In short, it’s a romantic novel about how to write a romantic novel when you do not have much experience with romantic relationships and people around you aren’t very romantic either.
I believe there is a good idea behind this story, but the author should have listened her own advice to her protagonist and the book would have been better - the first meet between the couple is boring (if you could call it a first meet at all) and the rest is typical to Hallmark books and films (just the seasonal music is missing) :)
A lot is happening in this book, but writing, as you would guess, is not the main thing, and romance is even less prominent. Misunderstandings and little sister’s wishes are more important than rewriting the romance novel. There is a happy ending for everyone, even if the ending isn’t exactly what they were hoping for.
It’s a good book, it just needs a bit more work.

Meet Me in the Margins is a delightful romance. It skillfully takes some very common romance tropes- interaction with an unknown person develops into a relationship (a la You’ve Got Mail), a certain dash of opposites attract, and lonely woman finds love, and presents them in a fresh way that feels so much more real and relatable than I’ve ever read. The characters and environments feel like people and places I could know. Their actions and reactions in most cases feels natural. I genuinely liked the main characters and was definitely rooting for them. Although the plot is somewhat predictable, there were enough twists and turns to make it interesting. Even the side characters were enjoyable. Definitely a book I would like to read again.
I received this as an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

This is an honest review in exchange for an ARC of Meet Me in the Margins from NetGalley. The story follows the MC, Savannah, as she trudges through her day to day tasks as an acquisitions editor for a publishing company that doesn’t believe in anything remotely close to her true passion- romance- which is writes secretly in her spare time. No one knows of this until her hidden manuscript is found and edited. Savannah is falling for her editor and her boss. What will she do and who will she pick? Throw a little family drama into the mix- will she get her own HEA? Five stars to this cute rom-com of a story! Highly recommend!

This is a fun, quick read about an aspiring writer and her ghost editor. I love me a good epistolary novel and this one is sort epistolary-adjacent as the writer and her unknown editor exchange notes and conversations over the writer's manuscript. I also enjoyed this peeks into the publishing industry (there is nothing more magical sounding than an ARC room) as well as the author's understanding of her audience. A well-placed wink and Hallmark joke did not go amiss! Highly recommend for a fun read in the new year!

I loved seeing my favorite genre collide with the publishing industry. I so wanted to just LOVE this book. The premise was amazing, but ultimately I just needed more. I didn't connect with the characters as much as I would have liked to. The tension was there, but just missing the connection for me. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I absolutely *adored* the premise of “Meet Me in the Margins” – aspiring romance writer falls in love with her secret editor. As an aspiring romance writer myself, I found Savannah (our main girl) to be incredibly relatable and well-written. She was quirky and fun and pleasant to follow. Her love interest, William was also a delight. His characterization as the stern editor with a hidden fun side was likewise very well done. It was so obvious that he was her not-so-secret editor (to everyone but Savannah, of course), and while that was cute sometimes it also felt super frustrating at others. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it and I think part of that is on me because I was expecting more romance. The book is categorized as romance, but it felt like a cross between romance and Women’s Lit, with the latter being the dominant genre. This isn’t a bad thing, but I went in expecting more. I also found the situation between Savannah, her sister, and their shared ex-boyfriend/fiancé very bizarre and unnecessary. Some parts of this book really hit and held my attention whereas others were just meh for me. Rating: 3.75/5. Enjoyable, but not to-die.

Thank you so much to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. #MeetMeintheMargins #NetGalley

I was quite stoked for this one, the plot was quite intriguing and had so much to give..
It’s sweet, has real life experiences and it is very surface level when it comes to the plot.
The romance between the main characters felt quite subdued to me.
The storytelling takes the complicated characters in real, complicated situations and tries to give them the most realistic/suitable ending, doesn’t matter, however, rushed it was. So, it’s a three star read for me.

- Thank you publisher for the arc!

Meet Me In The Margins by Melissa Ferguson is an adorable romantic comedy that book lovers everywhere are sure to enjoy given its setting in the world of publishing.
Savannah Cade works at a publishing house dedicated to "high brow works" where the words commercial fiction are accompanied by a shudder of disdain, which makes her dream of writing a romance novel a secret, one that she almost manages to expose to the entire company at a staff meeting to introduce the new hire, William Pennington, son of the current romance hating chief. She would never have risked taking the manuscript to work but for the fact that she is on a deadline to show it to the editor in chief of another publishing house that has the biggest romance imprint in the country.
She manages to hide the manuscript in what she thought was a secret room in her office building ,but apparently it is less of a secret than she thought because when she returns later, someone has annotated the first chapter , and though the notes are critical they are also good. Thus begins a correspondence relationship that soon starts to bleed through into real life as Savannah starts to fall for the mystery editor.
While there may be no real surprises in this book, it really is a warm comforting blanket of a read, perfect to snuggle up with on a cold winter's evening . The characters are vivid and very human, and I loved the thread of humour that is very evident throughout the book.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I read this book in one sitting, it was a quick and lighthearted read following Savannah, an assistant editor who is writing her own debut manuscript and the anonymous individual who has been scribbling critiques in the margins of said manuscript.

