This book started incredibly captivating and had me reading until the early hours of the morning, but I do feel all the build up fell flat at the finale. The big reveal of who Will was lacked the pizazz and somewhat dramatic flair I love in a romance. The secret Narnia style room in the ARC cupboard and the opening up of Savannah and the Mystery Editor as they traded notes on her manuscript back and forth was so charming. It was an original idea which played on a lot of the anonymous online friend who turns out to be someone in your real life tropes, but gave this a physical manifestation that allows for a lot more charm and more anticipation!

It would have been great to see more of Will and Sav’s relationship in person and explore their feelings a bit more as this was slightly glossed over at the end - can we talk about the times he covered for her? What was he thinking when he got her note after the banquet? Since we don’t get Will’s POV, we’re missing a bit of the swoon and romance and overall, there wasn’t so much flirting.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought it was a great, easy read with enough intrigue to keep me reading even if I have high expectations where flirtation is concerned! I've added Melissa Ferguson's other books to my wish list for more cosy romance.

3.5 stars

I got off to a slow start with this book but enjoyed the characters once I got going.

Savannah works in publishing and is secretly writing her own romance, a genre not loved by her boss. But the workplace changes when the boss's son comes to share management duties. Meanwhile, Savannah's extremely Type A family is putting pressure on her 24/7. She lives with her sister, who is now engaged to Savannah's ex-boyfriend.

Savannah is likeable enough except it doesn't take long to wonder why in the world she doesn't tell her family where to get off. The romance part is a little awkward at times. Savannah actually has a spine when it comes to work stuff and the new boss appreciates her insights. I wish she had not needed male advice to realize how terrible her family was. But at least she got there eventually and he was supportive.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this story. The author did a great job drawing you in and keeping you guessing. I thought the idea of the setting being in a publishing house was fantastic. I related and loved Savannah and her sister Olivia. There were moments that were laugh-out-loud funny. I loved Will and his presence in the book. It was just fun. My only complaint was that the text was a bit wordy sometimes with descriptions being huge paragraphs. But beyond that is was a fun read.

I enjoyed this book - it's got a nice story arc, and although predictable from the beginning I found myself desperate to finish it to see if I was right! It's written nicely, the characters are believable and easy to like. It's a story to escape into where nothing too awful happens, a nice read! I was a little lost in it's American setting but it doesn't detract from the story.

Delightful read. Savannah works for a nonfiction book publisher but has a dream of being a romance writer. Through a mystery editor she does edits on her book and learns what she really wants. This is a fun, quick read that will have you cheering on the characters and laughing out loud in many spots.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley and Melissa Ferguson for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

Meet Me in the Margins is the story of Savannah and William . Savannah is the editor of a publishing company called Pennington Press, while she is secretly writing a romance novel under the pseudonym Holly Kerr. Will is the new publisher and son of the CEO when left his job in New York to help out his mother. She left her manuscript in the ARC room only find notes written on the margins when she return . She asked the mystery editor to help her edit the manuscript that she have to submit within 45 days . Is it Sam ,her another coworker or Will himself??

I ABSOLUTELY loved the book. At one point , I thought it would be really stupid if she didn't suspect him, but she did get him the benefit of doubt , that was really important because otherwise it would have been really cringe. The writing was good. Will was intimidating at first but as time progressed he was really nice, funny and helpful. The steam level was really low. There was like two kisses both at the end.

Savannah lives with her sister and her sister's fiancé who was Sav's ex boyfriend . The thing astonished me the most is the fact that her sister hadn't cried in 6 years . I can't go 6 days without crying let alone 6 years. Her family is a bit crazy , their family get together is in a bloodbank???

I WOULD ABSOUTELY RECOMMEND IT . OUT 15 FEBRUARY

Savannah works for Pennington Publishing, whose CEO abhors “commercial fiction” - so when she brings her own manuscript to make edits before sending it off and is almost found out, she stashes it in a secret spot in the office. Only to find that when she returns, a mystery editor has read and left critique on her work. Really helpful critique. So with less than two months to polish, Savannah finds herself falling for the man leaving notes in the margins.

This is such a cute premise, and I think it’s executed pretty well! There’s a secret book hideaway(goals) that while feeling unrealistic, also fits the setting of an old Victorian home turned publishing house. I loved the notes back and forth in the manuscript, and enjoyed that Savannah was writing about someone who is average finding love - they don’t need to be super successful, talented or beautiful to have a great love story.

