This is a beauty and the beast retelling and going in I didn’t know that until it was too late. I don’t exactly like retelling so the fact that this one was one really put me off.

If you’re a fan of retelling this is definitely for you!

I thought that this book was amazing when it came to the writing and plot and the pace. I do recommend it because this was a good book but it wasn’t for me.

I'm so sad that I didn't like this book. I LOVE Jasmine Guillory's other books and was so excited to see this new one coming out. As usual, I didn't read the summary of the book, so it wasn't until a friend told me she was looking forward to a good fairy tale retelling that I realized what I was getting myself into.

Retellings aren't necessarily bad; so many (most?) stories are just retellings of older stories, anyway. But this one just kept hitting me on the head with that Disney Beauty and the Beast theme. The publishing house that Isabel (like Belle, get it?) works for is TAOAT - Tale As Old As Time. Ugh. And Beau sneers and snarls and growls through the early days of their relationship. There are even snippets directly taken from the cartoon movie - Isabel in a long yellow dress descending the grand staircase, Isabel up on a ladder in the library, one foot raised in the air. Enough.

And did I mention the housekeeper's nickname is Kettle (not Potts <wink>)? Or the fact that Isabel talks to the furniture and almost hears it talking back? I really almost couldn't with this book.

And then the romance. It was straight-up PG, and the main characters are in their mid-20s, so I'm not really sure who the audience is. Not that everything has to be NC17, but a little heat would be nice, and normally Ms. Guillory delivers. There are kisses, hand holding, and hugs. Yup, that's that.

I liked how Beau and Isabel's relationship came together. They were likable characters and their conflicts and resolutions worked well. That's about all the positive review I can give. It's only my love of the author that brings the rating up to 2 stars.

My thanks to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm trying to find more bipoc romance novels to add to my libraray's collection. I read Guillory's first two novels and wasn't too into them. I figured I should give her another try. I liked this book-the adaptation of Beauty and the Beast was a nice one. I will buy this for my library.

I love a book about writing books so this was absolutely perfect. I also loved the update on beauty and the beast. It was so interesting because I do think of creativity as a kind of magic and that was a lot of the magic in this story: Helping someone find their voice and inspiring them to tell their stories. There's so much vulnerability in this book and I love how Izzy helps Beau tell the story that he needs to tell and really listens to him. So many books rely on the miscommunication trope but this book was about these two characters really struggling to communicate well and understand each other and making mistakes the way any of us would. I thought that was really beautiful.

By The Book is the 2nd book in the "Meant to Be" series published by @disneybooks. The first book was If The Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy and was a Cinderella retelling. By The Book is written by acclaimed author, Jasmine Guillory (The Wedding Date series) and takes on a modern tale inspired by Beauty and the Beast.

Izzy is stuck in her dead-end job as an assistant in a publishing house. She convinces her boss to send her to California to find Beau, an elusive writer who is months behind on writing his memoir. Izzy finds him closed up in his house on the hill (of course, it has a library) and he agrees to let her stay to help write the book. Beau and Izzy start to warm to each other but are they brave enough to see if they are meant to be?

I am a sucker for books about books and By The Book did not disappoint! I was completely drawn in and read this book in a day! I loved how the relationship with Izzy and Beau grew slowly as they both had to learn to trust the other. The writing was funny and fast-paced....a perfect rom-com.

This story is inspired by Beauty and the Beast and I loved the way the author wove elements into the book without hitting you over the head. This was truly a modern take on an old story that felt fresh and new.

I have loved almost everything I've read by Jasmine Guillory (there was 1 exception) and I was really curious to see how she adapted Beauty and the Beast for the modern era. I really enjoyed this retelling, especially the nods to the original tale (including the Disney version). Is there anything Jasmine Guillory can't do?

I enjoyed this book, as I do with all of Jasmine Guillory’s books! It was a modern day retelling of Beauty & the Beast, but I feel like that is all it was. I would’ve liked more conflict between the main characters before the inevitable happy ending.

A modern day fairytale inspired rom-com with a Black main character "princess"?! Yes please!!!

Oh this was just so, so cute! I loved this book so much, and the writing was amazing. This is the second book in a new series of modern day Disney fairytale retellings done by different authors! The first book is called If the Show Fits by Julie Murphy and it's a Cinderella retelling. The second book is By the Book by Jasmine Guillory and it's a Beauty and the Beast retelling!

This was really cute, had great, relatable main characters and tons of Beauty and the Beast "easter eggs" hidden in the book! I thought Izzy and Beau had great chemistry, and though their romance was definitely a slow burn, it was still really great. They went from "enemies" to friends to lovers and I loved that transformation.

Let me tell you I have NEVER related to a male main character as hard I related to Beau! A misunderstood homebody who hates making phones calls, and is obsessed with snacks and being comfy? Yuuuuup, thats me.

Overall this book was fun, lighthearted, quick read that I really enjoyed. I loved how both characters found themselves and their voice and found their happy ending.

"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 all the different shapes books come in, and the way they feel in your hand."

𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧: Jasmine Guillory
𝙋𝙪𝙗 𝘿𝙖𝙮: May 3, 2022
𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: Romance, Fiction
𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨: Meant to Be #2

Thank you Hyperion Avenue for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review will be posted to my blogs & Amazon closer to publication day!

www.instagram.com/that.bookmom
www.facebook.com/thatbookmomm
tiktok.com/@that.bookmom

I enjoyed how Guillory delivered this present-day Beauty and the Beast! Somehow she managed to cleverly incorporate all the things we love about Beauty and the Beast while making By the Book it’s own contemporary “fairytale”.

One of the most touching and personal aspects of this book was the dedication:

“To all the black girls who loved books and wanted to be princesses”.

As a Black girl who loved books and dreamed of being a Princess, this dedication made the story so much more meaningful for me. It felt like a celebration of my childhood fantasies.

By the Book is a cute romcom! If you enjoy slow burn romance, playful banter, and men with tough exteriors and soft hearts, then you might enjoy By the Book. I especially liked that Isabelle is Black and bookish!

That being said:

🌹 I found Isabelle’s internal dialogue repetitive and her naïveté annoying and preventative of her character development from having significant depth

🌹 The timeline and pacing of the story felt somewhat rushed

🌹 Some of the characters reactions to events in the book felt forced

Overall, By the Book is a sweet, fun read that may not stay with you long after it’s done but I’m happy that I read it!

By the Book is Jasmine Guillory's modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Isabelle is working at a publishing house when she finds herself unexpectedly stuck staying with "beastly" would-be author Beau. We all know how this story ends, but Guillory does an excellent job of adding her fresh and modern spin to a classic. This book is fun, sweet, and super readable. I look forward to reading more from this author.

An absolute hit for Disney fans and lovers of closed door romances but this retake on the Disney classic of beauty and the beast fell a little flat for me. I was drawn to this book because of its author as I have loved her books in the past.
I enjoyed the lens on the modern day publishing industry and the commentary on the lack of diversity within its walls.
I felt this book lacked a new twist or spin on the classic Disney story and fell a little flat in the romance department for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for a copy of this book

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the preview of By The Book. Jasmine Guillory has done it again. After reading the entirety of the Wedding Date series, I have been anxiously awaiting new drops by this fabulous author. By The Book does not disappoint. The story follows Isabel, a young, precocious book enthusiast who is anxious to get her career in publishing on track. She is high performing but flies under the radar. After nearly two years of tough criticisms and an even tougher boss, Izzy takes on the hardest challenge yet: coaxing a book out of the devastatingly handsome but angry Beau. This upbeat novel is a blend of Beauty and the Beast meets The Devil Wears Prada, and I enjoyed every second of it!

A delightful rom-com about an over-worked editor’s assistant, and also would-be writer who is very much a people pleaser. For the past two years, Isabelle Marlowe does everything “by the book” and doesn’t like to make waves in the hopes that one day she will be promoted to assistant editor at a publishing company. Hoping to be more forthright, she volunteers to confront a belligerent and self-indulged bad boy of Hollywood, who is delinquent in submitting his promised memoir that is overdue, to find out why he is not answering emails and how can they help him fulfill his obligation. Somehow, she manages to wrangle her way into his home and meets Beau Towers who reluctantly agrees for her to stay to give him pep talks to inspire his writing. Isabelle, known as Izzy, finds that there is more to Beau than what his bad boy reputation speaks. What could happen when you put two people by themselves in a house for a month to work closely together on a book? Sparks fly, connections are made. Izzy begins to believe in her pep talks herself and finds that she is finding just as much success writing as Beau, as she thrives in the sunshine of California. But back at the office, there is one who does not want to see Izzy be successful, as an editor nor as a writer.

Well written and easy to read, I found that this story carried me along and I was entertained. Somewhat predictable, but who cares? It was just plain fun. Who doesn’t like to see a bad boy who is misunderstood by the public and also see an average girl get the handsome prince. I was just delighted to see the reference in her delight of discovering the library at Beau’s palatial estate, reminding me the same reaction from Belle in “Beauty in the Beast”. This modern-day fairytale will be sure to be on everyone’s TBR for a good beach read or as a cozy romance.

Many thanks to #netgalley #jasmineguillory #bythebook for the opportunity to rad and review this book.

This book has reminded me that I LOVE love, especially Black Love!! It’s just a sweet story about to adults who spend time falling in love with each other, from first impression to final confirmation, and it is BEAUTIFUL!! This is a PG modern love story with excellent writing that I would share with my family and friends, and I’m so glad this book exists in the world!!

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory is the second book in the Meant to Be series. Book one, If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy, was an adorable Cinderella retelling. Now Guillory takes on my favorite Disney tale, Beauty and the Beast.

