Taming 7

Taming 7 (2024) is a new adult romance novel by Chloe Walsh. The fifth book in the Boys of Tommen series, it follows Gibsie and Claire, two supporting characters from the four previous novels. Gibsie is one of the star players for Tommen College’s rugby team in Cork, Ireland. He is known for his humor and his promiscuity, making friends with everyone while getting truly close to no one. He has secretly had a crush on his teammate’s younger sister, Claire, for years. As he slowly learns to let Claire in and see the real Gibsie, she discovers a troubled past hidden behind his carefree façade. Through their budding romance, Walsh explores themes of The Lasting Impact of Trauma, The Evolution of Friendship into Romance, and The Importance of Love and Personal Connection.

This guide is based on the 2024 Bloom Books paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of sexual violence, rape, child abuse, child sexual abuse, death by suicide, self-harm, substance and alcohol use, substance dependency, sexual content and cursing.

Plot Summary

As children, Claire Biggs consoles Gerard “Gibsie” Gibson at the funeral of his little sister and father, who drowned in an accident on the lake. Thinking of going home with his stepfather, Keith, and stepbrother, Mark, Gibsie has a panic attack. He wakes up later at Claire’s house in her brother, Hugh’s, bed. Claire lies next to him, assuring him that she will always love him and be there for him.

Ten years later, Claire and Gibsie are still best friends. While both harbor secret romantic feelings for each other, they never act on them, with Gibsie certain that he would cause too much trouble for her. Deep down, Claire is afraid of Gibsie hurting her and ruining their friendship. Gibsie still comes into her room most nights, often sleepwalking from his house across the street. He suffers from nightmares over his sister’s and father’s deaths, and the trauma of being molested by Mark as a child—a fact that will be revealed later in the text.

Gibsie is seen by others as a jokester because he outwardly projects a façade of happiness and playfulness. Claire and Gibsie start the school year at Tommen College, joining Shannon Lynch and her boyfriend, Johnny Kavanagh, as well as Shannon’s brother, Joey, and girlfriend, Aoife. Other rugby players like Claire’s brother, Hugh, and Patrick Feely are also part of their friend group.

Claire and Shannon’s best friend since childhood, Lizzie Young, also hangs out with them, but she deals with a troubled past of her own. Her sister, Caoimhe, died by suicide a few years ago. She left behind a note, which Lizzie’s family believes points toward Mark raping her and causing her death. As a result, she blames Gibsie and his family, frequently starting fights. Through it all, Gibsie hides the truth: He told Caoimhe that Mark assaulted him, but she didn’t believe him. She then died by suicide out of guilt.

Claire and Gibsie grow even closer. One night, he acts on his feelings, using his hand to pleasure her in his bed. He feels guilty immediately after, feeling as though he crossed a line. She insists she needs to move on if they are never going to have a romantic relationship. Despite fearing he is not good enough for her—and his fear of her discovering the sexual abuse he endured—he gives in, officially starting a relationship with her.

Meanwhile, the feud between Lizzie and Gibsie escalates. She repeatedly goads him into arguments, at one point even telling him that Gibsie should have died instead of his sister. Gibsie refuses to share what happened with Mark, feeling as though the shame would overwhelm him and that Lizzie would not believe him anyway. Slowly, Johnny, Claire, and some of their friends stop supporting Lizzie, insisting that her grief does not give her the right to constantly mistreat Gibsie.

To Gibsie’s surprise, Mark moves home after he gets a job nearby. Initially, Gibsie hides out at Johnny’s, refusing to engage with him. However, after a couple weeks, he decides that he needs to confront his trauma. He tells Mark that he will turn him into the police if Mark does not immediately leave. Mark relents, moving back to India with his wife and child.

Gibsie also ends a predatory relationship he had been having with the school’s secretary, Dee, which began when he was only 15. Johnny is proud of him, insisting that Dee had been abusing him since she is an adult; however, Gibsie insists that she did nothing wrong.

Despite his progress, Gibsie still struggles with telling anyone about his abuse. He tries to tell Claire, but instead tells her about his relationship with Dee. She is adamant that it needs to be reported to the police, but Gibsie refuses. Instead, she confronts Dee at the school, insisting she resign. Gibsie is frustrated by her actions, feeling as though Claire is not really listening to him.

As Gibsie and Claire struggle to rectify their relationship, the school’s Winter Ball approaches. They decide to go together, adamant that they are going to have a good night. When Gibsie forgets the tickets for the dance in his room, Claire retrieves them, inadvertently grabbing a note that Caoimhe wrote to Gibsie before she died.

At the ball, the night goes well for Gibsie and Claire, as they spend most of it dancing. When Claire goes to the bathroom to put on makeup, she finds Caoimhe’s note in her purse, and she and Shannon read it. In it, Caoimhe apologizes to Gibsie for not believing him when he told her that Mark raped him. Devastated by the revelation, Claire insists that she needs to talk to Gibsie or go to the police. Shannon convinces her to wait until the night is over. Using her own experiences with her father’s abuse, she explains that Gibsie should be supported but ultimately left to handle things on his own.

After dancing with Gibsie some more, he and Claire sneak into the common room. She performs oral sex on him, but they are interrupted by Hugh and Lizzie, who come into the room fighting. Lizzie confronts them both, accusing Claire of choosing Gibsie over her. Their argument escalates, until Claire reveals that Lizzie has always been wrong about Gibsie. Just as Johnny, Shannon, and their other friends come into the room, Claire tells Lizzie that Gibsie is the one who was raped by Mark.

As chaos breaks out around them, with Lizzie vehemently denying everything, Gibsie flees into the parking lot. Clarie follows him, but he insists that he is done being her friend or her boyfriend because she betrayed his trust. He flees, leaving Shannon to console Claire.

A few weeks go by. Gibsie is visited repeatedly by the police, who inform him that they cannot find Mark. They also want to press charges against Dee, but Gibsie refuses to make a statement. He is ashamed that people know what happened, feeling as though everyone will treat him as a victim. He is supported by Johnny, who takes Gibsie and his mother to his family’s second home so they can escape.

On New Year’s Eve, Claire is devastated that Gibsie has not reached out to her. Shannon assures her that Gibsie will have to heal on his own, and Claire must either wait and give him space, or leave him. Claire says she still wants to be with him. Just before midnight, Shannon takes Claire outside, where they find Gibsie and Johnny. Gibsie and Claire leave together to talk. He admits how ashamed he is and how afraid he is to return to school. He also tells Claire that he isn’t sure he can still be with her. She insists that they belong together. She promises to do everything she can to help Gibsie, while also giving him the space to heal.

Gibsie and Claire spend the next few days together as friends, playing games together and having a platonic relationship. One night, they have sex again, giving them hope that they will eventually rekindle their romantic relationship.

On the first day back after Christmas break, Gibsie, Claire, Shannon, and Johnny walk into school together. Shannon and Claire discuss Lizzie, who still hates Gibsie despite all the revelations. While Shannon admits that she will still be friends with Lizzie, Claire is certain that she cannot forgive her—at least not until she apologizes to Gibsie. In the common room, they find Lizzie and Hugh talking with Joey. Instead of engaging with her, Gibsie pulls Claire back into the hall, as Claire realizes that their circle of friends has been fractured.