Title: Dr. Strange Beard Author: Penny Reid
Series: Winston Brothers #5
Release date: July 30, 2018
(Sub)genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 350
Buy: Amazon US ~ Amazon UK
Rating:
I received this book from Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Hunches, horse races, and heartbreak
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 Winston 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 . . .
How is it for a person, to remember everything. Every spoken word, even from years ago. Dr. Strange Beard is the story of Roscoe Winston – one of the Winston siblings – and Simone Payton, who used to be friends… I love this book; the couple and the story!
“I would not remember how warm she was or how her cheek and lips felt next to the skin of my neck. I will not. Dammit. I was so screwed.”
Teenage Roscoe and Simone are the best of friends, until they aren’t. One day all is mighty fine, the next day Roscoe just vanishes from Simone’s life, completely ghosting her. And the reason? Simone doesn’t have a clue, and after a while she just pretends all is ok (even though it hurts). Fast forward ten years and Roscoe and Simone are both responsible adults with adult jobs; he’s a veterinarian, she works for the FBI. Seeing each other again is awkward, but Simone and Roscoe keep finding excuses to meet up.
“I moaned, or he did. Whatever. And apparently Roscoe did control space and time, and sound, because everything stopped and faded. There was only him and his lips moving against mine.”
Roscoe and Simone are both good people, but their pasts have shaped them. We know all about the dysfunctionality of the Winston household from the previous books, and Roscoe’s experience with daddy-dearest is just as bad. As the youngest of the bunch he hasn’t spend much time with the guy, but Roscoe can’t stand him for what he did to his siblings. Simone has grown up with wonderful, loving parents, but she has been taught to be cautious, to always be careful. Sadly, this is a reality for people with a non-white skin. But that hasn’t stopped her to get where she wanted to be. Roscoe and Simone clearly belong together, they just need to get their heads in the same direction.
Dr. Strange Beard is already the fifth book in the ‘Winston Brother Series’, and like the other books it’s a very entertaining read about a bearded hot – but slightly weird – guy and the woman he falls for. Besides the obvious development of the feelings Simone and Roscoe still have for each other, there’s a lot more going on. Simone is busy with her job, and Daddy Winston and his MC gang friends pop up a few times. I love the whole mix of events; it’s everything from sweet love to mayhem and everything in between.
“You are in my heart. You have shaped my soul. Nothing—nothing—will change that for me.”
Excerpt
“Simone, this is not one of our adventures from when we were kids. This is not finding Blithe Tanner’s cat. These men are murderers, drug dealers, thieves.”
“I know.” Boy oh boy, did I know. I didn’t want to be here anymore than he did. I was frightened. Yet allowing Roscoe to be taken on his own hadn’t been an option. “I can handle myself, and I can provide backup for you, if you need it.”
Roscoe gripped my shoulders. “Nothing can happen to you, do you understand?” His words were emphatic, his gaze disoriented, desolate, frantic. “If anything happens to you, I’ll . . .” He swallowed, apparently unable to finish the sentence.
My heart twisted to see him like this. I wished there were some way to show him what I could do, what I was capable of, so he would stop seeing me as a liability.
Well, why can’t you?
“Huh.”
Now there was a thought.
Stepping out of his grip, I walked backward to the other side of the room and took a deep breath. “Okay. Come at me.”
He blinked. “What?”
“I want you to come at me.”
“Simone,” he seethed.
“Come at me, bro.” I did that little movement with my fingers, my palm turned upwards. “Come at me or I’ll start singing again.”
“I’m not doing this.”
“Fine.”Frustrating. “I’ll come at you.”
He stood there, features set, looking raw.
Moving quickly forward, staying light on my feet, I faked right and then went left, hooking him behind the back of his leg, catching his arm to twist behind his back, and sending him to the ground—face-first—with a thud.
I winced as he grunted, my knee at the base of his spine, his arm restrained behind his back. “Sorry! But you wouldn’t listen to me.” Leaning forward, I whispered in his ear, “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
Roscoe’s back and shoulders rose and fell with an expansive breath, like he was about to respond, but in the next moment he’d spun his legs to the right, leveraged my knee on his back to throw me off-balance, and slipped his wrist from my hold.
In my defense, my grip had been lax as I was purposefully trying not to injure him.
The next thing I knew, Roscoe had me pinned to the ground, air knocked out of me, him hovering above, and my gun digging into my ribs beneath my shirt. He’d been careful to subdue my legs, likely so he wouldn’t end up with a bruised ballsack.
His stare more probing than angry—which I took as a good sign—he said, “I didn’t teach you that. Where’d you learn that?”
Even though I was still coughing, I smiled and rasped, “Since college, take judo.”
He nodded faintly, his eyes moving between mine, looking concerned. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
“No.” Endeavoring to catch my breath, I said, “I took it easy on you because I didn’t want to hurt you either, but I’m an asset, not a liability.”
“You’re definitely an asset.” Roscoe frowned, his gaze dropping to my mouth. “And a distraction,” he said, his voice rough.
“I’m a distraction?” I asked, my words still breathy.
I bucked, but he held me fast.
“Yes. . .” His stare turned inward. “You are most definitely a distraction.”
Even though I’d had plenty of time to recover and we’d been holding still for close to a minute, I was still breathing hard. This might have been because of my lingering irritation. Or, maybe it was because the length of Roscoe’s lean body was lying on mine. He held my hands on either side of my head, our faces even, his mouth just inches away.
Was it insane that I hoped he kissed me?
Yes?
No?
Let’s go with no.
He gave me his eyes again and I saw something there, a battle. He looked undecided, at war with himself, straining against something I couldn’t see.
“Roscoe?” I whispered.
Roscoe closed his eyes, and I thought he was going to let me go, but in the next second his lips descended, capturing my mouth in a tender kiss.
I moaned.
I kissed him back.
That’s what one does when Roscoe Winston kisses one. Moan and kiss. Repeat. Because not doing so would be a travesty.
His hold on my hands slacked, his fingers seeking and threading with mine. He settled his hips between my legs, his form relaxing. The weight of him was different now, warmer somehow. At least I felt warm. I also felt cherished as his tongue sought mine, again tenderly, stroking, causing my abdomen to twist and tighten into delicious knots.
He broke the kiss and a protest died on my lips as his mouth trailed down my jaw to the sensitive skin of my neck, sucking, licking, savoring me. What had felt warm and cherishing heated, and my hips tilted reflexively as he nibbled on my ear, cradling his rapidly growing erection.
We both gasped as his hips rocked in an answering yet inelegant movement. It felt perfect and essential in the moment.
“Oh God.” His hot breath spilled against my jaw, a ragged sigh. “What are we doing?”
“I don’t know, but don’t stop.”
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