A contemporary nod to Beauty and the Beast, By the Book is a must-read. Izzy, an editorial assistant, has been emailing with a celebrity client writing a memoir, unfortunately, Beau has been ignoring her. A trip to California is the perfect chance to surprise the client to get an idea of the status of the book.

Initially, the bad-boy Beau appears to live up to his reputation, and living as a recluse, but as they work together, Izzy helps him out of his shell and enables him to find his voice in his story. At the same time, Izzy works on her own writing career and while also telecommuting to her day job.

They have fun trying new things, eating snacks from the most fantastic pantry ever, and writing. Beau must deal with his past and make amends with his mother as Izzy must figure out where her career is going, and just what is going on at the office. Along the way, feelings emerge, and they must decide what is real and if their worlds could ever combine.

A fabulous story with all the fairy tale feels!

received an ARC on netgalley

Whenever someone writes a Disney retelling romance story, I always get to read it, especially when it’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I absolutely love Beauty and the Beast (my favorite Disney movie).

By The Book is a bit of a Beauty and the Beast retelling romance story. It starts with a sunny character, Isabelle, working on the book's publication. She is very optimistic even though she is struggling with her workplace. There is no real movement for her as she's debating what to do next. And this is where she goes rogue and does something unexpected. She is going to help Beau write his book no matter what, even though he is a bit grumpy. Beau may be a grumpy man but he definitely falls for Isabella. He may hide his feelings but he can’t deny how much happier he gets when he sees her everyday.

Isabelle works for a publishing company. She is not an editor as she thought she would be at this point. Nor is she a writer. Instead, she is still an editorial assistant. But while on a trip to California, she overhears her boss complaining about how a rich and entitled Hollywood scion hasn't turned in his manuscript. So Isabelle volunteers to go and help him get working on it. She does not expect him to be quite as cranky as he is. She REALLY doesn't expect to end up staying in his fabulous California villa and working her regular New York hours, then helping him in the afternoons. And the fact that he might not be as grumpy as he originally seemed might be the biggest surprise of all.
This Beauty and the Beast adaptation was adorable. I wish we had seen a little bit more of the relationship developing and had hoped to see more about what happens with Isabelle's coworker but it was an enjoyable book overall.

Four stars
This book comes out May 3, 2022
Follows If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy
ARC kindly provided by Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

By the Book is a fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast - Jasmine Guillory can do no wrong! Books about books are always fun and this was no exception - Izzy works at a publishing house but doesn't feel like she is where she expected to be at this point in life. She is having trouble getting the opportunities that she craves until she overhears that Beau Towers, a "beastly" big time author who is notoriously challenging, is delayed on getting his manuscript in. She sees this as a chance to get her name out there and the promotion she is overdue for. Their partnership leads to unexpected success, both with the book and in love...

This retelling is part of the Meant to Be series. It was fun and different - I like that it challenged my ideas of the original Beauty and the Beast.

By the Book is out now - thank you to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a super cute story, but not my favorite Jasmine Guillory book. This is a modern twist on the Beauty and the Beast story. To me, the way that the whole encounter happens was random and far fetched. The interactions between the main characters also developed at a strange speed. Although, I will say, the snack closet mentioned in the book sounded amazing! If you're looking for a quick read and a twist on a fairy tale, this is perfect for you. Predictable, but adorable.

I was pretty disappointed by this book.

I absolutely loved the first book If the Shoe Fits. That book was all the Disney charm.

If I wasn’t told it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I don’t think I would have known. Izzy works at TAOAT (Tale as Old as Time), so there’s that. But it felt cringey.

Also , I felt like the characters read like they were approximately 16-18. They were like almost 30. That’s silly.

Anyways. Was it a bad book? Meh. Not really. But it wasn’t great. The writing felt stilted to me.

This is the second book by this author that I’ve read, and the other one was not for me. I think this author is just not for me. :(

Thanks to netgalley for a copy to review!

I always enjoy Jasmine's books! But it wasn't until about half way through this one that I realized it was loosely based off of Beauty and the Beast! By the Book is apart of the "Meant to Be" Series featuring updated and contemporary takes on classic Disney stories. I loved that the main character worked for a publishing company and I loved her outlook on life. And I actually really enjoyed all of the characters in the book, although the cast was pretty small. Obviously the ending is pretty predictable but that is why I usually love these kinds of books! I can't wait to read more from Jasmine and more in this series.

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory completely stole my heart. It was a Beauty and the Beast retelling but in absolutely the best and most subtle way. It was more of a riff honestly than a total retelling, but either way, I loved it.

Isabelle, or Izzy, works for Tale as Old as Time publishing, and she volunteers to go check on a reclusive author, a former teenage heartthrob turned bad boy whose deadline is way overdue. A beast on the surface, Beau Towers is hiding a lot of pain behind his snarly facade. He is less than delighted when she drops by, but he ultimately goads Izzy into staying with him at his Santa Barbara mansion to give him “pep talks” to help him finish his memoir.

