Blog Tour + Review & Giveaway: Beard Science by Penny Reid

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Beard Science by Penny Reid!

Beard Science by Penny Reid
Series: Winston Brothers #3 (full reading order below)
Release Date: October 11th 2016
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Make a deal with the devil and you might get what you want, but will it be what you need?

Jennifer Sylvester wants one thing, and that one thing is NOT to be Tennessee’s reigning Banana Cake Queen. Ever the perpetual good girl and obedient daughter, Jennifer is buckling under the weight of her social media celebrity, her mother’s ambitions, and her father’s puritanical mandates. Jennifer is officially desperate.

And desperate times call for Cletus Winston.

Cletus Winston is a puzzle wrapped in a mystery covered in conundrum sauce, and now he’s in a pickle. Despite being convinced of his own omniscience, extortion by the exalted Banana Cake Queen of Green Valley has taken him completely by surprise. So… what’s a maniacal mastermind to do?

Likely, the last thing you expect.

Buy Links:
Amazon • iTunes • Barnes & Noble • Kobo

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I had such high expectations for Beard Science ever since first meeting Cletus and being utterly intrigued by him. He was unlike any other character I’d ever come across, and now that I’ve read his story, I can still say he’s one of the most unique characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Seeing him fall in love was something I never knew I wanted, but Penny Reid gave me this wonderful experience that I totally adored. If you’re a fan of Penny Reid or wonderfully quirky characters you can’t help but love, I highly recommend this book!

I felt hushed. I felt smothered. I felt suppressed and . . . ignored. Not just by my parents and their expectations, but also by me. I’d been ignoring myself. I’d been ignoring my own wishes and hopes.
So indeed, I decided to feel motivated, determined, ready, and . . . excited.
I was excited, ready to find my spirit.

Jennifer Sylvester is known as the Banana Cake Queen… and she hates her title. She’s always followed her parents’ rules and has never truly done anything for herself, but she’s ready for a change. And the perfect opportunity comes in the form of Cletus Winston – she blackmails the king of blackmail to get him to find a suitable man for her to settle down and start a family with.

“You’ll know one day, Cletus. You’ll discover what it’s like to find the other part of yourself. You’ll know it’s her, only her, always her. Maybe not right away, but eventually you’ll know. She’ll be your beginning, middle, and end. And your intentions won’t matter. Love brings its own intentions, and all other plans, hopes, and dreams fade to insignificance in the face of love.”

Cletus, my love! Cletus is totally up there with Jethro as one of my favorite Winston brothers. He’s just so unexpected and unique – there’s no one quite like Cletus. He made me laugh, smile, swoon… Penny Reid definitely didn’t disappoint with his character. And his heroine, Jennifer, was perfect for him! The two of them don’t have the best first impressions of each other, but after spending time thanks to Jenn’s blackmail causes them to develop feelings they’ve never felt before. It’s a bit of a slow burn romance with neither of them recognizing what they’re feeling for each other, but once they do… it’s the most romantic thing ever.

“You want to know what you are to me? Fine. You’re my beginning, middle, and end.”

I loved Jenn and Cletus individually. Jenn’s transformation from pushover to a woman who goes for what she wants was so impressive and admirable. Cletus is, well, Cletus. His falling in love humanized him a bit more, so to speak, and I love him even more for doing so. Theirs is a relationship that is supportive, respectful, sweet, and sexy as hell. Just saying, Cletus is a man who knows what he wants, and he GOES FOR IT.

She was so beautiful, my Jennifer. And not because of her eyes, or face, or any other outward attributes. The person she was held me transfixed. How could I have disregarded her? How could I have looked at her with anything but wonder and respect and desire?

Beard Science is another wonderful installment to the Winston Brothers series. I loved getting to know Jenn, Cletus, and the rest of the brothers even more. I felt so many emotions as I read this book – I was so hooked, I couldn’t put it down. Now I’m seriously dying for the remaining brothers’ stories, especially Billy and Claire’s. I have a feeling that one will be an agonizing one.

4.5 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: Winston Brothers series

Truth or Beard by Penny Reid Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid Beard Science by Penny Reid

#1 ~ Truth or Beard: My Review • Ebook • PaperbackAudible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Grin and Beard It: My Review • EbookPaperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Beard Science: EbookPaperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Beard in Mind: Goodreads (2017)
#5 ~ Dr. Strange Beard: Goodreads (2017)
#6 ~ Beard Necessities: Goodreads (2017)

about the author button

Penny ReidSEX! It all started with sex, between my parents. Personally I don’t like thinking about it, but whatever works for you is a-ok with me. No judgment. The sex happened in California and much of my life also occurred in that state until I moved from the land of nuts (almonds), wine, silicon… boobs, and heavy traffic to the southeast US. Like most writers I like to write, but let’s get back to sex. Eventually I married and gave birth to 2 small people-children (boy-6, girl-4 as of this writing).

