Book Review: Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

Posted February 11, 2022 by WendyW in Book Review, bookblogger / 26 Comments

Meet Me in the Margins
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

by Melissa Ferguson
Publication Date January 16, 2022
Published by Thomas Nelson
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Goodreads
Genres: Fiction / Christian / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / Clean & Wholesome, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 320
Format: ARC

You've Got Mail meets The Proposal--this romance is one for the books.

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 is a delightfully charming jewel of a book that fans of romantic comedy won't be able to put down--and will want to share with all their friends. Readers will lose themselves in Melissa Ferguson's witty, warm tale of Savannah Cade and the perfectly drawn cast of characters that inhabits her world. This literary treat full of missed opportunities, second chances, and maybe even true love, should be at the top of your reading list!" --Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of Under the Southern Sky

"Ferguson has penned a lively romance for every bookworm who once longed to step through the wardrobe or sleep under the stairs. Meet Me in the Margins brims with crisp prose and crinkling pages as Savannah Cade, lowly editor at a highbrow publisher, secretly reworks her commercial fiction manuscript with the help of a mystery reader--and revises her entire life. You'll want to find your own hideaway to get lost in this delightful, whip-smart love story." --Asher Fogle Paul, coauthor of Without a Hitch

  • A sweet rom-com that can be read as a stand-alone novel
  • Book length: 80,000 words
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs

My Review:

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.

About Melissa Ferguson

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.

Have you read this book? Do you want to? Please comment below! 

26 responses to “Book Review: Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

  1. This is the second review that I have seen today of this book that is praising it highly! I think I need to bump it up on my TBR pile 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

  2. How fun! Also, Tennessee is my home state. When I venture through Nashville and Chattanooga, I find they have changed so much…but there will always be a special place in my heart for TN. The plot line sounds like it would draw me in–so bookish!

    • Tennessee is a beautiful state! I’ve visited many times. I thought it was interesting that this is set in a book publishing company that was NOT in New York