4.5 Stars
By the Book is about Isabelle Marlowe an assistant in a publishing house (Tale as Old as Time) who is feeling burnt out. She is giving it one last effort and see if this is the job/career is for her. She volunteers herself to get an overdue manuscript from the famous bad boy, Beau Towers.
Jasmine Guillory has done it again! This was such a fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast. You could really feel the love these characters have for each other and they feel real. The slow burn worked for this type of story. Beau's character development gave it so much depth and getting to see the many different sides of him helped bring this story from what could have been a flat retelling from Isabelle's POV to a well-rounded romance.
The pacing, the bookish love, the Easter eggs from Beauty and the Beast made it a quick and easy read. If you were looking for the steamy scenes that we love from Jasmine I would not recommend this to you but on its own as a closed-door romance, it is perfect. The ending was such sweet and happily ever after that if you like things tied up in a pretty bow, this will be perfect for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
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