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

∞ knives shoved into my heart ★’s

⁀➷ 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚. 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔.

i’m concerned for my mental and emotional health.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

𝓼𝓹𝓸𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓻 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀

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.

well i never knew that i’d be reading the most life changing books, but here i am. i will never be able to read another romance book the same way again. i fear that i’ve reached peak romance. god, you’re probably thinking…could she be any more dramatic when it comes to this series?

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

❥ 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉:
- 𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤 𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙨
- 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙤 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙧
- 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙛𝙩. 𝙠𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙙
- 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘
- 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙨
- 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙙 & 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧
- 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙟𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙩. 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙯𝙮𝙣
- 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙙 𝙨
- 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙚

this playlist had me straight sobbing for an hour. i fear i ate😗

❥ 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈/𝒶𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓉𝒾𝒸:
- friends to lovers
- good girl x broken boy
- grumpy sunshine
- she falls first, he falls harder
- addiction/trauma (search triggers!)
- tension/banter
- high school
- dual pov

❥ 𝓅𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎:
saving 6 takes you back in time before binding and keeping 13 to tell joey’s story. life has never been easy for joey lynch. everything in his life is broken and he’s always left to pick up the pieces. as he enters his teen years, his struggles in life intensify. he does his very best with the hand he’s been dealt. always looking out for and protecting the people he cares about, determined to rebuild what is broken…but who’s going to look out for him? especially when he’s also determined to lose himself to drugs. aoife molloy is a sunshine girl with a fun-loving personality and an unwavering confidence. she’s so unapologetically herself and doesn’t care what anyone thinks. well, except for the boy who has piqued her interest since she first laid her eyes on him. she’s determined to become joey’s friend, to knock down his walls one by one. when deeper feelings arise between them…she finds herself wanting to save him, but he wants to save her from himself. he’s convinced that he’s unlovable and that he’ll ruin her. what happens when she fully inserts herself into his life and shows him what it’s like to be loved? she’s the only home he’s ever had. he knows he shouldn’t get involved with her, but he can’t seem to stay away. when things take a turn…can she save him?

❥ 𝓂𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈:

“pain. on the outside. on the inside. all around me. pain so f*cking strong i’m drowning in it! that’s what i feel. that’s all i feel.”
╰┈➤no thoughts, just…this.

no but honestly, if you thought shannon’s books were sad…i’m here to tell you that joey’s first book will make both of shan’s seem like a cakewalk. binding and keeping 13 absolutely broke me and i was thinking hm, well surely it can’t get any worse than this right? WRONG. i was so wrong. oh and guess what? i can already tell you that redeeming 6 will be even more gut wrenching than this one. i can feel it in my bones.

❥ 𝓌𝓇𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔:
chloe’s ability to completely break you with her writing is actually terrifying. that’s it. that’s all i have to say.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

”the quintessential lost boy.” her lips grazed mine as she spoke. “don’t worry, peter pan, i’ll be your wendy.”
i kissed her.
╰┈➤i will never forget this moment.

❥ 𝒿𝑜𝑒𝓎 𝓁𝓎𝓃𝒸𝒽

⁀➷ ❝you’re like an island. somewhere for me to go and escape. somewhere safe. someone to anchor me, if that even makes sense.❞

i could spend a life time crying for this boy. i’d do anything to take his heart, store it inside my chest, and take care of it as if it were my own. reading about joey’s life from ages 12-18 absolutely killed me. falling in love with a character and growing deeply connected to them just to read about the absolute hell they had to endure growing up is just…unfair😭i want to rewrite his books. a tears of joy edition🥺the man that he is omg…where other people see flaws, i see perfection. he’s so caring, kind, selfless, loyal, etc etc. i love him endlessly.

❥ 𝒶𝑜𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓎

⁀➷ ❝you might not love yourself, but i do. i love you enough for the both of us.❞

she’s the baddest bitch ever and what’s even better is…she KNOWS it. her confidence shines brighter than the sun. i love that she’s not the type of girl to just give up when things get hard. she knows her own mind and speaks it freely. she’s a hard girl to break, but she’s human. so when she does break, it’s so heart breaking. she’s everything i hope my future daughter will be one day and everything i look for in a friend. that’s my girl hehe🤭

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

reaching down with his free hand, he tucked a tendril of hair behind my ear and whispered, “you think i want you?”
physically, he trumped me in every way.
taller.
stronger.
darker.
meaner...
still, i wanted him to come closer.
”go inside, molloy,” he said in a softer tone as his green eyes searched and found something in mine that had put the fire out for him. “you don’t belong out here in the dark with someone like me.”
”yes, i do.”
╰┈➤when he’s made of fire and finally meets his match😫

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

"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. you won't want to breathe, feel, or f*cking function without them. that's how you'll know it's a real relationship, molloy.”
╰┈➤everyone needs this reminder because each and every single one of you deserve a relationship like this.

❥ 𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒:
romances between a broken boy who’s convinced he’s unlovable and a girl who loves him like it’s breathing>>>>
top tier!

╭──────༺♡༻──────╮
𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈:
𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐 𝒈𝒐𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒔
1:30 ───|────── 3:30
↻ ◁ 𝕀𝕀 ▷ ↺
𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆: ■■■■■□□□
╰──────༺♡༻──────╯

the goo goo dolls blasted through the speakers.
”iris?”
”our song. just humor me and listen, okay?”
i nodded and kept my eyes locked on hers as the lyrics of the song f*cked with my head.
”well?” she finally breathed when the song ended. “it’s perfect, right?”
”yeah, molloy.” my voice was thick with emotion. “it is.”

this song was very much made for these two and no one can convince me otherwise. joey and aoife have embedded themselves into my dna. their love story has it all. forming a friendship before forming an actual relationship is such a beautiful thing. their banter? everything. the angst? the tension? ugh, so good. while their love story is very beautiful, it’s very complicated and heartbreaking at the same time.

⤷”you might be the addict in this relationship, but you’re also the habit that i need to kick,” she choked 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.”

❝𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.❞
❝𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒔.❞
╰┈➤this reminded me of one tree hill, it had me screaming😭iykyk! favorite show ever.

❥ 𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓈:
i have to admit that i didn’t fall in love with these side characters as much as i fell in love with the side characters in binding and keeping 13. all my love went straight to joey and aoife.

➸ shannon lynch:
seeing her as a side character before johnny was PAINFUL. i love her so much and seeing her in this book made me wanna reread her books🥺

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

❥ 𝓂𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑒𝒹𝒹𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝓎 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹:

”you’re a manipulative little witch, aren’t ya?” he laughed. “playing your old man like that.”
”only when i have to. you didn’t see the shoes.”
”shoes,” he snorted, shaking his head. “and you wonder why we’re not compatible.”
”i guarantee if you saw me wearing those shoes, you’d understand.”

*later*

”i like you.”
”wow,” i breathed. “another admission.”
”the hardest one yet.”
”i bet.”
”i know what you want us to be,” he added, tone gruff. “but that can’t happen.”
”joe—“
he bent down and retrieved the shoe i’d lost earlier. “nice shoes,” he said in a soft voice, putting it back on my foot. “you were right. they were worth hounding your father for.”
”see?” i forced a smile when i felt like crying. “told you.”
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?”
╰┈➤it’s the way that there’s so much more to this scene that had me sobbing.

i quickly slapped his hand away. “don’t touch my rolos.”
”jesus, you can’t spare one?”
”i could, but not for you.”
”why not for me?”
”because you have the munchies, and i refuse to enable your bad behavior.”

*later*

”didn’t you see me back there?”
”yeah, i saw you. but don’t expect me to talk to you when you’re with him. i refuse to enable your bad behavior.”
now, she smiled. “are you feeding me my own lines, joey lynch?”
”absolutely.”
╰┈➤PLEASEEE they make me smile even tho these scenes pain me.

”what do you want to do now?”
”you tell me, molloy.” his hands moved to my hips and he gave me a reassuring squeeze. “you’re calling the shots here.”
”i am?”
”yeah, you are.” leaning up on his elbows, he pressed an achingly soft kiss to my neck. ”you set the pace on this, and i’ll fall in line with you.”

*later*

”i just don’t know how to not do it.”
”not do what, joe?”
”reject human affection.”
my heart.
my poor, poor heart.
”it’s okay. we can handle this the same way we handle sex.” pressing a kiss to his chest, i whispered, ”except in this instance you set the pace, and i’ll fall in line.”
╰┈➤my heart split straight down the middle. i will never get over these two.

