Review: Beauty and the Mustache

I never thought I would enjoy a romance series this much but I do. Every book in the Knitting in the City series has been so much fun to read.  I was in a small reading rut when I started Beauty and the Mustache and it brought me out of that rut immediately.  I'm still feeling the happy exhaustion from staying up until 1:30am to finish it and then getting up at 6:00am for work.  It was totally worth it.  :)

Synopsis from Amazon:
This is a full-length novel, can be read as a standalone, and is the fourth book in the 'Knitting in the City' series. 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.

My Review:
Penny Reid's characters are always extremely appealing.  I love every one of the girls in the knitting group.   Janie, Elizabeth, Sandra, and now Ashley have all had their stories told and I can't wait for the next one!  Ashley was perfect as the only daughter of 7 children who goes back home to Tennessee to tend to her dying mother.  We see her at her most vulnerable moments and we see how family and true friendship can keep you going in even the darkest of times.  It was beautiful to see her friends rally together in her time of need and to see her begin to bond once again with her brothers.  The brothers themselves were a hoot.  True southern bearded rednecks who were both adorable and hilarious.  Just visualizing a family photo with them all surrounding Ashley makes me chuckle.  Then, of course, we have our main man Drew. And he is dishy, if that is a word.  I wasn't sure I would be attracted to this character because of the whole facial hair theme but Drew was hot.  I was able to completely overlook the fuzz.

The plot was engaging.  There was the serious side when dealing with Ashley's dying mom and then her deadbeat dad, the romantic relationship that developed with Drew, and the always present snarky humor that has me laughing out loud every time I read one of these books. From yarn hoarding issues to panty parties, these books are the perfect getaway.  You will close every one of them feeling fantastic.