The Beard

by Anne Eton

When tall, pretty Kelly interviews at Washington D.C.’s premier LGBT-centric lobbying firm, she claims she has a girlfriend. Nothing could be further from the truth; she’s never even kissed a girl. Kelly’s hired. However, a suspicious co-worker keeps inquiring about her girlfriend. To keep her lies straight, Kelly bases her fictional partner on Anna, an aggressive, gorgeous lesbian friend of a friend. But when the firm’s annual Christmas party looms, Kelly’s forced to produce her mysterious girlfriend. The real Anna agrees to be Kelly’s “beard”—her fake date. But at the party, alcohol flows... and Anna’s all over Kelly. Kelly pretends to her office mates that her “girlfriend’s” advances are perfectly normal—even as she feels her resistance to the beautiful woman melting away.

The Beard is a comedy with sexy scenes and some explicit passages.

Genres: Lesbian, Contemporary, Erotica, LGBT, Romance, Audiobook, Bisexual

78 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 22, 2013

About the author

I write first-time F/F erotic romance. I love what I do!

Most of my plots come from real life: either personal stories friends have told me, or secondhand accounts.

I publish new work fairly often. If you would like to know when, please feel free to sign up for my New Release Mailing List. I will not sell, share, or otherwise reveal your email to anyone, for any reason.


Click HERE to subscribe to the New Release Mailing List


Thanks for reading! If you'd like to get in touch, you can write me here on Goodreads or via my website, below.

Anne

www.anneeton.com

Reviews

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this since it might as well be labeled as PWP. The sex scenes were admittedly very hot but Anna... omg I hope one day soon she looks up the definition of words like 'boundaries' and 'consent' because there wasn't a lot of it in this story. Other than that it was a pretty hot read.

[Anna Avian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hideous

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty cute, if sort of odd story. To say that Anna lacks impulse control is an understatement, but it's not exactly like Kelly minds either. I listened to this one as an audio book and I think that was the way to go.

[Manon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't quite know how to rate this story honestly lol
Anna doesn't know what boundaries are as I read in a previous review, well aside from that it was still worth a read. Both MCs have trouble staying away from each other that's for sure 🥵🔥

[Alex Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a really short story, so managed to finish it quickly. Very light reading, because there isn't a plot, really. The story was a little humorous and the sex scenes were generally okay though there was one part where consent was a little dubious. That part wasn't really a turn off but I was a little uncomfortable with it. Overall a decent enough story.

[Delta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very short f-f erotica, so very little character development. Considering its length, it did a decent job of explaining the situation and the characters' motivation. Anna was a bit too hands-y for me, but it's an erotica so what do you expect.

I listened to the audio version and I thought the narrator did a really great job. The characters were very distinct and I thought there were multiple narrators.

Short, but great, erotica.

[Aliki]

ΔΕΝ ΘΑ ΣΑΣ ΚΑΝΩ ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΗ ΑΝΑΛΥΣΗ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΒΙΒΛΙΟ ΑΥΤΟ ,ΑΝ ΚΑΙ ΜΕ ΠΡΟΚΑΛΕΙ ΠΟΛΥ ΕΝΤΟΝΑ ΑΥΤΟ ΤΟ ΒΙΒΛΙΟ ΧΩΡΙΣ ΝΑ ΦΤΑΙΕΙ ΒΕΒΑΙΑ ,ΘΑ ΣΑΣ ΠΩ ΜΟΝΟ ΟΤΙ ΑΠΛΑ ΕΠΕΣΕ ΣΤΑ ΧΕΡΑΚΙΑ ΜΟΥ ,ΜΟΥ ΑΡΕΣΕ ΤΟ ΕΞΩΦΥΛΛΟ ΚΑΙ ΤΟ ΔΙΑΒΑΣΑ.ΕΙΝΑΙ ΜΙΚΡΟ ΑΠΛΟ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΠΩΣ ΑΣΤΕΙΟ

[Anja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I liked the story itself but the execution was lacking e.g. a real character development. And while reading, I always had the feeling that the story is rushed and parts of it were missing.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars. Short but I didn't like it. The writing was fine but the plot was weird and I didn't like any of the characters at all.

[Rosebud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelly Maitland is finding out the hard way what many law school graduates already know. Jobs are hard to come by. With her student loans building and no job prospects in her future Kelly's forced to think outside the box.

When an opening in an elite D.C. lobbying firm is advertised, Kelly goes into the interview with former US Senator Diane Parkinson knowing that while she has the qualifications it's not enough. Thinking on her feet she lets the senator know that she has a girlfriend herself which is why GLBT rights are so important to her.

Kelly gets the position but there are those who don't want her to succeed and try to 'out' her at every opportunity. She's able to keep up appearances until her boss makes it mandatory that Kelly attend the annual Christmas Party with "Anna" to keep her job. Things would be all good except Kelly is straight and "Anna" is only a girl she met one time.

* * * * *

This was a really light hearted contemporary f-f story that had all the right elements for me. Straight girl pretending to be a lesbian. Lesbian 'friend' who wanted things to be more than what they were. Thus the "beard" cover, and yes I didn't know what that meant until I read this book. Thank you author for including the definition. Totally going to use it whenever/however I can from now on. :D

I haven't read many f-f stories that worked for me. This one did. Though the majority of this read was slanted to the comedy side,the adult content scenes sure did heat things up. Throw in a bit of fantasy and I'd call this a win. Just don't expect any depth to the story itself as it's a shortie.

My issues were more with Kelly's character. Seriously, I don't know of many law graduates who go to have that degree of fear that Kelly did with Sylvia. Non-spoiler code of conduct prevent me from giving away too much about that whole situation so suffice it to say I didn't get enough to support the reason Kelly and Anna needed to hook up. Didn't mean I wasn't a fan of the hookup though. That was pure evil fun....

The other issue I had was the ending. Neither a HFN or HEA ending. Leads the reader to conclude their own individual future but for me it leaves things in limbo. Not a fan of limbo, unless at a party or such, in which case I can limbo with the best of them. :D

The bottom line is that I really enjoyed this read so those of you who appreciate comedy and f-f erotica should really check this one out. I know that I'm gonna check out other works by this author as I like her style.

[Jane Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Straight girl trying to pass as gay? hmm, this I have to see" I thought when I found it on Amazon.

It was a nice read, not overly complicated to follow (and rather predictable) and if there was anything to complain about, then it would be that it was too short, some more time could have been spend on character development and that the ending felt a little rushed (but who like to do endings anyway??). I enjoyed it no matter what and going to see what else Anne have done.

Didn't know what a "beard" was before I read this book.

[MT Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now, this is how you write a novella. It's short but everything is perfectly laid out that you won't feel anything is missing. It's not stilted nor choppy - unlike so many novellas I've read.

I liked the pacing and the development of the story. However, there were times when I question; 'Is this sexual harassment or dubious consent?'. Let's go with dubious consent.

I liked this very much!

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Kelly gets what turns out to be her dream job at an organization lobbing for gay rights. She believed she would do better on the job if her boss believed she was gay. Kelly's best friends sister is gay and introduces her to Anna so Kelly can get a better idea of what it's like to be gay. This book is a very funny but unrealistic fantasy and not meant to be a romance.

[Estelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover wasn't flattering. Short story but a fast-paced and exciting story. Ideal when you need a booster during down times.

[Dave A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a fun little read. Would have liked a little more explanation in the end but a satisfying story.

[Rashika · Rating 4 out of 5]

was funny read.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

hilarious read.

[D.G. Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice short story. The audiobook was just over two hours long. It was a fun story but don't think too deeply about it because it will raise a lot of WTF questions.