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Book Review: By The Book by Amanda Sellet + US Giveaway – FFBC Tours

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By The Book, written by Amanda Sellet, is a sweet young adult contemporary romance that will be released on May 12, 2020. This story is published by HMH for young readers.

Thank you so much, HMH, NetGalley, and Patricia @ FFBC tours, for the gifted e-copy! The book review expressed my own opinion.

Synopsis – By the Book by Amanda Sellet

By the Book by Amanda Sellet synopsis

Mary Porter-Malcolm has prepared for high school in the one way she knows how: an extensive review of classic literature to help navigate the friendships, romantic liaisons, and overall drama she has come to expect from such an “esteemed” institution. Her love of literature even inspires her to imagine herself the heroine of a nineteenth-century novel. Not the sort who makes poor life choices and ends up dying of consumption while still in her teens, but the noble, virtuous, quick-witted type.

When some new friends seem in danger of falling for the same tricks employed since the days of Austen and Tolstoy, Mary swoops in to create the Scoundrel Survival Guide, using archetypes of literature’s debonair bad boys to signal red flags. But despite her best efforts, she soon finds herself unable to listen to her own good advice and falling for a supposed cad—the same one she warned her friends away from. Without a convenient rain-swept moor to flee to, Mary is forced to admit that real life doesn’t follow the same rules as fiction and that if she wants a happy ending, she’s going to have to write it herself.

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Review

<strong>By The Book</strong> Book Cover
By The Book YA Contemporary, Romance HMH for Young readers Digital 384 pages Publisher/FFBC Tours

By The Book is a sweet young adult romance where Mary becomes the heroine of her own book/life. After learning that she must change school, Mary’s world unfolds and reshapes into an inspiring journey.

This book is a charming story with a great cast. Our heroine, Mary is an interesting character. I enjoyed reading about her family and friends for the most part. Her parents are scholars and any interactions between Mary and them made my skin crawl though.

Mary has been sheltered from life, which makes her particularly unequipped to deal with social life. She is often clueless, but her character evolves, which makes it interesting. She makes mistakes, but she learns from them.

The way she speaks in the book was hard for me to relate. I mean I don’t think anyone her age speaks like that, and though I understand it, it didn’t quite work for me. I can’t say I feel in love with this story or the romance, but I still enjoyed. There is a lot to love about it and that’s why I did not DNF the book. I still enjoyed reading it.

I know a few book lovers who feel in love with this story and there is nothing wrong with this book. You’ll need to make your own opinion on this story. But if you love references from great classics and love characters who are 100% a book lover, then this is for you. 🙂

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Read an Excerpt

By-the-Book

About the author: Amanda Sellet

Debut author Amanda Sellet had a previous career in journalism, during which she wrote book reviews for The Washington Post, personal essays for NPR, and music and movie coverage for VH1. These days she lives in Kansas with her archaeologist husband and their daughter.

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US Giveaway – By The Book by Amanda Sellet

Prize: Win a copy of BY THE BOOK by Amanda Sellet (US Only)

May 6, 2020 – May 20, 2020

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One thought on “Book Review: By The Book by Amanda Sellet + US Giveaway – FFBC Tours”

  1. Pingback: Blog tour: By the Book by Amanda Sellet – The Mind of a (Book) Dragon

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