Beard Necessities: A Small Town Romantic Comedy (Winston Brothers Book 7)

I sincerely hope you have a moment of free time cause I certainly have quite a few thoughts and feelings to share about this book... after all, it's an end of a certain era with a conclusion to the Winston brothers series, which is definitely one of my all time favourites :) although if we're being perfectly honest, I was more than a bit hesitant going into this novel... not only it is the big conclusion, but it has a second chance romance trope which I am not the biggest fan of... why read the book then, you ask? that IS a great question, and I will answer it straight away :) I have two main reasons :) #1 it's Penny's book, and I will always give her a chance, because she already surprised me in the past in the best possible way with another trope I am not a fan of :) #2 it's the last book about I think the brother we know the least about and I was sooooo curious to see how his story will go... so I picked it up and couldn't be more happier that I gave it that chance cause man oh man... *sighs happily* it was such a wonderful book... my thoughts are still a bit scattered so I hope you will be understanding if this review will be a bit chaotic... plus, this is the conclusion of a series, but I am still determined to make it spoiler free and safe to read even if you are completely new to the series, so I might have to be a bit vague in certain places... ok, let's get into the review :)Winston brothers series takes place in fictional town of Green Valley in Tennessee and each novel (with one exception that I will mention in a minute) concentrates on a different sibling in a family of seven :) Ashley's story, which can be considered a sort of prequel, cause it's a part of Penny's other series, is the first one, and then we have all of her six brothers :) and as much as most of them can be read as standalones, I highly recommend you to read them in order to see how certain relationships change over time... when it comes to this last installment, you really should at least read some of the other books before diving into this one... preferably all of them :) but you absolutely have to read "Dr. strange beard" (Roscoe's book) and "Beard with me" (a sort of origin story about Billy and Scarlet and how they initially fell for one another while still in school) :) ok, now that we have some basic informations out of the way, let me try to explain all the reasons why I adored this novel :)This book is a happy ending twenty years in the making... as I mentioned before, I am not a fan of these types of stories... it is entirely connected to my own life experiences and personal preferences when it comes to books... I have no problem with authors who write these kind of stories and readers who love them... I just feel the need to express that this sort of novel needs to be truly exceptional for me to fall in love with it... and this one was... for oh so many reasons... so let's start with our main couple... since I couldn't decide who to talk about first I flipped a coin and Scarlet it is :) I know that the majority of you know her as Claire, but after reding that origin story book and this one, I can't think about her in any other way but only Scarlet :) she had such a horrible life... such a hard one... starting straight away with being raised in a motorcycle gang headquarters as the daughter of the president... becuase I promised you a spoiler free review, I will only say that after that, a lot of other hard things hppened to her and around her and it all lead her to life full of guilt and shame... fortunately, and I am always trying to mention it when I read about it in stories, she finally sought out professional help and is seeing a therapist to help her deal with all of the unhealthy coping mechanisms she had in her life... and even though she's a fictional character I was so proud of her for seeking that help and working towards getting better... then we have Billy... *sighs* ever since I started this series I knew that his story will be the one that will not only break, but completely shatter my heart before putting it all back together again... and I was soooo right... for me he's the epitome of the saying "still waters run deep" because there's just sooo many things beneath the surface with him... the second oldest in the family, for the longest time he was the man of the house... taking all that responsibility took its toll on him... again, because I don't want to spoil you things if you haven't read the rest of the series, I can't get into more details... so let's jump into my feelings about their relationship...After reading "Beard with me" I have to say I just couldn't understand it... seeing what exactly happened between Billy and Scarlet all those years ago I just couldn't see how that would justify all those years of complicated feelings, yearning and resentment... but in this book we learn that quite a few other things happend between that book and the first one in this series... and all I can say, I get it know... not only I get it, I absolutely understand it... in fact, my heart went out to both of them so many times during this novel... what life threw at them, how they handled it... there is just so much past... so much baggage... so many issues... just soooo much everything they need to handle and unpack to find their happy ending... I was seriously worried how it will happen in a healthy way so I can root for their happy ending... I'm very happy to report I loved the way Penny Reid told their story... the way she showed two flawed and complex people... who made decisions in the past, some of them bad and unhealthy that had so many consequences... how they were able to find their way to a happy ending and to each other... with a little help but more about that in a moment ;) mostly I was absolutely impressed by the way Penny portrayed them... and not only them but also some other people... how important it is to remember that no one is perfect and even the best of us can make mistakes, even when they believe they are doing what's right... how our perception of certain people is connected to the way we remember them and how time can change our perspective on things... how sometimes we need a lot of time to truly see and admit to ourselves that people weren't as good as we remember them... I know I'm being vague, but I really don't want to spoil you stuff so be patient with me ;)Because there is so much history and stuff between them and the more time passes the harder it is to deal with, the family decides it's time to intervene... and by family I mean Cletus decides it's time to help them :) he summons the rest of the family and shares his plan to finally speed things along :) what comes after is a whole lot of shenanigans, some of them more and some definitely less subtle... ;) but all of them so much fun :) so don't worry... yes, this book touches upon some very serious topics, but it's also full of absolutely hilarious scenes :) the sole reason why I am not diving into more informations about all of the siblings and their significant others is because if I would start we all would be here for days... yes, days... as in plural, cause I wouldn't be able to stop :) I already feel like I've been rambling for a while, so let's try to wrap this thing, shall we? :)If it would be another installment in the series, the story about Billy and Scarlett would probably be 4,5 stars one for me... but because it's the very last one and has so many scenes with other family members I just had to bump it to full 5 stars... and even if I had some doubts before the end, then the epilogue came... and it was such a beautiful cherry on top of an absolutely wonderful cake of a story that I just couldn't stop smiling when I was reading it... now that I know what happened in the past and how everything ends...how all of the siblings find their happy ending I am for sure gonna reread all of those books in the future... and by future I mean probably the second half of next year... with the knowledge I have know I would love to read all those stories and see them with a bit of new eyes... Penny Reid is an incredible author and I have to bow down to the way she told this particular story... and to the way she tells all of her stories... they are always different from one another, with characters that are complex and flawed... and I honestly think that now that I am a bit older I think I might feel differently about some of them... as in I might appreciate them more with a bit of a new perspective I have now... she's one of the very few authors I love to reread and I can't wait to experience the wonderful world of Winston family again in the future... have no worries, this conclusion was absolutely worth the wait... all those books, all the anticipation building over the years... this was the perfect conclusion to the series and an absolutely wonderful happy ending for Billy and Scarlet... *happily bows down* :)

