I couldn't put the book down!!!! I had to keep reading so I knew how everything turned out. I fell in love with the characters and found myself invested in their struggles and successes. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Savannah loves her job at Pennington Publishing, but she keeps her written manuscript a secret since it doesn’t fit in with the heavy non fiction titles of the publishing house. When she drops the entire manuscript during a meeting with the new boss, she is hopeful nobody saw what it was and hides it in the hidden book nook she found. Except when she comes to grab it later, someone has left edits…

Ok I am on a publishing house employees romance kick apparently. All I have to say is….I don’t hate it at all! Working for a publisher would be like a dream in my opinion….ok TECHNICALLY I work for a publisher, but not the kind that is handing me arcs and manuscripts left and right! Still adore my job, but truly getting to work with books sounds so amazing. Maybe I shouldn’t say that when my boss follows me! (Susie please don’t fire me…..I really love my job!) Moving on, this book was just so fantastic. My heart broke for Savannah with the initial rejection of her manuscript, but I loved the back and forth between her and her mystery editor throughout the story. Oh and I HATED Ferris from the first time he was introduced. I’m sorry, you leave your girlfriend for her sister and then try to still be her number one fan and blah blah blah. Legit wanted to slap him so many times! If you need a fun rom com, look no further!

Cute, closed door enemies to lovers romance about a woman who works at a snooty non fiction publishing house and writes a romance novel. The head of the prublishing house’s son, who got the promotion she wanted, helps her edit it.

Savanna Cade is an acquisitions editor at a literary publisher who is secretly working on her own romance novel. She believes her boss would fire her if she knew she was writing low brow commercial fiction. She hides her ms in a not-often-used room to find someone has critically edited it, but for the better.

We don’t confirm her secret editor, whose notes grow more personal as the work continues until the last chapter. It’s a single POV, although the reader suspects immediately that’s its William Pennington, the new VP, who Savannah initially fears wants her fired.

The exchanging of secret edits while falling in love, the setting of writers, editors, and books, it all should have been a win for me. But I was skimming within a few pages. It was more than forty percent in before Savannah actually began exchanging edits and nearly as long before she had an actual conversation with Will.

Savannah undervalues herself and it was hard to like her. She lives with her obsessively go getter sister who puts her down. The sister is also about to marry Savannah’s ex boyfriend. She puts up with far too much to be believable and is always comparing herself to others. She kept calling him intimidating but I saw Will as confident. Will was an adult and Savannah seemed immature, and I didn’t see a lot of growth from her.

The cover, description, and premise led me to believe this was going to be funny and romantic. This was an underdeveloped, contrived slow burn with a disappointing pay off. Part of the problem for me was that we saw very few of the edits that helped bring them together. They were told but not shown. I couldn’t see why she was falling for her mystery editor.

Will’s initial edits for Savannah’s romance—slow start, unoriginal—meet all fit this book.

2.5 stars. I received an arc from NetGalley

This was cute, but I wish it had been marketed as women's fiction rather than romance because it wasn't really romantic... at all.

I liked the hidden reading nook in the arc room. It sounded like such a cute little space to escape.

I wasn't a fan of the romance at all. It was a super slow burn with zero chemistry. They only interacted in person a handful of times throughout the course of the book so it wasn't really believable that they'd be in love by the end. I also couldn't stand the MC's sister or her entire family really. Her ex boyfriend is engaged to her sister and everyone is just... cool with that? There was a lot of fat shaming from the sister, but Savannah could fit into her size 2 dress so I'm not even sure what that was about.

Savannah was a fun MC. She was quirky, but not annoying.

This book was sweet and fun. I always struggle with books where a person has been treated poorly by people in their life that they care about and they just tolerate it. I also struggle with books where the timeline does not match up or the intelligent characters don't seem to be using their brain to think through situations. Those instances are why I could not give this book that final star however they were minor in this otherwise wonderful book. The author did a great job of sucking you in to the story from the very beginning which I loved. I could not put the book down.

This was really, really sweet. A number of lines had me actually laughing out loud, and this was a fun look inside the publishing industry.

Meet me in the margins is a no-steam bookish romance. Savanna works as an editor at a literary publishing house that seriously looks down on commercial fiction, including romance and she is in the process of editing her romance manuscript.

