Sienna Diaz is everyone’s favorite “fat” funny lady. The movie studio executives can’t explain it, but her films are out-grossing all the fit and trim headliners and Hollywood’s most beautiful elite. The simple truth is, everyone loves plus-sized Sienna. But she has a problem, she can’t read maps and her sense of direction is almost as bad as her comedic timing is stellar. Therefore, when … Sienna’s latest starring role takes her to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park she finds herself continually lost while trying to navigate the back roads of Green Valley, Tennessee. Much to her consternation, Sienna’s most frequent savior is a ridiculously handsome, charming, and cheeky Park Ranger by the name of Jethro Winston. Sienna is accustomed to high levels of man-handsome, so it’s not Jethro’s chiseled features or his perfect physique that make Sienna stutter. It’s his southern charm. And gentlemanly manners. And habit of looking at her too long and too often. Sienna has successfully navigated the labyrinth of Hollywood heart-throbs. But can she traverse the tenuous trails of Tennessee without losing her head? Or worse, her heart?
more
So this was my first Penny Reid book and I loved it. This book was sweet and funny. Sienna is America’s Sweetheart, she is one of the it girls in Hollywood and she’s been dying for a break. She sneaks away from her security detail and becomes hopelessly lost in the mountains of Tennessee on the way to a friend’s cabin she is using while filming in the area. Enter Jethro the sweet sexy park ranger who offers to help her.
It’s instant like for these two and Sienna likes him even more when she discovers he has no idea who she is. Can a reformed bad boy with a meddling family really have a shot with the girl of his dreams if she’s famous? Please read and find out.
Loved this one! Full review coming soon!
The bar has been raised for the comedy romance genre. The Glass ceiling has been shattered with Grin and Beard It. I was highlighting funny quotes until I realized most of the book was going to be pink. Simply said, my favorite part was from page one (1) to 358.
The brilliance of using a screen writer/actress as a main character provided so many funny situations. (After all the best way to deal with a situation is to laugh, laugh loud). The things the author had coming out of Sienna’s mouth had me roaring with laughter.
I wanted to stand up and cheer as she attacked the stereotypes, attitudes and judgements that have become common place. Where was Helen Reddy’s “I am Woman” when I needed it (Oh yeah on my 8-track tape).
If you are looking for a couple of opposites that fit perfectly, look no further than Grin and Beard It. The other character involved in the romance is none other than Jethro Winston. The guy with the horrendous past, the guy that could tarnish her reputation, the guy that has sworn never to hurt or use another person catches the heart of Sienna, America’s Oscar winning actress and screenwriter.
The Wildlife Ranger rescues her when she is lost. He doesn’t recognize her. To him, she is just the screenwriter of the film being done at the cove. Jethro treated Sienna as a normal person adding fuel attraction.
Adding pizazz to the story is Cletus Winston. That boy needs his own story, but not until everyone else has found true love. His involvement as matchmaker is classic.
Thankfully, I finished the book before bedtime. I have no doubt the husband would have kicked me out of the room. I couldn’t not laugh. Just a snicker was impossible. Although in all honestly it is his fault. He got me reading Penny Reid’s books. It is one of the best things he has ever done. Maybe I will treat him to a steak. No, for introducing me to Penny Reid he deserves lobster, a lot of lobster.
I recommend you start at the beginning of the series, but I think this is my favorite Winston Bros. book. I am generally NOT a fan of small-town romances, but it’s hard not to fall in love with Penny Reid’s world and her well-drawn and endearing characters. The kind of series that romance lovers will go back to like an old friend.
Author Penny Reid has a way of motivating a reader to continue reading a series that goes more in depth with a character one initially didn’t give too much thought about… which is understandable when a series is about six brothers and one sister. Obviously the characters cannot all be developed in one book. This book further introduces us to previously bad boy Jethro Winston who turns his life around and continuously believes it’ll never be enough to erase his mistakes. Luckily, Sienna Diaz, a bold workaholic latin actress comes into his life by way of getting lost in the backroads where he works as a park ranger in TN. The two love to flirt and Sienna loves to push boundaries, as she is known in Hollywood for her comedic writing and acting. What a relief for her to come across someone who doesn’t know her as a celebrity so she can just be herself. However, things can go awry when the truth comes out about who she is and who he was…. The two need to figure out if there is a way to make their unexpected relationship work as they realize they find themselves when they lose themselves in each other. I love this author’s characterizations, writing styles, and imagination!
I love digging into a series when the characters continue and build on one another’s stories. This was a delight!
A fun, witty, and entertaining story. This was definitely a slow burn between Sienna and Jethro. They had fiery, sweet, and passionate chemistry but Jethro took things super slow with her, he had his reason but it all worked out because the friendship they developed was beautiful. I enjoyed this story. The Winston brothers are intriguing.
I listened to the audio. I thought I would never be able to get into this series, but the Audiobook brings it to life.
This book provides such a different perspective of who Jethro is and how he fits in the family. I liked the dynamic between Jethro and Sienna. She fit in well with his family and friends.
They were sweet, funny, romantic, and witty. I didn’t care at all for Sienna’s sister. I don’t care how much the book tried to convince us her behavior was out of love and concern for Sienna. I thought she was manipulative.
This is a book that lasted so long, I almost forgot how it began. Another really, really long listen, but I enjoyed it.
This book was ok in parts but just not my cup of tea.
What can I say about the Winston Brothers? They are hot, bearded brothers with a past needing good women to love them. Jessica has finally decided to act on her crush for Beau Winston, but instead throws herself at his twin brother, Duane. Jessica has dreams, which do not involve their small town but does she have the courage to follow them. Perhaps a case of mistaken identity threw her into the path of the love of her life and the man that will encourage her to chase her dreams….with him.
