I didn’t love this one. The writing itself was well done and easy to get into, but there were several plot points that really didn’t work for me.

Spoiler: it really really bothered me that Ellie had sex with Theo and then still meets up with Sam to pursue the plan of getting THEM back together. It felt really gross. I also really didn’t like how much lying Ellie did, especially when Sam asked her outright if she had feelings for Theo when she clearly did. I also don’t know that it was believable that Theo was so open to working things out with Ellie when she essentially lied to and manipulated him for her own purposes.

3.5 rounded down

I thought this story was super cute and I was immediately hooked from the very first page. I found it heartwarming and funny at times and the banter between Ellie and Theo was my favorite part.
However, as the story went on, I feel as though this book didn’t know what it wanted to be. I can’t really say too much without giving things away, but it was almost as though multiple tropes and/or different situations were just thrown in on a whim to fluff things up a bit. I also hated Ellie, who was the MC, so that really drove the reading experience down for me. As the story went on, I found her to be extremely immature, annoying, and selfish. On the other hand, though, hating her made me like Theo more 🤣 That guy seriously deserves the world for putting up with her shenanigans 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thank you NetGalley & Dell for a #gifted eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Love You, Mean It is a cute fake engagement story. Ellie invents the story when Theo gets a head injury that causes him temporarily amnesia. Theo decides to keep up the act since he can work it to his advantage. They both have the same goal.

Overall I enjoyed Love You, Mean It. There are other books with a similar story that I think are better but I'd still recommend if fake dating/engagement is your trope.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC copy to read and review!

Ellie Greco is wanna be designer who, after the death of her father, was forced to create something entirely different. That’s how, for the past five years, Ellie came to takeover Greco’s Deli, her family’s literal bread and butter. Although being sidelined with subs instead of swatches was never Ellie’s dream, it has provided steady income, and a way to keep her father’s memory alive.

Then Ellie gets word that the deli is in danger of being pushed out by big business. Distraught, Ellie reaches out to Theo Taylor, the son of the man behind the deal. But the meeting ends in disaster, and an injured Theo acquiring a case of amnesia. Interestingly, Ellie takes advantage of Theo’s compromised state, announcing herself as his fiancée. But while the memory loss is short lived, Theo surprisingly doubles down on their fake relationship.

As Theo and Ellie work to save the business while simultaneously keeping up the ruse of romance, things grow increasingly complicated including the disapproval of Theo’s fastidious father and the involvement of Theo’s too good to be true ex, Sam. All of this, in addition to Ellie’s own growing feelings for Theo, leaves her sandwiched between what she thought she wanted and what she never dreamed to wish for.

Love You, Mean It wasn’t a particularly long read and yet, by the end I felt like I had read multiple books. In the beginning it’s setup as little guy vs the man scenario, served with a side of opposites attract ambition. Ironically, I forgot the brief loss of memory until I sat down to gather my thoughts for this review. This awkwardly segues into a fake relationship and the sickeningly sweet Sam who I suppose is there to add complexity, but only dishes out an oddly plated diversion.

Just as in food as it can be with fiction, I fear Gagnon bit off more than she could chew with this confusing and convoluted charcuterie.

Love You, Mean It started out so promising, and I really really enjoyed the first 25% of the book. The rest of the book just relied too heavily on some of my least favorite tropes, and while it wasn't the worst usage of those tropes, it really took away from the book.

Love You, Mean It is told from the perspective of Ellie Greco, who, after living in New York and not really making it as a costume designer, returns home after her father's death to run the family deli. At a town meeting, it's announced that the Taylor family, who owns basically the whole town, is considering bringing in Mangia, an Italian corporate conglomeration of restaurants and wine cellars and all kinds of things that threaten to put the deli out of business. Ellie decides to reach out to Theo Taylor, who she went to school with, to ask to talk about not bringing Mangia to the town. They meet, and he's acting the part of the corporate asshole that she's expecting him to play. But as they walk around the potential space, he starts to open up to her, except, oops, something falls out of the ceiling and hits him in the head. Ellie feels extremely bad, and she wants to go to the hospital to make sure Theo's okay, except they only let family come in the ambulance, so she lies and says she's his fiancée. Foolproof! At the hospital, Theo wakes up, except, oops again, he's got short-term amnesia, thinks he's 6 years in the past, and is obviously shocked to learn Ellie is his fiancée. But so is she.

Luckily, the amnesia subplot only lasts for about a chapter (the appropriate length for an amneisa subplot). But Theo suggests they continue to be engaged, which might be the only way to convince his asshole dad to not go through with the Mangia deal and to give Theo some autonomy.

Here's where the book started to go downhill. Obviously Theo and Ellie catch feels for each other, but because they're from such different worlds, Ellie is convinced that Theo doesn't actually like her. Even after he says as much. Which is so frustrating to read. There's also a subplot involving his ex, who ends up befriending Ellie but also tells her that she wants to win Theo back, but "only if Ellie actually isn't interested in Theo." So Ellie lies to Sam and agrees to help her. Which obviously blows up in her face. To the author's credit, Sam isn't an actual villain here, which is a trope that I hate. But the lack of communication on Ellie's part, even as Theo is trying to communicate with her, was just annoying.

There are some really cute and tender moments between Theo and Ellie (including him teaching her how to play tennis, very up close and personal), which made the miscommunication that much more heartbreaking.

This is Jilly Gagnon's adult romance debut, and there was enough in here that I'd absolutely read future adult romances she writes. But this book relied too heavily on some of the more frustrating, and admittedly sometimes staple, tropes of the genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Dell for providing me with an eARC of Love You, Mean It in exchange for my honest review.

Love You, Mean It is a cute story I just couldn’t put down. It kept entertained and I really enjoy Ellie’s character growth but the book just ended to abruptly for my liking.

THIS IS FEEDBACK FOR THE PUBLISHER AND NOT A PUBLICLY POSTED REVIEW.

Chapter One:

It’s not a great start to a book when I have to look up a word within the first sentence. Not being Italian I had no idea what a “mortadella” was nor had I ever heard the term. Then a few paragraphs down using “rictus” for a grin? Come on. Let’s set the thesaurus aside.

Immediately Ellie comes off as a bitch and not someone I’d be interested in reading about.

She locked the door behind Mrs. Pinsky but a few paragraphs later the bell rang (for the door) and someone came in.

If this wasn’t an ARC I would’ve ended the book right there as a DNF (It ended up being a DNF for me. Sorry).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

📖 Small Town
📖 Fake engagement
📖 Opposites Attract
📖 Single POV

Oh my goodness! I don’t even know where to begin! This book completely caught me by surprise. I went in expecting to enjoy it, but found myself engrossed in this story. What I really enjoyed was that this story takes off really quickly with Ellie meeting up with Theo to try and pursued him to not sign a deal that would inevitably ruin her family’s business. Expect their meeting didn’t go very far before Theo is involved in an accident on the job sight. With Theo in the hospital with a case of amnesia, Ellie must quickly find an excuse to be allowed in his room. Well they can’t turn his “fiance” away now can they? After this exciting start to this book it does slow down a bit, but with that being said it was definitely enjoyable throughout. I enjoyed learning more about Ellie and Theo and their personal struggles throughout this story. It’s clear that these two may not be as different as they were lead to believe and that this “fake relationship” may not come with fake feelings.
This was such an enjoyable read that helped out of a reading slump. This book will definitely take you through many emotions, from laughing out loud to wanting to scream and I did my fair share of both. I will say my only issue with this story is that the ending felt a bit abrupt. I’d definitely love to see another book take place in this town so we could maybe get some more of Ellie and Theo! Overall, I would 100% recommend if you are looking for a witty small town romcom!!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this e-ARC! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was a blend of humor with grief in a way that the grief didn't feel as heavy as you'd expect. Ellie & Theo's (present day) meet-cute was hilarious. Both at each other's throats, this almost turned into "While You Were Sleeping," but with a twist. I really enjoyed the banter between these two & how the story showed their relationship with their respective families.

