Beard Necessities (Winston Brothers) – book review

Beard Necessities
by Penny Reid
Release Date: November 4, 2019
Publisher: Cipher-Naught
Book #7 in the Winston Brothers series
Number of Pages: 334
Contemporary Fiction
Ages 15 and up
CW: violence,
mentions of child abuse and homelessness
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Billy Winston’s family is going to see him happy and in love if it’s the last thing they do.

No one deserves a happily-ever-after quite as much as the second oldest Winston brother and his lady love, Claire McClure (aka Scarlet St. Claire). Cruelty and circumstance tore them apart almost twenty years ago. Secrecy and bitterness kept them separated.

But you know who’s tired of their separation and stubbornness? Everyone. Especially Billy Winston’s family. And now they’re going to do something about it.

Well-meaning interference means the star-crossed lovers can’t stop tripping over each other in the hills of Tuscany, the catacombs of Rome, and the waterways of Venice. Billy and Claire find themselves thrown together and at the mercy of the Winston siblings’ shenanigans.

But will their forced proximity bring them together? Or push them even further apart?

This second-chance romance brings back the entire Winston gang, playing cupid in one last story of love, hi-jinks, and family collusion.

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It was inevitable, in my mind, that this final book in the Winston Brothers series would fall a bit short. Let me be clear that it fell only a tiny bit short of my expectations and it’s still a phenomenal story. The previous story, which is a prequel to this story in a way, was so deep and emotional that I believe the author did right by lightening things up a bit for Billy and Scarlet to find their HEA. (Note: I will reference the MFC as Scarlet throughout my review although she goes by both Scarlet and Claire in this story.)

There are things that happen between Scarlet and Billy between the end of the last book and the beginning of this series as a whole that we are not privy to. While this story does fill in some of those cracks, I almost wish we could experience those times with a whole other book that is just about those stolen moments. That’s just me being greedy though. Yet I feel those moments are the moments in this story that aren’t fleshed out quite enough.

We’ll never get Scarlet’s first husband’s side of the story, but I can’t help but wonder what was going through Ben’s head. I wasn’t a fan before, and I’m even less of a fan now. I would also love to know what kept Jethro so loyal to Ben. It seemed Jethro wasn’t totally blind to his friend’s flaws, but he didn’t know the extent of those flaws and he never really called him on his actions. I was truly hoping for Billy and Jethro to have it out about Ben in this book, and that doesn’t happen. That was a disappointment, although they do make amends and have put the past behind them by the end of this story.

There are a few heartbreaking moments in this story, but even more moments of joy and love. Scarlet and Billy have such a hard time just being with each other. After all these years, their instinct is to be prickly and avoid each other. Being thrown together is what they needed (I love how all the siblings and spouses band together, over and over, to keep these two from unraveling), but now what? That’s what they have to learn on their own. The tips from the rest of their loved ones are needed and helpful, but ultimately they must learn to communicate without relying on anyone else.

What it all comes down to is this; if you love this series you’ll love this book. If you haven’t read this series you may enjoy the story but it wouldn’t have the depth it has to the Winston Brothers fans. The epilogue is a wonderful bow on the wrap-up of the series.

4 stars