Meet Me in the Margins: A Rom-Com for People Who Love Books

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒ Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson is a fun book about books! This adorable romance has sympathetic characters and a fascinating look at a small book publisher all set in Nashville, Tennessee. This book has a You’ve Got Mail vibe and I just loved it! Savannah Cade works for Pennington Publishing as an editorial assistant. Pennington Publishing is a small independent publishing house in Nashville and caters to high-brow literary books. Savannah has secretly been writing a romance novel, a genre that Pennington would never publish, as it’s considered commercial fiction. Savannah finds a little nook, hidden away in the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) room of her building. After discovering the nook, she accidentally leaves her romance novel manuscript in the nook. When she finally gets a chance to go into the nook, she finds her manuscript with a lot of notes, handwritten in the margins. Her first response is to be angry, but after a while, she realizes that her mystery editor is right, and she starts to use his input to make her manuscript better. She knows her mystery editor is a man and using the process of elimination, she works to figure out who he might be. Wow, this was a fun story. I love this trope where they fall in love over the writing and are also falling in love in person. These characters are so easy to care about and I was rooting for them both from the very beginning of the book. I thought the writing was excellent and I enjoyed learning about the inside workings of a small publisher. The book was fast-paced and I just flew through the pages. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

DELIGHTFUL! Melissa Ferguson is one of my favorite RomCom authors. Her new release, Meet Me In The Margins, is an excellent example of why I appreciate her books so much. Her writing is crisp, her characters are realistic and likable, the plot is clever and keeps your attention to the end, the setting is a publishing company (a fun plus for book lovers), and when put together, it all adds up to a delight! The plot encompasses a cross between “You've Got Mail” and “The Proposal” involving an office romance. Savannah Cade is finally realizing her dream of having her book considered by Claire Donovan, editor-in-chief of the most successful romance imprint in the country. Only Claire is retiring in six weeks and Savannah must turn in a complete rewrite by then. Savannah works as an editor at a publisher that would never consider publishing something frivolous such as romantic fiction. She almost gets caught with her manuscript and scrambles to hide it in a secluded area. Only someone finds it and starts editing it in the margins. Before long, Savannah and the Mystery Editor have developed quite a relationship. Savannah is relatively sure she knows the identity of her Mystery Man but Ferguson throws in a element of suspense and surprise to keep you guessing. Overall, this is just a delightful read! I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by Thomas Nelson & NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.

Meet Me In The Margins is the fourth novel by American author, Melissa Ferguson. Savannah Cade works as an Assistant Acquisitions Editor for Pennington Publishing, known for non-fiction and literary fiction. But Savannah’s real passion is the romance novel she’s been writing since college, tentatively titled Pining For You. Savannah is probably the least accomplished member of her overachieving family: it would be so good to succeed at something, especially beside her highly qualified younger sister. Living with Olivia, super-fit and studying for two PhDs, she (unfortunately) regularly encounters her ex-boyfriend and soon-to-be brother-in-law, Ferris, the awkwardness of which has mostly worn off. Trying to meet a submission deadline for a romance editor she met at a conference, Savannah brings that manuscript to work to do some final edits, then has to quickly hide it away: CEO Patricia Pennington would NOT approve. When she later retrieves it, she finds someone has written comments and criticism in the margins. Savannah is miffed, but also intrigued: who at Pennington has critiqued her work? Patricia Pennington’s son, William has recently joined the team as VP and Publisher of their Pennington Pen division (Savannah’s) and somehow, she has a number of somewhat embarrassing interactions with him. Her colleagues are worried about their jobs: William is there to save Pennington from going under, but out of hours Will and Savannah seem to connect. When she later meets with Claire Donovan, chief editor of a romance publishing house, Savannah listens carefully to her criticism, which aligns with her mystery reviewer: she has to concede that perhaps those remarks are valid. Soon, she has returned the manuscript to its hiding place with a polite request attached for help. She’s almost convinced that Will is her mystery editor, and not unhappy when the comments turn a little flirtatious, but then she spots another colleague near the space where she usually leaves the manuscript… Even if the outcome is predictable from the start, this is still an enjoyable journey to a sweet ending. Ferguson gives the reader some appealing characters and witty dialogue. The Cade family’s idea of loyalty is a little warped, and Savannah draws out the mystery of her editor longer than is perhaps realistic, but romance fans will appreciate the happy-ever-after ending. A fun rom-com. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction.