Review: Meet Me in the Margins

Title: Meet Me in the Margins

Author: Melissa Ferguson

Publisher: 15th February 2022 by Thomas Nelson

Pages: 315 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: women’s fiction, contemporary, romance

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

When You've Got Mail meets The Proposal, Melissa Ferguson's latest romantic comedy 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.

My Thoughts

As I've noted before, I love a good bookish book and this one proved to be a winner. When you open the cover of a book of this genre, you know what you are in for … mostly. I get annoyed when people complain about such books being cliched and predictable but sometimes that’s what a reader is looking for. Such books provide comfort, much like a warm hug. 

Meet Me in the Margins has all the classic romcom features - quirky characters, missed opportunities, mixed messages, solid side characters, all the bookish business I love and the prerequisite happy ending. It’s also really sweet - no swearing and no funny business except a couple of kisses. Nice. It is full of charm and wit and some classic dialogue between the two leads. It’s simple, it’s straightforward and it’s delightful. 

‘All this time I thought I had something. An idea. A spark. All this time, I thought, I may just be able to do this! I may just have a writer’s soul after all! But what am I, really? Just a girl, sitting in a coffee shop, who’s completely deluded herself.’

What lifted this book to the next level for me were two things. One, Will makes for a great leading man, I only wish more time had been dedicated to him and his backstory. Two, Savannah with her honesty about writing and love of all things literary: 

‘A total stranger had given me solace through the power of words, helped me escape the troubles of my world if just for enough time to get a much-needed breath ... Try new adventures. Dare. The written word became my passion. And from that moment on all I knew was what an incredible honor it would be to bring that adventure, that life, that joy, that hope, that world to somebody else.’

The release of this book could not be more perfect with Valentine’s Day. For lovers of this genre you will so enjoy the journey of Savannah as she works on her own manuscript. There are some great secondary characters and subplots that are fun and the workplace romance is sure to bring a smile to your dial ;)

‘I long to meet this man. He’s become a part of my thoughts every waking (and sometimes sleeping) hour of the day. He is brilliant. Witty. Blunt, yes, but in a way I’ve come to respect. And more than anything, someone I’ve come to wish was my companion everywhere.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.