Audiobook Review: Truth or Beard by Penny Reid

Truth or Beard
by Penny Reid
Series:  Winston Brothers #1
Pub. Date:  Nov. 12, 2015
Publisher:  Cipher-Naught
Narrators:  Joy Nash, Chris Brinkley
Length:  13 hrs 19 min
Format:  Audiobook
Source:  Audible


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Beards, brothers, and bikers! Oh my!

Identical twins Beau and Duane Winston might share the same devastatingly handsome face, but where Beau is outgoing and sociable, Duane is broody and reserved. This is why Jessica James, recent college graduate and perpetual level headed good girl, has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau Winston for most of her life. His friendly smiles make her tongue-tied and weak-kneed, and she’s never been able to move beyond her childhood crush. Whereas Duane and Jessica have always been adversaries. She can’t stand him, and she’s pretty sure he can’t stand the sight of her…

But after a case of mistaken identity, Jessica finds herself in a massive confusion kerfuffle. Jessica James has spent her whole life paralyzed by the fantasy of Beau and her assumptions of Duane’s disdain; therefore she’s unprepared for the reality that is Duane’s insatiable interest, as well as his hot hands and hot mouth and hotter looks. Not helping Jessica’s muddled mind and good girl sensibilities, Duane seems to have gotten himself in trouble with the local biker gang.

Certainly, Beau’s magic spell is broken. Yet when Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who was always her adversary, now more dangerous than ever, how much of her level-headed heart is she willing to risk?

Series Description: 

Everyone in Green Valley, Tennessee knows that the six bearded Winston brothers have been imbued with an unfair share of charm and charisma… and are prone to mischief.

Much like its cover, Truth or Beard is a quirky, fun and memorable story set in small town East Tennessee near the Smoky Mountains. As a former Tennessean who lived in the area for a time, this story made me so very nostalgic. I listened to this book in audio and let me tell you, Joy Nash is a fabulous narrator. She had the southern accent, inflections and mannerisms down pat. She may live in California now, but surely this girl has to have some southern roots. I actually wished she would have narrated the whole book as I preferred her voices, even for the male characters. She did narrate Beauty and the Mustache, which is the book where the Winston family originates. I have not listened to that one, but it has been moved up my TBL list for my next road trip.

As far as the actual story - it was great! Our heroine is Jessica James (southern pronunciation = Jeska), a math nerd who has just come back to Green Valley, TN to teach calculus for a few years to save up enough money to travel the world. Jessica's grand plan does not leave any room for romantic entanglements. She is home living with her parents for a limited time and that's it - she's off to quench her wanderlust in all the exotic locales she read about in National Geographic (that is until her mama took her subscription away for containing dirty pictures!). Jessica was a great heroine - she made me laugh and reminded me of a lot of my friends from high school... particularly when she was saying things (to herself) like "Oh Mah Gawd, I am a Cah-reeper!"

Our hero and the first Winston brother of the series is Duane (Duh-wayne), twin brother to Beau. The brothers names are so over-the-top country that you will laugh just hearing them: Jethro, Roscoe, Cletus, Beau, Duane and Billy. Beau is the uber-charismatic twin that Jessica thinks she has had a crush on her whole life. Duane is the broody quiet twin that was more likely to put a toad in her backpack. I loved Duane right from the start, when he uses a case of mistaken identity to get our heroine in a compromising position that spirals out of control in 10 seconds flat. I loved his conversations trying to woo "Jeska" and convince her that they suited. He really made me miss and appreciate the good ol' earnest country boy - the ones I didn't see the 10 years I lived in Florida. Maybe I will find some now that I'm in Louisiana.

The story had its sweet moments, steamy interludes, and slapstick comedic relief. I am really looking forward to the rest of the series. I don't know yet who my favorite Winston brother is going to be. I think Cletus will be the most unique - he seems to be borderline Asperger's or just too intelligent to relate to the rest of the country folk on their level. Penny Reid did a wonderful job at bringing the characters and landscape to life. She really made me feel like I was a part of the story. If you are listening to the audio (which I highly encourage), stay tuned at the end for an interview with Penny where she describes how she visits her family in this area of Tennessee every year and draws inspiration for the story. I met Penny earlier this year the RT Roundup in Houston - I only wish I had read the book before then so I could have played the fangirl. Oh well, something to look forward to next time!

