Meet Me In the Margins by Melissa Ferguson: Book Review

Meet Me In The Margins

By Melissa Ferguson

Rating: 4/5 
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Steam: Clean
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for a free eARC of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are of my own.
Pub Date: February 15, 2022
Available: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Meet Me In The Margins Synopsis:

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.

Meet Me In The Margins Review

Give a romance reader a romance book about an editor writing a romance book and you will have one incredibly happy reader. It’s just facts. And this is definitely true for Meet Me In The Margins! From the cute plot, to the hectic look at publishing life, to the heartfelt connections of the characters this book was easy to pick up and delightful to read!

Loves:

Savannah was a main character that you easily could root for and sympathize with. Her family of overachievers and being someone who wasn’t living up to those expectations set her up for someone you could cheer on. I enjoyed her enthusiasm for her work and friends. I wish there had been a bit more of a character arc for her as I didn’t see a ton of shift in her, but I liked her. Also her relationship with Lyla was amazing and I love Lyla.

The plot! Ok, I just really like these types of plots with the characters communicating back and forth and one not knowing who the other is. Call me a simpleton, I do not care. I loved how this one was involved with writing a romance and the letters were edits. Then the post-its, be still my heart. It’s just so freaking cute. The addition of Savannah’s family added some more depth to the story too, although I felt like at times that her family overtook the romance line of the story. And kudos for setting it in Nashville! I loved it!

William and Savannah’s relationship throughout the novel was adorable. I loved how they interacted in the office and his actions with her outside of the office. I appreciated how everything developed, but I do wish there had been a bit more to their relationship. It felt very surface level for the ending and I wanted some more communication between them.

Meh:

Honestly this should probably be in the women’s fiction category more than a romance category. Don’t get me wrong, there’s romance in it! It’s just not the main focus of the story, I felt. It’s a decent part, but the story of Savannah growing and standing up for herself in her family, was what I felt the plot to be more of. If there had been less about her sister (who honestly I wanted to be taken down a couple more notches) and more about Savannah’s relationship with the mystery editor and William I would have loved it more.

I wanted more development from Savannah as well. She did change, but I wanted some more change from her. She was sooooo close to standing up for herself and demanding the attention she deserved in her family and at work, but just fell flat when others were around to do it for her.

Long Story Short:

I definitely recommend reading this book! It’s adorable, sweet, and has just enough chaos to make it one that you’ll remember. If you want a sweet, clean romance that borders the line of women’s fic then this should be for you!

If You Like This One…

I would highly recommend checking out To Sir, With Love by Lauren Layne, very similar premise and another very clean romance! Another good one if you want a clean romance but make it historical would be The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews–it’s SO good and layered. Or if you want something with a bit more steam with a sorta similar vibe I would recommend Beach Read by Emily Henry!

Melissa Ferguson lives in Bristol, Tennessee, where she enjoys chasing her children and writing romantic comedies full of humor and heart. Her favorite hobby is taking friends and acquaintances and turning them into characters in her books without their knowledge. She is confident you should read all her novels, starting with this one.