fabledreader 's review for:

Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh
4.5
dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
The emotional sucker punch sequel to Binding 13 and the conclusion to Johnny and Shannon’s story. It starts exactly where the first book left off, so the tears start immediately with little reprieve. I hope I never forget turning to my husband and saying “I think he’s about to 🔥” and then the next day in the car the scene plays out as I’m driving to work and I’m balling my eyes out and screaming at my car, “I fucking told you.” Ah memories. 

Shannon and her family have to deal with their father’s unpredictable nature on multiple fronts in book 2. Shannon is fighting with her mother for every moment of her freedom and time with Johnny. School life also becomes more difficult as Shannon faces bullying for becoming Johnny’s girlfriend. Johnny will do everything in his power to protect the girl that he loves while at the same time still preparing for his career in rugby. Everything comes to an explosive conclusion in this book. 

Shannon regresses several times in this story, but eventually she does find herself and her voice. Johnny continues to be the expected knight in shining armor and I was pleasantly surprised by the path the author took with his rugby storyline. I was even more pleased by the storyline his family’s involvement took.  It helped bring a spotlight to all of Shannon’s brothers that made it easy to love her whole family. Chloe Walsh is an amazing character writer. Gibsie’s scenes still made me laugh out loud when comedic relief was badly needed and I can’t wait to get to his book. It might be a while until I can get to the rest of this series due to my plans for this year and how long/dense these books are but that doesn’t mean I don’t love them and that I won’t miss this world.
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