In Love You, Mean It, Jilly Gagnon delivers a sharp, heartfelt, and laugh-out-loud exploration of modern relationships and messy friendships. Equal parts rom-com and emotional drama, this book will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to balance love, ambition, and self-worth. Here's why you should add it to your TBR!

Top 5 Reasons to Read Love You, Mean It:

1. A Hilariously Flawed Protagonist: The main character, Ellie, is a beautifully messy human being—ambitious, insecure, and painfully relatable. Her hilarious and brutally honest inner monologue makes her journey a joy to follow. You'll find yourself nodding with her thoughts and feeling deeply connected to her story.

2. A Fresh Take on Love and Friendship: This story isn't just about romance and how friendships evolve as we grow. Ellie's complicated relationships with her best friends add depth and realism to the narrative. The dynamics between the characters are well-crafted, showing the complexities and nuances of maintaining friendships while navigating personal growth.

3. Perfect Blend of Humor and Heart: Gagnon's writing is razor-sharp, filled with moments that make you laugh and scenes that tug at your heartstrings. The balance between humor and emotional weight is not just spot on; it's engaging. You'll find yourself fully immersed in Ellie's world, laughing and feeling with her every step of the way. The witty banter and heartfelt moments create a perfect harmony that keeps the reader hooked.

4. Realistic Depiction of Modern Dating: The book captures the chaos and awkwardness of dating in the digital age, complete with text missteps, social media mishaps, and moments of vulnerability. It's painfully accurate—and wildly entertaining. Gagnon portrays the highs and lows of modern dating with a keen eye, making it easy for readers to relate to Ellie's experiences.

5. Unpredictable Plot Twists: While the setup feels familiar, Gagnon surprises readers with twists that keep the story fresh and unpredictable. It's not your average rom-com, and that's a good thing. These unexpected turns will keep you on your seat, eager to see what happens next. The plot twists add an element of surprise that elevates the reading experience.

Why Not 5 Stars?
While Love You, Mean It is a fantastic read, a few elements kept it from earning a perfect score. The first few chapters feel overly drawn out, focusing too much on setup and backstory, which might test some readers' patience as it takes a while to get to the central conflict. Additionally, while much of the book is grounded and realistic, the resolution feels too neat and rushed, making the ending seem over-the-top. A more nuanced conclusion would have better matched the tone of the rest of the story. Lastly, though the humor is one of the book's strengths, there are moments where it feels forced or distracts from the emotional beats. Dialing it back slightly in certain scenes would have made the impact stronger.

Final Thoughts:
Love You, Mean It is a whip-smart and emotionally resonant exploration of love, ambition, and friendship in the modern world. Jilly Gagnon's writing sparkles with wit and honesty, making this a standout contemporary romance. While not without flaws, it's a book that will make you laugh, cry, and think about your relationships.
I recommend it to Sophie Kinsella and Beth O'Leary fans and anyone who enjoys heartfelt rom-coms with a touch of realism.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

What a little cutie! 3.5 stars
I had so much fun reading this and I loved the twist on the amnesia trope + fake dating. Overall a fun reading experience. Ellie tries to save her family business while Theo's family is trying to bring in a big chain business that would destroy Ellie's family's business. Their fake dating scenario started pretty quickly in the first part of the book which was what easily hooked me. I thought it was fun!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This book had a lot going on including an amnesia plot that lasted like two whole pages and was quickly forgotten (get it), a fairly realistic developer real estate plot, a lot of family and friends meddling about, but the girl is a dingdong but in a way i can appreciate because it's mostly her being in denial the guy is for real into her. Overall, I enjoyed it a lot.

Love You, Mean It is a sweet rom-com that was a fulfilling light read. The main characters were easy to like and the story flowed well. I find rom-coms hit and miss but this one checked the hit box for me. This book is a great choice if you want a story with good banter between the characters and an overall feel good feeling.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine/Dell for the digital ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Fake dating and fake engagement always work soooo well on me. I really liked this book! The vibes sort of reminded me of Kinky Boots, but I'm not sure why! :-)

Well this book is like a poor man’s attempt at “While You Were Sleeping,” but unfortunately there will be no Jack Callaghan at the end. “Love You, Mean It” is the story of family deli owner Ellie and property owner Theo, whose proposal to make way for a big box store puts her family deli at risk. Their first encounter with each other turns disastrous when the ceiling collapses on him (of all things!), resulting in a flurry of confusion at the hospital. À la Lucy Eleanor Moderatz, she tells the hospital workers that she is Theo’s fiancée. Conviently, Theo’s short term amnesia lends to this story, and he follows along with this ruse until his true memories start to return.

Just as Theo and Ellie attempt to work out a mutually beneficial deal, enter Theo’s ex girlfriend, Sam. Why did I find Sam more likable and relatable than Ellie? Maybe it’s because Ellie tends to be her own worst enemy. I just did not find Ellie her very relatable.

Overall, I give this book 3 stars. It felt slow and bogged down at times, plus it’s hard to enjoy a book when you don’t like one of the main characters! I do love a good fake dating trope, but this one is not it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine/Dell for the digital ARC in exchange of my honest review.

In Love You, Mean It, Jilly Gagnon delivers a fun romantic comedy that’s packed with humor and heart. The main character, Ellie, is refreshingly sassy and sarcastic, bringing a realness to the story that keeps it from feeling too sweet.

