3.5 rounded up to a 4.

Uuugh. Ugh. This was looking like a five star read for me once I hit the halfway point.

I adored the plot idea. It was unique and adorable. But I found myself wishing for more. More romance, more conversations between savannah and will, more notes between editor and writer.

It was hard to feel that connection between savannah and will because they didn’t talk much throughout the whole book and then suddenly there were feelings. Will I could understand a bit more because he would hint at flirting in their convos, but for savannah idk.

I loved the writing and writing style, however. So that’s a plus!!

* Thanks to NetGalley for this arc *

Savannah Cade is a bit of a blacksheep in her family and at her job. An editor at a hoity toity publisher that specializes in literary fiction, she has a big secret. She’s writing a romance novel, something that won’t go over well if her bosses or her family finds out.

Savannah has only 44 days to polish up her manuscript for consideration by her dream editor. And she gets help from an unlikely source: an unnamed editor who keeps slipping her the perfect notes in the margins of her manuscript.

As they work together to make her story shine, she develops a crush on her secret editor. Could he be the great romance that’s missing from her life? Or is their chemistry only good on paper?

I love a “You’ve Got Mail”/“Shop Around the Corner” reimagining, so I was super excited by the premise of this story. It took me a while to connect with Savannah and the story. But once she started opening up to her secret editor—and her new handsome publisher—the story really picked up, and I found myself cheering for her. All around, the chemistry.

I would have liked to see even more interaction between Savannah and her mystery editor. Those scenes sparkled, and I would have liked to see them share even more about their pasts and hopes for the future.

All in all, this was a cute, quick read that made me smile and was worth the hours spent reading it.

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

<i> First of all, thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the e-Arc. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own </i>

<i> Meet Me in the Margins </i> was very cute and a good read for book lovers. It's meta romance about Savannah, an editor who moonshadows as a romance writer trying to get her book published, and her mysterious editor who leaves her accurate notes on the margins.

The mysterious editor wasn't that mysterious and one of the reasons this book didn't fully work for me was that it required a massive suspension of disbelief to get through the selling point that Savannah truly didn't know who was leaving those helpful, on point, savvy editorial notes for her. Every reader will know it and not just because it's the premise of the book. Even if you went in without knowing that <spoiler> Will, the new VP, and handsome guy she keeps running into is her mysterious editor</spoiler>, you could guess. It all fits.

And yet, even if Savannah is a bit too slow to get to the only logical conclusion, the journey is a sweet one. There are plenty of funny and cute moments and the story has a HEA, which is really all one needs sometimes.

I do wish the characters had been a bit more fleshed out. Sometimes they read a little like cliches or interesting background stories were teased but never developed. I would have liked to see more of those stories played out. Sometimes we were in Savannah's head too much to the detriment of space for character growth.

I enjoyed the setting of the publishing house, but a pet peeve was seeing Savannah pitch her book directly to the editor, no agent in between, when we all know that's highly unlikely. But oh well. It can't all be perfect.

Overall, a cute romance that's not one bit spicy but it's quite sweet.

I really wanted to like this book, but it fell short in almost every category for me. The characters were outlandish and didn’t have distinguishable voices, the plot was sluggish and predictable, and the romance was lacking chemistry and growth. I really liked learning about the publishing industry, though, and enjoyed that aspect of the book. Overall, I think that it wasn’t the book for me, but enjoyed the setting and general premise of a workplace romance.

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

4.5/5 stars (rounded to 4)

I received an ARC of this book, and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Savannah Cade works for a small publishing company that only publishes prestigious books. However, she is secretly working on a romance novel that, if discovered, would likely get her fired. One day, she is forced to leave her manuscript behind in the secret room at work. When she returns, she finds that someone has left notes down the margins. At first she is offended, but she quickly realizes that she needs help editing it. As she and the mysterious editor write notes back and forth, Savannah begins to search for the anonymous person.

This book was so cute! I loved the concept and knew I had to read this! Savannah's notes with her editor often made me laugh, as did pretty much every scene Lyla was in. I really enjoyed the ending and thought it wrapped things up nicely!

I did have a few issues with this book but nothing major. The whole "mystery editor" thing went on for much longer than it needed to, and there were a few things I felt weren't really resolved/explained. I also didn't enjoy the subplot going on with Savannah's family.

Overall, this book was fun and wholesome! I think aspiring/current authors might relate to some of Savannah's struggles--she can't figure out TikTok, her only newsletter subscribers are her parents, and she mourns the losses of characters that had to be cut from her manuscript. I would also recommend this to those who enjoy a clean, contemporary romance that is mostly fluff.

