Hunches, horse races, and heartbreakTen years after Simone Payton broke his heart, all Roscoe Winston wants is a doughnut. He’d also like to forget her entirely, but that’s never going to happen. Roscoe Winston remembers everything – every look, every word, every single unrequited second – and the last thing he needs is another memory of Simone.Unfortunately, after one chance encounter, Simone … encounter, Simone keeps popping up everywhere he happens to be . . .
Ten years after Roscoe Winston dropped out of her life, all Simone Payton wants is to exploit him. She’d also like some answers from her former best friend about why he ghosted her, but if she never gets those answers, that’s a-okay. Simone let go of the past a long time ago. Seriously, she has. She totally, totally has. She is definitely not still thinking about Roscoe. Nope. She’s more than happy to forget he exists.
But first, she needs just one teeny-tiny favor . . .
Dr. Strange Beard is a full-length romantic comedy novel, can be read as a stand-alone, and is the fifth book in the USA TODAY bestselling Winston Brothers series.
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Penny Reid never disappoints with her smart humorous books. I am looking forward to reading this 5th offering of the Winston Brothers Series on a balmy beach in Destin, FL while on vacation!
You will LOVE Roscoe and Simone!
If I’m being totally honest, I’m not even sure what to say about Dr. Strange Beard. Holy crap did I love that book. Roscoe and Simone gave me all the freaking feels and I couldn’t stop reading once I started. I’m not sure how it’s possible for the Winston Brothers series to get better and better with each new book, but that’s exactly what’s happening. This one just might be my favorite so far, even if I don’t want to play favorites between my beautiful Winston boys. (And, naturally, their amazing ladies.)
I’m convinced no one writes multi-faceted and unique, yet still totally relatable, characters quite the way Penny does. I absolutely loved both Roscoe and Simone. The hot, bearded vet who just happened to be a virgin and his childhood best friend — who rejected him all those years ago, thus ending their friendship — face-to-face again? Oh, and did I mention she’s an FBI agent who is trying to take down his POS father and he has no idea? That’s a whole lot of Kim catnip right there. I was all over it. Simone and Roscoe were so evenly matched and it was obvious to me — and anyone who was paying attention — they belonged together. History be damned.
Not only does Penny deliver an amazing friends-to-enemies-to-lovers-slash-second-chance-ish romance with Dr. Strange Beard, she give us a book that is relevant to our times. I’m not going to dig too far down into things, but there’s one scene that absolutely stood out to me. That’s when Simone, an FBI agent herself, is dealing with a (*cough* racist *cough*) local cop and Ashley intervenes. It was a very thought-provoking scene. I love reading romance for, well the romance, but I like when I take a little more away from it, too. She definitely gave me something to think about here.
I can emphatically say I love the Winstons. I’ve enjoyed watching these guys pair off so very much. I love how each book gives us a look at the previous couples and works towards the overall story with Darrell, Razor and the rest of the MC. It’s heading towards a huge climax and I can’t wait for the rest of the pieces to fall together. Of course, all that’s just a bonus to the wonderful, swoony and sexy as hell romances. I can always count on Penny to deliver the feels and Dr. Strange Beard was no exception.
FAVORITE QUOTES
Fierce wasn’t my thing. I preferred my guys quiet, thoughtful, and reflective, slow to anger and quick to theorizing.
“And if you fall for the wrong person, what can you do? You’re already in love, and your heart wants what it wants, and everything is a mess.”
Stars, flowers, hearts, puppies, fireworks, Roscoe. I was drunk, liquid heat in his arms, his embrace, his strong hands reforming me, twisting my insides until I was sure I would dissolve, an amorphous puddle of feeling.
“Relax. It’s just me.”
“You’ll never be just anything.”
I’d learned that—in love— nothing makes sense. I didn’t make sense. I didn’t understand myself. Down is up and up is purple. The sky is drawer. The moon is goat. In love, everything was nonsense.
Another great addition to the Winston Brothers, but now the long wait begins for book 6 (big ugly tears). There was a lot within the pages–romance, suspense, life lessons, evil (dirty, nasty, you don’t want it touching your favorite characters evil).
Poor Roscoe. The burden he must carry. He handles it all so much better than I would. I am so happy that he realized that he was missing out by being so cautious. He needs Simone as much as she finally realizes she needs him.
