I've read romances by Guillory before which have run the gamut for me in terms of success, and I was really delighted by this one based on the premise alone! A Beauty and the Beast retelling should've been right up my alley, and in many ways it was — I appreciated the different take on Belle (or Izzy, here) with her aspirations in publishing, and framing the "Beast" as a bad boy struggling to write his much-anticipated memoir was a fun way to update the classic story. On the other hand, I feel like it's tough to write a contemporary version of BatB unless you're willing to a) have him be really unlikeable or b) sand down his very roughened edges a lot, and this did the latter, which ended up catapulting the book more from enemies to lovers to friends to lovers much more quickly than I'd hoped. This was sweet and charming and a diverting read, but I wasn't as IN love with it as I wanted or had hoped to be.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Oh, this was such a sweet story! This is the second in the “Meant to Be” series, and I just really enjoyed it so much.(I love “If the Shoe Fits,” the first Meant to Be novel too!). Isabelle, a jaded publishing employee, winds up helping Beau, a grumpy former playboy, with his memoir… and sparks fly! I also really loved that we had a POC Belle! (A first!) This book isn’t spicy (unfortunately…), but is so charming. It made me feel good inside. Thank you to netgalley and Hyperion Books for the ARC!

A sweet romance with a loose twist on Beauty and the Beast, this will appeal to fans of Guillory. She is always such a reliable author for me, however this never quite hit the same highs as her Wedding Date series. I understand keeping the spice level low, but I would have liked to see a little more chemistry and tension between Izzy and Beau. Overall, it fell a little flat for me but I did still enjoy it and think the concept of this Meant to Be series is fun.

At first the plot felt a bit too contrived but the two main characters were great and this was an easy, fun read. Jasmine Guillory is such a dependable writer

Towards the end there seemed to be some story gaps so I’m intrigued to see how final editing goes!

I LOVED the first Meant to Be Book, so when I saw that one of my favorite authors was writing the second one, I couldn't wait.
This book was pure magic. It coupled the brilliant writing of Guillory with the magic that is "Beauty and the Beast" and wrapped it all in a modern retelling. The magic of San Bernardino was a perfect location for this story to take place and the writing made me felt like I was there.

If i have one complaint is that at times the Beauty and the Beast connections were a little corny. I laughed out loud when the housekeeper made beef ragout! But if you can look past that, its the perfect book. So grab some snacks and curl up on a chair by the pool or an armchair in the library and devour this adorable novel

What an incredible ending! I knew Guillory would give us a happy ending, but I didn’t think I would shed some tears of joy from it! Every books of Guillory’s that I read, I am stunned by her style of character development. We become friends with the characters as we learn about their day to day lives, however Guillory doesn’t focus on physical appearance. Other than a few hints scattered throughout the book, readers are left to picture the characters from their own imaginations. A great new book from an incredible author!

I love Jasmine Guillory and was excited to read a book she wrote in a new universe. This take on Beauty and the Beast was well done and removed the problematic aspects of the original story while retaining the charm. I liked the main characters and was rooting for them the whole time.

Jasmine Guillory, well-known romance author, has crafted yet another excellent novel! "By the Book" is the second book in the "Meant to Be" series. In this particular story, book editor Isabelle is tired of her publishing job in New York City, and done with living with her parents. However, her critical boss has tasked her with getting the reclusive celeb bad boy Beau Towers to finish his memoir that he promised long ago. When Beau and Isabelle meet, sparks fly and tempers flare. However, they both learn a little about each other, and both encourage the other to fulfill their dreams. This was a cute, fun romance to read and I enjoyed it very much!

I really enjoyed reading Isabelle's thoughts on books, as I agreed with her words. She says, "I love books. I love everything about them. I love the way you can fall into another world while you're reading, the way books can help you forget hard things in life, or help you deal with them. . . I love when readers discover books that felt like they were meant just for them, and they're so happy and grateful and emotional that everyone in the room wants to cry, and sometimes they all do. Those books do change lives."

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Jamine Guillory never disappoints! By the Book, her latest, was just as cute and fun to read as all her past books. Loved the characters, loved the story and loved the setting. Highly recommend for a great chic lit book.

Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

By The Book is a tale as old as time… and it felt that way. The main character, Izzy was delightful, and it was fun to read through her perspective, but most of the book failed to hit the mark. While the love interest, Beau, was also easy to fall for, the story felt rushed towards the end. I needed a little more form Beau and Izzy, just a tad bit more spice!

The parallels By The Book had with Beauty and the Beast were fun at first, who doesn't love a fractured fairy tale? But most of the nods to the fairytale were force fed and cringy. At the end of the day, it was entertaining, but didn’t have the magic it tried desperately to pull off.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

By the Book is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Best. In this story, Izzy, an editorial assistant in NYC, goes to California to try and convince Hollywood actor Beau Towers to work on his memoir after months of not turning in a single page. Her initial visit doesn’t go as planned, and Izzy ends up staying in the guest room of Beau’s beautiful house in Santa Barbara to help him write. While Izzy finds him unapproachable and rude at first, with time, Beau turns out to be someone totally different than what she expected and their relationship turns into a wonderful friendship and more.