I have loved this family from the moment I met Ashley in Knitting in the City. When I picked up Duane's book and read about him and Jessica, I was completely hooked. Penny Reid is a genius and her words burrow under my skin and stay in head long after I close her books.I knew from all the other books that Billy was a deep well. He has been the family care taker. He had put way too much on himself from a young age when Jethro left and he got his mom to finally kick his dad out. He didn't complain. He stepped in and he stepped up. HE helped raise his younger siblings. Billy the key to motivate each one of his siblings. None of them had an easy time but there was a lot that Billy held deep inside that he could not let go.Scarlet is trying to work through all the things that have held her down. She is making music like she always dreamed of but she is not able to let Billy go. There is so much that is still between them. This book begins, of course, with the machinations of Cletus Byron Winston. He has a plan to put Billy and Scarlet in the same place and make them talk things out. He knows things about their past that the rest of the family doesn't. After all, he was there when they fell in love as teenagers. I love that he pulls Beau into his plot because he is the likable one. A lot is revealed in Roscoe's hospital room and all the siblings volunteer themselves and their significant others to help Billy.The family is then off to Tuscany where Duane and Jess have just welcomed their baby boy, William Beauford Winston, Liam for short. Scarlet is already there, helping with the baby.Billy arrives with Jethro, Sienna, and their three boys. He has donated bone marrow to their dad so that he can testify against Scarlett's serial killer dad, Razor. He is not in good shape. Cletus speaks to Scarlett by phone and gets her to promise to feed Billy. And thus the plan is set into motion.There is so much to love in this book. We get to see all of the siblings shine in different ways as they step in to help the brother who always took care of them. There are so many lines that I highlighted in this book. For example,"Being right and doing right and staying the narrow course means never knowing the fragile line between humility and humiliation, never knowing how difficult it is to ask for forgiveness, never understanding the pain of forgiveness withheld."That sentence is the perfect explanation of Billy and Jethro and how their relationship had become so fraught with misunderstanding when they were both trying to protect their family the best way they knew how.There is so much information that is a wall between Billy and Scarlett. So many things that they didn't share because they didn't want to hurt one another or be a burden or create a debt.The Billy we get to see in this book is such a revelation. I love how everyone in the family steps in to help with Billy and get their digs in at the same time.I got plenty of the best of all the siblings. Less of Roscoe because he was still hospitalized and only participated by phone. I got to see the complete reconcilliation of Billy and Jethro. I got to see Scarlet realize who Ben really was and how he tricked her into believing she owed him when she was a child. That damn Ben, I'm sure glad I only got him in flashbacks.This was not an easy love story. There was so much to work through. They had to learn to listen to one another and trust one another and forgive one another. This was years worth of pain and misunderstanding. This books takes no short cuts. It gives no quarter. It believes that the only way out is through.This was a hard won HEA and boy did these two deserve it. I'm so glad that this more serious story did not lose the craziness of this family. There were plenty of laughs along with the angst. I loved every single sentence. This is how to end a series. I know there are going to be more "adjacent" stories for this family but I may have to go back and read this series all over again."To survive, fear was essential. To truly live, fear was detrimental. "

