This was my first book club kit & I found it to be fun & to provide great ideas for discussion during my book club.

🌹 By the Book 📖
by Jasmine Guillory

✌️ The second installment in the #meanttobe series is here and what a delightfully done retelling on a classic fairy tale it is! I absolutely loved getting lost in Isabelle’s world, where she is an overworked and underappreciated assistant editor for a publishing company. Isabelle is trying to make a name for herself, so after weeks of unsuccessful email contact with a high-profile celebrity writing his first memoir, she volunteers to make a face-to-face appearance to get some traction on this overdue manuscript. 

I appreciated how Guillory stayed true to the classic tale by centering the story around the love of books and reading, and the gradual progression of Isabelle and Beau’s relationship. Gotta give her some extra points too for creating a little magic and working in references to inanimate objects (like Mrs Potts and Chip in Beauty and the Beast).  

I adored the POC main character rep and how the author incorporated important themes like Isabelle’s toxic work culture/burnout and experiencing microaggressions in the workplace into the storyline. And while this was a closed door romance, I found the chemistry between Isabelle and Beau to be perfectly steamy, not quite YA but pretty close in my opinion, and right in line with the first book in the series. 

🏝 This is a perfect escape for any Beauty and the Beast fan (as book lovers, aren’t we all?!) I highly recommend you grab a copy for a lazy pool day or soaking up summer sun. 

📚 Thanks to Hyperion and Netgalley for the early digital copy of the book and the digital Book Club Kit. There is an accompanying Book Club Kit available for this and If the Shoe Fits, which includes notes to readers, Author Interview, Discussion Questions, Cover Designer Interview, some recipes and a few fun exercises and next read recommendations. It also gave a sneak peek that the third installment will be Kiss the Girl, brought to us by ZORAIDA CORDOVA next summer and I absolutely cannot wait! 

I actually adore the book club kit and love the idea of these. I got the one for the first book as well and I just love the extra insight from the author, the recommended next reads with common themes, even the recipes and prompts it’s all just so good and lends to a great experience with the book overall.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review and to get to see the digital book and club kit all together it’s really a tremendous package.

Lovely book and great book club kit. Helpful and beautiful. Highly recommended for book clubs meeting and to better chat about this beautiful story.

This book club kit is great. I loved the interview with Jasmine Guillory and the discussion questions. The question "What would make up your ideal snack cabinet?" is a great icebreaker.

The pen name generator, writing exercises, and tips for making a perfect charcuterie board were nice touches. This would be incredibly fun to work through with a book club.

Jasmine Guillory is a talented, up-and-coming author. It was neat to hear more about her experiences while writing the novel and her thoughts about what inspired her to do a fairytale retelling.

An appealing cover is also important to readers in choosing a book, so the cover design interview was also quite interesting.

While I feel the interviews provide good conversation points for a book club, and the discussion questions appeared very well thought-out and insightful, this book club kit appeared to tailor too much towards those interested in writing themselves. This is an interesting concept, however I feel this kit has a more niche audience as a result. Not all book clubs will want to go through writing exercises or even have writing advice, even though that is a central aspect to Beau and Izzy's chemistry.

I also really enjoyed the recipes in the kit; if a club was to look over this guide before their meeting, it would be really special to have food inspired by the book.

I liked this book club kit because it brought me information that I would never have considered about this book.
Knowing nothing about the book -a retelling of Beauty and the Beast - I really didn't know what to expect.
I thought the content warnings were a little late considering that by attending a book club, I assume that the participants would have rad the book prior to that time.
The Author's Interview was valuable and her description of her reimagining the tale interesting.
I thought that the discussion questions were thoughtful and would ensure a good discussion of the book.
I didn't realize the thought and planning that went into the cover design (although I did like the cover). Wow!
For me and my book groups, the Pen Name Generator and Writing Exercises would never work. All of the groups consist of women, and for most of us, the book club is a once a month meeting - we don't get too personal or introspective.
I like the inclusion of the Charcuterie board ideas and the recipe for the sparkling rose Margarite - although I wouldn't necessarily serve them at my book clubs - the margarita was delicious!
I liked the addition of More from Jasmine Guillory and the information about the author.
I was not familiar with the Meant to Be collection so I did find that info interesting.

This was a great addition to the book and our book club really loved the discussion questions and the recipe!

Many thanks to NetGalley, We Are Bookish and Jasmine Guillory for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

By The Book by Jasmine Guillory is a modern day romance based on The Beauty and The Beast. In this rendition Izzy, a frustrated author herself, is trying to make it in the publishing world. She is assigned to help a famous (and hunky) actor who is trying to write his memoirs. This kit was created and is tailor made for book clubs who are reading and discussing this book.

This kit includes an author interview, discussion questions, cover design interview, writing prompts as well as some fun ideas like bookmarks that you can print off, a pen name generator, how to make a charcuterie board, and the secret to every successful book club - cocktails!

I have read By The Book but not with my book club and I really enjoyed the Book Kit. Look, the book isn’t that deep, but I thought the discussion questions were thoughtful and relevant. I really enjoyed the interviews and hearing from Jasmine Guiillory what was important to her. I love writing prompts and will include these in my journal writing. By the way, my Pen Name is Maurice LePrince de Beaumont which is a mouthful!

This Book Kit hit all the right note. It was light and fun, just like the book and at the same time thoughtful and relevant, also just like the book. It was food for thought and food for your tummy! With or without a book club, I got a lot out of this kit, although it did really make me want to read it again with my book club.

I just finished reading this book and have considered adding it to our upcoming Book Club reads, so I got excited when I saw this guide was available. The questions and topics of discussions are well-written and invite thoughtful dialogue. Excited to use it to guide a book club discussion.

Loved this kit! All the tools to throw a great party that really feels like an extension of the reading. The things I usually expect to find in a similar tool were obviously there. But what I loved about this in particular is that it armed the Book Club host with tools for a great party–the recipes and games–while also giving them some fun things to send home–writing advice, next reads, book marks. Would love things similar to this for future books!

I have recently discovered the Meant To Be novels and was so excited to read them. Finding this book club kit has been so helpful when it comes to discussing the book with my friends and followers. I really enjoyed reading through the Author Interview.

As a book club organizer, the BEST thing that you can find is a set of resources provided by the author for the book you are discussing. This book club kit for By the Book is a wonderful example of the best kind of book club kit. It includes an author interview, with insight into the inspiration for the book and the author in general. The discussion questions provided are specific to the book and generate a great discussion about the story and how each of us in book club reacted to it. There is also a guide and interview about the cover design of the book, which is something my book club doesn't always talk about, so that was a new idea for us to discuss. There were fun items in the kit like quizes, bookmarks, and writing prompts. For the host for the evening, there are suggestions about snacks and drinks, which is always so fun to tie to the book you are discussing. Overall, this book club kit made our book club discussion richer and more fun than we would have had otherwise.

I love reading books by Jasmine Guillory and was excited her newest book has a book club kit. I have never been a part of a book club and now would love to join one. I love that this kit has a pen name generator , writing prompts, bookmarks, interviews, and writing exercises. It's a fun way of delving more into a book, a plus if it's one you really enjoyed.

I love Jasmine Guillory! The interview with her was fun to read, as were the discussion information.

Great kit! Love that it is more than just book club questions - had fun food and drink recipes! Great for any book club. Love the questions and suggestions on what to read next too! This is the perfect kit for a new book club member!

This book club kit is so cute! I loved that it includes more than just discussion questions for your book club. It also includes an author interview, bookmarks, recipes, fun games and more! Even if you don't have an in-person book club event, it would be fun to share the recipes with friends for a zoom book club. I can't wait to see more book club kits from We Are Bookish! #BytheBookBookClubKit #NetGalley

This is the coolest bookclub kit! It’s so pretty and I love the bookmarks and the fun food and drink recipes.

I wish I was in a book club and this kit makes me want to start my own!

I don't attend a book club but I thought this kit would provide interesting materials to post on my blog along with my review of By the Book, rather like the materials provided for a blog tour. Unfortunately I didn't have time to feature the book like I'd imagined, but I did appreciate the kit and thought it was a wonderful collection of information. The cover designer interview was particularly unique; I've often wondered at the thoughts that went into cover design. The only parts of the kit I didn't care for was the rose recipe or the char-whatever board instructions; they just aren't useful to me. Thanks so much for putting this together!

These are always the best little packages for your book club. Please never stop creating these Netgalley! Definitely download if you and your pals are reading together- a great conversation starter.

This is a great book club kit, I think it has a bit of everything you would expect and more. Interviews with the author and cover designer, questions and suggestions on what to read next. And some really cute bookmarks that you can print out. But it also has some fun suggestions for activities and even a drink recipe, what more could you ask for. I honesty don’t know.