Beard With Me: Winston Brothers

Anyone who knows me enough knows I have been anticipating Billy and Claire's book for a long time now. During all these months of waiting and wondering, rereading the other books in the series and then wondering some more, I cannot lie and say I wasn't scared - terrified is a better word - to find out what happened between Billy and Claire. You see, these two had so many hints dropped throughout the other books in the series, that It was hard not to wonder and plot and be excited. I am so pleased to say that this exceeded all of my expectations, went beyond anything I could've imagined.Let me start off by saying that yes, while this is a standalone and can be read before reading any other book in this series, I personally would recommend reading the other books before reading this one. Why? Well, half the reason why I loved this so much was because we were able to see a side of these characters that we had never seen before, and already being fond of them just made it 10x more special to me. So yes, while you can read this one whenever, reading it already knowing them gives you that extra something, that extra feeling, that I don't think you would feel otherwise.When it comes to the characters, finally getting a peak at what is going on inside Billy and Scarlet's brains after all of the other books where we only saw them as side characters was definitely a highlight for me. I always had an idea of how these characters were, what their personalities were like.... but, in so many ways, they still surprised me.Scarlet is, without a doubt, one of the strongest characters I know. To say she has had a crappy childhood would be the biggest understatement, but throughout it all, she remains positive. She doesn't let it kill her spirit. She still wants to make people smile and listen to their laughs by telling them jokes, she remains herself. And that just really spoke to me and made me love her even more. We got glimpses of her strength in the other Winston Brothers books, like when she helps Jessica rescue Tina from the compound in Truth or Beard, or of her kindness, like when she helps Jennifer in Beard Science while barely knowing her, no string attached, but the magnitude of those traits really shines in this book, and it genuinely inspired me.Billy, on the other hand, has always been the biggest puzzle for me. He was always one of my favorites, mostly because with the things we were already aware of about him, it was hard not to have a soft spot for his selfless and caring heart. This shows tenfold in this book. Everything he gave up to take care of his family, all the responsibilities he has to accept, responsibilities that no sixteen year old should have to carry on their shoulder. His love for his family shines throughout this story to the point where it blinds you.. That's the strength in which he loves his family."Billy Winston, you're one of the good ones. You take my breath away. You've stolen my heart." No other quote describes my feelings for Billy as well as this one. Oh Billy. <3With all of those responsibilities he carries on his shoulder daily, Billy has a hard time loosening up. Trusting. Being his age. But as he starts to spend more time with Scarlet, you see his armor be shed little by little, you see him loosen up and smile and you see him act sixteen years old, not thirty six.Billy and Scarlet are the definition of fierce first love. They fall for each other head first, and in an incredibly short period of time. But that's the thing with these two: it makes sense. Two broken teens, with so much burden on their shoulders at an already young age, who never met anyone who truly understood what they went through. Not until they meet each other. And the most beautiful thing about their relationship is that they become each other's comfort and safe place. Billy teaches Scarlet that it is ok to have dreams, while with Scarlet, Billy is finally able to loosen up. Finally able to forget his burdens and just be his age.Their story is beautiful, but so sad. It is sad because you can't help but think about what would've happened if circumstances had been different for these two. You can't help but look into their future and wonder if, things had gone differently, if their situation was different, maybe they would've been growing up together, maybe they would've built a family at this point. And thinking about these things not only makes me sad, but also excited for what comes next. For their happily ever after, that is more than deserved at this point. They truly earned it.Another thing I loved about this book was seeing a glimpse of the Winstons at a young age. Specially Cletus. Hearing about Cletus at fifteen and reading about it are two completely different things, and this was most certainly an experience for me. Seeing Bethany too, was such a highlight for me. I loved her so incredibly much in Beauty and the Mustache, and having more of her kind and strong self in this book was without a doubt a plus.I truly believe this is one of Penny Reid's best books. I've read almost everything by her so far, and this is definitely up there with one of her bests. A gift to anyone who loves the Winstons and would love to know about about their origins. About the past that shaped them into becoming the wonderful men we know and love.Without a doubt, this book just made me more excited for Billy and Claire's HEA. No one deserves to have a happy ending more than they do, and I am beyond excited to see them finally be with each other again after so many years so yearning and longing. I am so happy to see that most of my questions have been answered (I still have so many though!), but I am also so ready to see these character happy and together, finally.

