Truth or Beard

Winston Brothers, Book 1

By: Penny Reid

Narrated by: Joy Nash, Chris Brinkley

Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

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. She 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-headed 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 number one in the Winston Brother's series. Each book is a stand-alone, full-length, contemporary romantic comedy novel, and follows the romantic exploits and adventures of one of the six Winston brothers.

©2015 Cipher-Naught, LLC (P)2015 Cipher-Naught, LLC

A LOVE STORY THAT WAS SIMPLY A JOY TO LISTEN TO

Shame on me but I hadn't heard of this Author before so I took a gamble and I'm so pleased I did because this story was one of those listens that you just can't wait to dive and delve back into if life should cruelly call you away from it's mesmerizing pull. It was so well written and narrated I feel that I got to know all of the mixed bag of loveable main characters really well.... they were smart, feisty, shy, sassy, quirky, funny, honest, loving, humble, kind, generous, protective, had strong family values and each and every one of them had a loving bond with their siblings.

Jessica always hero worshipped Beau, he was her perfect man.... until a Halloween Party, a sexy Wizard's costume, mistaken identity, a scorching kiss and a dazed shocking revelation finally broke the enchantment spell Jessica had been under for years and, instead of longing for Beau's scorching kisses and passion-filled desperate touches, it was Duane's. And, as for Duane, he had known and loved Jessica for years but knew he could never compete with the open adoration Jessica held for his twin so instead he teased, provoked, fought, verbally sparred a took whatever he could just to be near her until a sexy Wizard's costume and a case of mistaken identity finally gave him the chance of more.... and he grabbed it, and Jessica, and took his chance.

And so starts a really sweet and fun relationship that was, unfortunately, doomed from the start because Duane wanted white picket fences but Jessica had wanderlust with the urge to taste, discover and experience new adventures. It was calling to her very soul but so too was Duane's arms..... therefore she blindly reasoned with herself that she couldn't afford to go yet, which left plenty of time to date Duane, she could also be honest, up front and tell him her plans, he would be ok with that, everyone would be happy and everything would work out. But it didn't quite work out that way because feelings got hurt, heart's got broken, life altering revelations got spilled, a Brother's return resulted in punches, a life threatening situation arose, a Biker Club caused major drama, blackmail and pulled at unwilling strings. Then danger loomed and, just when Jessica and Duane truly connected, misunderstandings, assumptions and someone's lies broke the HEA illusion and suddenly tears, rejection, heartbreak and shattered dreams was all that was left. However, it wasn't over because neither one of them was willing to let go or could walk away.

What a fun and entertaining listen this was with descriptive scenes that brought you mentally into all the action as this tender and touching love story played out as they foolishly set a misguided 'end date' to their relationship, their loving Brothers interfered, a nasty MC biker gang caused drama, an ex and bitchy Cousin lied and schemed and there was a dramatic tragic twist that nearly ruined everything. There was hot chemistry and sex scenes which were fantasized about and physically led up to but, alas, they didn't share in the explicit details. Dual POV's and a couple of great narrators who added the magic that brought each and all of the characters to life, gave every one of them distinctive voices that fitted with their personalities and each could be easily recognized as the loving words, deadly threats, lies, witty banter and general conversations seamlessly flowed.

Worth a credit? A love story that was well narrated, fairly light, often fun and amusing with a plot that took no time to get totally wrapped up in, it had great characters, was well written, included sizzling chemistry, warmish sex scenes, romance, angst, heartache, humor, emotional turmoil, drama and a HEA ending.... so what's not to love? Well worth a credit - six handsome, sexy and charismatic Brothers, one down and now five more to go..... yummy and bring them on.

3.5 Stars

3.5 Stars.

Truth or Beard is book 1 of the Winston Brothers series. I mostly liked this book. It was a good introduction to the characters in the series. Truth or Beard is told in dual first person POV for our two main characters, Duane and Jessica. This is a contemporary romance with a minor enemy to lovers and friends to lovers trope with a bit of rom-com mixed in. There is some mystery and suspense as well. The book takes place in Tennessee.

There were some minor things that really annoyed me, such as the fact that the characters were constantly referring to each other by first and last name. Seriously. We get it. Her name is Jessica James and his is Duane Winston. Jessica James was used 35 times. Duane Winston, 73 times. Yes SEVENTY-THREE times. Circumcised Penis was also way over used. I don't know why Jessica had to think of and discuss his penis by saying "circumcised penis" each time. It was used 8 times in that phrase and a few others by just mentioning circumcised. It got to be a bit weird.

I also thought there was a lot of telling and information dumping taking place and I would have preferred more showing.

I should probably mention that I pretty much hated Jessica in the beginning of this book but she started to grow on me throughout the story. By the end, I still didn't love her but I did like her.

One thing that I really liked was that there was a quote at the beginning of each chapter. Some of my favorites are:
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Lao Tzu
“Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you've never been, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.” Judith Thurman
“Don't let your luggage define your travels, each life unravels differently.” Shane Koyczan
“No matter how far you travel, you can never get away from yourself.” Haruki Murakami, after the quake

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending but it works well enough for me. This series is about the characters in a large family. There are 6 Winston brothers and 1 sister. The siblings are all close and loyal to each other. That in itself is a huge plus. I eat that stuff up. I recommend this book. I'm not going to jump into reading the rest of the series now, but I am open to reading the next book in the future.

