I got excited about this book just from reading the plot! Plus, who doesn’t love a book about books?! Meet Me In The Margins is such a fun and charming story. I really enjoy romances like this one with a bit of mystery. Savannah was also super relatable with her clumsy-ness and quirks, which is always something I enjoy in a book. This story gave me flirty-pen pal vibes with the idea of this mystery editor. It was also super fun to feel like I was behind the scenes at a publishing company. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SO SWEET! This book was incredibly feel good and I ate it up in a day. I loved both main characters. Wish there was more written about Lyla.

Meet me in the Margins is a story about Savannah Cade, a 29 year old living in her sister's home with her fiancé (who was also Sav's ex). She works as an acquisitions editor at a publishing house that believes that Romance and any other kind of fiction are commercial and do not publish them. Sav's actually secretly working on a romance manuscript herself, and is looking for a chance to get published by another publishing house. When this manuscript is found by somebody else in the secret space Sav had kept in in-with notes and multiple edits in the margins-she finds herself looking forward to it as the two begin passing notes to each other in the margins about the book and, soon, about themselves.

I actually really liked this book. I loved this trope where they fell in love with literature, writing and reading while falling in love with the person writing those notes! Office romance but fast-paced and squeaky clean.

Will and Sav's chemistry could have been explored more, but ultimately, I liked how he treated her and their banter. Their relationship build-up was short, but sweet and innocent. I like how they balanced each other out. I also loved the whole publishing aspect of it. ARC rooms, conversations about literature, the whole editing and writing process etc., was amazing! This was a really clean one, like a Hallmark movie, with cute/awkward moments, witty and warm. Lyla was a great comic relief.

It's not hard to figure out who the mysterious editor was and that makes Sav look a bit stupid in my opinion. She definitely shouldn't have forgiven her sister so easily or should have stood up for herself more.
Also, Will's history in New York could have been examined in more depth.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange of a honest review!

Unfortunately, this book did not click with me as much as I wanted it to. I was mostly drawn to it because of the adorable title, cute cover, and description. However, it did not deliver. For one, I did not like the writing style and the characters felt very underdeveloped for me. Additionally, I love a good slow burn. They're my favorite types of romances. However, by the end of this novel, I didn't feel like the slow burn had paid off. I wanted a grand gesture to be on full blast by the end of this novel and that did not happen. It honestly just felt like the story was dragging on for an unwanted reason.

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

The characters were cute and the plot was interesting, but I couldn't jive with the writer's style and the odd formatting on kindle was distracting.

After reading the plot for this book on Goodreads, I was beyond excited to read this. The idea of a women writing a novel & getting feedback from an anonymous source was intriguing, but it fell flat for me in the end.

Once again, I loved the premise of this book. The beginning of it was set up nice with Savannah writing her manuscript & needing feedback on it. The anonymous source angle was great, but I expected the relationship between the author & editor to just be MORE. It felt rushed with not a lot of chemistry as I expected. I also had issues because it felt like there was a side story which I felt took up more of the plot than it needed to.

These are just my opinions, as a lot of other readers did enjoy this book; it personally just wasn't for me!

This was an ADORABLE and unique romcom that sucked me right in. I read this so quickly because I was so eager to see what was going to happy next, and find out who the mystery person was that was giving her the edits for her manuscript. Some portions were predictable, but the story itself was unlike anything I have ever read! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this copy prior
to publication!

I cannot think of where to begin in describing the level of disappointment I feel towards this book. I requested access to reading an advanced copy because I am a sucker for stories that take place in the world of publishing. I adore all things books; all things that revolve around people putting in their utmost towards telling a story. I have also always acknowledged that the romance genre & all its facets is not one in which I find very much enjoyment. I really do want to love romance novels but find them to be all of the same things told from a different angle & I don’t enjoy reading about people who could very well have simply been honest & avoided complications which need not have transpired. Therefore, when I came across a story about Savannah Cade, a girl in her late twenties who works in a publishing house in Nashville, TN, I very much wanted to read about her seeking the right way to write her story.

