Saving 6 (Boys of Tommen, #3) (2024)

y’all ever cry so hard you can’t breathe?? yeah, that’s me rn. no one talk to me ever again.

– 4.75 stars

SONGS:
Leona Lewis – Stop Crying Your Heart Out
Rihanna – Rehab

Chloe Walsh releasing Saving 6 is the best comeback of 2023! I waited three years for this book to come out and my expectations were so high, cause I love Binding 13 and Keeping 13, but I should have known that Chloe would do this series justice and literally all the books are bangers. Saving 6 was different than I expected, but I loved it and could’ve been reading about these characters forever.

First of, I want to applaud CW for creating such an amazing world where the characters feel so real, they all are flawed in their own way, but managed to be so relatable in one way or another. Every time I open a Boys of Tommen book it feels like I’m sitting front row to each of the main characters lives and seeing them grow up. I smile with them, I laugh with them, I cry with them, I hurt with them.

❌

Saving 6 is the first book of Joey & Aoife duet with Redeeming 6 as their conclusion (coming March 2023). It does end on a little cliffhanger, but people who have read Binding 13 and Keeping 13 will know how Joey & Aoife story continues since Saving 6 timeline ends right before Binding 13 starts.

➽ ✧

"My Joseph. My brave, brave boy. Terrible burdens. A cursed cross to carry. But always rising from the ashes. Always getting back up. Always the… protector.”

if you think I’m thirsting for a 12-18 year old fictional character that’s on you and not on me. 🌚

When I thought I couldn’t love Joey more, but I was dead wrong. Being in Joey’s head was heart-wrenching, soul-destroying, crushing depressing. 😭 Since the moment Darren has left (f*ck you!) the weight of the world rests heavily upon Joey’s shoulders. He was only 12 yrs old when he had to grow up and be a shield for his family against his father abuse. He made me cry so much every time he wanted to leave this world or go, but then his love/duty for his family held him back and he choose to stay. My heart just broke.

One of my least fav heroes to read about are ADDICTS.. because of the time I don’t think their reasons to be addicted to drugs or alcohol is justifiable or these Heroes are RICH and have all the means to get help. Joey on the other hands I’m supporting his rights, but i’m also supporting his wrongs (meaning: him needing drugs to survive). All the psychological and psychical abuse, the emotional neglect and the pressure of being his sibling’s protector, THAT’S A LOT FOR A TEENAGE BOY! no other hero has been through as much as Joey Lnych has and he deserves the whole universe. 😭

Darren was her firstborn and favorite, Ollie was her sweet and affectionate baby, Tadhg was her mischievous rogue, and Shannon was her only daughter.
That left me.
The spare.

➽ ✧

“That’s it,” I snarled, choosing violence, as I lunged for my brother. “Make your peace with Jesus, dick brain, because I’m about to become the only child I should have been before your sh*tty egg gatecrashed Mam’s womb!”

She had the face of an angel, and the tongue of a devil.

One thing I don’t usually like is when the heroine chases the hero, but Aoife Molloy OWNS that trope now. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to ask for it, but once she gets rejected she knows her worth and doesn’t act desperate. Aoife is such a pusher and it’s hilarious, but she is never pushing Joey more than he is willing ... only far enough for him to admit that he might care more than he lets on.

All in all Aoife Molley pls marry me! Chloe Walsh couldn’t write a better heroine .. SHE IS PERFECT.

➽ ✧

“Yes, fine! Whatever. Christ,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes. “You’re my favorite friend, with my favorite legs.”
“Well, now see, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” she laughed, reaching up to pat my cheek. “And just so you know, Joe?” She leaned in close and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “You’re my favorite friend, with my favorite everything.”

FATHER AND MOTHER OF THIS SERIES. 🛐🛐🛐

you know i love Johnny and Shannon, they will forever be my precious babies, but Joey and Aoife are just on a different level. johnnyshannon had that cute and sweet first love, meanwhile joeyaoife’s love story is more gritty and raw. I love the glimpses of Joey and Aoife in B13 and K13, but actually seeing their story from their first meeting was so beautiful.

Saving 6 is their backstory from the moment Joey and Aoife meet the first time in first year when they are both 12 years old to when they are both 18 years old. They have one of the best slowburn friends-to-lovers stories I’ve read about. They are friends for years before they even kiss and there is a good amount of OM and OW drama in this book since Aoife has a boyfriend for half of this book, but I’m not here to talk about Parasite Rice (the bf in question) 🤚alsy fyi once Joey and Aoife get serious and start getting sexual w each other, they are loyal. 🙏

“Can I just stop you right there,” I interjected, holding a hand up.
“Yeah,” she said, turning to look at me with an expectant look. “Why?”
“No reason,” I replied. “I just wanted you to stop talking.”
“You know, Joey, you can be such an asshole sometimes.”

I hate it when the main characters don’t get together, because one of the characters thinks they are not enough. Something similar happens when Joey keeps rejecting Aoife, because he doesn’t want to hurt her and I could understand Joey’s reason so well and imo Joey had valid reasons for not wanting to get attached to another person. He has enough on his hands, he doesn’t need to care about another person. Aoife knew what she was doing when she keeps dating Pest Rice for fun until Joey was ready.

“But don’t ever think that I don’t have feelings,” he said, and then pressed a kiss to my mouth. “Because the only time that I allow myself to feel anything is when I’m with you.”

“The first day of first year,” he explained quietly. “The first time I laid eyes on you, and the first time I understood what it meant to have my heart beating for someone outside of my family.” My heart squeezed so tight in my chest it was hard to breathe. “Joe.”
"When I say I don’t love you," he continued, nuzzling his face in my neck. “It’s the furthest thing from the truth.”

➽ ✧

“I w-want to d-die,” she continued to cry, choking hard on her tears. “I w-want to n-not be h-here anymore.”
“You can’t go dying on me,” I tried to coax, as terror filled my veins. “What would I do without you, huh?”
“But I m-make everything w-worse f-for you,” she continued to cry. “You k-keep getting in f-fights trying to pr-protect and s-stick up f-for me. It’s n-not fair on y-you… always h-having to s-save me.”
“That’s my job, Shan,” I said as I pried her ponytail from her small fist. “I’m your big brother. I will always stick up for you.”

These kids have been literally and figuratively beaten down and yet they still manage to give out so much goodness and love. Each of their scenes had me in TEARS, it was beautiful yet heartbreaking to see them fighting and sticking up for each other. The trauma-bonding for them is so real.

“How about I teach you a lesson?” Tadhg seethed, taking aim at Billy this time. “On how to fight fair.” With that, the little guy rammed the handle of the floor brush into Billy’s face. “And how to not be your brother’s little bitch boy.”

Honestly Tadgh was my favorite side character in this whole book. He is a comedian and gave this book a much needed comic relief. Where is the petition to give him his own book he is already so hot and confident and he is only like 10. 🤣

These siblings make me cry, but they also make me laugh so much with their antics whereas it Joey having to clean sh*t of Sean, Tadhg correcting Ollie for pronouncing something wrong. They make my emotionless ass go through all the emotions. I can only sleep at night knowing that Mommy and Daddy K are coming to rescue soon, because otherwise I’m going to scream into my pillow how unfair their life is.

➽ ✧

The only criticism I have for this book (hence the 4.75 ★ and not 5 ★) is that I’ve been missing the some of these characters and friendship so much in this book.. yk like Johnny and Gibsie, Gibsie and Claire, or Mammy K and Johnny/Gibsie etc.) I know it makes sense that these characters wouldn’t appear in this book since Saving 6 takes place before Binding 13, we actually meet all these characters in B13 and K13, but I was still missing them and all the wholesome relationships. 😩

“I think it’s nice that your boyfriend and your dad are such good buddies,” Casey laughed. “They’ve got this cute little bromance going on. It’s adorable.”
“True,” I agreed, linking arms with my bestie, as we stumbled back to our table. “But when he’s bromancing my dad, it means that he’s not romancing me.”

I know Redeeming 6 is going to be even more amazing since now it’s going to cross with B13/K13 timeline and I can’t wait to see Joey bonding with Mommy K or Gibsie getting on his nerves. 😭I also hope that Aoife and Kevin will have a better sibling relationship. Honestly, I hope all the parents meet and embarrass their kids lmao.

➽ ✧

And even when it was quiet, I was on edge. The silence unsettled me almost as much as her screams. Because her screams meant she was still breathing. Her silence meant that she was dead.

Conclusion

My expectations for this book were high, because of how much I love the rest of the series and Chloe Walsh DELIVERED. Joeyaoife were everything I wanted them to be and more. Boys of Tommen is one of the best series I’ve read and each book is getting better and better. March is going to be the best month when we will get the conclusion of joeyaoife’s story in Redeeming 6. It will be life changing. 🙏

┍━━━━━━━━»•» «•«━┑
BOYS OF TOMMEN SERIES

#1 Binding 13 – 4.25-4.5 stars (Johnny x Shannon)
#2 Keeping 13 – 5 stars (Johnny x Shannon)
#3 Saving 6 – 4.75 stars (Joey x Aoife)
#4 Redeeming 6 – 4.5 (Joey x Aoife)
┕━»•» «•«━━━━━━━━┙

*love how this review went from having 380+ likes to having 7 sjsjsjsjssjs. beautiful math. goodreads be loving me so, so much that i wake up to wonderous things happening every day, xoxo*

2 stars. Putting myself out there: I'm not half as crazy about this book as everyone else seems to be. 🌝 I didn't feel it on a deep cellular level. I wasn't holding my breath the way I did while reading my all-time favorite romance Binding 13 and Keeping 13. I can't help making comparisons: Saving 6 was like a light breeze to Binding/Keeping 13 maelstrom (emotion-wise, the latter swept me away and the former left me almost cold). I found Saving 6 considerably less addicting, I felt no urgency reading this story.

Before you take out your pitchforks, lemme try to explain my impressions in brief: when it came to my knowledge that the next book to come out in the series will be about Joey and Aoife, I didn't have an ounce of ecstasy/optimism about the upcoming release surging through my veins. I was still excited, no questions asked, but not as much I

After having watched Joey in Binding 13 and Keeping 13, I had a fear that he is gonna be a FANTASTIC protective big brother but somewhat bleak boyfriend material. My worse fear came true as it turned out to be. 🌚

The thing is that Joey has so much on his plate since a young age that he physically can't be even half as single-mindedly obsessed with Aoife as he should be to be able to match the levels of Aoife's love, devotion and loyalty for him. His attention span and his time are very limited due to his home situation and at times I felt like Aoife would never make it to the top on his list of priorities meanwhile in case of Aoife he seems to be her ONE and ONLY priority.

Saving 6 is a perfect title for this book: it encapsulates and encompasses its essence because the story's basically about Aoife saving Joey. Chasing after him. Making the first steps. Catering to his needs. Giving him the trust, support and love he is so tragically depraved of. Being there for him.

The book is well written, it has great, fleshed-out characters and vivid scenes that almost seem to have a free will of their own and picture themselves inside your head as you go through the text.

But in terms of romance, it is very, very weak. Or maybe girls with a savior complex type of thing in romance simply ain't my cuppa.

This book reads like something that only set the stage for greater things—a coming of age story about Joey's struggles and growth, him battling with inner and outer demons—not the 'great, unforgettable love story of Joey and Aoife'. 🕴🏻

That being said, I can't help pointing out that Chloe Walsh belongs to this rare species of authors in the romance genre who don't write for tropes, who breathe life into their characters and stories, who write in such a way that their characters almost appear on the verge of jumping out of the book's pages. Everything about their stories feels magically real yet unreally magical, making you question how can they be just book characters? Chloe Walsh definitely pours her entire soul into writing. 🙏🏻 Gifted queen. 👑

✨things that didn't add up to me✨

╰┈➤Aoife stringing her "boyfriend" Paul along for THAT long (we're talking about YEARS here)

I can see why Aoife would want to have a pet boyfriend and keep him on a short leash, but I think the situation span out of her control way too quickly. Her lap dog turns into a beast eventually that comes back to beat her in the ass with a vengeance. 💀

Paul the Prick is treating her like sh*t most of the time and the fact that she goes along with it didn't make sense in terms of Aoife's character. Why would she tolerate a guy who cheats on her, manhandles her and calls her names when she's so purportedly assertive, confident and strong? 👀 I think oftentimes her behavior didn't align with the the image the author was trynna portray here. Aoife really is loyal (to Joey lol 💀), witty, funny, playful, easygoing and supportive and if all things considered the fact that she doesn't love Paul only exacerbates how little sense her tolerance of him made because it just shows how little life she has and how obsessed she's with Joey. Instead of living her own damn life she just reshapes her life in order to orbit around Joey's.

Why would she let that kind of treatment from Paul slide when she doesn't even love the guy and can find a more fitting candidate for her purposes? 👀 Honestly, Paul's money and looks aren't worth the trouble, and if she only dated him to goad Joey into acting out, our girl failed miserably because throughout the years Joey's involvement in her affairs is limited to protecting her from Paul's antics from time to time, not the long-awaited proposal to be his girlfriend. 💀

The whole abusive boyfriend situation drags on too much for my liking, to the point when it starts detracting from Aoife's character arc. Like the fact that she's so quick to use another human being for her own gain??— even if it's Paul the Prick, she considered him HER friend—doesn't speak in her favor.

Not to mention that the drama with Paul didn't serve what it was supposed to serve, in my humble opinion ——>

╰┈➤ Guys, don't throw me under the bus: at times I felt like Paul is more obsessive and possessive about Aoife than Joey. 👀 In a very toxic and wrong way, but it still counts in my book. 👀👀 SORRAY but half the times that asshole sounds more determined and devoted to Aoife than the actual hero.

Joey has plenty of scenes where he demonstrates how protective of Aoife he is, but I couldn't help noticing that he mostly reacts only when Paul treats Aoife bad. He comes to her rescue like a knight in shining armour, beating up Paul and giving him a piece of his mind but jealousy? Possessiveness?? Agony that she might be getting it on with her boyfriend right about this moment??? I needed more of that from Joey. The way he acted it could be a protective brother thing and nothing more, if I didn't know any better. 👀👀

It made me wonder whether Joey would still choose to be in Aoife's life if her boyfriend didn't show his toxic asshole tendencies. Would have Joey just gritted his teeth and let Aoife go, wishing her happiness, if her boyfriend was a decent human being? The thought makes me uncomfortable. 🌚

╰┈➤ Joey pushing Aoife away

I got his "bad genes, f*cked up DNA" argument and a self-sacrifice he was willing to make to keep Aoife safe by maintaining her at a safe "we're just friends" distance. He doesn't want any part of his f*cked up life circ*mstances rub off on her. It's understandable: he's bad news, with a baggage of drug abuse record, violent, abusive father, neglectful mother, three siblings to take care of and his own volatile quick-tempered tendencies that he finds hard to get a handle on.

To be perfectly honest I couldn't understand why he simply watches Aoife date the douchebag Paul for years. His self-sacrifice—keeping Aoife at a safe distance in order to protect her—looks like either

1) a failed mission at best (she's not protected, she's with an abusive prick when she could be with Joey who wouldn't hurt her pinkie) or
2) a cowardly attempt to avoid taking responsibility for her possible trouble and misery at worst (he's not the one who's hurting her, the pain ain't coming from him so his conscience is clear and his hands are clean. not to mention, his heroic acts of protecting her only add points to his karma 💀).

Both options look sort of bad to me. 💀

In other words, he has a front row seat to Aoife making bad life choices—keeping her abusive boyfriend at her side for some unfathomable and superficial reason, and JOEY JUST WATCHES FROM THE SIDELINES, occasionally coming to her rescue, when he knows all too well that he could co*ck a suggestive eyebrow at Aoife and she would come running into his warm, welcoming hands?

Him playing the guarding angel role was cute and all, but at some point it just didn't sit right with me any longer. Where's the pining, the blinding jealousy, the egoistical need to have her to himself? 😩😩 For someone who has such a poor hold on his negative emotions, he surely finds a way to come to terms with Aoife slipping through his fingers. Maybe it was the case because Aoife ALWAYS ran back to him and was there for him.

Was Paul a better option? No. If Joey's self-sacrifice doesn't come to fruition or serves its purpose, obviously, why does he insist on not pursuing the girl he loves and cares so much about, the only light he has in his life? Like damn if she's stupid enough to let Paul walk all over her and get away with it, Joey might as well have dropped the years long "friendship" bullsh*t where they flirt, banter and want one another like crazy. 👀 Much as I love Joey as a character, he's simply not my type of hero.

╰┈➤ who, what's Aoife... without Joey?

I love Aoife with Joey. She is so assertive about her love, pushy in such a classy way and just perfect for him.

That being said, I don't know what to make of Aoife as just... her, Aoife. It was almost like she was created specifically for Joey, which is amazing, but at times I wished that she became the main character of her own life, if you know what I mean. 👀Respectfully, as much as I love Joey as a character, I don't quite understand how and why she comes to a point (and it comes fast) when her life starts revolving around Joey. Does she even have much outside of her obsession with Joey? She's all about him, all over him and I don't think it's fair to her character. 💀 I'm glad that Aoife and Joey are just fictional characters because in real life girls with a savior complex rarely end up having a HEA.

╰┈➤ Insta-love between Joey and Aoife made their relationship sound very superficial and random. The insta-love appeared out of thin air in the first chapter when they're barely twelve years old💀💀, which drained the tension and chemistry out of their story. To make matters worse, the insta-love was cooked with a slow fire burning. So on top having little to no tension, their relationship has a stagnant aftertaste to it because throughout the whole 800+ pages book Joey and Aoife come full circle without actually having any development or depth to their feelings. 😗

I wish we moved on from Joey and Aoife's early teens (13-14) period faster because as I said there wasn't much dynamic to their relationship during that time. Their early years set the context and the mood for the story, but I couldn't help noticing how many fillers this book has. Funny, witty, smart but still FILLERS. If it were any other author? They wouldn't be able to keep my attention riveted to their characters with that many fillers and early teen shenanigans. With Chloe Walsh, it's another matter. Yet, yet...

╰┈➤ great writing; amazing, vivid dialogues; humor; fleshed-out characters

The minute he said her name, I found myself searching the room for her familiar blonde hair, only to discover that she was already staring at me.
With my brow co*cked, I stared back at her, and mouthed the word stalker.
Proving, once again, that she was unlike any other girl in our year, who would blush and look away under scrutiny, Molloy arched a brow right back at me and mouthed f*ck up.
I winked. Nice legs.
Grinning, she scratched her nose in with her middle finger. Asshole.

╰┈➤ banter was chef's kiss ✍🏻

“If they look as good on you as that yellow thong you’re wearing, then I’m going to have to agree,” he replied, gesturing to the perfect view up my skirt that I had unintentionally given him.
“Close your eyes.”
“Close your legs.”
“No.” Heat flamed inside of me. “I’m not embarrassed.”
“Neither am I.”
“You’re looking up my skirt.”
“You’re flashing your puss* in my face.”
“Oh my god,” I choked out. “You did not just say that.”

“But you’re so good at being an asshole.”
“Come closer and I’ll show you how good I can be in other ways.”

╰┈➤ Aoife not giving it up to Paul 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

I'd flip if she did, I'm not even kidding

╰┈➤ okay you can get your pitchforks out of my face already... I kinda loved that Aoife has been emotionally cheating on Paul the entire time only to actually cheat on him with Joey later on in the book. 👹👹

I'm so drawn to stellar characters that have their flaws and lapses in judgment. Being imperfect is part of being alive, and imperfections makes a character look more complex and interesting.

I also thought that even though Paul had it coming with his actual cheating and some other horrible things he did, two wrongs still don't make a right so Aoife f*cked up when she decided to pursue a relationship despite her persistent feelings for another guy. I loved the mess Aoife and Paul's relationship created, just wish it stopped before outliving its potential. 👀

╰┈➤ Find yourself someone who'll love you as much as Aoife loves Joey, and you'll be saved and redeemed and saved and redeemed 💔

Even if I wasn't sold on the romantic aspect of the story and didn't shed any tears while reading it, it's a great book with interesting characters worth reading, in my opinion.

I have high hopes for Redeeming 6. 🙏🏻

welcome back chloe walsh ♡︎

did I finish the book or did it finish me?

I have been destroyed.
(in the best way)

Where do I even begin?

So first off, I was so shocked when I saw that it would be staring in 1999 and going to 2004 (right up until B13 starts if you're wondering!) and I had NO IDEA what to except from Joey & Aoife's relationship because from the snippets and teasers ANY predictions I had at the end of K13 for their book went out the window 🤣

But I’m so happy that it was written so far back because you get so see so much more buildup and development. It was 😗🤌

Joey is an angel. No one can tell me otherwise. The things he does for his siblings & even for his evil witch of a mother are so selfless it's like this boy was sent down from the freaking heavens or something. His life is so f*cked up, he was handed the sh*ttest deck of cards and yet somehow continues to defend, protect, and live for his siblings.

I'll tell you right now that if I were Joey Lynch I would not have made it.

My baby Joey goes through so f*cking much. His father is a piece of absolute sh*t (as you saw in B13 & K13) and what his father did to Shan is NOTHING compared to what he does to Joe. Joey takes the hits, he puts his body and f*cking life between his father and his siblings and it is so heartbreaking to watch as it destroys him.

Don't even get me started on his mother. ANY and ALL sympathy I had for her is GONE. She is vile. I'm not going to say anything that happens because spoilers, but I am no longer giving her the benefit of the doubt and cutting her some slack for being a victim. She is just as bad, if not worse, than Joey's father with the way she sinks her claws into Joe's head.

Joey is seriously one of the purest souls. Now, I mean, looking at the drugs and the mask he puts on, anyone just looking at him would be thinking "what tf are you saying girl?" but TRUST ME that boy is nothing but good.

Now, Aoife Molloy. My MOTHER f*ckING QUEEN.

She is absolute PERFECTION. She has a heart and soul of gold. I have NOTHING but love for this girl. And honestly everything and anything I say about her is just going to be me raving about how amazing and wonderful and phenomenal she is.

She NEVER gives up on Joey. She SEE'S him. She sees the angel we all know is in there and love even when he does everything to make her hate him and to make her push him away. She see's through all his bullsh*t, she calls him on it, and she makes him f*cking own up to it. She is a GODDESS.

THEIR BANTER 😫 Oh my gosh they had me dying. If she got an idea in her head, if there was something she wanted, SHE GOT IT.
I aspire to be her. She is my queen, my mother, my goddess.
My everything.

Their relationship is a roller-coaster let me tell ya. You see the highs, the lows, and everything in between so be prepared to go from laughing to crying back to laughing within a chapter. Ms. Chloe loves to play with our emotions I swear.

JoeyAoife deserve the world and I don't know how I am supposed to make it to March 31st but I WILL FOR THEM 😭🫶

bring on the angst i'm so ready for my babies joeyaoife

Releasing a pained breath, he leaned in close and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I could go a fair bit crazy over you, Molloy.” His lips brushed against my brow as he said, “Stay out of my head now, ya hear?”

content warning: substance abuse, domestic abuse, suicide ideation, rape, mental illness

So I'm going to be completely honest:

1. I thought this read was going to be VERY PAINFUL (you know, because of all Joey and Aoife's issues from Binding 13, Keeping 13), which it was 😭

2. I thought I was going to HATE Joey and find him undeserving of Aoife (you know, because of all his issues from Binding 13, Keeping 13) but then I LOVED HIM 🥺

In the beginning I missed Shannon and Johnny 😔 (can you blame me? they are my OG babies) but from Joey and Aoife's meet-cute to their personalities to their character growths... Chloe Walsh, the story just pierced my heart and then soothed it all at once 😩 I could feel how the love of Aoife was saving Joey and not in a you-are-my-personal-rehab kinda way and it was too much for me 😭

Also guys, trouble is my middle by Bobby Vinton fits them so well 🎶

Can we talk about the way boys of tommen describe their feelings for their girls? 😩🦋 I get butterflies in my tummy every single time. These guys can actually communicate and are such gentlemen 🥰 I love it.

—— 3.75 ✰ stars.

’ I never knew devastation until he walked into my world and gave me a glimpse into his.’

・❥・ Mood of the book:
: ̗̀➛ Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls
: ̗̀➛ From a Lover’s Point of View by Zach Bryan
: ̗̀➛ Paralyzed by NF
: ̗̀➛ Family Tree by Matthew West

UUUUH okay! It has been a couple of weeks since I read this so I'm going to try my best to remember all my thoughts so I can write this review!

This review will be spoiler free, except for a paragraph at the end that will be duly marked. SO, LET'S GET TO THE MESS.

'But don't ever think that I don't have feelings,' he said, and then pressed a kiss to my mouth. 'Because the only time that I allow myself to feel anything is when I'm with you.'

•┈••✦ 𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒕 ✦••┈•:

In this book, we follow Joey Lynch, Shannon's older brother, as I have already said, this book is located, in the timeline, prior to Binding 13, and focuses on the relationship of Joey and Aoife Molloy, who already are a couple in Johnny and Shannon's books. We focus a lot more on the situation of the Lynch family and also meet the Molloy family, as we follow Joey and Aoife's story over the years.

I must add once again, that you should always, always check the list of trigger warnings, since this book is about abuse, drugs, mental health and a long etcetera, it is not a YA book even if people insist on categorizing it as such .

’I was twelve – years old and a frontline soldier on the war raged within my family home.’

•┈••✦ 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈✦••┈•:

Chloe Walsh's writing is simple, so it's not difficult to navigate a 600+ page book, it's addictive and fast. But when you least expect it, she throws phrases at you that take your breath away, and that, with a knife stuck in your heart, you would feel less pain.

'the only one I've ever been able to depend on being there is my shadow, and that's how I like it, I don't care about people because I can't afford to. I don't have the time in my life or the space inside my head to allow myself to care about anyone other than my family. That's me, okay? That's who I am.'

Regarding the pace of the story, it is strange to describe, because objectively, time passes quickly, since the years fly by, but the rhythm of the story itself does not go so fast, but I repeat, this has not bothered me because both the story and the author's way of writing it is super addictive.

•┈••✦ 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 ✦••┈•:

I will talk only about the most important ones, that is, Joey, Aoife and I will briefly mention the Lynch brothers.

*:･ﾟ｡ 𝑱𝒐𝒆𝒚 𝑳𝒚𝒏𝒄𝒉 *ੈ✩‧₊˚

'I was paralyzed and trapped in a body that resembled the person I despised the most, well almost, I was starting to despise myself just that little bit more these days.'

My Joey, my beautiful and tormented Joey, I already loved him in Binding 13 and Keeping 13, but now I love him even more, the way I have connected with his character is wonderful and very sad at the same time, since everything that Joey feels, about the value of his own life, the fears and thoughts he has about himself, I have felt them in my own flesh too, thank God not for the same reasons as him,

’ it was like there was a demon living just beneath the surface of my skin, one that had taken too many kicks lying down and refused to take a single other.’

The way he takes care of his siblings, as an older sister, will always be what I like most about him, he would give everything for his siblings, despite all the demons that live in his head, he always manages to be their guardian angel of his brothers.

