Review: Dr. Strange Beard by Penny Reid with Exerpt

Dr. Strange Beard by Penny Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC in exchanged for an honest review.

Another excellent addition to the Winston Brother's series. It is chock full of humor and romance. This one is a little different than the others. We got alot more subplot information in this installment than we normally do. We see alot of our favorite characters from the previous books, which is not unexpected because the Winston's are a tight knit clan. We get to know more about the Iron Wraiths, Isaac, Darrell, and where all of the Winston couples have landed as this takes place a few years after the last book. While most of the books read as a standalones, this has alot of plot points that would have left me confused had I not read the rest of the series first. It is the only book of the series that has read like this. As someone that has read the entire series and a huge fan of Penny's books, I loved it. If you haven't read the prior books, I'd recommend reading the previous 4 books 1) because they are awesome and 2) there are some pearls of Winston wisdom you will want to be armed with while reading Roscoe and Simone's story.

Roscoe and Simone were best friends until something happened when they were 16. The story of that night is eventually revealed and we come to find that it left both of them hurt. It isn't terrible its just heartbreaking for poor Roscoe, and he's held that heartbreak for far too long. Roscoe is the youngest Winston, so he didn't suffer as much as the rest of his siblings as they deflected alot of the abuse their father threw at them but he wasn't left unscathed. Roscoe has an eidetic memory and remembers pretty much every situation and conversation he's every had or heard. He used that memory to get through vet school and become a successful veterinarian and a d terrible flirt. He however has never had a steady girlfriend and never been able to get past Simone.

Simone misses her best friend, she never understood why Roscoe quit coming around when they were 16. She also has commitment issues because of some drama her sister created when she was a kid. She is now a successful FBI agent working in forensics, only right now she's working a case in her hometown as an undercover agent working in her mom's diner serving coffee and donuts. Simone is trying to solve a murder and no one can know she works for the FBI. Reunited with Roscoe at her mother's diner, Simone must rekindle their friendship in order to get close to the patriarch of the Winston clan. Unfortunately, Roscoe has no desire to get anywhere near his father, he does however have plenty of desire to be close to Simone. Simone uses her mission to get closer to Roscoe, but the lines between business and pleasure get seriously blurred as Simone realizes she really does have more than friendly feelings for Roscoe.

Can I just say I loved Roscoe and Billy's interaction in this book!. Billy is the 2nd oldest of the siblings and was the most responsible. He was basically Roscoe's dad growing up, and when Roscoe told him to go get some happiness for himself, that made me so happy. I can't wait for Billy's book, and it is about time Billy goes and gets some happiness because he's done enough looking out for his siblings. That part of the book was probably my favorite! The interaction between all of the siblings is always so great, but that one just pulls on the heartstrings.

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