GREAT read! Once you read about one Winston Brother, you’ll want to read them all!
Loved it. Funny, romantic and witty.
Another great book in a great series
4 1/2 stars. This series is wonderful!
“Grin and Beard It” is the kind of book that reminds me why romance will always be my favorite genre. Jethro Winston and Sienna Diaz’s love story was exquisite, carefree and so funny. Even if I tried to find something to complain about, it just wouldn’t be possible because they both captured my heart in a matter of minutes.
Jethro has the “reformed bad boy” vibe that I absolutely ADORE. He was an intense and complex character that just spent the last decade trying to fix his mistakes. You could see how deeply he regretted the wrong decisions he made in the past and thought he wasn’t deserving of forgiveness or happiness. It broke my heart that his relationship with his siblings were affected by those choices, but I was happy that everyone recognized how much he had changed for the better and decided to truly give him another chance. Despite his dark past, Jethro was the perfect gentleman. The way he treated Sienna made me sigh because it was so tender and soft. Another thing that had me wrapped around his finger was the fact that he dreamed of being a stay-at-home dad. I mean, is he even real?
Once again, I have to say how awesome it is to see a female character with a successful career. In this book, Sienna was the first Latina to win the Oscars for Best Actress and, considering she’s plus-size, she used her fame to spread the word about body positivity. In my opinion, the representation didn’t feel forced or stereotyped. Sienna was proud of who she was and never tried to be another person.
I also loved how smart and incredibly funny she was. I know she’s a comedian, but I honestly wasn’t expecting to laugh so much at her antics. The way she dealt with her problems and saw the world was special and reading her POVs only made me fall even more in love with her. Don’t even get me started on her scenes with Cletus because those two together are just insane lol Her vulnerable side was developed in a nice way and I liked that she wasn’t as detached as people thought she was.
From the outside, it may seem like Sienna and Jethro couldn’t possibly work out as a couple, but as they develop an intimate relationship, you can see how their differences only made them stronger. I loved how Jethro’s calm demeanor matched with Sienna’s extrovert attitude. They really balanced each other out.
Their dynamic was out of this world because they didn’t hold anything back. Even though Sienna is open and funny, she still hid behind a wall carefully crafted so she wouldn’t get hurt. Therefore, seeing her being truthful and not hiding her feelings from Jethro was amazing, especially because of his “reputation”. She could have easily ignored him and put him in a box like so many have done before, but Sienna understood how bad and hurtful it is to put labels on someone and decided to treat him with the compassion and respect he so well deserved.
The same applies for Jethro. He could have thought she was just another actress who only cared about money, but he actually saw someone who was incredibly talented and focused and who didn’t have enough time to do what she liked because she was too worried about other people’s needs instead of her own.
I think it’s that deep understanding between Sienna and Jethro that makes them such a perfect couple. When they were wrong, they weren’t afraid to say they were sorry. When they didn’t agree with something, they talked it out instead of just punishing the other. The lack of unnecessary drama was a huge relief and the scenes where they talked and planned on how to make their life together work out were my favorites.
Jethro’s story. He is a reformed criminal who is the eldest Winston Brother who meets a famous actress Sienna.
Sienna is hilarious. The things that come out of her mouth get you laughing out loud. Jethro gives back as much as Sienna.
But life with a celebrity is challenging and a lot of baggage. You find out if Jethro thinks that baggage is worth the risk.
Cletus though forever shines as the most entertaining character in this series. Even when he isn’t the main character he still out shines and I look forward to his interactions.
I enjoyed this and you can’t go wrong with the Winston boys! This was fun, sweet, laugh out loud and entertaining.
Penny Reid is my new favorite author. She creates the best quirky, loveable, gorgeous characters I can imagine. Pure escape and tons of fun! Do yourself a favor and pick up every one of her books you can. I did!
I’m such a big Penny Reid fan, and this book just continued my love affair with her characters. I loved the set-up, I loved the (mild, not infuriatingly over the top) angst, and most of all I loved the warmth.
I’ve been jumping around it seems with this series, and this was me now just reading #2. Everyone seemed really protective of Jethro, his family, his friends, etc., well except his brother Billy of course. So much that they were warning Sienna off from him. I really liked Sienna. I did not like her sister though. So much to love about Jethro and his family from this book. I love that he wanted to watch Marx Brothers movies with her, especially since I love those movies! This was such a sweet book, and Jethro is just perfect in how he dealt with all of the issues that Sienna’s famous life caused. The sexy scenes were steamy, and yeah, just a really great book. I did like the little glimpses into Claire/Scarlet in this book, especially as I was in between the two last books in the series at the time and waiting to see how it would all end for her and Billy.
Well the Winston boys certainly have unusual lives for Tennessee mountain boys! After Jethro rescues a lost movie star on her way to a movie set, he realizes that he may be falling for a perfect stranger after his 5 year self-rehabilitation project. Loosing his best friend made him reevaluate his less than stellar life choices, and he has spent a lot of time and effort on turning his life around and making it up to his loved ones. Sienna, a comedian/writer/actress, is courting burnout as she films her current movie project while writing on another one. Though she enjoys the fact that Jethro likes her for herself, she realizes that she owes it to him to confess who she is and what he would be getting himself into. As the two of them spend more time together, they have to decide if being together is worth fighting through all the obstacles in their way. This one has a lot of cheesy jokes and bad innuendos, so you are going to do a lot of smiling/eyerolling! And you get more Cletus time, and he may be my favorite Winston kid!
What a delicious slow burn this was!
Full of heart-warming goodness and all the tingly feels I love.
Jethro & Sienna from two different worlds, but they are absolutely perfect for each other. The banter, the sexual tension, and the passion made this highly enjoyable for me.
I listened to the audiobook, I never wanted to stop listening. Now, onto my next Winston brother!