I had a lot of fun reading this modern beauty and the beast re-telling. Jasmine Guillory is one of my favorite authors, and I enjoyed this book like all the rest that I have read. I think that she was maybe a little restricted by trying to keep the story to the fairy tale tropes, but I loved all the little touches of the story we know and love throughout.

In a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Isabelle is stuck in a rut, wondering why life has ended up so different than she thought it would be. Beau Towers is in much the same spot, except he's got a looming manuscript deadline. Izzy and Beau must work together to help each other find their way and end up finding each other along the way. Overall, a cute story, but to me, it didn't have Guillory's same voice and feel as her other novels, which could be because it's part of the Meant to Be series.

An excellent re-imagining of Disney’s classic Beauty and the Beast, Jasmine Guillory engaging and sweet love story drew me in. I loved this unique, fun, lighthearted, sweet, cute and sssssssexy story. The slow burn love between Izzy and Beau was absolute perfection as they both had to deal with their pasts in order to move on with their future. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.. It was very entertaining and addictively different. JG knows how to capture the reader’s attention and keep it there to the very end.

#BytheBook #NetGalley

I generally love Jasmine Guillory, but to be honest I was disappointed by this one. I know that it is part of a Disney series and a modern day Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it was just so cheesy. I loved If the Shoe Fits so I was really looking forward to seeing what Guillory did with this. The characters were frustrating and things were just too shiny and perfect to be relatable and realistic.

I really want to love this modern day retellings of classic Disney movies/fairytales but I can't seem to enjoy them in this Meant to Be series. The first one is the lovely Julie Murphy's rendition of Cinderella in "If the Shoe Fits", which is a take on the Bachelor type dating shows. Although I love her work, especially her Clover City series, I couldn't get into it.

I have never read any of Guillory's previous books, but I was intrigued of the modern-day premise. However, this fell very flat for me. I found that there was a lot of repetition, the characters were meh, and I was counting down the pages until I could be done reading this book.

I will probably continue to read the series and maybe I am just waiting for the Aladdin or Sleeping Beauty adaptation as those are my favourites.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

**NetGalley Review**

This was my first Jasmine Guillory book and it won't be my last! I loved the similarities between By the Book and Beauty and the Beast. It was so fun to see how she would interpret and blend the storylines to make it a modern retelling of the fairytale. I loved the subtle reminders, like the publishing company "Tale as Old as Time" and Beau calling his assistant "Kettle". While the love scenes were mostly closed door, which isn't my usual preference, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had wonderful character development, humor, and I found myself getting lost in the story. Thank you NetGalley, Hyperion Avenue, and Jasmine Guillory for the opportunity to review this book!

I absolutely adore Jasmine Guillory and this book was no exception! She always kills it with the rom com- I will always pick up any book of hers. This was a beauty and the beast retelling and I didn’t know that going in. That just so happens to be my fav Disney movie so it was such a pleasant surprise to have the small hints of that. I loved both of the characters and the plot. I would rate like 4-4.5/5 stars. I really enjoyed this!!

By the Book is a Beauty and the Beast retelling by Jasmine Guillory. Overall, this book is not a bad read, but it's bland. I had high hopes for this one, but it fell flat for me. I enjoy Guillory's other books, so I was disappointed that this one was very slow. Some retellings work and some don't. This one just didn't work. There was no chemistry, the plot was watered down, and the romance was meh.

Overall, I was underwhelmed and I had higher expectations. I recommend reading Guillory's other novels, which are much better.

It's so tricky to review fairy tales as the expectation to balance what is beloved with something new tethers a thin line.

I did enjoy the first book, If the Shoe Fits, but something about this one didn't hold my attention the same. I really love Beauty and the Beast but the publishing, Tale as Old as Time, meets celeb memoir build up was a super, super slow burn. I have read and enjoyed other works by Jasmine and I can appreciate the diversity and complexity of being a women in the workplace that she brought to the pages, I just didn't love Izzy and Beau. It was just okay.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the gifted copy.

This was a quick and easy rom-com read. This isn't my favorite genre, but I do tend to enjoy Guillory's writing. This wasn't her best work, but it was fine. Rom-com fans will probably love it. The fairy-tale re-telling is probably just not my thing and I find it overdone. However, I usually enjoy Guillory's characters and her sense of humor, and this one is no different. I'll keep reaching for Guillory's books when I'm in the rare mood for a rom-com! If this is your genre, I'd recommend giving this a read! 3.5 stars

I absolutely adore Jasmine Guillory, but I could not get into this book. I feel like I've seen a ton of books recently about authors/writing/publishing, and I am just over this as a main topic for a book.

Thank you so much @DisneyBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 03 May 2022)

SYNOPSIS | Izzy works at Tale As Old As Time publishing house & has been tasked with helping one of their reclusive writers (Beau) to finish their memoir as he is several months behind.

