This was a delightful modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I loved all the nods to the Disney 90s film version, and I loved the relationship between Izzy and Beau.

Brilliant contemporary fiction, perfect escapism.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was literally so cute and my little fairytale loving heart fell absolutely in love with it. There were some predictable parts and of course some cheesy parts but that’s always good with the rom coms. Thank you for the ARC.

Jasmine does it again!! This author can't miss with her writing. What do you get when a book loving underappreciated publishing assistant and a bad boy first time author meet? The answer is a fantastic take on the loved fairy tale Beauty and The Beast. I want to stay in every world Jasmine Guillory creates with her books, the characters are like family and friends that you want the best for and miss once the story is over. If you think you are too old for fairy tales do yourself a favor and read By The Book.

An ambitious New York editorial assistant, feeling stalled in her career and tired of being one of the few Black professionals in her publishing house, decides to shake things up by traveling to California to help a young, infamously trouble-making celebrity write his long overdue memoir. A sweet, slow romance develops. I really look forward to recommending this book to romance readers who would just as soon do without the graphic bedroom scenes -- this author does a great job of creating an uplifting love story with relatable characters.

4 1/2.

I didn't read the first book in the series and that didn't affect the reading of this book.

This story has a Beauty and the Beast flavor, with Isabelle being Belle and Beau being the beast (Beau in French means beautiful, the male version of the word).

A few things irritated me in the beginning: the prologue (completely unnecessary) and the excess use of exclamation marks in the first few chapters.

Izzy works at a publishing house as an assistant and she's disillusioned with what was supposed to be her dream job. Things are just not going as she'd hoped. When an opportunity comes to work with a writer who's missed his deadline by a year, she takes it.

Beau absolutely plays a great beast when he meets Izzy. He bellows and he's rude and overall unpleasant. Izzy ends up staying to help Beau with his book and the more time they spend together, the more they discover how they like each other.

The story grew more on me with each passing chapter with the growth of the characters and the development of their relationship.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This was the first of Guillory's books I have read and I truly enjoyed it. I loved seeing how she was going to work the Beauty and the Beast stuff in, but also how she made it her own story. The publishing industry setting was unique and sunny California was a nice break from the dreary Midwest winter for me too.

My first Jasmine Guillory read. Very good, quick, easy read. I admit the first chapter had me thinking this was more of a teen read, but the story grew and was interesting, enjoyable and well rounded. Do not miss this one, an excellent beach, vacation read.

By The Book by Jasmine Guillroy

Isabelle is completely lost. When she first began her career in publishing right out of college, she did not expect to be twenty-five, living at home, still an editorial assistant, and the only Black employee at her publishing house. Overworked and underpaid, constantly torn between speaking up or stifling herself, Izzy thinks there must be more to this publishing life. So when she overhears her boss complaining about a beastly high-profile author who has failed to deliver his long-awaited manuscript, Isabelle sees an opportunity to finally get the promotion she deserves.

All she has to do is go to the author’s Santa Barbara mansion and give him a quick pep talk or three. How hard could it be?

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Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an ARC of By The Book! Guys I literally LOVED this book. A modern retelling of Beauty and The Beast by the queen Jasmine? Sign me up! I’ve read a lot of Jasmine’s work and this one did not disappoint. I genuinely fell in love with Isabelle and Beau and their story. I love that it was set in Santa Barbara where I grew up going on vacation— I genuinely felt like I was there. This book was amazing. I cannot wait for everyone to read it!

5⭐️

I’ll start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Jasmine Guillory has a gift. When you start reading a romance, you know what you’re getting into. Early on you’re able to identify who is going to fall in love with who. But that’s not why you read it. You read it for the adventures of watching the romance build.

I’m also a sucker for any book about books. All you can do is root for Izzy to find her way and make her mark on the publishing world. This plot line really makes By The Book so much more interesting.

I absolutely love everything about Jasmine and her books. What better writer than her to write a modern day Beauty and the Beast story. I wouldn’t change a thing. Loved every word.

Oh the swoon factor here is high! Pure glorious guilty pleasure romance that just captures your heart! My Sixth Formers have an obsession with romance right now and this will be perfect for them!

What a wonderful escape. Pure Guilty but with a lot of fresh characters who stood out from all the other rom-com's I've been reading as original and well developed. Pure delight!

I love Jasmine Guillory's other books (and the first in this series by Julie Murphy), but this one wasn't for me. The writing seemed forced and needlessly upbeat (I counted 12 - unnecessary - exclamation points in the first few pages alone). The idea of retellings is awesome if it's done well, and I think this one just tried a little too hard. It didn't seem on-brand with the rest of her books and if this is the direction the rest of the Meant to Be series takes, I'm not sure I'll be checking those out. It might make a cute story for someone less familiar with Guillory's other works, maybe.

With characters and a setting inspired by Beauty and the Beast, this closed-door romance follows Isabelle (or Izzy) to California where she meets Beau Towers. Izzy works for a publishing company that has signed celebrity Beau to write his memoir. Beau is uncommunicative and has yet to produce even one page of his book, so Izzy shows up at his door one day to get some answers and help him start writing.

It took a while to build up the romance in this book. The bulk of the book is spent with the characters working together writing Beau’s memoir but once they finally kiss, the book picks up speed. Both Beau and Izzy’s character developments are compelling. They’re good for each other and inspire one another. The book did a good job of nodding to Beauty and the Beast without it overpowering the storyline. It’s less of a re-telling and more of an “inspired by.” Good for book lovers that want a slow burn, closed-door romance.

such a sweet and charming book! I haven’t stopped smiling since I sat down to read By the Book. A delightful retelling of beauty and the beast, with a beauty who’s almost too perfect until she reveals she has some bite! Isabelle is such a wonderful protagonist! She’s believable as a heroine and arrives on the page fully formed. I cannot express how much I loved the prologue. It’s such a detailed couple of pages, I immediately felt acquainted with Izzy, her world and people within it. And the rest of the book was just as delightful. The book is best when it’s Izzy and Beau in California, cannot wait to read Priya’s book! A new romance favorite.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book as a huge fan of Jasmine Guillory and the first book in this series, If The Shoe Fits. This book definitely lived up to my expectations! First of all, I love books about books so Izzy working at a publishing house was such a cute detail. I was rooting for Izzy and Beau from the second Izzy started sending sassy emails to him.

This was a veeeery slow build romance throughout the course of Izzy living with Beau and helping him to complete his overdue memoir. No spice here but I still believed the chemistry between the characters.

I will admit to being nervous about the book being overly princess-centric but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The references to Beauty and the Beast were very subtle and well done. I loved the naming of the characters and the references to the furniture “almost” talking.

This was a five star read for me and I would definitely recommend it! I’m looking forward to future books in this series as the two released so far have been some of my favourite romances.

This book was so’ cute. Izzy and Beau were the perfect romantic couple. I might be biased though because beauty and the Beast is my favorite story. . It was predictable and there were times it was cheesy, but still so fun. . Overall it was entertaining and for sure a book I’d recommend to someone else.

Isabelle is living at home and questioning her career in publishing.
She is 25 and living at home and a assistant and the only black employee. She feels overwhelmed and under appreciated. She is now questioning if she should step away. She has been emailing Beau Hightower a spoiled rich guy who is suppose to be writing his autobiography. But no one has heard from him. While on a work trip in California she over hears her boss saying somone should just go to his house and talk him. Izzy volunteers to go. Thinking If she can get Beau to write this book she will get the promotion she deserves. This can't be hard a few pep talks and he will be back on track right?

What Izzy doesn't know is Beau is just as lost as she is and working through his own issues. Izzy knows she can help.him if he would just let her in. But will they both let down the walls and accept help.

When I saw the blurb for this book, I was thrilled. A contemporary Beauty and the Beast set in publishing- yes, please! It didn’t live up to my expectations, though. The characters were flat and plot slow. I wanted to like it, but couldn’t get into it.