Beard with Me (Winston Brothers) – book review

Beard with Me
by Penny Reid
Release Date: September 16, 2019
Publisher: Cipher-Naught
Book #6 in the Winston Brothers series
Number of Pages: 352
Contemporary Fiction
Ages 15 and up
CW: child abuse, violence, manipulation,
homelessness, and more*
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‘Beard With Me’ is the origin story of Billy Winston and Scarlet St. Claire (aka Claire McClure) and is just the beginning of their epic love story.

No one is better at surviving than Scarlet St. Claire and making the best out of circumstances beyond her control is Scarlet’s specialty. In an apocalyptic situation, she’d be the last person on earth, hermitting like a pro, singing along to her CD Walkman, and dancing like no one is watching.

Scarlet is clever, Scarlet is careful, and Scarlet is smart . . . except when it comes to Billy Winston.

No one is better at fighting than Billy Winston and raging against his circumstances—because nothing is beyond his control—is Billy’s specialty. In an apocalyptic situation, he’d be the first person on earth to lead others to safety, overcome catastrophe, or die trying.

Billy is fearless, Billy is disciplined, and Billy is honorable . . . except when it comes to Scarlet St. Claire.

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I’ve been sitting on writing this review for a few days since finishing this book. I have so many emotions going through me about it every time I try to think of what I want to say. I decided I would just start typing and see what happens. I’ll begin with some warnings. If you haven’t read the rest of this series, I don’t think this is a good place to start. This story is different and should be read with the series as a whole. Also, as the author states in her Foreword for this book, this is not a romance. Please believe her in that this is a tragic love story. There is no HEA in this book. This brings me to my final warning: have the next book ready to go. I made the mistake of not doing that and I haven’t gotten it yet but keep thinking about it and wanting to read what happens next. The way I thought the various relationships between Scarlet, Billy, Ben, and even Jethro would unfold is not what is happening here and I am kicking myself for not having the time carved out to read these back to back.

As gut-wrenching as this story is, I loved seeing the origin stories of so many things from this series. The possible reason the Winston brothers all have beards, the animosity between Billy and Jethro, Roscoe and Simone’s fairy, and so much more. This book had me wanting to go back and re-read all of the previous books with this newfound knowledge. Especially when it comes to Billy and Claire (yes I’m calling her Claire in this particular instance even though she is only Scarlet throughout this book) singing/playing together. This book also explains so much about Billy’s temperament and how he interacts with each particular family member.

The way Billy cannot find his way in the woods is a funny little quirk that leads to some of the most heart-melting scenes. He follows Scarlet’s singing to find her over and over again. And while Scarlet has had a much harder life in many ways, she is so much more naïve about certain things than Billy. This leads to some very sweet interactions where she truly doesn’t understand what is happening and Billy is so careful and caring about her feelings. I have to bring up Ben here. We all know from the previous books eventually Scarlet marries Ben but he’s already gone before the series starts. He is not what I expected, yet as this story progressed I had a feeling Ben started realizing how things really were and he maybe had his own secrets. And although there is acrimony between Billy and Ben, it’s also obvious they both want what is best for Scarlet in the end.

Even though Scarlet’s life has been harder, Billy’s life hasn’t been a picnic. He is so responsible and loyal. If Billy loves someone he loves them deeply and will literally put his life on the line to be sure they are safe and happy. In short, teenage Billy puts far too much pressure on himself. Sometimes in protecting one loved one he has to make decisions that hurt other loved ones. I hope we see those in his family who still have tension with him bury the hatchet and they can all find a way to accept what had to be done in the past so they can have the future they all deserve.

5 stars

*Note regarding trigger warnings:

I’m going to, once again, reference the author’s Foreword to let you know what she says about this book’s triggers. I feel it’s a fair warning before you go and seek this book out.

“If you have a trigger – any trigger at all – chances are this book is going to trigger you. Just assume it has all the triggers, put it down, and move on to the next book in your TBR.”

I don’t know about you, but I appreciate that kind of honesty from an author.