Savannah’s family was wild. I know they were there to set up that she is “average” in a family of highly successful people, but there is nothing more cringe to me than the ex boyfriend of 8 years falling in love with and proposing to her sister three months in?? What a dink.

There were times I wanted to shake Savannah because it seemed so obvious who her mystery editor was, but alas - I still had a great time. This had similar vibes to Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson, but with lighter subject matter. I think it’s a fun read, especially for book lovers. I love seeing behind even the fictional curtain of publishing!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.
Eeeeee boy was this a cutesy fluffy book! Let me be clear it is definitely a slow burn with minor interaction, and a big “end scene” which usually isn’t my thing. But boy did I love this book. It was cutesy, funny and sweet. The characters were loveable and realistic and made me laugh out loud many times. A really nice surprising book that I’ll be reccomending!

Meet Me In the Margins is about Savannah who is an editor at a publishing house that prides itself in its highbrow titles. But Savannah likes to write romances! One day she leaves her manuscript behind a room she thought only she knew about, but comes back to a bunch of notes. She soon comes to rely on those notes to improve her writing.

Steam level: 1/3 (only kissing)

I really enjoyed reading the book, it was a fast and easy read. I thought it was very sweet. I liked the main couple, thought that their romance was cute.

Very much a You've Got Mail style story. It's quite predictable, but I personally don't think that's a bad thing. Similar to the movie, this is a very slow burn, and the focus is more on the book world than the actual romance. The two characters don't interact that much throughout.

A bookish setting definitely helped me enjoy the book even more as a book lover. It was fun to see behind the scenes a bit about what happens at a publishing house. Especially the ARC room! I enjoyed reading Savannah's journey to getting her book published as well as the authors who are signed to their publishing house.

While I wish we found out more about him, I did like the stoic love interest, Will. From the get go he seems fascinated with her. It was fun to see him be interested while Savannah still seemed pretty clueless. I also really liked the designer at her work, and her best friend Layla. She actually seemed like the most interesting character in the book. I loved how proud she was of her work, and how she was always ready to defend it.

I did miss some depth from the book. Nothing major, but if we could have seen more chemistry, or interactions between the two love interests, or if the best friend was more involved in the mystery of who was leaving notes on the manuscript, or even some more information on the love interest. Just something a little bit more.

Also, the depths of Savannah's family's disregard for her emotions and her general wellbeing is astonishing for a family who's supposedly always there for each other, and for Savannah who's always ready to do anything for her family. I just really did not like them at all.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of my honest opinions.

This was adorable. All the rom com feels that I love in a book, in a bookish setting. Perfection!

Savannah is an editor at the stuffy Pennington Press where things aren't going well. They're committed to publishing only nonfiction, none of those mass marketable books like thrillers, rom com and fiction. Savannah has a secret though, when she isn't editing nonfiction manuscripts for other authors, she is writing her own romance novel. She has just 45 days to complete her manuscript and get it to Claire Davidson at another publishing company before Claire retires.

Savannah has a mystery coworker who is helping her edit the book and his notes in the margin, while brusque at first, might just be enough to kindle a real life romance.

This book was just absolutely charming and delightful.

eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2/5 ⭐️

I do not think people fully comprehend how upset I am at how underwhelming I found this book. The cover and the premise sounded AMAZING, and I am such a sucker for romances set within the publishing industry. Unfortunately, I found this book missed the mark on so many points.

Before detailing the bad, I do want to give this book some praise for how Savannah's publishing journey was depicted; it was refreshing seeing a story book with a protagonist that is an author who does not have an easy time getting their book published, rather than the usual oh-wow-you-are-so-talented-you-have-an-immediate-bestseller type of thing that happens so often. That being said, this IS largely what the book was about. I realised how far away this book swayed from being a romance when I got to the 50% mark and Savannah had only interacted with the main hero twice (three times if you count an awkward encounter where he picks up a piece of paper for her, no words exchanged). The focus is so far away from romance that I wouldn't even call it that. Some might say that its meant to be a slowburn romance, but I largely disagree: apart for there being no payoff for the slowness in the book, there wasn't even an attempt to build tension between the characters (which is an important part of any slowburn romance). I mean, it wasn't even until the 75% mark that the main couple even had a proper conversation with each other. I personally feel if this book had been marketed as women's fiction rather than romance I would be less critical. It is fine to have a romance expand past the relationship between the main characters, but romance should still remain a main focus of the book. Considering the final 'payoff' of the story was a fairly underwhelming kiss at the end of the book (happens at about 97%), it left me a little seething that I spent time reading the last 300 pages.

