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.

Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC of this book. I completely enjoyed it. I hadn’t realized that it was the second book in the series. I read the whole book on a plane trip. It is a simple romantic love story that would make a great beach read or if your are in a reading slump.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for this digital ARC of By the Book, as Jasmine Guillory is one of my favorite contemporary romance writers, and I am a girl who loves Beauty and the Beast, so this Reimagination was so fun to read. Isabelle as a protagonist having to help a self absorbed former actor pen his memoir was a delight. I loved her sunshiney energy compared with his grumpasaurus one. The story is comfortable and sweet, and I only wish it had a bit more heat, as it is very much a fade to black romance, which is perfectly fine but just not my speed.

Jasmine Guillory is one of my favorite contemporary authors, and she has written such a fun reimagination of Beauty and the Beast! What a treat to read! While the story doesn’t necessarily follow the “tale as old as time” setting, there are so many wonderful nods to the Disney adaptations. Isabelle Moreau is an assistant to a difficult editor at Tale as Old as Time Books, trying to find her place in the publishing world, and she stumbles upon an opportunity to help Beau Towers, an uncommunicative self absorbed former actor with a troubled past, write his memoir. As Izzy helps Beau find his voice, she learns more about herself. This is a cozy romance perfect for fans of the fairytale. I didn’t realize this was the second in a series; this title also stood well on its own.

Ok - first off, I really love this author and was so excited to receive this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review (Thank you, NetGalley). In this novel, Izzy works as an assistant in publishing and is becoming burnout and is worrying that there will never be a chance for a promotion. She decides to take on the project of getting Beau Towers, the son of an iconic movie director, to complete the missing pages of his manuscript, which proves to be quite the task. This was such a cute (and sometimes predictable, which wasn’t a bad thing in this novel) story with the grumpy/sunshine trope and all the feels of Beauty and the Beast. If you’re looking for a light read with all the feels & laughs to go with it, then this is the book for you! Kudos to the author for another great novel.

I highly recommend By the Book by Jasmine Guillory. This modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast was so well done that I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait for book three in the Meant to Be series. Jasmine Guillory is a phenomenal writer and I can’t wait to read more of her books. By the Book is perfect for older teen and adult readers. Fans of Beauty and the Beast, like myself, won’t be disappointed by this adaptation.

In this modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Izzy (an editor for a Tale as Old as Time Publishers) is tasked with wrangling notorious celebrity bad boy Beau Towers into finishing his memoir. Can she tame the writer's block??

I really appreciated all the winks/nods to the original fairy tale. They were like fun Easter eggs and kept me excited about how plot lines were going to match up. That being said, this wasn't my favorite romance. I have been wanting to read some Guillory for awhile, but I'll be honest (safe space) I need my romance to have a little 🌶 and this doesn't. It's sweet but we do the fade-away thing which is a better fit for some, just not me! 😈 haha.

Thanks so much to @netgalley and Hyperion for the advanced copy. By the Book goes on sale May 3, 2022!

cw: parent loss and grief.

From the description alone I was already over the moon to read this book. A black romance modern retelling of Beauty & the Beast?! Immediate yes. If you’re a lover of the grumpy x sunshine trope then I think this is a great pick—with an example of tough but very healthy communication I think we could all benefit from. Izzy and Beau are incredibly relatable in their triumph, and grief and the pacing of their eventual love story feels appropriate and satisfying when you account for their very human baggage. The romance felt sweet and tender in a very Disney-like way, while injecting the frenzy of a whirlwind romance that one would feel in their 20s & 30s.

The incorporation of the Beauty & the Beast elements felt appropriate without being stilted or over the top cheesy. Including a familiar line, character and concept was just the right touch to bring such a beloved fairytale into modern more realistic life.

Overall such a fast-paced feel good story. You can’t help but root for the main characters individually and as a couple.

Oh man I really, really wanted to like this book. I am a huge Jasmine Guillory fan-I have read all of her books. At first this book reads a bit like Beauty and the Beast-this comparison is a bit forced as the protagonist, Izzy, starts to anthropomorphize the household objects.

This book tells the tale of Isabelle, a lowly editor’s assistant, who works at a publishing house. One of her main jobs is sending regular pep talk emails to the reclusive celebrity, Beau Towers, whose memoir is way past due. The book gets going as Isabelle proposes knocking on Beau’s door and confronting him about it in person. A long-term stay at his mansion ensues, in combination with many unbelievable circumstances.

Besides lack of plausibility (I can willingly suspend my disbelief) I had a few problems with this book. The biggest was that I could not picture Beau. I didn’t know who, in real life, he was like (Drake? Justin Bieber? I don’t know.) I wished there was a real life person I could have said “oh he’s meant to be like….” I found this distracting, as I just couldn’t “picture” him, and not being able to “picture” a main character makes it hard to appreciate the book.

One of the reasons I love Jasmine Guillory is her depiction of far-from-perfect BPOCs as protagonists. They usually REALLY enjoy food (as do I:) and their journey to love is easy to picture and sweet. I found this journey frustrating to follow and completely unrelatable. I’m so sad that I didn’t like this book more.

Thank you to @netgalley Hyperion Avenue and @jasminepics for my gifted copy of this ebook which publishes on May 3rd.

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an advanced copy.

I loved the first book in this series, and while I had a hard time getting into this book it definitely picked up. I was pleasantly surprised by the end. I loved how she used the characters from the story to tie in the beauty and the beast theme. Some of the names and things she referenced were simply awesome, it made me like the book that much more. It was for sure worth reading.

Oh my god this book was so much better than I expected. It is just fairytale retelling excellence. I was surprised at how much of a slow burn it is but it really worked for this story. The fact that she was living in his house let to such cute domestic moments between Izzy and Beau.

I received an arc through netgalley.

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory was a true delight to read! A modern day reimagining of Beauty and the Beast featuring Isabelle (Izzy) and Beau. Izzy works as an editorial assistant at the publishing house Tale As Old As Time (TAOAT, in New York City. Izzy is overworked and underpaid. Beau, the son of a screenwriter and child star infamous for his bad reputation is overdue on the memoir. Izzy ends up staying with Beau in California, to help him with his novel, and while the two end up butting heads numerous times along the way, in the end Izzy learns that Beau is more than just his rough exterior and maybe even capable of writing a book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an eARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review, it was a pleasure to read this book.

More detailed review to come on my blog @pouringoverbooks closer to publication date!

This is the second book in the meant to be Series, and in this one, we find ourselves with a modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
Isabelle, known as Izzy to her friends, is an editorial assistant in New York. . For months, her boss has been trying to get a memoir out of Beau Towers, the son of a famous screenwriter who is infamous for his “beastly” attitude. Izzy goes to see Beau in person to try to get him to get him started on his book and ends up moving into his house to give him pep talks and help him get his book on paper.

Romance of course, ensues.

I loved that There were subtle nods to Beauty and the Beast: (a maybe talking tub…)

Most will like it because it’s Jasmine Guillory and she is a great writer

BUT

I like my romance novels with a little more HEAT than was in this novel..if you know what I mean LOL. It was kind of sanitized. I don’t know if that was a Disney reference requirement or what, but it’s worth noting.

I received an ecopy from the publisher through Net Galley. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was so fun! It's Jasmine Guillory, so you know it's going to be interesting and well-written. It's got some really fun references to Beauty and the Beast but even if you're not huge into Disney, you'll likely enjoy this (because again, it's Jasmine Guillory).