I love the forced proximity in this book! Such great character development and I could really connect with both main characters in this book.

Aspiring author and editorial assistant, Izzy is done with her job. Her once shiny love of books and authors has been almost entirely replaced by working life ennui and the unhappy knowledge that she's not getting a promotion again this year. However, a literary conference gives her an opportunity to escape the dull New York winter and find some sunshine in California, where she finds herself unexpectedly volunteering to make a house call to check on a reluctant celebrity author whose book is long overdue. However, Beau Towers is not exactly what she was expecting. The former celebrity playboy has become a recluse, hiding in his palace of a house with only his furniture and assistant for company. His good looks and fabulous house are diminished by his attitude and his ability to hurl insults exactly where they'll hurt the most. However, as she agrees to stay and help him write his book, she finds that maybe there's something there that wasn't there before within him and herself.

This book put the biggest smile on my face the whole time I was reading it. Jasmine Guillory is a fantastic author and the book just feels fun. For fans of the Disney film, there are hundreds of tiny little references to delight you. The characters are lively and full of depth, with believable conflicts and anxieties that mirror the story we all know without just rehashing it. A perfect book for taking to the beach with you or curling up in a window seat overlooking a rose garden (if you happen have that available)! This series continues to offer fun, fresh takes on favorite stories from some of my favorite authors, so I can't wait to see what's next.

BY THE BOOK
Author: Jasmine Guillory
Publisher: Hyperion Avenue
Pub Date: May 3, 2022

Rating: 4/5

Review:
By the Book is a modern Beauty and the Beast retelling and the second of the Meant to Be Series. This rom-com is a light read that will have you swooning for the cuteness of the relationship. Isabelle, our MC, works for a publishing company called "Tale as Old as Time" before she starts living with Beau after she's tasked with helping him write a memoir.

The book itself is very cute but doesn't stand out to me as one of the best I've read. It's definitely something to read if you're looking to get out of a stump and excited to read a book with a classic fairytale twist. It definitely feels Disney which makes sense coming from a Disney publisher. The characters have great chemistry and have good development throughout the story!

The review will be posted on @thelegalreads by April 15th, 2022. Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jasmine Guillory's reimaging of Beauty and the Beast is perfect! This sweet rom-com will delight book lovers who enjoy Beauty and the Beast retellings and those who adore books about books.

I really enjoyed this romantic comedy fairy tale retelling! Jasmine Guillory's writing style perfectly matches the tone of the story. While nothing about the story felt particularly original. Beauty and the Best is the most commonly retold fairy tale, so it's hard for B&tB retellings to stand out. This story was cute, the romance developed at a really great pace, and the final romantic gesture was really swoon-worthy, but I never felt like I was reading something I hadn't read before. Overall, I still think people will enjoy this novel and I wouldn't discourage anyone from picking it up, but I will say it is probably exactly what you imagine when you hear "modern Beauty and the Beast retelling."

Jasmine Guillory took on the 2nd installment in the Meant to Be series. A different take on the classic story of Beauty & The Beast. Isabelle got her dream job at a publishing house just out of college. Fast forward a few years and she is overworked & underpaid (aren't we all). When she overhears her boss complaining about a "beastly" author, she takes the initiative to show up at his house and take him underhand. But Beau Towers isn't what she expected. This book plays out exactly like a Hallmark movie and is so sweet my teeth hurt when I finished. While this book was not for me, if you're into the Hallmark channel, this is the one for you.

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory is an adorable romcom & Beauty & the Beast retelling set in the modern world.
First of all, Isabelle works at Tale as Old as Time publishing?! So clever!
As I started reading this book, I started visualizing the story while simultaneously playing The Beauty & The Beast movie from 1991 in my head. The introduction of Isabelle cued the soundtrack to begin.
The anthropomorphizing of inanimate objects was a super clever nod to the original story.
Occasionally I struggled with the conversations not sounding natural to me. & they laughed a lot, which is a great thing, but it sounded a bit repetitive.
The romance is really cute & I enjoyed how the relationship progresses. I appreciate a good slowburn romance & this delivered as such. At times, I felt like this seemed more young adult than adult, but because this is a fairytale retelling I think that makes sense.
I’m happy that the look of princesses is changing & expanding to include more people because everybody deserves to feel like & be a princess & see themselves in fairytales. This book with a beautiful Black woman working in publishing is a step in the right direction.
If you’re looking for a more modern fairytale, I would definitely check out By the Book, which comes out May 3, 2022!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Hyperion Avenue for giving me the opportunity to read an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Extra things I loved:
-Thanks to this book I learned of the existence of anthropomorphism & how it’s similar but different to personification. I love learning new things.

I was so delighted to get to read the second book in this series as an ARC, and I've read loads of Guillory's books before. This was subtle in comparison to many of her books, but it was sweet and fun and a joy to read. Especially as a Disney and Belle lover! I think this is not the best Beauty and the Beast retelling I've read, but it hits a really nice note where young adults will enjoy it (and it fades to black such that I'd almost be willing to hand it to one of my students) but it still had some pizazz for adult readers. Bonus points for the fantastic bookstore and library scenes, and some excellent sizzle between the beauty and her (misunderstood) beast. I can't wait to find out what the next book in the series is going to take on!

This is a good, solid 4-star book by Jasmine Guillory, an author I adore (I have read everything else she has written and love all of it)! I also read the first book in this new series, called "Meant to Be" - a series of modern day twists on classic fairy tales, and I loved it as well. Looking forward to more! They will all be written by different authors.

By the Book is a Beauty and the Beast re-telling, about Isabelle (Izzy) who works for a publishing company in New York, one of the few, young, black women in the job. She is a publisher's assistant, where she has been stuck in the position for a few years. On a business trip to a conference in California, she overhears her boss speaking to someone about a young, troublesome "childhood actor" and celebrity author they haven't been able to get a book draft out of and is way overdue on deadlines, and she volunteers to drive up to his home in Santa Barbara to personally check-in.

On arrival, she is turned away, but the clever "assistant" and housekeeper devises a plan to get her inside and to meet the "Beast", Beau Towers. Once he gets a look at her, things change, Izzy is able to give a few pep talks about how to write the book, and she figures she'll be back on the plane the next day. Except then Beau needs another week of pep talks. Which turns into a month, and so on and so forth. Together they talk over the book, he starts writing, needs her motivation and moral support, and she enjoys being out of the office and away from some not-so-nice coworkers. Everything goes through it's normal ups and downs of a typical romance (this one is closed door), twists and turns to get to the end, and without spoiling anything, it is a very, very satisfying ending at the publisher's in NYC!


The spin on the classic is that they are real people, no actual beast, but he can certainly behave like it. They learn each others habits, behaviours, and there are quirky little things thrown in to highlight the Beauty and the Beast angle, like him nicknaming his assistant "kettle" because she likes tea, talk of candlesticks, jokes about the ladder in the library, or not doing dishes because the house comes alive at night and does the housework (and one tiny little mention of "be my guest" at the start - loved that).


I definitely recommend this book to everybody who loves Fairy Tales, Beauty and the Beast, the first book in the series, Meant To Be (If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy, which I absolutely adored!), everything else written by Jasmine Guillory, and books about book lovers. It is truly fantastic!

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue, and this is my honest feedback. Thank you very much!

I am bound to love any Beauty and the Beast retelling. Especially one by Jasmine Guillory, in which our heroine works in publishing. I'm still swooning. By the Book strikes the perfect balance of homage and freshness. Cute little references to the Disney classic abound, while also reworking some common concerns of the source text. Instead of trapped by a curse, Beau is struggling to write a memoir due to some major unresolved feelings and grief. No Stockholm syndrome here! Izzy is always free to go, but stays both out of determination to prove herself as an editor and also out of belief in Beau.

I should also mention that I am an absolute sucker for enemies-to-lovers, especially ones with just enough aching yearning. And my goodness, does By the Book deliver. Guillory brings the perfect blend of longing, sexiness, and sweetness to this classic story, and gives the characters just the right balance of chemistry, vulnerability, and honesty. This book is my favorite Guillory romance to date. An absolute treat of a read.

I really loved this book. I just had to keep reading to see what happened next. The main characters Izzy and Beau were just fantastic. This is a story about Izzy who is assistant to Marta, the editor in a publishing house. They have a client Beau, who is having a hard time with his book. Izzy is at a conference in California along with Pryiah and Marta . Izzy is talking and Izzy hears and offers to drive to Santa Barbara and pay a visit to Beau. She goes there and he is upset about her coming but lets her in. She begins helping him with his book and thus this story takes off. A GREAT READ, I recommend it highly.

I love all Jasmine Guillermo books and this one is no different. The set up - beauty and the beast in Hollywood- is interesting. I also enjoyed the insights into the book world. Highly recommend to all the Disney princesses still looking for their prince.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I've read many of Guillory's other works and really loved them, but for some reason, this one didn't really hit me in the same way. Maybe it was the retelling of another story aspect, rather than being an original idea. It was a quick read, and I did like the ways that Guillory changed some plot points from Beauty and the Beast to make it the same general story, but enough different that you didn't totally feel like you were reading the fairy tale or watching the Disney movie. Despite not loving it, this is still something I'd probably recommend to a friend looking for something light and easy for a vacation or pool read.

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