My heart 😭 & to think I almost didn’t read it after the foreword. So, so good. And so, so worth it.

If we're being completely honest, I have no clue how to start my review of this novel... so maybe let's begin with some basic informations... this is part of the Winston brothers series and each story in it revolves around a different Winston sibling and their significant other :) they are a bunch of really fantastic contemporary romances and I highly recommend you them :) even though technically all of the can be read as standalones, I would advise you to read them in order... as in publication order... and here's why that's important... this particular novel, even though chronologically speaking it should be the first one, cause it happens when all of them are still kids, I think should be read like it was published, as in after book #5... I believe it will be a better experience for you if you already know these people as adults, especially because this one does not end well... let me explain...This is a prequel story to the conclusion of the series that goes live in less than two months... you know, the one about Billy Winston and Scarlet (or Claire, depends how you want to call her)... if you are a fan of the series, you already know that they both have feelings for each other, but they are not together... throughout the previous books there were glimpses and little teasers that all of that can be traced to something that happened in school... and I was very curious to finally get to know that story... and... well... I expected something more... or different... they don't spend that much time together... it's basically about one week... and it's hard for me to believe that just from that little time these strong feelings started that will overshadow both of their lives for so many years... I mean... they are both young (Scarlet is 14,5 and Billy about two years older than her) and I do remember that a lot of stuff feels monumental and like the end of the world at that age, so I don't blame them for the intensity of everything at the time... but I already know where it leads... and it feels like too much based on what happened... it feels like more of an obsessive sort of feelings and not real love... it's hard to explain without spoilers but I will do my best... both of them, even at that young age dealt with some mature and very hard stuff... we're talking a lot of pressure and responsibilities as well as different sort of abuse... so they are both more mature than you might think just based on their age... but at the same time, they are still young and sometimes react in a way that teenagers react to things... it's very difficult for me to rate this novel because it's not the end of their story, and I feel like once I read the last book in this series and see how their journey will end, then I might change my mind about this installment... because even though I have some issues about it, depending on how it will be handled in the next book, it might either be a great prequel showing flawed characters who later on finally learn to deal with all of this... or it will be a not-really-necessary addition to the series, because they will keep repeating the same mistakes... you can see my dilemma... *sighs heavily* so I decided to give this story a neutral 4 stars as I am waiting for the last novel to come out... once I read that one I have a feeling I will go back and edit this review, mabe even changing my rating along the way... it's hard to say what will happen, but I am doing my best to manage my expectations... because on the one had these types of second-chance romances are not my thing, but on the other hand, I have a lot of respect and trust for Penny Reid as an author, so I am patiently waiting to see how she will tell their story... there is a lot of potential for some really amazing things here and I hope we get to see that... that's all I can give you right now... besides this last warning: be prepared to cry and have your heart broken while reading this book, because as much as I had some issues with it, Penny's writing style is phenomenal and it made me very emotional while I was reading it... I couldn't handle reading too much in one sitting because it was too hard... it's a very sad story, so I am looking forward to see their happy ending soon...

At the very beginning author provides short note, explaining why this book is different from others. First of all, it described events that are taking place many years before all other books (Billy is 16, Cletus 15 and so on). Second of all it does gave you an insight in to beginnings of the story and explains why and how characters shaped in to adults they are now. Thirdly - it contains a disclaimer - that this book will rather make you cry than laugh. I found it very appropriate, as all the other books made me laugh out loud more than once, but this one didn't.I am happy I bought it, and happy I have read it. It makes me bites my nails in the anticipation for the last instalment!Saying that, I do not recommend this book if you haven't (or you have no plans to) read all series.Also I am glad I have read it now (after reading all others). If you haven't read any books about WInston family, I would still suggest to start from the first one ("Beauty and the Moustache") and save this one till the almost end (before "Beard Necessities")

