Dr Strange Beard (Winston Brothers #5) by Penny Reid
Ten years after Simone Payton broke his heart, all Roscoe Winston wants is a doughnut. He’d also like to forget her entirely, but that’s never going to happen. Roscoe remembers everything—every look, every word, every single unrequited second—and the last thing he needs is another memory of Simone. Unfortunately, after one chance encounter, Simone keeps popping up everywhere he happens to be . . . Ten years after Roscoe Winston dropped out of her life, all Simone Payton wants is to exploit him. She’d also like some answers from her former best friend about why he ghosted her, but if she never gets those answers, that’s a-okay. Simone let go of the past a long time ago. Seriously, she has. She totally, totally has. She is definitely not still thinking about Roscoe. Nope. She’s more than happy to forget he exists. But first, she needs just one teeny-tiny favor . . .
A guy who remembers everything proves trying to forget about the love of his life is easier said than done.
I cannot wait for Billy's book- I'm actually sad to know that his romance hasn't taken place yet and he's lived so long in his life without the love of his life (in my guess- Claire!)I read all of the winston brothers books super fast. Cletus and Roscoe have been my favorites. Shout out to Jethro and Duane. Beau bringing up the rear- but still with a book I read in the span of 3 days. These books are great for romance novel lovers- which I would now consider myself! BUT they didn't make the required reading list because of the high level of steam. If you're up for a steamy read, or up for skimming parts of a fun series- then these ones are for you!
I love an interracial couple. It might be because I'm a little biased (hollar to all the other mixed kids out there!) but I love reading about an interracial couple. You know, I had never read a story with interracial protagonists until I was an adult. And I read a lot of YA... just saying. (Seriously, I'm saying that it's a real thing that kids grow up reading books but not seeing themselves or their possibilities in the books they read.) I should also note that the most diverse protagonists I have ever read have been in romance novels! (This actually really nails why I am so into reading romance novels right now. I love a romcom and I LOVE reading a story involving people of color. I didn't know I was missing that until .... well until I noticed).This book also tackled some racism- what it's like to be an affluent black family living in the south. Simone had real conversations with her friends about how to support her, and how she wanted to handle situations that directly influenced her.Can we talk about how all of Penny Reid's heroine's are freaking awesome? She always writes smart heroines who aren't twiddling their thumbs when a smarter man comes and whisks them away. So far her heroines have been an actress, a business owner, an FBI agent\scientist, and a teacher who brought STEM to her school. Also, all of them were independently financially stable (or were by the end of the books) so that's pretty cool to me.
My biggest knock on the book is that it was too steamy for me. This was a total 5 out of 5 steam level! This, I think, was the steamiest of the Winston Brothers books... oh wait, I say that with each review? okay I guess they're all steamy.My next knock is that I was kind of confused in the ending- let's just say there was a lot going on with the towns biker gang and I'm not sure I followed all of it. (This could be partly because, as previously stated in other reviews, I'm not into this plotline so I may be skimming sections involving the biker gang). Now that's not to say that she won't write more about it in the next books and it will all resolve itself - but as is, I was confused. I did actually reread part of the ending to try to clarify some biker gang madness and I still didn't follow it all.
Watch: Miss CongenialityListen: New Light by John MayerEat: donuts from a mom and pop shop.