I read this book because I've been meaning to try Jasmine Guillory for a while and I can't resist a rom-com set in the publishing world. I am not sure I would have picked it up if I knew it was a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast – I do NOT like Disney films – but I enjoyed it on the whole! I was completely uninterested in the love interest Beau and their entire relationship, but I thought the depiction of the publishing industry was 10/10 and I really enjoyed reading about her spontaneous stay in California. (Ok, so this is probably mostly because a six-week all-expenses-paid stay in California sounds really appealing to me.) As an assistant in publishing who is also writing a book, Izzy's trajectory and her career – especially her doubt over her writing and her shimmering belief in the power and importance of books – definitely resonated with me. Not sure if I'll read any more Jasmine Guillory novels but I'm glad I gave her a go.

I was intrigued by this concept and was interested how a retelling could modernise this classic fairytale. While some parts worked, a lot of it felt quite stilted and too on-the-nose for me.

The first few encounters between Beau and Isabelle were the perfect amount of rude and disjointed - however I felt after this it just ended. The animosity dissipated very fast and there was no tension built, which I had been looking for. Beau felt very one-dimensional and was actually quite bland.

I struggled with how much of the book actually focused on the memoir that Beau was writing. Isabelle seemed to repeat the same information over and over again, and it took up so much space that I felt it detracted from the plot, and I found myself skimming the pages whenever they were in th library.

Overall, this felt sweet but missed the mark on Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Part romance, part retelling of the Beauty and the Beast, part book about acceptance and inclusion. There's a lot going on in this book, you can choose but it's also a compelling and sweet story.
Izzy and Beau are two well developed and interesting characters. The first part is also a good description of the life of a young girl in the work world.
I liked and enjoyed it.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I love Jasmine Guillory’s books and this one was no exception. Full of her trademark warmth and sweet, genuine romance, By the Book is a fun take on the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast (so many little jokes and references that I appreciated, especially climbing the ladder in the bookshop and the WiFi password!).

While I do think the pacing was a little slow in parts, I was really moved by Beau’s story and I thought the relationship between him and Izzy unfolded so authentically that I was fully invested. I absolutely loved the descriptions of the house and the food and the surrounding area, which gave the whole book a feeling of delicious escapism. A gentle, cosy read that I’ll be recommending to lots of people.

“A tale as old as time – for a new generation..” Well that had me hooked from the start! I adored “Beauty and the Beast” when I was younger (not so much the holding Belle hostage situation), but who wouldn’t fall in love with the library in the Disney movie? Here we have a modern retelling, and it is equally as loveable in parts.

Izzy is worn out by her job in publishing, believing she’ll never become an editor she’s debating whether to continue or to quit. Living at home with her parents, her life isn’t turning out the way she thought it would. Travelling to California to help Beau write his memoirs might be her dream come true, she can prove that to herself and everyone around her that she can make it in publishing.

Izzy is a lovely character who’s bubbly personality leaps off the page, while Beau’s “beastly” behaviour towards her is in direct contrast. Their relationship reads more as a friendship to me, any romance that happens feels a little too sudden. If there had been perhaps more of a build up from the start it may have made it more believable. Though we get to know Izzy very well, I was more intrigued by Beau and would have loved to get more insight on him and his life. Though I liked the characters, I felt I didn’t connect with them. Overall, I felt there was something missing from this book that I can’t quite put my finger on.

Three and a half stars.

Izzy is struggling to get noticed in her publishing job so when her boss bemoans a celebrity author who has missed every single deadline for his autobiography she foolishly offers to visit him personally to encourage him to submit something, or at least work with a ghostwriter. Of course it doesn't hurt that the writer, Beau Towers lives in sunny Santa Barbara rather than chilly New York.

At first Beau practically chases Izzy off, but after his housekeeper twists her ankle and Izzy gives him a piece of her mind Beau rather ungraciously allows her to stay the weekend, provided she gives him suitably inspiring pep talks.

Soon a weekend expands to a week, and then more. In encouraging Beau to write Izzy discovers he has some very powerful stories to tell (which he is finding hard to share), but she has also unlocked her own writing talents which have lain dormant since her first draft novel was dismissed as amateurish by a colleague.

The first couple of chapters did not grab me and I was about to throw in the towel, then bam! I was hooked. This is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast (although Beau seems to be both Beauty and the Beast), with a hint of 1001 Nights. But then towards the end it started to drag again, there were too many plots and some felt unnecessary to me.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was soooooo adorable I loved every moment and basically read it in one sitting. I love Jasmine Guillory. It is like a fairytale but also a romance novel.

I love the setting - young editorial assistant helps famous actor with dodgy history to write his memoir while staying in his nice house with pool. Izzy and Beau were so dreamy together, all for that mutual pining.

I also loved all the side characters. Yes there was a lot of clichés but it worked and I'm here for it.

This book is absolutely delightful. I adored every moment of it. If like me you haven't grown out of love stories and fairytales then this book is a must for you. I absolutely adored it.

This book 🥰

When I read the prologue I was skeptical, Izzy just seemed too upbeat, too naive but once you get into the first chapter and you realise she was wearing some pretty thick rose tinted specs and that now she sees the world as it truly is.

Beau is a perfect opposites attract love interest for Izzy, the right amount of shade for her sunshine outlook. Their developing relationship was so real. I just loved it.

Objectively, I would say this is actually a four star book as there are some small issues with the book, mainly the pacing, the final quarter felt too rushed, however as this is my personal opinion of By the Book, I’m going to be giving it 5 stars!

This book is incredibly sweet and lovely, I had a smile on my face the whole time and I found myself really rooting for the romance to happen. Izzy was a lovely character, I found her very relatable when it came to her feelings about work. I also loved Beau and fell a bit for him myself.

The Beauty and the Beast inspiration is really well done, from the plot, to character traits and the small Easter eggs sprinkled throughout, i really enjoyed it and it definitely gave this a modern day fairytale romance feel, without the magic…

Slightly cheesy, but oh so lovely, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone who needs bit of a pick me up.

This was my first book by Jasmine Guillory and it definitely won't be my last. The plot, the flow and THE CHEMISTRY, wow. I absolutely loved this. Semi-enemy to lovers, but the details were just my favourite part. I think a lot of romance novels throw in unnecessary sex scenes, and this didn't have any which I really enjoyed. I loved the purity of Izzy and Beau's journey. So so good

Isabelle is completely lost. When she first began her career in publishing after college, she did not expect to be twenty-five, still living at home, and one of the few Black employees 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 pep talk or three. How hard could it be?
But Izzy quickly finds out she is in over her head. Beau Towers is not some celebrity lightweight writing a tell-all memoir. He is jaded and withdrawn and it turns out just as lost as Izzy. But despite his standoffishness, Izzy needs Beau to deliver, and with her encouragement, his story begins to spill onto the page. They soon discover they have more in common than either of them expected, and as their deadline nears, Izzy and Beau begin to realize there may be something there that wasn't there before.
Read in one sitting really enjoyable read totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Bonnier Books Uk
I just reviewed By the Book by Jasmine Guillory. #BytheBook #NetGalley

I really liked this one! A great choice if you're looking to read a slowburn romance, with great characters.

What a sweet, slow burn romance story.

My all-time favourite classics book is of course Beauty and the Beast. And this story is definitely a more or less retelling of it. Even if the cover might suggest a Romeo and Juliet type of story, or at least for me.

Grumpy-sunshine type of characters, with great dialogue and quite an unexpected one I would say, a slow burn that brings so sufficient emotions on the page and a sweet, well deserved happily ever after romance.

Izzy and Beau are that couple that will stay with you for a longer time. Mostly because their story is not one standoffish or with an overcoming past or other dramas that they need to pass so they can look forward to a better life. Theirs is simple, beautiful and hilarious.

🆓📖 Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this one! It's a very cute romcom with a cheerful tone, retelling the story of Beauty and the Beast. Of course, it's hard to stand out against the hundreds of thousands of other Beauty and the Beast retellings out there, but I think this one did a really great job! I loved the pacing and the slowburn of the developing romance, I really liked the love interest - how refreshing to have a non-toxic, actually nice love interest for once! There's also some forced proximity, which you would expect to lead to some spicy scenes, but while this romance is closed-door, I didn't mind it because it fit the tone and I think having spicy scenes thrown in would've actually messed with the style this book is going for.

There's also a fantastically realistic view on what it's like to work in publishing. Showing the frustrations of too much work versus not enough pay, I loved how it didn't look at publishing with rose-coloured glasses, and especially how it highlighted that the struggles are even more amped up if you're a person of colour working in publishing.

While there were some moments that were spectacularly cheesy, I think that if you're looking for a fun, easy romcom to pull you out of a slump, this one might just work!

As a big fan of Jasmine Guillory, this was again, a perfect hit.
Thankyou NetGalley for the ARC.

This retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast was written beautifully.
Each character was well liked and headstrong which is exactly what you want in a book.
It's a well paced light read with characters that have great chemistry, definitely worth the read.

This was such an absolute joy to read. It had everything you want from a romcom - initial opposition, that tension push-and-pull, the slow realisation. Both the main characters were well matched and entertaining to read about. An all round lovely romance.

I love Jasmine Guillory and I love Beauty and the Beast so it was a pretty forgone conclusion i was going to love this book.

Beau plays the brooding Prince wonderfully, Izzy’s can-do attitude is contagious and there are many side characters to fall in love with.

The smattering of BATB references were a huge treat, and it was a wonderful modern day version of the tale as old as time.

The perfect second book in the Meant to Be series.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast which is one of my favourite Disney movies. The characters were likeable and relatable and have a fun, easy chemistry.
This was a sweet, easy read which was a great romcom.

This was a wonderful, light-hearted book that I read in one sitting, it was that good! The plot was well-paced with the characters really fleshed out, which made the romance and their individual stories even more relatable as a reader. I loved the representation of the romance side of this book, and it made me both laugh out loud and tear up at the sweet moments. I would highly recommend this book!

[I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.]