I absolutely loved learning about Roscoe!! From the moment I heard about him in previous books to when I knew he’d be getting a story of his very own, I’ve been holding onto this strange curiosity to really know him. Every one of the Winston brothers (and sister) have their own special quirks, characteristics that are unique to the individual and sets them apart from the rest, and I was intrigued by what Roscoe’s would be. I was immediately captivated with the way that the author illustrated his eidetic memory and how it may differ from others with the same type of phenomenal gift. The ways in which his memories were broken down and the coping mechanisms he used to move from one situation to the next were compelling. My heart ached for this character and I found myself so in love with him. And that’s all before I knew how HUGE his heart was, how compassionate and caring and understanding he was, and before I realized how incredible a character Roscoe would turn out to be.
As for Simone… while I appreciated that this was an interracial coupling and I always love when I can identify with a character in some way, even if it’s just by their physical characteristics, I was also glad that her ethnicity didn’t have much of a spotlight. I liked that I kept forgetting what she even looked like. Her mannerisms and her interactions with other characters were where my focus went and I loved that I got to know this character on a deeper level. Not that Simone would care about my feelings or anything, seeing as she isn’t a fan of emotions. But that was something else we have in common because I come off as pretty robotic myself. However, as much as I found things to like about her, I didn’t love her. Actually, I barely liked her for the first half of the book. How she acted towards Roscoe and the things she thought about him made her my enemy because I was set to defend my sweet, brave man. Luckily things turned around for the better and I didn’t have to cut a bitch.
There was a bit of suspense in the mix, which always seems to be the case when it comes to matters involving their daddy’s MC, and a thrill or two, but at its core this story was about love and friendship and family and it was full of so much heart. Now I’m wondering if there will be a series for those Paytons because Simone’s parents were AMAZING!!
Oscar Wilde once said, ‘Memory…is the diary that we all carry about with us.’
But, the way that we ‘carry’ our recollections is not universal, meaning that the ability to reminisce as well as recall childhood memories or even memories that occurred within the past decade or so varies, and while some might find the capacity to remember everything about their lives a valuable asset, for Roscoe Winston, it’s more of a curse than a blessing because his eidetic memory makes it extremely difficult to interact with others and not recall every conversation he has had with them and the stories that they have shared with him.
It seems like an incredible burden to carry, but Roscoe has found ways to cope with his memories and protect himself and those he encounters, but with one person in particular, the inability to forget the last memory he has of her has forced him to ghost her for the past 10 years, but now she’s back in Green Valley, and she’s hellbent on finding out why he stopped being her best friend all those years ago, and if he doesn’t figure out how to make new memories with her, the complexity of their relationship and his feelings for her will continue to be based on their last interaction when they were 16 years old.
Roscoe Winston is definitely an intriguing hero, and as the youngest Winston, he has witnessed his older siblings find their perfect other half while never putting himself in a position to find the woman for him because it always was and it will always be Simone Payton, even if they never talk or see each other again.
I adored the chapters told from Roscoe’s perspective. It’s clear that Penny Reid did her due diligence when it comes to Roscoe’s better than average memory. Learning about what his mind forces him to endure and the ways that he has gone about trouble shooting his encounters with others helps readers to truly comprehend how overwhelming it is for Roscoe to ‘go down memory lane,’ especially when it comes to the woman he has loved since he was a teenager.
While I quickly connected with Roscoe and his idiosyncrasies, I struggled with understanding why Simone approaches her life the way she does and how her scientific mind guides her decisions, avoiding anything emotional or sentimental…at least that how she thought she lived her life until she was reunited with her childhood best friend. It took me a bit to warm up to her personality and to see beyond her primary reason for befriending Roscoe 10 years later. BUT, I will say that once Simone starts to be honest with herself and with Roscoe, I found her extremely likable and loved how Penny Reid crafted Simone’s personal revelations and how difficult it becomes for her to separate her personal and professional life given that the one she wants to be a significant person in her life is involved in the case she’s working for the FBI.
In order for Roscoe and Simone to move forward, they need to make new memories together – ones that replace Roscoe’s old recollections, and the scenes where they work towards that goal are well written and quite emotional, and regardless of how analytical and logical these two people are, when it comes to what they mean to one another and what they want from each other in the future is highly emotional and something that cannot be solved without their hearts factoring into their situation.
Due to Simone’s undercover operation and where Roscoe factors into her assignment, Dr. Strange Beard takes on quite a suspenseful aspect and it’s clear that before Simone can resolve this case, the truth will be revealed and the role Simone plays will be a point of contention for Roscoe and perhaps a memory that he’ll never be able to forgot or move on from when everything comes out.
I’m a lover of smart romance, and in my opinion, Penny Reid epitomizes all of the qualities that I adore about this style of writing, and while it took a bit for me to see who Simone truly is, once I did, I couldn’t get enough of her and Roscoe’s analytical thoughts as well as their journey to an emotional connection that focuses more on their hearts than their heads.
4.5 Poison Apples
Unforgettable characters in a story full of humor and heartbreak
This is book five in the Winston Brothers series (six if you start with Beauty and the Mustache which is sister Ashley’s story). While you can read this book as standalone, there are a lot of characters and event references that carry through from book to book. For maximum enjoyment, I’d recommend reading the series in order, starting with Ashley’s book–trust me, you won’t regret it.
It’s been five and a half years since the events in the previous book, so I loved the chance to catch up with the Winston family and the inhabitants of Green Valley–Cletus especially always makes me laugh. Penny Reid is an expert in the art of the tease and laying down crumb trails to set up succeeding books, so there’s always lively speculation about what’s going on with certain characters or where sub-plots are going to go. I’m sure I won’t be the only one with a “Yes!” and a fist pump of vindication when one particular crumb turns into a full blown banana cake (or maybe doughnut would be more apropos for this book, lol).
I thought Beau and Shelly’s story got pretty intense but…wow. Not that there aren’t plenty of laughs (Roscoe’s cheesy pick-up lines had me in stitches) but this is the second book in a week that had me in tears for much of the story. My heart was breaking for Roscoe and all the pain he can’t forget, and for Simone, too, who has done her best to lock up all her emotions rather than risk the pain and chaos she believes to be the most likely result of feeling too much. There are other heartbreaking moments as well, some from incidents that are unfortunately an all too common occurrence, and some from the strong ties between the characters–there’s one epic “come to Jesus” moment near the end of the book that I found particularly moving.
I adored Roscoe (intelligent, sensitive bearded guy with puppies, omg!) but I was a little slower to warm up to Simone. She’s funny and smart but is so closed off at the beginning–plus the plan to use Roscoe made me squirm. I warmed up to her as she opened up and came to terms with her feelings, and by the end I was “Yes! You go, girl!” As satisfying as the end was, there are still questions to be answered and characters who need their stories told, and there was some nice set up here for Billy.
Unforgettable characters in a story full of humor and heartbreak, with just enough suspense to keep things interesting. Claire and Billy’s stories are coming, and as usual, I can’t wait.
B2B Kelly
I LOVE the Winstons!!
Roscoe Winston and Simone Payton used to be best friends; he would have loved to express his love to Simone, but she was not the marrying kind. His special kind of memory ability would not let him forget every moment with her and her rejection of him. Simone’s focus was her future career and she couldn’t understand why Roscoe distanced himself from her. Little did Roscoe know, that the only reason Simone reconnected with him was because she was doing undercover FBI work that forced her to get close to him again, so that she could keep tabs on his hateful criminal father. She was making it difficult for him to forget about her and his broken heart. She doesn’t understand why he flirts with everyone but her. Yet why should she care? He would feel a sense of betrayal if he knew about her work and her subterfuge. Penny Reid does a good job of connecting us with her characters by letting us get into their heads. She likes to expose the reader something new, such as Roscoe’s type of memory, as she weaves her story.
The Winston brothers always trip my trigger.
For the longest time my favorite Winston brother was Dwayne, but Roscoe is hands down my favorite. I wish there was more of him. Out of all the books up to this point, I feel like we never really got a peak into his life like the way we did Beau and Cletus, especially Cletus. Simone super smart, very logical, analytical heroine is reunited with her childhood best friend Roscoe. The circumstances of them being brought back together plays a major role in this story. It’s a slow burn, but when it comes to the steam, I think this might be the hottest of the Winston brothers so far. So I did something different reading this book. I read Simone’s chapters and listened to Roscoe’s because Chris Brinkley is just too amazing as a Winston. The personality and emotion he puts into his performance is swoon worthy. The woman (I’ve seen two different names listed, maybe pseudonyms?) who narrated Simone’s POV, she did great except I wasn’t a fan of her male voice. She lowered her volume when did male voices, and it would be hard to hear.
