Review: Taming 7 - Book #5 Boys of Tommen Series - Chloe Walsh - April 2024 Right, settle in with your favourite cuppa, get cosy on the sofa, and let me tell you about the book that absolutely wrecked me in the best possible way. Taming 7 has been on my most-anticipated list for what feels like forever, because if you've been following along here at The Phantom Paragrapher, you'll know that Gerard "Gibsie" Gibson has had a very special place in my heart since the moment he first bounced onto the page. And let me tell you  Chloe Walsh delivered, and then some. OMFG, my heart was breaking from page one and it did not let up. Gibsie. Our lovable, chaotic, endlessly funny Tommen boy. The class clown. The lad who could make you snort-laugh in the middle of a tense scene and then leave you absolutely floored two pages later. From the very first chapter, Walsh strips back that cheeky, irreverent humour to reveal what so many of us suspected was lurking underneath , a deeply...

Review: Redeeming 6 - Book #4 Boys of Tommen Series - Chloe Walsh - March 2023 I'll never forget the bus ride home from Auckland to Tauranga when I devoured Redeeming 6 by Chloe Walsh in one glorious sitting. There's something magical about being completely transported by a book while the New Zealand countryside rolls past your window, and this fourth installment in the Boys of Tommen series did exactly that. As someone who's read most of Chloe Walsh's work, I can confidently say she's outdone herself here. If you loved Rebecca Donovan's Reason to Breathe series, you'll absolutely fall head over heels for these books. Chloe Walsh has this incredible gift for capturing the raw, unfiltered power of first love , the kind that makes your heart ache and soar simultaneously. Joey and Aoife's story continues with even more intensity than before, and honestly, I wasn't prepared for how deeply it would affect me. Joey's world is crumbling around him, th...

Review: Saving Six - Book #3 Boys of Tommen Series - Chloe Walsh - February 2023 You know those books that sit on your shelf, waiting for the perfect moment? The ones you can't just casually pick up during your lunch break because you know—you know—they're going to demand everything from you? That's the Boys of Tommen series for me. These chunky, angsty beauties require full emotional commitment, and Chloe Walsh's Saving 6 is no exception. This time, we're rewinding to witness Joey and Aoife's love story from their perspectives, and honestly, it's both devastating and beautiful. If you've already met them through Shannon 's eyes in the earlier books, prepare for familiar scenes to hit different , harder, deeper, more personal. There's something special about seeing the same moments through new eyes, understanding motivations you could only guess at before. One of my favourite parts? Watching Johnny and Gibsie spot Joey in that club, com...

Review: Keeping 13 - Book #2 Boys of Tommen Series - Chloe Walsh - November 2018 I don't know about you, but I find chunky books very intimidating especially seeing as I love to be a one-sitting reader, this is why I keep them for bus rides to Auckland or as holiday reads as I know I can then give them my full attention. Book #2 of the Boys of Tommen Series is a chunky book at just over 800 pages and so I chose this book for my bus ride on Wednesday last week to Auckland as I was going up to see Vengaboys in concert. I enjoyed the first book and I have to admit for a chunky read, the book does move at quite a swift pace. This book picks up from the first where at the end we read that Shannon is being beaten by her Dad once again, this time he has gone too far and Shannon ends up almost dead.  Her mother snaps as the police get involved due to Johnny doing something about things. Now Shannon's Dad has gone on the run, her older brother Darren is back and Joey is neither here nor...

Review: Binding 13 - Book #1 Boys of Tommen Series - Chloe Walsh -July 2018 During this past week, I had a bus trip up to Auckland and so I decided since I had the bus ride, I would tackle Binding 13 which is a nice chunky read at 801 pages. As I got reading it though, I was surprised at how fast the book flowed and it reminded me of a book that I read over 10 years ago - Reasons to Breathe Series by Rebecca Donovan. The main female character Shannon reminded me of Rebecca Donovan's character Emma as they had similar upbringings and lives and both went through abusive situations. Shannon has been bullied her whole life and now finally has the chance to attend Tommen Academy, a private school. It looks like her life is finally looking up on the school front as she finally has friends and is fitting in with the popular crowd which is the Rugby team stars Johnny, Gibsie, and Pierce. Gibsie is her best friend Claire's bestie and Pierce is the on/off-again boyfriend of her friend L...