I'll be honest, I nearly dnf'd at the 60pg mark because I was bored, but then some DRAMA is revealed: Savannahs on again off again ex is now engaged to marry her sister, and of course Savanah lives with them. It's the kind of situation you might read about on r/amitheasshole and I revel in this kind of drama.

Savannah's enlists the help of a mystery editor to help with her manuscript, and they communicate through the margins. There's literally no surprises in the identity of the mystery editor, it was painfully obvious and so it was just frustrating seeing savannah so oblivious. Some events also didn't make sense and weren't explained, i.e. When Lyla performs at the gig why is Will also conveniently there? I had some issues with Olivia's character who was fun to hate but also just a caricature with really rushed/fake growth and Sav's whole family is pretty cringe.

I'm aware that's a lot of criticism for a book that I genuinely enjoyed, because the most important part for me, the romance, was solid. The scenes between Will & Sav were really sweet, so fun to read and I was 100% invested the pair. The messages in the margins were really fun too, and I think there could've been more of them. I also really enjoyed the office/work setting for their romance, it really leant itself well to showing the tension between the pair. The ending was suitably sweet and of course happy, and this helped redeem this book for me.

Hands down one of my top 5 books of all time. I love everything about this book; the character, the plot, the vibe.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Did I love the idea of the book? Absolutely. Reading rom-coms about the publishing world is one of my guilty pleasures. However, I'm not so sure how to feel about the book.

I started this book w/o much to expect since it was the first one I read from the author and although I'm glad I got the chance to read it; it also fell flat at some points.

- Office romance
- Light read

I found it a lot more on the slow burn side than expected. Yes it was a fun read but also not so sure if it should exactly be into the 'romance' category? Can't quite decide.

I did enjoy Savannah and Will's interactions though , they were funny and adorable at times. I just wish we could have had some more backstory about Will.

I received a complimentary copy of this book though Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to get the arc.

📖Book Review📖
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Summary: Savannah Cade’s dreams are coming true. The Claire Donovan, editor-in-chief of the most successful romance imprint in the country, has requested to see the manuscript Savannah’s been secretly writing while working as editor herself—except at her publishing house, the philosophy is only highbrow works are worth printing and commercial fiction, particularly romance, should be reserved for the lowest level of Dante’s inferno. But when Savannah drops her manuscript during a staff meeting and nearly exposes herself to the whole company—including William Pennington, new publisher and son of the romance-despising CEO herself—she races to hide her manuscript in the secret turret room of the old Victorian office.

When she returns, she’s dismayed to discover that someone has not only been in her hidden nook but has written notes in the margins—quite critical ones. But when Claire’s own reaction turns out to be nearly identical to the scribbled remarks, and worse, Claire announces that Savannah has six weeks to resubmit before she retires, Savannah finds herself forced to seek the help of the shadowy editor after all.

As their notes back and forth start to fill up the pages, however, Savannah finds him not just becoming pivotal to her work but her life. There’s no doubt about it. She’s falling for her mystery editor. If she only knew who he was.
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts: Wow this was an absolute delight ! Thank you so much for the advanced copy! It came out in February and I finished it for a day it’s SUCH a delight! I could not get enough of their romance it was a better version of The Hating Game 🥰 really such a fun fun read to go over! I really enjoyed Savannah’s perspective she was such a lovely character. Beautifully written, beautiful romance, beautiful story! One of my favorites of the year. 😍
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Thank you @netgalley @thomasnelson and @our_friendly_farmhouse for this one to review!
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#meetmeinthemargins #bookreview #melissaferguson #bookrecommendation #romancereader #romancereadersofinstagram #romancebooks #romancebookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm

This was a very sweet book about finding love in, well, the margins of a book. The relationship between the main characters was quite compelling.

Oh wow, I loved this book. If it tells you anything, I started this book in the morning and didn't stop reading until I finished it in the wee hours of the next morning.

Savannah Cade is a lowly assistant acquisitions editor at Pennington Publishing but her greatest, most secret dream is to be a published author. Her publishing house only deals in the most lofty of tomes, and NEVER (horrors!) in romance novels that anyone could pick up at the grocery store. Unfortunately, romance is exactly what Savannah is writing, and dropping the entire manuscript during a staff meeting where her brand new boss gets hold of - and reads - one of the pages, could get her fired. What better place to hide her transgression than the hidden Book Nook room in the attic?

