Buying all of Penny Reid’s Winston Brothers and Knitting in the City books means that I have ridden the roller coaster of her uneven stories. The writing is always fine, and often much better than that, but she hits more rough patches than smooth and doesn’t always manage her plot complications well. Those issues are dealt with, mostly, in Beard in Mind and along the way, the reader gets to see couples from previous books, including Quinn and (my favourite) Janie. One of Reid’s best […]
We Are All Our Own Refrigerator
This was not at all what I was expecting. Beard in Mind might be the best book Penny Reid has ever written. The lovely Mrs. Prolixity Julien and I have both put Penny Reid on triple-secret probation for sins against writing, reading and the Romance genre. We are harsh because we love and we want her to do better. Beard in Mind was doing better. A big huge thank you to Mrs. Julien for lending this to me. I will be adding it to my permanent collection. […]
Cletus Is Bold Choice of Hero Name
Beard Science by Penny Reid
A friend (it’s emmalita) and I have a running joke about Penny Reid that she is on probation with us, though we clearly keep reading her contemporary romances and seem to take turns actually paying for them. Reid was on secret probation, then double secret probation, then an unprecedented triple secret probation, before peeling back to regular probation and now she’s on “wait and see” status. That’s all a long walk to say that Reid’s work has been uneven, but can be very enjoyable when the […]
In which I am confused about how I feel
I have no idea if I liked Beard Science, the third book in the Winston Brothers series, or not. It is possible that I both liked and disliked it. I enjoyed it (mostly) while I read it, but as soon as I started thinking about it I had more problems. Penny Reid has not moved off my Approach With Caution list. I really liked the previous book, Grin and Beard It, but this one was more problematic. I liked Jennifer, she was no Sienna, but […]
Scaling Back from Triple to Double-Secret Probation
Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid
One of my romance compatriots and I have agreed that with this second entry into her Winston Brother contemporary romance series, Penny Reid has been moved back from triple secret probation to double secret probation, maybe even single overt probation. Baby steps. A family of seven children, the Winstons live in rural Tennessee. The lone sister, Ashley has found a partner in the novel I like best for the siblings so far, Beauty and the Mustache, and her brother Duane has had his time at bat […]
Then you look back at me and suddenly I’m helpless
YOU GUYS I can’t tell if I like this author or if she makes me want to stab my eyes out. I think it’s both? This is how I feel when I watch, I don’t know, True Blood. I’m simultaneously entertained but I also hate myself for watching it and I hate most of the characters. I didn’t hate everyone in Truth or Beard by I found myself confounded by many of their actions and thoughts and parts of this plot were just outright WHAAAAA. […]