This brings me to my next point of critique: the characters were completely unmemorable and shallow. If you asked me Will's personality, I would not be able to answer you. Perhaps due to the little focus placed on the romance in the book, but the main love interest was incredible bland and without a concrete personality. He was just a vessel for Savannah to get her happily ever after, but the book never made me care about him as a person. Honestly, there was a point in the book where I kind of wished she would end up with Ferris (side note: don't even get me started on that storyline) because, although he was a complete douche, at least he had a personality and was a fleshed out character. I think this was largely a result of the book promoting the narrative that 'passionate love' isn't inherently the 'best' love: this is something that the book touches on more than once and, while the sentiment is sweet, it still does not justify the lack of personality/depth in the characters. The same can be applied to any of the other characters in the book, as well. They are all reduced to stereotypes and that is pretty much it, no one has any layers.

A final point which I wanted to touch was the writing style and story progression was really hard to follow. I never read a book by Melissa Ferguson before so I am not sure if this was typical for her, but there were times where I had to read the same paragraph more than three times because I had no idea what was going on. Even worse was when Savannah would suddenly be in a different place than she was on the previous page with no indication as to how she got there or what she was doing. It was very confusing and it definitely took away from me enjoying this story.

Overall, similar to Savannah's manuscript, this book definitely showed promise and had a great hook but, unfortunately, the way it was executed just did not make the cut. I am sure there might be some people out there that would vibe with this story so much, I just was not one of them.

Thanks goes out to #netgalley and #thomasnelson for access to this ARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This book will be coming out on February 15.

I absolutely love when books use the world of books to set their story. This book, Meet Me In the Margins by Melissa Ferguson, completely does that as it tells us the story of Savannah, an acquisitions editor, and her new boss, Will. Savannah may be an editor but she secretly yearns to be an author, something her extremely type A family (who I didn't really care for) wouldn't support. She hides her manuscript for her romance novel in the ARC room, where she believes it will be safe, only to find the next time she goes to get it that someone has been reading it and leaving editorial remarks in the margins.
As Savannah begins to fall for her mystery editor on paper, she begins to fall for her boss in real-time. What are the chances they are the same man? She couldn't be that lucky.. or could she?

With Thomas Nelson being one of the foremost publishers of Christian content, it is clear before you even begin that this is going to be a clean read. To be honest, the first of only two kisses in the entire book doesn't even come until the last chapter. So if you're looking for something more wild, this might not be for you. But if you're looking for a cute romance that is clean and centered around the world of books, you'll love it!

I give this book a 3.75/5, quite good and worth the read but not enough so that I'm likely to remember it or revisit it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars rounded up. I was really excited about this book as the concept seemed so fun and unique. It's a quick read, but it's also really slow burn that ends in a fizzle.

We meet Savannah who is low ranking editor at a small firm in Nashville. She's a devoted sister whose family has this unhealthy "do it for the family" attitude that borders on disturbing. All of the focus is on her perfect sister (with an undiagnosed eating and exercise disorder) and whatever makes her happy, while "Savvy" is the charity case. She's taken for granted by her now ex-boyfriend, her self centered sister, her weird parents and her employers. What no one knows about is her dream to become a writer and that she has written a manuscript.

Things start to turn around when the son of her publishing company comes to try and save the business. I really wish more time was spent on developing William's character. He had a lot of potential and we just don't get to learn enough about him.

While Savannah is working on her manuscript, she accidentally leaves it in a secret room at the office. She comes back to find that someone has started editing it for her and they have some harsh, but constructive feedback. What ensues is a pen-pal sort of story as they write notes to each other. Once again, I feel like some of this could have started sooner and been more developed. It's supposed to lead to instant love affair feelings, but there wasn't enough meat to it.

Meanwhile, Savannah starts to develop feeling for her "pen-pal" and the new boss. Which brings me to my next issue. Savannah isn't sure who the secret editor is and has narrowed it down to 2 people in her office. The problem with this is that her office is super small and there aren't many options to choose from. The other, is that she starts to think that it is someone in the office who is NOT an editor or anywhere close to being an editor. Certain events explain why she might think this, but it just isn't plausible for someone like this to be able to edit her manuscript so well. Which is all to say that I think the office should have had more employees, especially editors, to make this scenario more convincing and to add to the mystery.

