Review: Beard with Me - Penny Reid

Review: Beard with Me - Winston Brothers Book #5.5 - Penny Reid - September 2019

As readers will know one of my favourite series is the Winston Brothers by Penny Reid. They happen to be one of my favourite families to read about. So, I always get excited when Penny Reid releases a new book. Beard with Me is Part #1 of the love story between Billy and Claire. This book goes way back to the beginning when Billy was known as William and Billy by his mates and Claire was known as Scarlet. A time when the Winston Brothers were still considered young and in school all except Jethro aka Jet. The book starts with fourteen-year-old Scarlet eating lunch by herself when Ben McClure intervenes and then she bumps into Billy and is a bit shell-shocked. She dashes off and has lunch with Ben and his mother and this is the start of her relationship also with Ben. The book then jumps to Billy discovering Scarlet camping in their backyard. I loved this part as we got to see a young innocent Roscoe who still at 8 years old wanted to believe in fairies and magic and a rose-colored world. We learn that Scarlett has been trying to escape her nasty family life with the Wraiths and living in the bush at the back of the Winston property. As the book goes along, we watch the friendship and possible romance blossoming between Billy and Scarlet but with their father's reputations, we can see it's a Romeo and Juliet type case. The other thing I loved about Beard with Me is that even at 14 years old Cletus is still his smart-alec self and learning to swap items for favours and being the protector. We also learn the first moment and how Billy discovered that the twins were his half-brothers and the lengths that Bethany Winston has gone to protect Beau and Duane and raise them as Winston Brothers. This book ended on a cliff-hanger with Scarlet.  The ending sets the scene for Book #6 when she returns reinvented as the Claire, we have all gotten to love over the past 5 books.  I am now looking forward to Book #6 Beard Necessities to conclude the Billy and Claire Love story.