Beau is perfect as our Beast, with a rough and gruff exterior but a warm cinnamon roll underneath. Even though the story is told through Izzy's POV, I feel that by the end of the book I knew much more about Beau. For me, Izzy was much less a direct parallel to the original Belle. Our girl likes books. But that's about it. I was hoping for more tension on her side of things, but all I got was a seemingly mean boss and a flat, one-dimensional, sort-of villain. But I did thoroughly enjoy seeing the relationship between Izzy and Beau develop, even though the good stuff was behind a closed door (BOO Disney).

One thing that struck me in both books in this series is that the writing style tends to be a little less nuanced - almost simplistic - than I normally expect from both Murphy and Guillory. I'm guessing it has something to do with these being Disney published books.

And one thing that is definitely a ME problem and not a problem with these books in general, is that I tend to get distracted trying to find all of the Easter eggs hiding in them and get myself pulled out of the narrative. I guess that's one of the perils of retelling classic stories.

But overall I would recommend this book to those who like sweet romance and fairy tale retellings. A solid three stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

By The Book is the second installment in the Meant To Be series and is a modern-day retelling of Disney’s Beauty And The Beast. If you’re looking for a fairytale story, this one hits the nail on the head! The retelling is super accurate and sweet.

Isabelle (the modern-day version of Belle) is an editorial assistant who is severely underpaid and is looking for her big break. When she hears her boss complaining about a big-time author who isn’t delivering, she pops over to his house to get the manuscript and hopefully impress her boss in the process. Beau Towers, the “beast” in this retelling, is really a big emotional softy underneath, though he puts up a good front as Izzy tries to work her magic on him.

There are some really wonderful elements in this book. For starters, the retelling is on point. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a retelling has virtually nothing to do with the original story. Luckily, Guillory manages to make it super clear that we’re reading Beauty And The Beast without making the characters dark or controlling; the plot fits in well with the modern-day world.

Plus, there are SO many fairy-tale references that I just couldn’t control my excitement. Obviously, there’s the book aspect (which is really how Belle and the Beast first start to fall in love – over the library), but there’s also a rose garden, “magical” household items, and more that I won’t spoil.

By The Book also features some of my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers AND sunshine/grumpy. And they’re done well – you can feel the chemistry between the characters jumping off the page, especially when they don’t like each other. The “hatred” is perfectly paced and doesn’t feel too aggressive, nor is it unrealistic.

A few elements felt less welcome for me. First of all, the tale sticks almost too closely to the original fairy-tale. I would have enjoyed a few surprise elements thrown in while keeping all of the cheeky references. After a bit, I already knew what was coming and the plot just couldn’t hold my interest. It definitely needed more.

But the bigger problem (at least for me) is how much the author tells. Almost every line she’s telling us how the characters feel, what they think, what they want to do, or what they’ve already done. I wanted to see a lot of this through their actions, words, mannerisms, etc. Each “telling” line jolted me out of the story and made the characters feel less real.

Lastly, the sizzling scenes are all behind closed doors, an unwelcome surprise for me. I don’t need my romances to be crazy steamy (though that’s never a bad thing) but I do want to see some connection between the characters on-page, if only to advance the plot. Even kissing is barely mentioned. I wanted to feel the tension between the characters on a visceral level. Like, even if the sex scene isn’t described word for word, I would still enjoy a bit more sexual tension – a flirty touch here, an accidental brush, etc. It felt more like the characters were growing from enemies to friends.

Overall, By The Book is a cute Disney retelling if you’re looking for a darling little fairytale. It filled my “happy” quota for the week and is definitely a great comfort read.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed it, it wasn’t my favorite but I think that’s simply based upon the fact that I just am not into modern fairytale retellings like I thought I was.

Jasmine did a great job to make sure her writing style matched the pace and tone of Beauty and the Beast.

The story overall was really cute and the romance developed at a really great pace. The whole time though I felt like I was reading something I had read before, nothing about the story took me by surprise.

I still think people will enjoy this book, go into it with the mindset of I don’t want to this to be something other than that of a modern fairytale retelling and know that you pretty much already know the storyline before you read it.

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

This book was adorable! I am I love with the concept of this Meant to Be series and can't wait for the next one. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney film, and I loved seeing so many references scattered throughout. Thank you to Hyperion and NetGalley for the eARC!

This closed door modern romantic comedy inspired by Beauty and the Beast was another great book from Jasmine Guillory. The story starts out a bit slow as she sets the stage, but once it gets moving, i couldn’t put it down. The love story had depth to it, with both characters growing throughout the book. The Easter egg type connections to BATB made the story even better.

I received an ARC in exchange for my review. Thank you to Hyperion and NetGalley.

I love Jasmine Guillory books. While they are the most corny romance novels, her writing style keeps me engaged.

This title is interesting because it pulls inspiration from one of our favorite Disney stories. I loved the way Jasmine incorporated aspects of the Disney story into this one. The descriptive words used and the minor details that signals the relation between the two was great.

While the story itself is predictable and follows most romantic novels, I still enjoyed it. As an avid book reader, I loved the incorporation of writing and publishing. I loved the connection between NY and CA. The “from hating each other to loving each other” is one of my favorite tropes. I would have liked more of a reaction for Gavin but other than that, a great, easy read.