'I knew what it felt like to have my protector abandon me, and I would never allow that to happen to them.'

*:･ﾟ｡ 𝑨𝒐𝒇𝒊𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒚 *ੈ✩‧₊˚

GO BAD BITCH GO BAD BITCH GO! Ok, I loved Aoife, she knows her value as a woman, and no man is going to tell her what she should or shouldn't do, she is a sexy, confident woman and knows that wherever she goes, she causes a sensation.

'I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.' His words threw us both. 'Hurt me?' I repeated and quickly shook my head. 'All you've ever done is look out for me, Joey Lynch. You would never hurt me'.

*:･ﾟ｡ 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒚𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝑺𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 *ੈ✩‧₊˚

Shannon, Tadgh, Ollie and Sean, each and every one of them has a personal and special place in my heart, Shannon especially since we have already read about her. The situation that this family has to endure is unsustainable and

'children weren't supposed to be made in order to plaster over cracks in marriages, but that's what this one would be. That's what each one of us were, temporary plasters to cover the cracks in our parents dysfunctional relationship.' '

•┈••✦ 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 ✦•••:

'nice moves'
'nice legs'

Ok, this is where my problems with the book begins, the romance is what I liked least this time, if it is true that it is not the main plot of the boys of tommen series, I expected a little more from Joey and Aoife, which I'm almost sure will give me the next book!

'and just like every time I felt his eyes on me, my heart, thundered violently in my chest.'

I didn't connect so much with their feelings, without spoilers I will say, that their attraction is immediate, but Joey distances himself from her for two reasons, the first is because he doesn't want to get emotionally attached to anyone due to his family situation, and the second is that Aoife is his boss's daughter, so he knows it's a line he shouldn't cross, but they maintain a push and pull that goes nowhere.

'My god, it was something else when that boy smiled. He was just so beautiful.’

•┈••✦ 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 ✦••┈•:

'My brave, brave boy. Terrible burdens. A cursed cross to carry. But always rising from the ashes. Always getting back up. Always the… protector.'

'Any relationship that is held together because it’s comfortable, isn’t a relationship worth having.'

'Truth be told, my brain was a scary place to be, and I didn’t want to be anywhere near me most of the time.'

'I was so f*cking dead inside that if you cut me open, my insides would spew black. That’s how dark I felt, how truly rotten I felt on the inside.'

I can't wait to read Reedeming 6 and of course, Taming 7!!! Thanks if you've read this far, and I'm sorry this review isn't as good as the ones on Binding 13 and Keeping 13 hahahah. I hope you give this series a chance, I don't think it's a book for everyone, but I think that if you click, it will become something special, like it has happened to me.

•┈••✦ 𝑺𝑷𝑶𝑰𝑳𝑬𝑹𝑺 𝑨𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫 ✦••┈•:

Paul was worse than a pain in the ass, I understand that Aoife, faced with Joey's constant refusals and seeing him with other girls, started a relationship with someone else, but Paul? really? There was nothing better??? I loved the way Aoife defended herself against his bullsh*t, but then she ran back to him because Joey didn't pay attention to her, I don't know, it didn't convince me.

'You shouldn’t settle for comfortable, Molloy. You shouldn’t settle for anything less than being in love to the point of madness. The only person that you should be settling for is the person who unsettles you the most. The person who drives you to brink of suicide because he or she makes you feel so f*cking much that you can’t catch your breath or remotely function without them. And what’s more is you won’t want to. You won’t want to breathe, or feel, or f*cking function without them. That’s how you’ll know that it’s a real relationship, Molloy. Only when you’re feeling the most discomfort you’ve ever felt in your entire life, should you even consider settling. Because that’s when you’ll know you’re in love.'

I do admire Aoife for her perseverance regarding the issue of Joey's addiction, I think you have to be very strong to endure and see what she saw, and you have to love a person very much to want to help them so unconditionally, but, with all the pain in my heart I have to say, that being with Joey dimmed Aoife's light a lot in my opinion, and I hope she gets it back in the next book.

'You should want me to leave, Molloy,' he argued. 'You shouldn't be blocking the door, baby, you should be holding it goddamn open.'

'Being in love with someone who was hell bent on self-destructing was such a lonely place to exist. I felt incredibly helpless, watching on as my boyfriend buried his secrets with lie upon countless lie'

Boys Of Tommen Series:
╰┈➤ Binding 13 , 5. ✰ stars.
╰┈➤ Keeping 13 , 5. ✰ stars.

⤳ Old Updates:
I’m still thinking about the rating, I have to sleep on it probably. rtc I guess ???
feb 29: never beating the readers are masoch*sts allegations 💅🏻. Let’s get some pain 😃☝🏻

First of all! Aoife is life, wifey, mother, the baddest chick, that ride or die chick, the I'm rolling up with my whole crew but my whole crew is Aoife chick. What. I LOVE her! She made this whole book shine!

Everything that I missed about having a strong FMC in Binding/Keeping was brought in Saving.

That ending.

Full RTC.

“You shouldn't settle for anything less than being in love to the point of madness. The only person that you should be settling for is the person who unsettles you the most. The person who drives you to the brink of suicide because he or she makes you feel so f*cking much that you can't catch your breath or remotely function without them.

And what's more is you won't want to. You won't want to breathe, or feel, or f*cking function without them. That's how you'll know that it's a real relationship Molloy. Only when you're feeling the most discomfort you've ever felt in your entire life, should you even consider settling.

Because that's when you'll know you're in love, which, sounds to me, like a hell of a lot nicer way to live than settling for someone you have nothing in common with because it's comfortable.”

Not me already running to the library for book 3 and 4 🤸‍♀️🏃‍♀️💨

Chaaaa chinggg... got them both 😅💃🎖️ And I hear these are even more intense and sad 😭

UPDATE 12/17/2022

PART 1 OF THIS BOOK HAS BEEN WRITTEN!
Release date is Valentine’s Day.

I cry. And scream. And cry. I am so excited I could die!!!!!!! Joey and Aoife here I come!!!!!

_____________________

UPDATE 10/23/2022

As far as I know, Chloe is taking an indefinite break from writing to focus on her family. Sending her lots of love! I check in every now and then to see if there’s any news, so I’ll try to remember to keep updating!

_____________________

UPDATE!!!!! 10/27/2021

Chloe posted on her IG stories that she’s currently writing! Screaming, crying, SO EXCITED! Sending her so much love Xx

____________________________

You guysss, I come back daily to check for any release info 😭 I need this book so bad.

___________________________

JOEY LYNCH. My darling deserves nothing but the best and Aoife is the best. I said what I said.

"He's going to get better," Darren told them. "You are. You can do this, Joey Lynch. You're the strongest, most headstrong person I've ever known in my life."

Sob.

My eyes landed on Aoife then and her golden hair as it blew around her face in the light summer breeze. She wasn't looking at me. Her entire focus was on my brother as she watched him like he was a precious jewel that could vanish at any moment.

"It's okay," she whispered, leaning over his broad shoulders to hold him close. "You can't scare me away." Her blonde hair pillowed around them as she whispered, "You're mine, remember?"

Look at them! I. Love. Them.

Pleaseee Ms. Walsh, hurry up! I need this book ASAP.

5 ‘I don’t love you’ stars

“When I say I don’t love you," he continued, nuzzling his face in my neck. “It’s the furthest thing from the truth.”

As much as I missed all my precious side characters (one scene of Gibsie got me all over the place), Aoife and Joey were more than capable of carrying this book on their own!! I love them so freakin much.

I don’t even know where to start, this book made me feel all kinds of emotions. It’s been so long since a book made me cry so freakin hard. I missed that feeling.

“You saw me back there,” she stated evenly, green eyes snaring me.
“I did.”
“You kept walking.”
I nodded like a fool. “I did.”
“Don’t do that again.”
f*ck me. “I won’t.”

“Can I just stop you right there,” I interjected, holding a hand up.
“Yeah,” she said, turning to look at me with an expectant look. “Why?”
“No reason,” I replied. “I just wanted you to stop talking.”
“You know, Joey, you can be such an asshole sometimes.”

“My Joseph. My brave, brave boy. Terrible burdens. A cursed cross to carry. But always rising from the ashes. Always getting back up. Always the… protector.”

“But don’t ever think that I don’t have feelings,” he said, and then pressed a kiss to my mouth. “Because the only time that I allow myself to feel anything is when I’m with you.”

In my head it was die or get high.
And I had too many people depending on me not to die.

The ending of the book made me a freakin mess. It broke me in the best way. watching the main characters breakdown made me have a pitiful breakdown as well. I was a mess. It was too much to handle, specially knowing what’s going to happen in the next book. I’m not sure I’m ready. I’m beyond thankful we get to have Joey’s story. He deserves to be the main character. To have his own story. He is freakin important. The protector. It’s about time he get someone to protect him.

I can’t wait for the conclusion of their story. I know they are just gonna get more challenged and I know it’s gonna be beyond heartbreaking, but I’m also so looking forward to seeing the rest of the characters. They’re a great support system. The next book is gonna be so heartbreaking in the best and worst way possible.

✨

~The meet cute.

~The first kiss. When it finally happened?? Butterflies are real guys!! Even if they’re fictional ones and you’re getting them for another couple.

