About mini reviews:
Maybe you’re not an audio book person, or maybe you are. I provide mini reviews of audio books and give a recommendation on the format. Was this book improved by a voice actor? Would a physical copy have been better? Perhaps they complement each other? Read on. . .
Sienna Diaz is the biggest name in Hollywood. She’s a writer and lead actress, and she won an Academic Award for best actress — in a comedy no less. She’s also on the fat side, her manipulative younger sister is her manager, and male actors try to cling to her in hopes that fame will rub off. When Sienna heads to Tennessee to start her next picture, she ends up lost on the Appalachia mountains, where Jethro Winston finds her. A wildlife ranger who has worked for five years to get back into everyone’s good graces after stealing cars, gang activity, and sleeping with every woman in town, Jethro is looking to stay on the right path. But when these two meet, yada, yada, yada.
Penny Reid wisely choose to write a large family; there are six Winston brothers and one sister, so that’s a guaranteed seven books to lasso readers with. I didn’t read the first book, and it seems to make no difference. Every Winston brother is bearded in the way that craft brewery dudes are now, and gorgeous, which to makes me roll my eyes. I know it’s trendy to be a woodland hipster, but not every guy looks great with a beard, and not everyone is factory-made perfect. Sienna describes herself as the “fat funny” Latina, but annoyingly she excuses her size by explaining she exercises daily. People do not need to excuse or explain their bodies to justify their existence. Yes, Sienna eats a cookie or donut if she wants to, but she also shares her clothes sizes, which is a big no from me. Penny Reid gives readers an opportunity to think, “Oh, she’s not that fat.” Jethro almost always explains his love for Sienna with a comment about her body.
On the other hand, Chris Brinkley and Cielo Camargo are the perfect choices to narrate Jethro and Sienna. Thanks to their natural accents and ability to capture one another (e.g. when Camargo narrators and reads dialogue from Jethro), I enjoyed listening to this book for quite a while. However, I got impatient and wanted the story over when there were still about four hours left (it’s twelve hours total) because it felt like nothing was happening. There was excessive talking about how much Sienna and Jethro love each other, they’re so perfect for each other, she doesn’t care if she hurts her career when the media learns about his past, etc. And Reid lays several of Chekhov’s guns all over the place without firing them, meaning her book is a terrible tease in an unacceptable way.
Pros: good audiobook readers, warm and fuzzies, fat main character.
Cons: fat character “acceptably” fat, plot could be shorter, lacks conflict.
This may be the perfect book if you’re in a reading slump or want something light, so if you do check out Grin and Beard It, I would recommend the audio version.
Grab the Lapels 
How funny – my husband mentioned a Chekhov’s Gun in Doctor Who just yesterday, and here you are using it! What a shame this book isn’t as good as the cover!!
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It’s a famous “rule” in writing communities, one that gets mentioned by other famous authors, such as Stephen King in his book On Writing. Tell the spouse he gets a high-five, lol.
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Oh yes, sorry, I knew what it is (I didn’t know my husband did!) but was surprised to see it come up twice in two days!
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And in reference to a Dr. Who show, no less! 😀
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I’ve been tempted by this series because I do happen to like bearded guys generally, and I like the idea of a larger than usual size leading lady in this instalment, but I’m not keen on the Hollywood angle.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts
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The Hollywood angle doesn’t play a big part. Personally, I would have liked more of her movie life to seep into the story, as celebrities never get a break from being themselves. However, Reid basically transplants the leading lady to Tennessee, and it’s like the outside world doesn’t exist. As I was listening, I think one thing I was hyper-aware of was the lack of real, meaningful flaws in the characters, ones that they would have to grow from. In Grin and Beard it, the characters need to ask themselves if they choose love or work, and the answer seemed too obvious. BUT! It was a fun, sexy read, so based on your interest and enjoyment of the bearded folk, I would say go for it!
