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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Series starter alert! This is my favorite of Penny Reid’s series! The twin thing is a total draw. That’s such a fun jumping off point. But I love the country feel of these books and the sassy heroine who kicks the series off. 🙂
I know I’m late to the Winston Brothers / Penny Reid party – but I’m awfully glad I arrived. Adorable book. Can’t wait to gobble up the series.
This author has a quick wit and had me laughing out loud! However, the amount of vulgarity and explicit sex detracted from an otherwise interesting, sexy in a fun way, and sometimes hilarious story line. Would love to see Ms. Reid come out with a sweet and clean version of her Winston Brothers books.
Rating: 2.5 stars
So..I’m playing catch up here commenting on books of this series. Mainly so I’ll remember for future reference, since I plan to read all the books in this series in the near future. Let me apologize upfront for just grazing the surface here. This isn’t an ARC review, so I don’t have the luxury of time to linger too long here.
Folks, I normally absolutely LOVE this author. I find her writing style absolutely fantastic! She’s one of my top fav authors! This main couple though didn’t mesh with me so well. What I found here was a heroine (Jessica) completely head over heels, infatuated with the hero’s identical twin bro. Meanwhile, Duane (the hero) has been on and off dating/getting it on with a stripper girlfriend for five years (just because she was easy/fun between the streets) but dumped her (supposedly for good this time) when he heard Jessica was coming back to town. Finally going to make his move. What a guy! Uuggh!
I found Jessica to be whiny, wishy-washy, and very self-centered. She was all about what she wanted and her big plans, which would leave Duane high and dry. I’m not fond of a heroine who always puts herself first. She annoyed me like crazy.
The scene of these two skinny dipping in a freezing cold lake on a dare was ridiculous. Yeah, that would not have happened. For the love of Pete, at least make it somewhat reasonable by making it humanly possible. They would have died of hypothermia, folks.
Well, I guessed the conclusion. Jessica would get her way at the end. I confirmed this in Beard in Mind (Book 4), which I did really enjoy (featured Beau, the identical twin bro Jessica had the hots for).
Anyway, that is all…Sorry, I have to scoot! Not much more to say anyway. Maybe Duane did deserve selfish Jessica…considering how he strung the stripper girlfriend along for so many years.
(These comments are based on KU or a purchased copy. This is not a detailed ARC review.)
Big, bearded hillbillies are not my jam at all, so I was not prepared to enjoy this book, but man, did I enjoy this book! It was funny as heck, the characters were wonderful and the story was thoroughly engaging. I will definitely have to check out the rest of this series!
I love Penny Reid’s quirky characters (they’re so relatable), and Truth or Beard is the best kind of funny, weird, romantic read to put a silly smile on my face.
If you enjoy quirky, witty romance with ensemble casts–sort of like an indie Jennifer Crusie, but set in the Ozarks where many of the characters are male–check out this first in the Winston Brothers series by Penny Reid .
Plus, it’s free for a limited time.
Lovely beginning of a series
I enjoyed these characters and look forward to reading more about them.
Truth: The husband loves Penny Reid’s books. Dare: Husband challenged me to read one of her books. Truth or Beard was my choice. Challenge accepted: OMG!!!!! How could I have been so stupid. I have missed out on so many hours of entertainment. This will be a short review. I have so many Reid books to read before I can rest. Jessica James has crushed on Beau Winston FOREVER. Duane Winston, Beau’s identical twin, has crushed on Jessica for as long as he can remember. Tired of waiting for Jess; Duane pretends to be Beau one night. Talk about a recipe for disaster. The kiss is magic. The future is constantly changing. A !% Biker Club, Jess’s brother hatred for the Winstons, brother is a deputy all cause problems. The biggest obstacle is Jessica. The story has so much going on that boredom is not an option. The game of Truth or Dare becomes the chisel breaking down walls. I Dare you to read Truth or Beard. Truth: leave a honest review.
Just listened to the Audiobook. Loved it. I have become addicted to Penny Reid’s audiobooks. I laugh all the way through. I am addicted to the Winston Audiobooks 8/31/2021
This is one of those ratings that I am giving solely based on the joy I got from the book. Truth or Beard was just a hoot! I don’t know how else to say it. It was so much fun!!! I chuckled and I laughed outright. The neighbors probably think I’m nuts, but that’s fine with me. I spent many hours with this book in my happy place in my mind. I loved the characters and the plot!
I listened to the audio version of the book and I really think the narration increased my enjoyment. Joy Nash gave Jessica that voice that just says, “Hey, I’m a country hick!” That’s not saying she made the character stupid, because she didn’t. It just puts you in a local that helps you picture the setting and the characters. Chris Brinkley leant the super sexy to Duane that was the perfect balance to Jessica. The two characters together were incredible!
This is the first book I have read by this author and now I look forward to reading many more! I loved the romance in this story!
Am I the last person on earth to read the Winston Brothers? Hopefully. I hope all of you have been out there enjoying these bearded book boyfriends as one should, and not missing out like me.
However – if anyone else has been sleeping on this utterly wonderful series, you need to rectify the situation ASAP! In book one, Duane and Jessica are romance MAGIC together, and Penny Reid’s writing style is 100% my jam. At turns smart, funny, and gripping, this book was reading heaven and I simply could not put it down. You can bet I will be playing catch-up with the rest of her novels soon.
Engaging, fun, great story and characters you wish you could meet irl. Really enjoyable read
The characters were so unique, interesting, and well drawn it’s hard to put down. To write a book that incorporates humor so well, to me, requires exceptional talent and intelligent attention. I’m on to the second in the series and find the quality is upheld. So glad I found this gem of a series in morass of many authors’ lesser efforts. It simply stands out when something truly original and memorable is produced. It is RARE to find memorable characters.
good but long
Love all the books in this series. You will have LOL moments.
Yet another excellent story from Penny Reid. I loved it & couldn’t put it down!
Identical twins, outgoing Beau and reserved Duane, confuse Jessica, who has had a lifelong unhealthy infatuation with Beau and adversarial relationship with Duane. After a case of mistaken identity, Jessica is unprepared for the reality that is Duane’s pursuit of her, as she never thought of Duane as dating material and is scared that she could fall in love with him and forego her dreams of traveling the world. I loved the writing in this book, oftentimes thinking that the chapters from the male point of view seemed like they were really written by a man. It was a little hard to understand how a woman could pass up a loving relationship that could be lifelong for a life of traveling the world alone. Why wouldn’t it be enough to travel each summer but be grounded in a stable, loving, happy relationship during the rest of the year? I would have been very unhappy if the situation did not get resolved to a somewhat satisfactory conclusion! I enjoyed the characters and the relationship between the six brothers. I smiled often when reading the book and laughed out loud several times. Great book.
I’m finding myself truly enjoying Penny Reid’s books. She writes about women with brains and a sense of humor, feisty and full of life. The men of course are stubborn and well matched.