When I found out that Disney was partnering with authors on a series of fairytale retellings, I knew I had to get my hands on them. By The Book is the second book coming out, and is a modern take on a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

Isabelle is an assistant at a publishing company who finds herself suddenly living with Beau, a former bad boy who the tabloids loved but has basically gone into hiding. Her job is to help him write the memoir that her publishing company partnered with him that he had yet to deliver.

It’s a cute little rom com that has plenty of Beauty and the Beast Easter eggs (although I don’t know if you can really call some of the in your face references Easter eggs, but it’s fine) sprinkled throughout. After reading the first book in the series, If The Shoe Fits, I knew that Disney publishing was keeping these very closed door romance/PG rated. I get it but am also a little confused by it, considering they’re marketed as for adults. It does read a bit more like a YA book, but honestly, that’s fine with me.

By The Book will be released on May 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion for the ARC of this!

BY THE BOOK
by Jasmine Guillory
Hyperion Avenue
Pub Date: May 3

The second in the author's "Meant to Be" series, BY THE BOOK, is a wonderful retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast story. Izzy, the only Black employee at her publishing house, feels the only way she can get a promotion is to take on an author her boss called "beastly," who is also way behind on his promised manuscript.

When Izzy visits him in his California home, she finds a reclusive burnout and it takes everything she's got to motivate him. As he begins to feel hope again because of her support, they grow closer and discover a relationship neither one expected.

It's a charming romcom highly recommended for any romantic, for the many fans of author Jasmine Guillory, and for readers wishing an enchanting escape from the world.

Thanks to the author, Hyperion Avenue, and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.

#BytheBook #JasmineGuillory #NetGalley
#HyperionAvenue #romcomnovel #BeautyandtheBeastretelling #bookstagramcommunity

Izzy is my type of person. She loves books, libraries, bookstores, and almost swoons when she gets a job at a publishing house where there are oodles of ARCs. Except after two years she feels stagnant in her job until she confronts Beau Towers about his non existent book. I loved the Santa Barbara setting, the beach, the to die for library and all the writing.
I throughly enjoyed reading this book and was sorry when it ended.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. I LOVE a Disney story - huge Disney fan over here so I was excited to get my hands on this one to check out. Izzy and Beau’s relationship didn’t feel as much as a journey as Belle and the Beast’s, but if I look at this as a solid romance with hints of Beauty and the Beast, it fits the bill. With a romance I like a bit more spice to my love scenes, so this one felt very middle school to me. Despite this, I think I’d still recommend it to anyone who enjoys Disney retellings and cutesy romances.

Title: By the Book
Author: Jasmine Guillory
Publisher: Hyperion Avenue
Release: 03 May 22

Rating: 3/5
Genre: Romance, fairytale retelling
Tropes: Beauty & the Beast reimagining, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity
Steam: Kissing & “The Next Morning” closed door, off page

I really love Jasmine Guillory’s writing and Beauty & the Beast is one of my favorite stories. For the most part I enjoyed this. All of the characters were charming and showed real growth throughout the story. It’s told from Isabelle’s perspective so all we know of the Hero and his feelings and intentions are either what Izzy perceives or what she’s told and I would have liked to know more about what was in his head - not just about their relationship but also about him as a person. We also don’t learn much about Izzy’s personal life, I would have also liked to have read some of her writing.

It does feel like more of a YA story, especially in the dialogue. It was a light easy read with a sweet romance, would have been great to read on a beach.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#BytheBook #NetGalley

I already loved this author. She is witty and funny and fierce. And I have loved every book I have read by her. And this one did not disappoint. Do yourself a favor and read this and all her other books.

I love Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
I loveJasmine Guillory’s books.
I did not love this mash-up of the two. A

The dialogue was awkward. A lot was repetitive. The story dragged on and on and on. The profanity seemed incongruous - knowing this was a take-off on the Beauty and the Beast story line.

Am thankful to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue Publishing for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review.



J

As with all of Jasmine Guillory's books, I found it easy to jump into the story. The plot was charming — this time with a fairy tale twist! — and the lead characters were nuanced. While I enjoyed it, it did feel a little uneventful. There was no huge tension, plot twist or major resolution. I thought a couple of instances would end up changing the plot, only to have them pan out to nothing. I think if there had been some more spark or energy driving the story, this would have been my favorite of all of her books, but ultimately, it falls quietly somewhere in the middle.

3.5 stars - A sweet and enjoyable retelling of "Beauty and the Beast." I love Guillory's writing style and am always immediately drawn in to the story. Her characters are always relatable. It's fun to immediately recognize the connections to "Beauty and the Beast". It's also nice to read a romance where the obvious mutual attraction between the 2 main characters doesn't turn into detailed sex scenes. As this is a "tale as old as time", the main problem is that there are no surprises to this story.. It's fine and I liked it, but nothing really original about this adaptation.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’m a huge fan of Jasmine Guillory and fairytales so this modern take on Beauty and Beast was an absolute delight.

Isabelle (Izzy) works for a publishing house. On a trip to California, she is charged with the job of speaking to a former child star, Beau, that is behind on the writing of his memoir. In true fairy tale fashion, this quick stop turns into her staying at his luxurious home for a few weeks to help encourage him and work through the process of writing the memoir.

Guillory's writing is amazing and I loved every minute of the story. Just adorable! Especially as a book reader, this read hits the spot. 5 enthusiastic stars!

Rating: 3/5
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Read if you like: Sweet closed-door romance/ modern Disney retellings
Steam: Closed Door
Tropes: Grumpy/Sunshine, Forced Proximity

Thank you to Hyperion and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Things I loved: Two black MCs. Izzy + Beau were pretty sweet together. Snack closet!!! I need one. Great representation of inequality in the workplace.