Penny Reid is a master at playing with our emotions and despite her continuous warnings about it being a love story and not a romance book I still expected it to be a romance, because I'm hopeful to be last bone."If the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts, then my soul was Scarlet."This story is heart wrenching in its complexity, where you know what is happening needs to happen, when you know there is no other choice, when you know you want there to be other options for your loved characters and when you feel as hopeless as your characters. Even knowing that the characters grow up just fine and are successful even though they seem to be scarred by their past (this is an origin story to how the characters are shaped up to be what they are now in PRESENT.) you still feel a lot for them. And that is what Penny Reid's writing induces in you... all the feels.... <3<3<3I absolutely loved angelic Bethany, our standard adorable Cletus, sweetheart Beau, surly Duane, sweet & innocent Roscoe and ever helpful Ashley. I understand Billy's hatred of Jethro and I completely understand that Jethro should feel the guilt and self recrimination. I have mixed feelings regarding Ben McClure, I liked him in the start of the book, disliked him most of the times later on and have weird respect-but-still-want-to-dislike kind of feelings for him after reading it all.This book makes me feel bad for having a normal childhood with loving parents and adoring sibling and cousins. I feel bad for not being more alert about fellow children being abused or harassed in my school. I worry how I was a blind to what my classmate went through as Scarlet's classmates are to her sufferings.I loved Billy and how he's so mature for his age. How he holds himself in such a high responsible position and I pitied him for his having to grow up so fast so soon and be a man of the house even though he was a kid. How much burden he has on his shoulders, keeping secrets to protect everyone he loves and never saying a word! Loving everyone to bits. Billy is the child of Bethany who is most like her with all the sacrifices he's made for his family. Such a brave, selfless and courageous soul! And unfairness of it all was that he had to sacrifice the one thing he wanted the most in his life.I absolutely adored Scarlet for her tenacity, strength, courage, nobility and innocence. Also she made correct choices in her life even when she didn't have luxury to be noble she was noble. I loved her to bits and seriously enjoyed how positive she was instead of dwelling on the horrible negatives in her life. I loved her interactions with Cletus a lot, and completely loved her time spent with Billy!Also special surprises are included about other characters and we get enjoy it and savour it.I really need to re read the series again to gather the little tid bits about Claire/Scarlet and Billy in the previous books. It's been a journey.

I have enjoyed, even loved, every book in this series and could not wait for Billy and Claire's story.This is not that story, well not all of it anyway. This is a jump back to whatever happened between them when they were young causing such a rift. The big details of this book are not a surprise if you've read the other books, but it is done so beautifully that knowing whats coming leaves you at a constantly heightened state of tension and when the inevitable happens it is heartbreaking.The detail of the hardships of their youth is gut-wrenching enough, but then seeing the events referenced in other books as they actually happened, and seeing that things were not necessarily as they seemed just added a whole additional layer of sadness.All of the books mix humour with sadness and serious situations, but this is not a HEA, it's a tear market that had me sobbing through the last quarter, and I don't regret a second of it

I loved this book, but it is not typical Penny Reid. It is not romantic comedy. It is an origin story but it is a complete, standalone beautifully written tragic love story that has a specific ending that is beautiful, but heartrending. It has stayed with me for days, for many reasons and it will not be for everyone as it has a number of triggers.That being said, I adored Scarlet, whose resilience is truly astounding and I loved seeing a young Billy, who I have warned to over the previous Winston Brothers books. If to have read the Winston Brothers series, you will stumble across a number of "aha" moments, but you most definitely do not need to have read them to read this.I can't remember when I last read such a poignant piece of literary fiction. Truly beautiful.

“If the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts, then my soul was Scarlet”Goodness, this quote, this book. I absolutely loved it.I’ve come to have sky high expectations from Penny Reid’s books because well, it’s Penny Reid.... but with that also comes the risk of disappointment. So far, she’s exceeded my expectations EVERY TIME.I usually don’t like sad stories and sadness for the sake of it whether it’s in books or films annoys the hell out of me. However, the heartbreak in this story felt necessary, essential. And it was so well done that I found it equally heartwarming.I’m going to read it again and again until Beard Necessities comes out. It is truly wonderful.