Beard With Me

Winston Brothers

By: Penny Reid

Narrated by: Chris Brinkley, Joy Nash

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

Beard With Me is the origin story of Billy Winston and Scarlet St. Claire (aka Claire McClure) and is just the beginning of their epic love story.

No one is better at surviving than Scarlet St. Claire and making the best out of circumstances beyond her control is Scarlet’s specialty. In an apocalyptic situation, she’d be the last person on earth, hermitting like a pro, singing along to her CD Walkman, and dancing like no one is watching.

Scarlet is clever, Scarlet is careful, and Scarlet is smart...except when it comes to Billy Winston.

No one is better at fighting than Billy Winston and raging against his circumstances - because nothing is beyond his control - is Billy’s specialty.

In an apocalyptic situation, he’d be the first person on earth to lead others to safety, overcome catastrophe, or die trying.

Billy is fearless, Billy is disciplined, and Billy is honorable...except when it comes to Scarlet St. Claire.

©2019 Cipher-Naught (P)2020 Cipher-Naught

WARNING CLIFFHANGER AHEAD

I love Penny Reid and all her books, but be warned- this is her first cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers. Why would she do this to us? Good story. But baaaad cliffhanger. I wish had waited to get it until the second part is available.

Beard With Me

I am a little confused, I get why we needed the back story to piece together all the puzzle pieces but I kept waiting for the present to come. Did I miss something? Will we have to wait forever for the HEA?

I mean don’t get me wrong this was a romance (no sex) and that is ok because HELLO she was 14 and he was 16 so I get it. But it doesn’t really leave us with a HEA. Or any real closure.

Maybe we will get it in the next book. I don’t know sigh.

I loved the narration, but again these guys are in their teens so it was a little odd for us to have the same narrator who is supposed to be in their 30’s in the other books.

Back to writing what people like to read

OMG thank you thank you. I enjoyed every book up until Book 5 which Penny decided to write about her woke-ness, and sad point is I never was able to read about Rosco & Simone. Thank goodness she went back to her actual job and that is "writing a story'. This one was probably one of the best of all the books. Really enjoyed the interactions of Scarlet and Billy. I met my Husband when I was 14 and he was 15 and we ended up dating and then splitting for 3 years and getting back together when I was 17 and he was 18 and we've been together ever since. 39 years of marriage. So to read about young love and their beginnings and written in a sweet and tragic way was enjoyable. So again Thank You Penny Reid, thank you for "doing your job". KEEP POLITICS OUT OF YOUR STORIES.........NO ONE CARES....JUST SAYING

My goodness

I never knew how much I needed this origin story til now. Penny Reid is an absolute genius at creating this Winston World. After all the Brothers books and falling for these characters, experiencing Billy as a teen struggling to support his family was so much more than I imagined. Seeing he and Scarlet connect. Seeing Scarlet work so hard to be invisible and survive, but Billy (and Ben) seeing her was so many feelings! I laughed (so much), was stunned at times and finally was brought to shock and sadness. I can’t wait to read the final installment of the series. And if you don’t recognize the amazeballs way Chris Brinkley and Joy Nash narrate these books, well we can’t be friend. Perfection!

Background story - another hit

I truly enjoyed getting the background on Billy, Scarlett, Jethro and Cletus. It explained so many little details from other Winston Brother books. Sad that she had to be but loved how smart & self sufficient Scarlett was. Also loved listening to how Billy changed & fell in love with her. And as with many of Penny Reid's books this one too made me laugh (a lot) & cry. It did end in a cliffhanger, but thankfully the next story is available. Looking forward to seeing how Scarlett & Billy get back together.

You can easily skip this one

I'm a huge Penny Reid fan, but this one didn't work for me. I think it could have been condensed into a prologue for the next book. It really drags and the pacing is off with the majority of the book taking place in the last 2 hours. There's also a real creepiness factor with both Ben and Billy being significantly older than Scarlett.

Unflinching and therefore heartbreaking

This gives so much backstory for all of the Winston siblings, some of their friends, and some future partners. This is the 3rd book in a row for this series that has hurt my heart with the sadness, the loss, as well as the unflinching look into some segments of society and the cost to families when it all falls apart. Well done Penny Reid - again.

Loved all the background

I truly enjoyed getting the background on Billy, Scarlett,Jet and Cletus. It explained so many little details from other Winston Brother books.

Beautiful!! A romance for the ages!

The entire series is great! I keep reading and re-reading it and always find something new to love. Billy and Scarlett’s story is devastatingly beautiful and complicated. As with all the books in this series, Chris Brinkley was superb - GORGEOUS voice, full of feelings. His narration grips you by the soul and never lets you go (crushing you like only Billy Winston could)! Joy Nash is also an excellent narrator, full of emotions and with impeccable comedic timing! She has been a joy to listen to throughout the series. Penny Reid hit is out of the park with this series and it had quickly become my favorite series of books of all time!

Never knew I needed something so much.

I've been waiting for Billy and Claire's back story. I had a feeling it was gonna be good. So worth the wait like fireworks. I needed that. Love how it ties so many things together and my brain just had explosions over and over. I could feel all the feels.

Moving romance between young people

I just loved everything about this story. It has all the deep feelings that teenagers develop for each other.
This is the beginning of Scarlet and Billy's journey and how their tender relationship was eventually torn apart.
I can't wait to listen to the next instalment and if they will ever get back together

🎧 Billy and Scarlet 🎧

Other reviews say make sure you've listened to all the books in the series before this one but, given that it's essentially a prequel, I'd say this one would be a great place to start. Either way, be ready for big emotions, and to buy book 7 to hear the end of the story.

Chris Brinkley and Joy Nash are wonderful, as always. (And Chris's inability to say "peripherally" has really grown on me throughout this series. 😍)

Penny Reid at her best

This book is really only suitable for a reader familar with the previous books in this series. And I have to admit it takes a very special writer to be able to write a book such as this, which is essentially a prologue, and yet have enough fans willing to read a book that can only be understood in context with the rest of the series.

I do believe that Penny Reid's books are best enjoyed on Audible and in this case the narration is perfect and adds so much to the understanding of the characters. Like many readers in this series I have been curious about the early years of the Winston Brothers and it was much more brutal than I expected.

This prologue is really heartbreaking, with the last few chapters being particularly difficult to listen to. However it is also completely addictive and I look forward to the next, and final, book in this wonderful series.

Loved this - part 1 of their story

This story is all about how their relationship developed when they were younger, and the next book will be when they’re older. We’ve got to know the characters in the earlier books in the series, but I absolutely loved getting absorbed and getting to know them in their early years. I didn’t realise this was a two-part story when I got it, but it left me more excited than frustrated.

Penny Reid is back! I’ve always loved this author, but the last couple of books have lacked something - but this one was back up to the great standard she’s known for. She’s so good at writing characters that feel so real. Really looking forward to the next book.