Truth or Beard

This was fun and kind of crazy! A lot happened in a very short time in this book. I didn't read anything about this book before I read it. I picked it up because I had seen it around as a popular romance and assumed from the cover it would be a small town romance, which it with a ton more added in.

I liked the relationship between Duane and Jessica. At first, I was unsure about it because it seemed like it was moving a bit quickly (and not just because of the opening Halloween scene). Jess and Duane knew each other as children and sometimes that plot line makes me feel left behind because so much of the relationship development happened before the story even started. However, once their relationship really started in this book, it was show more pretty slow burn. I appreciated this because it meant that the story didn't rely solely on the relationship they already had as children.

The plot of this book was much more than I was expecting. This book was longer compared to some romance so I thought the pacing was pretty okay even though there were so many turns, but it definitely felt like some plot lines were left hanging a bit. We find out halfway through the book that the person Jess thought was her aunt was actually her birth mother and it became pretty clear that her birth father is a member of the motorcycle club that is also blackmailing Duane and his twin Beau into running their chop shop. Then there's also the fact that Winston brother's father was a member of that club and was abusive. I was not expecting this book to have so much plot. This isn't a complaint exactly. I like plot heavy romances and like I said, the pacing here is pretty good. The only thing that made me pause is the fact that this book starts on Halloween and all but the last chapter finish by Thanksgiving so all the plot threads of this book happen in less than a month which makes everything slightly more unrealistic.

There were a few other things I really liked about this book. I found some parts of this to be genuinely quite funny. This book definitely had a more humorous tone and at first I wasn't sure how I felt about it but I grew to really enjoy the style of writing. I also really liked all the side characters. I absolutely want to read the other books in this series because I was really charmed by all the brothers in this family and I want to see what happens in their story! show less

Penny Reid A woman after my own heart. Do you want to know what I love about this author? She gets me. There is no skirting around the truth, no cat and mouse game, NO monkey business. Her female characters are brilliant, bad-ass, hilarious, know what they want so they reach out and take it.

This story - Was effing awesome-sauce. (Penny if you are reading this I love you) we are meant to be friend (not in a weird lesbian-stalker-way) but in a I-would-give-you-my-second-born child sort of way. (I say second because my first born is 8 and she comes with attitude baggage that may not be very enticing). I cannot even count how many times I LOL-ed during reading this book. My smile was constant, Jess was so funny her internal dialogue was show more awe-inspiring.



Now for the meat and potatoes

" A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes" - Mark Twain

Jess and Duane were perfect. Jessica. When I grow up I want to be Jess (with Clair in close second - fingers crossed on a story about her). "I was staring at the region of his pelvic area before he spoke, hoping against hope that my untapped superpower of night vision would suddenly reveal itself"... What?? Yes, that is exactly what we all would have done in that situation but Penny/Jess has the balls to put it in writing.

Duane I love him! I love that he comes from a huge family, I love that we was a hard worker, and I love that he loved Jess. Humbled. Humbled is the word I would use to describe this book. I felt like I wanted to be a better person reading it. I wanted to be smarter and funnier, and I want 6 brothers. Realistically that will never happen but hey that is what I want.

"Men read maps better than women because only men can understand the concept of an inch equaling a hundred miles" - Roseanne Barr

Um the quotes starting every chapter? Yes please, they will be making an appearance in the near future on my social media pages, Thanksgiving Dinner, to my husband, coworkers and best friends. See I am smarter already :-D

Penny has this way about writing that doesn't make you feel like you are reading a cheese-fest. She doesn't write I-will-tell-you-what-you-should-say-in-this-situation, but in a raw, honest shit-happens way. I have decided she is my all time favorite author, and I have already sent links out to all my besties demanding they read her books. Claiming "they will make you become a reader" . The End. show less

This is the cutest book ever with Jessica trying to deny that the boy who teased her as a child, Duane Winston, has grown up kind of cute, and she’d really like to kiss him. I love the fast pacing, the adorable scenarios, and the interesting plotting as the two of them push and pull. Plus, all the side characters in this Appalachian town are all kinds of awesome, from the fellow brothers to the friends, to Jessica’s protective dad and annoying brother. Just a great read and another one where author Penny Reid really submerges you in the culture of Tennessee so you feel like you’re visiting!

But of course, things can’t all be easy. Jessica dreams of seeing the world. Duane has an established business and life in their small show more Tennessee town. And a large extended family. And then there is the threat of his father’s past coming back to haunt him. I especially enjoyed the scenes where Jessica gets to know the Winstons. Cletus is a hoot!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less

Reading for the Second Time
Sexy Gandalf, mistaken identity, catastrophic engine failure, and Truth or Dare. Leave it to Penny Reid to whip up such a delightful combination. Right from the start, she had me in the palm of her creative and whimsical little hands.

