Taming 7

Boys of Tommen is a series of books by Irish author Chloe Walsh. They are new adult romance novels, an emerging genre. Although they explore themes relevant to young adults, they do so with more explicit sexual content, violence, and drug use than is typical in the young adult genre. Walsh’s series follows several teenagers in Cork, Ireland, as they deal with romance, poverty, difficult home lives, bullying, and the expectations of society.

The title of the series refers to the Tommen College rugby team, whose players are at the center of each novel. The first two books, Binding 13 (2018) and Keeping 13 (2018), focus on Johnny Kavanagh, whose jersey number is 13, and his relationship with Shannon Lynch. The next two, Saving 6 (2023) and Redeeming 6 (2023), focus on Joey Lynch, who is Shannon’s brother, and his girlfriend, Aoife Molloy. Taming 7 is the first novel that follows Gerard “Gibsie” Gibson, Johnny’s best friend, and his long-time secret love interest, Claire Biggs. A sixth book, Releasing 10 (2025), tells the story of Claire’s older brother, Hugh, and his girlfriend, Lizzie Young.

Instead of being sequels, the novels run concurrently, exploring the same time period and events from different perspectives. For example, Keeping 13 culminates in the death of Shannon and Joey’s parents, with their mother sacrificing herself to ensure the death of their abusive father. It examines Shannon’s trauma from her father’s abuse and the role that Johnny plays in her healing, giving her hope for the future. Then, in Redeeming 6, Walsh explores these same moments from Joey’s perspective as he helps raise Shannon in place of their parents, while struggling with substance abuse problems and the guilt of his mother’s death. Throughout both novels, Gibsie and Claire are supporting characters, providing Johnny and Shannon with friendship and emotional support. With Taming 7, Walsh gives voice to these characters, who face struggles of their own throughout this time.

In the previous novels, Gibsie is characterized as someone who is funny and light-hearted, giving comic relief to the novels’ serious subject matter. As Johnny grapples with his physical relationship with Shannon—trying to respect her boundaries and give her an autonomy she rarely finds elsewhere—Gibsie’s own sexual escapades provide a stark, humorous contrast, serving as a foil to Johnny’s devotion and respect for Shannon. Despite this, it is foreshadowed in both of Johnny’s novels that Gibsie uses his humor to hide his insecurities and a troubled past. In Keeping 13, when the friends go on a camping trip, Gibsie is pushed into the water and has a panic attack. When the others make light of the situation, Claire vehemently defends him, foreshadowing the revelation of his past trauma that is explored in Taming 7.

As with Walsh’s other novels in the series, Taming 7 provides new insight into previously known characters. The shifting point of view, both among different characters in the Boys of Tommen series and between Gibsie and Claire in Taming 7, allows her to explore the psychologies, histories, and traumas of each character. On the verge of adulthood, Claire, Gibsie, and the others grapple with typical teenage problems coupled with very real, complex, and often dangerous adult issues.