Penny Reid 

There are three things you need to know about Ashley Winston: 1) She has six brothers and they all have beards, 2) She is a reader, and 3) She knows how to knit. Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston’s preferred coping strategy is escapism. She escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. Now she escapes life daily via her one-click addiction. However, when a family tragedy forces her to return home, Ashley can’t escape the notice of Drew Runous—local Game Warden, bear wrestler, philosopher, and everyone’s favorite guy. Drew’s irksome philosophizing in particular makes Ashley want to run for the skyscrapers, especially since he can’t seem to keep his exasperating opinions— or his soulful poetry, steadfast support, and delightful hands— to himself. Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she’s lost her heart in small town Tennessee. Beauty and the Mustache is book #4 in the Knitting in the City series, and book #0.5 in the Winston Brothers series. Each book is a standalone, full length (110k words), contemporary romantic comedy novel, and follows the misadventures and exploits of seven friends in Chicago, all members of the same knitting group.

An Enemies to Lovers Romance

Beauty and the Mustache

Penny Reid

This is a full-length novel, can be read as a standalone, and is the fourth book in the 'Knitting in the City' series. There are three things you need to know about Ashley Winston: 1) She has six brothers and they all have beards, 2) She is a reader, and 3) She knows how to knit. Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston's preferred coping strategy is escapism. She escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. Now she escapes life daily via her Amazon kindle one-click addiction. However, when a family tragedy forces her to return home, Ashley can't escape the notice of Drew Runous-- local Game Warden, bear wrestler, philosopher, and everyone's favorite guy. Drew's irksome philosophizing in particular makes Ashley want to run for the skyscrapers, especially since he can't seem to keep his exasperating opinions-- or his soulful poetry, steadfast support, and delightful hands-- to himself. Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she's lost her heart in small town Tennessee.

A Philosophical Romance

Ms. Mint

I still have to read Marie's, Fiona's, and Kat's stories, but this one's most likely my favorite of the series.

Siya S

★★★★☆ 4.5 Beauty And The Beard STARS !!! 

This is pretty much how I feel after finishing 2 Winston Brothers books in a row:



It's her second book and Penny Reid still rings true as my *spirit animal*, stronger than ever, even, so I’m quite looking forward to read her other books as well.

So, WHAT THE HELL AM I GONNA DO WITH THIS BOOK? I'm more than freaking out!! Ms. Reid has done it again: she hijacked my subconscious and managed to write down all my thoughts and dreams and fantasies (involving a hunky Norseman environmentalist with PhD – minus the poet part) and fears. It soothed my damaged soul, left me smiling like an idiots grinning to myself reading this on my Samsung Galaxy on my way to work, for crying out loud.

Ashley Winston


Drew Runous
If I have to give this guy a face at all, it'd always be Ben Dalhaus's perfect mournful face. *chronic le sigh*


OK, now let's get to business


  “Fire burns blue and hot.
Its fair light blinds me not.
Smell of smoke is satisfying, tastes nourishing to my tongue.
I think fire ageless, never old, and yet no longer young.
Morning coals are cool; daylight leaves me blind.
I love the fire most because of what it leaves behind.”

“What does the fire leave behind? Destruction? Death?”
“Ash—the fire leaves ash.”


*capital LE SIGH*

Ashley Winston left her Tennessee hometown 8 years ago and made sure to stay that way…until she couldn’t. Her mother got 6 weeks to live, and therefore she was back under the same roof with her 6 brothers again after almost a decade. Needless to say, she’s got a lot of explaining and atoning to do. 


  “It was the staying gone that pissed me off. I can handle your irritation and hard looks. Hell, I can even handle your disappointment, your anger, your sarcasm, and your screaming like a banshee about nothing much that matters. What I can’t abide is your apathy. Apathy between family members makes the blood they share turn to water."


But to her surprise, they weren't the same selfish assholes/ serial pranksters she had left behind and Ashley wasn't so sure what to make of it. With the terrible, cruel, selfish, douchebag personification of a father threatened to pick them apart, the Winston siblings had to come to terms with their history and stood stronger than ever against the very thing that led to Ashley’s permanent departure in the first place.


