As a Jasmine Guillory fan, I missed her familiar cast. As an admitted avoider of fairy tales, this wasn’t my favorite. But it was sweet and lighthearted, and I love that she’s a part of this popular series.

I always wanted to read a book by this author but never got around to it. This story was slow and often felt a bit immature for the main characters in the book. The author put a spin on a classic fairy tale and in the end it worked out. Isabelle and Beau had totally different personalities but they complimented each other. This story was a slow slow slow burn but I actually ended enjoying the book. Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing me with an ARC.

Another gem from Jasmine Guillory!!! I didn’t expect anything less and she did not disappoint!!

I don’t usually like to read e-books, but this one had me captivated from beginning to end and I didn’t even care I was reading a book on my phone.

Fans of Jasmine, you must pick this one up! If you haven’t read her books yet, I highly recommend! Fans of Christina Lauren, Farrah Rochon, and Tif Marcelo, will love Jasmine Guillory!

I will pick up anything from Guillory so I was excited to see her take on a modern Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately, so much of what makes her romances so wonderful didn't fit into a retelling. It felt constrained by the bounds of the fairy tale, although I did have fun picking out all the details she managed to weave into the storyline. The budding romance isn't bad but the book definitely lacks the steam I expect from Guillory, so head's up if you want that from your romance novels. This is PG at best. All in all, you won't find too much in the way of surprises here but if you are a Beauty and the Beast fan, you'll enjoy it.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is written in quintessential Jasmine Guillory style! This second book in the “Meant To Be” series of adult books Disney is putting out was delightful.

It’s a riff off Beauty and the Beast. Izzy is the beautiful, peppy, book “Belle.” She is the only black employee as assistant editor of a publishing company called Tail As Old As Time (hint hint) sent to deal with the grumpy Beau, who hasn’t turned in his memoir.

Things that scream modern Disney: the castle like California mansion, the library with rolling ladders, a rose garden, the WiFi password is Lum1ere!, the chefs name is Michaela, she has one baby son and her nickname is Kettle like Mrs. Potts and she loves tea plus so much more!

This was a cute novel. Izzy and Beau’s banter is entertaining but man Priya is freaking awesome! Give me a whole book just for her! I loved how she went deep with the personal issues over time, letting the characters slowly open up rather than dumping it in chunks. You also get to see how they support each other through their issues which was great. If you’re expecting hot steamy scenes like her previous books….there are none but you don’t miss it at all and maybe that’s because the book was more simply written to the point of almost older YA level.

Thank you Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for the arc.

Loved this book!! Such a cute premise and remake of Beauty and the Beast (without the weird kidnapper vibes). Loved the main characters and the way their love story blossomed. I also really enjoyed the feminist undertones and messages to believe in yourself and your worth. Really fun and interesting read overall. Would definitely recommend:)

By the Book is second fairytale retelling in the Meant to Be series. Each book is a stand alone written by different authors. This was my first time reading a book by Jasmine Guillory. It took me a few chapters to get into her writing style. Izzy and Beau portray versions of the characters in this modern version of Beauty and the Beast.

Izzy is working as an editor's assistant trying to move up in her career in the publishing industry. She is constantly working hard but her boss doesn't seem to recognize it. Izzy overhears her boss complaining about how someone needs to knock on a difficult clients door to get him to work on his memoir. She volunteers to go to Santa Barbara and prod him into turning something in. Beau agrees to work on the memoir but only if Izzy lives in his home and guides him through the writing process.

Izzy and Beau have a grumpy/sunshine dynamic. Izzy tries giving him lots of ridiculous pep talks in the beginning. Beau was so gruff all the time; almost to the point of being mean in certain instances. I understand he was hurting and not really able to process his feelings but it made me cringe a bit. It wasn't until two thirds of the way in that I found myself liking Beau because he became much more open. All of the little Disney easter eggs (Kettle, yellow dress, grey drink being delicious, Provincial Life etc) were fun to see snuck in. Overall, I thought this was a good closed door romance. I thought the ending was adorable and everyone needs a Michela in their life.

3.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own. stars

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory

Quick Thoughts: 4/5 Stars
I was smiling from ear to ear the whole time while I read this book! Jasmine Guillory is my all-time favorite romance author, modern re-tellings are such a joy in my reading life and a book on books always has a place on my bookshelves! This book was so much fun and I'm so glad I was able to read it!

The Set Up:
Bubbly and endearing Isabelle (Izzy) is feeling burnt out as an editorial assistant at her publishing house, Tale as Old at Time. In a leap to prove herself at her job, she offers to travel out of her norm and work with a grumpy, disgruntled Beau; an aspiring author who has locked himself up in his mansion and refuses to send in his manuscript regardless of the impending deadline looming.

What comes next is the sweetest enemies to lovers; grumpy-sunshine, modern take on a love story known to all of us!

I really enjoyed the twist of this classic fairy-tale into modern times; especially seeing Izzy seek fulfillment in her relationship with Beau, her career and her happiness! It was magical, sweet and romantic! Coming out May 3rd; make sure you get your hands on this one for all the romantics in your life!

Thanks to the publisher, Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.
#BytheBook #NetGalley

Two things I didn't know going into this book: 1. it's a Beauty and the Beast retelling and 2. it's published by Disney. I do believe if I had known that going into it I wouldn't have texted my friends, "If I had balls, they would be blue." I was expecting some STEAM as I've loved what I've gotten from Jasmine Guillory's previous books but this kept building up and then we got a fade to black. Omg. ANYHOW. I still really enjoyed this book and would recommend it but just have those two callouts in mind haha!

This was really cute. I liked If The Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy a lot so I was really excited to see that this is becoming a series of different authors writing Disney retellings! I will read anything Jasmine Guillory writes so I was really stoked to get approved for this on NetGalley!
By the Book is of course a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Super cute and fun. It was a little cheesy at times but like in a good way. Izzy and Beau were great together. Their banter was really fun and seeing them slowly open up to each other over time was sweet. This is definitely a bit of a slow burn!
If you’ve read Jasmine’s other books, you might be expecting some steamy scenes in this. But there are none. All you get is kissing. That’s not a bad thing, I didn’t mind it at all. Also didn’t expect a book published by Disney to have smut lol.
Definitely would recommend! I love me a good retelling. The book will be out on 5/3!

This will be posted on my Instagram @katebrownreads in the next few weeks as well!

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory is a modern re-telling of Beauty and the Beast and is the second novel in the Meant to Be Series, an adult publishing project. Both books can be read as a stand-alone and have no characters in common since each novel in the series is written by a different author. Isabelle (Izzy) works for the publishing company Tale As Old As Time (often referred to as TAOAT in the novel) and has been tasked with the finally getting Beau Towers to write his tell-all-memoir. Upon arriving at Beau's Santa Barbara mansion, he essentially yells at her and insists she stays at his home to help him write the manuscript. Since he hasn't left her much of a choice, she stays in his home very reluctantly to try to connect this grumpy "monster" with his inner writer.

Honestly, the details that made it a "Beauty and the Beast" re-telling, felt very glossed over. Her yellow dress on the stairs, Michaela being called Kettle, etc. While I could see Beau being similar to Beast due to his temperament, I didn't really see Belle in Izzy. I know this is a re-telling and obviously things can not be the exact same, if it weren't for the fact that I know this is a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast and I know it's part of the same publishing project, I don't think I would have even clued into that fact.

Izzy and Beau have that "slow burn" or "enemies to lovers" kind of feel, but I didn't really feel it. They were too "PG" and not enough "heat"! Maybe it's because this is geared towards a younger audience and that's why there wasn't really any sexual tension between the characters? Or even the fact that the "sex" scene was just implied? I don't know, I just didn't overly get into the story. I hope I'm not discouraging anyone from wanting to read this novel because there was nothing wrong with it! It just wasn't for me, nor was it really what I was expecting. 3/5 stars.

