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By the Book could have also been called By the Cookbook. I swear there is more written about the meals shared by the two characters, Beau and Izzy, their love for his snack closet (what girl would take three bags of chips in front of the heartthrob?), the wine, the detailed menus, fish tacos, etc. In addition, I think Izzy needs to find an apartment with a tub because she loses her shizz over the clawfoot tub in this house. Like it was almost the most substantial part of the love story. This is a story about an author who can’t write his memoir, and his book company decides to give him a nudge by sending a 25-year old staffer, Izzy, to finish his book. It’s solid writing, decently paced, and has a frenemies vibe. But it isn’t believable, and there is a lack of chemistry between the lovebirds. How do you teach a writer to write? Why does Izzy always get mad when talking to the “client” even though he might be rude. Why does Beau have borderline agoraphobia in addition to writer’s block? I realize we have a moment of truth later, but Beau could’ve saved everybody a lot of hassle by being honest. It was a good try, and anyone who can see the comparison to Beauty and the Beast is welcome to fall hard for this one. I didn’t see it. Jasmine Guillory is a solid writer, and I enjoy her books, so the next one should be a winner. #ByTheBook #NetGalley #ARC #TaleAsOldAsTime #romance @netgalley #hyperion @hyperionavenue
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Thank you to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for this free ARC; my thoughts and review are my own and without bias.
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#bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #author #instabooks #literature #prettybookcover Pub.Date: May 3rd

I will always read anything that Jasmine Guillory writes!! I enjoyed this modern day twist of the fairytale, Beauty and the Beast. (At times, some of the fairytale tie-ins felt cheesy.)

I loved the premise of this book! Izzy works in publishing and after years of working towards a promotion she is disappointed to find out she won’t be getting one. So in a last ditch effort to impress her boss, she offers to take on their most challenging client. Beau is the son of two famous Hollywood parents. He has received a bad boy reputation over the years. After his father died, he signed a deal to write a memoir but a few years later and there has been nothing to show for it.

Izzy shows up and offers her help and expertise and it isn’t exactly the warm welcome she is hoping for.

I loved the dynamic between Izzy and Beau, I loved the setting of the book.

Beauty and the Beast was my comfort movie from birth until I was probably 12. I love seeing when there's a new adaptation coming out but also feel pretty critical of them as well. This one was a very sweet and easy read. I wasn't especially impressed but also it was just what I needed for a never-ending winter.

I am a fan of Jasmine Guillory's Wedding Date series so when I saw that she had written a book in the Meant to Be series, I knew I had to read it, especially since it's inspired by Beauty and the Beast. I enjoyed the story and the development of the relationship between Izzy and Beau as they moved from enemies to friends and then lovers. I liked the little allusions to the Disney movie (the WiFi password is Lumiere, the housekeeper's nickname is Kettle, (a stand-in for Mrs. Pots), etc. and they weren't overdone. The romance is definitely not as explicit as her other books which I actually liked and it worked well here. It's a fun little romance and a pleasant way to pass an afternoon.

I am a huge fan of fairy tale retellings, but I don't see a whole lot of them written for adults. It is also semi-rare to see fairy tale retellings that are realistic and modern, rather than a fantasy. So, I was immediately drawn to the Meant to Be series! I absolutely adored the first, If the Shoe Fits, so I was ecstatic to get my hands on an advanced copy of this one.
By the Book is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in the publishing industry. Izzy, short for Isabelle, has been an editorial assistant for two years and she is vying for a promotion to assistant editor. So, when she sees her chance to prove herself by volunteering to go see Beau Towers, the rich celebrity who has been ignoring the publishing house for over a year despite having a book deal for a memoir, she jumps on it. What she doesn't expect is that she will end up living in his gorgeous Santa Barbra home, that's almost magical with the delicious food, over the top grounds, and life changing bathtub, for months to help him write.
I loved this story! It was a perfect way to give Beauty and the Beast a modern twist. I enjoyed the subtle hints toward the fantastical furniture from the original; Izzy frequently talks to the bathtub, and even imagines that it talks back occasionally, and Beau's assistant is nicknamed Kettle. The romance between Izzy and Beau was so sweet, and it was enjoyable to read their connection slowly form as Izzy begins to understand why Beau comes off as such a "beast." The ending of course doesn't disappoint, making this the perfect, happy, and light romance.
The actual writing in this one, however, was not as great. Maybe this is inevitable when setting a book in the publishing industry, so everyone is a writer and there is books within the book, but oftentimes the writing felt forced, and other times repetitive. I did find myself pulled out of the story on a few occasions due to awkward writing. But, I don't think it affected my enjoyment of the novel overall. This will still be a much appreciated retelling. Lovers of the medium will not want to miss this series!

Unfortunately not as good as the first Meant To Be Novel, or as good ad Jasmine's other romance stories. It was just a little cheesy, clique, and not very exciting of a read. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairytalea, so I had high hopes... and this sadly didn't meet it. I'd say it's a 2.5.

Jasmine Guillory is an auto-buy author for me but I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure whether her voice would translate as part of the Meant to Be series of novels. Luckily, this book had the same strong female lead that I’ve come to love in Guillory’s work!

Though this novel takes more of a fade to black approach to the spicy scenes - we never get much beyond kissing - the chemistry between Izzy and Beau leaps off the page. I really appreciated the slow burn in this novel, as they come to first respect each other as coworkers, then friends, and eventually lean into the chemistry between them.

I loved the cheeky nods to Beauty and the Beast sprinkled throughout, especially Izzy frequently catching herself talking to inanimate objects - and thinking maybe, just maybe, the house is talking back. And yes, bibliophiles, the library is swoon-worthy in and of itself, even if it’s off-limits for any spicy scenes.

This was a really fun read, a perfectly crafted romance novel that provided a lovely escape. Highly recommend, whether you’re a long time Guillory fan or just a Disney fan excited for this retelling.

Let me preface this with two things: First, I love everything Jasmine Guillory has writen. Second, I hate Beauty and the Beast.

Both of those things said, this wasn't it for me. I found it tedious and try hard. The references to make it like BatB were annoying, such as an assistant unexplainably called Kettle and a reference to talking to a candlestick. I thought Izzy (Isabelle, ahem Belle) was super annoying. Her reaction to any little argument with Beau was to scream at him and flee upstairs to her room. She did this three times before I hit the 25% mark...

Overall, if you like a clean sex-free fairytale romance, this is for you. It just wasn't for me.

4.5 stars

I love fairy tale retellings, especially Beauty and the Beast retellings. What’s not to like? There’s always a “beast” hiding his inner marshmallow and often a great redemption arc.

Izzy is an overworked editorial assistant and finds herself on the doorstep of the reclusive Beau Towers: who has promised his memoirs to her boss two years ago, but hasn’t submitted a chapter. By the Book follows the Disney movie more than the original fairytale, but that made it even more enjoyable to me as I was needing something light and happy. No major angst here, folks.

The character development was fantastic. I loved seeing Izzy and Beau become first friends, and then some more. I love that they both had flaws and weren’t perfect, but they were open and communicated.

By the Book was sweet and fun and my only complaint is the PG quality of the book—a little too much fade to black and too little wink wink, nudge nudge.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the review copy.

The premise of this rom-com is fresh and appealing. The assistant editor of a large New York based publishing company is becoming burned out and discouraged by any chances she may have of advancement. She travels to a Los Angeles publishing conference and on a whim suggests to her editor that she visit a celebrity living in Santa Barbara. The celebrity has been given a substantial advance for his memoir but is not making any progress on producing that memoir. Writing progress and sparks ensue. Sweet escapist reading!

In this modern day version of Beauty & the Beast, Isabella (or Izzy, to her friends) gets what she thinks is her dream job at Tale As Old As Time publishing or (TAOAT for short). What Izzy realizes after a while is that there is no room for advancement, her boss is terrible, she is the only Black employee, she is stll stuck living at home because she doesn't make enough money to move out, and the job is not at all what she thought it would be. When Izzy volunteers to go to visit the home of a high-profile author who has failed to deliver his long-awaited manuscript, she thinks she will just need to give him a pep talk or two. Instead, Beau Towers makes the condition that if she wants the manuscript, she is going to have to work for it by staying in his mansion and giving him daily pep talks while he writes. They soon discover they have more in common than either of them expected, and as their deadline nears, Izzy and Beau begin to realize there may be something there that wasn't there before.

This book was so much fun, especially trying to catch all of the Beauty & the Beast references & modern equivalents. The trajectory of the story was predictable, but the characters were enjoyable and there were lots of humorous moments, especially between Izzy and Beau. This is the perfect book for anyone who loves a good rom-com.

A delightful second in this fun romantic series that features favorite authors giving romance and ever-so-slightly Disney spin. Not surprisingly, Guillory has created another strong protagonist who has ambition, doubts and desires we all can relate to. The Santa Barbara location was an added bonus!

By the Book, the second book in the Meant To Be Collection, is perfect for book lovers! Jasmine Guillory's Beauty and the Beast retelling hits all the right notes to remind you of the best parts of the classic tale. By the Book is a contemporary romance between a publishing professional and an author on a deadline. The behind-the-scenes glimpses of the publishing industry were really fun to read. This is a super sweet romance that fans of Jasmine's previous books will love!

I sadly won't be finishing this book. I got about 40% of the way through but even that was pushing myself. Book 1 in this series by the same author was really fun; a little goofy, but very fun. This book up to the 20% mark was kind of repetitive and I really just didn't jive with the characters; they felt very immature. Maybe the rest of the book would have improved but I had such a hard time with just this bit that I didn't feel it was worth it to continue. Grateful I had the opportunity to try this book through NetGalley and form my own opinion.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC copy of this book available to me.

This was an enjoyable modern re-imagining of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale, but with no actual magic involved. It has some good supporting characters (really want to know more about the housekeeper), and even a villain or two. Or maybe one, depending on your perspective. It was a fun fast read, but I can't help but think that we really need more older (and I don't mean 30 or 35 years old) characters in our romance novels. Guillory does good once again.

Thank you to Hyperion and Netgalley for the ARC to read and review.

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory.

This novel is a Disney publication retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It’s a modern day romance with BIPOC hero and heroine set in the world of publishing. Very cute premise, but the story moved very slowly. It’s a clean romance so it will be accessible to a large market. It reads like a YA novel and I think perhaps that is the target audience.

I will forever love Jasmine Guillory's writing style. It feels so natural and has such a great pace. Reading a book about books is also a trope I absolutely love. Unfortunately, the characters fell super flat compared to the authors other works. I didn't feel any chemistry between the characters. Other than the big swoon worthy gesture at the end, I didn't really feel sparks. I did however, love the connections between the story and Beauty and the Beast. The way she wove in the names and places was so fun!

Cute romance, with a nod to Beauty and the Beast though truly just a nod because how do you replicate a story about a beast in the real world? Also, how beastly can you make someone before it turns to a love story? Jasmine Guillory wants it to be believable and she's not that into enemies to lovers--or so it would see from this book. I definitely prefer her own series to this one, but I'm glad she's writing and she's making money and it's a cute read.

Rating: 4.5, rounded up


My Three Things:
1. This was such a fun book to read. It was a modern take on Beauty and the Beast, and I loved it. I don’t read many retellings, so it was neat to see all of the similarities but also Jasmine Guillory’s take on it.
2. I read this book in 3 sittings – when you’re a mom and a teacher that’s code for lightning speed. I LOVED Izzy, and seeing the path her career took during the story was interesting. I don’t know much about publishing (here I am just reviewing books), and so I found that part to be interesting as well.
3. Beau, oh how I love you. Beau is a big ol misunderstood softie. THE NOTEBOOK – swoon- I thought this was the sweetest detail. I legit did not see the ending coming, and I loved it. I feel like Beau was a really well rounded male character – we got to see him in his element at home, hear about his public persona and the worlds misunderstanding of him, get inside his writing mind, and see the progression of his relationship with his mom and Izzy.

This one is a really sweet closed door romance. If you read spicy spicy, this probably isn’t for you. But if you like a good sweet romance, this is it yall. The line “A tale as old as time- for a new generation” isn’t wrong.

I find this review kind of hard to write because I think Jasmine did a great job with this Beauty and the Beast re-telling, I loved all of the Beauty and the Beast/Disney tie-ins to the story, and I loved being able to re-imagine the main characters as two beautiful black people. However, I do feel like this book was very different from Jasmine’s other books. It was a slow burn, which, if that’s your jam, this is it - but I was definitely hoping for a little more steam. I liked the relationship they were building, I liked how she was breaking down his walls, but it was just all too slow. Her books usually grab me right away, and I devour them in a day, and this one took me a few to finish.

When reading this, I didn’t realize that it was a part of a series, so I definitely want to check out the other Disney retellings that are coming out, and If the Shoe Fits.