Review: Dr. Strange Beard

Dr. Strange Beard by Penny Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am a complete mess of emotions.
I didn't expect to care much about Roscoe, to be quite honest. To me, this was the book that needed to happen before we finally got to Billy. But oh boy, how the tables have turned.
Roscoe had me at hello with his memory gift that is such a curse for him, with his soulfulness and unrequited love. With his entire being-.. he's so much like Billy and yet he's his own person, learning from his family's mistakes to move on and do better.
Simone was a beautiful fantastic heroine. Her voice was brilliant and I love several things about her. I love that she wasn't interested in being a field agent but liked lab work (and she's still a badass) and I love that she outs the pieces together and figures things out. It would have been such a disservice of her character if she didn't realize why Roscoe ghosted her such a long time ago.
A wonderful story... so wonderful from beginning to end and I cried so many tears for them and their journey to their HEA
All the rest under the cut for spoilers

spoiler: (view spoiler)[

I LOST IT at 8% with Billy being engaged. SO many feelings about that one... SO MANY. I was torn between being happy that he was trying to move on and then I was so sad that he still couldn't.
Jenn being arrested? Isaac being undercover for years? her mom on the run for a crime? GIVE ME A SPINOFF ON ALL THE DONNER-SYLVESTER please!

I loved the entire journey for Roscoe and Simone's falling in love and the part, in the end, all but did me in. I feared for a moment that one of them was not going to make it. But they did, alive and happy and building a new life for their own.

and Billy, omg all the Billy feelings in the book. All the little pieces we start seeing: his engagement to Dani, Dani's love for Curtis/Catfish and their disappearance at 17 pretty much by the time Scarlett also disappear... all those little breadcrumbs.
From the moment we found out that Darrell needed a transplant, I knew it was going to be Billy in the end. It's always been about him... that one is his fight and no one else's
Roscoe's conversation with Billy in their house, followed by his insistence that they take Billy away warmed my heart. And Claire *was* in Italy!!! And now he's gallivanting and I really really hope he's doing it with her. It's been twenty years, Claire and Billy deserved their happy ending.
It is 2019 already!=?!=!?!!= please?

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