Audible: I think the narrators did a good job. They were easy to understand and pleasant to listen to.

5 Truth or Beard Stars

Jess and Duane

I freaking LOVED it.

The scene with Jess and her cat and the litter box cracked me up so hard. I have cats as well and it was like it could so be true. I have 4 fur babies and I have to close the door when I shower or they would be the ones I would trip over. That was freaking funny to me.

I have a few very favorite quotes from the book.

"Hi Duane, I don't know weather I like you or not, and you confused the hell out of me but I'd like to buy you a piece of pie so we can argue about the color of the sky."

Oh lordy the first date was so very painful. Although I am glad she was so honest about what she wanted and didn't lead him on knowing he probably wouldn't understand where she was coming from.
She has a perfect sense of herself. This made me happy that she didn't want to hurt him but she need to be honest with herself and with him even if he didn't like or agree with it.

OMG, I have to just say the Dress Trap... lordy I laughed till I had tears. Girls we all know this struggle am I right or am I right!

There were many moments I wanted to shake Duane and his beard! ;)

I did have some tears with how affected she was over her aunt.. That was a hard blow to take.

"Sex-cartwheels.." Loved loved this expression.

And one last ok 2 last thoughts.. Cletus and this "You owe me pancakes, blueberry pancakes." I <3'd this so much, and then he keep asking how he got them to be so fluffy. <3'd that! Ha, ha.

And the interview, between Penny Reid and Chris Brinkley I loved that. I loved all the questions asked its something I would want to know from an author but don't have the nerve to ask and it was just totally awesome to see how she thinks and how the book came together. Really freaking cool.

Fantastic narration by the way.. I couldn't have asked for better it was soo much more then I could have ever hoped, a re-listen for dang sure!

*You don't have to like my review but its 100% my opinion, and I am allowed to have it.*

I love these books

I'm strongly tempted to jump the gun and not wait for my free credit for Grin and Beard It. I started with Cletus and Jen. Best sale deal I ever nabbed. When my next free credit came up I got Truth or Beard. I love this series. I laugh my ashes off with every book, and because of my own family history I strongly identify with the characters.

Joy and Chris are among the best narrators in the business. All of their different character voices are distinct and full of life. Their accents are spot-on. I'm actually a little worried that Sienna's narrator in #2 won't do her as well as Joy did her in #3!

Penny Reid is awesome. I'm really looking forward to starting her Knitting series, even though I'm a guy and it's written more for a female audience.

It is my belief that if more men read romance novels, then the female population of this country would be a lot happier and more satisfied.

Hated the accents

As a person who was born and raised in East TN I hated the accents. TN has a variety of accents but these did not sound like those I've heard after living in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville and even Memphis. As to the storyline I felt it dragged. Will not read other books in the series.

Terrible Terrible Terrible.

There is absolutely no logical explanation for them to just start hooking up at all let alone where they are when they do especially after the super detailed lead up history (or more like limited history) of their interaction growing up. I'm annoyed that i wasted a credit on this because i dont think i can even keep going to see if it gets any better. It just feels so amateur when the plot had so much promise and the intro was quite well written building a backstory but it just got sooooo bad sooooo quickly. Disappointing.

Duane!?!?!?!

Seriously can Beau just smack Duane up the side of his head and tell him to stop being so stubborn? This book is a gem, from sexy gandolfs to illegal car racing I never knew what to expect next!!!

Many graphic sex scenes!

I kept waiting for something to happen.
The characters were developed well but all were unbelievably nice. There always was a hint that bad things could happen, but never did. It's a long book, and I struggled to finish.

This is more of a "tween" story

It did start out good, great background story. Even though she is out of college, i felt like I was listening to the thoughts of a very young adult. I really wanted to like the book, but maybe its best for people under 20 who have no experience on how relationships progress.

A rating...

My Review:
Overall: 4.5
Performance: 4.75
Story: 4.25

Like all of Penny Reid's books, this is one that just makes you happier for having read it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This series is set around the Winston boys...there are six of them (and a sister who's story was featured in a previous series...I need to go back and read her story). This particular story features Duane. He's one of the identical twins.

Her entire life Jessica has had a HUGE crush on Beau, the other half of this identical twin duo. Oops...you can see where the beginning of this story begins. Because Jessica has never had any feelings, but disdain for Duane. They grew up together and he was always her tormenter. He never meant it to be vicious, but that's not how Jessica saw his treatment. As a result, she really doesn't like him, although he's been half in love with her most of his life (unknowingly, to her).

The other real conflict to the possibility of them forming a relationship is that Jessica isn't planning on staying. She is a girl with wanderlust. She has huge plans of traveling the world. It's her dream, and she won't settle. And honestly...and this is why I ADORE Duane...Duane doesn't want her to sacrifice her dream either. He doesn't want to hold her back, but his roots in this community are deep. He can't leave. He has an automotive business that he runs with his brothers. They're counting on him to continue there.

I love how the relationship progressed...from enemies to impossiblities to possibilities to all the things that love means. It's a beautiful story with so many underlying emotions. My heart...Duane owned it, all the way through. He was the perfect hero.

It was a fun book...so fun that I immediately got online and ordered the two other audiobooks that were available (and the sister's story from the other series). I think I'm going to enjoy this entire series. Yippee!

Love this author. Love Joy Nash

Very entertaining. Love this whole series. This genre is flooded with bland, forgettable books. Penny Reid tends to have that little bit extra which I love. Joy Nash brings it to life and makes me love the characters even more.

This book made me so happy

I just loved this book, and I had a huge a grin on my face virtually the whole way through.
All.of the characters are so wonderfully 3 Dimensional and relatable. Even though I'm English and have not been lucky enough to visit Tennessee, I could easily picture all of the brothers and the other characters too.
The book makes you want to root for Jessica and Duane to find their HEA all the way through.
Wonderful writing and fantastic narration by both narrators who did a brilliant job of bringing all of the characters to life. I can't wait to listen to the rest of the series 😊

Another great love story in this series

Duane has to fight for Jessica's love, overcoming the many obstacles that are put in their way. These stories are about the Winston family (6 brothers and 1 sister) who find their own HEA. The narrators did a fabulous job of bringing all the characters to life and I'm looking forward to the next instalment in this series 💕💕❤❤

I'M ADDICTED TO THIS SERIES

This series is amazing, I am totally addicted. I listened to Beard Science first and just had to start this series from the beginning, I fell in love with the Winston brothers.

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Duane and Jessica's story is childhood to adult love story. I swooned, laughed and enjoyed the ride through the ups and downs all the way to the hfn and I cannot wait to get more glimpses of Duane and Jessica in other stories as they prepare to take their relationship to another level.

There are 6 brothers and one sister in this series and each brother has his own unique character, Cletus in book 3, I discovered was a complex and lovable puzzle, Duane had the potential to be a hothead, he's a risk-taker, an adrenaline junkie but also a man with few yet deep and meaningful words, I cannot wait to discover more of these Winston men and the woman who steel their hillbilly hearts.

Brilliantly narrated, I would definitely listen to more in this series via audio.

Fantastic

Fantastic story with wonderfully written characters. The narrators captured the story perfectly. 5 stars from me.

Excellent Story...Excellent Narration!

I have never listened to either if these narrators before, but they were both excellent. I don't usually enjoy male narrators doing female voices but Chris Brinkley was not too bad 😉. Joy Nash is superb!
They story was also very sweet, with some raunchy parts too, but not so much that they take over the whole storyline, like some books do. It had a good story line and brilliant characters, which were all interesting and all added to make a truly enjoyable listen/read. I laughed out loud at some parts which got me some odd stares! I wish that I had realised that there is actually a book before this one....Beauty and the Mustache....which is also about the Winstons, albeit the Winston sister. I'm off to listen to that now!

Ok, but lacking sparkle

Its difficult to criticise this book, because Penny Reid’s books are so good that even something below her usual standard is still way above the standard of many other writers. So if I compare this to her usual I would give it two stars, but if I compare it to other authors I will give it four stars!

Confused? I was, because this book was pleasant enough, but for me it just failed to recreate the chemistry that is usually such a delightful feature of Ms Reid’s books. The H was in love with the h from before the book started, and declared this pretty much from the beginning, both to the reader and then to the h. As the h felt pretty much felt the same way, that lovely tension of uncertainty and anticipation between our couple was sadly lacking.

The conflict in this book was supposed to be created by an odd plot line where the H was a home town boy with roots and connections, whilst the h was desperate to travel, and experience the world outside of her home town. This just did not work for me. Unlike some readers, I did understand that desperate feeling of wanting to see the world – not just on holiday but as a working member of other communities. What I found surprising was the lack of understanding by others. Maybe I just don’t understand small town America. Nevertheless I could not see why it would have been so impossible to discuss a compromise right from the beginning (as they eventually did, at the end). The couple were both very young so I could not understand why her desire to travel was such an overwhelming barrier to establishing a permanent relationship.

Added to this was a weird side story about the h’s dying Aunt who, after her death, is revealed to be h’s mother. We had strong hints that a local biker was her father, but nothing more. It left so many questions. Why did the Aunt treat her so badly, but then leave her everything in her will? Who is her father?

The writing of this book was up to Ms Reid’s usual high standard, but I did not particularly like the dual narration. The female narration was pretty much perfect for all voices, but the male narrator has a fabulous deep (very sexy!) voice which unfortunately does not lend itself well to female voices, and I found this a jarring distraction from what was otherwise excellent narration.

There is a fabulous interview at the end of the audio with Ms Reid which makes me like her so much I feel a bit guilty for my criticisms above (!), and I am most relieved to hear that she is going to remain self-published and not allow established publishing houses to dictate changes in her characters. Her fabulous characters are what makes her books truly special and even though this book was not a favourite for me, I look forward to reading the next in the series.