I found Savannah to be very relatable. The romance had a ‘will they or won’t they’ kind of vibe which was slightly predictable but that’s what we love about this kind of book.

I also love that the story was set in the world of publishing, it was definitely one of the things that drew me in and made me want to read this book.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC which I received via NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Meet Me In The Margins

I was intrigued from the get go based on the blurb about the book.

I was really impressed with this author. I felt a large range of emotions from this book and it was due to the way she wrote it. I’ll try to share some of my thoughts without spoilers.

In the beginning I find Savannah frustrating with her lack of backbone and self doubt. I found myself at times rolling my eyes and wanting to pound my head on my desk. The entire situation with the exboyfriend is now the sister’s fiancé was 😳. And she lives with said sister… how incredibly uncomfortable and you can feel that coming to the pages. Which shows you how good the writer is.

On top of that Olivia, the sister, is incredibly annoying. I feel like Savannah lets her family run all over her! There is a point in the story where Will suggests that while Savannah is loyal to her family, it doesn’t sound like they are loyal to her… in my head that TikTok trend “Go Best Friend” popped into my head because I feel like he is so spot on! And her response after… damn 😭👏🏼

Ultimately the author shows growth and change not only with Savannah, but many of the other characters too. I feel limited on what I can say without spoiling, but it was a really enjoyable read with a few twists and snags. Some I saw coming and others not so much.

The HEA I actually went back and read a couple of times because it gave me the warm and fuzzies!

Overall I’d give this 4.25 stars.

I received this book via NetGalley for free for my honest review which is posted on GoodReads and StoryGraph.

slow burn baby slow burn

this is more....4.5/4.8 rather than 4 stars? I really liked the characters and the plot and the general theme of the story? her struggle with writing her own book and finding what worked and what didn't just struck so true. also, unsurprisingly, i'm a sucker for any romance where the main character's 'fall' for each other over text/email/not-in-person-communication (yes, i'm looking at you geekerella).

it's a bookish romance, it tugged at my heart strings and i already want to re-read it again.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

*I got a free copy through Netgalley, this in no way affected this review*

I really liked this cute romance book. I thought the plot was nice, the characters were well written and the ending left me very pleased.

It was great to see a book take place in a publishing house and that our main character wanted to be an author. Obviously I love reading and I always love it when books take place in these specific settings.

While there clearly was a heavy case of the miscommunication trope, which I usually don’t really enjoy, I found myself not really bothered with it in this book, because the characters were so enjoyable.

It’s also becoming more and more clear to me that I enjoy reading books where the characters are around my age instead of the teenagers in the books I usually read.

Definitely would recommend this if you’re looking for a light romance book.

Savannah Cade may finally get all she’s ever dreamed of. The editor-in-chief at the biggest romance publisher in the country has interest in her manuscript. A manuscript Savannah has written in secret for years while working as an editor at a small publisher. One who does not believe in “frivolous” literature— such as romance.

All of her dreams could come crashing down when she drops her manuscript at an all staff meeting. Immediately Savannah rushes her manuscript in to hidden room only she seems to know. Or so she thought. That night, she returns to find comments in the margins— comments that are quite critical of her book. Savannah refuses to listen and turns in the manuscript under a pen name. But when her manuscript is denied by the larger publisher with similar critiques as the mystery editor, she turns to them for help.

Over the next six weeks, Savannah and her mystery editor bond through the notes in the margins. They divulge personal stories as they edit the book into something worthwhile and begin to fall for the other. The problem? She has no idea who he is.

Alright this was absolutely adorable and gave me <I>You’ve Got Mail</I> vibes. I loved watching Savannah fall for her editor while also gaining confidence in herself.