Great book. Love all the beard books as well as the knitting books that tie in the characters.
Smart plot, characters have a lot of depth, excellent world building. Loooove Penny Reid’s books!
I have enjoyed this series and was looking forward to Roscoe’s story. Like the other books this story was witty and entertaining. I could not connect with Simone. She is an FBI agent but she is clueless, a little mean, and I just could not see what Roscoe saw in her. I wish there was more interaction with the brothers. That being said, I’m glad Roscoe got his own story.
Note to myself: My least favorite of this series. Not surprised now it took me six months to finally read it via my KU subscription. Make that “try to read it”…cause a whole lot of skimming went on here, folks.
Where do I even begin? Hhhm. Let’s see…I can’t consider they had a mutual love connection years ago because in my book it was obviously one sided. He was head over heels for her but she was oblivious..then and through most of this book…This supposedly smart FBI forensic agent is about as clueless as they come. She thought they were only BFF as teens and was hurt when he started avoiding her in high school. Cause like an idiot, he didn’t have an actual conversation telling her why he was d-o-n-e being around her. Yeah, that’s not cool…even for a teen. Still avoiding her like the plague when they are adults, also not cool…and, yeah, still extremely immature. I didn’t buy his flimsy excuse. Her thinking now..weeks after she’s been home again….”Golly, gee, maybe he has a crush on me and that is why he’s acting weird?” Smart detective she is not! She must not have had overly strong feelings for him either, don’t you think?
Too many dang coincidences started to feel like a hodge podge of ideas of drama to throw in just to make up something for this story line. It all just didn’t seem overly realistic to me…The background plot nor this supposed romance.
I could go on but there’s really no need. I think I’ve made my point. This book wasn’t nearly as good as it should have been, IMHO. Heck, even the title makes absolutely no sense.
(I voluntarily read and reviewed a Kindle Unlimited version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review. There is no affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author, publisher, or PR firm.)
Maybe it was just me, and/or the fact that I was listening to the Audiobook, but it took me quite a while before I realized Simone was black. It really didn’t hit me until she was pulled over foe DWB, and Sandra Blaine was mentioned.
Let me say this before i move on with my review. I really appreciated the dialogue about how it feels to be stopped by the police for no reason. How black and brown parents have to teach their kids almost from the time they can walk and talk how to behave around police, going into a store and leaving with a purchase that you PAID for, etc. How there is that feeling of fear when you have these encounters solely based on the color of your skin. I appreciated the acknowledgement along with the fact that it was accurate.
Now to the rest of the review. I thought Simone might be black when it mentioned she had braids and amber eyes. Once that was definitively established, it was like “ok, cool”. I felt like I stumbled a little through this book, and I missed some of the things that make a Winston book, A Winston book.
Early on in the book, it was obvious the type of memory Roscoe possessed. I didn’t understand why it became such a bog deal toward the end. I thought maybe they were going to use him for a specific purpose. That train of thought never panned out.
Roscoe kept referring to that moment with Simone that caused him to pull back from her when they were 16. If she couldn’t remember it and he never told her, what difference did it make? Why keep bringing it up? She was still oblivious to the incident.
Excuse me, but how the hell did Billy end up in Congress and being engaged to Danielle? I read book 4 before I read this book. Talk about jumping forward in time with no explanation. Why did Danielle have so much resentment for Roscoe, including his issue with him flirting? The level of her resentment didn’t seem to coincidence with his actions.
Then there was the whole Danielle situation that Simone witnessed. That was just dropped. Why did Billy never mention he was engaged? Or no one in either family really talked about it.
Are Duane and Jess going to live in Italy forever? I thought they wanted to travel to several places.
I missed all the interaction with the siblings. It seemed to be sorely lacking in this book. There was a bit, but not the way it was in some of the previous books. That was part of the Winston charm. The way they were all in one another’s business.
Also after the comments Roscoe made about Ashley, why did he make the decision he made at the end? So many things didn’t make sense to me.
I was even willing to buy into the whole FBI story, but where was Cletus? In fact, where was Cletus in the racist cop storyline? Where were the siblings in helping Simone and Roscoe? Then, we have the FbI story, and was the resolution really a resolution?
The book was ok. I would give it 3.5 stars. I missed the family element. I didnt feel like the loose ends were tied up. I didnt feel the same flow, or humor to the book. I keep thinking maybe I have all these issues because I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the audio. This book was 12 hrs and 11 min long. That was way too long for the number of unanswered questions I have.
While I LOVE this series, this is my least favorite. It was just a little too something that I can’t quite put my finger on.
I loved Roscoe and the catch up about the other members of the Winston family and Green Valley residents. I loved the topics and heavy content in this book.
If I could describe Simone Payton and Roscoe Winston’s relationship in one word, it would be intense. They grew up being best friends, but after a certain event happened, Roscoe ended their friendship and they spent 10 years apart. After they meet again, old feelings resurface and we get to know more about what happened so many years ago. I loved that some of their story was full of angst, pining and unrequited love, because they are some of my favorite tropes and Penny developed them perfectly. With so many feelings involved, their meetings were always heated and emotional.
I know I always talk about how much I hate big time jumps in second chance romances, but in this case it worked because I could understand both of the characters’ reasoning. Furthermore, I really enjoyed that Simone and Roscoe actually discussed their problems to overcome them. It wouldn’t be plausible if they had just forgotten everything and loved each other after such a messy falling out.
When they finally settled everything, their relationship became carefree, natural and really sweet. Roscoe might have been in love with her for longer, but that doesn’t mean Simone’s feelings weren’t as strong as his. She loved him just as fiercely as he loved her. Despite their differences (or maybe because of them), Simone and Roscoe were perfect for each other. Their chemistry was out of this world and their interactions just showed how in tune they were.
It’s impossible to not like Simone. She’s smart, funny, beautiful and badass. She’s also super passionate about her job and what she believes in. The scenes where she explained why she chose a career as an FBI agent really inspired me because of her determination and strength. Simone knew she wanted to change the world in her own way and did everything in her power to achieve it. Sometimes she made mistakes, but she wasn’t afraid to hear other people’s opinions and change her mind.
Another thing that made me love Simone even more was the fact that she didn’t put her self-worth in her beauty. She liked herself for her thoughts and actions and not her face or body. I also had a lot of fun reading her POVs because they were fast-paced and quirky like her. I was cracking up when she found out Roscoe was a virgin because her thought process involving historical romances was just too much for me lol
Penny Reid once again handled the representation beautifully. It’s in times like these I wish I had a Simone to look up to while I was growing up. She wasn’t a side character or someone who was traded for the white and “perfect” girl. She was just Simone, a remarkable girl with a brilliant future ahead of her. When the author addressed some race issues, nothing was over the top or disrespectful and I loved that.
Roscoe Winston is that character you just want to hug and protect from the world. When Simone said that he was excessively sensitive since they were kids, I had the biggest smile on my face because that meant Billy and his siblings managed to protect Roscoe from the horrible things they went through as a child. He wasn’t ignorant about what had happened with his father, but because of his brothers and sister, he was also able to lead a more peaceful childhood full of love and tenderness.
Unfortunately, toxic masculinity is still a big problem in the world, so it’s super important to show a male character that is sensitive, caring and isn’t afraid to show his emotions. The fact that he was still a virgin because he was waiting for the right person to connect with also blew me away. Roscoe is the perfect example that there’s nothing wrong with being a guy that feels too much (if there is such a thing as feeling “too much”) and I love him even more for it.
After reading this book and Upsy Daisy, I have to say I’m the biggest Payton family fan. The way Daisy and Trevor love and care for their children and Roscoe was heartwarming. They are such supportive parents and their unwavering faith in Simone was truly beautiful. Besides that, I laughed my ass off with the scenes where Daisy and Trevor were trying to scare Simone and with their reactions when they found out she was finally with Roscoe. They are definitely the number one roscoesimone shippers lmao So precious.
I also have to mention how amazing and interesting Dani Payton is. Her conversations with Simone in this book and with Billy in “Beard Necessities” showed a side of her I honestly didn’t expect to see. I’m super curious to know more about her story and to see her finally getting her happy ending. I hope her book doesn’t take too long to come out *fingers crossed*
Although this wasn’t my favorite in the series, it is still a lot of fun! Now I’m ready for the last two books in the series only to find they aren’t available at BnN. What? They were available just a couple weeks ago so I don’t know what happened. Oh well, here’s hoping they are back in stock soon!