Thursday, October 9

Guest Post & Review: Beauty and the Mustache by Penny Reid


Beauty and the Mustache

Knitting in the City, #4
Penny Reid


Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Caped Publishing
Date of Publication: August 28, 2014
Number of pages: 387
Word Count: 114,320

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN     Kobo     Smashwords


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, reclusive mountain man, 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.

Guest Post: 

Music & Projects

While I was writing Beauty and the Mustache, I must have listened to Mumford and Sons non-stop for six weeks. Finally, I decided to make a playlist (Beauty and the Mustache) for the book, as follows:

1. Ashokan Farewell (The Civil War O.S.T.)
2. I Am My Own Grandpa (Willy Nelson)
3. Girl from the North Country (Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash)
4. November Rain (Guns and Roses)
5. Awake my Soul (Mumford and Sons)
6. I Gave You All (Mumford and Sons)
7. Not With Haste (Mumford and Sons)
8. Below My Feet (Mumford and Sons)
9. Hopeless Wanderer (Mumford and Sons)
10. Ghosts That We Knew (Mumford and Sons)
11. Lovers’ Eyes (Mumford and Sons)
12. I Will Wait (Mumford and Sons)
13. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (Soggy Bottom Boys)
14. Down To The River To Pray (Alison Krauss)
15. I’ll Fly Away (Gillian Welch)
16. Hurt (Johnny Cash)
17. Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell)
18. Killing Me Softly With His Song (Roberta Flack)
19. I Love You (Sarah McLachlan)



As you can see, half of the playlist is Mumford and Sons. There were so many lines/passages in their songs that inspired me and moved me while I wrote, especially regarding Drew. So much of his personality (still waters run deep, strong and silent, poetic soul) comes from this music. Really, Mumford and Sons is 50% responsible for the character of Drew… ;-)




Projects I fancy Ashley likely knit/crocheted over the course of the book…
(click the picture for a link to the pattern)



+ Poetry Mittens



+ Echo Flower Shawl:



+ Penis Wine Bottle Topper



Review: 

I have become a huge fan of Penny Reid's Knitting in the City Series. Each of the books has centered on one of the very unique ladies in a Tuesday night knitting group. The books in the series just keep getting better and better as we come to know and love each of the ladies.  This was Ashley's book. Ashley is the best friend of Sandra, from Love Hacked, #3. She is a pediatric nurse at the hospital where Sandra and Elizabeth (Friends without Benefits, #2) work.

The story starts with Ashley being called back to Tennessee because her mother is in the hospital and her 6 brothers don't know what is going on.  Ashley hasn't been home in 8 years, but for her mom, drops everything and heads home. She is expecting her brothers to be the same lazy, criminally inclined rednecks they were when she left to go to college all those years before.  What she finds are 6 grown hardworking men, all who seemed to have been turned around by one Drew Runous, federal game warden and mountain man look alike.

As it turns out, her mother has terminal cancer and about a month to live. Ashley will have to rediscover her brothers and what they mean to each other, all the while dealing her mother's illness and eventual death. Oh, and of course falling in love with Drew.  Needless to say, this book grabs you by the feels from the very beginning and doesn't let you go.  Ashley has quite an emotional journey throughout the book. Drew may look like a mountain man, but he has the heart and soul of a poet. I couldn't help but root for Drew almost from the moment I met him.

Of course, we still get Tuesday night knitting time.  Mostly done via Skype, and aren't those a hoot, as Ashley's two worlds collide. Ms. Reid once again drew me into this wonderful world she has created, populated by a wonderful group of friends. She had me giggling and sighing, laughing and crying, I just can't get enough of these women and their fascinating dynamics and titillating conversations.  Another 5 star read.


Giveaway: 

Books and Swag





Book Tour Info: 
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the Book Tour:

September 29th:
Our Book Boyfriends
My blog is cooler than your blog
Red Cheeks Reads
Ellie Reads Fiction
Jen in Bookland
Lustful Literature

September 30th:
Foxy Blogs
Booklovers For Life
Nestled in a Book
Maggie Reads and Writes and Stuff
Just Another Book Bitch
Book Worms and Couch Potatoes

October 1st:
book pimpers
Just Leah Felts
Confessions of a Y.A. and N.A. Book Addict
Naughty Book Eden
The Literary Gossip

October 2nd:
Book Club Sisters
deal sharing aunt
JassyBooks ~ Books I Read
Books are my life
Literature Litehouse – Fun with Books
Straight Shootin’ Book Reviews

October 3rd:
Bananas in the Void
Sweet Tea, Sassy Reads
SMW Book Blog
Book Briefs
Book Bumblings
Prone to Crushes on Boys in Books

October 6th:
The Blushing Reader
Romance Addict Book Blog
Book Sojourner
Feeding My Addiction Book Reviews
The Pleasure of Reading Today
Lit Slave

October 7th:
Love Words & Books
A Book Addict’s Delight
LibriAmoriMiei
Words Feather Books
The Book Bellas

October 8th:
Four Brits and a Book
The Fairest of All Book Reviews
Recommended Romance
Mummy’s Naughty Corner
Addicted Souls
Renee Entress’s Blog

October 9th:
Blimey! I Fancy Reading
Sassy Girl Books
Musings and Ramblings
Confessions of an Unsuspected Bookworm
Christy Herself!
The Phantom Paragrapher

October 10th:
Ever After Romance Book Blog
Falling In Fall Book Blog
A British Bookworm’s Blog
Nancy’s Romance Reads
Fictional Rendezvous Book Blog
The Book Blog

Author Bio:


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.

To connect with the author online:

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest | Goodreads


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