Contemporary Romance Review: Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid

Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid (Winston Brothers #2)

Ecopy thanks to the author

Synopsis from Goodreads
Sienna Diaz is everyone’s favorite “fat” funny lady. The movie studio executives can’t explain it, but her films are out-grossing all the fit and trim headliners and Hollywood’s most beautiful elite. The simple truth is, everyone loves plus-sized Sienna.

But she has a problem, she can’t read maps and her sense of direction is almost as bad as her comedic timing is stellar. Therefore, when Sienna’s latest starring role takes her to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park she finds herself continually lost while trying to navigate the backroads of Green Valley, Tennessee. Much to her consternation, Sienna’s most frequent savior is a ridiculously handsome, charming, and cheeky Park Ranger by the name of Jethro Winston.

Sienna is accustomed to high levels of man-handsome, so it’s not Jethro’s chiseled features or his perfect physique that make Sienna stutter. It’s his southern charm. And gentlemanly manners. And habit of looking at her too long and too often.

Sienna has successfully navigated the labyrinth of Hollywood heart-throbs. But can she traverse the tenuous trails of Tennessee without losing her head? Or worse, her heart?

Release Date: May 31st 2016.

Amazon US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK

 9/10

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" I don't know what the media ultimately decided about my chances of dying alone and sexually starved because my tummy lacked a six-pack. I was too busy being happy with my body and making blockbusters.
  You know, crying myself to sleep on my big pile of money."

Meet Sienna. A comedienne, a brilliant actress and a talented script-writer. She is one of the A-listers of Hollywood, a Latina with luscious curves who is very happy about her body. She also can not read maps which is why she gets really lost in Tennessee trying to get to her new movie shooting on her own.

Enter Jethro. The oldest of Winston brothers, ex-bad boy and a new, devastatingly handsome park ranger, who would give this charming, funny lady a hand without knowing who she really is.


As usual with Penny's recognisable style of work, Grin and Beard It is pure joy to read not only for its comedic value, but for positive affirmations and wisdom found between the pages. There is a perfection of close knit family with inside jokes. Cletus and his sausage continues to intrigue and fascinate me.

"You can't have it both ways. You either get to be famous, and deal with the hassle that comes with it, or you leave it all behind. Own your shit, Sienna. And let Jethro own his. And then get married and own that shit together."

You go, Cletus!

There is a problem of anonymity and privacy when you are famous and how to overcome it if you want to have a normal life. There are hard choices and reasonable discussions, and there is also much sweetness and hot, messy, filled with laughter, sex. 

This is a heart-warming book, nice and huggable, and all it does is makes you crave more of Winston brothers. Also, there is a bit of Drew's poetry thrown in which is as usual ah-mazing!

There are a few sidelines within the plot which hopefully will evolve into their own full blown stories. The widow, the girl with a banana cake, for example. And there is a great insight into Jethro's troubled past. I wish Taco Tuesday was an actual movie though...

So, go read it! You know, you want to.

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  Встречайте Сьенну. Комедийную актрису, талантливого сценариста. Одну из наиболее высокооплачиваемых актрис Голливуда, латиноамериканку с пышными формами, комфортабельную в своём теле. Она также не может читать карты и теряется в глубинке Теннесси на пути к съёмке нового фильма.

Входит Джетро. Старший из братьев Уинстон, бывший плохиш и вор машин, реформированный в очаровательного рэйнджера парка, который спасёт Сьенну из затруднительного положения, отчаянно с ней флиртуя и приводя ту в полный восторг, когда она понимает, что он не знает кто она такая.

Как обычно с узнаваемым стилем Пенни Рид, читать эту книгу - сплошное удовольствие не только из-за комедийных ценностей, но также из-за тёплого описания крепкой семьи с её внутренними шуточками (да, Клетус, я говорю о тебе и твоей сосиске!), обсуждением проблем анонимности и вмешательства прессы в личную жизнь знаменитостей, стандартов женской красоты и давления, которое мы оказываем на нехуденьких людей. Готовьтесь к трудному выбору, рассудительным дискуссиям на тему и милейшему, страстному сексу, наполненному смехом и обыденными недостатками.

Книга эта тёплая, уютная, и заканчивать её совсем не хотелось. Помимо Джетро, в прошлое которого нам наконец удаётся заглянуть, нам подарена одна из прекрасных поэм Дрю. Здесь также присутствуют интересные второстепенные линии сюжета - например, вдова, девушка с банановым тортом и.т.д. которые, я надеюсь, в будущем перерастут в полноценные романы.

В общем, чего вы ждёте? Идите и читайте!