This was my first book by Jilly Gagnon and I really enjoyed it.

Ellie is a sassy, funny woman who leaves her life in New York to take over her family's deli after her father passes away. She doesn't like it, but she does what she has to do to keep the deli thriving for her family. I loved her attitude and her internal monologues. When dealing with one of her loyal but obnoxious customers, her thoughts made me giggle.

I also loved her cousin Bella. She's the total opposite of Ellie, but they balance each other out. Her whole family gave me the warm fuzzies.

I'm a big fan of fake dating and enemies to lovers romances, and this author did a pretty good job at making their story work. I loved the banter between Ellie and the lead male character, Theo. It was giving me "Anyone But You" vibes as I read. As well as "While You Were Sleeping", which is a favorite of mine. Gagnon did a wonderful job at showing many sides of each of the characters. The sexual chemistry between Theo and Ellie was fire.

I do wish we'd gotten Theo's POV to understand more about him and the changes in his life throughout the book. But overall, I really enjoyed the whole story. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, but it doesn't ruin the overall storyline. Each person will have a different opinion.

Gagnon is a wonderful writer and I look forward to seeing what she does next.

This review will be very short because I don’t have anything positive to say about this book.

I requested this title due to the fact I enjoyed Jilly Gagnon’s mystery novels and thought I’d see if she was as good at romance. Maybe she might be, one day, but this title maybe should’ve stayed on her computer.

Love You, Mean It is part “You’ve Got Mail”, part “While You Were Sleeping”, and part how-many-cliches-can-we-shove-in-this-book. Many romance novels written in this manner these days at least have a level of self-awareness about them to where the FMC (especially in first-person POV) at least somewhat acknowledges she’s cribbing from pop culture, but Gagnon’s FMC seems to have the self-awareness of someone who hasn’t watched television, a movie, or a streaming service in the last 30 years.

Sadly, I found myself hating our FMC early on in the book because she made choices that I found to be absolutely unethical and not something I personally could forgive. The book never recovered in any way.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review is rated three stars or under so it will not be appearing on my social media. Thank you.

Unfortunately I just didn’t love this one. Going in I thought I would as I loved the deli setting and all of the Italian references.

But the characters just had no chemistry. I usually love a good fake dating trope but I wasn’t rooting for these characters at all. I found myself bored by their banter and I struggled to stay interested.

I would still read other books by this author, though.

Thank you anyway to Netgalley, Random House Publishing, and the author for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is the cutest little book! Basically it’s the You’ve Got Mail of Italian delis. Theo’s family is planning to sell a building to Mangia, a huge corporate Italian food chain with the potential to put Ellie’s family deli out of business. So enter a fake dating/engagement scheme to try to save her deli…and we all know how fake dating goes!

This is a cute romance with very likable characters. If you like trope-filled books this one has plenty of them, including, fake fiancee, enemies to lovers, amnesia, and more. Plus, it's well-written, moves along quickly, and it's just an all-around highly satisfying read.

I had high hopes for this book as the synopsis sounded so good but it really fell flat for me. Fake dating is a big trope so it’s definitely hard to write a story for it that’s new and refreshing but this one really used a lot of the cliche themes. I just wish it had more originalness.

It definitely is a fast easy read, so I think that will appeal to quite a few reader but for me it was a miss.

This is such a cute romance using the enemies to lovers and fake dating tropes. The first few chapters were very reminiscent of the movie "While You Were Sleeping". And just when I thought I was going to be bored by reading a book with the same plot as an old movie I was pleasantly surprised when it turned into a fun and heartwarming fake dating romance.

Ellie and Theo were fun characters to get to know. They both lost loved ones suddenly greatly changing how they lived their lives. They transition from enemies to friends and finally lovers believably. Of course, there were many bumps in the road getting them to the outcome of lovers but it was entertaining to read their journey.

If you are looking for a lighthearted, entertaining book that has a bit of predictability then I highly recommend this book. It left me with a warm heart and a smile on my face. It would make a wonderful book to take on vacation!

I am extremely grateful to Random House Publishing - Ballentine and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this sweet romance in exchange for my honest review. All of the opinions in this review are my own.

This book was just okay. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I was drawn to this book because I love the fake dating and enemies-to-lovers tropes, and the "While You Were Sleeping" similarities were intriguing, but it just didn't work for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between the main characters, Ellie and Theo, and Ellie was sometimes a hard protagonist to root for, especially after the hurtful things she said to Theo. Some parts of the story dragged a bit, while others were almost too fast-paced.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I usually really love enemies to lovers/fake dating but I could not connect with this story or the characters. I am not the type to outright criticize someone's hard work- but this story was just not it for me. I was counting down the pages until I finished it. I just think the whole save the deli plot that Ellie was involved in was just not something I cared for. What makes or breaks a story to me is the connection with the FMC and I absolutely hated Ellie and just was annoyed reading to be honest.

Ellie is back in her hometown running her family's deli after the death of her father dreaming of what other adventures she could be pursuing. When one of the town's most influential families is planning to bring in a fancy food store, she knows the deli can't compete with that. Desperate to save her family's legacy, she sets up a meeting with Theo Taylor to see if she can stop the deal from going through. Throw in some amnesia, fake dating, and a little rivalry and will Ellie and Theo come out the other side as enemies or lovers?

This was such a fun and cute story! I always love the fake dating trope and this one was done with a few unique spins to keep it interesting. I didn't love some of Ellie's decisions but overall this was an enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for the ARC!

The writing style had a good flow, and the romantic tropes were well executed. The characters were the right amount of sassy, complex and loveable. This is a perfect summer read that will leave you with the warm and fuzzies.

