Sweet, adorable rom-com for book lovers and anyone who has ever wished or hoped to work in the publishing business.
Savannah is the oldest daughter in a high achiever family, but feels like the unsuccessful black sheep.
She likes her publishing job and gets to work with her best friend, but isn’t passionate about the work. (TBH she doesn’t seem to do that much actual work for her job during the book but that may just be what the book focused on. )
Her real passion is the romance novel she’s writing, but it needs major edits. She starts to communicate with a mystery editor after she leaves the manuscript in the secret room in the old Victorian where the publisher is housed.
Will Pennington comes in to take over as the new boss - and he’s the owners son. At work, he’s cold and stern. By chance, Savannah gets to know him outside of work and he’s warmer, earnest, and even a little vulnerable.
I loved the character Savannah. She was the most realistic heroine I’ve read in a long time. Their relationship had a slow build, which was complicated by a few factors that I don’t want to spoil.
Overall, the book was a really engaging romance with a sweet, rewarding end. I definitely recommend it and hope you check it out when it releases in February!
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Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

5 Stars

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

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my own review.

This was a really all-round lovely read. The book is a rom-com that follows Savannah as she struggles through a quarter life crisis, her overbearing sister Olivia and her new boss Will who excites and intimidates her. While dealing with the stress of life/family/work Sav is trying to publish her own book and discovers the stressors of the industry from the other side. She has help throughout her process from a mystery editor who she tries to find throughout the story.

It's similar to The Hating Game in that they are set in a book related industry, if you liked that you will love this. This book was definitely more in-depth publishing wise and I loved learning the ins and outs. I will also note that this book delved deeper into Savannah's backstory where I felt The Hating Game did not. My highlight was the relationship explored between Sav and Olivia (even if it was stressful).

It starts out quite slow as the scene is set but quickly picks up after the middle. Some say the plot was predictable but I was certainly surprised with a couple of the turns. I found the writing super easy to follow and fall into the world - the descriptions were sprinkled throughout but thorough enough to really set a scene.

People mention the lack of backstory for Will and I definitely feel that he could have been more fleshed out - in saying that though there is enough character interactions and backstory that I certainly feel a series could follow with different characters/stories.

Highly recommend for people fans of secret admirers, scary bosses who are sometimes lovely, women coming into their own and family's being so flipping rude it's stressful.

Age wise this is probably fine for older teen readers, it's quite clean plot-wise.

This was so my kind of book, I love a bookish romance. I didn't rate this higher, because it was a slow burn, the MC's didn't spend much time together and I would have liked to get more of the margins interactions. There wasn't the typical conflict by the third act, which I find refreshing, but if they would have gotten together sooner, maybe it could have been nice to see the relationship bloom and we could have gotten more on the new company adjustments.

It was obiously predictable, it would have been nicer if the author made us doubt who the mysterious editos was.

I love any book set in the world of publishing, and Meet Me in the Margins is no exception!

I have to note that the beginning of this book was a little too similar to The Hating Game for me, with the male lead coming into the publishing house with the intention of cutting jobs to save the company money, and the female lead's ex now being engaged to her sister. It almost read like fan fiction.

BUT once the book moved beyond the initial setting-of-the-stage (which only took a chapter or two), I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Savannah and Will's relationship felt realistic, and I enjoyed their IRL interactions just as much as the ones occurring in the margins of Savannah's manuscript.

This is the first book I've read by Melissa Ferguson, but I will now be diving into her backlist!

Books about books?! This is like the perfect book and i cannot stress enough.
Savannah is writing a book so what happens when she forgets her book one day and then finds her book with notes in the margin.
I enjoyed everything about the book. The chemistry, the characters, it was an amazing book.
I'd definitely recommend it, it is the sweet and adorable romance that i', gonna think about quite often.

I absolutely loved this book. I’m a sucker for books about books and I loved the trek this story took. Sav and Will were complex together and apart and I really enjoyed their journey in this novel.

If you wonder what it looks like from the perspective of a book editor, this is a great place to start.

Savannah is a low-level editor at a small publishing house. They only accept the purest of books with the classiest categories. No fiction in that house! But there's one secret... Savannah is in the middle of writing her own romance book. Another fun twist in the book- there is a secret room upstairs where Savannah one day leaves her book. When she returns there are notes in the margins. Thus begins a secret relationship between her and this mystery editor. She has a few ideas of who it could be in that small company, but we are kept guessing until the end.

The characters were so unique and perfectly written. I loved some, rolled my eyes at some and despised others. I really and truly enjoyed this simple book and pretty sure I read it in a day. I've already searched out another of her books, I enjoyed it that much! Plus, it's clean, which is always a bonus for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Meet Me in the Margins is a super sweet romantic comedy that takes us into the world of publishing and novel writing.

Savannah is a likable lead, and her struggles to juggle an overachieving family and following her passion for writing are relatable. I enjoyed the details about publishing and authors, and the trials of trying to stay afloat in this economy. William was such a great match for her, and I loved the pinch of grumpy sunshine that came through.

My absolute favorite part was when William and Savannah had their misunderstanding scene, and William was still 100% respectful and supportive of Savannah. This man had NO ulterior motive, and his ability to stay not just decent, but amazing in the face of their misunderstanding was something I really needed to read.

Overall this novel was a quick read that fans of the genre will enjoy!

"Nothing wild. Nothing out of the ordinary from any publishing house. Just ... an ARC room"
"I can't help it. There's something about being in a room covered in free books that always makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop"
"To pen novels - to play any role in bringing fiction to life, for that matter - is to wield a superpower"
"More like read-him-if-you-want-to-go-on-a-stay-up-till-dawn-to-ignore-all-family-and-friends-call-in-sick-for-two-days-fictional-adventure-of-your-life"
This book is my favourite romantic story!!
I'm so lucky I got the chance to read an ARC of it and I literally cannot wait for this to be published, so that I can buy it for me and every single one of my bookish friends!
This story deserves to be heard.
For every book reader, book-blogger, bookstagrammer, booktoker, book tuber, all around the world, this story is for you! And for every person, sitting in their bed, thinking that the story they're imagining in their heads will never be really appreciated ... put pen to paper, because Savannah here will show you that, thanks to a beautiful and magical "ARC room" and a mysterious editor, your dream maybe will come true!!
I deeply loved each and every one of these characters! They are so real and so insicure and normal, you cannot help but relate to them and live it all with them.
It is described to be "You've Got Mail" meeting "The Proposal" but I somehow sensed some "The Wedding Date" vibe too in it ...
The romance in it was great and the characters involved very much so!
But the good thing about it is that, despite this book being a romance, the romantic theme in it wasn't overwhelming but it was enough to keep you enthralled, trying to catch the next clue "in between the margins" !!
Every story deserves to be heard and read and , if there's another important thing this book teaches, it's that :
every genre is relevant and there should be no discrimination at all because it's all about what makes you feel like your true self !!
A massive thank you to the author for writing it and I really hope everyone will pick this book up because, if you're a reader, then you need to experience this!
"Everything as far as the eye can see is the librarian's dream. The booklover's dream"
"After all, not everyone at Pennington shares the same appreciation of the more ... adventurous fiction as you and me"
"Then I trust you can keep that little secret between you and me"
"... I am falling for my mystery man"

Honestly, this one wasn’t for me. It sounded super cute, and I know most people agree with that. This is a case of the book definitely not being right for me. I could not stand Olivia and Ferris. And I almost felt like they had more depth to them than Savannah. I just wish she had a lot more faith in herself and her abilities.

This is my second Melissa Ferguson book and I really enjoyed it so much more than the previous. Lighthearted story about the black sheep of an over achieving family (though she is actually pretty dynamic without realizing it) who finds not only her special niche, but falls in love in the process.

Cute! I was constantly worried something horribly contrived was going to throw a wrench into the budding relationship, but was very pleasantly surprised that didn’t occur; we’re there hiccups? Yes, but not in a Uber drama kind of way and that’s why I so enjoyed this book.

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

I loved this book it was such a fun and sweet read!
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

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC of Meet Me in the Margins. This is my personal review.
I wanted a romance book as promised when I started reading this book but for me the romance was missing.
The characters never clicked for me, and I really didn’t like any of them. The idea behind the story was good but for me it could have been written better, so I liked someone.
This is a good book for someone who wants to few hours of escape and not have to think about what they are reading.