Things I didn’t care for: It took me a few attempts to get into the book enough to finished it, the overall take away for me is I liked the premise but it read like a YA novel. I was pretty bored at the predictability of this book. I’ve read all of Jasmine’s previous books and this was different than her usual style. I know it’s an e-arc but the formatting was not easy to read and it was hard to follow when sentences were broken up on multiple lines.

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory was was fantastic! I loved this modern take on Beauty and the Beast starring an underpaid overworked publishing assistant. Isabelle, Izzy, to her friends is in California for a publishing conference when she manages to convince her boss to send her to a reclusive and spoiled celebrity overdue on a memoir. She thinks she'll at least get one more day of California sunshine before returning to winter in New York City. When in a twist of fate or maybe destiny he asks her to stay and help him write she does and then the magic starts.

This book was so sweet and I almost cried happy tears at the end! I loved all the nods to Beauty and the Beast throughout the book they were really fun to look for! I've read other books by Jasmine Guillory and could tell how much fun she had writing this one! This is that perfect, easy, escapist read I was looking for and I know you'll love it too!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

By the Book is a Beauty and the Beast retelling starring Isabelle, an editorial assistant trying to further her career in publishing. When an opportunity arrives to prove to her boss how vital she is, Isabelle jumps on it - her task is to convince Beau, a celebrity recluse, to write his long-awaited memoir.

I thought this was a pleasant read. I love fairytale retellings, and I was especially excited to read a fairytale reading set in the publishing industry. Unfortunately, I felt like the characters and scenes were a little predictable - there weren't any huge plot twists or interesting scenes that I could remember. I'd also like to note that there were very detailed character actions - we were literally told when Isabelle used the bathroom - and it felt like this much information took away from the more important scenes.

Overall, I'd give this three stars. It was definitely an enjoyable read, I just wish there was a little more to the book.

I feel the need to say how freaking cute the idea for this entire series is! Adult romcoms inspired by Disney classics all written by todays hot authors. I love it so much.

This story was rather adorable and I loved the characters. It left me with a big goofy smile on my face.

I can see this being a perfect book club read.

“…it was the luckiest day of my life when you knocked on my door.”

By the Book is the second in the Meant to Be series, and is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I love that this classic story was rewritten with Black main characters and Izzy and Beau were extremely cute together. This has the classic grumpy/sunshine trope, focused on publishing / books, and was a closed door romance. This was a really quick and fun read, and I’m going to need Beau’s snack pantry ASAP.

Thanks to Hyperion Avenue for this gifted ARC!

This Beauty and the Beast version sweetly reframes the classic tale. Isabelle is an overworked editorial assistant who volunteers to give pep talks to a beastly author with an overdue manuscript. Beau is a jaded celebrity, grumpy and withdrawn in his beautiful mansion. Both have to accept difficult truths while looking for acceptance. True love triumphs, of course, but the characters face realistic struggles while finding their way to each other. This is the second book in Disney’s adult Meant to Be series that adapts the fairy tales Disney is known for.

I love Jasmine Guillory and she never disappoints! I was so excited for this because any type of retelling is my favorite type of story to read, especially beauty and the beast! There is nothing better than picking up a black romance, and Jasmine has always been my go to for that. This did read more like a YA romance, which was fine with me but I did like the direction she has been taking with her other books (a little more steam), however, since this was Disney I knew what to expect. I like the dynamics and character growth in this story and my library has already pre-ordered this book so I cannot wait to get a physical copy in my hand to do a re-read after publication date!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an early read of this book! #Netgalley #JasmineGuillory #ByTheBook

I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Isabelle is completely lost. When she first began her career in publishing right out of college, she did not expect to be twenty-five, living at home, still an editorial assistant, and the only Black employee at her publishing house. Overworked and underpaid, constantly torn between speaking up or stifling herself, Izzy thinks there must be more to this publishing life. So when she overhears her boss complaining about a beastly high-profile author who has failed to deliver his long-awaited manuscript, Isabelle sees an opportunity to finally get the promotion she deserves.

All she has to do is go to the author’s Santa Barbara mansion and give him a quick pep talk or three. How hard could it be?

But Izzy quickly finds out she is in over her head. Beau Towers is not some celebrity lightweight writing a tell-all memoir. He is jaded and withdrawn and—it turns out—just as lost as Izzy. But despite his standoffishness, Izzy needs Beau to deliver, and with her encouragement, his story begins to spill onto the page. 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. (Goodreads synopsis)

I have not read any of Jasmine Guillory’s previous novels, but I will add her to my favorites. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney fairytale. I was the one wishing for the library, and my husband accommodated me wonderfully. I liked that this didn’t involve kidnapping or harassment like some re-tellings sometimes do. This is more of a comfort read, with cooking, snacking, reading, writing, and beach life. But there is also some serious topics broached.

I related to both Izzy and Beau. Specifically with Izzy and burn out. It’s a real thing, and I liked how the author handled it. Basically, Izzy went on “vacation” without quitting her job or making major life changes. With Beau, it was the feeling of wanting to be away from people and then finding that I couldn’t talk to them again.

From what I understand this is supposed to be part of a series, but the 1st novel is by another author and has different characters. If you haven't read If the Shoe Fits (like I haven't) then don't worry. I feel pretty confident that this novel could be a stand-alone.

Overall I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars. It was a quick, fun, and light hearted novel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. This was a fun, sweet retelling of Beauty and the Beast between a book editor and a beast of a writer. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a modern, adult fairy tale!

DNF. Unfortunately, this was a book I started multiple times but could just not get into. While I like the premise, I think it just felt a little bit too much like a YA book for my preferences. I appreciate having the opportunity to read this book, it was just not a good fit for me as a reader. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted review copy.