Disney Publishing has announced the second book in their adult Meant to Be series, and Collider is excited to present your exclusive first look at the upcoming romance novel by New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory. As part of the series reimagining classic Disney tales for a more mature audience, the new novel, titled By the Book, flips the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast on its head, reinterpreting the tale as old as time for a whole new audience.
Reimagining the much-loved fairytale as a romantic comedy the likes of You’ve Got Mail or Bridget Jones’ Diary, By the Book follows a young Isabelle, an editorial assistant who has found herself lost in her own career at twenty-five. With no prospects and nowhere to go but up, the headstrong young woman takes on an impossible task — confront a celebrity author about his failure to turn in his latest manuscript. The only problem? She soon discovers that he’s a bit of a beast.
Will Izzy be able to get the manuscript in on time? She isn’t sure — even with her career in publishing hanging in the balance — but as she continues to pull the story out of her new client, she may discover that there might be something there that wasn’t there before.
"I've loved and felt at home in books and bookstores and libraries my whole life, so of course I've always adored book-obsessed Belle," Guillory told Collider. "When I got the opportunity to write a contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I leapt at the chance. I was overjoyed to write a version of this story with a Black woman at the center, and I can't wait for everyone to read Isabelle and Beau's happily ever after!"
By the Book is the follow-up to this year’s If the Shoe Fits, a retelling of the story of Cinderella by Dumplin’ author Julie Murphy, and Guillory is certainly the pick of the litter when it comes to adapting the story of Belle and the Beast for modern audiences. She is the author of six romance novels, including The Wedding Date, The Proposal, and this year’s While We Were Dating, and has seen her work featured in Cosmopolitan, Bon Appetit, and Time, proving that romance is indeed alive and well, despite what some might say.
By the Book will be released on May 3, 2022. The novel is available for preorder now through Disney Publishing, and fans can get an exclusive look at the book’s cover and official synopsis below:
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.
Best-selling author Jasmine Guillory’s reimagining of a beloved fairy tale is a romantic triumph of love and acceptance and learning that sometimes to truly know a person you have to read between the lines.