Monday Book Review: Beard With Me, by Penny Reid

Beard With Me, Book 6 of the Winston Brothers series
by Penny Reid
Published September 2019

About the Book:

Beard With Me’ is the origin story of Billy Winston and Scarlet St. Claire (aka Claire McClure) and is just the beginning of their epic love story.

No one is better at surviving than Scarlet St. Claire and making the best out of circumstances beyond her control is Scarlet’s specialty. In an apocalyptic situation, she’d be the last person on earth, hermitting like a pro, singing along to her CD Walkman, and dancing like no one is watching.

Scarlet is clever, Scarlet is careful, and Scarlet is smart . . . except when it comes to Billy Winston.

No one is better at fighting than Billy Winston and raging against his circumstances—because nothing is beyond his control—is Billy’s specialty. In an apocalyptic situation, he’d be the first person on earth to lead others to safety, overcome catastrophe, or die trying.

Billy is fearless, Billy is disciplined, and Billy is honorable . . . except when it comes to Scarlet St. Claire.

MY TAKE:

You know when you finish a book and IMMEDIATELY want to start the whole thing over? Not because you think you missed something or read too fast, but because of the way it made you feel things and want things to be different, even though you know they'll be the same the next time you read it - and you also know it can't happen any different way, and it breaks your heart but you still want to go back to page one and live it all over again?

Yup.

Penny Reid is a master at tugging your heart strings. She fills her books with both laughter and emotions so strong you feel them for days afterward. I love her Knitting in the City series, about 6 strong women friends in Chicago finding love, and have recommended it to anyone who will listen to me. But I think I may love this series more. It's more subtle in how it sneaks up on you and invades your thoughts, making you care, making you think, and making me crazy that this book ends the way it did!

This book is completely set in high school, but it is in no way a Young Adult book. 

I know the author says this is an origin story, and * technically * you could probably read it without reading any of the other stories.... but as a devoted reader of this series, I firmly believe you should read them in numbered order - and that this book will seem overly bleak without a solid base of who those Winston boys are. In the same way that book one of the series starts 4 months after their mother, Bethany Winston, succumbs to cancer and you don't get to truly meet her until Beauty and the Mustache, which is book 0.5 in the series, but didn't come out first... and Ashley is a crossover character to the Knitting in the City series, so it's better if you've read those books too.... but as the author says, each book is technically a standalone. She gives you all the information you need from each characters perspective (all books are told in first person, alternating POVs between the two leads) so that you can start anywhere. Start anywhere.

I digress. If you've read the series, GET THIS BOOK NOW.
If you haven't read the series, WHY NOT?

Beard With Me is available on AMAZON ~ as is the REST OF THE SERIES


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I'm not sure I can leave a typical review since I want all of you reading this to go buy book one and live through the series like I did.

Monday Book Review: Truth or Beard, by Penny Reid

Truth or Beard, Winston Brothers Book 1 (5 book series), by Penny Reid
Published by Cipher-Naught, July 2015

About the Book:

Beards, brothers, and bikers! Oh my!

Identical twins Beau and Duane Winston might share the same devastatingly handsome face, but where Beau is outgoing and sociable, Duane is broody and reserved. This is why perpetually level-headed Jessica James has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau Winston for most of her life. Whereas Duane and Jessica have always been adversaries. She can't stand him, and she's pretty sure he can't stand the sight of her...

But after a case of mistaken identity, Jessica finds herself in a massive confusion kerfuffle. Jessica James has spent her whole life paralyzed by the fantasy of Beau and her assumptions of Duane's disdain; therefore she's unprepared for the reality that is Duane's insatiable interest, as well as his hot hands and hot mouth and hotter looks.

When Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who was always her adversary, how much of her level-head heart is she willing to risk?

Truth or Beard is book #1 in the Winston Brother's series. Each book is a standalone, full length (110k words), contemporary romantic comedy novel, and follows the romantic exploits and adventures of one of the six Winston Brothers.

MY TAKE:

What fun! I'm not really a "beard" kinda gal, but Penny Reid's sassy writing made me rethink a whole lot of my previous assumptions. Fast-paced, action-packed and filled with heart, humor and a good dose of snark, I was sucked right into this beautiful Tennessee landscape and settled in for the long haul.

Jessica is a hot mess of contradictions, in a good way. She's a planner and a calculus teacher, back in her small town working at her old high school to pay off her student debt. Sensible, smart, and solid. And yet she makes no secret of her plans to travel the world and see it all.

When we meet her in the first chapter, she's headed to a community center Halloween party as a "sexy Gandalf" with full beard and thigh grazing shift, having modified her costume after school hours were over. She ends up in a dark corner making out with the guy she's had a crush on for years. Except.. it turns out it's not him, it's his identical twin whom she holds in utter disdain. Or thought she did. Turns out, not so much.

As it turns out, even though Jessica thought she had a crush on Beau, it's Duane who she's been paying attention to and cataloging for... well, all her life. She knows how he likes his coffee and how he got the scar over his eyebrow... all the little things you notice about someone. And the heat she feels every time he looks at her has little to do with being annoyed by him and a whole lot to do with the electricity bouncing between them that explodes off the page when they kiss.

Duane Winston - Oh, I don't like the name, but I loved the complicated, intuitive, thoughtful man. He's had a thing for Jessica James for years. Years. Long enough to build up all kinds of unrealistic expectations and fantasies of white picket fences and happily ever afters. Turns out he and Jessica share that planning and dreaming trait - but have opposite (and role reversed, in the romance universe) plans and dreams.

Throw in a bunch of small town twists, a local motorcycle club, and Jessica's ornery older brother who takes his police badge a little too seriously, and you've got one fun romp of a story that keeps the pages turning despite whining kids and piles of laundry. Or maybe that's just my house. Either way, Reid is a talented author who knows her way around both character development and action packed plots. This is the second book of hers I've read (totally recommend Neanderthal seeks Human, published 2013) and I may have to use those Amazon gift cards I got for Christmas to order up a few more. 5 stars of fun and sizzle.

Grab your copy on AMAZON