So we're just going to brush the fact that I haven't written or posted anything in the last 5 years, are we? Or the fact that I have at least 7
draft posts in various and sundry stages of incomplete-ness? Yup, because for the first time in forever I didn't have to force myself to write, it just flowed naturally, so ya, here's hoping this is a permanent goodbye to the long-standing writer's block!
It's the end of an era, sigh! It's been five years since I met Ash and Drew as a part of the totally kick-ass band of female friends we all wish we had in the knitting in the city series. On Nov 4th, finally, the epic conclusion to the Winston Brothers series by Penny Reid came out with Billy and Scarlet's story and I for one was not ready to bid adieu to all the funny nutty characters of Green Valley, and most of all the Winston Siblings.
My introduction to the Pennyverse was with her first book - Neantherthel Seeks Human, wherein I was absolutely charmed by the beguiling Janie and the surly Quinn and the rest, as they say, was history. I don't often feel compelled to write book reviews, which is a shame considering how many I read, and how many thought I have about each of them. However, when I do feel compelled to write one it is because a book hit me in the feels and writing about it is a way of coming to terms with all these feelings, as Billy would say, in a way I do it for me.
Having been along for the ride most of us were not ready for Beard Necessities or to say goodbye to the Winston "Weirdo" Siblings, but most of all we were not ready for the heartburn that Beard Necessities promised. My favourite contemporary women's romance author Susan E. Philips has a saying: I read romance because "life is too short to read tragedies" and I live by this. Books have always been a release for me and I try to avoid tragedy in the books I choose when life has it in spades. Having said that I read Beard With Me knowing full well that it promised to be a gut-wrenching, heart-aching ugly cry fest. Why? Because I'm a sucker for what Penny dishes out and because - Cletus.
When I was done with the book I wanted to punch some of the beloved Green Valley folk in the face, except of course Ben McClure who deserves several in the nuts instead. Razor and Darrell, but that's like saying the sun rises in the east, Carla for necessitating Cletus to be noble, Cletus for being noble (Lea, sigh) and of course Billy for being Billy - steadfast to the point of exasperation sometimes and a self-sacrificing martyr. Now that you're all caught up lets move on the main show - Beard Necessities.
The last two days have been a roller coaster of emotions. Here's what was a given - Scarlet and Billy would find their way back to each other and Scarlet would realize that she made the wrong choice time and again. I was wrong. I underestimated the nuances and complexities of the situation and all the meddling by the good folks around them that led to 18 years of separation for the two. However, the biggest thing I realized from reading this book? Billy may be "the best of them" if you look at him from the perspective of any of his siblings, but when you look at him from the perspective of Billy he is just a man. A sometimes flawed, sometimes hypocritical, sometimes unforgiving man who is sometimes wrong (shocker I know!).
Looking at Billy from everyone else's perspective for 5 years you make the mistake of viewing him as the epitome of a good man. The problem with this is that when you do that for 5 books you're somewhat blind-sided to realize that when all is said and done he is just a man. Once you come to terms with this fact, it is easy to see why Billy is so unwilling to concede that he did wrong by Scarlet by taking away her right to choose. Billy like the rest of us has always seen himself as reflected in the opinions of others, and since other know Billy as self-sacrificing and noble, he can't possibly be selfish. I think Sienna sums it up the best here "Knowing Billy, I can believe all these things. This sounds just like him. I mean, being stupidly noble and making incredibly dumb decisions
based on black-and-white assessments that require nuance and subtlety".
The brilliance of the book is in how it forces us to view each of the characters we have previously come to love, critically and realize that the "best" amongst us sometimes need the most help, even if they are unwilling to graciously accept said help. Despite their flaws and awesomeness Ash, Drew, Duane, Jess, Jet, Sienna, Cletus, Jenn, Beau, Shelly, Roscoe and Simone are a reflection of friends and family we all have around us. They are often meddlesome and infuriating but in the end, they love us and make us better.
So as the series comes to an end here's to the weirdoes in each of our lives who question us, challenge us and push us to be better and who love us exactly how we are. To paraphrase one of my favourite lines from the book if the soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts, my soul right now is Tuscan glacier and Scarlet.
Because I couldn't end on that note here are a few of my favourite lines from Beard Necessities that work well in everyday situations as I look forward to meeting Cletus and Jenn again in Engagement and Espionage!
"Lucidity materialize like a wise bartender, pointing out facts I already knew."
"If you give Cletus an inch, he'll take a light year"
"He can't find his way out of a paper bag, 'cause paper bags are made of wood and that's too close to being like a tree"
"Don't do that. Then it's a lifetime of keeping score and I, for one, hate math"
"Then with the deft grace and charm of a professional Cletus-handler.."
"As much as I loved Scarlet, part of me also hated her. I hated that I'd been a source of her guilt, that she considered me a weakness, something to overcome rather than someone to cherish, like I wanted to cherish her"
"Talking I was beginning to suspect, was the root of all evil. The ease of it in particular was an issue.
Talk it out. Talk it over. Talk it through. Useless. If more folks thought it out, thought it over and thought it through instead of talking, then the world would be less cluttered with opinions and assholes" (Engagement and Espionage)
Read more about Penny and her other books here.
Get Beard Necessities here.
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