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

Although I'm swamped with books I want to read, I couldn't resist requesting this title on Netgalley. Sometimes books just call to you and this book really did.
What amazed me, is how spot-on the publishing vibe is. The way a bookworm feels about arcs, the way a romance fanatic feels about a feelgood novel: Melissa Ferguson just precisely hit the spot.
I read the book with a constant grin on my face, it was just so funny and lovely.
The interpersonal relationships, albeit friends, family, colleagues and exes, they were all very realistic and fit the story perfectly.

Witty and funny. Very enjoyable read with fun characters and an original plot. The book plays out as simply delightful.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Everything you need to know about this one is in the name: An editor with aspirations to be a writer herself, gets precious feedback in the margins of her manuscript from a mysterious editor. This back and forth was particularly delightful; it provides for a wonderful character arc for the mystery editor while at the same time keeps up an element of secrecy. Few might think that the story unfurls in an expected way, but honestly, therein lies the beauty of the way things finally fall into place.

This is the story of Savannah Cade (somewhat black sheep of the family) and her journey to the receiving end of rejection emails and realising just how horrible it is to be there. Yes, this is a romance and while this aspect of the story is perfectly amazing (thanks to a certain Mr. William Pennington), there is a lot more to the story as well, from family to friendships and just lessons of life in general.

“Life is not simply some game where the person with the most plaques wins. It’s not about a perfectly organised home or acquiring degrees you’ll never use or the number of inches around your waistline or, most especially, counting steps. Life is about movement, and pause. Work, and rest. It’s about relationship. About valuing others and truly taking the time to show them they are precious. About valuing yourself, too, and your uniquely given, whispered-into-your-DNA goals and dreams.”

Keep an eye out for this one when it comes out February 2022! Will I ever be calm and cool on being approved for an ARC? Hell to the no!! The crazy is all part of the charm, after all. I received a complimentary copy of this book from @netgalley and I cannot thank the publisher and the author enough for this approval. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.5 stars
Okay. In the middle of reading this I LOVED it. However, I have a hard time labeling this a romance. The idea is great and the moral of this story is fantastic! But, I found myself wanting more romance. There’s no spice (which is totally fine- there’s like 1 kiss in the whole book). In my opinion, there wasn’t enough interaction between our love interests towards the end to be able to call it a romance. Ferguson establishes this great relationship at the beginning and I just didn’t see or feel the follow through I wanted for a romance. That being said, I LOVE how Savannah picks herself up after everything that has happened in her life. It makes the book something important to me and worth the read.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishing and Netgalley for this digital ARC.

📖Another adorable tale by Ferguson. A rom-com with a hint of mystery makes this a sure page-turner especially with the touch of dramatic irony.

🤠I found the start a little slow and slightly unengaging (the characters and descriptions felt annoying at first) but because I'm a booklover myself and will read almost anything set in Nashville, I kept reading. Plus I've enjoyed Ferguson's work before so I had a feeling things would get better. Although I disliked the dynamic between Sav, Ferris, and Olivia, the dynamic was written well and therefore it was more a dislike of the premise rather than a dislike of Ferguson's work or writing.

🥰In the end, this ended up being rather cute. In fact I would go as far as to say out of all the bookish character type books I’ve read during the pandemic (and there have been many) this one is my favourite!

☕️I liked how Sav and Will had sort of an off-screen and on-screen romancing brewing (pun intended). The book also followed both a love at first encounter and enemies to lovers trope (enemy might be a strong word but there was definitely some angst) and I loved how Ferguson intertwined this. If I were an acquisitions editor, I definitely wouldn't reject this book.

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

Thanks for providing me this anticipated copy. What a delightful book! Melissa Ferguson is a go to author for me. When I saw the title of this book and read the description, I was so anxious to read it. It did not disappoint! This book was sweet and fun with moments of laugh-out-loud humor. It was entertaining and hard to put down. I liked the main characters, especially Savannah who was a bit quirky.

Meet me in the margins is the rom com for book lovers. Set in the world of a fictional publishing house, it’s pages are filled with book loving writers, editors, publishers and readers. These characters are my people and I did love them with the turn of every page.
While at first I found Savannahs a bit of passive people pleaser the further I got into the the more I came to understand her and appreciate her for who she was- unconfident yet kind and passionate.
Will takes the prize as my favourite character in this book, he is honest, kind and transparent; while it’s traditional for rom coms to have the misunderstood broody love interest this is not the case with Will and I found it quite refreshing. While Savannah initially has a preconceived notion about Will those misconceptions are quickly put to bed and we get to see Will for who he is and fall for him as Savannah does- with time and understanding of his personality, there is none of this love at first sight drama but rather a slow burning love story. And Will is truly a character worth falling in love with.
The highlight from this book would definitely be the Valentines day chapter, which had me grinning the whole way through. The only downside was the Ferris storyline. While I get why Ferris was there and what role his character played I still can’t wrap my head around that storyline, it was just beyond for me. But perhaps that’s just me, it certainly doesn’t deter from the great writing, plot and characters which makes Meet me in the margins that is a must read book of 2022.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was adorable. Savannah was a very likable and relatable main character, and I was hooked right from the start. The backstory, with Ferris and her sister, was a really good twist. Love it. Very easy lovely read.

This book was good! I enjoyed the characterization, and the theme of the girl who wasn't 'perfect' getting the guy - it felt relatable! It was a slower burn than I would have liked, but I think that's just a matter of personal preference. All in all, very nice!

