By the Book is a cute romance that explores some of the more hidden and maybe not so glittery aspects of publishing. I absolutely loved the Beauty and the Beast retelling elements, and I often found myself swooning at the romance. I also appreciated how Jasmine Guillory didn't shy away from an honest examination of publishing. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Beauty and the Beast, romances, and books.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Isabelle had always dreamed of working in books - but her publishing job has not been the dream she imagined. It’s mostly tending to high maintenance authors and emailing Beau Towers, typical celebrity asshole, about his long overdue memoir (not that he ever replies). When her boss says someone needs to go confront Beau, Izzy is more than ready to prove herself. But knocking on his door for a pep talk turns to staying in his house to coax a manuscript out of him day by day - and they’re both in over their heads.

THIS WAS SO CUTE I WANT TO CRY. I’m a sucker for a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and this one made it modern while giving plenty of nods to the Disney classic (this is published by the overlords themselves after all).

I’m so glad that the celebration of “diversity” (3 authors of colour in a 25 book season) was addressed, because it’s absolutely ridiculous to call 3/25 a victory?? Kick it up a notch, publishing world, yikes.

I loved Beau’s character, and seeing the little pieces slip through his mask as he began to open up was *chef’s kiss*. And for real, anyone with their snack priorities figured out is a treasure. And it’s sad to say, but seeing so much enjoyment of food on the page without any food morality at play was so nice. I am tired of hearing people say they were being “bad” for having a cookie. In this book, food brings people together, is shared, enjoyed and valued.

I haven’t even touched on the actual writing of the memoir yet - the process of writing and working together was so precious to watch. Especially as they dive into the trauma surrounding Beau’s feelings about his parents and even himself.

I could go on for days, honestly, but I’ll end with this: the epilogue totally passes the vibe check - no proposal, pregnancy or marriage, and honestly just endears me to these characters even further. Exactly what I crave in a romance, delivered on an exquisite platter, and hell yeah I’ll be your guest. (I could not resist, and I both apologize and embrace my cringe wholeheartedly).

Fantastic! I just loved this series starting with Julie Murphy's Cinderella remix and now Jasmine Guillory's Beauty & the Beast retelling. The way they modernize these romantic classics through some of contemporary romance writing's biggest stars is a fantastic addition to my adult reading bookshelf. Can't wait for the next!

Such a big fan of Jasmine Guillory and I really liked this book. I love how it took a modern twist at beauty and the beast and the enemy’s to lovers trait was great. I felt it was a quick read and very entertaining.

I wasn’t sure what to expect out of a beauty and the beast inspired book but By the Book DELIVERED!! I love books set in the book publishing world and this one was so fun and unexpected! I flew threw it and it left me wanting more. I definitely recommend this fun and lighthearted summer read!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!.

The main character's personality got on my nerves but it was a cute romance. I loved that it involved writing and books.It was a quick cute little read. Even though,nothing about the story felt original, as much as this fairy tale has been told over and over again, I just wished it wasn't so by the book (ha!).

Well as always Happy Reading!!

Gosh, I’m such a huge Jasmine Guillory fan. She knocks it out of the park again with this newest rom-com. Isabelle (known as Izzy to her friends) works in publishing and desperately wants to move up to assistant editor and eventually write her own book. To try and prove her worth to her editor, Izzy decides to visit one of their larger clients who is late turning in his manuscript. She ends up spending a month with the infamous Beau Towers to help him along and eventually sparks begin to fly.

This book is full of Beauty and the Beast Easter eggs, book banter, and food/snacking moments, all of which are some of my favorite things. I love how she drew on the story of Beauty and the Beast in small ways, you don’t have to be a fan of the original to understand the book. Beau is such a grumpy character and I love how Izzy did not put up with any of his attitude. All the will they/won’t they moments added to the story and it was sweet.

This was a super cute and entertaining book. The characters were fun and it was fast paced. I kept flipping the pages late into the night and had a big smile on my face when I got to the epilogue! Thank you netgalley for my free copy!

I had no idea this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling until half-way through (as I will read anything Jasmine Guillory writes and didn't bother to read the summary, and let me tell you, I was THRILLED with how Jasmine Guillory made the classic tale come to life! I loved how Guillory made very clear B&B connections, with characters called Kettle and a beautiful rose garden, in a way that was not at all cheesy; it really worked with By The Book.

Loved it!

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory

I will admit I had no idea this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling before I started (I requested it solely because I enjoy her books). Once I realized it was, I may have judged a little harsher because it’s my all time favorite Disney movie.

The book started out a little rough for me…it felt juvenile even for a YA. Over time though, I found myself liking the characters more and became slightly invested in how things would develop between them. Only slightly though.

The writing just didn’t compare to her Wedding Date series. I know it had to appeal to a much younger demographic than I typically read, but the story just felt boring at times and I found myself wanting to pick up a different book.

If you enjoy books with romance but zero spice, YA stories, or Disney retellings, I recommend giving this a try.