Likes
• <I>You’ve Got Mail</I> vibes
• falling for someone through written word
• books are a main topic
• learning more about the publishing world

Dislikes
• how predictable it was who the editor was— I would’ve liked more ambiguity between the two possibilities.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Meet Me in the Margins was a great concept and had cute characters, but I struggled to get into the story. Although it was a quick and easy read, I felt like the characters and their relationships fell rather flat. The writing style sometimes caused me to snap out of Sav and Will's story and have to reimmerse myself a few sentences later. Overall, a cute concept and good bones, but the story ultimately did not deliver.

PUBLICATION DATE: December 31, 2021

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this book up the other night as I wanted something to read that didn't require a lot of thought process. Meet Me in the Margins fits the bill.

(Dear TK, I hope you were able to get the editing requests done before final publication.)

The book was fun and a delight to read. A fast book, one that I'm always fond of, I started it before bed the other night and finished it the following day. Some odd bits were the stress on Savannah's shortness and her propensity to wear tall heels when that didn't get picked up again later in the story so the mentioning of her shortness, at barely five feet, seemed a bit odd, however, it helped propel her meet cute with Will.

I wish there was more development between Will and Sav which seems to have started out as a slow burn and not enough fire to keep it going. The ending just kind of happened. Sav's relationship with her ex-boyfriend now potential brother in law was too close for comfort. I know the family motto was loyalty for family and to buck up and keep your chin up but there should have been more angst and pain rather than "Oh, he brought me flowers. How kind." situation going on. Her sister, Olivia, is a nightmare and I'm glad she got taken down a peg or two.

The mix-up with Sam and his lady friend was sweet. While I was not so crazy about how Ferguson treated Sav with her family, I did love the loyalty she had for her friend Layla the soon to be country music queen and the lengths she would go to support her. Also, Layla sounds like good fun. More of her please.

tl;dr I feel like this is not an original story but I can't quite place why. I feel like the setup is not new but I do like Ferguson's version of the story quite a bit. The book was well written and except for a few nit picks, the execution was good. There is enough here to investigate reading more of Ferguson's works. Would recommend.

This a was a quick fast paced read and I enjoyed the clever plot, witty dialogue and the slow friendship to romance. At first the writing was too frenetic for me but I stayed with the story and it slowed down. Some outcome was as I expected and there were not many surprises except the other couple. The character development was nicely presented through interaction and their dialogue in the margins of Savannah’s manuscript. The message of the book is inspiring to those who struggle with their place in family dynamics, pursuing far-reaching dreams, and a finding someone to love you for who you are. My major disappointment was the lack of exploration of the faith in the characters. Overall clean and inspiring read

This was a fast read, but I just did not enjoy it. The characters weren't all that flushed out, and I wanted wayyyyyyy more development for all of them, but especially the main characters. The whole romance aspect and the "twists" weren't done very well, and it was way too predictable and cheesy. I also think the ending was extremely rushed. This just wasn't for me.

This was such a fun read! I'm such a sucker for books about books and writing and I really liked how this one focused on the editorial process. I thought it was really sweet how the two main characters connected through the edits of her manuscript, and as a romance writer myself, I really connected with the female main character. I also really liked her dynamic with her family and the way those issues were dealt with. Overall this was a really entertaining read that kept my interest and left me wanting more!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 3.5 to 4-ish stars (rounding up)

Meet Me in the Margins is a cute, light romance about Savannah Cade, assistant editor at Pennington Publishing and aspiring romance author, and Will Pennington, son of the publishing house's CEO and new head of Savannah's team. When Savannah's romance manuscript is almost discovered at work, she leaves it in a secret room, and when she comes back to retrieve it, someone has left edits in the margins. Thus ensues a pseudo-pen pal relationship with an unknown coworker while Sav gets to know her new boss, falling for both of them at the same time.

I had a few problems with this book. First of all, Savannah's sister? And her comments about Savannah's diet and body? That whole plot point was not okay. Fat-shaming a size 6??? Fat-shaming period??? A huge no. I also didn't like how the storyline with Ferris played out. It came across as out of character, and the relationship between Olivia and Ferris was too underdeveloped to make it impactful.

That being said, I loved Will, and I loved all of the interactions between Savannah and Will. And the ending was fantastic. So, these hates and loves net out to a decent romance novel - overall, I would recommend it.

A romantic comedy with lots of twists and turns and funny situations. Savannah works for a publisher and dreams of writing a romance novel. She takes her manuscript to work while getting ready to submit it to a rival publisher. To avoid letting anyone see her manuscript she hides it in a secret room. Someone finds it and makes corrections and suggestions.
This was a fun romance full of humor and secrets as Savannah struggles to finish writing her romance novel.