Truth or Beard
Winston Brothers #1
Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Humor
Caped Publishing
July 21, 2015
eARC
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 Jessica James, recent college graduate and perpetual level headed good girl, has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau Winston for most of her life.
His friendly smiles make her tongue-tied and weak-kneed, and she’s never been able to move beyond her childhood crush. 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. Not helping Jessica’s muddled mind and good girl sensibilities, Duane seems to have gotten himself in trouble with the local biker gang, the Iron Order.
Certainly, Beau’s magic spell is broken. Yet when Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who was always her adversary, now more dangerous than ever, how much of her level-head heart is she willing to risk?
Series Description:
Everyone in Green Valley, Tennessee knows that the six bearded Winston brothers have been imbued with an unfair share of charm and charisma… and are prone to mischief.
Truth or Beard is book #1 in the Winston Brother’s 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.
I was never a fan of beards, until Duane Winston.
Holy moly.
I just fell into a pit called “Winston Brothers” and I don’t think I want to go back, because Penny Reid has done it again.
Duane Winston has always been the misunderstood twin because while everyone sees him as temperamental and hard-to-please twin they would see Beau Winston,his twin, as the friendly one. The easy-to-like/love twin. Which was also the same reason why our wanderlust heroine, Jessica James, had a long time crush on Beau. But after a night of a mistaken identity fiasco, Jess was finally seeing a different side of her history with Duane.
Seeing Duane and Jessica’s relationship unfold was a delight to read. Being a part of a small town meant that they grew up together and knew each other since they were little, so seeing Jessica’s stereotype of Duane getting shattered was amusing. It was like I was also there, seeing a different side of Duane. So in addition to feeling like being in Jessica’s place, I also fell in love with Duane. His character was totally unexpected because I never expected him to be this kind of gentleman. Getting to know Duane was like peeling onions and discovering a lot of surprises. He was a planner and very calculative but was also very lovable and I wanted him for myself. Penny Reid did her tricks again and put wild, sexy and gentle in one male character and made it work.
Of course their relationship wouldn’t have been legit without complications, and that would be Jessica’s dream to travel and live the world. She doesn’t just dream of seeing a lot of places, she also wants to live it. Be spontaneous. The only reason she’s home was because she had save to pay up her student loans and save for her dream, she never expected that she’d have another reason for her dream to be put on hold.
But love is the greatest adventure, where you risk the most for the greatest reward. What good will all this exceptional living do if you’re doing it only for yourself?
So how can a planner and a spontaneous have a happy ever after? Don’t ask me, read the book. 
You don’t ask someone you love to give up on her dreams!
Truth or Beard wasn’t hard to love. It has everything a reader who’s on a bad reading slump(ME) needs, romance, wit, humor, steam and a LOT of swoon worthy moments. There were twists I never expected to see from this book and I hope there will be a follow-up on what happened because it can’t just end there. I might spam the author’s mail if I don’t get answers lol. Nevertheless, this book was definitely worth a try. If you know Reid then you know you won’t be disappointed, and if you don’t know her then I think it’s time you get acquainted with her and her adorable books.
This book easily landed a spot on my 2015-favorites list, and not just because it was written by a favorite author, but because it was so lovely written I wish there was more pages to read. I was looking for more answers because the ending kind of felt abrupt but knowing how Penny Reid writes, I expect my questions answered on her next books. So please, follow my advise, reading slump or not go read this now.
If you’ve read Beauty and the Mustache then you’ll have a preview of who these Winston Brothers are, but don’t worry you can read this too even if you haven’t read BatM.(But if I were you I’d read every Penny Reid book :D)