This was such a cute book! I absolutely love reading books about books and this one was really great. I loved the publishing house setting and that the main characters were working on a manuscript throughout the book. I wish there would have been a little more romance bits to build up their connection but overall I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Loved this romance so much. It was bookish and cute and clean and just really wonderful! Our library purchased this one as well as this authors full back list of published works so I am excited to read more from her!

Meet Me In the Margins is a FUN romcom with a good balance of emotional depth — you might even say it is a blend of comedy and women’s fiction. I appreciate the humor Melissa Ferguson always brings to her stories with her unique voice. Her heroines are always relatable and her stories bring out the comedy and sentiments of everyday life.

Some hilarious situations with a Valentine’s Day trip to the courthouse, quirky authors, and a witty dart game are a few things that made me laugh in this story. As Savannah edits her own novel, tongue-in-cheek moments about writing and romance add fun to the story. Through all of the lighthearted moments, though, is an underlying story and growing experience for Savannah herself, enlightening her of insecurities and her own worth. I have to admit, I did NOT like her family for a good portion of the novel. But through some key friendships, and especially with the compassion and encouragement of the hero, Savannah comes into her own in her family and career roles.

While some have compared elements of this novel to the classic “You’ve Got Mail”, I think the note-exchanging elements are presented in their own way (not like the movie at all), and the subsequent friendship that blooms “in the margins” as a result is something I was rooting for! Plus, there’s a strong representation of the publishing industry as a backdrop to the story, which will appeal to book and story lovers alike.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy. This is my honest review.

What I Enoyed:

The Premise. On paper (pun intended), Meet Me in the Margins is a book lovers’ dream for a romance premise. Savannah is an editor giving us an insider’s look into the publishing industry and a writer who has written a promising romance novel. An anonymous colleague begins giving Savannah editing tips to her manuscript in a secret room that only they know about. In those edits, love blossoms. The premise and the cute notes we are privy to are what kept my attention throughout. Is there anything cuter than romance in the pages?

William Pennington. I love tall dark and brooding with a hint of humor and sharp wit and good judge of character. William Pennington is the ideal for these types of romances. He sees through the BS, he is always there for our protagonist, and he is not what she expected.

The Book Nook. I would be remiss to not bring up the fact that there is an ARC room that leads to paradise… I mean, the Book Nook. Books, candles, comfy seats, great wall hangings – I wanted to find this room and never leave. Who wouldn’t fall in love here?

What Didn’t Work for Me:

The Squeaky Clean Romance. This one is on me, folks. I didn’t get the memo that this is was part of the Christian lit publisher. There was nothing overtly religious about Meet Me in the Margins, but it was completely clean: No cursing, no sex (two kisses throughout), and Savannah doesn’t even like physical intimacy before meeting William. While I understand and appreciate that cursing and sex shouldn’t be needed, their absence was keen here, especially in the harsh world of publishing.

Savannah’s Family (and a rant on body dysmorphia). I have seen some awful literary families (hello Dursleys), but the Cades may take the cake on toxic “positivity.” These families are everything I hate: the New Years Day marathon runners, the 3 month blood donors, charity starters, and “no tears here” types. What kind of parents would make one daughter accept their younger sister stealing their boyfriend of eight years? What kind of family creates such neuroses in said daughters that a size four is “large” and if you haven’t started a successful non-profit before 30 you’ve failed in life? I can’t tell if I was more made that they are caricatures of an all-American capitalistic family, or the fact that I have met families exactly like this. The Cades ruined this book for me.

The Pace. Meet Me in the Margins frankly dragged a bit. I am not sure if it is because it is so clean, or the tension wasn’t built up well enough, or if Savannah’s voice just wasn’t strong enough to carry in the first person. But for a novel about the editing business, this book could have used some editing down.

I was offered an advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review. These thoughts are my own and are no way influenced by the publisher.

*Contains Spoilers*
I loved this book. The main character was relatable, funny, smart, she was everything. It is nice to see a main character that you can relate too. It makes it easier to fully immersive yourself into the story.

I enjoyed the love interest too. He was thoughtful and kind behind his at first intense exterior. His character development was enjoyable. I enjoyed watching him obviously fall in love with the main character, while she was trying to figure everything out.

I enjoyed all of the side characters too. Everyone felt like they had a place in developing the story. The story was well written and flowed really well. The climax of the novel was written well enough to make me question if I really knew what was going to happen next. The author did a great job of providing the breadcrumbs but then introducing the doubt.

I was looking for something light and fun to read. Something that would help lift my spirits and make me feel happy. This book was everything I was looking for. I looked forward to reading more from this author.

I really liked what this book became. I loved the characters, I loved the chemistry, and I loved the premise. Everything felt very well done.

The only thing holding me back is the slow start. It took me some time to get into the book and begin enjoying it. The beginning felt somewhat tedious to read, and I found myself wanting to skip ahead a few times. It also took some time before we got to see the characters flourish.

As the book progressed, we also got to see more secondary character development. I loved reading more about Lyla and Claire and found myself feeling very satisfied with the way things eventuated.

And who doesn't love a book about books? Suffice to say; this one ticked all the boxes. It was also a great slow-burn romance.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and if it weren't for the slow start, I'd be upping my rating.

