Saving 6

Rating: 4.5 stars.“pain. on the outside. on the inside. all around me. pain so fucking strong i’m drowning in it! that’s what i feel. that’s all i feel.”There are some books that don’t just tell a story, they take something from you. They reach into your chest, twist your heart, and leave you sitting there, staring at the last page, completely undone. Saving 6 by Chloe Walsh is one of those books. It’s not just a love story, it’s an emotional wrecking ball wrapped in tenderness, trauma, and the desperate hope of two people trying to hold each other together when the world keeps tearing them apart. Joey and Aoife aren’t just characters; they feel real. Their pain, their pasts, their quiet moments of comfort, it all feels so raw and human that you can’t help but ache with them. Joey’s story, especially, broke me. You can feel every ounce of his guilt, his addiction, his self-hate, and that tiny flicker of hope he’s too scared to believe in. And then there’s Aoife, strong, patient, and full of a love so selfless it hurts to read. She sees the good in him even when he can’t see it himself, and that kind of devotion? It stays with you.➛ Aoife Molloy:“you talk about joey lynch way too much.”Then there’s Aoife oh, Aoife. She’s not just the girl who loves him; she’s his calm in the chaos, his soft place to land when the world becomes too cruel. Her strength doesn’t come from loudness or bravado, it comes from her heart. She’s patient when Joey is lost, gentle when he’s breaking, and fierce when she has to protect the person she loves most. Aoife isn’t perfect, she has her own cracks and fears, but she chooses love, over and over again, even when it hurts. And that’s what makes her extraordinary.➛Joey Lynch:“I’m sick and I’m tired too, I can admit, I am not fireproof.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎I feel it burning me, I feel it burning you.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I hope I don’t murder me, ‎I hope I don’t burden you” This story follows Joey Lynch and Aoife Molloy, two people who grew up surrounded by darkness but somehow found light in each other. From the moment you meet Joey, you feel the weight of his world. He’s been through hell, trapped in a home that drains the life out of him, carrying the kind of trauma that doesn’t just fade with time. Joey isn’t the typical “broken boy who needs saving”,he’s deeper than that. He’s kind, selfless, and so painfully human. You can sense his constant war between wanting to be better and believing he’s too far gone to deserve love. Every time he smiled, I felt my chest tighten. Every time he fell, it hurt like it was happening to someone I knew.➛ Joey and Aoife:“I want you to know that you’ve been the best part of my day every day since I was twelve years old.”Their relationship isn’t simple, and it’s far from easy. It’s full of pain, relapse, silence, and the kind of love that both heals and destroys. But that’s what makes it real. Chloe Walsh doesn’t romanticize trauma or addiction, she shows it for what it is: ugly, lonely, and exhausting. But she also shows how love, the right kind of love, doesn’t fix everything? it simply stays. It holds your hand when you fall apart. It reminds you that you’re not alone.“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.”Reading Saving 6 felt like standing in the rain, cold and heavy one moment, cleansing and beautiful the next. I cried for Joey, I rooted for Aoife, and I found myself clinging to every fragile, tender moment between them. By the time I turned the last page, I wasn’t just emotional, I was humbled. Because this book isn’t just about saving someone else; it’s about learning that sometimes, the hardest person to save is yourself.“You’re all I have to wake up for in the morning.”➛ Joey, Shannon, Tadhg, Ollie and Sean:It’s honestly not even normal how deeply I ADORE these siblings, their relationship made me sob every time I read about them. The Lynch family has carved their way into my heart and soul in a way I can’t undo, and honestly, I don’t ever want to. Every single one of them carries their pain like armor, yet they still love with such impossible fierceness it leaves me breathless. Joey is my warrior “my protector” the boy who shoulders everyone’s burdens even when he’s breaking under the weight of his own. Shannon is my quiet survivor, strong in that soft, steady way that makes you want to hold her and tell her she’s enough. Tadhg is my Wild soul, wild and untamed, but underneath it all, he’s just a boy who wants to be seen and free. Ollie is my sunshine, pure, bright light in a world that’s hurt him too many times, yet he keeps shining anyway. And Sean… sweet, precious Sean, he’s the purest part of them all, the fragile bit of innocence this family needs to remember what love truly feels like.➛ Some sweet moments:↝ 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 fucked 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 moment carries so much weight without needing many words…↝ ”You might be the addict in this relationship, but you’re also the habit that I need to kick,” “because I feel like I’m dying when I’m with you, and I feel like I’m dead when I’m not.”God. That line wrecked you. It captures the entire heartbreak of Joey and Aoife’s love, that unbearable push and pull between needing each other and being destroyed by that need. Joey’s addiction isn’t just to substances; it’s to her, to the feeling of being wanted, to the rare sense of being alive when he’s with her. But it’s also toxic in its intensity, that kind of love that burns too hot, too deep, until it starts to hurt more than it heals. ↝ ”You set the pace on this, and I’ll fall in line with you.”↝ ”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.”AHHHHH AOIFE, I LOVE YOUU SMM! “The only time I allow myself to feel anything is when I’m with you.”This book isn’t easy to read. It’s heavy. It’s messy. But it’s real. It’s about survival, forgiveness, and finding pieces of light in a life full of darkness. And when I closed the book, I didn’t just feel sad, I felt changed. Because Saving 6 reminds me that love doesn’t always fix everything, but sometimes… it gives you a reason to keep going. Me when someone bullied one of them..._________“In the wreckage of his broken world, she was the spark that refused to dim, and together, they discovered that even the heaviest burdens can feel lighter when shared.”⋆.˚☁️⋆ I stayed up last night and somehow flew through 100 pages without even realizing it and totally forgot to mark it as “currently reading.” But oh my goodness, I’m already OBSESSED. I can’t wait to see what happens next, especially with Aoife (still no clue how to pronounce her name lol) and Joey, like, watching their relationship unfold over time is going to absolutely wreck me in the best way. And yes, I am fully aware that there are TWO giant, chunky books ahead of me… but honestly? I’m fine with it because I already know I’m going to devour every single page.