I came across the Winston Brothers series from a recommendation on another author's website and have read the whole series for start to finish, ignoring other more recent offerings from favourite authors to complete it. This is one of the best series I have ever read in this genre. I loved reading the story for each brother in turn, but Billy and Scarlet's epic story ran through each book until the satisfying conclusion in this book. The covers aren't the most interesting, but the characterisation and plotting are second to none. Despite the seemingly whimsical aspects, there are some hard hitting abuse themes as well concerning the family's interactions with the local MC gang. Excellent!

At last! The answers to all my questions of “why didn’t Billy go after Scarlet?” “ what was she thinking?”.Everything you could wish for ..... Except I could have read more of Billy and Scarlet, it’s been so long coming, there could never be too much! Billy has been present throughout all the series but we’ve never been party to his thoughts and feelings. He doesn’t disappoint. Like all the Winston boys he has a touch of poetry in his soul but his defining constancy of heart for family is his trademark and occasional downfall. I loved their story but I would have loved more - where some scenes are shown in retrospect I would have liked to have lived them.Clear your day before you start, because you won’t want to put the book down.

This is what you call a perfect ending!I loved the finale of the most amazing series of books about loving and caring family. This book was the most anticipated of 2019 . I have been waiting for this book since 2016.The final book of Winston Brothers Series is about Billy and Scarlet. I loved how the story was dealt with the how the characters move ahead their shared painful and anger/guilt/hatred filled past. While reading the story you literally feel the points raised in each of their POVs are valid and still feel frustrated with them for not being honest and communicating with each other.Also lets just raise a toast to the wonderful Winston family. They are just a bunch of busybodies but still so adorable! And even when reading this book as standalone, people would fall in love with this family.I appreciate that the negatives of Scarlet's lives are mentioned and is also shown that she's getting professional help for all the abuse she's endured through her life. You as reader feel proud for her after seeing what she's gone through and how she still manage to be so positive in life. The same is valid for Billy except that he had love of his family to guide him. You feel proud for Billy too for the emotional growth you see in him and how he learns to forgive.I love them both.A special thanks to CLETUS and his habit of being into others' business. <3! Love him forever...Cletus is the best character ever made.This is such a beautiful ending to a series that has left me in good spirits! Love Penny Reid!

This Claire and Billy finally resolving their issues and Billy realising she really does want him. They are in Italy and the whole family has been commandeered by Cletus to sort the pair out. Claire still has no idea what Billy did for her when her father attacked him and he lost his chance at playing football to save her. She thought that staying with Ben and believing him was keeping her safe. Too many secrets were keeping them apart. Cletus is brilliant, I think I enjoyed his character the most out of all of them, he was truly a one off. Thoroughly enjoyed the series.

A worthy ending to Penny Reid's Winstons series. Questions have been answered, loose ends tied up, the HEA readers have been crying out for for years. A little bit of suspension of disbelief needed occasionally (for a cynic like me at any rate), but so, so satisfying to see this angsty and tragic love story finally reach its conclusion. As with all Penny's work, it's written with a deceptively light, joyful and comedic touch whilst dealing with some truly dark and disturbing real life issues. Could be read as a standalone, but for heaven's sake, why would you? Start at the beginning - Truth or Beard (or, even better, Beauty and the Mustache - the crossover from Penny's Knitting in the City Series and the first introduction to the Winston brothers) and immerse yourself fully into this wonderful world that has been so deftly built by the remarkable Ms Reid.