Meet Me in the Margins

 

Savannah has a secret--she's written a novel that she wants to have published.  The reason it is so secret is that she is an editor for a publishing company that doesn't "do" fluff, Pennington Publications.  Their market is higher tier literary fiction--not romance.  

Will Pennington has been brought in to stop the financial bleeding from toppling the Pennington empire.  He's the son of the owner of the company and he recently left one of the big publishing houses in New York to help save Pennington.

This book gives a peek into the parts of the publishing world that aren't all hype and glitz.  It gives a nitty-gritty behind the scenes look into the actual process of getting a book from inside someone's head to actual words on paper bound in a nice, neat package for the consumer. 

Some of the plot lines that flesh out this novel include Savannah's over-achieving younger sister who polices everything Savannah eats, drinks, and every step she takes; all while planning her wedding to Savannah's former boyfriend, Ferris.   Throughout the book, Ferris is portrayed as a nice guy overall, but still the fly in Savannah's ointment.  It is not until the very end that his true, slimy colors are revealed. 

When Savannah drops her manuscript during one of the weekly meetings, someone picks up the pages and reads them, giving her harsh, but not un-due criticism of her writing.  She decides to ask for help from her mystery editor to get her manuscript ready for submission in forty-four days.  That's all the time the publisher she's chosen for her book has to give Savannah for the book.  

I am not sure why Will took such an interest in Savannah, nor what the original attraction was.  He seemed to seek out her advice on things at the publishing house when she was not one of the premier editors for the company.  She was definitely not one of his mother's pet editors and was rather on the outside of the inner circle.  It was surprising that Will took Savannah's opinions to heart and made sweeping changes within the company based on those opinions.  

The romance was very understated throughout the novel and when it did show up, it was very sweet.  Melissa Ferguson knows just how much humor to add into the mix to make her novels enjoyable reads. 

Thomas Nelson and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review and I am surprised at what Thomas Nelson allowed in this book to be categorized as Christian Fiction.  While it's a minor part of the plot, Ferris and Olivia (Savannah's sister) living together is rather unexpected.  Still it is a four-star book.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.