~Every scene where she tells him do that or I’ll scream and he ends up doing that and he’s like FINE!

~Tony and Joey bromance. And that scene were he asked him if he loves his daughter like…⬇️😭

“Do you love my daughter?”
Heart thumping violently in my chest, I felt myself nod. “Entirely.” And then I heard myself say, “For about five years now.”
Well sh*t…
“Second,” he said slowly. “Do you see a future with her?”
“No,” I admitted, hating my words, but needing to give him the truth, because if anyone deserved my honesty it was this man. “I don’t see a future for us, but that’s not because I don’t want one with her. It’s because I don’t see a future for myself, period.”

~The Gibsie mini scene because GIBSIE!

~ The “Because I want to put one good memory of this house in your head.” I swear I knew from the beginning she’s gonna do that. Because that’s just how she is and for some reason it got me emotional as hell!

~All the I don’t love yous

~The all too well (10 minutes version) breakdown scene.

#1 Binding 13 ~ 5 stars
#2 Keeping 13 ~ 5+ stars
#3 Saving 6 ~ 5 stars

THE. EASIEST. 6⭐️. EVER. I honestly can’t even see what I’m writing through the tears of heartbreak and happiness that I have for Joey and Aoife (way more heartbreak than happiness tho)

♾️ i truly can’t process words at the moment. i just spent all night reading this and i’m so unwell.

joey lynch.. the lost boy. it breaks my heart to read ur words. all i wanna do is give u the biggest hug and tell u it’s gonna be okay.

aoife molloy.. an angel. literally an angel sent from heaven to joey’s arms. idk how to describe my love for u. every time i thought i couldn’t be more impressed w how strong and amazing of a character aoife is.. she surpassed my expectations.

soulmates doesn’t even begin to explain these two. i loved getting more background to this entire story.

now this book is LONG. much like binding & keeping 13. sometimes it’s long to the point where ur like: are the words even making sense anymore? but it’s so worth it because u get to know these characters deeply and the fun found family scenes are SO FUN and the heartbreaking scenes are SO HEARTBREAKING. there’s no in between w the boys of tommen series and i wouldn’t have it any other way.

my heart hurts but i just know it will all be worth it in the end. seeing my bby shannon and lil glimpses of johnny and gibsie really made my day.

redeeming six.. pls hurry. i’ll be asleep until march 31st.

SPOILERS BABYY👹👹

if they were a song: Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls.

i can't believe this is the same author who created the love of my life, johnny kavanaugh. cuz if this is joey then ik gibsie is gonna be the worst of all💀 (i'm talking about them as a love interest. their respective characters are f*cking amazing!!)

JOEY AS A BROTHER >> JOEY AS LOVE INTEREST

don't get me wrong i absolutely love joey as a character. this book made me cry too, several times. the writing is as beautiful as ever and the characters fleshed out, just the way i like them. love chloe for that!

⚔Irunía⚔ described it perfectly:
saving 6 is a perfect title for this book: it encapsulates and encompasses its essence because the story's basically about Aoife saving Joey. Chasing after him. Making the first steps. Catering to his needs. Giving him the trust, support and love he is so tragically depraved of. Being there for him.

The book is well written, it has great, fleshed-out characters and vivid scenes that almost seem to have a free will of their own and picture themselves inside your head as you go through the text.

But in terms of romance, it is very, very weak.

okay i knew what i was getting myself into before starting this book. i knew joey's gonna be that broken, emotionally unavailable quentissential lost boy that needed to be saved, and that that role will land on aoife's shoulder. i was ready and i knew this book would break me in the process.

i just wish chloe walsh could have done all this without making aoife a complete doormat. amidst focusing on saving joey, aoife completely lost her own individuality and essence. i'll explain my point gradually in this review:

first of all the insta love was such a major turnoff. they were 12, f*cking twelve, when they met. and ever since aoife's been weirdly

the OM drama with paul. good f*cking gracious IT DRAGEDDDD. for more than 500 something pages. and i don't usually have any issue with this trope bcz of the angst and possessiveness it elicits, but it was such a major flop in this book. a man who repeatedly cheats on you, calls you a whor* publicly, manhandles you publicly, throws a tantrum when you refuse to have sex, acts like you're his property and always shuts down your opinions, the list f*cking goes on and on. you would think with aoife's confident, secure personality (as chloe tried to paint), she would drag his ass, or better, ditch him to rot but NOPES. she carried on being his bitch for 4+ f*cking years!!
and if you expect me to believe that she was doing this bcz of not being "hurt" by joey or bcz her mother always stayed even after her father's countless affairs, then no i can't be bothered with these lameass bullsh*t excues. and if she was expecting joey to get all jealous and possessive about her and come running and pour his heart out to her, then she had some bad news coming lmao💀

with all this being said, the biggest question in the room is, 'HOW IS JOEY ANY BETTER THAN PAUL?'

i didn't count but joey probably has called aoife a whor*/slu*t more times than paul.

“You reek of desperation and it’s such a f*cking turn off. Why would I care about a girl who offers herself up on a plate for the taking? You’re another fella’s girlfriend and yet here you are, on the flat of your back for me like a slu*t.”

yeah she came running back to him after one sorry.

now before y'all come at me with your pitchforks, i know he was doing this to push her away. i know he was deliberately being cruel to her, but it really didn't help aoife as a character. i knew she was seeing right through him and that is why she was tolerating his behaviour so that she could "fix him" *eyeroll*. but to what extent can one keep up with this bullsh*t to the point it costs her her self respect. to the point it becomes truly pathetic and we are bound to believe that our fmc doesn't has a spine to stand up for herself. we are talking about patheticness to the level that joey could snap his fingers and aoife would come running to him. figuritavely that's what happened at every chapter.

who is aoife without joey? i think we all know the answer to this.

i just wished she could keep hold of her self respect too. saving him doesn't mean losing yourself. respect goes both ways and no amount of trauma can excuse you not respecting the girl who loves you with her entire heart.

joey's completely unsympathetic nature towards aoife. aoife was always there for joey but it was never other way around. i can see joey's perspective due to his family drama and sh*t, but there were times when i simply couldn't let it go. for example, when paul said that joe will f*ck her and dump her all within a week and aoife was insecure about it and shared her feelings with him; he simply laughed it off..?? there's this another incident where paul just announced that he's gonna take advantage of drunk aoife and joey just... let him..?? he let him go bcz "aoife is apparantly not his business, who cares she gets assaulted or sum sh*t." AND PAUL ACTUALLY GOES AHEAD AND GROPES AOIFE, TRIES FORCING HER TO SEX AND EVERYTHING. and i'm supposed to sympathize with joey bcz this poor child is traumatic. disgusting!

i hate cheating mcs. even if it is not with our main love interest IDC I HATE CHEATERS. i know paul doesn't deserve any better but i would've respected aoife a lot more if she would've simply ended things with paul rather than emotionally cheat on him for 4+ years, later on to actually cheat on him physically. and the attitude of these f*ckers after cheating on their partners really riled me up. joey's reaction was like, "your girlfriend kissed me first not the other way around. she comes after me, not the other way around." the way joey said this every. single. f*cking. time. they screwed really rubbed me the wrong way. as if he isn't the one involved too, as if he's indirectly calling aoife a "slu*t" to always serve herself to him like that, as if this is nothing more than a power play between the two men. it's the way these two always objectified aoife in their convrsation and it's the way aoife never had any problem with any of this.

"Of all the girls in school that you could’ve messed around with that night, you had to pick the grade-a clinger."

this was aoife's statement after OW's breakdown after catching them red handed. and no despite being the OW she wasn't a bitch, but yk aoife obviously had to degrade every woman joey slept with despite them not being at fault. although the OW did take advantage of joey who was too high to the point he didn't even remember having sex. looks like rape in my dictionary but what a shame this wasn't really portrayed as one.

manwhor* H/virgin h., joey whoring around and aoife saving herself for him. several scenes of joey's heavy makeout session in front of aoife. scenes here she stumbles upon him having sex with OW. idgaf they weren't together. they had feelings for each other and that's where the commitment should start. and idc if it was just a "handful" or 1000 other girls, it's all the same for me and still an emotional betrayal.

but i gotta give it to aofie's love man. she really loves this piece of sh*t despite whatever he does. with a love like aoife's you can always be saved and redeemed 💚
i just wish she got the same love in return.

again, all this could be masked as joey trying to push aoife away due to his trauma, but all this 600pages of cheating, objectifying, doormaty behaviour and OM/OW drama really grossed me out, not to mention many of these actions are just straight up unforgivable.

and comparing this all to johnny-shannon.., yeah absolutely tf not.

4.5 stars

Incredibly raw, gritty, and personal.

The level of intimacy the author has with her characters is astounding. They feel like real people, with real lives, and feelings. Chloe Walsh reinventing the meaning of complexity🤌🏻

I am hurting so bad

*potentially triggering scenes- I can handle drug use but please don't let there be cheating or sex with others in this book I love Joey too much to start hating him 😭

i’m not okay. my heart is literally shattered into a million pieces right now.

In my head it was die or get high. And I had too many people depending on me not to die.