Penny Reid & Bambi

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Winston Brothers

Review: Keeping King by Anne Jolin

Keeping King 
by Anne Jolin
Series:  Rock Falls #4
Pub. Date:  Mar. 2, 2015
Publisher:  Self-Pub
Pages:  189
Format:  eBook
Source:  Amazon


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:


Peyton Callaghan is a fighter, a survivor, a warrior. When it was kill or be killed, she didn’t hesitate. Now, she’s the only one left standing, haunted by the ghost of a dead man and plagued with the guilt of having taken another person’s life. The upheaval of her life to start over in Rock Falls has been rocky at best, her worst nightmares and wildest desires colliding with each other. Terror tortures her nightly, breeding fear inside her dreams, and in every waking moment, she fights against the lust that threatens to drown her.

Jayden King harbors secrets beneath his outward playboy demeanor. The women who warm his bed lay claim to nothing—you can’t lay claim to someone who doesn’t have a heart. His wit and charm are exquisite means of deflection and distraction from the turmoil roaring inside him. He’s hidden in plain sight, a mask of humor keeping the sadness at bay. The only real reflections of his soul are in the artwork he creates, pieces of him muraled on the skin of others. If tattoo artists could have a calling card, the etch of pain and suffering in each design would be his. Because when the lights go out and the women he’s satisfied have gone home, he’s alone with every fear he refuses to face.

After suffering from a brutal attack at the hands of her roommate’s stalker, Peyton is forced to live with the object of her affection. Without intention, she breathes love into his starved heart, and although the mere thought of that terrifies him, Jayden would burn the city down to keep her safe, causalities be damned.

Some people you have. Some people you hold.

She can have him. She can hold him. But can she keep King? Or is it impossible for Callaghan to keep something that was never really hers to begin with?

I read this whole series within about 24 hours. These were quick reads about a group of tattooed alpha males who seemingly all had maaaggic sticks (if you know what I mean). Anne Jolin writes some very unique alpha males in that they all have a healthy dose of vulnerability.

This book coincides with the ending of Breaking Bennett, where Peyton was attacked in her condo by Beth's creepy stalker dad. Peyton is a tortured heroine, which was eluded to in previous books with her nightmares and reserved personality. In this installment, we uncover Peyton's past and her reason for moving to Rock Falls. I liked her character, well, I have liked all the heroines in this series. She is a survivor, and I liked that she was willing to step out of the box and go after Jay. But I was missing a bit of a connection with this one, which I will explain below.

In previous books, Jay was the jokester of the group, always flirty and fun. He is an alpha male tattoo artist who provided the comic relief. However we now learn that his outward demeanor is hiding old wounds from a tragic event that happened when he was a teenager. Jay is totally different in this book - no more joking Jay. He is serious and vulnerable. Very vulnerable. There is alpha male ugly crying again like in Chasing Rhodes (but for different reasons obviously). I'm still not sure how I feel about weepy alpha males - they make me uncomfortable.

So there were quite a few purple passages in this one that took me out of the story, which is what caused the disconnect that I mentioned above. For example, this is our alpha male speaking to his intended in a conversation:

I refuse to live my life buried under the weight of mediocrity. I refuse to be adequately unremarkable in a world rich with awe-inspiring possibilities. I will take advantage of every breath and every moment I steal from the sun and borrow from the stars. The day I met you was the day the stillness in my heart shook, the hope in my chest waking, and with time, you've breathed love back into my soul.

While I don't always mind purple prose, these types of passages threw me out of the alpha male tattoo artist world. I just don't think people talk like this and, while it may be poetic and pretty, it seemed out of place in this type of book. I know it works for some people, but it didn't work for me in this instance. The series had a few of these purple passages in the last book, Breaking Bennett, but I was able to overlook them easier because I loved the hero so much. In this one, Jay did not grab me as strongly so I didn't have that laser focus and was looking around a bit.

I still love the series and am happy to have found this author. I am also looking forward to reading the next installment, Saving Steele, next year. There is a bit of a cliffhanger for Jackson's character at the end of this book and I am really excited to see where that is going.

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Rock Falls Series

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Series Saturday Audiobook Review: Hold On by Kristen Ashley

Hold On 
by Kristen Ashley
Series:  The 'Burg #6
Pub. Date:  Sept. 1, 2015
Publisher:  Audible Studios
Narrator:  Erin Bennett
Length:  21 hrs 20 min
Format:  Audiobook
Source:  Audible

My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Since she was young, Cher Rivers knew she was not the kind of girl who got what she wanted. A girl who could hope. A girl who could dream. She knew a happily ever after just wasn't in the cards for her. 

