I really love books about books, about publishing, so this was a definite must read for me. Unfortunately, it fell flat.

The romance, which was another big pull factor for me here, really fell to the side and I don't think was developed at all. It's INCREDIBLY slow burn and they kiss once and that's it.

It just wasn't for me.

The heroine is an assistant acquisitions editor at a publishing company, as well as an aspiring author. What fun roles! I found these jobs relatable, and I think readers will like the behind-the-scenes elements of a writers’ life.

Her family is a passel of overachievers, so she cannot fail. Their opinions push her to try to measure up. Of course she can’t. Part of her never wanted to. That contradiction sabotages her. Readers may find themselves relating: do we be ourselves or try to be what we think others want?

I loved the author’s fun voice. We’re in first person, present tense—my favorite. We get some snark, lots of humor, and an unfortunate opening situation, (which tone I’m glad didn’t carry forward into the rest of the book).

The hero is icy and all business, authoritative. What's behind his façade? If he ever opens up, what will we find? How fun it will be to watch him melt. Also, can he champion her? And what will it mean to her if he ever does?

The setup for this novel’s mystery is delicious. They grow closer by passing notes. We have an editor who gives honest, even blunt, feedback. You gotta respect someone like that. After her defensiveness wears off, she does. She’s lost and earnest. He’s experienced and willing to help. A perfect team.

I laughed aloud several times while reading this novel. Just what I needed during the pandemic. A treat. I’ll watch for more books by this author.

The story has so many clichè: boss - employer relation; unknown helper who turns out to be somebody you know, family issues, all together. I found it predectible.

This was just the book I needed to jump start my reading after a bit of a summer slump. Even though it was predictable, it was a good comfort read for this time of year. I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters as well as the publishing house setting. I didn't care for the immediate families in this book as they were both condescending; this flaw never being resolved to satisfaction for the reader. Thank you to Netgalley for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I absolutely love when stories follow aspiring writers, etc. Therefore, I was hoping that I would love this book, but I never got around to finishing it.
With that being said, I still recommend giving this book a chance. Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me an ARC.

the author should have taken the in-book editors advise, "if you bore them, you lose them." I was sufficiently bored. The romance truly takes a backseat and the book suffers from that. it is so incredibly slow that i wondered many times what book it was that i was reading. i struggled to give it my undivided attention. I went into it not knowing it was a "clean" romance and, honestly, was super disappointed in that as well. at least do the romance right!

𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑴𝒆 𝑰𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒔 by 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐨𝐧 is an awesome, quick, enjoyable RomCom. When I read a RomCom I want the author to deliver captivating characters and a laugh out loud plot line. 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐨𝐧 nailed it with this one! The bonus? It’s setting is centered around books and a publishing house! Definitely something I was happy about! This fun read is filled with so much fun and I highly recommend that you grab it up if you are looking for something quick, enjoyable and lighthearted. Worth 4 stars for sure!

This was a fun filled clean rom-com. While I did enjoy the chemistry between Savannah and Will I found Savannah's family to be absolutely awful. The fat-shaming and overall lack of support from her sister and parents isn't addressed at all and just continuously swept under the rug which I definitely found to be problematic. On the other hand I loved Savannah and Will's relationship and their build-up of trust with one another. Overall a sweet book.

A fun, humorous little story. I picked it up several times and had trouble adjusting to the present tense POV, but once I had time to sit down and concentrate on what the MC was telling me, it wasn't so bad.

It's really a fun little story with a likeable heroine. She's always getting herself snagged up on things (sometimes literally), her boss is incredibly demanding, and her sister is horrid to her. It looks like her life is coming to a cliff and there's going to be a massive crash before the end of the book.

Just when she's feeling worst, some kind soul starts helping her edit her novel by secretly sneaking into her attic retreat at work where she left the pages spread out. This kind person just might help her hold her life together long enough to get to the next thing...but who are they?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

Meet Me in the Margins is a cute, positively wholesome addition to the numerous literary romcoms taking the market by storm this year! I love the characters, their interactions, and just the idea of an agent turned author and a secret reading room just makes me so happy. I adored this one!

I really liked this one, but wasn't blown away by it. A second round purchase for most collection development.

Savannah Cade is an aspiring writer and an assistant editor. This means she reads and edits books for a living, but when it comes to editing her own work... she needs some help. Queue a mystery editor and the title Meet Me in the Margins.

Life would be simpler if she could publish her novel with the company she works for, but Ms. Pennington (founder and CEO of the publishing house) doesn't believe in commercial fiction/romance; so chances that they would even look at her manuscript is nil. Life would also be simpler if her ex-boyfriend wasn't soon to be married to her sister... whom Sav is living with. Talk about complicated. To make things worse, the Cade family creed is to be there for each other always - which means their parents support the relationship.