By day I’m a biomedical researcher with focus on rare diseases. By night I’m a knitter, sewer, lino block carver, fabric printer, soap maker, and general crafter. By the wee hours of the morning or when I’m intoxicated I love to listen to the voices in my head and let them tell me stories. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

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Prize Pack from Penny Reid

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Release Day Blitz: A Place in the Sun by R.S. Grey

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Happy release day to R.S. Grey – A Place in the Sun is live!

A Place in the Sun by R.S. Grey
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: October 24th 2016
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When her mother’s incessant matchmaking hits an all-time high, Georgie Archibald does what any sensible woman would do: she flees the country.

Seeking refuge in the picturesque seaside village of Vernazza, Italy, Georgie’s only plan is to lie low, gorge herself on gelato, and let the wine and waves wash her troubles away…that is until she wakes up in a bed that belongs to the most romantic-looking man she’s ever seen.

Gianluca.

After going out of his way to rescue her, the former London financier turned mysterious recluse makes it clear that despite acting as her white knight, he has no plans to co-star in her fairytale.

But Georgie isn’t asking for his heart—she’s merely intrigued.

After all, Gianluca isn’t just gorgeous—tall and tan from days spent in the sun—his touch sets her world on fire. With him, Georgie experiences the most intoxicating passion she’s ever known, and it only takes a few steamy nights for her to realize that sometimes running away from trouble is the best way to find it.

Buy Links:
Amazon

Also by R.S. Grey

Scoring Wilder by R.S. Grey  
The Allure of Julian Lefray by R.S. Grey The Allure of Dean Harper by R.S. Grey  

Scoring Wilder: Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads
Settling the Score: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
With This Heart: Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads
The Allure of Julian Lefray: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads
The Allure of Dean Harper: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads
The Duet: Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads
The Design: Ebook • Paperback • AudibleGoodreads

about the author button

I am a lover of books, chocolate, reality TV, black labs, and cold weather. Seriously, if I had it my way I would be curled up on the couch with all of those things… everyday.

I live in Texas where I spend my free time writing and reading. My favorite authors are Mindy Kaling & Jonathan Safran Foer. I’m a comedy geek and love all things “funny”. Women like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Mindy Kaling are definitely the biggest inspirations for my writing, though I think my work tends to skew a bit smuttier than theirs.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads


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Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop, hosted by BookHounds!

For my stop, I’m giving away a $15 gift card (for Amazon or B&N, open INTL)!

Here are some books I’m looking forward to reading this month!
(Click the covers to preorder)

  
   
   

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$15 GC (Amazon or B&N – open INTL)

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Release Week Blitz + Excerpt & Giveaway: Honor by Jay Crownover

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New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jay Crownover returns with her most complicated hero yet, in the first book in the romantic suspense series The Breaking Point.

Honor by Jay Crownover
Series: The Breaking Point #1
Publication Date: October 18th 2016
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New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jay Crownover returns with her most complicated hero yet, in the first book in the romantic suspense series The Breaking Point. 

Don’t be fooled.

Don’t make excuses for me.

I am not a good man.

I’ve seen things no one should, done things no one should talk about. Honor and conscience have no place in my life. But I’ve fought and I’ve survived. I’ve had to.

The first time I saw her dancing on that seedy stage in that second rate club, I felt my heart pulse for the first time. Keelyn Foster was too young, too vibrant for this place, and I knew in an instant that I would make her mine. But first I had to climb my way to the top. I had to have something more to offer her.

I’m here now, money is no object and I have no equal. Except for her. She’s disappeared. But don’t worry, I will find her and claim her. She will be mine.

Like I said, don’t be fooled. I am not the devil in disguise… I’m the one standing front and center.

Buy Links:
Amazon EbookAmazon Paperback • Audible • Barnes & Noble • iBooks • Kobo

Now here’s an excerpt from Honor! ❤

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NASSIR

I was in the Point for less than a day when I got word that the man that ran the streets wanted to see me. I like to lay low. I liked to blend in, but here it didn’t see like that was an option. Instead of desert sand, the battleground here was asphalt and concrete, and as soon as my presence was known, it was as if this place recognized the fight lying dormant inside of me. This city called to it. I don’t know why I instantly felt like I fit, but I did. So I went to see the man in charge, fully expecting to offer him the last of my cash in order to gain a foothold in the desolate kingdom. I was a survivor. I could do without money for a little bit. No man was more resourceful than I was.

I walked into a disgustingly gaudy strip club, offended by its crass ugliness. I was expecting to meet the ruler of the land, state my intentions, and let him know I would bow to no man here or anywhere else ever again. I was expecting a shakedown and maybe some strong-arming since I was obviously foreign and undocumented. I was technically legal since my mother had been an American citizen before she fell in love with an extremist, but I hadn’t really existed on paper since she handed me over to killers and radicals when I was just a kid. Mossad didn’t want me to be anything other than their trained attack dog, so they hadn’t offered up any proof of identity for me during my time at the end of their string. What I wasn’t expecting was that my cause, my reason, my purpose for living, and my something to believe in would be dancing nearly naked on a horrifically ugly stage, looking like she was going to cry at any second. She was so much more than freedom.