WHAT I LIKED:
- I appreciated Izzy's love of books (as it nicely reflects Belle's interests)

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the story focuses too much on the writing process rather than the budding romance between Belle & Beau (there was zero chemistry)
- the references to Beauty & the Beast were too on the nose for me
- where was all of the witty banter & tension & "will they / won't they" moments?!
- so many descriptions of food & snacks that just didn't add anything to the story

Isabelle is completely and utterly lost. Stuck in a dead end role, doing work she doesn’t love, getting paid way too little, and working way too hard. So when the opportunity presents itself for Isabelle to wow her boss, she has to take it. Even if that means knocking on the door of her celebrity would be memoir writer, Beau. The very same one with a bad reputation and a penchant for ignoring all of her emails. But Isabelle is committed to helping Beau get his memoir on paper. In the process, Isabelle might find that she shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

So this is actually my first Jasmine Guillory book and it absolutely did not disappoint!!

Is there anything better than a relatable female main character? And is there ANY twenty something who doesn’t feel lost in real life?? How refreshing to actually connect with a character on that front. How refreshing to actually feel seen??

And BEAU oh BEAU!! A cinnamon roll hero if I ever saw one!! And god just love the growth that came through with Beau in particular. I loved seeing a male character that had so much emotion and went to therapy and just grew so much throughout the book! Incredible to see.

Overall, I loved the two characters together. I loved how focused the book was on books and reading! As a book lover, the library absolutely thrilled me. And I loved the little parts where the Beauty and the Beast references were found. It wasn’t an overwhelming retelling, so the little hints were such a sweet addition.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hyperion Avenue, and Jasmine Guillory for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This might be my favorite Guillory book! I'm a sucker for a Beauty & the Beast retelling and this one felt so unique. I was automatically swept up in it & loved the characters so much!

I usually love Jasmine Guillory books but this one just didn't work for me. I did not see the connection between the two main characters and found the storyline rushed. "Beauty and the Beast" is one of my favorite fairy tales and this retelling fell flat for me.

I didn’t want it to end! Jasmine created such a relatable main character! Although you somewhat know how this book is going to end, it was an enjoyable read.

Guillory does it again! All of her books bring a great story, romance, some drama and By the Book was no different. I loved the fairytale aspect and felt interest throughout the entire book. Bravo!

Sweet and light and lovely. Jasmine Guillory is so talented at writing dialog and loveable characters. It was easy to get into the story and allow for the usual Romance genre contrivances because I like Izzy & Beau and wanted a good story for them.

NetGalley provided an ARC of By the Book (Meant to Be #2). Publication date: May 3, 2022.

By the Book lived up to the expectation of the Meant To Be series. I loved this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, especially because it felt really fresh and didn't fall into harmful tropes. All the characters were really relatable, and I appreciated that this romance novel took on some heavy topics related to trauma and mental abuse. This book is a perfect sweet summer read, and I'm excited to read more retellings in this series.

🌹 By the Book 📖
by Jasmine Guillory

✌️ The second installment in the #meanttobe series is here and what a delightfully done retelling on a classic fairy tale it is! I absolutely loved getting lost in Isabelle’s world, where she is an overworked and underappreciated assistant editor for a publishing company. Isabelle is trying to make a name for herself, so after weeks of unsuccessful email contact with a high-profile celebrity writing his first memoir, she volunteers to make a face-to-face appearance to get some traction on this overdue manuscript. 

I appreciated how Guillory stayed true to the classic tale by centering the story around the love of books and reading, and the gradual progression of Isabelle and Beau’s relationship. Gotta give her some extra points too for creating a little magic and working in references to inanimate objects (like Mrs Potts and Chip in Beauty and the Beast).  

I adored the POC main character rep and how the author incorporated important themes like Isabelle’s toxic work culture/burnout and experiencing microaggressions in the workplace into the storyline. And while this was a closed door romance, I found the chemistry between Isabelle and Beau to be perfectly steamy, not quite YA but pretty close in my opinion, and right in line with the first book in the series. 

🏝 This is a perfect escape for any Beauty and the Beast fan (as book lovers, aren’t we all?!) I highly recommend you grab a copy for a lazy pool day or soaking up summer sun. 

📚 Thanks to Hyperion and Netgalley for the early digital copy of the book and the digital Book Club Kit. There is an accompanying Book Club Kit available for this and If the Shoe Fits, which includes notes to readers, Author Interview, Discussion Questions, Cover Designer Interview, some recipes and a few fun exercises and next read recommendations. It also gave a sneak peek that the third installment will be Kiss the Girl, brought to us by ZORAIDA CORDOVA next summer and I absolutely cannot wait!