  “Ashley, did your momma give you my house?” My father was shouting now, and his smile was gone. Even in the stark twilight, I could see his face growing red.

“No.” I shook my head. “No, she didn’t. She left us nothing.” Nothing except peace of mind, love, memories, laughter, wisdom…and Drew.


To make matters more complicated, her estranged family had invited the mysterious Drew Runous into their lives without her acknowledgement. Her mother had high regards of him. Her brothers worshiped him. Damn, he even paid her mother's medical bills out of his own pocket! But with only 6 weeks to find out, and with her Momma’s fate sealed shut on her dying bed, would she be brave enough to risk not one but two heartbreaks when everything's over?


  Ashley Austen Winston,
You don’t know how deeply you cut when your intentions carry no knives.


Annnnnnd did I mention he made himself clear that he had no intention to become her 7th brother but definitely something more? Which could be a problem to Ashley’s tender ex-local beauty queen heart, of course. Would he dare look pass her appearance into the depth of her soul? Considering he, too, has bitter history of his own.

He was a giant heartthrob with long hair and golden beard (pls google BEN DROP-YOUR-PANTS-PEASANT DALHAUS to drool over, thank you very much). He liked to quote Nietzsche as a hobby and was a covert Lord Byron in the making. However, I had one problem with Drew since I'm not sure what to make of this guy. He seemed to be obsessed with Ash right from the start (he heard about her a lot from her Momma), and while the poetry book he kept was romantic (“field notes”), it was at the same time made me cringe in a mildly uncomfortable manner. I meant, dude sounded like an emo-angst lovesick kid. But then again, if you weren't ready to sound crazy then you wouldn't deserve to fall in love, I guess.

(And I'm not sure if I'm a big fan of the Winston’s family tradition of SAYING EACH OTHER'S FULL NAME ALL THE DAMN TIME. To be fair, they all have great literary middle names. It was cute at first, really, until they said it like every other pages and then it got super annoying. That and the creepy Drew-the-poet scheme cost the ¼ I deducted from the full score. )

The writing was of course hilarious and witty up to the standard. It was fast-paced, sexy and evidently with well-crafted storyline, like Penny Reid knew what the hell she’s doing. A great foundation for Winston Brothers’ individual books, Ms. Reid laid out background story for each of them much enough to spark my curiosity. Like I’m anticipating to find out more (*loud-whispering* BILLY PLEASEE).

Sub-plots and supporting characters were an amazing spice added to this recipe. The cameos from other books in Knitting In The City series also made some scenes hilariously touchy and memorable (e.g. ginger twins fantasy).

Beauty And The Mustache works 2 ways: one as the 4th installment to Ms. Reid's Knitting In The City series, and the other as a #0.5 prequel to her new Winston Brothers series. Please believe me when I say read this one (and kindly extend your literary experience to Truth Or Beard and beyond as well). It's beautifully written, smooth, and unpretentious. A well-crafted food-for-thought with recipe I'm 100% sure you'd crave for more.

Find out more at:
https://thebleedingeyes.wordpress.com/

Nicole Cousin 

Another awesome book from Penny Reid! I am really loving this series! It's everything to me <3 The swoony me, the badass females and the awesome friendships! Absolutely endeared by Ashely's brothers, which obviously makes me want to read the spin-off series. (as if there was any doubt).

I loved Drew, he was incredibly lovable on how he took taker of the family, and was there when they needed him most.

There are three things you need to know about Ashley Winston: 1) She has six brothers and they all have beards, 2) She is a reader, and 3) She knows how to knit. Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston's preferred coping strategy is escapism. She escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. Now she escapes life daily via her Amazon kindle one-click addiction. However, when a family tragedy forces her to return home, Ashley can't escape the notice of Drew Runous- local Game Warden, reclusive mountain man, bear wrestler, philosopher, and everyone's favorite guy. Drew's irksome philosophizing in particular makes Ashley want to run for the skyscrapers, especially since he can't seem to keep his exasperating opinions- or his soulful poetry, steadfast support, and delightful hands- to himself. Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she's lost her heart in small town Tennessee.

b.andherbooks

Ashley Winston has six brothers (all with great beards) and one beloved mother, a mother who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Returning home to help her brothers care for their mother, she finds out her mom has given power of attorney over to a friend of her brothers, a sexy forest ranger and a stranger to Ashley. Confused, hurt, and scared, Ashley tries to find herself while staying in the hometown she couldn't wait to get away from and the man she can't seem to help falling in love with.

