Truth or Beard by Penny Reid (Winston Brothers #1)
Released: July 21, 2015
Contemporary Romance
Caped Publishing

Reviewed by May

Duane Winston has always aggravated Jessica James, always made her irritated and they always quarreled as kids. His twin brother Beau, on the other hand, always made her blush and unable to speak. He was way up on a hero’s pedestal in her mind and so she didn’t know quite what to do when he started chatting her up at a Halloween party.

That is, until she realizes it wasn’t Beau, but was in fact Duane that she had been making out with.

Less than five hours ago, he’d pretended to be his brother and I’d held his penis in my hand. I’d stroked it for hootenanny’s sake! I’d given him a penis stroke under false pretenses. I should be running in the opposite direction. Instead I was girl-stupid for a guy who thought I was a brat. He was right, of course. I was a brat sometimes. But I didn’t want him to think I was a brat.

Jessica really is a brat, and most of the time had me mildly annoyed. She’s pretty immature and her whole “I can’t live in one place because I can’t” obsession bugged me. Oh, I’m all for world travel and for moving regularly in theory but here it felt more like an immaturity and commitment issue deal vs an actual desire to travel and be a citizen of the world.

But it really didn’t matter, because:

Duane Winston

He was everything you want in a romance leading man. He’s got dirty ideas. He races cars. He’s got a scruffy beard. He loves his mama. And he wants to make Jessica James his girl. They settle on a one-year agreement (since she plans on leaving town shortly after) – and he wants the whole deal.

“You would have to go all in. We would go out to dinner, see movies, call each other, text. I’d work on your car – you know, the Mustang you left at my house earlier this week – install gadgets you don’t need ‘cause you’re my girl.”

Excuse me, while I swoon. He balances being a hot smexy mechanic with being a genuinely nice guy, and his conviction that Jessica and he would “be well suited” just made me so happy. I loved seeing a guy who is into a girl and not afraid to show it. He’s definitely got a wild side too – which just made me adore him all the more.

These Winston Brothers – you really want to read them. Aside from the winning cover and title (seriously, too cute) this was a really fun, funny, and light contemporary romance.

“There will be no bananas!”

“There will be entire tropical rainforests of bananas! And coconuts!” I gestured to my breasts. “And, hopefully, bananas rubbing against coconuts.”

You need to be in the mood for something light and silly, and you’ve got to love Penny Reid’s sense of humor. She can always make me laugh and I never say no to one of her books.

This story wasn’t a perfect one for me by any stretch – aside from being annoyed at times with Jessica, I also didn’t really get (or like at all) the “problems” with the local biker gang. I would have been perfectly happy to just hang out with the Winston brothers and their beards and just enjoyed all the silly moments, sweet romantic gestures (Oh Duane!), and story in general of how these two found love. The cast of supporting (single) characters sets up a lot of potential for this series, and I’m excited to see who gets to find love next. Overall I enjoyed this book, and again I say: Duane. He completely makes the story. This author writes some of my favorite fellas and has a really unique voice in the contemporary romance world.

Grade: B

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