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sunshinekmp's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing and Death of parent
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to carry on with this series because I enjoyed the first book by Julie Murphy. I liked that even though it was a re-telling of a fairy tale, it didn’t feel like it. Unlike the first book in this series, I was struggling with the re-telling side and connecting with the series.
This book is based on Isabelle, and she is completely lost. When she first began her career in publishing after college, she did not expect to be twenty-five, still living at home with her parents, and one of the few Black employees at her publishing house. Overworked and underpaid, she is 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 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. All she has to do is go to Beau’s mansion in Santa Barbara 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 He is jaded and withdrawn and – it turns out – just as lost as Izzy.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 beings 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.
I struggled so much with this book and I think it’s because we don’t find out why the rooms/floors were forbidden unlike in the original beauty and the beast, the west wing is forbidden because that’s where the rose is. In this book, we never actually get an answer as to why it’s forbidden, and it’s just brushed over. I know that Beau is supposed to be the beast and this big asshole, but he just rolled over way too quickly and became the loveable snowman way too early in this book for my liking. And again, Gavin being Gaston, and he wasn’t villainised enough, and he was defeated quite quickly, I wanted more from him and trying to knock down Isabelle. Also, these two main characters lacked chemistry, Beau was trying to have banter with Isabelle, and she took it the wrong way and a screaming match would start. For then, Beau having to do the apologising and blaming it on his past.
I liked Priya, I wanted more of her. I wanted her to tell Isabelle to grow a pair and to meet Beau and to like help get them together. I liked the publishing aspect and how the business works, and it sort of sounded a bit non-fictional with the writing tips. I would have loved more of what happened after she had moved publishing houses. I loved the aspects that come from beauty and the beast – the library, the rose garden and the Wi-Fi password.
This book fell below standards from the first book, but I will be carrying on with the series and I can’t wait to see the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
carlyjoann's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was so excited for this one after reading a few of the other Meant to Be books, plus Beauty and the Beast is my favorite movie. But this just fell flat for me unfortunately. Out of the three I have read in the series this felt the least like a modern take on the story and more like a pre-written book with BatB references shoehorned in. The FMC constantly storming out after yelling at the MMC was very annoying after the first time. She was always defensive and angry when he didn’t have all the context for her life and then if it was the same situation with the MMC getting upset at all she would lash out all over again. Then the MMC always had to apologize first. When they finally admitted their feelings it was 0 to 100. Everything became about them as a couple and the storyline felt like it got thrown to the wayside until the end. The notebook parts at the end were way too long. I didn’t need to read every single entry to know what it was getting to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
chrissandrapherlv's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Closed door/Fade-to-black
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Sexism, and Death of parent
kiala's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death of parent
queergoth_reads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I didn't realise this was a Disney retelling when I picked it up. Probably wouldn't have stopped me but I would have been more prepared.
This was cute but I didn't feel any real chemistry between the characters until suddenly they were together. I almost stopped reading after the first few chapters because I was not a fan of the writing. It felt very clunky. I gave it a chance though and it was a nice easy read. I liked the little beauty and the beast references.
I think part of my lack of enjoyment came from the specific edition I had being very poorly formatted. Sometimes scene changes were paragraph breaks, sometimes it was just an indent so it was hard to work out what was going on at points.
I probably would have rated it higher but I've heard a lot of great things about Jasmine Guillory and was excited to read one of her books finally and this just didn't meet my expectations. I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I'd known it was Disney, I'd have picked another of her books.
This was cute but I didn't feel any real chemistry between the characters until suddenly they were together. I almost stopped reading after the first few chapters because I was not a fan of the writing. It felt very clunky. I gave it a chance though and it was a nice easy read. I liked the little beauty and the beast references.
I think part of my lack of enjoyment came from the specific edition I had being very poorly formatted. Sometimes scene changes were paragraph breaks, sometimes it was just an indent so it was hard to work out what was going on at points.
I probably would have rated it higher but I've heard a lot of great things about Jasmine Guillory and was excited to read one of her books finally and this just didn't meet my expectations. I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I'd known it was Disney, I'd have picked another of her books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness
kendal_reads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
amberinpieces's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cady_sass's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Books about books are my love language. This is perfection. I’m not even upset that there’s no spice, it’s so good. Brought tears to my eyes! Grumpy/sunshine done right
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
sophieamreacher's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Read this in one sitting. Super cute retelling of beauty and the beast with Black characters and set in the publishing industry. I liked the dialogue and the conflict resolution, as well as the undertones of self esteem and sabotage. My copy had weird things happening with the font size for some reason?
I found the first few chapters very different from the rest of the book, a bit amateur in writing. I really enjoyed it once I continued on though.
I found the first few chapters very different from the rest of the book, a bit amateur in writing. I really enjoyed it once I continued on though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent