Beauty and the Mustache (Knitting in the City, #4; Winston Brothers, #0) in Sharks of Awesome

Jan 15, 2018 Julie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Life for a Winston sibling is anything but ordinary. For Ashley – life as the only girl in a home full of testosterone held its own set of challenges. Fleeing her home state of Tennessee, Ashley created a life for herself in the windy city of Chicago. A far cry from the mountains and backwoods of Tennessee. Life moved on and Ashley found herself distancing her life from everything that reminded her of home….except her mother. The two kept a bond unlike any that Ashley has with the rest of her fa Life for a Winston sibling is anything but ordinary. For Ashley – life as the only girl in a home full of testosterone held its own set of challenges. Fleeing her home state of Tennessee, Ashley created a life for herself in the windy city of Chicago. A far cry from the mountains and backwoods of Tennessee. Life moved on and Ashley found herself distancing her life from everything that reminded her of home….except her mother. The two kept a bond unlike any that Ashley has with the rest of her family. Until the day she couldn’t reach her mother, and found out that all was not well with the woman who was the backbone behind the Winston Family.
Coming home isn’t always easy…..for Ashley, her homecoming is met by the ‘sound of a beating drum’. Something that irritates and fuels the Winston sibling to give her brothers a piece of her mind. What Ashley didn’t count on was her wrath would be felt by someone that is NOT a Winston. Drew was responsible for Ashley’s lack of sleep, and his appearance in the life of the Winston family both peaks Ashley’s curiosity and puzzles her.
As the matriarch of the family declines in health, Ashley finds herself leaning more on the man that seems to be the catalyst that keeps the sanity in the Winston household. Drew is unlike anyone Ashley has ever met. Someone that enjoys the written word and knows how to treat you like a ‘lady’. Someone that doesn’t overstep boundaries, but provides the support that is needed when it feels like life is pulling the rug from under you. Ashley and Drew know that they are on a ‘time limit’. Both determined to not give in to the spell that seems to have captured both of their hearts.

Ahhhh…..Drew and Ashley …..what an amazing story!! It’s like finding a piece of your heart and not knowing if you should connect the two pieces or not. At least….that is how I am imagining that Ashley and Drew felt. This story dives straight into the world of the Winston Family. A place that is so familiar it feels like I am reading about friends and family.
Ashley is struggling with the knowledge that her mother will not be a part of her life much longer. Nothing could have prepared her for meeting Drew. The man is a walking contradiction who has somehow become such an intrical part of the Winston Family. As Drew and Ashley discover and share so many facets in life, they quickly ignite the attraction that seems to be bubbling the more time they are in one another’s company.
Ashley and Drew’s story is by far the best introduction to living life as a Winston!! It is a tale full of wit, romance, and the quirkiness that comes with having six brothers in your life!! The other quality that Penny Reid added to this tale…..classic romance!! With time and technology at our fingers, a classic romantic seems to be a thing of the past. With Ashley and Drew – romance is the name of the game!! Love fiercely, honestly and without inhibitions….that’s the true lesson of Ashley and Drew’s love!!
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Jul 28, 2015 Anna Chastain rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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I don't think I've read anything as romantic as Beauty and the Mustache in contemporary fiction, and the majority of what I read is romance. Reid was able to bridge classic and contemporary romance beautifully. Add in the quotes and poetry and my literary-loving heart is full. Gah! So good. ...more

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May 11, 2016 Anna Marie rated it really liked it

My second delve into Penny Ried's writing. Not nearly as good as 'Neanderthal'... but I still laughed until I cried. Multiple times.

I think the problems I had with this book were complicated. Beauty & the Mustache... but the emphasis in the book is wholly on beards, throughout. This irked my anal somethin' fierce. The fact that the hero used words and phrases chicks use. He was supposed to be masculine, but felt like Penny writing pretend-masculinity.

I hated the steal from 'Twilight' - the two p ...more

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Feb 20, 2018 Danielle rated it really liked it

I just finished this book and I really enjoyed it. I put off reading it because I DON'T KNOW WHY I CAN'T REMEMBER! (I think I was confused by the mustache?? I don't know!) But I really shouldn't have. Because its very good. The book starts off with a funny funny bang, the kind of start where people look over at you because you're laughing to yourself over your e-reader. Any book that uses the term "purple your nurple" is on my TBR.
It's another really well written book by Penny Reid. That being I just finished this book and I really enjoyed it. I put off reading it because I DON'T KNOW WHY I CAN'T REMEMBER! (I think I was confused by the mustache?? I don't know!) But I really shouldn't have. Because its very good. The book starts off with a funny funny bang, the kind of start where people look over at you because you're laughing to yourself over your e-reader. Any book that uses the term "purple your nurple" is on my TBR.
It's another really well written book by Penny Reid. That being said, I think this book is different than the other books in that its very tender and sorrowful. It's impressive to me how the book twists between moments of sorrow and reflective mourning to hilarity (ie the purple nurple instance). ANOTHER thing I love about this book and really actually all of the Knitting in the City books is the AMAZING examples of female friendships. Some romance books don't handle female relationships well, and the focus is all on the heroine or love interest. You get to know a character more when you see who they are from all the angles of their personality, like who they are in a group, who their best friend is and what they think like. The ladies in the knitting circle do this for each other in their books and it makes their characters have enriched dimensions. Not to mention that showing examples of true female friendship is a BEAUTIFUL AND LOVELY THING. :) I think that Penny Reid can sometimes getcha' because you're reading this quicksilver dialogue where you're laughing and grinning because how clever these people are and how interesting their inner thoughts or lives are, and then you find yourself really feeling the characters and being interested in them. The characters are good people. And I can't finish the review without mentioning the part where Ashley says "He made a curving motion in front of his chest with his hands, presumably to emphasize the bigness of the boobs, or to demonstrate that he might-in fact- be a big boob." I had to slow my role and reread this. SO FUNNY MY GOD. My one minor complaint is how long the miscommunication lasted between Drew and Ashley. I get it how its a plot device, but it was just so painful to sit and watch them be so confused! Kind of a bittersweet pain but I just want them to be happy! I like how the little quotes made me think. The one about loving fictional people when there are other people who need love especially made me stop and think. When I read the description for the Winston books I was like “I want to read about my smart sex positive knitting ladies in the city not dudes in rural south!!!” And then I read this book and now all I can think is “How does Cletus find love????” Or “Billy probably looks reallly good in a suit…” So now I have to make my way over to read the Winston Bro books. :) ...more

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