It is not lost on me that this book would benefit from a substantial amount of editing, not unlike the edits which are recommended to Savannah in the fictional world. Grammatically speaking, the book overuses the emphasized hyphenated word sequences one might find to highlight sarcasm or accentuation of a description. Ferguson includes these so often throughout the story I began to wonder if it was due to an inability to simply describe something as it was or, if we are meant to read Savannah as a quirky, complicated, & eccentric person due to her constant use of the wording. Either way, it didn’t allow the novel to flow in a way which was enjoyable. I began to dread having to read a long-winded-hyphenated word sequence whenever Savannah was introducing a circumstance, such as eye contact between characters. I appreciate that this could be seen as quaint once or twice, but the number of times it is employed took away from its purpose. As well, the writing could have benefited from a second look. There was something about the way that the story progressed which stalled. This is particularly unfortunate given my enjoyment in the beginning of the story.

Had we seen an editor do a thorough job of reviewing the approach to the story I might have accepted the absurd ending that is presented. However, I then ask myself what would an editor have done if not require the story to be changed? Savannah is a person who constantly speaks about the romance genre as though she has read every single book in existence only to make baseless claims about the characters found within these stories. She wants to write a slow-burning romance, not one in which her characters encounter instant love. She wants the ‘normal’ girl to be granted a chance at love; she wants to give the ‘less than desirable’ person a chance at seeing themselves represented in a story. But then, she does the complete opposite of that & it’s absolutely astounding.

I want to highlight that from this point forward I will be writing about subject matters that some people might find overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both the book & the remainder of my review if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on eating disorders, distorted body image, excessive exercising, familial neglect, & others.

To read about Savannah wanting to write a story for the underdog while Ferguson writes a character who is very much not an underdog, is bizarre. For example, we read about her having to ‘squeeze’ into a size-2 dress that her sister, Olivia, gives her to wear during a fund-raising event. Perhaps a hot take but, the fact that you can wear a size-2 piece of clothing & move around relatively freely (not ignoring the fact that many an article of clothing might appear constraining for a person of any size), is not representing the character as being mid- or plus-sized. Savannah is in fact the same person she is trying to escape. Was this meant to be presented ironically? Were we meant to read about her having a sister who borderlines on disordered eating & excessive exercising & look at Savannah as the regular girl because she eats donuts? Just because one character is severely troubled & should be given the support they require to not feel the need to obsessively perform all tasks at the same time at a level which exceeds what is normal, does not mean that the other character is a victim who should be pitied because woe is her for not being allowed to eat donuts around her sister who very clearly requires some form of familial support.

The entire character of Olivia is excruciatingly shallow. Firstly, how many times are we going to have characters who are the epitome of obnoxious in stories? This character is skinny, she is fitness oriented, she has a fiancé, she has her own apartment, she is pursuing a double-major, she pursues many an extracurricular activity, etc. She is the exact same character we see in all romance genre novels & it is horrifically boring. I feel a certain level of sadness for Olivia, as one person might feel towards another because she very clearly has no self-esteem. Ferris was with Savannah for eight (8) years & Olivia jumps at the chance to become engaged to this loser because they have a five (5) minute conversation while Savannah is out of the room? Where is this alleged family support that we read about so often? If the Cade family had actually given a lick about any of the members in their family, neither of the daughters would have turned-out as morosely troubled as they have. Olivia has so much going for her! She participates & organizes social fundraising events, she wants to do good things for her community & yet she accepts love from a person who is an absolute twit because,…because why? Because her family is shallow & neglectful & never gave her the time of day; they never ensured that she was properly loved. For the love of God, you have this poor girl crying to her sister about what she did wrong to lose such a terrible fiancé, only for her sister to harp-on about the things wrong with Olivia rather than state that Ferris is a giant loser of a man. That’s sad! It mattered 9 months ago for Savannah to tell Olivia that she didn’t appreciate her dating her ex-boyfriend, it’s worth zilch for her to stand over her sister & tell her of all the wrong she has done to lose out on that man now.

Then, we have Savannah who is so horrendously flat that I could not stand her by the end of the story. In her quest to write about the ‘normal’ girl, perhaps we could have also seen a ‘normal’ girl who is assertive without being aggressive; someone who can speak their mind & not need to hesitate before saying anything. I am so beyond done with reading about girls who have no back-bone; it’s inadequate, faulty & lacking. Not every girl in the world requires 20 seconds before speaking, not everyone needs to ponder before saying what they need. Can we not read about a strong-willed person who isn’t a loser & who does have a healthy level of self-confidence? Is this too much to ask for? I want to highlight that at its core, what Savannah seeks to achieve makes theoretical sense; I am asking the same to be done in real-life as she is in this fictional story. I wager to say that no, it’s not too much to ask that the character not say that they think the Phantom (of “The Phantom of the Opera”) was misunderstood because they would have actually read the book & they would have known that this character was a psychopath & not the romanticized version we see in other mediums. I will remain in waiting.

