Thanks NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! This is my first Jasmine Guillory read and I can see why her work is so popular! Her characters are loveable, the romance between them is sweet, and perhaps most importantly, she knows how to write a story you can get invested in. You care about the goals of Beau and Izzy, and some of Izzy's quips actually made me laugh out loud. This is a cozy read!

Jasmine Guillory is a master of building tension and pacing. This book was a delight, especially for fans of a certain 1990 Disney film involving talking furniture, sumptuous backdrops and a conflicted heroin who loves to read and fly about on ladders in cathedral-esque libraries. Easter eggs abound in this re-imagined fairytale, incorporating realistic modern day elements into the structure of a classic "Tale as Old As Time". Readers will identify with and root for the couple at the heart of this engaging romance.

Love Jasmine Guillory's books. They always bring a smile to my face and give me something to think about. The heavy Beauty and the Beast references were a little cheesy at times, but the story was good. Not as steamy as some of her other books, but the chemistry between the characters was off the charts.

Highly recommend!! This book is a definite page-turner! You'll be left thinking about the story long after you put the book down. First book to read by this author but definitely not my last!

This sweet retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale took a while to get into; it had a choppy start with awkward dialogue (which is unusual for Guillory's books, in my experience). But once Izzy made it to CA and got settled into Beau's home, I began to recognize the author's usual gifts for creating believable characters and an imaginable setting.
I enjoyed this charming story and sailed through it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This modern day take on Beauty and the Beast was a fantastic read! I have loved every one of Jasmine Guillory's books, and this one is no exception. Isabelle has a career in publishing as an editorial assistant but is in search of a promotion. Her boss, Marta, complains about a big-shot author who hasn't turned in his memoir manuscript, and Isabelle wants this opportunity to show she deserves a promotion. Upon arriving in California, Izzy meets the high-profile author, Beau Towers, and the two of them don't quite hit it off. However, after giving him pep talks, and spending more time with Beau, Izzy soon discovers they have a lot in common, and in some ways, he is just as lost in his profession as she is. Isabelle gets permission to extend the deadline Beau has to meet, and as they near the ending date, they soon realize they have developed a relationship that goes beyond just becoming "friends." This fairytale is a reflection of the famous saying, "don't judge a book by its cover."

Guillory did a phenomenal job of developing all of the characters, both major and minor. I fell in love with Izzy from the beginning and got lost in the story. I loved the development of Beau's character throughout and fell head over heels in love with him, much like Izzy did. I would highly recommend this book! If you have enjoyed Guillory's other books, and like a good fairytale (but with a modern twist), you won't be disappointed with this one. I am so happy I was given the chance to read the advanced copy!

Somehow I missed that Disney (as in Disney Publishing) was launching a series of adult books that will give a modern take on the classic Disney princesses. Just hearing that premise: “whoa, sign me up, and I’ll be here until Mirabelle of Encanto finds a dark and handsome Colombian guy who also wears glasses”. I’m a recent convert to romance stories and this is the kind of hook I needed.

The first of the “Meant to Be” series was “If the Shoe Fits” by Julie Murphy, published in August 2021,and had a shoe designer, Cindy, a plus size beauty, working with her stepmother on a reality show, Before Midnight. This book is the second entry, “Meant to Be #2”, with Isabelle (known as Izzy, not Belle), the lone Black employee of a publishing house, getting stuck with Beau (who can be a sarcastic beast) in his castle-like coastal California mansion, while trying to get him to finish a memoir of his celebrity bad boy years. There’s a secret library; a rose garden, a cook, Michaela, nicknamed “Kettle” (not “Potts”); and the wi-fi password is “Lum1ere!”

