Name: Krystal Pollock's review of Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid
Item: Grin and Beard It
Rating: 4
Author: Krystal Pollock

Penny Reid

"Sienna Diaz is everyone's favorite 'fat' funny lady. The movie studio executives can't explain it, but her films are out-grossing all the fit and trim headliners and Hollywood's most beautiful elite. The simple truth is, everyone loves plus-sized Sienna. But she has a problem, she can't read maps and her sense of direction is almost as bad as her comedic timing is stellar. Therefore, when Sienna's latest starring role takes her to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park she finds herself continually lost while trying to navigate the backroads of Green Valley, Tennessee. Much to her consternation, Sienna's most frequent savior is a ridiculously handsome, charming, and cheeky Park Ranger by the name of Jethro Winston. Sienna is accustomed to high levels of man-handsome, so it's not Jethro's chiseled features or his perfect physique that make Sienna stutter. It's his southern charm. And gentlemanly manners. And habit of looking at her too long and too often. Sienna has successfully navigated the labyrinth of Hollywood heart-throbs. But can she traverse the tenuous trails of Tennessee without losing her head? Or worse, her heart?" -- p. [4] of cover

Grin and Beard It

Krystal Pollock

From the NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, & USA TODAY bestselling series Sienna Diaz is everyone’s favorite “fat” funny lady. The movie studio executives can’t explain it, but her films are out-grossing all the fit and trim headliners and Hollywood’s most beautiful elite. The simple truth is, everyone loves plus-sized Sienna. But she has a problem, she can’t read maps and her sense of direction is almost as bad as her comedic timing is stellar. Therefore, when Sienna’s latest starring role takes her to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park she finds herself continually lost while trying to navigate the back roads of Green Valley, Tennessee. Much to her consternation, Sienna’s most frequent savior is a ridiculously handsome, charming, and cheeky Park Ranger by the name of Jethro Winston. Sienna is accustomed to high levels of man-handsome, so it’s not Jethro’s chiseled features or his perfect physique that make Sienna stutter. It’s his southern charm. And gentlemanly manners. And habit of looking at her too long and too often. Sienna has successfully navigated the labyrinth of Hollywood heart-throbs. But can she traverse the tenuous trails of Tennessee without losing her head? Or worse, her heart? ***** Read the entire Winston Brothers series! Beauty and the Mustache Book #0.5 USA Today Bestseller Truth or Beard Book #1 USA Today Bestseller Grin and Beard It #2 USA Today Bestseller Beard Science #3 USA Today Bestseller Beard in Mind #4 USA Today Bestseller Dr. Strange Beard #5 New York Times Bestseller Beard with Me #5.5 (Coming September 2019) Beard Necessities #6 (Coming October 2019) ***** Topics: movie star, movie star romance, celebrity romance, plus size romance, Latina romance, multi cultural Romance, interracial romance, southern romance, small town, series, geek romance, nerdy girl romance, nerdy girl, geek girl, romantic comedy series, comedy, comedy series, funny romance, laugh romance, modern romance, urban romance, Tennessee, Tennessee romance, USA today, new york times bestselling author, USA today bestseller, free USA Today bestseller, small town romance, friends to lovers romance, smart romance, something funny to read, lighthearted romance, light romance, hot romance, Penny Reid, penny reid romance, beard romance, bearded, wanderlust romance, romantic comedy books, romance books, romance for adults, romance books, contemporary romance, funny romance, funny romance, funny books, comedy books free, rom com, hilarious, romance series, romance books, beach reads, new adult, college, funny, female, stories, sensual, sensual romance, alpha male, hot guy, racy, sexy, heartwarming, heart-warming, family, love, love books, kissing books, emotional journey, contemporary, contemporary romance, romance series, long series, long romance series, bearded hero, sassy, captivating romance, hot, hot romance, mistaken identity romance, sparks, loyalty, swoon, bearded brothers, saga, strong heroine, plus size heroine, plus sized heroine, funny heroine

A Small Town Romantic Comedy

celene

3.5
so here’s the deal:
1. cletus is still #1 in my heart (atm),,, he’s such a comedian lol,,, man,,, cletus and his sausages bwahahaha,,, and omg cletusjenn im coming for u
2. jethro is the #2 that’s on that luv,,, that’s on that,,, he’s just so sweet and caring my acts of service butt loves it u have no idea u guys??? im-
3. omg the billyclaire tease y’all im shaking u guys???

Siya S

★★★★★ 5 PARK-RANGER-OF-THE-YEAR STARS !!! 


  
    “Think of how much better the world would be if people craved compliments about the beauty of their heart rather than the beauty of their face.”
  




OK, after reading 3 Winston Brothers books in a row it's safe to say I'm obsessed. Now at the third book I kind of start seeing patterns going on; beautiful protagonists with questionable stable financial security at young age; plunging into a pitfall of love real quick; unforeseeable clash of dreams/ideas/histories/whatever; tearful chunk of separation; great support from family and friends; no love triangle; and happy, always a happy ending. 