There’s no doubt about it. Savannah Cade’s new boss now knows her secret. The question is, what will William Pennington do about it?

Savannah has the chance of a lifetime—to get her manuscript into the hands of the editor-in-chief for the most successful romance imprint in the industry. The problem? Savannah is an editor herself, but at a house where the publisher (aka William’s mom) believes a love of fiction—especially romantic fiction—is beneath contempt and grounds for firing. So after accidentally spilling her manuscript on the floor and giving her new boss a glimpse of its contents, Savannah stashes it in the secret room only she knows about.

Except the secret room isn’t a secret anymore. Someone’s been reading her manuscript and leaving edits in the margin. Who is the mysterious editor? Will he keep her secret safe? And will his edits turn out to be just what her manuscript—and her heart—need?

With witty dialog, a delightfully imperfect and self-doubting heroine, and glimpses into the inner workings of publishing life, Meet Me in the Margins is smile-out-loud, page-turningly wonderful!

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

#MeetMeInTheMargins by Melissa Ferguson is a fun, sweet and witty rom-com with sympathetic characters. I loved the main characters and their interactions which were very When Harry Meets Sally.
A great read for those looking for a light-hearted romance.

Thank you to #NetGallery and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a review

There may be a day when I get tired of the You've Got Mail format, but this is not that day,

Meet Me in the Margins follows Savannah, an editor at a failing publishing company who has a secret. At a company that bans any time of commercial fiction, she is writing a romance book. When her first draft is rejected by the editor of her dreams, she is desperate to save it in time. Lucky for her, she's found help through a mysterious editor who edits the copy he found. Soon, the two are constantly exchanging comment and notes, all the while growing closer.

I read a previous Melissa Ferguson book I wasn't a huge fan of so I was so excited that I loved this one. Savannah is a down on her luck twenty-something trying to reach her dreams. It's hard but she's trying, even if it seems like everyone, even her parents are against her.

I loved Savannah so much. I also enjoyed the love interest, Will, though I do wish we got to see him a little more. But Savannah is overall the shining star of this story as she grabs life by the horns to get what she wants. It's more a story of her journey than a traditional love story, and while I usually dislike that, Ferguson wrote the story in such a way that I was able to appreciate both aspects of this book.

I enjoyed the book. The premise was good but I thought the outcome was very predictable and the mystery of who was in the attic room went on a little too long.

<b>Romance revolving around edits could have used a lot of editing</b>

2 Stars

What you need to know about “Meet Me in the Margins”:
✔ Contemporary romance
✔ First Person Narration only from Savannah’s p.o.v.
✔ Workplace romance
✔ Savannah, editor and aspiring romance novelist
✔ Will Pennington, new CEO of Pennington Publishing
✔ Complete Standalone

Savannah Cade is an assistant acquisitions editor at publishing company, Pennington. She’s also writing a romance novel on the side.

Pennington Publishing is a stuffy, pretentious publishing house that sneers at “commercial fiction” all while suffering a 29% reduction in staff in the past year. This doesn’t stop the snooty and formidable Ms. Pennington from hiring her own son, Will. Will who was fired from his last job at a publishing house.

During an all-staff meeting Savannah is editing her romance novel when she trips and the pages go flying everywhere. She determines, after scooping it all up, that she needs to hide it fast before she is discovered. She deposits it in her SECRET ROOM and bolts. When she finally retrieves it, she finds it’s been annotated with edits.

Unfortunately Savannah is incensed by the mystery editor’s suggestions. All of which could have been applied to Meet Me In The Margins, ironically enough.

I usually like descriptive text but this book was a little much. Everything was a simile. It was too flowery. Sometimes simple and straight-forward is better.

Also, the action was often subject to numerous tangents which make the pacing sluggish. There’s just too much information stuffed into every sentence. I was looking forward to reading this based on the synopsis but the book was disappointing.

I received a review copy of this contemporary romance and this is my honest review.

This was a light and fun albeit predictable read. The bookish theme is nice and based on the publishing industry which is interesting. Definitely something easy to read when you don’t want to focus too much!

Thank you for netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review

I thought it was cute.

Ok let me explain. we've got what amounts to pen pals flirting while the one you want is right in front of your face troupe.

Savannah is an editor at Pennington Publishing who wants to write her own book. She accidentally leaves her rejected manuscript in a secret book room at work and later finds it with all kinds of edits in the margins. Which leads to a pen-pal type relationship with her mystery editor. At the same time she find herself flirting or having moments with Will, her bossy new boss.

I thought that there would be a little more....in person action? It was a little slow and I found myself really upset with her family for the way the treated her.

But the romance was cute, but I wanted more.

3 1/2 stars.