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Me love audiobooks 😂
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You know what I wish we had more of, though? Radio plays. OMG. I want basically an audiobook that is completely immersive. My husband was a broadcasting major in college, and it was so fun to watch him work on a radio play, finding all the right sound effects, or even creating some foleys.
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You can get plays too! You need to key in plays in search they are there!!!
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Ooooh, I’ll see if my library has anything. I tend to not buy audiobooks because they’re so pricey. I have looked up radio plays on YouTube with success. I especially like the old Tales from the Crypt.
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They have free ones on Audio you just have to dig them out. There are a lot of cheapos too that pop up. If you’re a member you get a freebie every month too so if you get War and Peace for example it will last you! LibriVox all free and some others for your classics!
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These are resources I’m not familiar with (I’ve heard of them but not used them), so I’ll snoop around. Thanks!
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I’m not sure I’m hearing most of them I’m using them to go to sleep at the moment after a bad patch of insomnia. They work very well!😂
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Ugh, the acceptably fat thing. Unnecessary!
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I also think of it as body erasure. If she’s not defending her choice to eat cookies, someone’s narrating in their head how sexy she is.
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This series is everywhere! From yer description, I shall skip it. Fun review though.
x The Captain
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I don’t think you would like it, as you’re not quite warm and squishy in the way some folks are. I didn’t realize it would be quite so squishy myself. I think it’s likely everywhere because A) beards are in right now, and B) those fun cross-stitch covers are hard to resist.
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Ha that title is cheeky, i like the cover too. 12 hours does sound a bit long for a book this straightforward however. Also-the idea of never eating a cookie or donut makes me sad!
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Ahh, but she DOES eat the cookie and donut and wants to make sure you know! *sigh* …… *grumpy face* Also, that’s a good pun. About the beard being….cheeky? Eh? Eh? 😀
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I’m truly a writer now hahah
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As someone who does not generally like beards on men, I feel this book isn’t for me! Am I right in understanding this to be part of a seven book series?
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The seven books are already published, but I’m not reading any more of them. It’s one book for each brother (there are 6) and one for their sister. . . . even though the series is called The Winston Brothers?
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That would bug me. Both as a reader and a sister!
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Bah. This sounds like a dud. It sounds like you skipped book #1 in this series. Is that because this book has a fat protagonist and the first did not? I love the covers, but these books don’t really appeal to me in any other way.
I’m so glad to hear about the audiobook narrators, though! That’s so important. Bad narrators can ruin a book. Do you feel like these narrators improved the book over all for you?
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I picked the book because it had a fat protagonist. Then, I learned that the book is part of a series, so I didn’t mean to skip book one. However, I think Reid developed the books so you get more out of reading them all, but you don’t have to read them all to get one of them.
I think if the narrators had been other people, and not done as good of a job, I likely would have quit listening and had a DNF on my hands!
You know who is a great narrator but it surprises me? Bronson Pinchot, the guy who famously played Balki Bartokomous back in the 80s and 90s. Since then, he’s been doing all kinds of voice work, and he’s fantastic. I’m listening to Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor, and he’s got these great inflections for various Southern people.
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I love how good narrators can make a poor book experience more enjoyable, too! I’m glad that was your experience. I rarely think about that because I often attribute my enjoyment to the book itself. Hm. I’ll need to more critical when I love an audiobook.
Really? I’ll have to check out some audiobooks narrated by Bronson Pinchot. All I can think of is him saying “Don’t be ridiculous” or “Don’t get crazy!”
So. Good.
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Oh, man. The more I listen to Wise Blood the more I realize that Pinchot has a variety of southern redneck in his voice Rolodex that is most surprising.
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I’m dying over here. Now I HAVE to find audiobooks he narrates.
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I just went down a Pinchot rabbit hole on the internet. There’s 20 minutes I’ll never get back, LOL. I have to say, he sounds like one of the most thoughtful, intelligent actors I’ve ever read in an interview.
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Do you really want those 20 minutes back? I doubt it. It sounds like you learned a lot about Pinchot!
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I should have spent those 20 minutes reading The Black Gryphon 😬
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