Falling for the wrong twin never felt so good . . .From the NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, & USA TODAY bestselling series 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 … 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 Brothers 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.
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It starts with characters darn near having sex at the very beginning of the book which was slightly bizarre and off putting for me. However, I grew to love the ridiculous, if somewhat implausible, antics of the two MCs. They were believeable about 90% of the time. And I loved the Winston brother clan. Adorable.
Favorite Quotes:
“In my defense, it wasn’t my monster truck. It was my mother’s. I was currently between automobiles, and she’d just upgraded to a newer, bigger, more intimidating model.”
“I’d once overheard my daddy tell my momma that the six Winston boys had inherited their father’s ability to charm snakes, the IRS, and women.”
“I wanted to label it as incendiary, but as it was the first hot look I’d ever been aware of receiving, I decided instead to make his hot look the baseline by which all other hot looks would be measured.”
“I had no idea where we were and couldn’t find my way back if my life and the future of chocolate hung in the balance.”
“Let me put it this way: have you ever seen someone and thought to yourself, Whoa, he’s hot! I’d like to screw his brains out. And then, you talk to the guy and realize someone already has?”
“Unless I was misreading his expression, he appeared to be a little lost, like maybe I’d stolen his breath and his wallet and his passport and his memories. Really, he looked stunned.”
My Review:
Penny Reid was a rather recent discovery for me, I have now read 5 of her divinely written books and want to stalk her like an avid fan-girl. I adore her clever humor, vibrant characters, witty banter, and entertaining story lines. Her superb writing and insightful narratives never fail to totally consume me for a day or two. Her stories are inventive and engrossing, and even her secondary characters are unique, quirky, and fully fleshed out. With Truth or Beard, I was cheerfully transported to Tennessee, a place I have never been… yet Ms. Reid created a community that I can easily slip into, reside in, and feel comfortable with the inhabitants as I soon felt as if I knew them well. The Winston brothers were each interesting, original, and unusual with their own unique skills and traits. I personally I found Cletus to be the most intriguing, despite causing an intense craving for sausage. I was absolutely thrilled to see there are to be more volumes to this series – I am ecstatic that there are so many more Winstons to investigate.
I didn’t want this book to end. Isn’t that endorsement enough for you? Ha! While reading Truth or Beard, my husband thought I was crazy, due to all of the “laughing out loud” I was doing. I also read out loud to him several times- I could not help myself! The Winston men are completely addictive, every single one of them.
Now that Jessica is back in town, Duane decides that he is going to make his move on her. Jessica has had a massive crush on his twin brother, Beau for YEARS. Beau is the sweet one, while Duane has always been the one to drive her nuts by teasing her and giving her a hard time. In fact, Jessica has always believed that Duane just plain ole didn’t like her. Well, you know what they say about the little boy that was constantly teasing you on the playground?
————–
“See? This is what I’m talking about. I don’t know if we can call a truce. All we know how to do is argue.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Jessica,” he whispered, “arguing with you is one of my favorite things to do.”
——————-
Yep, he’s got a crush on you. Once he decides that he and Jessica need to be together, he vows to make it happen honorably and properly. Unfortunately, Jessica cannot keep her hands to herself and she makes it very hard for Duane to take things slowly. Ms. Reid throws in a little bit of suspense plot involving a local MC that several characters have ties to. I thought this was a great addition to the overall plot because it shed some light on the depth of several characters like Claire (I cannot wait for her book).
I loved the longtime connection that Jessica and Duane have with each other. Even though they’ve given each other a hard time all of their lives, they have incredible chemistry that screams relationship. Is the path to a relationship like this one ever smooth? Not so much. Duane knows that Jessica wants to travel and he is firmly entrenched in Green Valley with no intention of ever leaving. He has family and a business and a little bit of trouble that pops up (see MC plot) that he feels ties him to home. Of course, he does not want to hold her back in any way because he truly does care for her deeply. I have to say that Duane is completely swoon-worthy.
I’m a little bit of a newcomer to Ms. Reid’s books but every one I read, I fall deeper in love with her writing. I absolutely cannot wait for more from this series! As if I couldn’t have fallen more in love with the whole family, Cletus was one of the most entertaining characters ever written. Ever.
If you love a book with romance and humor with a nice bit of sexytimes thrown in, you’ll LOVE Truth or Beard!
*copy for review provided by author
Wow! This book really had me rethinking what I thought about “hotness”?!? Beards & hillbilly-life??? Well, I’m glad I took the time to read this book because it did openly mind to seeing things from a different perspective! I do recommend giving this a read and now I want to read more about the Winston brothers!?! Especially Cletus!!!
Very funny, adult, book.
This made me feel all melty and warm, I loved it! It was a witty and entertaining story with a great cast of characters. Excellent read!
Penny Reid writes about smart and interesting characters.
Penny Reid is so funny and witty, everything she writes will have you cracking up at the characters antics or personalities. Another auto-buy author for witty romance with modern characters.
I love this series!!!
I loved it