Guillory's Beauty and the Beast retelling is manifique!

     Get ready for a tale as old as time with a modern twist in Jasmine Guillory’s latest rom-com (which is also the second book in Disney’s Meant to Be Series)! Set to be released on May 3rd, By the Book shows that sometimes all you need is for someone to believe in you.
     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, 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 He is jaded and withdrawn and―it turns out―just as lost as Izzy.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.
     This was my first Jasmine Guillory book and it definitely won’t be my last! I adored this Beauty and the Beast retelling!! It was so well written and I loved how it delved into the publishing industry and what the writing process can look like for some people.
     The nods to the original Disney movie were subtle, but definitely there if you were looking for them, which just made this story even cuter. Between remarks about furniture, a publishing company called Maurice, and Beau’s assistant being nicknamed “Kettle”, the Easter eggs are endless!
     While this book isn’t very steamy, it makes up for it with the tender moments and the building up of Izzy and Beau’s relationship. Both of them have lost the spark that comes from living a happy life and it’s so wonderful to watch them rediscover it within one another!
     Overall, this Beauty and the Beast retelling is phenomenally written and I cannot wait to explore more of Guillory’s backlist! This is definitely one to add to your TBRs this spring!
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*I received an ARC from Disney Hyperion in exchange for my honest opinion.

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