The concept of the premise wherein Will leaves editing notes for Savannah was so promising. Perhaps if you are someone who has not read many books, or someone who easily accepts things at face-value you might not have known that Will was the ‘mystery editor’. Knowing that he read a full page of the manuscript & was also a person who spent their formative years in the building, one might easily deduce that he was the editor in question. The fact that Savannah spends every waking hour never putting those two pieces together was exhausting. Therein lies my main issue with characters in romance novels; no one ever says what they mean. If Savannah spent all this time thinking that she was having encounters with Sam & that he was her editor, why not just say so? We did we spend weeks after the fact reading about her moping around thinking that they couldn’t be friends? You’re an adult person, please just speak plainly, this is a waste of time.

As well, why would Savannah assume that the mystery editor was a man? We are told that men are more up-front & short with their words, based solely on her own experiences in her work place. That’s a pretty blatant generalization to make of a stranger you do not know. As well, the simple inclusion of the editor stating their ‘ex-girlfriend’ wouldn’t have appreciated a specific pick-up-line, doesn’t lead me to assume that this was a male, it literally could have been anyone. I want to emphasize this because we are given little to no substance for any of the characters in this book. I couldn’t picture any of them as being real-life human beings that I might meet in my very real-life endeavours. Everyone felt ghostly in the way they wandered through the story; specially Will.

What would lead Will to confide totally & unfoundedly to Savannah? They never experienced a moment in which Will was shown that this was someone he could trust. The publishing house was in dire straights & he came from another city to help save the business. Yet, at the first chance he is given, he assumes that everything Savannah says is truth & wants to have her as his confidant. We don’t actually know this person at all & then have to read about how easily Savannah fell in love with him. They experience almost no interactions within the story & then by the end he is giving her a three-book deal…why? We just read an entire novel about how pitiful her original manuscript was because she has no basis for writing a romance novel; she has no idea how to create a plot, write characters of substance or even lay-out an original story. Yet, this man gives her a book deal? That’s ridiculous.

Overall, I was severely disappointed in this book. I was so excited to read it; I thought I had found the perfect story to encourage me to believe that the genre could be more than tropes, riddled with dumb lies & abstinence of the truth. Before closing off I want to highlight a couple lovely pieces of this book which made me laugh; firstly, the intense necking scene between Savannah & Will. Who in this boisterously bouncing ball world is making out with their boss in the middle of a packed conference room? In what realm of reality was this meant to be romantic or even attractive? Why would they tongue for three (3) minutes in front of all these people? Secondly, if Savannah hates physical intimacy as she claims, she should not be writing books for a genre which require the stories to include some hefty level of physical intimacy. She has to know that cooking eggs takes all of five (5) minutes & so people need to work their way up to the level of comfortable silence, companionship, etc, which she seeks to have. There needed to be a better build-up to her sloshing saliva with Will in the conference room from the scene of her saying that kissing was a royal waste of time. Where it stands, the two feel deranged.
There needs to be some contextual editing done in this book as well. Both the intern & Savannah’s mom share the name (Moira). There is a scene in which Savannah is running through the building unable to check her watch for the time yet, has her cell-phone’s flashlight leading her way which…could have told her the time. Anyways, I could go on.

I remain hopeful that I will find a romance which suits my fancy; one which is genuine & hosts a array of characters which are hopeful, sincere versions of real-life people.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson-Fiction & Melissa Ferguson for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

#MeetMeInTheMargins #NetGalley

Loved this romance. It was sweet and a fast read. I enjoyed entering the publishing world. Will the main guy is perfection. I would of enjoyed more of him and his pov. Savvy wss likeable if not a bit pitiful in what a pushover she was. I cringed for her roommate situation. She !just be mother teresa because I would never. Anyway zero smut warning but super cute book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Savannah Cade works for Pennington Publishing as a lowly editor. When the boss's son Will Pennington shows up in a bid to save the dying publishing house, everyone is on their best behaviour to ensure their job is saved. Whilst Savannah works on her romance manuscript in her secret hideout deep in the ARC room, she finds her manuscript covered with notes left by a mystery editor. What follows is a slowly developing love story tucked away in the margins of her manuscript.