They haven’t announced future books yet, but I think after a few glasses of wine with the book club friends (which Izzy and Beau also generously partake of), we’ll be fantasizing about Snow (probably renamed Whitney) being the only woman running a crew of seven handymen in a rural area and ……CENSORED……. OK, this is still a Disney book, very PG, even if book club discussions go wild. But the idea of inclusive stories of all sorts of Disney Princesses is just so enchanting. Pooh, pooh (and not just Winnie) to those who dislike re-enactments of classic fairy tales and happily ever afters.

Izzy works for TAOAT Publishing (acronym for a Tale as Old as Time), and she’s delightful and ambitious. Maurice is a prestigious publishing firm (not her dad) and we also have the annoying Gavin (Gaston) as a toxic office rival. Izzy and Beau’s romance is a slow build (maybe too long through the middle section of the book). Although Belle was always a fairly modern heroine (1991 and 2017), Izzy knows to lecture the guy who leaves the dirty dishes behind for the unseen but not-so-magical housekeeper to clean up. In this version, the furniture does not come to life overnight, although Izzy does talk to her bathtub a lot (it’s a glorious bathtub). Welcome to the Gen Z Belle. We do get treated to a croissant making Beast as well. She brings out the writer in him and he reawakens the writer in her. Of course, there’s tension before the expected happy ending, and getting there is a joyous adventure.

4 stars. Ms.Guillory was a terrific choice for this series — wondering what the next 21st century fairy tale retelling will be. I’ll be there for it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue/Disney Book for the advanced reader copy.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES There are “flecks of green” inside Beau’s golden-brown eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): YES There’s a “green vine with red flowers” blooming on Beau’s gate in Santa Barbara in February and, well, even in California, the bougainvillea, mandevilla, and trumpet vines really don’t blossom fully until May. But there are be roses in California in winter.

A cute rom-com that it loosely based off of a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

Izzy works for an publishing company and is sent to California to convince Beau to finally finish his memoir that her company is paying to dollar for. But while she is there she gets more than she can bargain for at first.

The book will release in early May.

I enjoyed this book. The plot was well paced and the characters were well developed. I would enjoy reading additional works by this author.

I thoroughly enjoyed Guillory’s series set in LA and San Francisco and was looking forward to reading her newest, By the Book. A publishing house, an assistant editor who wants to be a writer, and a bad boy former actor all could be an interesting combination for a romance novel. Even the structure — a take-off on Beauty and the Beast — could be a standard romantic trope. But Guillory never really creates the tension of whether the boy and girl will get together at the end. Isabelle and Beau quickly become comfortable with each other. While Beau certainly has some serious issues in his past, Izzy doesn’t. Most of her problems happen “off set;” we hardly ever see her actually interact with Gavin, her nemesis, or Marta, her boss. The result is that the story seems flat. I do hope that we find out more about Priya and Michaela.

I have read every book that Jasmine Guillory has written and loved them all! I also read If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy which is the first book in the Meant to Be Series and loved that. So I knew I had to read By the Book and I knew I would enjoy it just as much as Jasmine's previous books.

In this modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Isabelle helps Beau Towers write his memoir which deals with his difficult past with his parents. As they work together they both learn some things and start having fun together as well. This is a pretty clean romance and I think anyone who has read Ms. Guillory's books will enjoy this one as well!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publishes 3 May 2022.

Thank you to Net Galley and Hyperion books for an advanced copy of this book. Touted as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and in partnership with the author of the title “If the Shoe Fits” (first book in a partnered author series), I was underwhelmed.

I had read the Wedding Date series and thought the concept of the book was cute. Izzy (Isabelle) has a supportive family, sassy best friend, and middle manager Gavin whose feedback has cut Izzy short on writing her own memoirs.

There are fun nods to the tale of Beauty and the Beast. I struggled with the constant referral of TAOAT without an explanation until about 20% into the book. If you have seen a 90s retelling of this tale from a familiar children’s company you can piece it together, but these “nods” to that tale didn’t quite pull me in as well as her other stories. Izzy is full of self doubt and we’ll supported by the characters around her. I didn’t notice much growth or found her as likable as Guillory’s other characters.

I've read romances by Guillory before which have run the gamut for me in terms of success, and I was really delighted by this one based on the premise alone! A Beauty and the Beast retelling should've been right up my alley, and in many ways it was — I appreciated the different take on Belle (or Izzy, here) with her aspirations in publishing, and framing the "Beast" as a bad boy struggling to write his much-anticipated memoir was a fun way to update the classic story. On the other hand, I feel like it's tough to write a contemporary version of BatB unless you're willing to a) have him be really unlikeable or b) sand down his very roughened edges a lot, and this did the latter, which ended up catapulting the book more from enemies to lovers to friends to lovers much more quickly than I'd hoped. This was sweet and charming and a diverting read, but I wasn't as IN love with it as I wanted or had hoped to be.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Oh, this was such a sweet story! This is the second in the “Meant to Be” series, and I just really enjoyed it so much.(I love “If the Shoe Fits,” the first Meant to Be novel too!). Isabelle, a jaded publishing employee, winds up helping Beau, a grumpy former playboy, with his memoir… and sparks fly! I also really loved that we had a POC Belle! (A first!) This book isn’t spicy (unfortunately…), but is so charming. It made me feel good inside. Thank you to netgalley and Hyperion Books for the ARC!

A sweet romance with a loose twist on Beauty and the Beast, this will appeal to fans of Guillory. She is always such a reliable author for me, however this never quite hit the same highs as her Wedding Date series. I understand keeping the spice level low, but I would have liked to see a little more chemistry and tension between Izzy and Beau. Overall, it fell a little flat for me but I did still enjoy it and think the concept of this Meant to Be series is fun.

At first the plot felt a bit too contrived but the two main characters were great and this was an easy, fun read. Jasmine Guillory is such a dependable writer

Towards the end there seemed to be some story gaps so I’m intrigued to see how final editing goes!

I LOVED the first Meant to Be Book, so when I saw that one of my favorite authors was writing the second one, I couldn't wait.
This book was pure magic. It coupled the brilliant writing of Guillory with the magic that is "Beauty and the Beast" and wrapped it all in a modern retelling. The magic of San Bernardino was a perfect location for this story to take place and the writing made me felt like I was there.

If i have one complaint is that at times the Beauty and the Beast connections were a little corny. I laughed out loud when the housekeeper made beef ragout! But if you can look past that, its the perfect book. So grab some snacks and curl up on a chair by the pool or an armchair in the library and devour this adorable novel

What an incredible ending! I knew Guillory would give us a happy ending, but I didn’t think I would shed some tears of joy from it! Every books of Guillory’s that I read, I am stunned by her style of character development. We become friends with the characters as we learn about their day to day lives, however Guillory doesn’t focus on physical appearance. Other than a few hints scattered throughout the book, readers are left to picture the characters from their own imaginations. A great new book from an incredible author!

I love Jasmine Guillory and was excited to read a book she wrote in a new universe. This take on Beauty and the Beast was well done and removed the problematic aspects of the original story while retaining the charm. I liked the main characters and was rooting for them the whole time.

Jasmine Guillory, well-known romance author, has crafted yet another excellent novel! "By the Book" is the second book in the "Meant to Be" series. In this particular story, book editor Isabelle is tired of her publishing job in New York City, and done with living with her parents. However, her critical boss has tasked her with getting the reclusive celeb bad boy Beau Towers to finish his memoir that he promised long ago. When Beau and Isabelle meet, sparks fly and tempers flare. However, they both learn a little about each other, and both encourage the other to fulfill their dreams. This was a cute, fun romance to read and I enjoyed it very much!

I really enjoyed reading Isabelle's thoughts on books, as I agreed with her words. She says, "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 when readers discover books that felt like they were meant just for them, and they're so happy and grateful and emotional that everyone in the room wants to cry, and sometimes they all do. Those books do change lives."

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.