In love for years with the last bastion of the 'burg's eligible bachelors, Garrett Merrick, Cher worked hard at making him laugh. Being one of the guys. Having him in her life the only way she could. All this knowing he was in love with another woman. 

The Merrick Family is known for loving deep. So when Cecelia Merrick was murdered, it marked the Merricks in a way none of them recovered. Both Cecelia's children found love. Both turned their backs on it. But Garrett "Merry" Merrick knew in his soul the woman he divorced years ago was the one for him. 

Until the night when Cher took Garrett's back and things changed. The Merrick family loves deep. They also protect fiercely. And with his eyes finally open, Garrett sees the woman who truly is for him and he goes after her. 

Ah, Kristen Ashley, my very favorite comfort author. She never disappoints, and is guaranteed to keep me up at night and throw me off my blog/reading schedule. I have been hoarding this book for quite a while, waiting for when I was in a reading slump to pull it out. Then I decided I would be a Christmas present to myself and I would listen on the road trip home for the holidays. But I kept seeing it in my calendar, and I just couldn't wait. So I started Hold On listening to this 20-Hour audiobook one morning before work... and I was finished with it the next day. I COULD NOT STOP LISTENING. My ear got sore from having the ear buds in so long. First world problems, I know.

So we have been waiting for Garret Merrick to get his HEA for a good while now. He is the last of the 'Burg bachelors, and so sadly this is an end to one of my favorite series. I wasn't always sure who Merry's woman was going to be - there was a chance that it was going to be his ex-wife, Mia. But as the series progressed and Cher Rivers continued to hang around and be such a big part of the story, I had a feeling these two were gonna be matched up. Cher is a tough chic "one of the guys" type of woman. She is no nonsense and is not afraid to lay some brutal honesty on Merry when he needs to hear it. She points out some eye-opening knowledge about Mia that everyone seems to have overlooked, and I loved that Cher made them see that it is not only the man's responsibility to make a relationship work. I really hated Mia in this book and I can't remember feeling that way about her in the earlier books in the series.

Cher has had a hard knock life. She got knocked up by a junky boyfriend who left her - but not before stealing all her money. From that moment on, everything Cher did in life was for her son. As an uneducated single mom, Cher did not have many options, but she owned the ones she had. She was unapologetic in the things she had to do to provide for her son. She may be one of the best moms ever. And as a result, Ethan, her son, is super cool. The narrator did a fabulous job portraying his character. I loved Cher. Her character was a great eye opener for me, and is a really a lesson that you should not judge people by their profession because you don't know what they have going on in their personal life.

Merry is a typical guy. He has overlooked Cher for years, when it seems that everyone else had cottoned on to the fact that she had it bad for him. Merry is also all about being a cop/detective/lieutenant. He lives the badge, even though he has a bit of a rage problem. Following in his father's professional footsteps after the tragedy with his mom though has left some festering emotional scars. Merry is afraid to love anyone because he doesn't want to lose them. It was awesome to see him work through these issues and finally talk things out with his pop.

This book is not as suspense-driven as some of the previous installments, but we still got our dose of whacked out psycho and pulse pounding moments. Not to mention the excitement between the sheets that will get your blood moving. In addition - we got to see and hear from all of our favorite characters from books past. And that epilogue - epic. I loved hearing a little about everyone. I am on pins and needles to see what K.A. brings us next.

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The 'Burg

Christmas-Themed Reviews for Anna Campbell, Skye Warren, Diana Palmer and Rita Herron!

Merry Christmas to all my Babes in Bambiland!

I hope all of you are having a holly jolly Christmas, making merry, spending time with loved ones, and eating lots of good food!  I read a handful of books this week to get me in the mood for the season, so I thought I would throw them all up here in case you need something to read while you are waiting for that turkey to cook at grandma's house!  So, here goes!

A Pirate for Christmas 
by Anna Campbell
Pub. Date:  Oct. 29, 2015
Publisher:  Self-Pub
Pages:  142
Format:  eBook
Source:  Amazon


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

There’s a pirate in the manor house! 
What is vicar’s daughter Bess Farrar to do when the dashing new earl, the man gossip paints as a ruthless pirate, kisses her the day they meet? Why, kiss him right back, of course! Now Lord Channing vows to claim the lovely firebrand, despite interfering villagers, a snowstorm, scandal, and a rascally donkey. The gallant naval captain’s first landlocked Christmas promises mayhem – and a lifetime of breathtaking passion .