Thank you to @netgalley and @hyperionavenue for this arc in exchange for my honest review 💜

📚BOOK REVIEW📚

By The Book by Jasmine Guillory ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m convinced that no matter what Jasmine Guillory writes, I will be 100% obsessed with it. This modern take on Beauty and the Beast is fantastic!

Izzy is an editors assistant at a big time publishing company who ends up tasked to get the rowdy celebrity to finish the memoir he was supposed to write years ago. There are all sorts of nods to BATB throughout the story, and the characters are so enjoyable (even though sometimes they are awful people). 10/10 recommend!

Thank you @netgalley for the chance to read this book!

By The Book – Jasmine Guillory

3/5 Stars

Thank you dearly to NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

By The Book was sickeningly sweet, very romantic, and very vast paced. The story follows Izzy, an aspiring author who works at Tale As Old As Time publishing company. Following her rapid burnout and need to prove her worth to her boss, she goes to L.A to try to convince their toughest and most stubborn writer to actually write his book so it can be published despite missing every deadline.

Beau is a classic grumpy male love interest with a slightly troubled past that he can’t put behind him. He confines himself to his home with his assistant in peace until Izzy shows up and turns his life upside-down.

By The Book is a sweet little Beauty and the Beast retelling that was more beauty than beast. Beau and Izzy’s relationship was supposed to be enemies to lovers but was more like mild dislike to very suddenly in love romance.

There is a fairly decent character development within this story despite it being so short and so quick. Beau coming to terms with his past and revaluating his fears and needs to open himself up again to the world, while Izzy finds herself again after a year of being severely burnt out was refreshing.

I do think this book could have done better for me personally if there was more depth and a little bit more spacing between events and the happily ever after.

Overall, I did really enjoy the characters and the representation in the book, but the story didn’t hit all my contemporary romance needs that would have made this a five star read. This story was cute and sweet, but not really anything more than that.

BY THE BOOK by Jasmine Guillory is a cutesy Beauty and the Beast retelling! I remember absolutely loving the first books in the series [IF THE SHOE FITS by Julie Murphy] and had high hopes for this one because I’ve loved all of Jasmine Guillory’s books.

But this one was a bit lackluster. The content read very YA - not that there is anything wrong with that! But it didn’t really hold up to my expectations.

The Beauty and the Beast references were great initially, but then they were suffocating. I didn’t need 100 references to furniture and dishes “coming to life” to take care of our Beast character.

I really wanted to love this one but I think it was just too cheesy for me?

I am excited about the next installment though!!

A Beauty & the Beast retelling, yes please! I read the first book in the series If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy and fell in love. I'm delighted that the 2nd book exceeded my expectations. Jasmine Guillory is a fabulous author and she told this story beautifully. Modern fairy tale retelling by popular romance authors is such a brilliant idea. I can't wait to read the next book, whatever retelling it may be.

This was…. fine.

I’d call it New Adult I guess; although it read more YA honestly. The “magical” atmosphere, the emotionally stunted characters.

The Beauty and the Beast nods were sweet though. I can tell Jasmine Guillory loved that story as much as I do!

I'm planning to listen to this book instead, because I honestly couldn't continue reading each page of this story. The over-expressiveness and excitement of the main character presented itself as an incredibly immature twelve year old, rather than the character's mid-twenties age. I've been told by a few friends who felt similarly, that listening to the book worked out far better for them, so I hope it'll help me too.

I love Jasmine Guillory, I love books about books, and I love Beauty and the Beast. But the style in which this book has been written is hard to stomach. For anyone else struggling with this one, please don't let it keep you from reading her other books, which are nothing like this (I'm talking about the numerous exclamation points, guys).

This book just fell... flat. It kept hinting at more, but it just never got there for me.

I enjoyed the sweet story and all of the Beauty and the Beast nuggets (although they became a little excessive and could have been embedded more fully into the story instead of just mentioned in a casual way).

I loved the Belle and Beast vibes from the two main characters, and I especially enjoyed how the house seemed to take on the responsibility of being a character as well - the bannister, the staircase, the bathtub, the library. There were too many references to the dishes or furniture coming to life at night to take care of the "beast" - Beau Towers, if you didn't catch that the 107 times the author mentioned it.

I WANTED TO LIKE THIS BOOK. It just didn't happen though. It felt like a romance novel for adults except it was written like children would read it, too??

2.5 stars from me. Sad panda :(

I loved this book! This whole series is just delightful. The characters were very relatable and developed. I love the twist on Beauty and the Beast! Extremely warm and fuzzy, was the perfect book to sit down with and finish in one sitting.

I was excited to read the second novel in the Meant To Be series because I loved the first one so much! This was a very cute story that is a loosely based retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The characters were likeable and the plot was easy to follow and medium paced. The character development was good and I enjoyed watching both characters become more comfortable with each other, as well as themselves. At times I feel like the elements that make this a retelling (mentioning candlesticks, thinking that inanimate objects are talking to the female MC) were a little cheesy but understandable. The main characters also spent a lot of time "laughing" and "giggling" at each other or what someone said which I felt was very overdone. Overall, this was a very cute retelling and I'm interested to see what the next book in this series will be.