This was such a sweet romance that was super charming. I loved the development in Savannah's character, I loved seeing her growth as she stand up for herself against her sister and her battles trying to be accomplished in her over accomplished family. I also loved Will's reliance on Savannah's advice, the way he valued her opinion made her feel heard and I found it so heartwarming.

Whilst the main characters were super loveable, I was hoping for more impactful interactions between the two. The love story between the characters interacting in the margins showed a gradual development, unfortunately I didn't feel like this translated to the characters in 'reality'. It would have been great to see a few more moments between the two as they were perfect for each other!

I would definitely recommend this book for those looking for a heartwarming read. Whilst the romance isn't that strong, it certainly is there!

This was a sweet, clean book. The story was enjoyable enough that I kept reading. Savannah's job and coworkers are interesting, and I love the secret hidden spot where they go back and forth with notes on the book. I felt bad for her situation living with her sister, and I didn't find the sister very likeable for most of the story. Savannah is like the odd person out in her family, and they aren't very nice to her. And the situation with her ex-boyfriend was uncomfortable to say the least. I don't want to explain too much and give spoilers, but I found it ironic that while Savannah is working on her book, both Claire and the "mystery editor" give her feedback about unnecessary characters that should be cut from the book, and I felt like having Savannah's ex in this book was something that could have been cut. To me, he didn't enhance the story much.
It felt pretty obvious to me who her mystery editor was, and it annoyed me a little that she went back and forth wishing and hoping for one person and then convincing herself that it was someone else totally unlikely.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

a very sweet, special, cozy book with a full southern setting, complex characters, quirky vibes, really enjoyed it!

5 Stars <3
Thank you, Thomas Nelson Fiction!
Publish date Feb 15th 2022.

Savannah Cade works for Pennington Publishing, a publishing house for the most prestigious and deemed worthy books (aka nothing fun), as a low-level editor. However, she has a couple of secrets—she's writing a romance novel and has come across a hidden-away nook in the publishing company's ARC room. After leaving her splayed paged manuscript behind one afternoon, she comes back to find that someone has too discovered this nook, organized her manuscript, and written edits in the margins. Who is this mystery person? Her new boss? An old date that didn't work out? Either the case, she asks this mystery editor for help in refining her pages in hopes that Baird books will take it on. The two start exchanging notes back and forth regarding the manuscript but ultimately turn the page into more personal topics to which Savannah can't help but start falling for her mystery editor.

I deeply enjoyed this book. I couldn't stop reading it for a second. When people say that you can't fall in love over words—don't believe them. Just as Savannah fell for her mystery editor, I did too.

This isn't a revolutionary story. It gives what you ask for. A cute, quirky, funny, all-consuming love story that you can't help but warm-up for. As it may be predictable, it's what I wanted from this. It's a simple pleasure read for those hopeless romantics such as myself. But it isn't an insta-love—there is build-up and tension, making the ending all the more magical.

If you are looking for a read to bubble up your heart, I'd say this is a perfect match.

Meet Me in the Margins may be one of my favourite books to date.

The plot, the character growth, and the slow burn workplace romance were all on point. Savannah and Will's stories were really well developed and I just could not put this book down.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I immediately hated the main character and found the story too similar to others that I have read. I found the writing derivative and it just didn't work for me. Thank you for the opportunity.

I loved this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Our protagonist is a normal everyday person like you and me, with normal, everyday aspirations. She likes her job as an editor but she wants to be a writer. She is seeking outside validation on her writing after years of pouring over her first manuscript. She's also juggling her demanding and, frankly, exhausting sister, who also happens to be engaged to her ex-boyfriend. And to top it off, there is a new boss in the office and their meet-cute is a little more nerve-racking and intense than cute and sweet.

When an unidentifiable editor starts leaving notes on Savannah's manuscript, she finds a second chance to fix up her life's work. But what happens when she starts to gain feelings for her new boss.........but also for her mystery editor? Can she find out who the mystery editor is? Does she even want to? What happens when she finds out her main character is suspiciously like her?

Besides the fact that I found Savannah's sister to be annoying, and I found her friend and co-worker Lyla to be awesome, the leads in this book are just generally likable people. Which to me is the most important thing in a book. I want to like learning about my protagonists. I want to be able to root for their success without questioning my own morality or sanity :). I think the story is light-hearted, funny, and a little inspiring too. 10/10 would recommend, especially for avid readers and book lovers. Who doesn't love a good trope or literary reference?

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
I wanted to read this book because I loved the concept behind it and also, I loved You've got mail and The proposal.
As much as I loved this book, I would say I was not satisfied with the amount of real time Savannah and Will spent together. I wanted them to have lots of scenes together.
This book left me wanting more.
The concept was lovely, it was fast-paced and a sweet romance.
It's a nice read.

Savannah Cade was raised in a home of overachievers; however, while her parents and sister are changing the world with their charities and work, Savannah dreams of one thing — becoming a published author. More specifically, a published romance author, a genre that is not only loathed at Pennington Publishing, where Savannah works, but forbidden! Nevertheless, determined to make her dream come true, Savannah bravely sneaks her manuscript into the secret book nook she found in the attic to edit during her breaks. There's a saying about secrets, though; they never stay hidden for long...

Returning to the nook after leaving her manuscript in the open, Savannah's heart pounds as she realizes that not only had someone found her hiding place but had the audacity to write in the margins of her manuscript! Clenching her graffitied novel, Savannah's first response is to leave a tasteful note telling this mystery person what they're good for, but, coming to her senses, she realizes that the notes were accurate. If Savannah is to meet her deadline, she will need their help, but will she be able to convince this secret editor to work with her? And, if she does, what will happen when it comes time to unveil their identity? Some things are better left uncovered...

I've been mulling over what to write about Meet Me in the Margins for weeks, and every time I sit down to write this review, I have to delete and rewrite it for the millionth time. So, in a last attempt to share my thoughts, let me start by saying that I found Meet Me in the Margins to be a witty and entertaining read. However, while I finished it quickly and had a few good laughs, I still can't find the words to rave about it. Don't get me wrong, the writing was good, and I love Melissa Ferguson; however, the characters didn't capture me like The Cul-de-Sac War. It was just too predictable and ultimately underwhelming. While romantic comedy enthusiasts will undoubtedly enjoy this novel, I can't help but feel like this is a plot that has been and done one too many times.

*Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with a pre-release copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own!*

they say to not judge a book by its cover, but sometimes you naturally do. and when you do, the hope is that the cover lives up to the words and stories inside. this was somewhat the case for meet me in the margins. this fun romance novel follows savannah, who works as an editor at a publishing house (while writing a story of her own). as she works on her book, she accidentally leaves it at work, only to return and find that someone has left comments for her in the margins. as the two go back in forth in the margins, they are brought closer and closer together.

like i said above, the cover of this book initially drew me in, along with its premise. i enjoy workplace romances, but this take on it was one i had not seen executed before. i was left feeling somewhat satisfied, but ultimately wanting more from this story. i enjoyed savannah and will’s commentary, but wish they had more actual moments together. their back and forth was fun to read about, yet there wasn’t as big of a payoff as i had hoped for. i also thought there were other storylines going on that took away from the essence of the story. there were moments in which the book felt rushed (for example, when savannah comes to terms with her feelings), but then sections that seemed to drag unnecessarily. while i wanted to enjoy this book more, it was just an average read for me. 3/5 stars!

thank you to netgalley and thomas nelson fiction for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. i received a complimentary copy of this book. opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a really cute, light, and easy read. I read it in one sitting!

Savannah was such a relatable main character. She wasn't perfect, and she felt real. I was honestly rooting for her throughout the whole book. The dynamics between her and her sister and her whole family seemed a bit strange to me. I would have loved more depth and exploration there.

I like Will, but I felt like we could have gotten to know more about him. I feel that we only got the start of an introduction to him. There's definitely more to his character than we got to see.

The pacing of the story was fantastic. The mix-up of identities was a great addition to the story.

Overall, this was a light, easy read, and I'm looking forward to reading more books from this author.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.