While the premise was entertaining, some aspects of the book gave me confusion. A lot of the times, scenes jumped from one another without actually resolving what happened a few seconds ago. And at times, both Theo & Ellie were mean or arrogant, that didn't sit right with me.

This was a short book compared to others & I really had a good time. Looking forward to what's next from the author!

Thank you Netgalley & Publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was hilarious, Ellie and her family were so much much, especially her grandma Mimi. Anyway, this huge retailer is coming to town and this might mean the end of the family deli that she has been running since her dad passed away. So to save it she has to talk to Theo, someone she knew from high school, and whose family runs more than half the town….

The way this Fake-dating-fiance trope unraveled was so funny, they both agreed and I was here for it. I loved the connection between these two, their attraction happened so fast. I adore Ellie, she is a woman of many talents, and she reminded me of me in so many ways. These two finally started to grow up and face their insecurities and I loved that type of growth in a book.

Thanks you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon is a contemporary romcom novel featuring business owners in a small town trying to save their lively hood from a conglomerate business taking over. The small town charm feel for Ellie Greco’s family deli is threatened when a new glitzy Italian market called Mangia. Ellie refuses to sit by and watch her family’s deli crumble, so she decides to take on the property manager, Theo Taylor, and convince him to reconsider. At the meeting, the two opposites face a battle of wills, until the ceiling falls…literally. Theo is hurt in the accident, and Ellie panics saying she is Theo’s fiancée, in order to stay with him at the hospital. When Theo wakes with amnesia, Ellie panics, but continues with the story. She soon finds out Theo sees right through her, but they decide to keep the charade going, in the hopes to both get what they want with this business deal, and form an alliance against Theo’s father. Things start to spin when Theo’s ex, Sam, shows up, and Ellie and Sam decide to join forces in the hopes everyone will get what they want in this massive charade.

This was a cute story, very light, romantic comedy. Most of the characters are likeable, there is a good amount of business rivalry, which is always fun, and when you add fake romance, you never know what will happen. The chemistry between Ellie and Theo is obvious, although sometimes Ellie annoyed me. My favorite character was Ellie’s grandmother! She is a no nonsense grandma that is hysterical and tough! This is a good book, if you are looking for a nice fluffy read.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Dell Publishing and Jill Gagnon for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry to say it, but this did not feel like a love story. I love a fake dating scenario just as much as the next girl, but Theo and Ellie were lacking major chemistry. I also always want to root for the FMC, but it was difficult because Ellie was so combative and unlikeable. Theo was your standard uppity rich guy, but I actually liked him because he knew what he wanted. Also, the conflict happened so late in the book, so they only had one chapter to confess their feelings for each other, which I felt was rushed and unfinished. I did really enjoy the deli and fashion design combo as well as the loudness of Ellie's family. The dates felt forced, I didn't feel like the characters connected in any huge way, and the development took a long time. For a romance, the chapters were long and it seemed like many events were just trying to be thrown together. I liked some of the side characters a lot more than Ellie. Thank you to SMP Romance and Netgalley for the E-ARC to read and review!

Read if you like:
😡 Enemies to Lovers
💍 Fake Dating
💰 Opposites Attract
🚊 While You Were Sleeping

This book has such a cute premise with the ‘while you were sleeping’ type plot in the very beginning that led to a mutually beneficial fake dating plot to save Theo’s beloved building and keep out the competition that would impact Ellie’s family deli.

One of the shining stars of the book was definitely Sam and loved her character and how sweet she was.

If you love tension and enemies to lovers vibes with a slow burn I’d definitely recommend this one!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Fun romance between Ellie and Theo!

Ellie Greco knew her dreams of designing costumes for Broadway ended when she returned to Milborough to run the family deli after the death of her father. But that might change when the biggest landlord in town wants to bring in Mangia, a food department store which would seriously impact Greco’s Deli.

Ellie makes an appointment to talk to Theo Taylor who was running the project updating the building but her plans change when she fakes being engaged to Theo when he’s injured but they decide to continue the fake engagement while they tried to protect the deli and help Theo get more control over the his families business.

Love You, Mean It has fake dating and serious enemies to lovers with some funny banter between Ellie and Theo.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I honestly felt like this book was too predictable and expected to be loved. A enemies to lovers, amnesia lies and saving family business has been done too many times to count. And although parts of this book were adorable and fun - it just didn’t stand out to me. The main character Ellie is not very likable. The dynamics between Ellie and Theo are very fake, although the chemistry was real. I also found the addition of Theos ex to bring very little to the overall story. That being said, I flew through this book. A very quick real - just walked away wishing I had more from it.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

Such a fun adversary turned romantic interest love story.. Will be a fantastic summer read! Ellie Greco is a strong personality whose dreams of being a costume designer are short lived in NYC and she returns to run the family deli after the death of her father. Unfortunately, a proposed business development threatens her store and Ellie is going to step aside and let it happen. She thinks she can convince, Theo Taylor, son of the property management firm owner to hear her out. That meeting will change their lives forever as a freak accident leads to a trip to the hospital and a hasty plan to get what they both want. I had a lot of fun reading this one.

I was super intrigued by the premise of this book! The plot started very much like “While You Were Sleeping” which I have never seen done with a book before. It had so many great tropes woven into it as well: fake dating, and enemies to lovers.

Originally was around a 4 star read, but found myself loving the female side character more than the FMC. Ellie was dramatic and not reliable. I wanted to like her, but her tendency to bury feelings, deny emotions, blow of situations because she didn’t want to feel it, and be indecisive with her life had me not rooting for her all the time.

I also felt somewhat unconnected to Theo. I think he had great potential but since the book only came from the perspective of Ellie, I found it hard to get to know him. You only saw him in the tainted view that Ellie carried. I would have LOVED a dual POV in this book.

I would definitely be intrigued to see what else this author writes and read more of her books. Overall this book was still cute, I just think it fell flat in some areas and I just couldn’t understand Ellie.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found the book full of fun tropes, such as fake dating and enemies to lovers. It has scenes that reminded me of the movie "While You Were Sleeping" and other 90s era romcoms. I enjoyed the plot line involving the family deli versus the big box store and the setting, and I loved Ellie's quirky family. Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting with Ellie, the FMC, and she has a lot of inner dialogue. She came across as indecisive, negative, and self-sabotaging and judges people without getting to know them. I understood that she felt stuck in life, and I empathized with her about that. However, I wish her character had had more growth by the end. Not being able to connect with her and not getting to know Theo in depth made it difficult for me to root for the central romance. I would have loved getting Theo's POV. However, it was well written, and the author has an engaging style, and I would be interested in reading other book by this author. While this wasn't my cup of tea, I think it will appeal to many other readers.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Ballentine and NetGalley for the free book.

A fake dating trip that also involves dueling delis in this new romcom.

I liked this premise but this author’s writing is not for me. I didn’t realize it was her at first because the others I’ve read were more thrillers. People who liked those books will find a similar style here and probably enjoy it!

Ellie Greco wishes she wasn’t stuck in her hometown running her family’s deli but when her Dad died she had no choice. Then she hears that a gourmet food department store is going to move into the building. Theo Taylor is in management development and she seeks his help to keep them out. When the ceiling falls in and Theo is knocked out Ellie pretends to be his fiancé. When his amnesia clears he knows that they are not engaged but they decide to stay pretend engaged so they can both get what they want