Pursued by the pirate… 
Bess Farrar might be an innocent village miss, but she knows enough about the world to doubt Lord Channing’s motives when he kisses her the very day they meet. After all, local gossip insists that before this dashing rake became an earl, he sailed the Seven Seas as a ruthless pirate. 

Bewitched by the vicar’s daughter… 
Until he unexpectedly inherits a title, staunchly honorable Scotsman Rory Beaton has devoted his adventurous life to the Royal Navy. But he sets his course for tempestuous new waters when he meets lovely, sparkling Bess Farrar. Now this daring mariner will do whatever it takes to convince the spirited lassie to launch herself into his arms and set sail into the sunset. 

A Christmas marked by mayhem. 
Wooing his vivacious lady, the new Earl of Channing finds himself embroiled with matchmaking villagers, an eccentric vicar, mistaken identities, a snowstorm, scandal, and a rascally donkey. Life at sea was never this exciting. The gallant naval captain’s first landlocked Christmas promises hijinks, danger, and passion – and a breathtaking chance to win the love of a lifetime. 

This was a great little Christmas romance that is short enough for you to read on the way to Grandma's house to get you in the spirit for gathering and merriment. Plus - there is a Christmas donkey! I love Christmas donkeys! My mom's church has a Christmas donkey and last year he was braying so loud you could barely hear the pastor. So Daisy the Donkey was definitely very cute.

Our "pirate" is Rory Beaton, the new Earl of Channing (having inherited after the death of his brother). Rory is also a Scot! Oh my! As soon as he is in residence at Penton Wyck, he is being hounded about his ass by "that blasted Farrar besom." However, once he sets his eyes on the beautiful besom, Rory clearly sees the advantage to being managed by such a headstrong lass. Rory was sweet and honorable, and his campaign to win Bess over was nice to watch/read.

Our leading lady is Bess Farrar, is used to managing the village of Penton Wyck, the former earl, and her absentminded vicar father. Determined to get her Christmas ass, she marches up to the earl's estate. Only she learns she may not be able to manage this alleged pirate, but instead may have to bargain for what she wants... with kisses! Even though Bess was a bit of a manager, she really was working for the betterment of her village.

This was a really sweet love story. I didn't feel like it was too long or too short, and the Christmas theme was woven in nicely. I loved that the village got together every year to put on a Christmas play/nativity. You don't really see that type of community activity anymore, and it is always nice to see things like this around the holidays. If you find yourself traveling this season, pick this one up to get you in the spirit. Merry Christmas!

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His for Christmas
by Skye Warren
Pub. Date:  Dec. 31, 2014
Publisher:  Self-Pub
Pages:  118
Format:  eBook
Source:  Amazon


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:


I stand very still, holding a pen I shouldn’t be touching, in the office of a man I’ve never met. The man who’s standing behind me now. The man who has his hand on my hip.
He’s my new boss.

I could fight him, but then he might ask questions. He might find out about my criminal record, the one I didn’t mention on the job application. So I let him make me come, but he wants more. He needs more, and for some reason I want to give it.

But if he finds out about my life, I'll be out on the streets - or back in jail.
This was a short and sexy read that was only a little bit Christmasy (toward the end). I have been meaning to read more Skye Warren books because I like her writing style. From what I have read so far, her characters are engaging and mature, and her heroines have not had that annoying factor that sometimes gets to me.

Because this was such a short read, I don't want to give away a lot about the characters. Our hero, Gage Thompson, is known as the Bid Bad Billionaire.  He is all things I like about these characters: beautiful, broody, broken and dominant. Our heroine is Angel Cole, a very young tortured heroine. However for all that she was only 18 years old, she was mature for her age. I did get hung up on her age just a tad, but it was not due to the writing, it was just my over-thinking brain.

I would recommend this book to those who are fans of the boss/secretary trope.

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The Winter Man 
by Diana Palmer
Pub. Date:  Nov. 16, 2009
Publisher:  Tantor Audio
Narrator:  Marguerite Gavin
Length:  7 hrs 32 min
Format:  Audiobook
Source:  Hoopla


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Silent Night Man

What does Millie Evans want for Christmas? To feel safe. Even though her stalker is dead, he arranged for a hit man to kill her. Now the special government agent Millie has loved from afar for years has vowed to protect her. Tony Danzetta moves the prim librarian into his home and guards her 24/7. Dare she dream of keeping Tony, her own silent night man, by her side forever? 

Sutton's Way

Wyoming rancher and single father Quinn Sutton is raising a child he knows isn't his own. All the love left in his guarded heart goes to the boy. But when a beautiful city woman is stranded nearby in a blizzard, he rescues her and brings her to Ricochet Ranch. Amanda Callaway has her own secrets and plans to keep her distance. If only she weren't falling for her unlikely hero...

So I was listening to this book during the same time that I was reading His for Christmas by Skye Warren... and let me tell you that they were as different as night and day.  From erotic romance to cowboys and virgins.

This is my first read from Diana Palmer, though I know she has lots of books out, mainly in the western romance genre. I am not too sure about her heroes - I hope they aren't all like the two in these short stories because they were huge buttheads!

In Silent Night Man, Tony is a government agent coming home to bury a friend. At the funeral home he runs into Millie, and he treats her horribly. They have a hot and cold attraction for most of the story... but during the cold parts, Tony is freezing. I really didn't care for him as a hero. I didn't think there was any excuse for the way he treated Millie, particularly once he learned things were exactly as he believed. Millie was the virginal librarian, meek and soft spoken. Her character was likable, for all that we have not much in common. I sympathized for her history and her treatment at the hands/words of Tony. I really wanted to just kick his ass for her.

Silent Night Man is a quick romantic suspense. It wasn't very Christmasy, just some references to the holiday at the end.

In Sutton's Way, both of our main characters are extremely inexperienced virgins.  This is a novel concept given that Quinn Sutton is 34 years old and raising a son. But Quinn did not act like a 34 y/o - he was more like a mean old man. He hated women and threw insults at our heroine left and right - he called her a tramp and a hussy for no other reason than her being female. He was even worse than Tony was in Silent Night Man! Amanda Callaway is a country/rock star who has moved into the cabin neighboring the Sutton ranch to regroup after a recent tragedy.  She was old fashioned and totally in the dark when it came to intimacy.

I didn't buy into the romance so much in this story just because Quinn was so mean.  But I did get a lot of laughs about him explaining sex to Amanda. He would say things like "that hardening [of her nipples] is because you are aroused, you want me, but don't worry it will go away" [or words to that effect].  Everything he knows about sex, he learned from books and he takes a very clinical and old fashioned approach to the whole thing.

The one thing that saved this story for me was some suspense at the end that was really good.  This story was not all that Christmasy either.  So neither of these shorties added much to my Christmas spirit. 

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Going to the Chapel 
by Rita Herron
Pub. Date:  Nov. 11, 2014
Publisher:  Montlake Romance
Pages:  132
Format:  eBook
Source:  Kindle Unlimited


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

If there’s a naughty list, Izzy Sassafras is on it—but she’s ready to make a new start this Christmas. Especially after leaving her lying, cheating, no-good husband and fleeing to her old hometown of Matrimony, Georgia. Izzy’s made herself a promise: no more men. All she wants to do is get her wedding business up and running—and mend fences with her estranged sisters. But Izzy knows she’s in trouble when her very first client, a smooth-talking Texan, makes her light up like a Christmas tree.

Desperate for business, private investigator Levi Fox reluctantly takes a case involving a runaway wife in a town called Matrimony. When he meets sweet, sexy Izzy, he decides she can’t possibly be as innocent as she seems. At first, posing as her client is the perfect cover; but he soon imagines himself as a groom—with Izzy as his Christmas bride! Will this case end with a trip to the chapel…or the jailhouse?

This was a cute little southern romance, heavy on the Christmas theme. Izzy and her sisters are from small town north Georgia. Matrimony is one of those small towns where everyone knows everyone else's business, and memories are long.  The Sassafras sisters scattered after the last scandal they caused in town, cat fighting in the middle of the Dairy Delite.  But now they are all back in Matrimony for one reason or another, each with their own secret and treading warily around one other.  Working together on a wedding planning business is where we get most of our Christmas theme, as the sisters are planning a Christmas wedding for their first client, Levi Fox.  Only Levi is a client under false pretenses. 

Going to the Chapel was a light and quick read, with no steam to it. It's my first read from Rita Herron and I will probably read more from her in the future.  The characters were endearing and I liked the southern small town feel.

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