Ellie Greco runs her family's deli, which is being threatened by the possibility of a large chain store moving into town. When she meets with the son of the building's owner, Theo, things don't go exactly as planned. First, she hates him on principle. Second, he gets hit in the head and forgets the last 6 years, leaving her to say she is his fiancée to be able to ride to the hospital with him.

This book gave me a few laughs as well as some feelings. I love a good enemy-to-lover trope and adding in the fake relationship aspect? I was all in.

As the first book I've read by Jilly Gagnon, I applaud her attention to detail in character and environment creation. "Love You, Mean It" delves into the demolition and reconstruction of its two main characters, reminding us that the stories we tell ourselves can be dangerously convincing—often holding us back from chasing our hopes and dreams due to a fear of the unknown.

Returning to your small town might seem cliché for most, but for Ellie, it was a bit like becoming a hero. Okay, calling herself a hero might be overstating it, but she wasn't about to force her grandparents out of retirement. After her dad passed away, her New York City dreams had to be put on hold as she decided to take over the family legacy. Fast forward five years, and life in the small town of Milborough hasn't changed—until Mimi returns for a city council meeting, only to learn that a major chain, Mangia, might be moving in. Ellie knows her family's deli can't compete with such a giant, so she does the only sensible thing: try to reason with Theo, the (hopefully more compassionate) son of Ted, who owns most of the property in town. What should have been a calm, professional meeting goes off the rails when Ellie's mouth gets ahead of her. Before she can apologize and regain control, an accident sends Theo to the hospital. As if things weren't hard enough for Ellie, Theo wakes up with amnesia and believes Ellie is his fiancée (how else was she going to get into his hospital room to apologize, right? Just one little white lie!). Now, Ellie has two options: use Theo's amnesia to her advantage to cancel the Mangia deal, or come clean and try to fix things before the accident. Turns out two can play this game, as Ellie finds out Theo has a plan of his own.

I absolutely loved the family dynamics in this book. The Greco family is one that you can't help but admire. Although some characters make brief appearances, they contribute to the understanding of the family's closeness, which later becomes significant in revealing who Ellie truly is versus who she presents herself to be.

Jilly shines when it comes to character development, offering deep insights into the inner thoughts and emotions of Ellie and Theo, either from Ellie's first-person viewpoint or through the third-person reflections of Theo's friends and family. She invites us to understand these characters as closely as the important people in their lives do. While this is crucial for fully grasping the characters and their actions, at times, these introspective moments can drag out the narrative. For instance, Ellie might be asked a question, and, several pages later, after much internal reflection, we finally get her response. This technique is useful occasionally, but its overuse slows the book's pace, leading to over-explanation and drawn-out chapters that stifle narrative momentum.

For those looking for a little bit of heat, the book is incredibly spicy without being vulgar, offering a semi-open door romance where the reader has an unmistakable idea of what's happening without the explicitness and of a fully open door romance.

Overall, "Love You, Mean It" may not be for everyone. For those who love deep inner thoughts and vivid descriptions that paint an elaborate picture of each situation, this book is ideal. For those who prefer sticking with the banter, the interactions between characters, shorter chapters, and easy story progression— they may find this book a little tedious at times.

Love You, Mean It started out promising. We’ve got some interesting enemy dynamics and a fake engagement, but I got bored about halfway through. This was largely my own issue, I think, but I wanted to be immersed and just didn’t feel that way.

Dueling delis (say that three times fast!), a bit of amnesia and fake dating makes for a fun fast read.

Huge thank you to #dell and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon Is the story of two millennials stuck in a life they didn’t anticipate. Who hasn’t felt stuck with their life, family, town? The female main character Ellie feels stuck in running her families deli daily rather than pursuing what she went to college for. Theo Is stock running the family business and battling it out with his dad over the morals of running the company. Ellie and Theo see what they’re missing from their own lives in each other. There were some leaps of logic in this book but that’s what we read romance novels for! I really enjoyed the side characters and there were some truly funny moments in the book.

Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the blurb I was so excited to read it as this book has all the makings of my favorite romcoms, but in the end it was missing that *spark* for me. The FMC was extremely hard to root for and the MMC wasn’t a whole lot better. There were bits and pieces that I loved and a few moments where I actually laughed out loud that pushed me to continue reading. This was my first book by the author and I did enjoy her style of writing so I will give her another go in the future. Overall, I found this book to be an okay read. Just because I didn’t love this one doesn’t mean you won’t though! I definitely think you should pick it up if you’re looking for a fake dating, amnesia, foodie romcom!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Ballantine Dell for gifting me a digital and physical ARC of the new book by Jilly Gagnon. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Ellie's dream career was designing theater costumes in NYC. While her career never took off, it all but disappeared when her father died and she returned home to take over running the family's deli. But after all that sacrifice, it appears that the deli may be a thing of the past if rumors are true about a gourmet food department store moving into town. Theo Taylor is the son of the property management company about to make the deal, but when Ellie meets him to plead her case, an accident happens that renders Theo with temporary amnesia. Eventually the two come up with a plan to help them both.

