really tried to like this one - unfortunately
i ended up DNFing.

the burn is just too slow for me 🥲

𝘉𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 13 follows the incredible story of Johnny Kavanagh and Shannon Lynch through tentative bonds and the traumas of a past yet untold.

- ~ -

For how old the name Johnny sounds, I've read way too many swoony men.

It's a yet another incredible read that I do not want to spoil by sharing the details of because I think the blurb covers enough and it's best to go into it blind.

But overall it's a good story with a bit of heartache and a few grins and just a tad bit of frustration (he kept denying his love for her!).

- ~ -

3.97 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

A 5 star read! I typically don’t read high school romances but the book, Binding 13 exceeded my expectations by a long shot. This book was heartbreaking, heartwarming, and a sizzling slow burn romance that I am obsessed with. I can't wait to read the next book. Binding 13 had great character development hilarious banter between the main character and their friends. This book made me feel excited, giddy and I hope people read along with love it as much as I did.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Shannon has my full heart. What she's experienced in her short life is devastating. The way Johnny treats her from day 1 was perfect. My absolute fav, laugh out loud, moment was Johnny at the end hopped up on meds!

Going into this one I thought 600 pages was excessive, but I flew through it! However, know that it ends on a cliffhanger that will leave you yelling WHAT?! and needing book 2 immediately.

Be aware of the many triggers prior to going into this one, and know that it is a long one but well worth the read.

Johnny has everything going for him. Life has never been easy on Shannon. The first time they meet is her first day at this new school, and he accidentally kicks a ball to her head. And he is mesmerized, but doesn't want to do anything about it, because he is almost 18, and she's only 15...
This opposites attract, forbidden, sports romance is book 1 in the Boys of Tommen series. I've heard so many good things about it. And I was reading and reading. And it's a very, very big book. And I was thinking the start was slow... Turns out the entire thing was slow. Whole book could've been half the length, maybe then I would've liked it. But this was soooo slow and going around in circles, and despite all of it, there was no character development. Maybe my expectations were way too high. And how many times do you have to tell us that the girl is tiny? She's tiny, we get it. Maybe if you would have mentioned it a little less, the book would have been like a 100 pages shorter. But when Johnny and Shannon meet first, I started swooning. But then I started cringing. I can't believe how much they infentilized Shannon, but then kept on saying how mature she was. And yet she was acting like a child all the time. My heart kept on breaking for her over and over again. I liked how Johnny always stood up for Shannon and was intrinsically a good guy, his instant attraction to tiny child-like Shannon came out of nowhere and made me cringe. I couldn't really root for then. I absolutely adored Joey and Shannon's friends, way more then I even liked Shannon and Johnny.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Easily one of my favorite books that I have read this year. What a beautiful, sad story. I want to hug and protect Shannon and her family. They just have it so bad…truly awful home life. Johnny and his friends are angels. I love seeing Johnny and Shannon’s relationship grow. It’s so adorable but also the foundation is so strong, considering how young they are it is so impressive how much they support each other.

It’s very dark at times. Not in a dark romance way but the topics are very sensitive. Please check trigger warnings.

The found family aspect of this book is excellent. One of the best I’ve read.

I am often intimidated by long books. I am really glad I didn’t let the length of this book scare me off. Because of the length of this book, you really got to the heart and soul of Johnny and Shannon. There was time for character development and then an emotional rollercoaster. The author has a special way of writing that draws you in and keeps you engaged. I have middle school aged kids so the characters and their struggles are things I could potential face with my own kids soon. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!

I truly didn’t want this book to end. I love when books focus on the characters, relationships, family dynamics, and friendships. This book had all of that and more. This is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. I can’t stop thinking about it and after I finished the book I immediately wanted to reread it. I also loved that this book was a slow burn. I definitely recommend this book. You won’t be able to put it down. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for the arc of this book.

This series actually blew me away.
I normally hesitate to read books where the characters are in high school. However, I’m glad I read them cause they were absolutely incredible.
Be warned, they are LONG! These took me a second to get through, it felt like a long-term commitment.
Shannon and Johnny are everything, I love them, and I love recommending this book to people because it’s definitely an emotional rollercoaster.
This is your sign. Buy these books. You need these books.

5★

-found family
-emotionally heavy
-shy girl & popular guy
-boy obsessed

okay i want to start this off by saying that these books are HEAVY. their emotional rollercoasters. you’ll be laughing one minute and crying the next. please check triggers before reading, if you have any!

johnny & shannon are quite literally everything
these books are perfection. and i know everyone who’s experienced johnny & shannon know how special their connection is and how special they are as individual characters as well. johnny is popular and funny but also so dedicated to his passion he can’t see anything else. until shy, quiet, little shannon comes along. shannon is the epitome of strong. she has been through it and still perseveres!

not only are johnny & shannon everything but this whole series in generally is so beautifully written. it’s cheesy at times, it will make you cry laughing and it will make you feel emotionally unwell but these characters are a family. the found family vibes are so strong and you know it’s an amazing universe when people are already rooting and begging for side characters stories!

i don’t want to write to much else because you really should go into these books blind. just know you won’t regret it! if you’re thinking about reading these books, do it!

Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh is an engrossing and emotionally rich tale that follows the lives of Johnny Kavanagh and Shannon Lynch. Johnny, a rugby star with hidden challenges, and Shannon, a girl with a troubled past, form an unlikely bond. Chloe Walsh masterfully portrays their friendship, chemistry, and the obstacles they face.

This book stands out for its sensitive exploration of tough themes like bullying and healing. It's a story of resilience, hope, and human connection. The writing is engaging, and the characters are relatable. "Binding 13" is a must-read for those who enjoy contemporary romance with a touch of realism, offering a beautiful message of strength and healing.

This is a story that will have you invested in its characters and has a lot of heartbreaking and heartwarming moments. There were some things I liked and disliked about the story but overall, it was a good read. There were times when I felt absolutely devastated for Shannon's character, what she went through and everything she had to deal with, especially with her parents. I liked Johnny although there were times when I thought his response to things seemed a bit much at times. However, the angst, love and support between the two of them was sweet and I look forward to reading the next book in this series. I do recommend readers take notice and heed to the author's warnings regarding this book because this is a story that may not be for everyone.