Review: Truth or Beard by Penny Reid

Truth or Beard by Penny Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In true Penny Reid fashion, this is awesome. The Winston Brothers are hilarious and I loved getting to know Duane in this one. I also loved that we got more of the rest of the Winston clan, we get to know Beau, Duane's identical twin, Cletus, their older brother and business partner, Billy is around but not involved too much, and Jethro is around at the end. If you've read Beauty and the Mustache, this takes place after Ashley goes back to Chicago while Jethro and Drew are away in the Appalachians doing their game warden thing. The two stories reunite towards the end.

I was in a foul mood when I started reading this the other day, which is why I picked a Penny book. I knew reading one of her books would cheer me up, and the Winston's did just that. Shortly after starting the book, I was feeling better and laughing at Duane's antics with Jess. Jess has always thought she was "in love" with Beau Winston, he's the nice twin, the safe twin. Duane has always played pranks on Jess growing up, he has dangerous hobbies like dirt track racing, and driving fast. Growing up with the Winston boys, Jess knows both brothers and has pulled plenty of pranks on Duane to get back on him for his antics towards her. Now everyone is all grown up, and Jess runs into Duane on Halloween, but she isn't quite sure which twin he is but she thinks he's Beau. Duane is happy to take advantage of the situation playing along until things get a little heavy, then he tells her his identity and Jess is rightfully angry. The pair continue to bicker and fight, but they eventually can't deny that they are as Duane would say suited for each other.

Jess is the local high school calculus teacher, but she has big plans to travel after her student loans are paid off and she's saved up some money. She wants to travel the world and see where life takes her. Her family thinks that is a terrible idea. Duane's whole family minus his sister, lives in the family house. He and his brothers own an auto repair shop and he's happy where he's at, though he does like to spice by racing on the local dirt track. When Duane and Jess decide to make a go of things, she tells him that she plans to leave eventually. They decide to try to make things work for a year and only a year.

Enter the monkey wrench...Jess' Aunt passes away and her family has to deal with the aftermath of her death. This means major changes for Jess and puts major strain on Jess and Duane's relationship. Meanwhile, Duane is approached by the local biker gang with an attempt to blackmail the Winston family. You see their father was a member of the Iron Wraiths the local biker gang, and the eldest of the brothers Jethro was not always and upstanding citizen. Jethro has turned things around and he's working as a park ranger or a game warden (can't remember which, sorry). The Iron Wraiths keep trying to pull the Winston's into their shady business dealings and use the people they care about to get them to do their dirty work. I like how the drama gets resolved, its pretty witty and not a convenient rushed ending. The ending feels complete with most of the strings tied up nicely. I felt happy and content when I was done with this book, which was exactly what I needed and exactly what I knew I'd get from Penny Reid and the Winston's.

I can't wait to get to know more of the characters that we met in the story. I loved Claire, and I hope we see more of her going forward. Ashley's book is my favorite and I hope we see her moving forward as well. I can't wait to get to know the rest of the brother's and see where the series takes us.

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