Description

The Best-selling novel Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh is a contemporary romance for teens and young adults. It takes you on an extravagant love story between a 15-year-old girl named Shannon and a 17-year-old boy named Johnny. He is the popular star rugby player at Tommen College and everyone wants to be his friend. On the outside, he is seen as someone who has achieved everything they could ever dream of having in their lifetime. He has already completed many goals that take others years of practice. On the inside, he is suffering from an injury that if goes untreated could take away his dreams of becoming a star rugby player. He’s working on staying on task and making sure he can keep his grades up as well as keep up his talent at rugby. She however is the quiet one. Throughout her whole life, people have made fun of her. She is the reserved one in this story. Never really stood up for herself. Enter Johnny. He sees that something is going on with her, and wants to do anything he can to save her from darkness. In addition, no matter how hard he pushes for her to tell him what’s going on she keeps her mouth shut. They grow close, first becoming friends and then more. He is always by her side to help her through her tough times or comfort her after them. Johnny Kavanagh is her hero. 

Favorites

I for one have always wanted to travel the world and this book gives you the opportunity. The novel takes place in 2005 in Cork, Ireland. Walsh starts readers off by giving them a glossary to learn before actually reading the book. Yes, I can see how this sounds daunting but believe it or not it’s cool to learn various Irish slang. It sets readers in a different time where they feel like they are really in Cork, Ireland. The fact that Walsh can do this is just bewildering. My favorite part throughout the whole book is when she is starting her first day at Tommen College. Shannon had to switch schools because she was getting bullied all the time at her school, and she couldn’t handle it anymore. The kids at her old school saw her as easy prey because they knew she wouldn’t stand up for herself. However when she arrives at Tommen she gets attacked by a rugby ball on the pitch during her first day, and she becomes very embarrassed when her skirt gets torn. When Johnny sees how uncomfortable and timid Shannon is he immediately makes sure all the players on his team don’t mutter a word about what happened. He saves her from the whole school talking about what happened. Every action made by Johnny is to help Shannon. He and his friends are always there to protect them from bullies and more. So I love that Walsh can transform you into Ireland and how protective Johnny is of Shannon throughout the whole novel. 

About the Author

Chloe Walsh is a bestselling author of The Boys of Tommen series that became popular through TikTok, Goodreads, and Amazon (Chloe Walsh). Walsh produces Young and New Adult contemporary romances. She has been writing these novels for over a decade. More importantly, her books have become such a big deal that they have been translated into various languages. She describes herself as an animal lover, music addict, and TV lover(Chloe Walsh). Also family is a large importance in Walsh’s life. She also advocates for mental health awareness. She lives in Cork, Ireland presently with her family. More importantly, her being from Cork, Ireland makes her The Boys of Tommen series all the better. 

Take A Chance on Binding 13

This book contains dual POV’s, a Friends-to-lovers trope, and is a sports romance. It has been rated 16 and up, is a New Adult/ YA Irish romance. If this sounds like something you would enjoy, give it a chance. It will make you cry and laugh all in one. I for one recommend it to anyone who will let me share it with them. It’s also really interesting to learn about rugby because I had never really known what it was before. While this book does contain some heavy themes I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good romance. Even if you’ve never really read a romance novel before, let this be your first. If you end up liking this one there are four more books that allow you to follow up on the characters.