”if you fight her, you fight me. so, are we fighting, or are you bitches keeping your hair another day? i’m down either way.”
they both looked at each other and then at shannon before shaking their heads and stalking off.
”you didn’t have to do that for me.”
”i know.”
”they might go after you next.”
”i’d like to see them try. if they go near you again, all you need to do is come and find me. it doesn’t matter if i’m in class or not. just come and find me and i’ll help you, okay?”
she looked up at me and whispered, “why?”
”because i love your brother, and your brother loves you. keeping you safe is important to him, which makes it important to me. and who knows? maybe in time you’ll be coaxed out of that pretty little shell and we can be friends.”
”you want to be my friend?”
”is that okay with you?”
”yes, please.”
”then it’s official.” i gave her a reassuring hug as i walked her to class, making sure every catty bitch got a good look at us. “we’re friends.”
╰┈➤my precious shannon omg aoife is such a sweetheart and i loved this scene so much🥹

❥ 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓆𝓊𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓈:
➛ ❝just so you know, joe…you’re my favorite friend, with my favorite everything.❞
➛ ❝i have a friendship with joey, and i’m not giving that up for anyone.❞
➛ ❝i’ve been sold on your for a long time now, joey lynch.❞
➛ ❝the only time i allow myself to feel anything is when i’m with you.❞
➛ ❝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.❞
➛ ❝good girl.❞ yeah, he’s that type🦋
➛ i wasn’t convinced about happy endings, but when molloy locked her eyes on me and smiled, i could believe in the possibility of a happy day.
➛ aoife molloy consumed me to the point that i didn’t feel like everything was completely f*cked in the world anymore.
➛ i wanted to wade into battle for him, protect his beautiful soul.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

on my way to watch one tree hill because that’s what i do when i’m in pain🥺

❝𝒊’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒂, 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒚.❞

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. 🙏🏻

This one was honestly less painful than what I was expecting it to be but then the ending happened and now am scared to start the next one 😭😭

I love these characters so much, especially Joey. Reading his pov was heartbreaking. It felt like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and it made me want to cry. I just want to give him the biggest hug and tell him he's so loved. Is that too much to ask? 😭

The only reason why it wasn't a perfect read for me was cause of Aoife. I was fully prepared to love and adore her and reading this book made me feel really disconnected from her, especially in the first half. What I knew of her from Shannon's pov is a completely different person in this one. The whole thing with Paul was annoying to read. That made zero sense to me. I get the whole drama and teen angst, I also understand the whole "apple doesn't fall far from the tree" and yet that storyline was completely unnecessary imo. Thankfully, Aoife matured enough in the second half for me to like her. I love how supportive she can be. I love how she sees Joey as a person instead of just his trauma. I love her zeal, loyalty and determination.

Joey and Aoife make perfect sense and they will be such a power couple once there's stability in their lives.

Also, I still hate Joey's parents. Like how many excuses can we make for his mom? I do sympathize and understand BUT the mother is a fully aware adult telling her own son how he's a horrible person even though all he's ever done is love her.. Screw you, mom. There, I said it.

~•~•~
Scared to start this as it's going to be a painful journey but am ready to hear Joey's story now. I love that man so much 😭

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

—— 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 😃☝🏻

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.

ˋ✧*⁀➷ review for the second half of the book. completed: 30th march, 2024. after 3 months lmao.

alexa play fix you by coldplay:

saving 6 is everything magnolia parks tried to be.

me everytime i opened this book:

chloe walsh created joey after her son died, as a character who shares the same level of pain and anguish as she feels everyday. saving 6 is chloe walsh spilling her rage and insurmountable grief out on pages, and that is why it feels so different than the first two books. i can't even imagine bearing this level of pain irl. it's so f*cking tragic 💔

after completing the book, although the rating still remains the same, many of the points that i previously stated in the review below no longer holds relevant (it only holds relevant for the first half of the book). i still am very wary about how i feel about this book but one thing i can say with certainty is that no matter how incredible joey and aoife are as individual characters, I. DO. NOT. LIKE. THEM. AS. A. COUPLE.

they are not meant for each other. aofie deserves someone better with all the love she has to give, and joey deserves someone mature who can stand by him without being yet another baggage to him.

they do not work out as a couple AT ALL. and that is why i'm so disappointed by joey-aoife's duology. chloe failed to serve justice to joey. aoife's love is pure, but that is not what joey needs in his life. joey might be a good man at heart, but he's not someone aoife can settle with in life. had this been in real life, aoife love's would have further poisoned a man like joey because he would constantly feel the baggage of dragging his loved one to his mess, he would constantly feel the stress of his lover bearing the repercussions of his actions. and we all know, in real life women like aoife with "saviour complex" for men like joey have the most catastrophic endings.

i wish chloe walsh would've focused on joey's emotional healing rather than rubbing his story off in a poorly done romance.

aoife truly loves joey, there's no doubt in that. but she's immature, and way too clingy. and the last thing joey needs in his life is another clingy person. his mother, his sister, his 3 young brothers -one of which is a toddler- are already overly dependent on him, so much to the extent where the toddler thinks joey is his dad. he can't even wander off to have a smoke without returning home to find out that his siblings have been beaten to near death by his poor excuse of a father. IT'S HIS HELPLESSNESS OF THE SITUATION AND THE COMPULSION OF NOT BEING ABLE TO CHOOSE HIS OWN HAPPINESS, THAT DRIVES HIS TRAUMA. AND ON TOP OF THIS, HE DOESN'T NEED ANOTHER CLINGY BAGGAGE IN THE NAME OF AOIFE THAT SCREAMS: "I NEED YOU JOEY!!"

“I do. I need you, too,” I choked out, holding on for dear life. “I need you to stay right here with me, because if you leave me now, I won’t be able to breathe until I see you again.”
The fact that he had necked at least a dozen shots with me tonight gave me a slight advantage against his ridiculously unyielding moral compass when it came to his siblings.
If I was dealing with sober Joey, he would go home, regardless of how much I begged him not to.
But I was dealing with drunk Joey, and drunk Joey was vulnerable to persuasion.

~aoife after joey tried cancelling f*cking her bcz he was anxious to leave his siblings alone at night, and wanted to be by their side just in case his father loses it. AOIFE, YOU DO NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A VULNERABLE MAN LIKE THAT!! UNDERSTAND HIS NEEDS AND PRIORITIES!! HOW CAN YOU LET THOSE CHILDREN BE BEATEN TO DEATH!? HOW CAN YOU DO THAT TO A BROTHER KNOWING DAMN WELL HE'S GONNA BLAME HIMSELF!!?!?

And as I lay on my side, running my hand through his hair, and watching him sleep, I made a mental vow that I wouldn’t allow him to lose himself to the world he teetered on the edge of.
No matter what, I would be right beside him, ready to pull him back to safety.
Even if it meant that I lost myself in the process.

oh aoife, to be loved by you is a god's blessing.

look, i know what aoife was trying to do. she loves joey to such an extent where she's ready to ruin herself if that ensures joey being saved. whenever joey's high and wasted to the point of no return, she uses her body to keep him connected to reality. she f*cking lost her virginity in joey's room to let him have atleast one good memory of his room. she dealt with his cartel friends, who repeatedly sexualised her, she dealt with his bitchass of a father who tried making countless moves at her. she was called highly derogatory names by his father, friends, and everyone else AND YET SHE NEVER RAN AWAY. SHE NEVER LEFT HIS SIDE. SHE NEVER LOVED HIM ANY LESS. SHE ALWAYS RETURNED TO SAVE HIM, TO REDEEM HIM CUZ SHE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN HIM, EVEN WHEN HE LOST FAITH IN HIMSELF.

with all this being said, aoife is nothing without joey. aoife here seems to have no passion, no future except joey. she prolly wants to be a hairdresser, but that's mentioned ig only once in this 700+pages book. her entire life revolves around joey. she breathes joey, she thinks joey, and she dreams joey. SHE'S THAT DEPENDENT ON HIM. things are so bad that all joey needs to do is snap his fingers and she will come running to him.

joey on the other hand treats aoife like an absolute sh*t for about 80% of the book. and as i previously stated before, this girl deserves someone better with all the love she has to give.