Every person he loves is someone more to protect. He is only twelve, yet he can’t afford to follow his heart, to be carefree and dream. Until she sees him and decides she doesn’t care if he doesn’t have any room left for her. She’s stubborn enough to set her own place in his heart.

She knows he wants her. She just needs to wait. And wait. And wait. Maybe it’s for the best. Being with other guys is comfortable, easy and painless. If he acknowledged what they felt was real, he'd be able to break her heart. She has seen her mom’s break too many times to want to suffer the same.

But she can’t stay away. Little by little, she sees his facade crack. Little by little, she gets closer, falls deeper and deeper. She can’t stop herself. She has to save him.

Saving 6 was not like I expected it was going to be-I didn’t realize they had changed the blurb, so I went thinking it was a second-chance romance with pregnancy trope-, yet it met my very high expectations. I read this baby in two sittings and have so many highlights I could write another full-length novel with them.

My problem with B13/K13 was that I was never into the hero/damsel-in-distress dynamics between Shannon and Johnny, but I still ended up loving them. In Saving 6, Chloe Walsh decides to completely steal my heart by giving me ✨BANTER✨. You can’t imagine how much I loved reading about two stubborn people bickering like an old couple. I didn’t even care that it was a bit too insta-love to be a super slow burn, Joey and Aoife’s names were written together in the stars, in black ink and surrounded by a red heart.

“You saw me back there,” she stated evenly, green eyes snaring at me.
“I did.”
“You kept walking.”
I nodded like a fool. “I did.”
“Don’t do that again”
f*ck me. “I won’t.”

I don’t know if reading B13 made me brace myself for the worst, but I think this one has most of the physical damage off scene-which I appreciated, because reading it the first time around was more than enough for a lifetime. In any case, Saving 6 was more focused on the main couple than B13, which had its pros (more banter, more Aoife, more Joey) and its cons (less amazing secondary characters). While I missed having my heart stolen by a dozen characters-Gibs, I miss you like crazy, I’m so thankful I could at least have a glimpse of your awesomeness-, Aoife and Joey were so damn great together I didn’t realize this fact until I sat down to write this review.

“I never knew devastation until he walked into my world and gave me a glimpse of his.
I never knew heart break until he decimated my heart by decimating his body.

Aoife was everything I ever wanted in a heroine. My problem with ‘bad boys’ heroes is that they tend to be paired up with sweet heroines that let them do as they please. Well, Aoife was not one of those. She was all confidence, telling Joey to stop messing around and admit he loves her. She didn’t get no for an answer, pushed and pushed until she got what she wanted, yet she was caring enough to put him first. Even when her heart was cracking, she was the only one holding him, loving him, while everything around him threatened to fall apart.

“Don’t ever think that I don’t have feelings, () because the only time that I allow myself to feel anything is when I’m with you.”

Joey, my baby. I felt your pain during B13 and K13, and it was not different the third time around. I know his mom was a victim in all this, but she didn’t deserve him. I saw red every time she said that Joey was exactly like his father, when Joey was the one answering her calls for help, receiving the blows that were meant for her, protecting her sons, taking care of her daughter, giving her money he earned, feeding her baby... Yet she kept telling him that he was like his father. It broke my heart how Joey first fighted the words, until they got stuck in his head as truths.

“For the last f*cking time, he’s Joey, not Dada. Joey! Your actual Dada beat the sh*t out of your fake one last night.”

I hate ‘damaged heroes’ that keep pushing the heroine away because ‘it’s the best for her’. But this time was different. Maybe because Joey was only eighteen when the story finishes, twelve when it starts. Maybe because he didn’t spend 700 pages going back and forth, more like half the book failing to ignore her presence. Or maybe because, after spending his whole life saving everyone else around him, it was only fair that someone tried to save him in exchange.

I only wished we had more secondary characters and that we didn’t have the hero beating innocent boys to punish the girls-yes, it happened again. I’m not saying they should go and punch the girls, but beating the brother/boyfriend for something they did not do is not the solution. We could also criticize that Joey and Aoife had more game when they were thirteen than people of my age… but let’s be honest: I highlighted every single scene.

“So, do you have a name?”
“Does it matter? () We both know that you’ll be calling me baby by the end of the day.

In short: this book is AMAZING if you love dialogues, banter, slow burn, sassy heroines and bad boys that are actually too good for their own good. But the best part is that we have the second one coming in March!! Chloe really spoiled us this time 😭😭

↬

“Any relationship that is held together because it’s comfortable, isn’t a relationship worth saving.”

MY PRECIOUS BABIES
THE LOVES OF MY LIFE
THIS WAS EVERYTHING I HOPED IT WOULD BE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
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rtc if I ever recover

pre-reading review

"My Joey," she whispered, cupping his cheek in her hand. "My baby."
A shudder rolled through him and he tightened his hold on the pillow, feet twitching sporadically.
Leaning her face close to his, she gently nuzzled him with her nose. "Come on back to me," she coaxed, whispering in his ear as she smoothed her hand over his hair and then his cheek and jaw. "Because I'm not giving you up."

dnf before she makes me full on hate my fav character from the series. I didn't think I ever could but she was proving me wrong 😭 I was already holding a strong grudge against him and even aoife. this is what happens when I put characters on a pedestal, I end up f*cking pissed and disappointed as hell. all I gotta say based on what I read:

JOEY AS A BROTHER > JOEY AS A LOVE INTEREST

I want to preface this by saying that i loved binding 13/keeping 13 and going into this book I knew to expect toxicity from this couple, especially with Joey's addiction and the forbiddenness of their relationship bc of Aoife's dad being his boss. Basically a whole lot of Joey pushing away Aoife bc he thought she deserved better than him. I was also expecting and even willing to tolerate some minor OP drama and look past other sh*t bc of everything joey has gone through. However, I do have limits and they were pushed to no end. I was not at all expecting for just unsafe this book would be for me. This is where the book went very much downhill and why I dnfed because she managed to shove in so many of my biggest pet peeves into it that I actually started to get grossed out and pissed off by the both of them. And I dont believe in pushing through a book or staying miserable to see if it will get better. If im not enjoying myself or if something makes me feel sh*tty, I dnf and give it the sh*tty rating i think it deserves 🤷🏻‍♀️ besides, I've dnfed and given 1 stars for pettier reasons. i also dont believe in giving ratings just bc an author is problematic unless I've read the book or given it a chance, otherwise, I would be rating books all day and every day

Safety/reasons why I dnfed:

-aoife was giving off MAJOR doormat vibes and was just too pushy for my taste. I can appreciate her being there for him especially when he needed a lifeline but at what point does it become pathetic? and continuously at the cost of her self-respect? idkkk

-the amount of times joey called aoife a slu*t/whor*

-joey hoeing around on aoife while she was saving herself for him (idgaf they weren't together. they had feelings for each other and that's where the commitment should start imo. and idc if it was just a "handful" or 1000 other girls, it's all the same for me and still an emotional betrayal. I was honestly expecting this trope for Gibson the disgusting slu*t and claire but not for these two. it seems Chloe just might recycle the disease-ridden H/virgin h trope but who knows? I as sure as hell will never find out bc besides Johnny+Shannon's books, joey's was the only one I was remotely interested in. the others in the series will have a bunch of cheating/love triangles/ow/om drama...gross)

-joey openly kissing/hooking up with other girls right in front of Aoife's face like this one scene where he gives a girl a heated glance and leaves the room with her to 😖 I wanted to gouge my eyes out and was prob more jealous than aoife lmfaoo

-Joey using their inside joke "nice legs" on another girl. probably me being dramatic but I f*cking hated this and took it a lil too personally. and he didn't have a clue about what he'd done too like 😒

-all the OM drama (this is coming from someone who usually loves this sh*t bc of all the angst it creates and especially bc it makes the love interest all jealous/possessive) but it was just very tasteless and sickening here

-the OM being a two-timing hoe and all-around gross manpig who kept on pushing himself on aoife. you would think that after learning about the fact that he is a cheater and that he cannot take no for an answer, a girl would break up with the dude. maybe someone with a spine would, yeah but not this sorry doormat. she proceeds to stay with him for a good chunk of the book (apparently it's bc her dad was a cheater who had multiple affairs but her mom stayed with him. what kind of excuse is that lol? like mother like daughter it seems. if that were the dynamics bw my parents I wouldn't follow in her goddam footsteps 💀 instead I would try my damn hardest to not be a pushover like that but idk that's just me

-aoife cheating on the om with joey (yeah he deserved it but like why tf are you still with him??????)

-did I mention that she saved herself for him?

-i could see where it was headed, joey getting sober for love/aoife and that is great and all but I wanted his siblings to play a bigger role in the motivation behind his decision. it would've been much more impactful imo

-just SO MUCH repetitiveness, joey hurting her feelings, her running back to him. basically a whole bunch of the same arguments, jealousy, and bs over and over again

ig this is what happens when i have a low tolerance for ow stuff, unreasonably high standards, and only read for sh*t for the romance. anyway, no one is more disappointed than I am in how much I hated this, trust me. and maybe it got better but ill never find out. I'll always love joey as a brother/character for all that he has ever done for his siblings and Johnny+shannon will always have a special place in my heart but chloe is on my list of authors to forever avoid list for many diff reasons

"I want you to know that you've been the best part of my day every day since I was twelve years old."

Why do I keep torturing myself with these books? 😭My heart is in a million little pieces and the worst part is knowing that this isn't even the most painful book, I know for sure that Redeeming 6 will destroy me ❤️‍🩹 (I do hope it also puts me back together again).

I knew I was going to love this. I was so excited to finally read Joey's book and get his perspective and it did not disappoint. Saving 6 is very different from the previous books, which I really appreciated because I would have hated to feel like I was reading the same thing. It was definitely more explosive, more dramatic, more painful and more intense than Binding & Keeping 13. It's also sadder and more depressing, there aren't a lot of light and funny moments like in the previous books 🥲 But I love emotionally devastating books. And I don't know what the author put into this book, I tried to take my time with it, but I felt this compulsive need to devour the book. Even when it was hurting my soul, it was so hard to put it down and take a break.

I love how the book takes us through all the years that Joey and Aiofe are in secondary school and we get to see them grow individually, as well as see how their relationship evolved from the beginning. I really loved the pacing of the story, I was never bored and even though I could have done without some scenes (especially those involving Rice), I'd genuinely read another 600 pages. Logically, I can understand the people who say these books are too big, but that was never a problem for me. I love the characters so much that I'm glad to spend so much time getting to know them.

જ⁀➴ Joey Lynch ౨ৎ⋆˚｡⋆

"Pain,” he roared into my face, eyes alight with temper, as his shadow danced with his demons. "On the outside. On the inside. All around me. Pain so f*cking strong I'm drowning in it!" He ran his bloodstained hands through his hair, tingeing his blond hair a faint crimson color.
"That's what I feel. That's all I feel. All the f*cking time!"

My precious angel. I love him so much it hurts 😭 I want to protect him from everyone and everything that hurts him, I wish I could take away all his pain and fix all his problems. He deserves the world 🥺 Joey's life is a living hell and it gets worse as the story progresses, it was devastating to see him fall deeper into his addiction and depression. It was like watching all the light slowly disappear from his life until only darkness remained 🥲 Joey carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, he's a boy who never had a normal childhood, he never had the chance to be a child. At a time when he should have been cared for, he was the one doing all the caring. His family would be nothing without him! As much as I feel sorry for his mother, I hate her so much for destroying him. His father broke his body, but his mother broke his soul. I wanted to scream at her every time she compared him to his father, every time she made him feel like he wasn't enough. Joey literally took on the role of mother and father, he did everything for his siblings, raised them and loved them and tried to give them everything he was never given, and still his mother kept looking at him like he was nothing.

"My Joseph. My brave, brave boy. Terrible burdens. A cursed cross to carry. But always rising from the ashes. Always getting back up. Always the ... protector."

"I took a chance on that boy, and I'm glad that I did, because the man that small boy turned into is a man who I am damn proud of."

Joey is incredibly responsible and hard working, he has a heart of gold, he always did everything to make sure the people he loves are safe and protected. I don't care if he messed up too many times, I will always stand by his side. I will always defend him! Watching him struggle with addiction, trying not to succumb to his vices, it hurt so much. He was drowning in a sea of self-loathing and guilt, I don't blame him for going down that road, it was the only thing keeping his demons at bay. I hate how almost everyone looked at him and judged him so harshly for his temper and bad habits, instead of trying to understand why he acted the way he did.

જ⁀➴ Aiofe Molloy ౨ৎ⋆˚｡⋆

She reminded me of one of those beautiful, exotic caged birds you'd see in a backstreet pet shop; out of place and itching for freedom.

She barely appears in the previous books, so I didn't have a clear idea of her, but I loved getting to know her. She's fun and has a bubbly personality, she's very self-assured and doesn't take sh*t from anyone. What a queen! 😌 She got on my nerves a bit at first, just because she kept making stupid decisions and I wanted her to have a bit more self-respect, but I understand her behaviour. She settled for what was comfortable and what she knew, and I don't blame her for doing what she could to move on from a boy who couldn't give her what she wanted at the time. I loved how she stood up for herself and was open about her insecurities and what she wanted. Honestly, she's someone I would love to have as a friend. She's loyal, protective and caring. She was always by Joey's side, she didn't abandon him, not even during his worst times 🥺

˖ ࣪ . ࿐♡˚. Joey & Aiofe

"I know who you are," she whispered against my lips, taking the lead when I physically couldn't in the moment.
"The quintessential lost boy." Her lips grazed mine as she spoke. "Don't worry, Peter Pan, I'II be your Wendy."

I adore them, they have my heart 🥹🫶🏻 I love that they became friends before anything else happened, especially because Joey really needed a friend. I think they complement each other so well, Aiofe is exactly what Joey needs, someone who isn't afraid to talk back and won't put up with his bullsh*t. They're both very explosive, very hotheaded, but it's a dynamic that works! Joey is very guarded and although Aiof respected his space, she didn't let him push her away and made it clear that she wouldn't run off at the first sign of danger. Their banter is exceptional and the tension between them is fiery ❤️‍🔥 But the truth is that they were a train wreck waiting to happen from the start, and when the collision finally happened, it was bad and it broke my heart 😭

"You might be the addict in this relationship, but you're also the habit that I need to kick," she strangled out, chest heaving, as she turned in my arms to face me. "Because I feel like I'm dying when I'm with you, and I feel like I'm dead when I'm not."

"I hear you say the words, and I know that I feel it back. I do. But I just ..." He shook his head in frustration. "I just don't know how to not do it."
"Not do what, Joe?"
"Reject human affection.”

⤷ please stab me with a knife, it’d hurt less

Obviously their relationship isn't the healthiest and they have some pretty ugly fights. They obviously love each other so much, their love is very intense, a kind of violent, all-consuming love, but I think they will eventually come to a healthy place in their relationship. I'm rooting for them 🫂

"And I know that I'm not good with the words you need to hear from me."
"I know," I whispered, understanding. "It's okay."
"But don't ever think that I don't have feelings," he said, and then pressed a kiss to my mouth. "Because the only time that I allow myself to feel anything is when I'm with you."

All the scenes with the Lynch siblings made my heart ache, I love them so much and I sobbed so many times because my heart hurts for them 😭 They're so lucky to have Joey in their lives.

"I would do so much more if I could," she replied, leaning in for a half-hug, while she batted several small hands away from the cake. "I love you, Joe."
"O-ee," Seany crooned, clutching my leg. "O-ee."
"We all do," Tadhg begrudgingly agreed. "Love you, that is."
"Uh-huh," Ollie added. "So much."
"Yeah." I blew out a pained breath and took stock of the small humans circling me. "Right back at ye." ⤷ sobbing 😭

⊹ ࣪ ˖ Once again, I've written such a long review and there's so much more I could say, but I think I've touched on the most important parts. I'm scared to read Redeeming 6 because I know it's going to hurt, but at the same time I'm excited to read it (and clearly I'm insane, but I was so happy when I saw how big the book is lol). I just want Joey to be safe and happy and to know that he's enough, he'll always be enough and he deserves to be loved ❤️‍🩹

I love this series with all my heart and I love the characters so much. I just never thought that it would become one of my all time favourite series, but here I am, completely consumed by it.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

I always forget to do this, but I love creating book playlists for my favourite books, so here’s my Spotify playlist for saving 6. I’ll eventually add more songs when I read redeeming 6.

4⭐️
If they were a song… ”Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls”

Welcome back!!
If you know me, you already know that I love this author and this series, but first let me make a short introduction. This is the 3rd book of the series Boys of Tommen and it’s told from Joey and Aoife’s POV. I recommend reading TWs before, because it deals with very strong themes. It has a glossary and name pronunciations at the beginning since the author is Irish, and so the book.
Okay, now we’re ready to go!

About the plot:
This book follows Joey Lynch and Aoife Molloy’s story, which starts when they first met at 12 years-old. Joey—as we know—is the second-born son of the Lynch family, and he’s Shannon like the river’s brother. Joey doesn’t have an easy life, since Darren left he’s thrown into the role of protector of his siblings. He feels the weight of a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders and it’s so easy to lose the right way in these cases. The only light in the darkness seems to be her classmate and boss’ daughter—Aoife. From the first moment she lays her eyes on Joey, she makes it her mission to discover his secrets while being his friend.