She was Honor.

She was beautiful, young, innocent, and so obviously resigned to her fate. It pulled at a heart I was stunned to find I still had buried somewhere deep underneath the brutal history that filled up the inside of me. It was the first time I felt it beat, and the pulse of its yearning scared and electrified me in equal measure.

I started to move toward her like all those invisible gods I spent my life killing for were leading me directly to her when suddenly a man twice her age and triple her size leaped from his seat next to the stage and hurled himself up onto the platform directly at the girl. In the blink of an eye he was on top of her, rough hands all over her naked flesh. I heard her scream. I saw her long limbs flail and thrash under him. A red haze filled my vision and I forgot all about staying quiet and laying low. I forgot all about being a ghost, and realized that I could channel the fight that had been forged into my very soul, the fight that was slumbering restlessly inside me at that moment, into protecting something so innocent. She woke the fight up and she kept it alive.

about the author button

Jay CrownoverJay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men, The Point, and the Saints of Denver series. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she’ll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads

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Signed copies of The Point Series for 1 winner

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Release Day Review: Tonic by Staci Hart

Tonic by Staci Hart
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: October 13th 2016
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

Joel Anderson doesn’t take anything seriously.

Not his relationships, which have been few and far between since his brutal divorce. Not the drama of working in a tattoo parlor, which seems to be around every corner. When things get him down, he smiles and cracks a joke. But he’s not the kind of man you cross, or you’ll find yourself at the wrong end of his fists.

Annika Belousov takes everything seriously.

Like her job as a reality television producer, given that she typically has something to prove. Or her love life, which is defined by a series of requirements — affluent, ambitious, accomplished, to name a few. Definitely her family, who worked their whole lives to afford her every opportunity, a sacrifice she doesn’t take lightly. When she’s tapped to produce a reality show at Joel’s shop, she doesn’t think twice, just goes in for the kill, as if there were any other way.

The second Annika walks into Joel’s shop, he makes it his mission to crack her open, but she’s not having it. He’s all wrong — too crass, too hairy, too un-serious. But it doesn’t take her long to find out there’s more to him than smirks and tattoos. And what she finds could put her career and his heart on the line.

Not that Joel cares. Because for the first time in a long time, he’s found his tonic.

I was excited for Tonic mainly because of Joel – he was so intriguing in Wasted Words, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his story. It wasn’t quite what I expected though – I didn’t love Tonic or hate it. It was very meh for me, to be honest, and I just wasn’t feeling the romance or story at all. The romance was too superficial and not fleshed out enough for me, and the story dragged too much. That being said, it’s not a bad book. I’d say if you’ve been a long-time fan of the author and her writing, then you’ll probably enjoy Tonic.

Joel and his brother are tattoo shop c0-owners, and they’ve just signed on with a TV producer to film a reality show based off their tattoo shop, Tonic. Joel is reluctant to have anything to do with being part of a reality show, so he’s not going to make it easy for the producers to film. But when he meets Annika Belousov, he might not like her job, but he’s definitely intrigued by her as a woman. He can’t stop thinking about her, taunting her… trying to get her into his bed.

Annika is the total opposite of Joel – while he’s laid-back and relaxed, she’s uptight and serious about everything she does. She has an incredible work ethic, though they don’t call her an ice queen for nothing. But what happens when Joel starts to melt the walls around her heart? Can she choose between the man she’s falling for or the career she’s worked so hard to achieve?

While I enjoyed Tonic on a surface level, there were things that prevented me from connecting with the book on a deeper level. Some parts felt too forced and a little awkward – the author tried to fit in too many references to pop culture that it got old fast. I really only cared about Joel and Annika, but these two took too long to sort their problems out and used sex as an avoidance tactic too often. Joel annoyed me in the second half of the novel – he doesn’t seem to know when to take responsibility and likes to blame other people for mistakes that he’s a part of. His character also didn’t feel like a 38-year-old man – he seemed a lot younger and immature, which was not a good thing.

Tonic wasn’t a bad book, but’s it’s definitely one of my least favorites from Staci Hart. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to connect with her future novels more – I still have hope that she’ll write another book as good, or even better than, Chaser!

3 hearts
lacey


Tonic is a standalone spinoff of Wasted Words. Joel first appears here in this book!

Wasted Words: My Review • Ebook • PaperbackAudible • Goodreads

Tonic and Wasted Words are a standalone spinoffs of the Bad Habits series, a series of standalones with characters featured in the spinoffs!

Reading Order: Bad Habits series

With a Twist by Staci Hart Chaser by Staci Hart Last Call by Staci Hart

#1 ~ With a Twist: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Chaser: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Last Call: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads


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