"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.”

But I'd been so determined to save him that I hadn’t noticed I’d lost myself in the process.

he ruined her at last 💔

they are just not meant to be. i wish chloe would've chosen a different dynamic for joey.
-----------------------------

ˋ✧*⁀➷ review for the first half of the book. read: december 2023.

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.

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 😭

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)

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.

♾️ 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.

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

♾ stars

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

I never knew what devastation truly meant until I read his story.
I never knew how demons inside someone's head can eat them alive until I saw his.
I never knew what heartbreaks meant until I watched him break hers time and again.
I never knew what this book would do to me but here we are.

It's strange how one day you read a book, a character's life story, just a few thousand words and it changes your life completely. How these characters make a home inside your heart, mind and soul. Joey and Aoife's story is that for me. It's a story that I will never be able to forget in my life, one I will always keep close to my heart, in my heart, one I will be rereading for forever because I want to remember what love and healing means.

“The only time that I allow myself to feel anything is when I’m with you.”

Saving 6 is more than just a romance story. It is a story of a boy who is battling his darkest demons in his head every day of his life while self-destructing himself in the process. It is a story about a girl falling in love with a hopeless boy and pouring life and hope into him. It's about fighting his demons with her unwavering love and support. It is a story of soulmatism and healing through love, care and trust.

➸ Aoife Molloy

Aoife is my favourite girl ever. The girl with a face of an angle and tongue of a devil. I don't know if I want to be her or be with her. She has the purest heart and gentleness that goes so well with her fierce and protective nature that just makes you instantly love her. Aoife is also wild and free-spirited as compared to Joey and this girl kept him on his toes for six years with her antics. I love how self-assured and confident she is about herself all the time. What she wanted she always got it. No matter what. Even Joey was not immune to her charming and ballsy personality. And the way she loves people? It's wholeheartedly and with every atom of her being. Once she's in and once she believes that someone is worth loving and saving Aoife would do anything to make that happen. She's just so perfect and one of the fierce and compassionate girl. She never stopped loving Joey and believing in him even though he gave her no reasons. She always gave him her best and all versions of herself to show him how much she loves him and that's the purest form of love.

“The quintessential lost boy.” Her lips grazed mine as she spoke. “Don’t worry, Peter Pan, I’ll be your Wendy.”

➸ Joey Lynch

Joey is the definition of devastation. The man with nightmares, demons and monsters in his head. He has been fighting to stay alive since he was just a kid, masking his pain with his temper and I can't imagine the things that happened to him in his own house and by the very people who were suppose to love him, they broke his body and mind in million pieces and then left him to deal with it own his own. I always knew he is going to be my favourite BOT boy and I was right. How can one person self-distruct himself to the level of no return and I get why he does that because he needed escape from his horrible life and that came in form of drugs, but it just breaks my heart to see him give up on himself like that. Joey is so precious and lovable and he doesn't even realise that. He is a beautiful soul with the kindest, most thoughtful and loyal heart and the things he does for his younger siblings even though he was just a child himself breaks my heart but also makes me proud of him. He was forcefully thrusted into the protector role and caring for his siblings, he became a mother, father, a brother to them and in midst of all this, he was losing himself to drugs to cope up with his trauma. Aoife was like a lifeline to him, the only person who saw good in him even though he is the definition of bad boy.

“Don’t hate me, Molloy. You’re all I have to wake up for in the morning.”

: ̗̀➛ Aoife and Joey

“I don’t love you.”
“I don’t love you back.”

Aoife and Joey are the definition of soulmatism. They are twin flames, soulmates, lovers, bestfriends. I knew they had something special from their first meet cute when they literally fall for each other at first sight. Joey was a goner for her the moment he laid his eyes on Aoife and Aoife saw what nobody ever tried to see in Joey. She saw the real Joey, one who is selfless even though he acts like he's the worst person, one who knows what love and care means even though he never had that for himself and she loves all his versions. She saw him as who he truly is, she heard his silent cry for help, she peeled back all his layers and saw what an amazing and wonderful man he is behind all the terrible traits and loved him for his worst and good things. Joey made efforts to bring changes in his life and yes he messed up many times but he is trying even when his life is crumbling around him and sometimes trying is all that matters.