This was a fun rom-com complete with a fake engagement and tons of food descriptions that had me drooling! In fact, I need Mimi's lasagna recipe! Both Ellie and Theo were faced with familial responsibilities that they allowed to overtake their own dreams. It's a good reminder that happiness comes when we are true to ourselves and others. Ellie's best friend Bella was probably my favorite character, although Mimi was great as well.

I was so captivated by Love You, Mean It that I raced through this books faster than anything else I’ve read recently. It reminded me so much of some of my favorite books - Summer Romance, That Kind of Guy, How to Fake It in Hollywood… it was playful and yet heartwarming. It centers on Ellie, who returned to her hometown about 5 years ago to take over her family deli after her father’s death. She’s been struggling with giving up her dream career as a Broadway costumer in NYC ever since, while also worrying about how to keep the family business alive. When the town council announces that another family business in a beautiful historic property will be closing in favor of a mega gourmet food department store (think Eataly) moving in, Ellie is determined to figure out how to sabotage the deal. Enter Theo Taylor, the son of the property manager and the rich playboy about town. After strong-arming Theo into meeting her to discuss the deal, things go from bad to worse when their bickering turning bloody - their verbal sparring is abruptly interrupted with a construction site accident that leaves Theo knocked out. He awakens in the hospital with no memory of the last 6 years, and no idea of who Ellie is. She panics and claims to be his fiancee so she doesn’t get kicked out of the hospital, because she knows that she can’t afford to let the opportunity to finish their conversation and save the deli slip away. What ensues is a comedy of errors - his ex-girlfriend shows up, Theo gets his memory back, they continue to fake-date, they catch feelings, Ellie really wants to be friends with his ex… I enjoyed every moment of this book!

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 had a moment of doubt when it seemed like it was going to be a bait-and-switch from the trope inspired by an underrated Sandra Bullock gem, but I'm happy to say that it was just Gagnon taking full possession of it and creating an utterly enjoyable romance. Even the bits where it was obvious how things were going to work out were a joy to read because the journey with the characters is just that enjoyable.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and Dell for the wonderful romance read!

We want to thank NetGalley for an ARC of Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon. We reviewed this novel on our podcast and felt it started off great but lost it's way around the 60% mark. It seemed like two separate books with different plotlines.

What we enjoyed about the book:

- Theo remains a good dude from the beginning to the end and ends up getting the short end of the stick.
- The descriptions of the food made us ravenous.
- Just the right amount of amnesia.

What we didn't like as much:
- Not a love story - no "I love you"s are exchanged, or even "I like you"
- What Ellie says to Theo is absolutely unforgivable.
- Why was Sam in this book?
- So many loose ends that were not weaved in - we are unsure if Ellie kept the deli, opened her own shop, what Theo was actually doing with the building, or are they together now?
- Why ellie's grandmother makes her promise she won't marry Theo but seemingly helps in the end to get them back together? With no explanation.

Starting this novel, both of us were extremely happy with the storyline and how the characters interacted with one another, but it almost seemed as when Sam was introduced, Ellie was the one with amnesia. We actually rooted for Theo to be by himself at the end, he deserved better than Ellie or Sam.

After her father died, Ellie Greco left her life in NYC to return home to run the family deli. When news comes that a new, massive direct competitor will be opening in the neighborhood, Ellie decides to take the issue to Theo Taylor, member of the Taylor family's prominent real estate company who is orchestrating the deal. Before Ellie can plead her case, a construction accident ends up with a Theo in the hospital with amnesia and Ellie claims she's his fiancée in order to go to the hospital with him (very "While You Were Sleeping"). When Theo's memory returns he suggests they continue the ruse of being engaged in order to stop the business deal from happening.

I love a nod to "While You Were Sleeping" and I love a fake dating rom-com. However, Ellie was pretty insufferable throughout this whole book and it made it difficult to ever get on board with the fake relationship leading to real feelings. I realize it was part of her character arc, but her constant self-sabotage made her difficult to root for. The beginning was strong, the middle faltered, and then all of a sudden it wrapped up too quickly at the end.

Ultimately, just wasn't really for me but was fine and will likely to be a hit for some readers.

An ok read! I had no real strong feelings. It was very middle of the road for me. I feel like I've read many retellings/reimaginings While You Were Sleeping lately.

I loved Scenes of the Crime and All Dressed Up by Gagnon, so starting her debut romance was very exciting.
Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon was a great romantic comedy that I absolutely devoured.
The characters are fun, entertaining, and will make you laugh.
From the start I was instantly hooked. This was a cute and light romcom.
A heart-warming romance with a wonderful cast of characters.
I hope she continues to write romance stories because I loved this one!

