Meet Me in the Margins is a very cute, very bookish, romance. It has Hallmark channel movie vibes and is an enjoyable read.

Meet Me in the Margins stars Savannah, an acquisitions editor at a literary fiction press, and William, the new boss, who happens to be the son of the owner of the publisher. Savannah is also an aspiring romance author, and one day in an attempt to hide her manuscript from prying and disapproving eyes, she puts it in a secret room in the attic, only to come back and discover editorial notes.

I was inclined to like this book purely based on the premise alone – one of my favorite tropes is notes or other text based communication between two romantic leads, and that part definitely delivered. In my opinion, the reader quickly realizes who the mystery editor is, though Ferguson does a good job of at least planting a bit of doubt. What I enjoyed about the way this plot is done is that there is no moment where Savannah is embarrassed by the secret. Sometimes I feel these types of plots, where one half of a leading couple is unknown, can be ripe for humiliating moments where (typically) the heroine makes some grand romantic gesture to the wrong person. Luckily Ferguson steers away from this kind of drama.

Another aspect I liked about the book is that the storytelling itself feels very cinematic. I could easily picture the setting and really felt myself getting lost in the world of the book, whether it was a honky tonk Nashville bar or the old Victorian house that is the office. The side characters are also fairly fleshed out, and stick out in my memory days after finishing the book.

Though the romance is clearly a main plotline, there is also the plotline of Savannah editing her book to pass along to an editor at a very well-known press. She also gains more self-confidence, and as a result, her arc is very satisfying. Will’s arc as a character is a little less fleshed out, but I believe that’s because the reader is in Savannah’s head, so we only know what she learns about him.

Overall, Meet Me in the Margins is a fun read that veers a bit toward contemporary fiction but ultimately has an enjoyable happily ever after. I definitely recommend it if you enjoy romances like The Flatshare or books about books.

This is an absolute joy of a book about books. The romance between editor/aspiring-writer Savannah, and her new boss William is delightful, witty and full of so much goodness! Will’s stepping-up/rescuing Savannah from sticky situations sent cupids arrow straight to her heart. The author brings us a FRESH perspective on the friends-to-lovers trope, and I love love love how the hidden nook and “mysterious editor” were SO MUCH FUN, and cleverly written into the storyline! Melissa Ferguson has made a new fan of me!👏🏻

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

This book is an adorable ode to writers and the publishing world, as well as a charming romance between an assistant acquisitions editor and the head of a publishing company.
This was a fun, cute, easy read although the whole thing with Ferris seemed even too implausible for fiction and the blood donation scene seemed completely unnecessary as well. Even though both of those left me scratching my head, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. Would definitely read more by this author.

I found this to be a most delightful, captivating story. The characters were so well developed, I could envision everyone of them.

Savannah is an Assistant Acquisitions Editor for Pennington Publishing, although her dream is to publish a book. She'd been working on a romance novel under a pen name for several years and finally submitted it to the Chief Editor of a large publishing company that she met at a conference the previous year. Clair Donovan agreed to read the manuscript, however advised Savannah it still need some work, and she was planning to retire soon so she gave her a very small window of time to return it. Pennington specializes in nonfiction and literary fiction so definitely would not consider a romance novel

This intriguing story has a very interesting cast of characters. Savannah lives with her younger sister, Olivia who is a exercise junkie and obsessed with cleanliness - most tasks are completed as she is peddling along on her Peloton. Olivia is engaged to Savannah's former boyfriend, Ferris . Lyla, Savannah's best friend and office-mate, dreams of becoming a country singer. There are several times when reading this engaging story, I had to stop reading while I laughed out loud!

Savannah has a special quiet and secluded place she likes to retreat to at the top of the Pennington offices. This is where she left her manuscript one day, on the floor and when she came back to retrieve it, there were editorial comments written in the margins of the first chapter. All good suggestions and just the help she needed to be able to meet the deadline to return the revision in time. She took pictures of the comments and left the manuscript. She actually didn't think anyone else even knew about the small little room behind a filing cabinet. Next time she came back there were more editorial comments and so it went day after day. She didn't have any idea who was editing the manuscript for her, but she was grateful for the help. A schedule was developed so her mystery editor and she wouldn't be in the room at the same time. Will she ever discover who this mysterious person is?

This irresistible, fascinating story was difficult to put down - couldn't turn the pages fast enough!

