When Isabelle Marlowe unexpectedly volunteers to get the rich and bad reputation Beau Towers to write his memoir. So, when she travels to sunny California from the cold harsh winter qof New York, a blossoming friendship between Beau and Isabelle is the last thing on her mind. I gave By the Book five stars, loving the relationship between Beau and Izzy. The hate sizzled between them but they couldn’t help discovering what works for them.

Book: By the Book by Jasmine Guillory
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
(Thank you NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review)
**While this book has already been out I did receive it early so thank you again NetGalley!**
Tags: Adult, romance, enemies to lovers, book publishers
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Thrift Books | Abe Books
Read: May 1, 2022 to May 5, 2022

A tale as old as time—for a new generation… 

Isabelle is completely lost. When she first began her career in publishing right out of college, she did not expect to be twenty-five, living at home, still an editorial assistant, 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 finally get the promotion 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 He is jaded and withdrawn and—it turns out—just as lost as Izzy.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.

Spoiler Free Review

When Isabelle Marlowe unexpectedly volunteers to get the rich and bad reputation Beau Towers to write his memoir. So, when she travels to sunny California from the cold harsh winter of New York, a blossoming friendship between Beau and Isabelle is the last thing on her mind.

I gave By the Book five stars, loving the relationship between Beau and Izzy. The hate sizzled between them but they couldn’t help discovering what works for them. It was adorable, funny, and swoon worthy. I had such a fun time reading Izzy and Beau’s work relationship and seeing how bad they tried to keep their hands off each other.

By the Book shows how hard it is to write a book, be in publishing, even being a person of color. Izzy worked hard and in the end, struggled to be recognized. I was impressed by Beau’s struggles as well when writing his book. I found in many books, the writing process is blocked out, but for By the Book, we see every detail, every inspiration, every anger or struggle poured out. I really enjoyed being able to read the making of a book.

I loved that Beau and Izzy were both really supportive of each other and although sometimes Beau would get angry in certain situations,

After reading most of Jasmine Guillory’s other books, I found By the Book something to connect with. I loved this book and am so glad to have gotten this.

Thank you again NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for inviting me to read By the Book and providing me with an e-ARC. I was lucky enough my Barnes and Noble sold this early. I know have some loving highlights from this amazing book.

I hope you guys have a great day, please like and comment down below if you enjoyed this book as well or if you plan on reading it!

Loves,

Veronica Chen