“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.”

Their love story is tragic and devastating but it also is the definition of true love. No matter where they are and what situation they are put into they always find their way back to each other. They grew up together, became friends, then lovers and it was a beautiful transition because they have everything in one person. The teenage love feels here were so cute. The stolen moments, lingering touches with copious amount of sexual tension and desire between them. They explored each other's hearts, body, mind and soul together. I really love their love for music. Their banter is superior and their friendship is the proof that they'll always have each other no matter what. Seriously where do I find love and friendship like that, and even if it's heartbreaking most of the times no one can deny that Joey and Aoife's love is once in a forever kind of love. Love that consumes a person so deeply that they neither see nor hear anything except that person and it's a good kind!

“You’re my favorite friend, with my favorite legs.”
“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.”

Their love story taught me that if a person loves you, they will see you no matter how much you try to hide yourself. They will see your pain, your destruction and they will want to help you because it hurts them as much as it hurts you. They will love all versions of you, the bad and best because that makes you, YOU. Aoife loves Joey enough to step into his complicated world, she loves him enough to make him see how wonderful he is, she loves him enough to make him feel happy and alive, and Joey loves her enough to let down his walls to give her a glimpse in his life, to give her his trust, his love, care and he loves her enough to get better for her and for himself.

“I wanted to rescue him, to shield him from the horrors he had been born into. I wanted to be his armor when he couldn’t fight back. I wanted to wade into battle for him, protect his beautiful soul. But I’d been so determined to save him that I hadn’t noticed I’d lost myself in the process. Our love was toxic.”

I hate Joey's mom. She broke Joey in the worst way possible but I am happy he has Tony as a father figure in his life. Lynch siblings deserves the world and my heart broke everytime Joey had to sacrifice his life for his siblings.

“I’m not replacing you, Molloy.” I couldn’t. “I’m trying to fix me.” For you.

The last chapters of this book were anguish and painful. The angst and heartbreaks were palpable and the way they laid their broken hearts just to make other see, to make each other realise what loving and caring for each other is doing to them. My heart cracked in my chest a million little times. I am carrying their pain and love in my heart and all I want is for them to have a happy and lovely life they deserves because I cannot survive any other way. Anyway I am jumping right into Redeeming 6 because I just need to know what's going to happen to my precious babies.

————————
so this is what devastation feels like... rtc when i am not crying just by thinking about this broken boy bcs i am heartbroken
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just finished mp3 yesterday and now i am ready for another heartbreaking read? do i need therapy or tissues?

3.5⭐️

Sigh...this book just didn't hit for me. I know I'm in the minority here, but just hear me out okay.

I did not feel connected to this book as I thought I would. Don't get me wrong!! I love Joey and Aoife with my whole heart; they are so special to me and I loved getting more of an insight to their relationship. However, for a big chunk of this book, I felt there was no direction of the plot.

When this book starts out, it just feels like we're going in circles before we've even started. Joey and Aoife had such lackluster depth to them the first like 60% of this book. I was so disappointed. And on top of that? Most of Joey and Aoife's problems were just completely glazed over. We didn't start getting into the thick of it until about 70% in. It was much slower and didn't pack the punch that the first 2 books did. I wish the problems that Joey was having, such as the abuse and addiction, weren't played down so much. It's a massive part of the plot and it just felt like it was totally looked over.

While this didn't hit for me, I know it does for a lot of others and I COMPLETELY understand why!! This book really did a good job of giving you the backstory to Joey and Aoife and really hit hard on addiction and how it impacted everyone. I am still holding out hope that the 4th book will hit deeper and grab my attention more. However, this one just did not do it for me.

I think I went into this with different expectations than what actually happened, and, again, that's on me. I just happened to be one of those people who waS easier drawn into Shannon and Johnny than I was to Joey and Aoife (based on this series SO FAR).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am ready to be hurt again 😭

Joey and Aoife...I'm coming for you 😮‍💨

⤿ 4 / 5 .ೃ࿐

Alexa play "This is what drugs are for" by Gracie Abrams
⤿stop crying Morsal

❞𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘯, 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘞𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘺.❞

Wow, I don't even know where to start. This book was definitely heartbreaking, but not as much as I expected. It wasn't bad, just a bit disappointing (i guess?). Still, seeing Joey in Shannon and Johnny's books made me really excited for his story. Saving 6 takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, mixing funny and light moments with deeply heartbreaking ones.

