By the Book
Ratings30
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings30
Average rating3.8
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 the only Black employee 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 He is jaded and withdrawn and--it turns out--just as lost as Izzy.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.
Featured Series
4 primary booksMeant to Be is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 2021 with contributions by Julie Murphy, Jasmine Guillory, and 2 others.
Reviews with the most likes.
Izzy and Beau are the cutest!! I loved seeing all the nods to Beauty and the Beast in this book. I think the character of Beau is really well done. The Beast being an awful kidnapper type is a popular interpretation of the fairy tale that I never liked. I really appreciate that Guillory made Beau to be very different from that. I also love the romance in this one. It subverted some of my expectations and I loved that! This series is just the best.
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.