Thank You NetGalley and Random House, Ballantine & Dell for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

3.5/5 - This book was cute and a fun concept - when Ellie’s dad dies suddenly, she moves back home from NYC to run the family business (a deli). But when the Taylor real estate empire wants to transform a vacant lot into basically Eataly, she’ll stop at nothing to save her family legacy, including developing an unlikely partnership with the enemy - Theo Taylor himself. We all know where this is headed, yeah?

Fun tropes include fake dating, small town drama, opposites attract, miscommunication. The banter is EXCELLENT and probably my favorite part of the book. Ellie is so quick and her jabs at Theo are hilarious! The ending was abrupt, though, and I realized I wanted more depth throughout the story. This is all from Ellie’s perspective and a bulk of the story was her internal monologues of repeated self doubt, which grew frustrating. Also I get annoyed when MCs make decisions based on what they think is best for someone else. My pet peeve miscommunication trope! But that’s a very real life issue so I get it!

Anywho this was a fun and quick read! Thank you to @netgalley, Penguin Random House and Jilly Gagnon for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! OUT TOMORROW!

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 This book blurb had me at “just the right amount of amnesia.” Ellie feels stuck. Her dreams are put on hold to work at the family deli, where a good day means escaping the customer fretting over salami. The Greco Deli’s future is at stake when a fancy rival food store from another local family is about to open. And of course the son opening the store, Theo is an old acquaintance from high school who turned out quite handsome. When a case of amnesia hits, could this be the answer to saving the deli? Yes, we all know how this goes and YES, I am here for it! Loved the tropes, loved the characters, loved the setting, and loved the right amount of amnesia. Love You, Mean It is an adorable rom com not to miss out on!

Love you mean it review

🍕🍕🍕/5
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for supplying me with a free eARC and physical copy of this book to review.

This is a short, quick read and I did get into to it. I momentarily put it down because I started reading something else but once I got past the beginning and into the real plot I started to enjoy reading it:.

The characters are different in this one and I have to say I enjoyed a lot of the side characters over the two main characters.

I like the fake-dating trope and this book put an interesting new spin on it. I am just not sure Theo and Ellie should have ended up together! I was enjoying their romance until Ellie shot a really low blow to Theo about his dead brother. Just seems like something you wouldn’t be able to move past.

Also this book made me crave Italian food, badly.

I’d say give this a try if you want a ew perspective on the fake dating trope with some quirky characters. Just don’t expect it to be the most amazing romance you have ever read. I could tell the author was good at writing, as I was compelled to finish the story regardless of how I was feeling about the romance and plot.

This was such a fun romcom with just the right amount of spice! I loved the fake dating/fake fiancée thing, the differences in class, and Ellie’s personality. I also loved that there was never any animosity between any of the women in the story, including Theo’s ex, which was so refreshing and honestly not something you see often in this genre. I loved the characters.
I definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a cute fake engagement/fake dating romance between what could be seen as people from two different worlds, but actually both of them had the same goals and so much in common.

looooooved this! the first few chapters or so were kind of slow, but once we got into the thick of the plot (about 20% through) i didn’t want to put it down! there’s a lot of fun tropes going on, but they’re interwoven with lovable characters and a heartfelt plot that just makes the whole book so charming. i really didn’t expect to like this as much as i did, and i definitely think there are some things that could’ve made this even better, but i honestly wish i had a few more chapters to read cause i’m already missing this book </3

thank you netgalley and dell for a copy of this arc

Love You, Mean It -a standalone

By- Jilly Gagnon-never read author for me

Publication date 4/30/24 , read 4/29/24

📃 Page count: 300

🌎Setting: Milborough

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Dell for this ARC ❤️! I voluntarily give an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Quick Summary: Eleanor "Ellie" Greco (28) runs the family deli Greco's Deli, and the big bad real estate company owned by Ted Taylor is coming in to put Greco's out of business. Ellie talks to Ted's son Theo Taylor (30), but a freak accident causes him to lose his memory. Ellie pretends to be his fiancée, and when he gets his memory back he still wants to carry on the ruse. They both hope to get what they want: Ellie wants her deli safe and Theo has his own plans for the space.

🤷🏾‍♀️ What to Expect:
⭐enemies to lovers
⭐️ fake dating
⭐️ rom-com
⭐️ amnesia
⭐️ movie trope-While You Were Sleeping

🤔 My Thoughts: It's hard for me to rate a book where the side characters were more likeable then the hero and heroine. Theo and Ellie didn't have much chemistry, except in the bedroom. Ellie kept trying to convince herself that she wasn't in love with Theo. Theo threw around his wealthy, white, privilege that Ellie seemed to hate. Sam, Theo's ex fiancée took over the story when she plotted to get Theo back. I even liked Ellie's cousin Bella who supported Ellie and came to her rescue.

Rating: 3.5/5⭐⭐⭐
Spice level 4/5🔥🔥 🔥🔥

This is a new author for me, and I must say I really enjoyed this book. I really loved this unlikely couple; funny, definitely had steamy chemistry, great Italian family scenes, and a storyline that truly kept me engaged throughout. Loved the sass between Ellie and Theo, really made the book.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book.