This Story is about two characters Savannah and Will.
Savannah is an assistant editor at a small publishing house in Nashville with decreasing profitability.
Will Pennington the boss's son shows up to save the dying family business.

Apart from being a editor, Savannah dreams of being an author, specifically romance author, so she has found a secret hideout room in the company's ARC room. One day she leaves her manuscript there to hide it from everyone, she returns the next day to find comments in the margins of her manuscript.

She and her secret editor then work through the manuscript to help her fulfilling her dream of being an author

This was a sweet and clean romance... maybe a bit too clean. I was going for a little more romance but overall it was a cute story, unique story line.
Savannah Cade works at a small publishing house in Nashville dedicated to printing only worthy publications like nonfiction and literary fiction... no popular commercial fiction and especially not romance! She finally has a chance of getting her own romance book published and is almost caught with the manuscript by her new boss William Pennington, son of the anti-romance owner. She hides the manuscript in her secret room, but when she returns for it, there are editing notes in the margin. At first she's angry at the critical tone of the notes, but soon she starts to rely on them. As time goes on, she starts to have feelings for her mystery editor... if only she could figure out who it is!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

Review copy courtesy of Thomas Nelson via NetGalley

I’d call this more women’s fiction than romcom: Savannah (white) is secretly writing a romance novel while working at a prestigious and rigid publisher that would never publish her, and accidentally finds a mysterious editor when she leaves her manuscript in a secret room at her office. The plot is needlessly complicated, especially about the secret room shenigans, but readers who enjoy reading about publishing will enjoy this.

A Book about books??? OBVIOUSLY YES! Set in a publishing company in Nashville, TN (hello neighboring state!) is an editor writing a book on the side, can i be more obvious at how this is literally all of my goals in life?? This is such a cute little romance budding and it’s secretive and anonymous because she accidentally leaves her manuscript one day in a separate room in the Publishing company only to return to find someone’s been reading and leaving notes, her own little editor to her book. I really enjoyed this one, I was excited from the get-go and it thankfully didn’t let me down.

It all starts with a great title ... Meet Me in the Margins is the perfect start to a story of a young book editor who dreams of writing a romance. Savannah Cade is deliciously flawed, yet completely perfect . . . it is easy to picture the world from her perspective. Immediately likable and relatable, Savannah is multitasking while at a meeting, pacing to get her step count up and working tirelessly on her manuscript. But she trips in her heels she only put on for such an important meeting, only to drop all the papers in her grasp right in front of the new boss. And there's your meet-cute - he picks up her pages only to see her draft of a love story - not the kind of book published by their company.

Hiding the manuscript in a hidden spot, Savannah rushes off to do her job. But then the notes start to appear on her pages. Notes in the margin helping her improve, coaxing her to reach her full potential. A mystery editor who believes Savannah is wonderful and witty, worthy of love, while her life is brimming with criticism from her perfect family.

This is a story so many people need to hear - that they are enough and worthy of love. WIth dedication, you can achieve your goals and someone will love you who for who you are. Uplifting, upbeat, and undeniably swoon-worthy.

Savannah Cade is an editor at an exclusive publishing house, but she dreams of being a romance author--unfortunately, her CEO abhores romance. When she does get the chance to write her romance with another house, however, her work falls flat. When she stashes her manuscript in a secret room at work, only to return and find it filled with quite pointed comments--that align with those of the other publishing house--she gets her second chance. They give her six weeks to turn her manuscript around, and she uses it to get help from her mystery editor. But as they correspond, she starts to turn her life around in more ways than one.
This book was extremely well-written. I was immediately immersed in the story, so much so that I felt stressed out by the pace, Savannah's poor boundaries, and the bad things happening to her. She is insecure and wallowing in bad relationships, especially with her family. Her sister (who Savannah lives with) is a controlling, micromanaging perfectionist, is even engaged to Savannah's ex-boyfriend. I kept dreading the next thing to make her life even worse. But I appreciated watching how her life changed and improved along with her manuscript.