Now for the nitpicky--I really didn't like the names in this story. The ex-boyfriend is named "Ferris". That name is just too iconic to throw into a story without it being a distraction. Really, how many people named Ferris have you met? Also, within 2 pages, there is the mention of two different people named "Moira". Again, not common and it wasn't a significant part of the story. Why use the same random name twice? There were also a number of phrases and words used that were just so British. Don't get me wrong, LOVE British novels, but this takes place in Nashville and there are no Brits anywhere to be found in the story. The language was just off at times. And finally, Savannah's kissing issue was so far-fetched and just didn't work for me at all.

I feel that some significant editing could have really made this book shine and I had high hopes through the very end. I would have loved to have seen more character development with the male lead as well as a lot more chemistry between Savannah and her love interest. I'm not saying to skip this book, but I would keep it for a light beach read where you want something fun and different, but know that it's not going to knock your socks off. Just set your expectations and you're good to go.

This was a really sweet story.

It was fun to see how Savanah’s life progresses. Working on her manuscript with help from the mystery editor, and her relationships with her friends, family and boss.

I wasn’t quite sure about how she developed feelings for Will given the length of their interactions. But I also enjoyed seeing how he showed her a different side to him.

There were parts that I felt weren’t quite necessary - her ex-boyfriend, Ferris. And there were times when I felt the story moved a little slow.

But overall this was fun. A good book for a book lover.

Fantastic books for anyone who loves books, romance and novels. This book is a fantastic twist to meet cute about books. As a former editor, the notes in the margin are spot on and it's like the author used their own notes. The concept remains refreshingly original while keeping with the genre.
When it comes to characters, Sav is such a relatable, modern character. working full time and still unable to afford living is too real.
Melissa Ferguson does a fantastic job introducing Olivia. I've never read a character I've wanted to punch within the first few lines, while simultaneously hoping that the character development someone lovable happens.

Meet Me in the Margins leaves you invested in each and every character. laughing at their antics and grumbling about wishing you could punch a few. The novel reads a bit like When Harry Met Sally going through the days and lives of its characters. 100% recommend this book.

When she accidentally leaves her manuscript in a break room, an editor and aspiring-romance writer finds notes from a mysterious editor with whom she begins an anonymous relationship via margin notes.

This sweet (clean) romance builds a gradual love story, based on shared values, shared interests, and a deep emotional connection. If you are not into workplace romances, this book will not be for you, since the questionable morality of the boss dating an employee (and then going out of his way to ensure that her work gets priority) is never addressed. But if that is not one of your turn-offs, and you enjoy sweet, slow-burns, you will swoon for this leading man.

Meet Me in the Margins is pretty adorable. I'm not sure chaste romance is exactly my top choice, but I was willing to go with it for a story that hit so many highlights- editors and writers, a publishing house with the most hilarious nonfiction writers ever, and a slow burn build that was obvious from the beginning but satisfying in its twists and turns. Cute read, and a nice bit on how family doesn't just mean following the family motto but giving and receiving support. The sister was something else, but I could identify...

Four sweet and shmoopy stars for this coming-int0-her own romance.

Savannah is writing a romance book and she leaves a copy of the manuscript in a little hideout she found in the workplace. When she gets it back, she finds notes written on her manuscript.⁣ This starts a cute back and forth through the notes with Mystery Editor. Revision comments aside, they have short conversations through the notes too.⁣
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Mystery Editor is someone she’s been interacting with all along. It's such a cute concept how they got to know each other! It’s a slow-burn with no spice in the book (includes kissing only!).⁣

I wish we got to find out more about Will too aside from just a few details he wrote out in the post-its and the ones he occasionally told Savannah. After reading this book I feel like I still don’t know his character enough.⁣
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Overall: a very cute read! Would still recommend it.⁣
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ARC provided by the publisher through Netgalley.

This was so cute! I recommend this for Jand Austen fans: funny, good banter and chemistry between the leads, family drama, and no spice.

Savannah is working in a publishing agency as an editor, as well as writing her own romance book, One day she left the manuscript only to return and find out that someone not only has read her story but also have left the suggestions in the margin. It was the secret editor who was correcting her manuscript and leaving a little suggestion in the margin.

This was a cute and quirky book. After 50 pages, I started to get hooked on it and was super intrigued to find out the secret editor. Surely, this book was a slow burn and no spice book but I really liked the story build-up and the plot. I also liked how the story was set up in the publishing house which has an ARC room.

On a side note, I wish, I know a little bit more about Will.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The book will be out on 15th February 2022