Week 12 Review: By the Book

From Goodreads:

Sometimes to truly know a person, you have to read between the lines.

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 prove her worth and finally get the recognition she deserves. All she has to do is go to the author's Santa Barbara mansion and give him a quick 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 He is jaded and withdrawn and—it turns out—just as lost as Izzy.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.

Best-selling author Jasmine Guillory's reimagining of a beloved fairy tale is a tale as old as time . . . for a new generation.

My Review:
This was such a great read! Beauty and the Beast is one of my top favourite Disney movies, and this modern retelling did justice to the story! I loved Izzy and Beau, and their book-filled lives, and I had such a great time reading their story!

I haven't read anything else by Jasmine Guillory, so I don't know what her other books are like, but like the first book in this series, this was a romantic modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and I just loved seeing this setting with these story beats! 

Isabelle is not where she expected to be when she first started, the positivity and optimism from the prologue is quickly gone in the first chapter. That there's so few Black employees there, that's not a good sign, neither is the fact that she keeps not getting promoted despite her hard work. 

Beau has a reason why he hasn't written his memoir, and it's for the same reason that he wanted to write it in the first place. But those issues are still keeping him from writing it. I loved watching Izzy come in, and help motivate him, as they both healed from the past! It was so adorable! 

This was a fantastic read, and I can't wait to continue the series! 

Author: Jasmine Guillory
Series: Meant to Be #2
Read: March 23rd, 2023
Source:  Ebook.bike 
Reason Why:  Love this series and it sounded really great, and it's a 2023 Retelling Reading Challenge 2023 Book and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book! 
Publisher: Hyperion Avenue
Published: March 3rd 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars