While the book was well written and enjoyable plot wise, it just wasn’t for me. While I enjoy romance quite a bit, if I don’t relate to, or even like, a main character, it can be difficult to get through the book. With the protagonist of Meet Me in the Margins, most of the book felt like a chore. She seems to hate her job, hate her friends, hate her hobbies, and makes no effort to change any of it? Honestly I kind of just got annoyed with her and could barely force myself through it. I purely think it has to do with my personality and opinion of her character and think this book could be a great fit for other romance readers.

I'm a sucker for a good rom-com, and Melissa Ferguson is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. Like her other novels, Meet Me in the Margins is a sweet and engaging rom-com, but this time there's a bit of mystery woven in.

Savannah Cade has dreamed of being a romance author for years, and her dreams just might be about to come true--except that she works for a publisher who believes romance is the epitome of twaddle and should never be published. She's decided to submit her manuscript anyway, until she trips and sends a flurry of cheesy romance throughout the room during a staff meeting. And, of course, who else would pick up the final page but William Pennington, new publisher and son of the love-hating CEO? Horrified, she hides her manuscript in a secret room upstairs, but later returns to find it covered in someone else's very blunt opinions. When she writes back in defence of her work, she quickly finds herself with a mystery editor who seems much more experienced at this whole romance thing than she is. Enter the drama of re-writing her entire manuscript while trying to uncover the identity of her mystery editor.

While the plot was (delightfully) cheesy and relatively predictable, I loved every moment of this book. It's perfect for those times when you just need something light and easy to read, but definitely still has some substance. The characters were fantastic, although I quickly developed an intense dislike for Savannah's ex-fiance, Ferris, as well as the majority of her family. Will and Savannah's best friend Lyla were definitely my favourite characters. As a major bookworm and someone who once dreamed of writing novels myself (I've since accepted that I'm much better at reading than writing anything believable), I loved that this novel was centred around books and editing/publishing. It was fun to get to "see" the inside of a publisher's office, even it it was fictional.

If you enjoy witty rom-coms or just need an escape from reality for a few hours, you'll love Meet Me in the Margins.

*I received a complimentary copy of Meet Me in the Margins through the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. My positive review is not required.

Meet Me in the Margins is truly a book for book lovers - so it should come as no surprise that I was super excited to read it. But while there’s a lot I liked about it, it ultimately left me disappointed.

Savannah is an assistant acquisitions editor for a very old-school publishing company, who’s secretly working on her own contemporary romance novel. When Savannah stashes her manuscript in a secret office room before a meeting, she’s surprised to come back to find handwritten comments on it from a mystery editor, with whom she gets pulled into a back-and-forth exchange in the margins. Meanwhile, the company CEO’s son, Will, joins the company, and his arrival threatens to shake everything up - both professionally and personally.

I’ll start with the good. I really enjoyed the book- and publishing-related aspects of the story. It was interesting to read about the inner workings of a publishing company and the editors’ interactions with their authors, and the author’s descriptions of library conferences and ARC rooms were just dreamy for a book lover. The conversations in the margins were really fun; I craved more of that, it seemed to be a surprisingly small part of the book given how the plot is described.

I also really enjoyed Will’s character. I’m a sucker for a character who’s stonily professional, but can’t keep the corner of their mouth from twitching when engaging with a female lead, and Will definitely fulfills that role. In some ways, he gave me vibes of Adam from The Love Hypothesis (which is a huge compliment in my books, pun intended).

Unfortunately, there’s also a lot I didn’t love about this book. I had a hard time connecting with most of the characters. I found our narrator, Savannah, to be unlikeable. She wasn’t well filled out, the back-and-forth of her internal narrative gave me whiplash, she seemed all too willing to be a doormat for her family, and she must be allergic to work because I don’t think she does a single thing for her job in the entire book - it seems like all she does is show up late to events/meetings, where she’s constantly distracted, and run off to a hidden room to work on her own manuscript.

I also really disliked Savannah’s family. I generally enjoy a book with a family pressure/expectation element, but here it just seemed cruel. I didn’t enjoy Savannah’s relationship or interactions with her parents or her sister, Olivia, and I really didn’t like the idea of the family somehow supporting Olivia’s engagement to Savannah’s ex-boyfriend. I wish that whole storyline just didn’t exist.

All in, this is a reasonably cute book for audiences who are into books about books, but I wish it were better executed.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the opportunity to read it!

I absolutely loved this book! After a few novels that just didn’t hit the mark for me, Meet Me in the Margins was the perfect way to end #netgalleynovember.