I didn’t like this book quite as much as other books by this author, but it was still a easy feel good read.

This Beauty and the Best retelling was just alright. The references were cute but I didn't find myself enjoying the characters. It also felt more cheesy than Guillory's other books. Overall, it was a very nice and easy read if you're looking for something fun.

By the Book is a Beauty and Beast modern-day retelling by Jasmine Guillory. When editorial assistant Isabelle is tasked with getting reclusive Beau to turn in his long-awaited memoir, she ends up moving into his Santa Barbara mansion and they begin to realize there may be something there that wasn’t there before.

This book was fine, but I expected more. This is a Jasmine Guillory book, and this didn’t feel like a Jasmine Guillory book. She is an auto-buy for me, but this is not her typical book. It was too cheesy, too Disney-movie sweet. I wanted to love it, but it felt too juvenile for the characters to be in their late twenties.

By the Book comes out on May 3, 2022. Thanks for Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for my ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy of By the Book (Meant to Be #2) by Jasmine Guillory.

In By the Book, Guillory weaves together a new retelling from Beauty and the Beast, and she does such a fantastic job of it, that I found myself, halfway through the novel, saying Man...this Beau character is such a beast. Hah! I didn't really care for his character at first, which surprised me because I always like Guillory's characters. But then I laughed out loud because, duh! of course I didn't like Beau, he isn't supposed to be likeable at first. :) He eventually won me over once he allowed Izzy to thaw his frozen heart.

This retelling was very innocent and clean, but followed the tale very closely. I loved all of the references to BATB, including the name of the publishing company, the nickname of Beau's assistant, even the name of another book that was being released had a reference to the main song of the fairy tale! It was a charming read, very quick to devour. I missed some of the spiciness that Guillory's other books contain, but I understand that this book was not the time or place for it.

I love Jasmine Guillory and Beauty and the Beast, and the modern premise of this book was intriguing but this fell a little flat for me. Although some conflict was introduced it didn’t feel like enough to make Izzy and Beau’s relationship real to me. I saw another review that said this book was “a little too Hallmarky” and I think that’s a perfect description. It was a cute and fun read but too much of a fairy tale when it didn’t need to be.

Izzy thought she had her dream job working with books in publishing but now she's not so sure, it feels like she is stuck and she's not even enjoying reading anymore. She takes the opportunity to visit an author to give him some motivation to finish his manuscript. But Beau needs more than a quick pep talk and Izzy finds herself staying in Santa Monica to help him write his manuscript. Will working with Beau help Izzy find herself and her love of books?

3.5 stars
By the Book is a really cute rom-com and Jasmine Guillory's writing style perfectly matches the tone of this modern fairytale, but unfortunately 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."

*NetGalley Review*

In a modern re-telling of the classic, Beauty and the Beast, Isabelle “Izzy” Marlowe works at a publishing company called Tale as Old as Time, where she’s stressed, tired, and feeling as though she is losing sight of her passion. On a work trip to Santa Barbara, and in hopes of making a difference, she finds herself face-to-face with THE Beau Towers, the man formerly known as an LA bad boy… and also the man who’s a bit behind on his memoir at TAOAT publishing. I felt this novel was slow at times, but overall a solid read, especially if you’re a fellow lover of Beauty and the Beast.

I really loved this second book in the Meant to Be collection of romance books. This one was a modern version of beauty and the beast and I loved finding all the nods to the classic fairytale. Some were glaringly obvious, like the publishing company she works for - Tale as old as Time. Some were less so, like her yellow sundress. I loved how Izzy first didn't like Beau, then slowly he lets his guard down and they become friends, then he screws up and they take steps back, but then ultimately, they love each other which is what you know is going to happen all along. It's so fun to me to read a book where you know it's all going to end up ok. And every time her publishing company was mentioned, I found myself humming the song. Perfect closed door romance!