All of these are pretty skeptical for a cynical (realistic) soul like me, of course, but surprisingly I don't mind, really. Somehow I found her beautifully crafted story hopeful and radiate positivity in an unforced, unpretentious, and, most important of all, unannoying manner. Also, as long as it leaves me guffawing to death right in the middle of a crowded train during rush hour then I really don't mind at all. 


   So, let’s talk about this, shall we? Since it’s “a thing” for people. 
I am not skinny. Or even thin. 
In show business, I’m what people called fat.
 

Grin And Beard It continued with a hilarious, witty, lighthearted fashion we came to know about. In this second installment, Sienna Diaz, the ultimate "plus size" superstar. Of course she didn't won "America's Sweetheart" status from a lucky draw, Sienna had an attitude of gold, and she's multi-talented and funny as hell. Alas, she couldn't read maps, and therefore found herself lost in the middle of nowhere while trying to get away from all the Hollywood dramas and crazy workloads when our story begun. 


   But, hey, if Hollywood wants to make me the poster lady for positive plus-size body image, who am I to deny them? I love the way I look, and so should everyone else.

Do I give two fucks about my weight? No. I honestly don’t as long as I’m healthy. And I don’t know why it’s such a big deal for people, why they can’t accept the fact that I’m not hung up on my size. I look just like all the other women in my family, and they’re gorgeous.


But instead of a knight in a shining armor, Sienna instead met the (extremely) cute park ranger in a green pickup truck, Jethro Winston. Jethro who couldn't stop giving her the hot looks even though he thought her name was Sarah, that's right, the guy had absolutely no idea who she was!! And so a beardly, hilarious version of Notting Hill begun with two star-crossed lovers with nothing to fear but everything to lose. Especially when it came to Jethro's questionable past. 


  "But you haven’t shown any particular interest in a woman, or women, in over five years.” “That’s right,” I said for a third time, finding I needed to add, “but you know why that is, why I haven’t.” 

“I guess I do.” Cletus’s voice was gentle, deep in a way that communicated concern. “It’s just, I know we give you a hard time, but we see you’ve been trying to make amends . . . with all of us. Your efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.” 

 
Jethro had history, many of them involving carjacking and womanizing, all of which he didn't proud of. After the death of his best friend Ben McClure in Afghanistan become his final straw, Jethro decided to get his shit together and acted up like the leader of the Winston Clan he was supposed to be. Upon meeting Sienna, Jethro got to reflect a lot about his past, and it scared him so much how it might affect their future. 


  Jethro had been the disappointment. I’d been the clown. Individually we had become more. But together and with each other, we didn’t need to be our labels. We were free to just be ourselves.


*Le Sigh*

This book had it all; family, friendship, relationship. Not only we got to see Sienna and Jethro's tale unfolded but also a glimpse into Cletus's life and WHATEVER DRAMA'S BEEN GOING ON between Billy and Claire as well. It was fast-paced, romance-packed with a promise of butterflies fluttering like crazy in your stomach and a happy ending. This is my most favorite one out of the 3 Winston Brothers books coming out thus far. 

(view spoiler)[I still have a mix feeling about the ending because I'm not a big fan of marriage myself, let alone with the person you've just met like 2 months ago. To see Jethro and Sienna walked through that path seemed like an anticlimatic to me. I meant, people around me got married young and fast and so was their divorce business. What the hell? (hide spoiler)]

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

Habiba Herisha

That was amazing! 
But...I needed more,I mean in my own realistic way of thinking,Jet and Sienna won’t last. 
Sienna is just amazing,she’s carefree,smart,witty,and strong. 
WHERE CAN I GET MY OWN JETHRO WHITMAN WINSTON!???????? 
He’s too good to be true,that’s why he’s a fictional character!! :'(
And what about Claire ????? 
I ship Claire and Billy , and I want to know more about their past !!

Nikki

Nicole Cousin 

This woman for real!! Keeps making amazing books❤😍 

I LOVED this book. Sienna was so incredibly funny, and real. Definitely loved that she was Latina, and not a walking stereotype. Jethro was ufff soo much depth with him. I appreciated his character and his overcoming. 

Penny definitely does not follow the regular romantic comedy formula. And I absolutely ADORE that about her novels. This one is not an exception. 

As always, you laugh, you really get to root for these characters. You might not completely understand their backgrounds and are so different to you but somehow they are SO relatable. I cannot recommend enough!!!

Sarah Hayes

Started reading at 9pm. Finished at 1.45am. What can I say? It's was a good read.

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


Well, I am SO LATE in writing this review I'm actually embarrassed. I've also now read the book twice, so I figured it was high time to put some of my thoughts about this book out into the world. Starting with this one: I loved it.

I'm totally in love with the Winston family. I suspected as much after I was first introduced to them when I read 
  Beauty and the Mustache
 alllllll those months ago, but it's definitely been confirmed now. They're each so unique. They have their quirks. Some, you might say, are even a little strange. They also obviously have a fierce love for each other — even if they express it in sometimes odd ways — and one they find their person, they love them the same way, too. Life hasn't been all that easy for the Winstons, but they have each other and that's gotta count for something. 

In Grin & Beard It, it's Jethro's turn for love. I adored Jethro. His is one of the more complicated pasts amongst the Winston brothers, and while he certainly made some mistakes in the past, I wanted to see him happy. Movie star Sienna might've seemed an unlikely pairing for a guy like Jethro, who holds everything close to the vest, but they were so perfect for each other that I can't imagine him with anyone else. 

As much as I adored Jethro, I felt the same about Sienna. Yes, I took exception to her NOT disclosing her true identity to him sooner, but I also understood why she chose to keep it secret. After being wanted so long for her star quality, it was wonderful to finally have someone who just liked her for her. For who she was inside. Not for some quotable line in a movie or for what she could do for them or their career. Sienna was someone who loved her job, but hated the celebrity aspect that came with it. Finding a "regular guy" like Jethro was just what she needed. A real man. *eyebrow wiggle*

I loved getting lost in Grin & Beard It so darn much. (Both times.) The chemistry between Jethro and Sienna was off the charts. The sexual tension sizzled. I love love loved their flirting and banter. Theirs was a slow-paced romance and it worked so well. They were as funny as they were charming and they gave me all the feels as they worked towards things together. 

Penny Reid can do no wrong. Her books are the ones I find myself reaching towards when I need to escape from real life and enjoy some sweet, sexy and funny fiction. I even picked this one up on audio so I can reread (relisten?) to it again in the future. It's something I plan to do with all of her books — or the ones I haven't already — because they're such a joy. Grin & Beard It was a wonderful addition to the Winston Brothers series. I really hope you're reading this series, and if not, at least thinking about doing so. These books are the best! 

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FAVORITE QUOTES

  Driving while crying is like eating while crying, or having sex while crying: weird, wet (not in a good way) and dangerous. 

"And you've got such a beautiful voice. Seems a shame to waste it on Ranger when you could be saying Jethro."

"You think I look like a doughnut?"
"No, but I do find myself wondering what you'd taste like."

This was weird and I was weird. I wasn't used to being weird. I was used to making other people feel comfortable and important. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how to unweird myself. 

"Dance with me."
"Why?"
"Because you want me to hold you, but you don't know how to ask."

I needed to feel him, taste him, consume him. In much the same way I'd hoped Jethro would be insatiable for me, I was—in that moment—insatiable for him.

"More like she's the sun, and she makes every minute better than the last."

He made love like he walked. Like he spoke. Like he lived. With complete confidence and artless self-assurance. It was straightforward, passionate, and beautiful.

Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

Oh, my heart!!! Jethro and Sienna have stolen my heart and I never want it back. Seriously. I don’t think I’ve ever read a more charming book. Jethro and Sienna’s mad flirting skills have charmed my pants off. Grin and Beard It is for sure my favorite adult romance of Penny Reid’s so far. This sweet, slow-burn romance swept me away and had me giggling, swooning, and smiling like a lunatic. I truly never wanted this book to end.

“BY MOTHRA’S NIPPLES! I FUCKING HATE THIS MAP!”

Celebrity actress Sienna Diaz may be talented at comedy, but she sucks at reading a map. On her way to a site to film her new movie, she gets lost in the national park in Green Valley, Tennessee. Lucky for her, Park Ranger Jethro Winston is there to save the day. Even luckier for her, he doesn’t seem to know who she is. His gorgeous looks, bearded face, and charming manners stun her, but she gives as good as she gets in terms of flirting – and boy, are they good at flirting. They form an instant connection with each other, but what starts off as something light-hearted and fun turns into more heated glances and prolonged touches as they want each other more and more. Jethro’s the first man who’s ever made Sienna tingle inside, but no matter how much she wants him, once he finds out the truth about her… nothing will be the same.

Jethro is the oldest Winston sibling, and a reformed man. In his younger, wilder years, he was a huge player, and even got himself involved in some dangerous schemes with a biker gang. But he’s managed to change his ways – he regrets his past, but every day of his present is spent making up for the mistakes he made and the hurt he inflicted on his family. There couldn’t be a better man than the one Jethro is now – he’s utterly sweet, charming, and ready to banter with Sienna ever time he sees her. And he wants to see her a lot. She’s the only woman to tempt him in his five years of celibacy, and he knows that she’s a one-of-a-kind woman, one he sees so many possibilities with in his future. But what happens when the truth of who she is revealed?

Pleasing her—my woman—cherishing her, loving her had no comparison. Satisfaction, desire, fulfillment were woefully inadequate words. So responsive. So incredible. So . . . mine.

I adored this book so hard. The romance is slow and sweet, but the pages flew by for me. I fell so hard for Sienna and Jethro and the rest of the Winston family. I’ve got a HUGE crush on Sienna and Jethro, to be honest. Sienna is that kickass, hilarious, amazing, independent woman we all want to be friends with, and Jethro is a kind-hearted, reformed, family-loving man. These two are a match made in heaven, and every time they were together on the pages, it was magical. The banter, the chemistry, the love… everything about this romance was so well-written. Penny Reid simply blew me away with this gem of a read. I love love loved it!!!

Thanks to the author for generously providing me an ARC to review.

Quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change in the final version.

Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/1PzgrA9
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1UCwvjw

Krystal Pollock &
Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid

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