Jessica James has just returned to her small hometown after college to take a job as the high school’s Calculus teacher. She’s only in town long enough to pay off her student loans and save enough money to pursue her wanderlust – her intense desire to travel the world. Jessica grew up alongside the six Winston brothers, including identical twins Beau and Duane Winston. Beau and Duane are identical in looks but polar opposites in personalities. Whereas Beau is friendly and show more outgoing, Duane is moody and unsociable.

Jessica has had a massive crush on Beau her entire life. She hero worships him and is positively tongue-tied in his presence. Jessica and Duane, on the other hand, have had an entirely antagonist relationship involving verbal sparring and one-upmanship of the pranking variety. As for Duane’s part, perhaps their love-hate relationship weighed more heavily on the love side?

After she is tricked into kissing the “wrong” Winston brother Jessica finds the Beau spell has been broken and she sees Duane in a new light. As Jessica and Duane come to know each other as the adults they are now, their feelings grow stronger. But can they commit to one another knowing their relationship has an expiration date? Complicating matters, Duane and the Winston brothers get dragged into a dispute with the local biker gang.

Penny Reid has a knack for creating quirky heroines who are also easy to relate to. Jessica is no exception. She is smart, sassy, quirky, and misunderstood by almost everyone. What’s more, nobody has ever tried to accept her – until Duane.

I loved Duane. He’s such a loyal man. I was charmed by his inherent goodness and his respect for Jessica. What girl wouldn’t swoon over his blatant adoration? However, like Jessica, I grew tired of Duane repeatedly putting the brakes on their relationship. And this may just be the perspective of an older reader, but the deal they made entering the relationship seemed unnecessary and rather ridiculous to me. Even so, this is a heartwarming story and a promising start to the series.

The Winston brothers seem like a wonderfully rambunctious brood. Each one is so different and I can’t wait to learn more about all of them. Odd, zany, and loveable Cletus really captured my heart and I’m especially looking forward to reading his story. show less

Much like its cover, [b:Truth or Beard|23314731|Truth or Beard (Winston Brothers, #1)|Penny Reid|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412610304s/23314731.jpg|42869269] is a quirky, fun and memorable story set in small town East Tennessee near the Smoky Mountains. As a former Tennessean who lived in the area for a time, this story made me so very nostalgic. I listened to this book in audio and let me tell you, Joy Nash is a fabulous narrator. She had the southern accent, inflections and mannerisms down pat. She may live in California now, but surely this girl has to have some southern roots. I actually wished she would have narrated the whole book as I preferred her voices, even for the male characters. She did narrate [b:Beauty and the show more Mustache|20359781|Beauty and the Mustache (Knitting in the City, #4)|Penny Reid|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388441208s/20359781.jpg|28554509], which is the book where the Winston family originates. I have not listened to that one, but it has been moved up my TBL list for my next road trip.

As far as the actual story - it was great! Our heroine is Jessica James (southern pronunciation = Jeska), a math nerd who has just come back to Green Valley, TN to teach calculus for a few years to save up enough money to travel the world. Jessica's grand plan does not leave any room for romantic entanglements. She is home living with her parents for a limited time and that's it - she's off to quench her wanderlust in all the exotic locales she read about in National Geographic (that is until her mama took her subscription away for containing dirty pictures!). Jessica was a great heroine - she made me laugh and reminded me of a lot of my friends from high school... particularly when she was saying things (to herself) like "Oh Mah Gawd, I am a Cah-reeper!"

Our hero and the first Winston brother of the series is Duane, twin brother to Beau. The brothers names are so over-the-top country that you will laugh just hearing them: Jethro, Roscoe, Cletus, Beau, Duane and Billy. Beau is the uber-charismatic twin that Jessica thinks she has had a crush on her whole life. Duane is the broody quiet twin that was more likely to put a toad in her backpack. I loved Duane right from the start, when he uses a case of mistaken identity to get our heroine in a compromising position that spirals out of control in 10 seconds flat. I loved his conversations trying to woo "Jeska" and convince her that they suited.