I loved how real and relatable Savannah was. In college, I actually knew a girl that dated a man whom ended up with her sister instead. Although she wasn’t nearly as understanding as Savannah…

It was nice to see a book that wasn’t solely about everyone’s Adonis-like appearance. Will is described as very attractive, but even so- he still feels attainable. Their love grows through their personalities and their shared experiences all captured in the margins of her manuscript- which is an adorable time capsule for their budding romance.

Additionally, I really enjoyed the fact that this wasn’t a situation in which the man saves the “poor, weak female”. It was a balanced relationship and again, just felt real and attainable…the kind of love you hope to find.

📌 Pub Date: February 15, 2022

I was given an ARC of this story to read; but thoughts and opinions are all my own. Thank you to @netgalley and Thomas Nelson - Fiction for the chance to read this title.

This novel was so charming! Savannah is the perfect protagonist for this book lover’s meet cute. This book had the perfect flow and pacing so I found myself quickly caught up in it. This is the kind of book you will want to devour in one sitting and then find yourself wishing, like I did, that there were more pages to read. Savannah is trying to finish her secret novel when she finds herself with a secret mystery editor that has her questioning everything, both in her book and in her heart. I will definitely be following the author’s directive in her bio that I should read all of her novels because this one was so good. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of this book.
It took me a little bit to get into this but I ended up loving this book! The beginning was a tad slow but the story as a whole ended up being so good. It was such a cute & fun read. Being a book lover myself, I adored the setting & main focus of the manuscript. Overall, super cute & thoroughly enjoyed it.

great bookish contemporary novel - would recommend for bookclubs and libraries. would be interested to see if there is a sequel or if the sister gets her own book

Meet Me in the Margins is a highly entertaining romantic comedy. I adored Savannah and Will characters. The back and forth between the two of them was priceless. Ferguson’s voice is fresh and fun!

I think all fans of rom-com are really going to love this one.

Great big thank you to Thomas Nelson--FICTION and NetGalley for my copy!

The story has good characters, it has a good plot but I can't hook myself to its pages, it cost me to grab it again every time I left it but I finished it and it is a beautiful story, with a nice message I just wish I was one hundred percent invested in it

SUPER cute and fun read! A solid 4.5 stars from me. Thank you for allowing me to read and review this!

Overall, Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson was a sweet book. The premise was interesting, and I enjoyed the publishing house perspective. However, if you are looking for something beyond surface level sweetness, you will probably not find it in this book. No steam at all, for those who liked to be warned before they pick up a romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for a free eARC copy of Meet Me in the Margins in exchange for an honest review. I could not stop grinning the entire time I was reading this book! We're following Savannah Cade and her career as an acquisitions editor at THE publishing house for literary fiction and nonfiction, Pennington Publishing. The only problem is, Ms. Pennington HATES "commercial fiction", the likes of romcoms and thrillers for mass public consumption. And Savannah is writing a romance novel....throw in the added wrinkle that Ms. Pennington's son, Will is now Savannah's boss. As the deadline approaches for Savannah to submit her romance manuscript to her dream publisher, she is running out of time and ideas. Through a series of whimsical events, she ends up with a mystery editor who is helping her reshape her novel into the best story it can be. And Savannah is falling for this mystery man.

This was such a delightful read. I loved every single minute of reading this book. From the very first page, this book is a book lover's dream. Set at a publishing house, wooing authors, a seemingly magical ARC room, what else could you ask for?! Through in a grumpy-sunshine budding romance and this book is the whole package. The dialogue was so witty, the characters were dynamic, and the super slow burn romance led up to a grand gesture ending that left my jaw hanging. This is the perfect read to pick up for the Valentine's Day season, and I would be overjoyed to see this book as the Book of the Month club contemporary romance pick for the month of February.

This had a really cute premise and it was a really fast read. The romance between Savannah and William very back and forth which was fun as he keeps saving her from herself and it was very you got mail. I really couldn’t deal with how she is living with her younger sister Olivia who is engaged to Ferris who is Savannahs ex-boyfriend and everybody in her family thinks this is fine. Like nobody cared that Savannah and Ferris were still together when him and Olivia hooked up and that her family is just like just suck it up and be happy for your sister. So Savannah works at Pennington Press, as an assistant editor, which publishes nonfiction books only and she is of course is trying to a romance writer with her only inspiration being ripping off Hallmark movie tropes in her book. She gets a famous romance editor to read her book but it needs so much work she tells her she can’t try to submit it. Savannah has a month to get it edited enough that it can be submitted and there is someone anonymous in the office that is helping her edit her book that she is trying to figure out who it is. Of course she starting falling for the person editing her books as well as William at the same time and has to pick. So overall this was a pretty predictable plot and I liked reading about how it is working in a publishing house aspects of the book.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

