Truth or Beard: Winston Brothers, Book 1

Written by Penny Reid

Narrated by Joy Nash and Chris Brinkley

Falling for the wrong twin never felt so good . . .

From the NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, & USA TODAY bestselling series

 

Beards, brothers, and bikers! Oh my!

Identical twins Beau and Duane Winston might share the same devastatingly handsome face, but where Beau is outgoing and sociable, Duane is broody and reserved. This is why perpetually level-headed Jessica James has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau Winston for most of her life. Whereas Duane and Jessica have always been adversaries. She can’t stand him, and she’s pretty sure he can’t stand the sight of her…

But after a case of mistaken identity, Jessica finds herself in a massive confusion kerfuffle. Jessica James has spent her whole life paralyzed by the fantasy of Beau and her assumptions of Duane’s disdain; therefore she’s unprepared for the reality that is Duane’s insatiable interest, as well as his hot hands and hot mouth and hotter looks. 

When Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who was always her adversary, how much of her level-head heart is she willing to risk?

Truth or Beard is book #1 in the Winston Brothers series. Each book is a standalone, full length (110k words), contemporary romantic comedy novel, and follows the romantic exploits and adventures of one of the six Winston Brothers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cipher-Naught
• Release date: Nov 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781987122473

Penny Reid

Sign up for the newsletter of awesome: www.pennyreid.ninja/newsletterPenny 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.FOLLOW PENNY:Facebook: www.facebook.com/pennyreidwriterTwitter: www.twitter.com/reidromanceInstagram: www.instagram.com/reidromanceJust Released:December 13th, 2022: Drama King, Three Kings Series, Book 2Upcoming Releases:2023: All Folked Up, Good Folk: Modern Folktales, Book 3Currently Working On:2023: Pride and Dad Jokes, Ideal Man, Book 1

Reviews for Truth or Beard

[Kiara · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 rating. It’s a good book. I loved the narrators, and the characters.It’s a fun, funny and good listen.

[Sam Psalm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Duane and Jessica are people you'd like to have as family. Where Penny excels in creating a world her reiders can be lost in, Chris and Joy bring those characters to life with their creative narration. You are instantly transported to Green Valley, Tennessee experiencing these characters

[Lala Bubbles · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Duane am I right? Such a good set to a series.

[Jorgina Chambers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved everything about this book. The characters are great and i loved the narrators . Loved the ending .

[T. Rosado · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

5 STARS!!
With Beauty and the Mustache being my favorite Penny Reid book thus far, it's no surprise that I would also love the Winston Bros. spin-off. Well, no surprise to me, anyway. This is another 5+ Star, keeper-shelf, and will re-read book. As has been the case for most of her books. Penny Reid is one of a small handful of authors that I will buy their books sight unseen. They are just THAT good and I am never disappointed.

[Marta · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was a fun book and I could not put it down, but the writing was cheesy and the female narrator got on my nerves??‍♀️

[Karen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’m writing this review after rereading this series for the third time! Such a great story for the beginning…can’t imagine any other narrators than Chris Brinkley and Joy Nash…they’re the voices of Green Valley.

[Andrea · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’ve been waiting a long time before starting the Winston Brothers series and I have to say it was even better than I was expecting. I loved Duane. I loved Jessica. I loved the narrators who did an amazing job. The story, the writing, the humor, the suspense... it all came together to make an incredible book ! I just loved it.

[Liila · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this first book in the series! Gave me all the feels. I love all Penny Reid's books. They are so clever and I can't wait to read them all!

[Lisa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Penny Reid always delivers for me. I just love her characters. These narrators nailed it! LOVED them!

[Dori Miller · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was great! I love the brothers. Can’t wait to read more.

[Charlotte · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Duane and Jess have so many layers, and Penny Reid has a great way of making such complex characters. I fell in love with every side character, not just the main ones. At every turn, I was excited to see what the other characters decided to do or what they would say next.

Penny added in the biked club element which really brought another side to this small-town family. It added an element of mystery and I was intrigued about the older brother and his shenanigans that got them all into this mess.

I cannot wait to dive into book two. I do wish it was a bit spicier instead of fading to black but the characters were so interesting that I didn't mind.

[Tanisha Webster · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the music and car references! Has something for everyone

[Chanda Atkinson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’m trash for a good cover so that’s what initially drew me in to the Winston Brothers series, but I stayed for the strong characters and hilarious banter. This was an overall really enjoyable read/listen. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the things that popped out of Jessica’s mouth and was definitely rooting for her and Duane from the very first chapter.

One of my favorite things about this book was the lack of annoying tropes like drawn out or repeated misunderstandings and miscommunications. Penny Reid writes smart men and women. Of course they’re liable to make some mistakes, but they’re almost never eye-roll inducing immature ones. These women are strong, independent, and smart, and expect the same from their partners. No Mary-Sues here.

The pacing was mostly good, but I did find myself a bit bored in the middle. Once the action picked back up again it was fine though.

One of my favorite quotes is probably one of the most vulgar in the book, but I almost spit my drink out laughing at it when I heard it:

“Tina, honey, there’s more to you than your sn**ch. You have a brain upstairs; might be worth dusting it off every once in a while”

Audio review– Truth or Beard is narrated by Joy Nash and Chris Brinkley. Joy Nash was great and pleasant to listen to for the most part. She had great comedic timing, which is so important in making a rom/com work.

I hate to say though, I didn't love Chris Brinkley’s female voices. He did a perfect voice for Duane and many other male voices (except Cletus- to be honest I think he made Cletus sound like an old man, which will be awkward when it comes to his book). However, his female voices were so whiny to my ears. I'm going to continue listening to the series; hopefully the voices get better or I get used to them.

[Zion's Child · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a re-read to prepare me for the last book still enjoyed it

[Shalane Du Preez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was such a nice book. Great characters, felt like a movie.

[Brandyn Garvin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Liked that it wasn’t a “formula” romance. Great characters.