A tale as old as time...this is a contemporary re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. Isabelle is works as an editorial assistant for a publishing house that does not seem to value her work. On the verge of burnout, she meets recluse potential-author Beau (the beast) who he has been hounding for submission of his autobiography pages.
This was a great book for a fun summer read if you're into contemporary romance with a Happily-Ever-After ending. There were some aspects of the plot that felt rushed in terms of setting, transition, and character-development. However, this was a lovely, diverse low-stakes read. I adore Jasmine Guillory and her cast of diverse characters in the universe she creates so I enjoyed this light-hearted read.
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

By the Book is the second fairy tale adaptation in the Meant to Be series, this one channeling Beauty and the Beast, which is my favorite Disney princess movie. The book started out with Isabelle, a new assistant at Tale as Old as Time publishing. She ends up helping her boss, Marta, with a troublesome celebrity who has signed a book deal and essentially disappeared. She goes to his Santa Barbara mansion and quickly realizes she is in over her head. Beau Towers is a piece of work, but they slowly chip away at their insecurities and find common ground. Some of the Beauty and the Beast connections are a little “on the nose” for me. The story is really cute overall, a great summertime read!

A modern day fairytale inspired rom-com

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher. This is my honest and personal review.

Izzy is struggling to get the promotion she has worked so hard for. She is attempting to stand out but is burning out instead. She is offered a once in a lifetime chance when she attempts to help one of her writers at the publishing company. She offers to assist him with his work, even though he is a partying playboy that she wants nothing to do with. It's a fun easy read as you go through their budding friendship of mistrust and promises.

This was a sweet retelling of Beauty and the Beast, particularly the Disney version of it. There were some great nods to the original, animated movie, which as someone who grew up with that version. Some of these nods were a bit awkward, but added to the feeling of a Disney retelling. The romance story was sweet and the characters were interesting. A light, fun, summer read.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own.
By the Book is the second of Disney’s line of adult romances, this one a Beauty and the Beast retelling by Jasmine Guillory. I was intrigued, if a little concerned, about how Guillory would adapt the story, as I feel there are certain aspects that have often been poorly interpreted in magic-less renditions, but Guillory’s retelling is more or less solid.
First of all, having Isabelle, known as Izzy to her close friends, work in publishing is super cool. It’s one thing for the heroine to be bookish, but I love that she uses that passion to do her part to shape the publishing market. However, prior to the beginning of the book, she’s a mere editorial assistant, and the work she puts in is not well-acknowledged, an unfortunate reality of the industry. I appreciate how the book shines a light on that in a subtle way, while also providing hope that one day those on the lower rungs of the ladder will receive the appreciation they deserve for their work.
Beau is one of the areas in which the book could have fallen flat, but doesn’t. Far too often, the “Beast” character is an unrepentant asshole, using his tragic past as justification for his crappy behavior. But while Beau doesn’t make the best first impression, he has self-awareness about his missteps, perhaps a bit too much at times, given how much he’s burdened by his past. And there truly is common ground in the losses he and Izzy have both faced, making for a strong emotional bond that grows alongside the simmering slow-burn romantic attraction.
And while, historically, the “Beauty and the Beast” story has been associated with the captor/captive or forced marriage tropes, even in some more contemporary retellings, having the setup be focused around Izzy’s relationship to her job and wanting a promotion, and being put in a forced-proximity situation with Beau due to flying across the country to his home in order to help him with his book. It adds compelling stakes, while being cognizant of the dynamics at play.
I had mixed feelings on the POV choices. I did like keeping Beau a bit of a mystery early on, dropping breadcrumbs here and there. But towards the end Isabelle gets the opportunity to read from a journal Beau wrote from the time they met, and while it’s sweet, it felt really out of place and dragged the ending out needlessly.
This is a cute, sweet read, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys Beauty and the Beast retellings or enemies-to-lovers romances.

I loved this book! And up until about 5 minutes ago I didn't realize it was a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast... Which is my favorite fairy tale and I should have guessed it by how much the Library was talked about. Big fail on my part ...

What I love about Jasmine Guillory's books is that her characters are real and not perfect. They all have internal struggles that the average person goes through and they feel as if they could be your best friend you talk to every day. Her characters are so relatable that you can find something about each one to just resonate with; and it is this fact that keeps readers coming back for more.
I loved the build up of characters and would have loved a little more about the relationship with Beau and his mom but that is just me never wanting this book to end!

* I received an Arc copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was very cute and very fun! Definitely a slow burn but it was great to see a modern retelling and see how all the pieces of the classic story fit in. I almost forgot about Gaston, I was so invested in Isabelle and Beau. I liked that this book had some great messages about knowing your worth and asking for what you deserve. Overall a fast read with lots to think about that I really enjoyed!

What a great story! Rom-com, modern Beauty and The Beast!
I read this in one day. I couldn’t put it down!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The set-up of this book is attractive on so many levels: a MC who works in publishing, but is somewhat disenamored with her job; her chance for escape comes in California, with a recalcitrant celebrity who has been contracted to write a memoir but unable to deliver for more than a year. Guillory writes a sympathetic character, filling her life with friends, family, and a believable work nemesis and industry mentor. The magic of the Beauty and the Beast story shines through in small, charming details in the "beast's" Santa Barbara mansion and a local bookstore.

So why did I DNF it a third of the way in? I am here for a good hate-to-love trope, but I've grown weary of romance that leans into the "redeemable asshole" archetype that originated with Mr. Darcy. Beau Towers might have ultimately won me over the way genre formula tells me he was destined to win over Izzy, but I couldn't shake the feeling that by letting men who behave like trash have redemption arcs, we aren't perpetuating the idea that women should tolerate this behavior in real life, give it a second shot. Yes fiction and real life are different. But I found I wasn't here for Beau coming around, and peaced out of this modern fairytale re-telling.

if you love beauty and the beast then this is going to be a MUST read for you!

this book started off a little slow for me but it won me over as the story progresses. it's a fun and quick romantic comedy and I enjoyed myself reading it. was it a little cheesy? yes! did I mind? no!

the third person pov took me a while to get adjusted to since I normally never read it but I got used to it at the end.

loved loved loved how their are letters included!

a sweet and cute read! would recommend <3

I’m a sucker for Beauty and the Beast reimagining and since I’m a big fan of Jasmine Guillory, I had to check this out. I did enjoy the Easter eggs that are spread throughout the book and especially the library. What bookworm doesn’t dream of having a huge library with a rolling ladder?

I just felt like something was missing for me throughout the story. Perhaps a point of view from Beau as well for the whole story and not just at the end. I would have really liked to see how he felt about Belle from the moment they met and how his feelings progressed.

Overall it was a cute romance and would make for a good beach read.

This book took me a little longer to get through as it was a bit of a slow burn and the progression of the story took a while. I enjoyed the authors writing style, but it left me wanting more. I believe it a more "it’s me not you" situation.

I want to thank NetGalley, Jasmine Guillory and Hyperion Avenue for this audiobook. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

Read if you like: fairytale retellings.
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Isabelle works for a publishing company in New York, but when she is in LA for a work conference, she is sent to check in on Beau Towers, who has been MIA and her boss wants an update on the book he is supposed to be writing. Isabelle is convinced to stay with Beau in his mansion and help motivate him to finish the book.
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One thing I enjoyed was that this retelling was centered around books, which is a nice nod to Belle, and overall the book was cute and enjoyable. The book was cheesy and I felt like the middle dragged a bit, and some of the Beauty and the Beast references were kinda silly, but overall a good book!
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CW: sexual content, sexism, misogyny, racism, emotional abuse, grief, death of a parent.

THIS BOOK WAS SO STINKING CUTE! I was nervous to read/listen to it because I’m obsessed with Janina Edwards, and she’s been the narrator for all of the Jasmine Guillory books I’ve listened to, but Sarah Hollis did a WONDERFUL job!
There is just something about Jasmine Guillory's novels that are just absolutely wonderful!!!
Besides the fact that this is a retelling of my FAVORITE fairytale (Beauty & the Beast), it made me heart melt time and time again. This book came through with the beauty and the best references and I adored it! I really enjoyed it.
Isabelle (aka the beauty) is such a wonderful character, literally a ray of sunshine, and I loved how her relationship with Beau (aka the beast) progresses, and how we see them as grow as individuals!
The end MADE MY HEART SO HAPPY. Wow. My heart! Definitely one to read, and right up to the standards I normally hold for JG!

DNF at 27%. It hurts me to stop this one. I love Jasmine Guillory. I love Beauty and the Beast. I was so into all the fun references like the Tale as Old as Time book publishing house. However this one just isn’t working for me. I’m not sure if it’s YA but it’s reading extremely young to me. It isn’t getting me in my feels and instead I find myself dozing off each time I pick it up. This may be a case of wrong reader but this wasn’t for me. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

Loved finding all the similarities to the original fairy tale sprinkled within. The romance was cute, but the back and forth felt repetitive. Not very much depth to the plot.

In By the Book, Izzy takes it upon herself to help a celebrity finish their memoir so that she can prove to her boss that she is a good editor. When she stays with him to help him finish his memoir, they also fall in love. As this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, it didn’t feel like a completely original take on it. I appreciated the rom com aspects of the story and how writing and books were so influential to Isabelle.
Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC and the opportunity to share my opinions on the book!

By the book / Jasmine Guillory. A sweet little romance. Isabelle works in the publishing industry, volunteers to work with potential writer Beau Towers to help him write his memoir. As they live and work together, romance ensues.

I've never been disappointed in a Jasmine Guillory novel. Her characters are always memorable and though the plot changes, you will always be left with a warm feeling at the end. When you want a good beach read, you absolutely cannot go wrong with her work. This one made me want to quit my job and become an editor...or just visit sunny Cali. I am glad I didn't read it during the winter as I would have been even more jealous of Izzy!