What I loved:
Books within books within books
The secret annex to the already magical ARC room in the attic
That more than one secret relationship is using the ARC room
The mystery editors scathing commentary
The court house scene - it's hilarious and adorable all at once
This novel was cute and adorable, but not smutty or overly romancy - there were no inappropriate scenes - my middles could read it without any issues, but it's more of a high school+ read

I started this book around 7:30 am and finished it by 1:30 (with a slight break). I haven't been this engrossed in a novel to finish it cover to cover in a long time. If you love books like I love books -> I can't recommend this one more!

This novel is warm, witty, and wistful, its two central characters took up residence in my heart and I'll never forget them. The suspense of the books carries but the ending is quite expected. I liked that there's a mature, thoughtful approach toward what makes a good relationship, and that it was dreamy and grounded at the same time.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you're searching for a light, fun & funny, clean romance to take to the pool or beach with you, I'd recommend this one.

I loved:

The concept. A secret book nook in a workplace, where our main characters leave notes for each other, one of them not being aware of who the other is? It had a lot of potential.

The pacing. Pretty fast-paced, so easy to get through, and the writer did a fantastic job writing some of the dialogues. Made me laugh out loud more than once.

What needs to be improved:

If we would have got more insight into William, and Savannah, and possibly gone a bit deeper into their lives, and their thoughts; if we have met them just a little bit more, I would have enjoyed this so much more. I felt like we just knew the basics we need to know to follow the storyline.

More romance. Sure, it's a clean romance, but I felt like they were building a bond that was intended to be romantic, but I felt more as if they were great friends or kindred spirits. I didn't feel any spark, chemistry, angst... I felt it lacked in that department.

Overall, my impression is that if there was more romance incorporated, more chemistry between characters, and just a tiny bit more time invested into truly shaping & bringing these characters to life, I would have possibly loved it more. I had fun, but it's not a book I was bouncing off the walls for.

I apologise to the publisher in advance for a belated review, due to family issues.

This was almost a DNF for me. I found it incredibly boring and the heroine was insecure and pathetic. There was lukewarm chemistry at best and only a single kiss. Very disappointing!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me access to this novel in exchange for my honest review. I thought this novel was cute but it didn't tick all my boxes. Savannah is an editor at Pennington Publishing but has also been working on her own novel (under a pen name of course!) on the side. The company she works at is undergoing a structural change and the son of the owner has taken over -- surprise, surprise, they butt heads. Savannah hides her manuscript in a secret closet/room and when she returns to retrieve it, finds someone has left her editorial suggestions. Savannah is very proud and at times this really irked me, but she starts a correspondence (and quasi flirty relationship) with this mystery editor.

Throw in two book fair/conferences; her working relationship with an older eclectic author; a poor relationship with her sister (who is engaged to Savannah's ex-boyfriend); some body shaming (from the sister); and Savannah's tight deadline for her novel's revision and you get a cute women's fic novel with a side of romance.

Spoiler: No physical intimacy aside from a kiss.

DNF-ed at 15%, I just could not get into the book :( I've heard a lot of really great things from other readers on instagram, but I just think maybe this one wasn't for me. The beginning really wasn't drawing me in at all.

I love books. I love publishing and I loved this.
With a tiny sneak peek into what it's like living and breathing books as an editor in a small publishing house to the fears and trauma of trying to get your own manuscript published all the while dealing with your day-to-day struggles- this was such a lovely yet exhausting read!
I really felt for Savannah with her high-strung, over-achieving family and oppressive work colleagues. No wonder she didn't have the confidence to go after what she really wanted.
But Will was the true hero here and he would definitely be my book boyfriend!
A lovely rom-com with a brain and a heart and set in the world of books- nothing I love more.

This is a cute love story about writing and the publishing industry.

When the two characters saw each other, I could definitely feel greatchemistry, but I feel like it didn't happen often enough, and fast enough, and long enough. We were at 65% and it was still very much business like.
All in all, I did enjoy this very much! I just wish the romance plot had happened a bit faster.

I absolutely love the plot of this book, the mystery editor in the secret room at work, who's helping her so she can send her manuscript in time. It's all very entertaining.

I always love reading about writing. I love that it's raw in here. That you see how hard the publishing industry is. How rough it can be to be told "no". To get a rejection after all the work you put in. But then you get back up and you put in the effort.
I love that she talks about how you basically need to already have a fanbase to for agents to be interested in you. But to get a fanbase, you need to put in time and effort, and to do so, you lose so much time that you could use to actually write your book. It's a shitty circle of hell. I love that she talked about that in the book.

Sweet romance that has a little fun mystery to it. Slow burn that was just about right for the romance. However some downfalls. Too many characters that are never fleshed out. Savannah's family is also underdeveloped, but also toxic. They all expect her to be happy with her boyfriend dumping her for her sister. Will kinda mentions the toxicity at one point, so the author knew, but it's barely dealt with.