Fun, contemporary and sweet. When an assistant finds a mystery editor has left notes on her romance novel manuscript that she stows away in the ARC room of the publishing company, she's aghast. But when she has a close deadline to send her manuscript for a shot at getting published, she has no choice but to blindly trust her unseen editor. And while she edits her own work, she ends up getting closer to the new big-shot son of the editor in chief. A fast read, with fun characters and a bit of self-reflection for the main character. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

I’m a huge fan of The Hating Game and this one gave me all the vibes minus the steam! I absolutely loved Savannah and her journey you go on with her, in the publishing world, home life, and secret rendezvous to write to a her mystery man… for writers, readers and lovers this is one you MUST read… I never wanted it to end so I slowly devoured this gem!!!

You know the old saying...."never judge a book by its cover"....well this cover grabbed my attention immediately and after reading the description I wanted to read this novel. It is my first novel by Ferguson so I was not sure what to expect.

It was cute, charming and clever.

I loved the character Savannah Cade. I know most people will choose to read this because of its rom-com appeal and that was certainly appealing...but to me her character is the best part of this little gem. She is cute, charming, and clever and she takes a chance leaving her work for someone else to find.

I have read a lot of rom-coms and this one felt different because there was no suspense in who was leaving the notes for Savannah and who was editing her work. I kept going back and forth on whether I liked this or not and really think Ferguson tried something different and it worked.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of the novel.

SO CUTE! First of all, I love every romance set in the publishing world so a star is just for that. And the plot in itself made me decide to request the ARC. It was different from what I expected. It's a clean romance, it was nice (but sometimes not too nice) being in the heroine's head with all her insecurities but nobody's perfect so who am I to judge? The hero was okay, I mean I didn't like all of his margin notes of Savannah's manuscript. Maybe this book was too clean for my taste but if you want a book that is not all about the romance you go right ahead!

Meet Me in the Margins is a clean/sweet romance....

I personally found the book to be missing that chemistry between our love interests, as well as some actual physical romance.

It is definitely not for lovers of smut.

This was such a cute book! I love reading books about books. Add in the Publishing world, plus an workplace romantic trope/enemies to lovers and you’ve got a winning combo! The main character is endearing and you are cheering her on the whole book! Her sister is sufficiently annoying and the “enemy” is still easy to like! Plus the author mentions Bookstagrammers, so what’s not to like! I will definitely check out more of her books! Thanks to Uplit Reads and Net Galley

Meet Me in the Margins was absolutely adorable! I love books about other books and this was just too cute. Savannah works at a “serious” publishing company while writing her romance novel. One day at work she’s had to stash her manuscript in a back closet at work to hide from her boss. When she returns to it hours later, she finds someone has made comments to her in the margins of her book. Her company would never publish something has frivolous as a romance.

This continues for a while and things get flirtatious. Savannah is also going through some stuff personal, such as her ex boyfriend leaving her for her own sister! They are planning their wedding right in front of poor Savannah and they act like she doesn’t even have feelings.

This is a no steam romcom, but that doesn't mean it’s boring! I loved seeing Savannah try to narrow down who her budding romance is with. I would also love to visit the ARC room! That sounds like an absolute dream. Thank you to @thomasnelson and @our_friendly_farmhouse for the gifted copy!

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the characters and the play between them. I wanted a secret library alcove like described in the book. I will definitely be buying this for my collection.

Such a sweet love story and I always enjoy romcoms that have to do with authors or writing or publishing. This was a good time.

I really enjoyed this one! Such a sweet read and perfect to change it up from reading a bunch of thrillers. I needed a good heart felt story. I have enjoyed all of Ferguson's books!

I could not finish this one. I really tried. If you are a fan of Christian fiction, Melissa Ferguson is for you. Looking back on my previously read books, I also have DNF'ed her books. I wish they were more upfront about what is actually inside!

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a sweet, cute romcom, nice and clean. It is pretty predictable what the outcome will be but that didn't take away from the story. It was nice to read it all play out. It's light hearted with some laughable moments. Savannah is very likable and relatable. She is very sweet, even at the expensive of her own feelings. Will is the new boss and the owners son, come back to take over. Savannah is instantly attracted to him. The two become friends and she is surprised at the respect he gives her. Especially at valuing her opinion.

Cute, clean story that I would recommend to anyone wanting a fun romance.

I had high hopes for this book. It seemed there was more going on here than just a romance. Savannah Cade is low-level editor at a family-owned publishing company. She does her job and does it well, but she wants more, and what she wants isn't to write the stuffy stuff her company publishes. She wants to--in fact, she has written--a romance novel. All well and good, but it needs some serious editing and it seems she is not up to the task. Enter a mystery editor who leaves helpful comments in the margins. So helpful, that she might just get her novel published. So wonderful, she falls in love with him sight unseen.

And then there is her family, who are quite competitive and make Savannah feel as if she is never quite enough. Her boyfriend of eight years who dumped her for her sister.

Add in quirky co-workers and a crazy old house to work in and you couldn't ask for much more. Except some sparks.

There was not one bit of spark here. Not much banter and definitely not anything approaching sexual attraction. Every romance has a heat level, and I understand some are written for Christian audiences who don't want anything beyond a hand held or a sweet kiss. If that was the case here, I would have like to have been told up front.

This is what it is, I suppose--a fun, sweet romance.

I loved this one! A great read with a little bit of mystery. The relationship building is believable and the characters are, too. I enjoyed learning a bit about the publishing industry and writing process - that made it super fun for my bookish heart! This was a great romance and one I will definitely recommend.