I really enjoyed the fresh spin on a romance story where we focused on the female lead and the romance took more of a back seat. I do feel like a little something was missing in dealing with the family and some of their choices but all in all I loved the setting and main story.

I’m a sucker for books with bookish protagonists. With this in mind, it’s no wonder, I requested Meet Me in the Margins with no knowledge of the synopsis or the author. I knew I loved the title, and I hoped the plot would be lovable as well. Meet Me in the Margins more than exceeded my expectations in that it was a lighthearted, fast-paced, cute romance set in the world of publishing and one of my favorite cities, Nashville. If you’ve ever fallen in love with the movie, You’ve Got Mail, then you’ll adore this one. I found myself glued to the pages, and laughing out loud throughout. I binged this book in one sitting and will wholeheartedly recommend it to my romance loving bookish friends. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ahhh, I absolutely loved everything about the setting of this book: Nashville, a secret room at a publishing house, what's not to love?

This book exceeded my expectations as a rom-com and was ACTUALLY romantic and funny!

I have no complaints about this book other than it's not as popular as it should be right now!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC of this book! This is out the day after Valentine's Day and would make the perfect Valentine's week read!

Thank you for this ARC. It was just okay for me- the attraction between the main characters needed just MORE (too tame). Her family drama was a little bizarre and could have been fleshed out more. All in all, very meh for me.

This delightful new rom-com from Melissa Ferguson is the perfect read for Valentine's Day--or just a cozy afternoon. Fast-paced and witty, readers will enjoy this insider look at the publishing world. The characters are as charming and fun as their Nashville setting.

This is a very book-to-movie novel. It would translate perfectly to the big screen, very much along the lines of You've Got Mail. It's cute, funny, entertaining and a lovely feel-good rom-com, with its ups and downs and a very solid cast of characters. Let me add, just for clarification, that there is zero smut here, it's the kind of romance that ends when the two characters finally kiss.

In any other case, I would rate this 3 stars. I enjoyed it but there's nothing too remarkable about it:
- the heroine is funny and relatable
- the love interest is swoon-worthy and you recognize him the moment he walks into the story
- and why does he initially like her? we don't know
- but they suddenly bump into each other all the time and it's real cute

However, this is a book about books and that, my friends, automatically adds an extra star to the rating. Our leading lady, Savannah Cade, not only works at a publishing house, but is also in the middle of writing her own novel. And the love interest? He works with her and is secretly editing her novel (without her ever catching him doing so). I just loved the whole vibe of the story.

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

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel for an honest review. It is set to be published in February 2022.

"Meet Me in the Margins" by Melissa Ferguson was a sweet and funny, slightly silly read.
It starts off very slow-paced, then it picks up.
The characters are caricatures: Savannah's younger sister, her ex-boyfriend, her parents, her colleagues... they're all ridiculously improbable, but I think that was intentional on the part of the author. It spoiled a bit of the fun for me, though, because how can I relate to the protagonist if her life is about as believable as a '90s sitcom? She literally doesn't have an interpersonal relationship in her life that is not toxic (until, of course, her "mystery editor" comes along).
On top of that, Sav does occasionally come across as willfully stupid (or selectively blind, if you prefer), when she misses all the clues to who her "mystery editor" really is: at one point, the man basically tells her to her face that he's the one editing her manuscript, by quoting parts of the edits to her word-by-word, for goodness' sake!
Another thing that left me unsatisfied is how all the characters in this novel seem to speak with the same voice. They all sound pretty much indistinguishable. The most blatant example of this is when Ferris, the ex-boyfriend who DOESN'T work in a publishing house and DIDN'T study classical literature, says something to the effect of "No, it wasn't Cupid who shot his arrow and made me fall for your sister, it was Dolos"... a line that might be credible if the man had a background in classical literature and/or Greek mythology, except he doesn't. Those words, uttered by an average British guy, and during a highly emotional dialogue no less, go well beyond how far my suspension of believability will stretch.
Also, Olivia's sudden, whiplash-generating transformation from queen b!tch to affectionate and supportive sister is not believable.
And let's not even mention the page, towards the end of the book, where the moral lesson is spelled out: I found it cringe-worthy.
Overall, this novel can be entertaining if you love slow-burn romantic comedies and don't bother too much with believability or character development. In other words, not my cup of tea.

Savannah is an editor at a publishing house devoted to publishing important books and she has a secret, she is writing a romance novel. When she leaves her novel in a hidden nook in the publishing house she returns to find someone is editing her book and leaving notes on the manuscript. Who is doing this? When this continues to happen and the notes are improving the book Savannah tries to figure out who her secret editor is.