The beginning is a bit slapstick, but it settles into something warm and witty. Savannah's internal monologue sometimes gets a bit frantic and hard to read. Will is such a strong, steady character, I think the book, especially pacing, might have benefitted from his POV. But these are minor quibbles. This is a sweet and charming romance.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

An absolute joy to read - full of truly fun moments and the right amount of quirkiness. Really enjoyed this!

I wanted to like this but I found the romance and characters to feel drab and something we've seen time and time again. Thank you for the e-galley!

I knew I would love this book when the absolute first chapter had me - quite literally - laughing out loud! Melissa Ferguson writes the most cheerfully cute rom-coms, so when she hinted at her new book in the making, it became one of my most anticipated books of 2021. Meet Me in the Margins is no exception. This story is as cheerfully cute, witty, cozy and has enough suspense to keep you intrigued until the end. I loved it.

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

Thank You Thomas Nelson for this eARC!

I adored The Cul-de-Sac War by Melissa Ferguson!
So I was very excited for another Ferguson book!

Savannah Cade is an editor at Pennington Publishing.
This may be her day job but she is secretly writing a romance novel!
One day she leaves her manuscript behind in the Book Nook....
She goes to fetch her manuscript only to discover someone has written notes for her on the pages!
Savannah is defensive at first to the criticism....
And later realizes she needs the help of this secret someone!
Soon her life starts getting more complicated and these notes turn into something more.
Can she identify this mysterious editor?

If you are a fan of romance, you won’t want to miss this book.
It is perfect if you are looking for a cute story!
I loved Savannah and Will's character.
This is witty, humorous, romantic, and completely what I needed right now.
From the very beginning I was completely hooked and I read the whole thing in one sitting!
Everything was expertly crafted, from the characters, to the plot, to the romance, to the humor!
The concept of meeting in the margins and in secret was brilliant.

Thank you Publisher, NetGalley and Author for this wonderful ebook!

I loved this book! The story was compelling, and I loved getting to know Savannah and Will. The location of Nashville was different than your typical publishing house story, and that added a fun twist to the story. I also loved the secondary characters, particularly Lyla. There were times I laughed out loud, and other times my heart hurt for the Savannah and Will. Ms. Ferguson did a great job with this story and I look forward to reading more!

This book was such a fun book and something that I have never read before. It was so interesting to go behind the scenes at a publishing house and also to think about what authors go through as they try to have their books published. This is such a sweet, easy read and the characters are so much fun too. I particularly enjoyed Olivia, Will and Savannah.

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

Page turner full of incredible banter! Love love loved the two main romantic leads and the spark they had.

This was SO GOOD and hit all of my favorite romance beats, except for the fact that it was extremely chaste (very similar to You've Got Mail in that way, in addition to being similar in plot). I wish I had known that going in! It left me a bit wanting in that respect, but in every other way, it was perfect. Would love to see it adapted one day.

Mein Leseerlebnis

“Meet me in the margins” kann mit einer frischen Grundidee punkten und auch ihre Umsetzung konnte mich überzeugen.

Inwieweit die dargestellte Arbeit im Verlag wirklich realistisch ist, sei mal dahingestellt. Man sollte keine allzu realistische Präsentation dessen erwarten. Als Aufhänger und Schauplatz für die Geschichte funktioniert der Verlag aber klasse.

Savannah konnte ich beim Lesen schnell ins Herz schließen. Mag man sie als Charakter, wird man sehr wahrscheinlich auch den Roman mögen. Ich fand sie amüsant und habe gerne miterlebt, wie sie sich durch ihren Alltag geschlagen hat. In so einigen Bereichen ihres Lebens war sie unsicher, wenn es aber darauf ankam, zeigte sie Rückgrat und war eine loyale Freundin und Kollegin. Beides habe ich sehr geschätzt.

William war als Charakter schwerer zu fassen als Savannah, aber auch ihn fand ich interessant und im Verlauf des Romans wurde er mir immer sympathischer.

Der Erzählstrang um Savannahs teils anstrengende Familie mitsamt ihrem Ex war nicht mein Fall. Die Auflösung dieser Situation lief mir am Ende zudem zu glatt ab. An den beschriebenen radikalen Wandel im Verhalten einer Person konnte ich nicht glauben. Auch den Erzählstrang um eine Vorgesetzte Savannahs fand ich etwas flach. Ansonsten hatte ich aber wenig zu kritisieren.

Wer der geheimnisvolle Lektor ist, ist absolut keine Überraschung und jede:r erfahrene Leser:in weiß von Anfang an Bescheid. Das hat mir mein Leseerlebnis aber nicht vermiest. Im Gegenteil, es war spannend zu sehen, wie Savannah mit der Situation umgegangen ist und wie sie versucht hat ihre Gefühle zu sortieren.

Alles in allem habe ich mit dem Roman eine gute Zeit verbracht und bin froh, das Buch gelesen zu haben. 🖤🖤🖤🖤

Für wen?

Wer Liebesromane mag, in denen sich die beiden Hauptcharaktere auf eine etwas ungewöhnliche Art und Weise kennenlernen, der sollte sich das Buch näher anschauen. Euch erwartet eine schöne Liebesgeschichte, in der die Heldin zudem einige Unsicherheiten hinter sich lässt.

DNF. Unfortunately, I could just not get into this book. The premise sounded cute, but I was not enjoying the main character. It just wasn't the book for me and I wanted to move on.

Thank you to NetGalley/Published/Author for providing me with an ARC of this book.