A great introduction to the clan of Winstons, but I did miss the dual POV I've found in that series. I really wanted to get in Drew's head as some of his actions annoyed me. I did love that he wrote poetry though!

And again, these cross-stitch covers are heaven!

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


I started reading this book at the gym, which I discovered by the end of chapter two was a terrible idea. I always expect a fair few feels from Penny's books, but I wasn't prepared to deal with a terminally ill parent in public. I decided this book would be best consumed in private and quickly closed it. I did, however, pick it up a few hours later when I got home and proceeded to read it from cover to cover. Parts of it were sad and tough to take, but overall it was less emotional than I feared it would be. It was still respectful of Ashley's mom, but Penny found a way to make the book about so much more than the grieving. 

Despite the sadness surrounding the circumstances that took Ashley home to Tennessee, there were lots of light, sweet, sexy and even funny moments in this book. The scene where Ashley first met Drew had me literally laughing out loud, which did draw some weird looks from other people in the gym. I guess most people don't laugh while on an elliptical. Haha. I loved Ashley and Drew, both. Yes, they got off to a rocky start together, but I enjoyed watching them come together. They had tons of chemistry and that slow burn I love so much in romance. But, more than that, they became a source of support for each other as Ashley's mom's illness progressed. Of course, the biggest question was what would happen with them once Ashley's mom passed away and it was time for her to return to her life in the city. Would she? Could she leave her brothers and Drew? 

Ashley was a wonderful character. I could relate to her all too well. And Drew? The game warden with the soul of a poet? *swoony sigh* I couldn't get enough of him. While Ashley and Drew were the stars of this book, I fell hard for all the characters. Ashley's brothers intrigue me. I can't wait to get into reading the spinoff Winston Brothers series. If their stories have the same humor and heart that the Knitting in the City series has, I'll be thrilled. But first, I need to continue on with this current series. I'm going to be SO SAD to see it end, but I'll be SO HAPPY to get all the girls' stories. 

FAVORITE QUOTES:

  "He was both scary and swoony. I wanted to braid his beard. I also wanted to run away."


  “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Winston,” he drawled, extending his hand in a show of ironic southern politeness, like older church ladies use when they say “bless your heart,” and what they really mean is “you couldn’t find your way out of a small shed with a map, lighted signs, and an escort.”


  Reading, for me, was like breathing. It was probably akin to masturbation for my brain. Getting off on the fantasy within the pages of a good novel felt necessary to my survival. If I wasn’t asleep, knitting, or working, I was reading. This was for several reasons, all of them focused around the infinitely superior and enviable lives of fictional heroines to real-life people.


  With enough use, practice, and honing of skill, words were the weapons of choice used by exceptional writers and poets. Minds can be changed, hearts can be lost and broken, souls can be surrendered given the right words.


  My desire for Drew wasn’t a fire. It was a rainstorm. More precisely, it was a rainstorm in the wilderness of the Great Smoky Mountains.


  When you cried, I learned what helplessness tastes like. Because all I could do was swallow.

window

The first and thus far only Penny Reid book I've read was Neanderthal Seeks Human and let's just say that I hated that book with a fiery passion for many reasons. However, I'm on a mission to go through my TBR virtual pile on my kindle and I decided to take this one on. I bought this one back in 2018, around the same time as Neanderthal where it has now sat unread for > 2 years. Either it would be a quick DNF or I would finally realize why Reid's books get so many great reviews.

While this book didn't wow me, it was 1000% better than Neanderthal. The heroine wasn't a total moron who completely irritated the crap out of me, which was a vast improvement and the hero wasn't a controlling pushy alpha. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I rather enjoyed this book, enough to maybe give the Winston Bros a try. I think maybe I'm still done with the Knitting in the City series.

Beauty and the Mustache An Enemies to Lovers Romance

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