Grin & Beard It (Winston Brothers #2) by Penny Reid

Grin & Beard It book coverThis book is a little unusual because it features a charming heroine who is both ridiculously famous as a comedic actor and overweight. I’m not particularly interested in famous people, so I thought I might not enjoy this one as much as some of Reid’s other books. But Sienna Diaz is an engaging character a little at odds with her status. And Jethro Winston is completely oblivious to and not remotely interested in who she is to the rest of the world, which is one of the things that draws her to him.

I mean, how they meet is a tad cliche—she’s out driving in rural Tennessee and gets lost. But many of us can relate to this. I’m terrible in rural areas; I can’t tell the difference between roads and driveways sometimes. So, it works for me. And Jethro is the park ranger for the national park Sienna keeps driving circles inside. In the end, they give up and he gives her rides to and from the set, which works out for both of them and lets them get to know each other. Of course, most of the time Cletus is there in the truck with them, with his comic relief.

Not that we really need him for that—Sienna herself is funny with a small side of snark. That’s the main reason for her fame, and Reid manages to pull it off and then some. When she’s thinking about the “other woman” (Jethro’s best friend’s widow) being beautiful, she thinks:

She was fuckingly gorgeous. She was so gorgeous, her beauty deserved the f-bomb used as an adverb.

I also like the fact that she’s fat (not just by Hollywood’s definition) and still manages to outshine the rest of Hollywood in a way that is believable, at least for the duration of the novel. Overall, I really liked Sienna and was interested in seeing how she worked out what she really wanted to do while dealing the all the pressures of being famous Sienna.

Jethro is also an appealing guy. If you’ve read the first book, you know he’s got a sketchy past. That comes out here as significant in how he sees himself and any kind of relationship he might be able to have with Sienna. He’s also not remotely concerned with who she is in Hollywood, as he’s not into such things. They connect on a different level, one Sienna would love to be able to exist at. Jethro’s sweet and classy in his own way. When they’re having dinner on night and discussing the word “buxom,” and how it describes what she’s got going on in a certain area, he says:

‘Just like, the word clever describes what you have going on here,’ he motioned to my brain, ‘and the word beautiful describes what you have going on everywhere.’

Love it.

Things are up and down for Sienna and Jethro, but the resolution is nice. The book delivers with Reid’s trademark humor and her slightly-steamy heat level. Read it if you’ve enjoyed her other books, or if you haven’t.