When she retrieves her manuscript at the end of the day, she is slightly horrified (yet intrigued) to find that someone has left notes all over the margins of the first chapter. Circumstances conspire to make her see that her Mystery Editor's critiques were spot on. To meet her deadline, she needs help to rework her story. Who better than her Mystery Editor? As she banters back and forth, she realizes two things: 1. Her editor is a man, and 2. She just might be falling for someone she's never met.

I'll say it again. I loved this story! There were so many funny situations that had me laughing and even a few spots that made me cry. To call Savannah's life madcap would be an understatement. She whirled from one crazy situation into another, without dropping the many balls she juggled (except for the step count her sister was insisting that she meet as a condition of her lodging.) I also loved Will Pennington. His sense of fun sneaks out whenever he's around Savannah, and makes him perfect as a love interest for her.

Readers who love rom-coms definitely need to pick this one up. It is sweet, clean, and funny at its best. I highly recommend!

What a super cute rom-com! This one was quirky and silly yet snarky filled with wit, dry humor, and all the self-deprecation (my faves!). It's a book about books set in a Nashville publishing house with editors, cover designers, authors, and a mystery man! There's also passing notes on post-its!

I could have had more with the romance side of things, BUT the chemistry, build up, and slow burn were perfect. I was unable to suppress my grin throughout most of it and found myself smiling ear to ear by the end!

READ THIS IF YOU LIKE:
— cute and quirky vibes
— books about books
— publishing houses x editors and authors
— mystery editor x secret hideaways
— Nashville settings
— words of the day
— passing notes at work
— mild workplace romance x office banter

I felt this was very self-aware writing. The main character in Savannah's novel is kind of based on herself, but the way she describes the character and the troubles she has, it also feels like the writer (Melissa Ferguson) talking about herself. I don't know if that's actually the case, but at certain times it felt like inception.

Other than that the story and characters were quite lovely. There were no unexpected surprises, the foreshadowing was quite clear. The dynamic between Savannah and Will came across naturally. There was no guessing as to who the mystery editor was. Maybe some more drama could have happened with Ms. Pennington or hateful coworker Giselle finding out about the manuscript. Create that sense of real consequences.

I would also have loved to know more about Will. About why he left New York, or maybe more meetups with him outside of work. Still, all in all, I enjoyed reading this story. It was light and fun.

*I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was a good read, but I'm not sure if there was quite enough romance for me. I'm noticing this trend a lot: publishers categorizing books as "romance" when they might fit better as "women's fiction." Oh well! Still an enjoyable read.

Meet Me in the Margins - Melissa Ferguson
- Arc gifted by Thomas Nelson and Netgalley. Opinions on this book are completely my own!

This was a delightful story. Not only was it a romance with a partner but it was also a romance about finding yourself. It is an inspiring story and journey with Savannah while she navigates a secret budding romance and pursuing her dreams as an aspiring author. I definitely recommend this if you like romance, rom-coms and are looking for a feel good, lighthearted story!

This book fell a bit flat for me - I enjoyed the publisher setting and definitely enjoyed the mysterious editor component, but the end of it just didn't quite tie things together as well as I'd hoped while reading. Overall though, it was a quick and enjoyable way to pass the time in a book!

This was a cute little book but had many inaccuracies that ruined multiple passages for me.
Savannah is an assistant acquisitions editor for a smaller publishing house, with the desire to be a romance author. She leaves her manuscript in a little secret hidey hole in the mansion-turned-office, and upon returning to retrieve it, finds someone has edit some of her work. She and the mysterious editor continue to work away at perfecting her story, all the while a growing attraction is developing for her new boss… and the editor.
I struggled with a few medical inaccuracies. A comparison to a neurologist being a good doctor but bad with surgery? neurologists don’t perform surgery so this comparison really missed the mark.
Savannah and her family donate blood, all the while passing a laptop back and forth like they are at home sitting on the couch, which would never happen in the real world, nor would eating and drinking while donating, or using a butterfly needle to donate? Also things that just don’t make sense and would never be allowed to happen from a medical standpoint.

I throughly enjoyed this book, even if I did spend sometime annoyed with Sav. The “inside” look into the publishing world was a fun twist to put in the book and one that I enjoyed in the book. Sav seemed like such a relatable character and that made it very easy for me to follow her process in most things. I loved the “secret editor” from early on in the book and thought that relationship was fun to watch develop. In the end it was a cute story with romance splashed in it.