My thoughts:
IT MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS, BE CAREFUL!!
If you know me, you should know that I am the biggest fan of this series. So, you know how much I loved the first two books and I was so curious about Joey and Aoife’s story. The writing and the pace is amazing, it keeps you glued to the pages and some scenes are really funny—especially when Tadgh and Ollie talk to each other. Tho, some scenes are equally painful. If you think B13 and K13 are painful, you clearly haven’t read this book… We already know that Joey’s family it’s a sh*tty one because Shannon told us about it. But from Joey's pov, it hurts three times more. His addiction is heartbreaking, because he’s so young and he has to deal with a lot of stuff which a teenager shouldn’t deal with. He has responsibilities a teenager shouldn’t have. His duty to his siblings and his mom is slowly killing him. And it breaks my heart because you read about him struggling, and you can’t do nothing to help him—since he’s a fictional character and the events narrated aren’t real. But you feel connected to them, you’re so invested in their story that you couldn’t help but worry about their sake. So when something happens, I feel so helpless. Sometimes I wished I could hug him and never let him go.
Aoife, instead, lives in a normal family and she’s loved by her parents. His dad is Joey’s boss, he gave a job to him when he was only 12 and I love how he’s so proud of Joey and their relationship. However, her dad likes to have little affairs even tho he’s married and this led Aoife to have daddy issues and trust issues. She trusts no man and she’s convinced that if she doesn’t let herself love anyone, she wouldn’t—couldn’t—get hurt. (so relatable) So when she meets Joey and he says he doesn’t want to date anyone, she starts to date Paul, one of their classmates. I didn’t like their relationship, it was a toxic one; I especially didn't like the way he treated her and the fact that the author kept making her go back with him. I really liked Aoife, since B13, she’s a badass and I LOVE girls who know they’re powerful.
I adored their relationship, started as friends and ended as lovers. It’s undeniable that the good Lord brought them together because they’re made for each other. I loved the tension between them since the first pages. And it was so painful seeing how Joey’s addiction reflected on Aoife because you could see how much she was hurting when Joey was struggling with drugs.
Tho, I have to say that I'd have preferred if the author ended the book with a real cliffhanger. I don’t think the ending ends with a cliffhanger or something, I think it’d have made more sense if the book ended with Joey in rehab, since we don’t know what happened next.
Overall, I loved this book and their stories—even tho Johnny and Shannon are my babies!! I honestly can’t wait to read Redeeming 6 and see where their story goes, hoping in a happy ending. LOVE THEM!!

Quotes:
“I never knew devastation until he walked into my world and gave me a glimpse into his.
I never knew demons until I stood beside him and watched him battle monsters more frightening than my imagination could ever concoct.
I never knew heartbreak until he decimated my heart by decimating his body.
I never knew hurt until he walked away from me.
I never knew.
I never …”

“I had felt it, the weird invisible pull, the very first day he walked into my world, and it hadn't let up since.”

“To say that I felt drawn to him would be a major understatement.
I felt it that very first day of first year - that epic wave of familiarity lust, and camaraderie - when our eyes locked, and I felt it now.
There was something about this boy that I found impossible to ignore.”

"Because I have no intention of giving a boy that kind of power over. [...] From my viewpoint, men let you down - even the good ones like Dad can't be trusted. So, why would I ever expose myself to that kind of pain? It would be emotional suicide.”

“Her scent, so fresh and addictive, invaded my lungs, taking me down harder than a punch from my old man ever could.
It's this scent you remember, my brain quickly recognized, and this hair.
With my heart racing wilder than any drug had ever provoked, I held her in my arms, fought the feeling of panic that was climbing up my throat, and allowed myself to finally stop fighting against the tide of feelings overcoming me.
The feelings that had been drowning me for five years.”

"You shouldn't settle for comfortable, Molloy. You shouldn't settle for anything less than being in love to the point of madness. The only person that you should be settling for is the person who unsettles you the most. The person who drives you to the brink of suicide because he or she makes you feel so f*cking much that you can't catch your breath or remotely function without them. And what's more is you won't want to. You won't want to breathe, or feel, or f*cking fungtion without them. That's how you'll know that it's a real relationship, Molloy. Only when you're feeling the most discomfort you've ever felt in your entire life, should you even consider settling. Because that's when you'll know you're in love, which, sounds to me, like a hell of a lot nicer way to live than settling for someone you have nothing in common with because it's comfortable.”

“He was a good person who made terrible decisions.
He wasn't trying to hurt anyone.
He was trying to survive in the only way he'd ever known how, by self-medicating.
Even as I watched him sleep it off on my bed, I could see the heartache he represented to me written all over every inch of his skin.
He was going to break my heart, I knew it. I could see it coming from a mile away, and I still couldn't seem to get my self-perseveration instincts to kick in and protect me from the inevitable.”

“I was so f*cking dead inside that if you cut me open, my insides would spew black.
That's how dark I felt, how truly rotten I felt on the inside.
How far I'd fallen.”

“It was like I'd inhaled her so deeply inside of me that my head and heart refused to function. I couldn't release the air in my burning lungs without the absolute guarantee that I would get to see her face again. Whether I deserved to or not.
Sitting across from her at Biddies the other night, it had really hit me just how f*cking beautiful she was - and I wasn't talking about the outside, either.
Aoife Molloy had a heart of gold and was hell-bent on handing it over to a piece of sh*t like me.
She was my momentary escape from all of the f*cking dark.
She was the only bit of brightness I had in my life, and it scared me to think of how little else I had going for me.
Without her, I had nothing.
Without her, I was nothing.”

“The smell of his sorrow was all around me and I honestly felt like I was going to die of a broken heart as I felt myself hemorrhage from the inside.”

Do I recommend this book? YES, OFC!

Binding 13

Keeping 13

Dec 7th: i have a feeling that this is gonna be painful😭😭😭

i can honestly not think of a single thing I didn’t like, this was everything I wanted and more. It felt so right to be back with my family 🥺🥺🥺

i probably write the full review in the next book when Joey and Aoife’s story is done ❤️‍🩹

————————————

THE AUTHOR IS WRITING AGAIN IM SO HAPPY RN😭😭😭😭😭

[25/03/22]

“Because sometimes it’s feel good, Aofie - to have hands on my skin and NOT feel afraid of the touch… to just feel and f*ck and forget a little while what a f*cked up world I belong to…”

I AM SO SCARED, WHO’S GONNA PAY FOR MY THERAPY MS. WALSH HUH?????? this is gonna hurt

[July 2022]

so, chloe announced she is taking an indefinite leave of absence which is 100% understandable, but yeah, that’s the update. maybe we’ll get Joey’s book in the future, maybe not, who knows, I’m just glad the author is putting herself first.

I’m still the happiest person for having the honor of meeting Johnny and Shannon and their world 🥰✨

[Jan 2023]

IS COMINGGGGGG!! this book is going to be split in two parts, Part 1 is coming out THIS FEB 14th!!!!!😭😭😭 and Part 2 hopefully in st. patrick’s day (Mar 17th), but Chloe said is not 100% sure yet, that’s the goal though.

I AM SO EXCITED 😭❤️❤️❤️ I will be doing a reread of the first two soon 🫶🏼

me the first 50%

me between 50-70%

me the last 30%

at some point i was like, just kill me chloe walsh because surely it would hurt less!

“I…love…you…Molloy….”
“Tell me when you’re sober,” I replied, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “It won’t count tonight.”
“Why won’t it count, Molloy?”
“Because you won’t remember it,” I whispered sadly.

no like WTF IS THIS

“You might be the addict in this relationship, but you’re also the habit that I need to kick,” she strangled out, chest heaving, as she turned in my arms to face me. “Because I feel like I’m dying when I’m with you, and I feel like I’m dead when I’m not.”

and for her to call this fluffy compared to R6 👹

boys of tommen
↠ #1 binding 13 — 5 stars
↠ #2 keeping 13 — every star in the universe 💫
↠ #3 saving 6 — 4 stars
↠ #4 redeeming 6 — 1.75 stars
↠ #5 claiming 10 — tbr

"𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘑𝘰𝘦𝘺 𝘓𝘺𝘯𝘤𝘩," 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.
"𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩," 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦. "𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘺."

To be honest I don't feel like I have much too say. I enjoyed this book - the banter between Joey and Aiofe was hilarious, their situation heartbreaking.
This can be really upsetting to read at times as it follows Joey's problems and the decline in his well-being and mental health.

I'm still not sure which rating to give this. (4 stars?, 3.5 stars?) I liked Johnny and Shannon's books more, but I still found some aspects I loved in this one as well. It felt different than the first two books. Mainly because it follows Aoife and Joey over multiple years.

Some things that the characters said or thought were cringy (to me). Like Joey saying he put his "dick into semi-retirement" or Aoife calling it "beast".
But asides from that there was a lot of good banter. And I want to have the scene of them bickering in the school's kitchen implanted into my brain. That was *chef's kiss* p̶u̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶n̶d̶e̶d̶.

"𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯, 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬."

Ending this review with the mention of Ollie (and Tadhg and Sean) because they're literally hilarious and cute and I want to protect them with all my heart. 🫂🫂🫂
__________
need some time to collect my thoughts before I can give this a rating

this book is gonna be so good are you kidding. i’m so excited

i feel so empty after this ending omg nothing will ever compare to this series and its characters ❤️‍🩹 gonna hold off on redeeming 6 for as long as i can bc my heart isn’t ready

4.5 stars (basically a 5 bc i loved this equally with the first two books but, if i had to be specific, a few minor things made it 4.5. JoeyAoife and JohnnyShannon are literally a tie in my heart tho!) ☆

"Please just stay." He paused to release another slow breath, before continuing, "This is the only time it's ever stopped. Please don't break it."
"This is the only time what's ever stopped?" I croaked out, feeling my heart thunder wildly in my chest. "And don't break what?"
"My head," he mumbled, before adding, "The quiet."

i loved Joey and Aoife so f*cking much. they were honestly the perfect person for one another. i knew going in to this their story would hurt and feel painful, but i don't think i was ever truly prepared for what it made me go through. i just wanna hug and protect all the Lynch siblings. <3