Book Review :: Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson
ISBN: 0785231072
Published by Thomas Nelson
on 15 February 2022
Genres: Romance
Pages: 309
Goodreads

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 an 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.

Last updated on 20 March 2023

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What is Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson about?

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson tells the story of Savannah Cade who has been secretly writing a manuscript while working as an editor at a publishing house where only scholarly works are considered worth printing. Nothing else.

However, when the editor-in-chief of the most successful romance imprint in the country requests to see her manuscript, Savannah drops it during a staff meeting and has to hide it in a secret turret room. When she returns to the manuscript, she discovers that someone has written critical notes in the margins.

With Claire Donovan, the editor-in-chief, giving her six weeks to resubmit, Savannah seeks help from the shadowy editor who had previously provided notes on her manuscript. As they exchange notes, Savannah finds herself falling for her mystery editor but has no idea who he is.

My thoughts on Meet Me in the Margins

This was … okay? Not great? I can definitely see the potential in the story, but all in all, it was just a bit meh for me.

It was like a cheesy rom-com movie, one that would come out from Hallmark at Christmastime (it’s not a Christmassy book, but just have it set between October and New Years, and bam, Hallmark Christmas movie), and not one that was very squee-including or gave me ‘naaaaw’ moments. You know what I mean?

“Waiting impatiently for something that will inevitably happen either way is a waste of time. Enjoy the journey, not just the destination.”

Savannah was a bit whiny, a bit clueless and a bit all over the place. I didn’t really connect with her at all (only her love of books!), and her family was a bit diabolical. We didn’t actually get a lot of Will, who is one of the main characters in this book, and I think if there was more of Savannah and Will then it might have been a better novel.

The story is told from Savannah’s perspective, first-person, and while this was fine, I think it may have added another level of depth if we had the odd chapter from Will’s perspective.

The romance in this book was severely lacking. There were not a lot of romantic moments, until right at the end when I wasn’t really caring any more. And I think that’s what it comes down to: the characters didn’t impress me enough to care for them, so any little wins they may have had throughout the book were just blase for me.

Which is a real shame, because I think Meet Me in the Margins had such potential and I had high hopes for it. Alas. Sometimes it’s not meant to be. The best thing about the book? The room full of ARC (advanced reader copy) books. The dream.

Have you read Meet Me in the Margins? What did you think?