I am so excited to share with you the Truth or Beard Blog Tour. This book sky rocketed to be one of my top 5 books this year. Penny Reid has done it again and I am desperate for more of this series! Check out more about the book, Tina’s Thoughts, read an excerpt, and make sure to enter the giveaway for some awesome signed paperbacks and swag!
Truth or Beard
Penny Reid
Winston Brothers #1
Publication Date: July 23, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Humor, Romance
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.
You can purchase your copy at the retailers listed below!
Amazon | Nook | Kobo | iBooks
When Penny told me I would love this book, I thought to myself I love all her books so far so there is no question about that. But when I finished that last sentence I understood why she said it. Some books are written and they have a part of your personality written in there, a piece of who you are and what you love. Truth or Beard is one of those beloved books and I will be forever grateful to Penny for putting pen to paper and writing one of my new all times favorites of 2015 and my life!
If you have read Penny’s Knitting in the City series, this new series is a spin off of Ashley Winston’s rambunctious brothers! I feel in love with these boys in Beauty and the Mustache and seeing them come to life in a new way is a book lovers dream come true. The first book in the series focuses on Duane Winston, the broody redhead, twin of Beau, and all around intriguing specimen of the bearded variety! As if he isn’t just a perfect hero, we also have Jessica, the girl bitten by wanderlust who has come home to teach until she has the opportunity to break free and explore the world. These two have a certain spark between them. Their personalities challenge each other, which allows the reader some fantastic dialogue and banter. Duane and Jessica may not seem to be two who should work in the beginning but Penny takes the reader into the deepest parts of who these two characters are and it is then that we truly understand that they couldn’t be more perfect for each other.
In this book, the reader is thrust into the workings of a small town, in which there is gossip, drama, and a need to escape. I loved getting to see more of this small town and how it functions. Each character is vital to the way things are. There is the sheriff and his deputy keeping order and continually keeping watch on those Winston Boys. The Iron Order adds an element of danger that gives the small town a bit of an ominous feel. There is pie baking, cook outs, strolls in the natural beauty, and drag racing. This small town, despite my wanderlust, is somewhere that I would love to be. Penny does a fantastic job of bringing a small town to life, filled with warmth, quirkiness, and drama.
One of my favorite secondary themes is the wanderlust that Jessica feels. I am a girl that loves to travel and see the world and hopes to one day explore the world around me, but life gets in the way and dreams are re-routed for a time. Jessica is living her life looking into the future, often missing out on what is in front of her. It was wonderful watching her balance what she has found in the present and what she wants in the future. When Duane invades her life, she is shocked at the turn of events and must wrestle with who she is and what she ultimately wants out of life.
Truth or Beard is an incredible romance, filled with danger, adrenaline, excitement, humor, passion, and family. I loved this book so much! The story was captivating and the ending was perfect. Jessica and Duane’s story is one for the best selling lists around the world and will forever be a top recommendation from me to anyone who will listen. I cannot wait to see more of the Winston Brothers and to see glimpses of these two in the books to come!
He gave us a crooked smile that looked completely delectable and mischievous, his eyes darting between us. “You can’t tell the difference?”
Claire returned his smile with a small one of her own. Beau’s charm was contagious and addictive. I’d once overheard my daddy tell my momma that the six Winston boys had inherited their father’s ability to charm snakes, the IRS, and women.
I was also smiling, although mine probably looked dazed and weird. I was thankful for the long gray beard around my mouth. I hoped it camouflaged my expression of dazed worshipful adoration.
“I’m pretty sure you’re Duane,” Claire said, then indicated me with a tilt of her head. “But Jess thinks you’re Beau.”
His eyes moved back to mine—somehow more intense, interested, and more piercing than they’d been before—and he swept me up and down again. On the return pass I saw what I thought might be appreciation, and that’s when I remembered I was wearing my ironic sexy Gandalf costume, which basically hid nothing except my face and hair.
The point of the costume was to irritate my daddy and Jackson, and amuse myself with delightful irony while doing so. I might no longer be the bratty teenager who left home four years ago, but I still enjoyed little tokens of rebellion against the overprotective males in my family. It hadn’t occurred to me until that very moment someone who mattered might look at me, my curves in this scrap of fabric, and see more sexy than irony.
“What’s this costume, Jessica? Are you a wizard?” His lips tugged to the side, but his tone deepened when he added, “I like it.”
The tenor of his voice paired with the words sent a new jolt racing through my body. But it was different than anything I’d felt in his proximity before. This wasn’t me going gaga for a childhood hero crush.
This feeling was…mature.
I gripped Claire tighter in surprise.
“She’s sexy Gandalf. She was going to be a sexy bee, but the shop sold out of pollinator costumes.”
Beau laughed—a sound that, for reasons unknown, I felt in my uterus—and reached for the beard at my navel. The back of his fingers brushed against my stomach as he plucked the length of synthetic facial hair from my inconsequential sheath of a costume.
“The beard adds a certain something…” He tugged just gently and winked at me.
Of course, my response was to stare at him mutely because the grin plus wink plus the light touch of his fingers meant I was terribly confused. Instead of outgrowing my crush, apparently I was now unwillingly compounding my adoration by adding new, very adult feelings. Some odd little corner of my brain briefly thought about the logistics of wearing this long white beard always, every day.
As if the book isn’t gift enough, Penny is hosting this awesome giveaway to celebrate her newest release, Truth of Beard! Enter this Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win the awesome signed books and swag shown in the graphic! I mean how amazing is this?! Signed books from Colleen Hoover, Amy Harmon, Daisy Prescott, April White, Elizabeth Hunter, LH Cosway, and a signed ABF shirt! This is one epic giveaway you will not want to miss. Good luck!
SEX! It all started with sex, between my parents. Personally I don’t like thinking about it, but whatever works for you is a-ok with me. No judgment. The sex happened in California and much of my life also occurred in that state until I moved from the land of nuts (almonds), wine, silicon… boobs, and heavy traffic to the southeast US. Like most writers I like to write, but let’s get back to sex. Eventually I married and gave birth to 2 small people-children (boy-6, girl-4 as of this writing).
By day I’m a biomedical researcher with focus on rare diseases. By night I’m a knitter, sewer, lino block carver, fabric printer, soap maker, and general crafter. By the wee hours of the morning or when I’m intoxicated I love to listen to the voices in my head and let them tell me stories. I hope you enjoy their stories.