Review: By the Book by Amanda Sellet

By the Book

by Amanda Sellet

May 12, 2020
384 pages

Goodreads Summary:

As a devotee of classic novels, Mary Porter-Malcolm knows all about Mistakes That Have Been Made, especially by impressionable young women. So when a girl at her new high school nearly succumbs to the wiles of a notorious cad, Mary starts compiling the Scoundrel Survival Guide, a rundown of literary types to be avoided at all costs.

Unfortunately, Mary is better at dishing out advice than taking it—and the number one bad boy on her list is terribly debonair. As her best intentions go up in flames, Mary discovers life doesn’t follow the same rules as fiction. If she wants a happy ending IRL, she’ll have to write it herself.

Review

From the synopsis By the Books had all the workings of a cute and fun story. I'm happy to report it delivered just that.

I was very impressed with Mary's unending knowledge on books. She had literary examples for every romantic type that came up. Unfortunately Mary was also quite young. Her age coupled with her inexperience skewed her mindset on love which resulted in some misunderstandings. In other words, Mary messes up. However, she learned from her mistakes and owned them.

With her take on love, Mary stumbled into a friendship with Arden, Lydia and Terry. Arden's enthusiasm was contagious but Lydia was there to offset her if/when she got over the top. Terry's presence provided comedic relief with her creepy yet astute observations. She's described as princess-looking yet her interest was in crime shows and mysteries. I love the contrast of her character.

Alex is a cute love interest but I wish we saw more of him. His presence in the story felt very minimal. Having said that, the few interactions he had with Mary were playful and adorable (he gave her a nickname!). In my opinion, the romance aspect of By the Book would've been stronger if we'd been given Alex's POV.

Mary's big family was super fun. Every member had a larger than life personality. Mary wasn't particularly close with her siblings but they were there when she needed them. Her twin sisters were helpful while her older sister was pretty protective. Even her little brother was surprisingly wise doling out good advices to her. Big families can be so much fun.

As an avid reader of contemporary romance, I think By the Book is a solid debut. All the book references were a hit for me. I need to jot down the titles mentioned and pick them up immediately!

*I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not affected in any way. Any quotes included in my review were taken from the ARC I received.