All is fair in love and auto maintenance.Beau Winston is the nicest, most accommodating guy in the world. Usually.Handsome as the devil and twice as charismatic, Beau lives a charmed life as everyone’s favorite Winston Brother. But since his twin decided to leave town, and his other brother hired a stunning human-porcupine hybrid as a replacement mechanic for their auto shop, Beau Winston’s … Beau Winston’s charmed life has gone to hell in a handbasket.
Shelly Sullivan is not nice and is never accommodating. Ever.
She mumbles to herself, but won’t respond when asked a question. She glares at everyone, especially babies. She won’t shake hands with or touch another person, but has no problems cuddling with a dog. And her damn parrot speaks only in curse words. Beau wants her gone. He wants her out of his auto shop, out of Tennessee, and out of his life.
The only problem is, learning why this porcupine wears her coat of spikes opens a Pandora’s box of complexity–exquisite, tempting, heartbreaking complexity–and Beau Winston soon discovers being nice and accommodating might mean losing what matters most.
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Loved it!! Penny Reid is one of my very favorite authors ever.
Great read all of Penny’s books are very entertaining
It’s so nice to be back in Green Valley. This book was absolutely fantastic! I loved the whole thing. I don’t think I’ve ever highlighted so much in a book before. I actually reread it a second time because I was so excited to read it the first time around, I didn’t want to miss anything. After my reread, these two are my second favorite couple. Beau and Shelly are just everything together.
It has taken me over 2 weeks to write a review. I just can’t express enough how much this book moved me. I want to quote half of it because there are so many fantastic and real parts. My review is not up to par and all over the place but seriously, how many of you lived this book, not just read it? I know I did, twice. I don’t know, to me, I think this is her best book to date. I’m going to stop rambling now but I encourage everyone to pick it up and experience it. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
A fun read I recommend to relax at the end of a busy day!
Wow! Just Wow! Beau is an awesome man. And complex. His persona in the previous books is nothing like I thought he was. There is so much depth to him and how he cares for his those closest to him. I also appreciated the thought that went into Shelly’s character and the amount of research that must have gone into making her issues realistic.
I also love that the timing of Beau & Shelly’s story coincides with Cletus & Jennifer’s story (Book #3). So much so that I kept referring to Beard Science whenever Beau and Cletus had a conversation to reread Cletus’ thoughts of the conversation at hand.
Ms. Reid is a genius at character development and throwing out little nuggets that keeps the reader wanting to know the next brother’s story.
This book caught me completely off guard, in the BEST way! It’s safe to say I devoured this story. It was my first introduction to Penny Reid. I bought it thinking it would be a nice bit of romantic fluff; man, was I wrong!
Sure, there’s a romantic plot and some steamy moments but there’s way more to the story than that. All of the characters are incredibly human and deal with real-life issues. I fell in love with Beau and Shelly and everything about their story. There is substance and heartache and beauty that I wasn’t expecting to find within these pages.
All the kudos to Penny Reid for weaving a lovely story about people who aren’t perfect, who have issues they’re working through, who are beautiful and funny and flawed. It takes a special kind of magic to create stories like these. I’m glad I had an opportunity to experience it.
I would recommend this book to everyone. Seriously.
This was an unexpected pleasure. What I really have come to love about the Winston family is that all of the family members have their role that they wear, but it is a part of who they are, not just a mask to protect themselves. So that when each of them gets the spotlight, they unfold in ways that are surprising, but still true to what we knew about them from earlier in the series.
I have enjoyed all of Penny Reid’s books, but Beau and Shelly, and their story really impressed me. In the previous books in this series, we didn’t get to see much of Beau beyond his role of friendly flirt. His character didn’t get a lot of room, since he had to compete with the big personalities of his older brothers. I really connected with this guy who everyone counts on to have a smile and a joke — who finally had to let himself stand in his own truth.
I was also really impressed with all the work that went into exploring Shelly’s character. She felt like a unique character with a mental illness, not someone who has the “popular symptoms” we are supposed to expect. She got to be a full, well-rounded character who also happened to have an illness that took up a lot of her brain space.
I don’t even know what to say anymore about this series and this author. The books get better and better and the writing makes reading them effortless. The characters are so real and flawed and quirky and amazing.
The choices for narrators are so perfect for the characters that I really feel like they are the ones talking to me! This is not a review it is just to say thank you Penny Reid and please give us more!!
Penny Reid is a great author! Her Winston brothers books are fun to read.
Penny Reid is a wonderful author – intelligent, funny, quirky. Beard in Mind so far is my favorite of her books (and I’ve read them all). Her characters come alive. Shelly and Beau are people you really like and wish you knew at the end of the story.
Shelly is deeply flawed and knows it and is motivated to change. Beau wants to be valued and seen as more than a “good-time” guy. You feel the frustration and hope of both characters throughout the story. So well written. Loved it!
Favorite Quotes:
She said something about me being as sharp as a bowling ball.
It was like being stuck in all that morose poetry I’d been reading over the weekend. Lord Tennyson was a moron. It wasn’t better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. I didn’t know what he’d been smokin’, but it must’ve been strong.
“I’m here to listen and hold your tools.” I hoped that last bit was an innuendo. “Not that tool.” Damn.
I want you to love me always… How can I make sure that happens?
You’re bright as a black hole and twice as dense.
I especially liked it when you told Devron Stokes he needed to save his breath, ’cause he was going to need it to blow up his date.
My Review:
I adore Penny Reid’s unique, clever, and humorous writing style as well as her sharply honed wit. Her storylines are fresh, crisp, and cunningly crafted. Five-stars aren’t enough to reflect how much I enjoyed this skillfully executed and well-plotted tale. Penny Reid struck comedy gold yet again with the indelible Winston brothers along with the addition of a profane parrot, a pithy OCD heroine, and a well-kept and shocking family secret. Ms. Reid’s enticing characters always raise the bar on endearingly quirky as well as alluringly cracked. Beau was an absolute treasure and Cletus is always a delectable treat, but it is Ms. Reid’s captivating and insightful writing that keeps me haunting her listings. Her work on this series has been so delightfully detailed, I felt as if I had programmed and engaged the Star Trek Holodeck for Green Valley, Tennessee as I was right there with them, and feeling the double skip of Beau’s tender heart. Penny Reid has mad skills and I am her die-hard fangirl for life, even if she started writing about dreadful zombies.
Book four in the Winston Brothers series, while this book works well as a standalone, in my opinion you’ll get a richer experience having read the earlier books in this series (especially Beard Science, the events of which are happening in parallel to this one) and if you’ve also read at least the first book in the related Knitting in the City series.
I read my first book by this author less than a year ago and she has quickly become a favorite. Her writing has proven to be consistently intelligent, funny and touching and this latest book is no exception.
We’ve met both Beau and Shelly in earlier books, and here we really get to know them. Shelly, who has always been prickly and standoffish, has ocd to the point where she doesn’t want to touch anyone. I thought the author did a wonderful job of developing this character and showing how isolating this type of illness can be. As someone who has struggled with anxiety issues, I found Shelly and her attempts to cope both extremely relatable and moving, sometimes to the point of tears.
Beau, who has always been known as the nicer and more easygoing of the twins, has issues of his own to cope with; his twin brother is leaving for Europe for an indefinite period of of time, plus Beau is hit with a major life plot twist that he has to decide how to deal with. I loved the way Beau and Shelly were the opposites in some ways, and yet still had so much in common, and I loved how they balanced each other out.
With beautiful developed characters, a plot that has engaging twists, and a moving story filled with humor and love, this is one of my favorite reads for the year. 5+ stars.
B2B Kelly
Kept me on my toes and made me laugh out loud, but also made me cry at the end. Can’t wait for the next one
4.5 stars
Ohhhh my. I’ve just spent the last two weeks in Tennessee with the Winston Brothers. I binge read the last three books in the series and once again, Penny Reid is my hero.
I’ll admit that in the first few chapters, I wasn’t sure if this book was going to work for me because of Shelly. But knowing Penny Reid, I resolved to hang on because Reid always makes her books worth the time. Shelly is harsh and difficult to handle at times, her personality, the way she relates to others is detached and sullen at times.
Beau, on the other hand, is Mister Charm. He’s easy on the eyes and knows he can charm his way into or out of any situation. He and Shelly are complete polar opposites so of course, he cannot stand her.
The tipping point is that we learn why Shelly is the way she is. Seeing how Beau handles it is the heart and soul of this book. As funny and entertaining as the Winston family is, Beau’s care and understanding of Shelly and her needs are why I loved it so much. Once he figured her out and how to help her, he knew he wanted her in his life and he didn’t budge on his devotion to her. Shelly in her own right, helped Beau work through his issues and she too was just as devoted to him.
Penny Reid’s books are not meant to read fast or skimmed, they are meant to be savored. They are dense and layered and every book possesses unforgettable characters and storylines. So, I implore you, if you haven’t read this series, please don’t miss it. It’s intelligent, hilarious, swoon worthy and completely unique in its own lovely way. (Especially Beard in Mind!)
Love this author!
This book was simply a wonderful story. I have enjoyed this series as I have enjoyed all of this author’s other series. This book is a beautiful, emotional, funny and sweet story. This author has a great way of making you feel a special connection with her characters and her stories become much more meaningful because of that.
I definitely recommend this book, this series and this author