Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Meet Me in the Margins

This book had so much potential. So much and yet... it just didn't happen.

I loved the concept of two characters that work for a publishing company. YES! Give me all the books about books. Then add in a "forbidden" manuscript and a quirky You've Got Mail-style editing conversation in the margins? EXTRA YES! This was creative and cute and it was off to a good start.

Then it went absolutely nowhere... for the longest 320 pages (or in my case, 4 hours on 2.75x speed audio) of my life. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen: for the chemistry to grow, for the characters to experience a real conflict, for literally ANYTHING - and it just... didn't. I can't even say that it was necessarily a bad book, it was just so mediocre that it was almost painful.

One thing I will say was super offensive, however, was the fact that Savannah's sister is very obviously fatphobic and there's really no discussion about that or growth in the area. Throughout the entire story, she's obsessively working out, talking about needing to be skinny, and telling her sister that she needs to do the same, even commenting on her weight at times. It's really toxic and brushed off as "she's just so busy all the time" or "she's a workaholic that loves fitness." No, the girl is a bully. And towards the end of the story, you're supposed to feel bad for her. Well, honestly, I didn't. Without this plot line, I think I would have actually enjoyed the book a little more - not a lot, but at least a little more.

I can't say I recommend this one. I can't say I hate it either, but I'd never want to pick it up again.

Content Warnings

kylieqrada's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was really all about right place, right time. It definitely felt a little derivative, and there was some unresolved fatphobia, for which I docked a half star, but it was seriously just what I needed. A warm and cozy hug of a book.

Content Warnings

lea_fox's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The PROS:

It is set in a publishing house.
It mentions librarians.

The CONS:

The miscommunication trope should be shot and thrown out back — & disallowed from this point forward.
This ‘meet cute/slow burn’ romance is really a boring fiction novel in disguise.
A heinous self-destructive family portrait — this sister/sister relationship is so bad, I wanted to poke my eyeballs out (and my ears).
So, you’re not a size two but being a size four is still not good enough — talk about horrendous body image issues.
This audiobook is 8hrs long — the main ‘couple’ kisses at 7hrs and 38mins (face palm). I mean wtf? They hold hands like good children too.
Not only is this book fat-phobic but deals with an obsessive compulsive desire to be pretty (and white) at all times — including a daily step count which is mentioned five thousand times, and drilled into our heads.
No mention of any explicit content — she was unwilling to even use the phrase ‘bat SHIT crazy’ in a moment that so needed it.
The romance side of the book had absolutely no banter, no sexual tension, and no physical contact. Even Jane Austen would be insulted.
OH — features a he-left-me-for-my-younger-sister relationship, which is disgusting and wrong.
How did I NOT DNF this???

Content Warnings

tea_rea's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

bearystarry's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really liked the slow burn emotional connection between the MC and the LI and I liked them together in general. I think the whole thing could've done with less... body judgment, I guess. The MC's family were frustrating to me especially (which I understand is the point, but I still didn't enjoy the "character development" of the sister), which is why I'm adding toxic relationship to the content warnings.

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lindseyhall44's review

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

Meet me in the Margins is the perfect segway into rom com season, with a setting that is every book lover’s dream.
The novel follows Savanah , an assistant editorial employee at a small publishing firm, who dreams of publishing her own romance book. When Savanah hides her manuscript away in the arc room (advanced readers copy), she returns to find it edited in the margins. Together Savanah and her mystery editor work together to improve her manuscript by leaving notes in the margins, and possibly fall in love in throughout the process.
I think the setting is what I loved most about the book, since I yearned to be in the cozy atmosphere myself. That being said, while the setting development was beautifully crafted, I struggled a bit more with the pacing and characters. Savanah was a messy yet lovable character (which I appreciated) but her mystery editor seemed to be pretty obvious in my opinion, and some of the mid communication frustrated me. The pacing is another thing that felt a little stilted, though that is sometimes the case with mixed media literature.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed this novel, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet PG romance.

Content Warnings

kb33's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

Clean romance, but only because there’s no steamy scenes. It’s completely unwholesome that Savannah is gaslit into accepting the relationship of her sister and former boyfriend of eight years, immediately after their breakup, by her parents no less. It ruined the whole book for me that the reconciliation of these toxic relationships was relegated to a descriptive paragraph. Her sister is the worst human being. We also get to learn very little about the main male characters.

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