It was a milestone for me. The voice of the story became monotonous for me and as soon as I got to the part where her sister was engaged to her ex boyfriend and she still had a lust for him, and living in the same space...it was too much for me
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I spent it looking for positive interactions that would free me from the voice of the protagonist saying that everything is catastrophic and that it was not good enough, and constantly comparing hermself to her overachieving sister . I Finish the book on Will's premise and to every note in the margins of the manuscript , their exchange was really good and I enjoyed it
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The story has good characters, it has a good plot but I can't hook myself to its pages, it cost me to grab it again every time I left it but I finished it and it is a beautiful story, with a nice message I just wish I was one hundred percent invested in it
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Thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and Melissa Ferguson for give me this book in exchange for my honest opinion

I was genuinely so excited to read this seeing the plot. But I am highly disappointed. I could not vibe with the writing style much. But the character as well as the plot felt very boring and non directional to me. Sorry but the book did not work out for me.

Super cute book. It is a little familiar, I feel there is a trend of books about books recently. But this one was fun and interesting to read. I didn’t see the purpose of Lyla, but I loved the main character’s sister!

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson is a seriously fun read. The premise of this story is what drew me to this book — I love the idea of a relationship that blossoms into romance based on secret letters being passed back and forth. Yes, it is Jr. High-esque, but it’s also a great way to get the hero and heroine to be more vulnerable and honest with each other. The anonymity of the notes in the margins of Savannah’s manuscript provides both Will and Savannah a sense of safety to be themselves. There is no pretense to impress anyone, and in this, the relationship is allowed to grow into something a bit more authentic. I also like this book because it made me chuckle … a lot … and I really needed the laughter. Savannah Cade is a great protagonist and I really liked being in her head. What I love the most about Savannah is her ability to go from 0 to crazy in like 3.2 seconds in her thought processes. This is actually where most of my chuckles came from. I feel like Savannah is one of my fictional kindred spirits. I, too, have the unfortunate ability to take my thoughts from sane to spiraling out of control faster than Speedy Gonzalez can run. Another aspect of this story that I appreciated is the fact that this story is all Savannah’s. Yes, there is a great cast of characters — I really love her best friend Lyla and Will is the perfect hero for Savannah — but this story is all about Savannah and her journey to self-discovery, claiming her voice, standing up for what she actually wants, and finding her happily ever after. Meet Me in the Margins is a fun read, but it’s also a subtly empowering one I won’t soon forget.

Meet Me in the Margins is a unique, well-crafted Rom-Com that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. This is a novel I highly recommend, and I highly recommend you add it to your TBR pile today.

I received a copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, via NetGalley, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I loved this book so much. I really can't say enough about how happy it made me. It was well written, touching, and included numerous laugh out loud moments.... always a big plus. The tension built at a perfect pace and it was enjoyable to watch the characters develop and grow. Savannah is extremely relatable, and Will is a lovely surprise.

I fully recommend this author's other books - they are excellent - but this is my favorite of them all. If you enjoy romantic comedy that is NOT typical and will keep you laughing until its happy ending, this is definitely the book for you!

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

4.5*

Very unique story with a wonderfully flawed protagonist.

Ultimately, this book is a romance. The thing about it that is so great is that it's also a book about a lead character who is growing and changing and finding her place.

Savannah is an assistant editor for a small publishing house in Nashville. She has been writing her own novel for about 4 years, but hasn't told anyone because it is a romance novel and that genre doesn't align with the mission of the company she works for. During a meeting, she trips and her manuscript goes flying. The final page gets picked up by the owner's son, who has just returned from NYC to run the company. He glances at the page, but Savannah is hopeful that he didn't read it. Because the pages are all askew and she cannot work on it at her desk, she takes the manuscript to her secret hidey-hole in the building and leaves it on the table. When she return there are editor's notes. Thus begins a clandestine relationship through the written word. It was cute, clever and lovely to read.

While Savannah writes her novel and notes to her mystery man, she navigates the fraught familial relationship between her sister and her ex-boyfriend. Savannah's ex, threw her over for her sister and they are about to be married. To make things more complicated, Savannah lives with her sister and has to be around the couple often. This relationship created some much needed tension and helps Savannah to grow.

There were a few moments in this book that were super cheesy and ham handed, but otherwise this was a great book.

I KNEW it couldn’t be Sam, but I was wondering how the you light up my life mugs fit in there. Love the Narnia closet. Perfect for a book about books and book lovers. The ex boyfriend/sister’s fiancee piece fit in way better than it might sound. AndI am so good Olivia got off that dang bike finally. Yeesh! Really enjoyed this one!