Beard Science by Penny Reid

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Title: Beard Science
Author: Penny Reid
Series: Winston Brothers #3
Published by: Indie
Release Date: October 11th 2016
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 386
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Comedy
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2018 #LetsReadIndie Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 Beat the Backlist Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 New Adult Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER Winter Switch 2017/18
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound
My rating:

Blurb:

Make a deal with the devil and you might get what you want, but will it be what you need?

Jennifer Sylvester wants one thing, and that one thing is NOT to be Tennessee’s reigning Banana Cake Queen. Ever the perpetual good girl and obedient daughter, Jennifer is buckling under the weight of her social media celebrity, her mother’s ambitions, and her father’s puritanical mandates. Jennifer is officially desperate.

And desperate times call for Cletus Winston.

Cletus Winston is a puzzle wrapped in a mystery covered in conundrum sauce, and now he’s in a pickle. Despite being convinced of his own omniscience, extortion by the exalted Banana Cake Queen of Green Valley has taken him completely by surprise. So... what’s a maniacal mastermind to do?

Likely, the last thing you expect.

'Beard Science' is the third book in the Winston Brothers series, is a full-length romantic comedy novel, and can be read as a standalone.

My Review:

5 stars — Well would you look at that!!  I LOVED this one!!  Which surprised the heck out of me, b/c I was uncertain about Cletus in the previous books…he seemed…sociopathic in some ways.  Just too smart for his own good, and I was wondering how I was going to fall in love with him, you know?  But you guys!!!  I did!!  Maybe it helped that I wasn’t as in love with him going into this book, so I had lower expectations.  I don’t know.  But whatever it was, I’m just so happy.

And the thing is, it wasn’t just Cletus!!  I am so in love with Jennifer!!  She was just such a Lenore character…not in that she was like me necessarily, but in that she is the type of heroine I gravitate towards.  Someone who is kind, beautiful inside and out, but a bit of an outcast, and soooooo vulnerable.  She just hit me right in my heart you guys.  Her story was so rich, b/c I loved her right from the start, and I just grew to love her more as I saw her metamorphosize into who she was supposed to be…and no spellcheck, I don’t care that metamorphosize isn’t a word…I’m just going to write it again and again to piss you off.  *screech*  OK, back on track.  I seriously leeched onto Jennifer right from her cameo in Grin & Beard It (which I’d forgotten about, so maybe it was a good idea that I accidentally reread it).  I loved everything about her.  I felt how damaged she was from her parents, and how hard it was to break free from that, especially when she had no support outside her family.  I LOVED how smart and quirky she was, but it was accessible.  I loved how kind and sweet she was!  I loved when she could surprise the heck out of people with her hidden sass.  And I loved how she got to Cletus, and helped him to maintain his quirks, but with less sociopathy.

My one gripe with Cletus is that, for the life of me, I can’t picture him in my head.  There’s so much to him, I just can’t settle on anything, you know?  Not that that actually matters.  He was a really intriguing hero.  It was hard being in his head at first, b/c I figured out why he kind of scared me…for the same reason as Jennifer.  Because I think he took so much hurt from his childhood and bottled it up when he decided he could no longer outwardly lose his temper, and he hid it deep inside…and turned it sneaky.  I can honestly see how that happened.  It’s like an unintended side effect of trying to keep his temper under control.  I do wish we’d learned more about the incident he was talking with Billy about…but perhaps we will learn more in Billy’s book?  Or in the novella?  I hope so.  Curious Lenore is curious.  I LOVED how fiercely loyal he was to his family…and how much he loved them and wanted to (in his own twisted way) protect them and do right by them.  He had so much going on in that big brain of his, I can imagine it would be hard to keep it occupied.

In the end, I loved the way Jennifer and Cletus came together.  I loved that it didn’t start that way, but that it quickly grew that way as they got to know each other, even if they resisted.  I didn’t even mind the resistance, b/c it fit their characters.  And I loved how Jennifer brought balance and thoughtfulness to Cletus.  And I loved how Cletus helped Jennifer to realize how strong she already was, she just needed to tap into it.  I loved that they complemented each other.  And I loved their chemistry.  Don’t judge me, but I wasn’t expecting the steam to be so steamy!!  Sometimes I find it hard to imagine quirky geniuseseses in a sexy light, but that’s my fault.  Which is funny, b/c I’m no dummy, and I enjoy the sexy times.  Oops, TMI.

And OMG, so many good times with secondary characters!!  From the Winstons, to their other halves, it was just so awesome!!  Billy and Beau in particular had some swoony moments, making it harder and harder to wait for Billy’s book.  Seriously, whose idea was it to have his book be last?  Diabolical.

So yeah.  Other than the lack of sleep I endured when this book kept me saying “just one more chapter, just one more chapter”, which really isn’t a complaint, this was a deliriously pleasant reading experience.  I am so freaking happy that these Winston brothers are killing it for me.  I love falling in love with books.  Now onto the adorable and hilarious Beau!!  I can’t wait to find out what’s going on there!!