Beauty and the Mustache
by Penny Reid
Knitting in the City #4
Publication Date: August 28, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Humor, Romance
Synopsis
There are three things you need to know about Ashley Winston: 1) She has six brothers and they all have beards, 2) She is a reader, and 3) She knows how to knit.
Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston’s preferred coping strategy is escapism. She escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. Now she escapes life daily via her Amazon kindle one-click addiction. However, when a family tragedy forces her to return home, Ashley can’t escape the notice of Drew Runous— local Game Warden, bear wrestler, philosopher, and everyone’s favorite guy. Drew’s irksome philosophizing in particular makes Ashley want to run for the skyscrapers, especially since he can’t seem to keep his exasperating opinions— or his soulful poetry, steadfast support, and delightful hands— to himself. Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she’s lost her heart in small town Tennessee.
This is a full-length novel, can be read as a standalone, and is the fourth book in the ‘Knitting in the City’ series.
Review
Penny Reid’s writing in Beauty and the Mustache has a lyrical feel to it, drawing readers in to each scene and feeling everything that the heroine goes through right along with her, and although this is only my first book in her Knitting in the City series, I know that when I have a chance to read the previous three stories, I will find the effortless beauty of her words in those as well.
Book Four is Ashley’s story, and it finds her headed back to Tennessee, her hometown, to deal with a loss she never saw coming and a household of strangers, her six brothers, that she hasn’t had much contact with for the past eight years. On top of that, Drew Runous, a friend of her mother and her brothers cements himself into her life by giving her what she needs when she needs it and not asking for anything in return. As Ashley works to come to terms with the reality of her mother’s situation as well as the men that her brothers have turned into, Drew never strays from her mind regardless of her need to keep her heart safe in her fictitious world of books. But the overwhelming nature of why Ashley came to Tennessee as well as her and Drew’s differing lives and the distance between them may deter them both from taking a chance that they both clearly seem to want.
Drew Runous – what a perfect last name. Not only does he ruin Ashley for any other man, but he also will ruin readers for any other book boyfriend. He is a man of few words, but what he does say speaks directly to the heart of things. He’s a philosopher, a poet, a musician, a fantastic friend, and a good man. He freely gives of his time and his shoulder when any one of the Winstons needs him, which only makes him more endearing. There are so many layers to who Drew is at his core that’s it’s hard to truly understand him without getting inside his head a bit and meandering around, but through his delicate and caring treatment of Ashley and the words expressed in his journal, readers can tell that he’s definitely the kind of man who deserves happiness and love.
Ashley is an extremely likeable heroine. Moving away from her family and stretching her wings was the best thing for her. It has allowed her to grow into her true self and become the feisty and well educated woman that she is. Readers truly understand her idiosyncrasies by getting the story from her own perspective. Her internal thoughts are entertaining, thought provoking, and heartbreaking throughout the text, but they illustrate everything she is going through by returning home and falling for her mountain man. Ashley and her knitting friends are definitely a group of people I would love to hang out with because they have each other’s back regardless of the distance.
Ashley’s brothers definitely deserve their own stories. I loved each and every one of them. They’re all so different but yet exactly the same. I can’t imagine what Ashley had to endure at their hands while she was growing up, but they definitely step up for her upon her return and show her that they too have changed in the time they have been apart.
Beauty and the Mustache truly epitomizes why I love to read. There’s just something about words strung beautifully together that makes my love for the written word expand. Whether it’s the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter from a multitude of canonical works, Drew’s beautiful poetry, or Ashley’s musings, Penny Ward’s gift for words is clearly demonstrated. Add that to how she develops her characters and what she expresses through their personalities, and readers are blessed with a captivating story about loss, love, and reality.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
5 poison apples
(click on photo to learn more about the series)
About Penny Reid
SEX! 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.
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