Book Review: Meet Me in the Margins, by Melissa Ferguson
Generic romance meet-cute in the publishing world.
Thomas Nelson, 2022, 320 pages
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.
I've decided romance novels are like literary sugarless gummy bears. They may have enough flavor and texture to be a brief enjoyable distraction, but there's really nothing to them.
Meet Me in the Margins got me to give it a shot because it's about a writer who works for a publishing house trying to get her own novel published, and I tend to get hooked by writing/publishing meta.
The plot, however, was strictly paint-by-numbers. Savannah Cade is a frumpy Everygirl who constantly reminds us how much more glamorous and hot and accomplished every other female character is, from her younger sister to her evil supervisor, but of course she's actually a hot young thing herself who just doesn't realize it until Mr. Sexy Main Attraction falls for her.
Mr. Sexy Main Attraction is a boilerplate character, the stern, manly, intimidating heir to the publishing house she works for. They have many comedic interactions with moments of high sexual tension which allows Savannah to indulge in does he/doesn't he? speculation, and constant red herrings to keep convincing her He Doesn't even though it's glaringly obvious He Does.
The "meta" is basically that Savannah works for a prestigious and pretentious "literary" publishing house whose founder refuses to debase their "mission" by publishing tawdry... commercial fiction. Especially not that most despicable of genres, romance. You know, stuff that actually sells. So the company is in financial trouble because it's a dinosaur pining for its glory days of Pulitzers and National Book Awards, and meanwhile Savannah has a romance manuscript she is trying to get published. Through awkward coincidences she winds up receiving notes on her manuscript from a mysterious ghost editor who leaves comments on the margins of her draft when she leaves it in a little nook in the company's reading room.
You already know the rest of the story. Yes, it's that predictable. No, there are no twists you haven't guessed. Oh, there's some family drama with her younger sister who's engaged to her ex-boyfriend, but this is just a side plot before the HEA.
So yeah, it was competently written, like a competently toasted piece of bread.
My complete list of book reviews.
Thomas Nelson, 2022, 320 pages
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.
I've decided romance novels are like literary sugarless gummy bears. They may have enough flavor and texture to be a brief enjoyable distraction, but there's really nothing to them.
Meet Me in the Margins got me to give it a shot because it's about a writer who works for a publishing house trying to get her own novel published, and I tend to get hooked by writing/publishing meta.
The plot, however, was strictly paint-by-numbers. Savannah Cade is a frumpy Everygirl who constantly reminds us how much more glamorous and hot and accomplished every other female character is, from her younger sister to her evil supervisor, but of course she's actually a hot young thing herself who just doesn't realize it until Mr. Sexy Main Attraction falls for her.
Mr. Sexy Main Attraction is a boilerplate character, the stern, manly, intimidating heir to the publishing house she works for. They have many comedic interactions with moments of high sexual tension which allows Savannah to indulge in does he/doesn't he? speculation, and constant red herrings to keep convincing her He Doesn't even though it's glaringly obvious He Does.
The "meta" is basically that Savannah works for a prestigious and pretentious "literary" publishing house whose founder refuses to debase their "mission" by publishing tawdry... commercial fiction. Especially not that most despicable of genres, romance. You know, stuff that actually sells. So the company is in financial trouble because it's a dinosaur pining for its glory days of Pulitzers and National Book Awards, and meanwhile Savannah has a romance manuscript she is trying to get published. Through awkward coincidences she winds up receiving notes on her manuscript from a mysterious ghost editor who leaves comments on the margins of her draft when she leaves it in a little nook in the company's reading room.
You already know the rest of the story. Yes, it's that predictable. No, there are no twists you haven't guessed. Oh, there's some family drama with her younger sister who's engaged to her ex-boyfriend, but this is just a side plot before the HEA.
So yeah, it was competently written, like a competently toasted piece of bread.
My complete list of book reviews.