By the Book A Meant to Be Novel

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, 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 prove her worth and finally get the recognition she deserves. Her plan? Literally go to the author's Santa Barbara mansion and give him a daily pep talk until he finishes his book. But Izzy quickly finds out she is in over her head. Beau Towers is not the average celebrity writing a tell-all memoir. He is surly and jaded and--it turns out--just as lost as Izzy. As they work together on his book, the two bicker constantly: Izzy is fed up with Beau's woe-is-me rich boy act, and Beau is irked by Izzy's incessant positivity and idealism. But they soon discover they have more in common than they expected. As bickering turns to flirting and 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.