By the Book

Beauty and the Beast gets a contemporary retelling in this romance between a stickler editorial director and a grumpy Hollywood action star. When Isabelle Marlowe is assigned to ghostwrite Beau Towers' memoir, she must spend two months at his secluded California estate to complete the project. Their initial clash of personalities - her by-the-book approach versus his resistance to sharing personal details - creates friction as they attempt to work together. Yet as the days pass in the mansion, they begin to see different sides of each other beyond their surface-level assumptions. The story follows their evolving dynamic as they navigate the challenging process of crafting Beau's life story while managing their growing attraction. Their professional relationship becomes complicated by personal feelings, forcing both characters to confront their own preconceptions and defense mechanisms. This modern fairy tale explores themes of perception versus reality and the walls people build to protect themselves. Through the lens of a romance, it examines how sharing our authentic stories can lead to genuine connection.

Readers appreciate the modern Beauty & the Beast retelling's focus on the romance between two book lovers. Many note the strong character development and witty banter between Izzy and Beau. Multiple reviewers highlight the authentic portrayal of publishing industry dynamics and editorial work. Common criticisms include a slow-paced middle section and limited chemistry between the leads. Some readers found the Beauty & the Beast parallels too subtle or underdeveloped. A portion of reviews mention the romance takes too long to develop. Ratings across platforms: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (41,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (1,100+ ratings) BookBrowse: 4/5 (200+ ratings) Sample reader comments: "The publishing details felt authentic and added depth" - Goodreads reviewer "Needed more romantic tension between the characters" - Amazon review "Loved the book discussions but wanted more fairy tale elements" - BookBrowse member

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🌟 Author Jasmine Guillory wrote this modern retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" as part of Disney's collection of reimagined fairy tales for adult readers 📚 The protagonist, Isabelle, works as a children's book editor at a publishing house - drawing from Guillory's own background as a lawyer-turned-writer familiar with the publishing industry 🏰 Unlike the original tale's castle setting, this contemporary version takes place primarily in Santa Barbara, California, featuring the state's scenic coastline and wine country 💫 The book explores themes of grief, family expectations, and the publishing industry while maintaining Guillory's signature style of combining romance with social commentary 📖 Released in 2023, this was Guillory's first venture into fairy tale retellings, though she had already established herself as a bestselling author with works like "The Wedding Date" and "The Proposal"