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

Melissa Ferguson has penned a feel good, clean romance about publishing and writing. This is a nice, sweet story without much to make it memorable. It's a pleasant read but not remarkable.

Books about books and publishing get me every time! I was sold when I saw it compared to You’ve Got Mail. This is the third book I have ready by Melissa Ferguson and it’s probably my favorite so far.

The love story is cute and charming. It wasn’t insta-love (thank goodness!) but the pace of the book to get to the finale didn’t take forever either. The timing was perfect. The drama wasn’t overdone. Both main characters were normal people that found and endearing way to fall in love.

The reference to You’ve Got Mail was spot on.

4.5 Stars – Rounding to 5 Stars for Goodreads

Thank you to @NetGalley @our_friendly_farmhouse and @thomasnelson for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A book for BOOK LOVERS, Meet Me in the Margins was delightful and cute! It gave me the giddy feels with this slow burn and sympathetic characters. A little You've Got Mail vibe but in a publishing house for a setting and I loved that! It was a fun story with easy to care about characters, but the development felt lacking and I didn't feel as connected as I'd like to with them. The pacing was also a little off for the storyline but an overall fast read! I definitely recommend this book (and the cover is adorable).

I love books about books. This is a romance that takes places between the editor and author of a manuscript, yet they don’t know who the other person is for sure. Sweet, clever and a feel-good book. I liked the characters of Savannah and Will.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5)
Steam Level: 🔥 (kissing only)

Savannah Cade works at Pennington Publishing- a small publishing house that only represents sophisticated authors. That means Savannah's secret dream of writing romance novels can't be discovered by her new boss, William Pennington. When Savannah hides her own manuscript in a secret ARC room, she later discoveries that a mystery editor has written notes in the margins ripping her story to shreds. Soon she finds herself sneaking off to the room daily to read the notes, while simultaneously falling for this mystery man. The only problem is that she also finds herself drawn to William as they interact more at work. As the deadline for finishing her manuscript draws near, Savannah must follow her heart and decide which man will get the lead role in her own real-life love story.

This book gave me MAJOR You've Got Mail vibes, and I loved it so much! I had such a crush on William since he was the perfect blend of strict professionalism and easy charm. He and Savannah had great chemistry, and I had butterflies in my stomach and a goofy grin on my face whenever they were together. The notes between Savannah and her mystery editor were so fun and sizzled with tension. I loved seeing her try to figure out who was behind the notes, and there was a fun little surprise at the end when the truth was revealed. This is definitely a book that will be living in my head for awhile!

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing me with an ARC of this book!

"Meet Me in the Margins" is "You've Got Mail" set in the modern publishing world but without the professional rivalry. The book was entertaining and well written but there were moments within the advanced copy that were confusing and unclear. I found scenes where I wasn't sure quite where the characters were, confusing transitions where the main character jumped from one location to another, and even repeated names for separate characters. I'm sure these are all things that would be corrected prior to publishing but it let to me rereading certain sections looking for clarity.

I loved this book. As a book lover, it's always fun to read a book that has to do with books...in this case the writing, editing, and publishing of a book. The fact that Savannah, who is secretly working on a romance novel, works at publishing company that thinks fiction is twaddle adds to the chaos and fun. I enjoyed the witty banter between the new boss, Will, and Savannah. She's not sure if he's trying to trick her into revealing too much or if he's sincerely interested at times.

Savannah's family is a bit over the top and she feels like she doesn't measure up yet she's the one who has things figured out as far as what's important. It's a journey for her to realize that and share that.

This is a light, humorous read. It was hard to put down. I'd highly recommend it. Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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

A delightful, smart and cutie story envolving the background of literary world. An CEO guy and an aspiring author girl who wishes her story be known to the readers were something I didn't even know I wanted to read. Altough the beggining didn't catch my attention like I was waiting, The rest of the book got my interest completely and I finish it with a big smile on my face. I loved it!

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun, uncomplicated, feel-good read. As a book person, I really liked the setting and the glimpse into the world of boutique publishing. And as a librarian, I cackled gleefully at the accuracy Ferguson showed in the book conference scenes.

Savannah and Will are both likeable characters, and their interactions both on the manuscript pages and IRL are a lot of fun.

There are a couple of things, though, that made this a 3.5 read, and not a solid 4. First, I feel like Will's story is incomplete. His situation is presented like he's not sure what to do with the inheritance (house, tools, stuff in general) he received from his father. This thread is strung, but not tied up. Additionally, I was a little disappointed by the lack of conflict. Yes, Savannah deals with her personal difficulties, but there's practically no conflict between her and Will. Not that I wanted explosions, but everything just seemed a bit too easy.

Overall, an enjoyable read, if not a perfect one.

A book about a book lover?? Yes please!!!
I loved how this story gives the reader glimpses of the publishing world and all it entails.

The romance was nice and the chemistry worked really well, I felt connected to the characters and even if the plot was a bit predictable it was such an enjoyable read.

I found myself wanting to go back to the story to see how it would all turn out!

Thank you to the author, netgalley and Thomas Nelson for an ARC of this one in exchange of
an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Oh I truly wanted to love this book. But.. the arc format made it impossible to read. There were random letters and words thrown throughout and the paragraphs never lined up. It was so bad I couldn’t focus on the story. I didn’t feel any connection with the characters or the story. This was my most anticipated read for February, and I’m bummed it was a miss. I will absolutely be picking up her next work though, she is definitely someone to have on your radar!

It was cute. Very hallmark romance and cutesy but still cute. I would have liked to see an ending for her sister and for her parents to acknowledge how shitty they were for telling her to just get over it though..

🔆I think all us book lovers remember that feeling when we saw beauty from Beauty and the Beast get her own massive library, and our heart just melts. Well when Melissa Ferguson introduces the ARC room, full of free ARCs, I felt that same heart melting feeling. Then the room just gets better (I won’t spoil it and tell you how) and I immediately knew I was going to love this book. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎, 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝! The author is clearly a book lover and reading her descriptions of books and antidotes about books just warmed my heart and made this book so related to all of us book lovers out there.
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🔆Savannah is a editor at a publishing house, AND a potential author. So when she finds her soon to be submitted (and possibly published) manuscript with surprise criticism and notes in the margins, she’s baffled.
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🔆She lives with her sister Olivia , who happens to be dating her ex-boyfriend Ferris (and her first love).
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🔆On day 1 of reading this book, I had to force myself to stop as it was well past my bedtime and I had been binge reading.
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🔆I love love love the characters in this book. Savannah thinks she is just a meh girl, and in turn she thinks her character in her book modeled after herself is just a meh girl, but… is she really? No! And obviously her mysterious editor sees that too.
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🔆I loved all the relationships playing throughout this story.
•Savannah and Lyla’s friendship
•the power dynamic between Will and his mother
•the weird relationship between Sav, Ferris, and Olivia
•the tentative relationship between Will and Savannah.
They all had me hooked!
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🔆I read this book in a day and a half. This was this first book in a long while that I absolutely couldn’t put down. This is a MUST READ for 2022.
Also, I will be buying the other books from Melissa Ferguson. I hope they are as good as this one.

Oh my stars…of all the Rom-Coms I’ve read by Melissa Ferguson, this one takes the cake! Savannah is a book editor living the quintessential single girl life in Nashville. Except what she really wants to do is write romance. And then there’s the CEO’s son Will…he’s intimidating at first, but Savannah sees below the surface, and it seems like maybe Will does too. But a secret nook becomes the center of Savannah’s world when she hides her manuscript and comes back to some pretty amazing edits. The downside is that it’s very unclear who her mysterious editor is, and it gets complicated when she starts to have feelings for her editor on the page, and for Will in person. I absolutely loved how Savannah friend and learns fro the whole process, and begins to believe in herself the way that she believes in others. This wasn’t a Christian romance, but it’s filled with loads of hope, tons of wisdom, and the kind of romance every woman dreams of. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and was under no obligation to write a review.

It was much more of a rom-com than a true romance novel. The plot was a bit predictable. The conflict was very mild. The family character development felt very rushed toward the end of the story. However, I enjoyed the writing. Rating: 3.5 stars.

Read if you like: stories about the publishing industry.
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This book follows Savannah as she navigates her job in the publishing industry while also trying to get her novel published. When a mystery editor gives her feedback on her manuscript, they work together by passing notes back and forth to get her manuscript ready.
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I guess this book would be considered a slow burn romance? There is hardly any romance until the very end. Sure the two characters spend time together and kinda get to know each other, but I wanted more of a development of their relationship before the end. Overall, a cute story and dive into the publishing industry.
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CW: sexism.