By the Book by Jasmine GuilloryMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Three and a half stars.
Izzy is struggling to get noticed in her publishing job so when her boss bemoans a celebrity author who has missed every single deadline for his autobiography she foolishly offers to visit him personally to encourage him to submit something, or at least work with a ghostwriter. Of course it doesn't hurt that the writer, Beau Towers lives in sunny Santa Barbara rather than chilly New York.
At first Beau practically chases Izzy off, but after his housekeeper twists her ankle and Izzy gives him a piece of her mind Beau rather ungraciously allows her to stay the weekend, provided she gives him suitably inspiring pep talks.
Soon a weekend expands to a week, and then more. In encouraging Beau to write Izzy discovers he has some very powerful stories to tell (which he is finding hard to share), but she has also unlocked her own writing talents which have lain dormant since her first draft novel was dismissed as amateurish by a colleague.
The first couple of chapters did not grab me and I was about to throw in the towel, then bam! I was hooked. This is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast (although Beau seems to be both Beauty and the Beast), with a hint of 1001 Nights. But then towards the end it started to drag again, there were too many plots and some felt unnecessary to me.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
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