❞𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳…❞

It was so heartbreaking to see everything from Joey’s perspective. We didn't just see Shannon’s turmoil from the bullying and abuse at home, but also all of Joey’s struggles. It really hit hard how much Darren leaving affected him. At just 12 years old, Joey was left to take care of his much younger siblings. He took a job at 12 or 13 to help provide for his family, cared for his siblings, became a father figure to Sean, and endured beatings to protect his mother and siblings. With all those responsibilities from such a young age, it’s no wonder he took a bad turn and went to drugs. Sometimes it was so heartbreaking to read what he thought of himself. I still hate his mother and I will always be her #1 hater.

❞𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺?”
𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺. “𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵.”
“𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰,” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. “𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘴𝘪𝘹.❞

The story kicks off five years before Binding 13 (Shannon and Johnny's book). It focuses on Joey and his relationship with Aiofe, spanning from their first year to the sixth year. Plus, we get some cameos from Johnny and Gibsie.

❞𝘈𝘰𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 ���𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬.❞

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Aiofe Molloy: Wow, I'm really impressed by Aiofe. She's confident, badass, and yet also has a caring side like an angel. I do like her, but I have to admit Shannon is still my favorite. I mean, yes, Aiofe has everything going for her, but it was a bit awkward how obsessed she was with Joey while also dating Paul, who treated her poorly. I would've just chosen one guy if I were her. Plus, my ego wouldn't let me stay hung up on someone who rejected me multiple times. Still, I'm glad Aiofe didn't give up on Joey because he really needs her.

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

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Joey Lynch: Joey is such a deep character. His love for his family is what keeps him going but also brings him down. He's super loyal, always putting others first, and just a genuinely good guy. But by taking care of everyone else, he ends up neglecting his own health and happiness. I love him so much, and I just want to give him a big hug and wrap him in blankets because my heart breaks for him. He really deserves the best.

❞𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴,” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. “𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰.❞

ೃ⁀➷ AiofeJoey: Joey and Aoife's relationship is something else. They've got this intense connection that's equal parts fiery and sweet. Joey, with all his loyalty and protective instincts, complements Aoife's confidence and badassery perfectly. Sure, they have their ups and downs, but they always find their way back to each other. It's like they're two pieces of a puzzle that just fit together. Seeing them together is like witnessing a real-life love story unfold—one that's raw, passionate, and totally captivating.

❞𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺,” 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺. “𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦.❞

·:*¨༺ Playlist ༻¨*:·
Joey and Aoife | saving 6 & redeeming 6

❞𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺.❞

જ⁀➴ Random: It was so surprising to find out that Aoife has a twin!

❞𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺.���

❞𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.❞

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

꒰ °⤿*ੈ pre-review𓏲 ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ꒱
Rtc 💌

~~~~~~~~~~~

Tissues? Check
Playlist? Check
Heart? Not check
This is going to break my heart and I'm so scared 😭 but let's go!

did i finish the book or did the book finish me ?

Joey & Aoife. That's it. That's the tweet.

(frtc, I just need to stop crying and maybe start reading redeeming 6)
_________
⌞pre-read:⌝

I needed a lil break before going head first into more heartbreak. I'm still not sure if I am ready for Joey's story but here goes nothing ig 😭

if joey's books aren't good, i'll lose faith in the booktok community

br with my lovely liani 💘

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

chloe walsh girl u delivered again!! u broke my heart to pieces w/that ending 💔 stomped on it put it together and stomped right back on it 😭 fuuck!! joey pls take aoife im begging u!!! 🙏🙏🙏

rtc 😭

i thought it couldn't get better than binding + keeping 13. i was so wrong. joey and aoife's story is so gutwrenching and cute and UGH the ending...i need the second book asap. their relationship is everything to me. i love how joey has never been loved by anyone and aoife loves him with everything. this is definitely a new favorite <3

watch my heart breaking into pieces as it scatters across the pages of this book, never to be whole again.

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

*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 😭