I’ve read the entire Wedding Date series, so I was excited to see something completely different! While this story gave off some YA vibes, and was a bit more PG than Guillroy’s other books, the story was sweet and fast-paced. Izzy and Beau brought out the best parts of each other, and I love how supportive they were during moments of vulnerability. I did find that there were many “silly” arguments sprinkled throughout the story that made it seem a bit more immature for characters in their 20s, but luckily they were quickly resolved.

Read if you like/are interested in:
👑Beauty and the Beast
🏠Forced proximity
🚪 Closed door romance
🍪Snack closets
🏄Surfing
⌨️Publishing companies
✍️Memoirs

Thanks NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue in exchange for the honest review.

A perfect escape for fairytale and modern romance readers alike! Guillory always provides delightful descriptions of food, secondary characters, book stores, and of course libraries.

A modern and real life retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

I have been a fan or Jasmine Guillory for years and "By the Book" didn't disappoint. Jasmine's books are the perfect sweet escape for when you need that extra push or want a cute loving story to swoon over.

Beau's harsh and grumpy personality provides the perfect balance to Izzy's positive and bubbly one. None is looking for love, but companionship, friendship, and love is exactly what they find as they both work together to accomplish their individual and combined goals.

By now I know to request anything Jasmine Guillory writes and “By the Book” is no exception! It was one of my most anticipated 2022 releases and did not disappoint!

Isabelle is burnt out. She’s worked for Tale As Old As Time Publishing for two years for a boss who doesn’t give her any feedback and with a coworker who constantly tells her she’s not good enough. So when they are going to a conference in California, Izzy is ready for the break. She hears her boss mention Beau Towers, the famous guy whose book is overdue, and she quickly offers to go and visit him for an update on the book.

Beau has kept himself locked away in his house for a year or so after his famous father’s death. He is none too happy to have a visitor, especially someone as perky as Isabelle. But when Izzy offers to stay in his house (with a beautiful rose garden, huge snack closet, and “enchanted” furniture, natch) and help him write his book, can he thaw his gruff exterior and let her in?

As a huge Beauty and the Beast fan, I loved all of the touches and nods scattered throughout the book. While I wish it had the spice level of former Jasmine Guillory books, I understand why it doesn’t. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC!

A cute read for a rainy day when you want to stay inside but dream of being somewhere else! Guillory's take on a long-time classic will resonate for readers who can remember (or are currently experiencing) their early to mid twenties, when everything feels exciting and unknown. For long-time Guillory fans, this book has less of the spice and steam than her classic reads, but the characters are just as fun and relatable.

Earnestly, I'm devastated by how unenjoyable I found this. I have at least one Jasmine Guillory book on my shelves right now that I am praaaaying reads better than this. Since I've never read her before, I don't know if this is actually her style of writing or not. However, it felt juvenile and way too easy. The Beauty and the Beast references were cute, but also...not? I don't know. IDK how it turned out, either. I DNF'ed.

"By the Book" is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. In it, sweet publishing assistant Izzy Marlowe finds herself helping surly Hollywood actor Beau Towers with writing his memoir. She temporarilly moves in to his palatial Santa Barbara house and sparks fly. This is a pretty PG romance, especially compared to the Wedding Date series by Guillory, but still an epic love story. It was hard to put down and filled all the fairy tale love story requirements. The only awkward part were some of the references to the source material. I thought referring to lyrics with things like a publishing company called Tale as Old as Time was cute; the mutliple references to thinking the appliances were going to start to talk were a little much. But overall, solid, engaging retelling.

As huge fan of Jasmine Guillory and Disney, I was ecstatic to begin this novel. I cannot recommend it enough! It has a main character with a love of food and a brooding love interest. I thoroughly enjoyed the nods to Disney’s Beauty & the Beast in the story, especially Kettle for Mrs. Potts. While not as ~steamy~ as Jasmine Guillory’s other books (it is a Disney book, so understandable), the characters still shared intimate, sweet moments. I would recommend this for my very mature readers that I teach, and to any of my friends.

In By the Book, Isabelle is struggling to assert herself in her career and own life. She finds herself in charge of trying to get an author for the publishing house she in employed for back on track in writing his novel. Events escalate during a visit and she finds herself a guest at his house. Beau is not what she expects and proximity works its magic.

This is not just a romantic tale of two people who happen to find themselves living together by chance. These two help each other accept their own strengths and work on their weaknesses. They also learn to accept each other and how to build communication. Isabelle believes in Beau when he doesn't believe in himself and Beau believes in Isabella when she hasn't has the self-confidence to believe in herself. Jasmine Guillory is an excellent storyteller and she brings the vulnerability of Beau and Isabelle to life on those pages. You can literally feel the tension between those two when they fight or just exchange glances, you cheer for Beau when he begins to write, and you want raid that snack cabinet every night.

Thanks to Net Galley and Hyperion Avenue for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.