The plot kicks off with Ellie and Theo, who start as enemies. Their banter is sharp and entertaining, setting the stage for the story. When an accident leaves Theo with amnesia, Ellie pretends to be his fiancée to help him out. This twist leads to a series of awkward and hilarious moments as their relationship starts to change.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dell Publishing for the opportunity to read Love You, Mean It.

Love You, Mean It is an entertaining read of enemies to lovers with some fake dating and amnesia thrown in. I enjoyed this story of Ellie and Theo, who start off as enemies due to the fact that Theo is a property developer whose company wants to bring in a new deli grocery, which is the exact small business Ellie runs. While the characters are hard to root for at times, I did like reading the story to see how it turned out for both Ellie and Theo, as well as their families and other characters.
Thank you to Random House/Ballantine/Dell and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a cute romance that had me swooning, and craving the delicious food mentioned afterwards.

I paired the book and audiobook, and the narration was great! Performed by Amanda Ronconi, who really brought the character of Ellie to life.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-enemies to lovers
-fake dating
-foodie fiction
-fake dating

*many thanks to Dell Romance, prh audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I freaking loved this book. I love a good slow burn and Ellie and Theo were so perfect for me, so glad this book ended the way it did. I love Mom and Pop shops and everyone really needs to utilize them so much more. I would love a story with Sam and Elliott too. I'm excited to read this author again.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

I normally love this trope, but this one just fell flat for me. I didn’t really care for the heavy real world topics at the start, and I struggled to finish it. Books are an escape to me, and it felt like these heavy real world topics were being forced.

I had a really hard time getting into this book. I usually really like fake dating but this story didn’t do it for me. I felt that Ellie complained too much and made things too complicated. I didn’t understand the whole issue with Sam and why she had to pretend to date Theo but not really because Sam wanted him. I felt like the ending was a little too quick but the middle dragged for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the eARC

I didn’t read the summary before choosing this read. It started off slow, until Ellie and Theo finally meet.

It took what I expected and totally turned it on its head. I thought the amnesia/fake engagement would last longer and be a bigger part of the story. While the fake engagement stuck around, the amnesia was short-lived. Teddy and Ellie had great banter, though their chemistry beyond that was a little lacking for me. It's a quick and light read and brings the humor. (3.5 stars)

Sometimes, you just need a book that makes you laugh and feel good, and this book delivers! Enjoyed this one!

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love You, Mean It
Author: Jilly Gagnon
Romance

Thank you so much Netgalley, and Dell for this ARC! I really enjoyed this one. Ellie is stuck in her hometown helping her family with their little deli business. When a new competitor enters the scene, she makes it her mission to confront the owner of the property management companies son, Theo, in an effort to stop their advances! Within an hour of their meeting, Theo suffers an injury leading to some amnesia which gives Ellie the brilliant idea to pretend they are engaged! To make matters worse, Theos ex arrives. It was silly and entertaining, and the story really flowed. I was a little mad at myself for putting this one off for as long as I did. I thought it was YA but it is most definitely not. I really enjoyed this book, and all of the characters involved. It was light hearted and a cute read.

Hot take: fake dating is the worst trope in contemporary romance. Do I still read books with this trope? Yes. Do I love all of them? No, but mostly because I get so frustrated at the characters for deciding that fake dating can solve any kind of real world problem. That being said, Love You, Mean It was a fun and quick read without too much of the cringe that gives me the immediate ick. I didn’t have to think too hard to get immersed in the story so it was a nice break from reality.

3.5 stars. My thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

Ellie had bigger dreams than running her family's deli, but when her dad passes away she is pulled back to her small town to help. When a real estate management company threatens to bring in a big box store that would surely run the deli out of business, Ellie makes a plan to talk to the son of the owner, Theo. During their meeting an accident occurs and Theo is taken to the hospital by ambulance. Ellie wanting to make sure he is alright tells a small white lie to the hospital staff that she is Theo's fiancé. Ellie and Theo agree to keep up the fib in order to convince Theo's father to cut ties with the big box store. During this time, they actually begin to have feelings for each other.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dell for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love You, Mean It is the first book I’ve read by Jilly Gagnon. The colorful cover and back cover copy of the faking dating enemies to lovers tropes drew me to reading.

The Good:

I really enjoyed the positive female friendships and family relationships in this book. Throughout the book, Ellie realizes she’s isolated herself and makes an effort to make more friends, aside from her bestie, Bella.

Ellie’s family and her community are clearly important to her, as she undertakes the scheme to trick the potential developers of an old classic building to not bring in a generic “food warehouse.” Bringing in Mangias would destroy the character of her small town and drive the family business, Greco’s Deli out of business.

The Bad:

Ellie’s inner monologue goes on for too long at parts and distracts from the flow of the story. Improving the pacing would have moved the story along more effectively.

The Ugly:

I like Ellie and Theo’s banter but there isn’t any heat in the love scenes. They seem short and perfunctory and impersonal. After their flirty text and verbal sparring, I expected heat but got a fizzle.

Bottom line: if you want a fast reading tropey read to stick in your bag while traveling, this may be for you.

Although there isn't anything I can think of that really bothered me about this romantic comedy, there isn't anything that stands out enough to make me recommend it to others. The characters are charming and the banter is fine, but I wasn't buying into the sparks between our main characters. There are many tropes in this one: memory loss, childhood friends, etc, and it really did seem like every time I turned around there was another one thrown into the mix. It was a decent romantic read, but wasn't a favorite for me.