But working in such close proximity leads to confessions and genuine companionship, and their romance unfurls slowly, like a beautiful rose. (Cheesy, but I had to.)

In the wrong hands, the whole premise could have been cheesy, but Guillory writes with such heart that the finished product is absolutely charming. It’s a closed-door romance, so if you’re looking for steam, you won’t find it here, but like a PG Disney rom-com, steam isn’t essential for a sweet happy ending.

I sometimes find these kind of romances a little cheesy, but I am in the mood for them occasionally. I was particularly interested in this one when I found out it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This was a modern retelling that was pretty true to the original story, which I appreciated. I also really enjoyed the book aspect, as the main character works for a book editor and the “beast” is in the process of writing a memoir. This is a good, light romance that will be a fun summer read.

The Beauty and the Beast vibes were on point, down to the amazing library and Kettle. Very fun to read, and, as with all of Jasmine Guillory's work, I enjoyed every second.

The best fairytale retelling I've read in a long while!

Izzy is an assistant editor at a publishing company, where she's obviously not happy but does her best to work hard to climb up the ladder. When given the opportunity, she offers to help Beau Towers work on his memoir. The very first time they meet, it's like oil and water trying to make a connection — it doesn't go well.

But with time, as they get to learn more about each other, the walls are broken down and hearts become filled with fluttery feelings. This was a light read and made me smile from ear to ear one chapter at a time.

Thanks to Hyperion Avenue for sending me an arc copy! I loved it.!

Not one of Jasmine Guillroy’s best books in my opinion, but there’s still a fun attention grabbing plot that keeps you coming back for more. I loved seeing how the characters evolved through the book, but I was a little bummed to see the characters didn’t bleed over like in some of her previous books. I can’t wait to see what’s still to come in this new meant to be series.

By this point of following the blog, you know I’m a sucker for a fairytale retelling. So you cannot be surprised that the premise of Jasmine Guillory’s latest release, By the Book—book two of Disney’s Meant to Be series, and based loosely on Beauty and the Beast—colored me intrigued. Add to the fact that I’ve heard a lot of lovely things about Jasmine Guillory’s writing and had yet to experience it outside of her essay in Black Love Matters: Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen, and Happily Ever Afters, and I found myself softly anticipating this new novel. And…it happily lived up to my expectations!

The book begins with our protagonist, Isabelle, a 25-year-old assistant editor for a well-established publishing company. When we meet her, she is grappling with the fact that she’s living her greatest dream, working the most bookish job she could conceive of in New York City. On one hand, she’s gained access to all the books she’d ever want to read, she’s made a great friend in a colleague—Priya—and she’s been able to draft her own novel. On the other hand, the senior editor she assists barely acknowledges what she brings to the table, she’s the only Black face in a very white space, she’s overworked and underappreciated by the authors she edits, and she’s received depressing feedback about her manuscript from the junior staffer she trusts most. On the very brink of burn out when the same junior staffer tells her that she is unlikely to receive a promotion, one that would help her move out of her parent’s house in New Jersey, she finds herself reluctantly excited about an upcoming trip to a work convention in California. Little does she know that this ordinary opportunity will turn into the most extraordinary experience of her lifetime. What happens next affects how she sees herself as a person with growing agency and authority over her personal needs as well as who she wants to be in her career and in relation to others.

As a book reviewer living in New York City, it is hard not to run into book professionals. From what I’ve learned from the publishing people I have interacted with, much of Isabelle’s consternation is true to life. Even as someone who has worked primarily within non-profit spaces, her struggles with promotion, task to time management, and professional anxiety mirrors much of what I and many of my friends have encountered. The fact that these dynamics make up most of her concerns is so real and makes her a very relatable main character. I enjoyed the enchanted location she finds herself in with this story’s Beast character, Beau. His grumpiness is endearing and also very relatable. There are numerous passages where Isabelle’s editor experience hit me in my own aspiring writer needs and it’s refreshing to see an author use her own understanding of the craft within her craft. Speaking of Guillory’s craft, one aspect of her writing that I often hear about is the wonders she brings to food. Because this has never been explained well to me, I half expected to have Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma-style reactions happen within the story or on my own. What I found instead was that Guillory has a very wonderful grasp of the human to food dynamic, by which I mean that such a good chunk of our lives is spent around buying and eating food that it behooves us to make sure that the food is good. And Guillory takes this relationship seriously. From a magnificent snack cabinet that Isabelle threatens to marry to joy brought to the romance based on their shared enjoyment of each other’s food choices, Guillory writes about food in the same way it has significance in our lives without adding weird or restrictive thoughts around it.

By the Book is a novel that covers so many bases in extremely satisfying ways. It is a modern, adult retelling of Beauty and the Beast without being over-reliant on the original plotlines or wandering into the abusive captor-prisoner department. The book even gives nods to the spellbinding Disney animated feature by having Isabelle anthropomorphize different items during her stay in an alluring Santa Barbara estate, making for some truly quirky, comical, and charming moments on her own and with characters who appreciate her humor. In short, I think the title says all that needs to be said: By the Book!

*BGC kindly thanks the teams at Disney Books and NetGalley for early access to this book.*

Izzy is an aspiring writer and editor, although right now she’s (only) an assistant. The publishing company Izzy works for has offered a book deal to Beau Towers, a celebrity who’s dropped off the earth and had some hardships in the past. In an attempt to impress her boss, Izzy offers to take it upon herself to travel to Beau and encourage/help him write his book.

One word for this Beauty and the Beast retelling is: sweet. This book is really cute and I did enjoy reading it. The references to BatB were implied and lovely. However, this story should’ve been a novella. It was insanely long for what it was. It took me awhile to get through because it was quite boring and repetitive. There were no major issues or tension between the two characters, just minor miscommunications. The story is also very G rated and simple. Man and woman in proximity fall in love. So yes, nice to read, but not a lot happens until the very end of the book. Izzy was a great character, well written and likeable, although I don’t feel like I knew enough about Beau at all, especially since he was presented as having a troubled past. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

Isabelle started working her dream job in publishing right after college. However, after a few years the glamour faded when she realized she was in her mid-twenties, underpaid, living with her parents, the lone black employee at the publisher and still in the same position as an editorial assistant. One day she learns that the publisher is having trouble with a well-known author, Beau. He is very late turning in a manuscript. Isabelle jumps at the chance to get a promotion for going to Santa Barbara and getting the author’s manuscript. She soon finds out that Beau is writing his memoir and a mess. As she tries to get Beau to finish the manuscript, they realize that there is a spark between them.

I didn't know that this is a part of a series of Disney books modernizing classic fairy tales. In this modern love story ala Beauty and Beast, Izzy and Beau gave me all the feels. I loved Izzy and Beau and their love for books. Unfortunately, the end of the book felt a bit rushed, and the characters’ relationship could have been more fleshed out. Overall, if you loved the animated version of Beauty and the Beast you should give this one a chance. What can I say, I am a sucker for a love story.

As a beauty and the beast rewrite - this is super cute and adorable. Jasmine was able to include all the awesome elements we love from Beauty and the Beast.

Izzy is the ultimate bookworm with a positive attitude like no other - she is determine to succeed in the publishing industry and if that means motivating and living with Beau then so be it.
Beau has agreed to write a book about his life and his famous parents but he hasn't been able to produce anything as yet .He's grumpy and gruff but he's sweet to his core. and he has a soft spot for our Lizzy

It took me no time to finish this book. I was so engrossed and involved there Lizzy and Beau story

I think this idea to do the princess retelling is awesome and so far I am loving this series and the authors who have written already.
Beautiful

I was so excited for this book when it first was announced - and it did not disappoint! I enjoyed the first in the series, but I love Jasmine Guillory and Beauty and the Beast, so was eager to read this one!

First, I loved the reinterpretation of Belle, in this case Isabelle, as a book lover - here, she works in the publishing industry and is also an aspiring author. For our Beast, Beau, we get a wonderful grumpy, but secretly cinnamon roll. I loved how their friendship developed, while it was clear they were both harboring feelings for each other.

This was a couple that I desperately wanted to read the steam - but I understand the Disney's publishing company may not be about that life. Even without that though, I was so rooting for these two - and the grand gesture at the end had me crying on a recent plane ride!

This was a quick and light read! I enjoy Jasmine Guillory books but they always seem to fall flat for me. Maybe I’m just not a fan of retellings?? I enjoyed the book talk within the book though!

In the second installment in the “meant to be” novels is Jasmine Guillory's latest novel “By the Book.” Following the structure of Beauty and the Beast, we follow Isabelle (Izzy) and her career in publishing. Isabelle is described as intelligent, and creative, is twenty five years old, and still lives at home with her family. The Beast in question is a high-profile author named Beau Towers. Isabelle sees an opportunity for growth in her career if she can assist him in completing his next novel. How will she do that ? Will it is in this novel do you learn if and how she does. Prior experience with Guillory's writing reminded me of why it is that I read romance novels, The plausibility in circumstances described and at times the comfort that it brings. As a thank you to netgalley and the publisher I wrote this review in exchange for advanced readers copy. This novel was one I enjoyed and give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars and an overall rating of four stars on goodreads.

This book started out a little slow and took me a while to get into. it But after a few chapters I really started enjoying it, It is a very light hearted and cute romcom and was very quick to read. There were some swoon worthy moments that made me happy. However, there were also a few instances where I was really bored. Also, when I started reading this book, I had no idea that it was a beauty and the beast retelling. So, that was a surprise.