Beard Necessities: A Small Town Romantic Comedy

Penny Reid

Nov 2019 · The Winston Brothers Series Book 10 · Cipher-Naught

About this ebook

Billy Winston’s family is going to see him happy and in love if it’s the last thing they do.

No one deserves a happily-ever-after quite as much as the second oldest Winston brother and his lady love, Claire McClure (aka Scarlet St. Claire). Cruelty and circumstance tore them apart almost twenty years ago. Secrecy and bitterness kept them separated.

But you know who’s tired of their separation and stubbornness? Everyone. Especially Billy Winston’s family. And now they’re going to do something about it.

Well-meaning interference means the star-crossed lovers can’t stop tripping over each other in the hills of Tuscany, the catacombs of Rome, and the waterways of Venice. Billy and Claire find themselves thrown together and at the mercy of the Winston siblings’ shenanigans.

But will their forced proximity bring them together? Or push them even further apart?

This second-chance romance brings back the entire Winston gang, playing cupid in one last story of love, hi-jinks, and family collusion.

BEARD NECESSITIES is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, and can be read as a stand-alone, but it’s probably best read after books 0.5, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the Winston Brothers series.

Ratings and reviews

I cannot believe the time has come to say goodbye to the Winstons. Beard Necessities is a bittersweet farewell to a truly amazing series with some of the quirkiest, lovable characters ever created. Thank goodness they get to make cameo appearances in other Smartypants Romance stories. Although it was a sad farewell to the series it was also an uplifting and inspiring love story which desperately needed a happily ever after – Billy and Scarlet. All of the loose ends from the series as a whole are tied up within Beard Necessities but the true focus is on Billy finding the happiness he truly deserves. With an intense love that has spanned almost two decades and a little bit of family meddling, Billy and Scarlet finally face the emotions, barriers and heartbreak between them. While Beard in Mind gave insight into the connection and devastation between Scarlet and Billy, Beard Necessities fills in the blanks of events from Scarlet’s departure from Green Valley to the present. Including some eye-openers with regard to Scarlet’s relationship with Ben McClure. With so much baggage accumulated between them, Scarlet and Billy have a lot of issues to work through before they can truly submit to a relationship. Maturity and the benefit of hindsight aid in their quest for happiness. There are a lot of swoon-worthy moments between Scarlet and Billy to balance out the emotional outpouring. It is truly humbling to believe in a love so powerful that it could withstand the test of time and their own individual imperfections including Billy’s propensity to martyrdom. I am not quite willing to let this family go and will be popping back to the homestead to visit regularly ❤ Plus I am very excited for Jenn and Cletus’ new series!!!!

I am going to admit, I was apprehensive when I saw this book on my Kindle. I knew it was Billy and Scarlet's story and I was excited to finally read it. But I was also sad because I knew that this was the end....the bittersweet end of the Winston Brothers novels... Reading Scarlet and Billy's story was like coming home again. Being welcomed into the amazing Winston family. Whether it was it Green Valley, Tuscany, Italy or Nashville. This story truly shows the meaning of your home is where your heart is. It's not the bricks and wood that make up a cabin or a house. It's the people, it's the love and that's everything. The years of miscommunication, misunderstandings and secrets between Scarlet and Billy were just too many to count. The love that had simmered between these two was beyond amazing. A true testament to the writing genius of Ms. Reid is that even with the years separating and the anger and frustration between Scarlet and Billy, it had to be that way to make their beautiful happy ending just so much more brilliant. I will admit when I finished reading this final story of the Winston Brothers (and sister, because Ashley is a force to be reckoned with), I got a bit weepy, a bit nostalgic and then I smiled when I realized, I didn't have to say goodbye forever. I could pick up Truth or Beard and start the magical journey all over again! Thank you, Ms. Reid, for creating this world and this family and letting your readers be a part of it!

I can't believe this is the last book in the Winston series! It went out with a bang for sure. I was instantly drawn into this one. If anyone deserves a HEA it's Billy and Claire. Everything those two have gone through at a young age they deserve a second chance at what should have been. Even all of those Winstons are going to meddle to help out their brother and friend. There are so many funny moments that will make you laugh. Then there are moments that will just hit you in the heart. The emotions just roll off these characters and as a reader you can feel them too. The epilogue is everything for me. It made my heart feel so full to see where everyone in the family is at. How big the family is grown. This is a must read book!

About the author

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Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of the Winston Brothers and Knitting in the City series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she writes kissing books. Penny is an obsessive knitter and manages the #OwnVoices-focused mentorship incubator / publishing imprint, Smartypants Romance. She lives in Seattle Washington with her husband, three kids, and dog named Hazel.

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