Ellie Greco feels stuck in the small town she grew up in after coming back to run the family deli following her father's sudden death. She'll complain about it to anyone, but that doesn't mean she won't do anything in her power to keep it from closing. That unfortunately includes approaching Theo Taylor, a rich kid from her high school days she's never liked. One thing leads to another and now Ellie and Theo are pretending to be engaged in order to save Ellie's family's deli and help Theo get what he wants. But can Ellie let herself trust Theo when he's keeping things close to the vest and can they keep things as pretend as they initially set out to?

Ellie and Theo are really great characters that make following along with their story fun. That they're also surrounded by other interesting characters it would be good to get to know better is icing on the cake.

I loved this book but there were some parts that I thought were pretty obvious that they loved each other but it was still a great read! 4.5 stars :)

The synopsis of this one sounded fun, and I thought I would enjoy this romantic feel-good chick-lit. However, it quickly failed to hold my attention. The characters, setting, and narrative pace just didn't click for me.

I will try others from Gagnon, but this just wasn't the book for me.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was super sweet! This was my first time reading this author and I really enjoyed it. Fake dating is my favorite trope and this was a fun one, especially with the added fake engagement and their plotting. Ellie and Theo were fun and endearing and I loved their banter. Ellie's family was hilarious and relatable, while Theo's dad was pretty awful, so these two definitely came from vastly different upbringings and would be an unlikely pairing. That's what made their inevitable chemistry and attraction that much better! Thank you to Dell/PRH and Jilly for the ARC!

I knew I was headed for straight rom com territory with LOVE YOU, MEAN IT by Jilly Gagnon: unlikely pair with the ups and downs of truly diverse individuals trying to make sense of a person they cannot stand and cannot stand to be without. What I did not expect was to fall so completely into the story, feeling the frustration of an indecisive customer, the missed cues, and the quick recoveries that don't quite work out the way you expect. I loved the setting and the relationships which helped with what at times felt snarky and unbelievable, but still managed to keep my interest. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

I am always down for fake engagements, but a fake engagement to save a deli?!?! A dream come true!

I loved the setup of this one with Ellie pretending to be Theo’s fiancée to gain access to him at the hospital a lá While You You Were Sleeping. From there, their undeniable chemistry takes hold and things start getting steamy. It was so satisfying to watch!

Bonus for points for Massachusetts rep and all of the delicious food! Definitely pick this one up to read in the park with a nice picnic lunch.

Thank you so much to Dell and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

I would like to preface my review by saying thank you to Kathleen Quinlan at PRH for sending me an ARC of Love You, Mean It in exchange for my honest review!

When Ellie Greco's family deli is in trouble due to a new development coming into town, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Theo Taylor is the lead on this project and upon their first meeting, Theo suffers from a concussion with temporary amnesia. After being his fake fiancée to visit him at the hospital, they come up with an epic fake dating plan that will benefit them both.

I loved this book so much! I read it in one sitting, that's how much I loved this. This book had moments where I would literally laugh out loud at Ellie's witty comments and the friends she made along the way. I am a huge fan of the fake dating trope so I was interested immediately in this title but I also loved the found friendships in this book. It's not everyday you become besties with your fake fiancé's ex fiancée, but Ellie and Sam were perfect.

Throughout the story, Ellie is constantly painted as the underdog. This girl who owns a deli would only be with someone like Theo for his money. But, the chemistry between these two are electric. Sometimes it's the person you least suspect, and this is a perfect example of that.

If you're a fan of fake dating, found female friendships, and the underdog, I highly recommend this book! I can't wait to see what Jilly Gagnon has in store for us in the future.

Ellie moved back to her hometown in Massachusetts when her father died to take over the family deli. She was fierce about saving what her family had successfully accomplished. She did love her job as a costume designer but family first!
Then lo and behold she ran across Theo and when they were in High School he was an arrogant jock. His family owned a lot of the land and Ellie met with Theo to scheme against his dad to abandon his plans. His Dad was such a despicable person. But it was fun to see Ellie and Theo banter back and forth!

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Here are the things I loved - a fake engagement with a hint of While You Were Sleeping Vibes. Strong side characters. An adorable and sassy Mimi. Hard working and caring MCs. But it also felt a bit disjointed with too many tropes going on. There was a decent amount of miscommunication towards the end that lead to a lot of problems and that worked less for me too. I still see a lot of things that people will love.

Ellie sets her dreams aside to help out the decades old family business after her father dies. When word gets out there’s a rival store front, Mangia, that has the potential on moving in and ruining her family’s business, Greco’s Deli, she does everything she can to stop it. That something includes wealthy businessman, Theo Taylor, in which his family is behind on the new store. Ellie meets with him to discuss her plans to stop it. While doing so, a freak accident knocks Theo unconscious and Ellie finds herself telling the hospital she’s his fiancé in order to get in the hospital room. After Theo has a slight moment of memory loss, Ellie continues to play along with the fiancé card. Amnesia wears off, and Theo strikes up a plan with Ellie to keep their “engagement” in tact so he can stick it to his family and Ellie gets to continue with the family business. That is until Theo’s ex catches onto their plan and Ellie is forced to join an alliance with her. Only Sam the ex has no idea that Ellie isn’t pretending anymore.

It took me a bit to really get into this one. But I’m glad I held on! I loved the family dynamic of Ellie and her family. As an Italian American, the one thing I will knock is the mispronunciation of some of the Italian words that were used by the narrator. Once I moved past that, the story was great! I really liked Ellie and Theo together and you could see the grump and cockiness start to disappear the more they were together. It was a quick, perfect paced plot!

This was cute!! It was a fun, fake dating/engagement story. I loved the small town setting and charm, the characters were believable and fun to read about and the romance was sweet.

SPOILERS- I really, really didn't like the intentional miscommunication at the end, it just felt mean and unnesscary. Other than that, I really enjoyed the whole book!