The story had its sweet moments, steamy interludes, and slapstick comedic relief. I am really looking forward to the rest of the series. I don't know yet who my favorite Winston brother is going to be. I think Cletus will be the most unique - he seems to be borderline Asperger's or just too intelligent to relate to the rest of the country folk on their level. Penny Reid did a wonderful job at bringing the characters and landscape to life. She really made me feel like I was a part of the story. If you are listening to the audio (which I highly encourage), stay tuned at the end for an interview with Penny where she describes how she visits her family in this area of Tennessee every year and draws inspiration for the story. I met Penny earlier this year the RT Roundup in Houston - I only wish I had read the book before then so I could have played the fangirl. Oh well, something to look forward to next time!

5 stars / 3 flames. show less

Truth or Beard, by Penny Reid, is a book that I picked up because of the title, to be honest. It's been languishing on my ereader for ages and last night, unable to sleep, I decided it seemed like a good one to start. The first chapter or two didn't inspire a lot of confidence, but I still couldn't get back to sleep so I persevered. And I'm glad I did, because I didn't get any more sleep, but I did end up getting sucked in and finishing the book.

If you like to read series in order, then don't start here. It looks like you would need to read at least Beauty and the Mustache, if not the whole Knitting in the City Series, to be completely "in the know". However, I found that although it was evident that there were earlier events being show more referenced, I didn't feel like I was missing anything that would really contribute to this story.

I laughed a lot through this reading - or at least chuckled under my breath, trying not to wake up my partner. Despite all the self-styled hill-billies running around, the humour was a bit dark and a little intellectual at times, just my favourite. There was just enough drama to keep the plot moving and I could have applauded when Jess chose to act like a grown-up and sidestep the opportunity to have drama for drama's sake.

This will definitely be a book that I re-read, if nothing else but to experience it in a more lucid state of mind, but I don't think that will change my mind about enjoying it. I've giving it four stars on Goodreads, but I feel like I might upgrade that to five later. I will definitely be adding more works by this author to my TBR. show less

Much like its cover, [b:Truth or Beard|23314731|Truth or Beard (Winston Brothers, #1)|Penny Reid|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412610304s/23314731.jpg|42869269] is a quirky, fun and memorable story set in small town East Tennessee near the Smoky Mountains. As a former Tennessean who lived in the area for a time, this story made me so very nostalgic. I listened to this book in audio and let me tell you, Joy Nash is a fabulous narrator. She had the southern accent, inflections and mannerisms down pat. She may live in California now, but surely this girl has to have some southern roots. I actually wished she would have narrated the whole book as I preferred her voices, even for the male characters. She did narrate [b:Beauty and the show more Mustache|20359781|Beauty and the Mustache (Knitting in the City, #4)|Penny Reid|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388441208s/20359781.jpg|28554509], which is the book where the Winston family originates. I have not listened to that one, but it has been moved up my TBL list for my next road trip.

As far as the actual story - it was great! Our heroine is Jessica James (southern pronunciation = Jeska), a math nerd who has just come back to Green Valley, TN to teach calculus for a few years to save up enough money to travel the world. Jessica's grand plan does not leave any room for romantic entanglements. She is home living with her parents for a limited time and that's it - she's off to quench her wanderlust in all the exotic locales she read about in National Geographic (that is until her mama took her subscription away for containing dirty pictures!). Jessica was a great heroine - she made me laugh and reminded me of a lot of my friends from high school... particularly when she was saying things (to herself) like "Oh Mah Gawd, I am a Cah-reeper!"

Our hero and the first Winston brother of the series is Duane, twin brother to Beau. The brothers names are so over-the-top country that you will laugh just hearing them: Jethro, Roscoe, Cletus, Beau, Duane and Billy. Beau is the uber-charismatic twin that Jessica thinks she has had a crush on her whole life. Duane is the broody quiet twin that was more likely to put a toad in her backpack. I loved Duane right from the start, when he uses a case of mistaken identity to get our heroine in a compromising position that spirals out of control in 10 seconds flat. I loved his conversations trying to woo "Jeska" and convince her that they suited.

The story had its sweet moments, steamy interludes, and slapstick comedic relief. I am really looking forward to the rest of the series. I don't know yet who my favorite Winston brother is going to be. I think Cletus will be the most unique - he seems to be borderline Asperger's or just too intelligent to relate to the rest of the country folk on their level. Penny Reid did a wonderful job at bringing the characters and landscape to life. She really made me feel like I was a part of the story. If you are listening to the audio (which I highly encourage), stay tuned at the end for an interview with Penny where she describes how she visits her family in this area of Tennessee every year and draws inspiration for the story. I met Penny earlier this year the RT Roundup in Houston - I only wish I had read the book before then so I could have played the fangirl. Oh well, something to look forward to next time!

5 stars / 3 flames. show less