With hints of romcom classics, I mean the You've Got Mail and While You Were Sleeping vibes are real, this is a fun sweet and spicy read. I love me some 80s/90s romcoms so this one was right up my alley. If you are looking for a fun, quick read def pick this one up!

This is such a lovely romcom book. You have Ellie who all she wants to do is save her family butcher shop. Yet she is lost. She loves working in the shop, it is a tie to her father who no longer is with her, but she also loves being inspired by clothes and fashion. She left that life behind though. Then you have Theo. The son who works under his father if you can even truly call him that. Theo just wants to take his dad’s business and make it thrive, but he keeps running up against his dad’s old school beliefs. When Ellie hears of a box company possibly coming to town, she knows that her small business will never survive. She tries to talk to Theo in hopes he might be able to help her, only for an accident to happen causing her to claim to be his fiancé. From here the fun starts. Both Theo and Ellie are strong characters that are easy to root for getting together. This is a fast paced, funny story, that readers are just going to fall in love with.
Thankyou to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

This book was over all a good read. Something quick and fun to help me not fall into a reading slump. I always love a good enemies to lovers book ❤️ thank you Netgalley for the Arc

It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good. I liked Theo and and Ellie together and I think they had good chemistry. The whole Sam plotline just wasn't necessary. I think that they could have had a conflict in another way without involving her.

I received an arc through netgalley.

A new mega food emporium Mangia is coming to town, threatening the business of family run Greco’s Deli.
Ellie, who has basically taken over the running of the deli from the older generations, is determined to stop the Taylor’s from bringing in the new store. While Theo Taylor might be the face of the problem, it’s really his father pulling the strings.

This starts out feeling like an Easter Egg hunt for classic romcom movies - from the big shop vs the indie of You’ve Got Mail, accident to amnesiac imaginary fiancé of While You Were Sleeping - but when the fake relationship really takes off it comes into its own.

Both of them are balancing family obligation agains their dreams, and starting to realize the professional goals they’ve been working towards aren’t what they really want. And - of course - as they (re)learn more about each other the fake relationship starts to feel less fake.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one - it couldn’t be more different than the other book I read by the author, a locked room type murder mystery - but I mostly enjoyed it!
I think one of my favorite moments was when Ellie put Theo’s father in his place during the ‘meet the parents’ dinner, because I bet that would feel *so* satisfying.
I was cautiously intrigued by Sam’s angle, very curious. Instead of what I hoped for, there was instead a messy kind of drama *but* in the end things wrapped up in a good place.
I did really enjoy seeing the couple get to know each other better and appreciating the sides of themselves that they don’t show off to others (Ellie’s fashion design and Theo’s architectural interests) I was a fan of the first post date modification of rule two…and then what led to rethinking it entirely.

Thank you to NetGalley and random house/dell for the arc

To save her family’s deli, Ellie must out a stop to a mega chain Mangia from entering her small town and putting her deli out of business. Enter big shot Theo Taylor, who used to be from her small town, but was in an entirely different social circle. His family business is what’s bringing Mangia in. What if she can convince him not to? By ways of a fake relationship?

Ok… it took me 30% into this book to feel invested. And the second half drew me in. While some things were repetitive and so darn annoying having only Ellie’s POV, she expressed totally valid emotions that made me want to cheer for her and strangle her at the same time. There were plenty of good elements to this story that I enjoyed—the Italian family, opposites attract in turn compliment each other type of deal, the fake engagement turned real feelings, and Ellie’s cousin and voice of reason Bella. I’m glad I stuck it out and read this!

This book was so fun and full of tropes! I was a little worried when the amnesia storyline hit because I had forgotten the details of the book summary when I started this one, but I absolutely loved the spin on it. Amnesia into fake engagement where both are on board? Heck yes!

Theo and Ellie had fun banter and chemistry, and I also felt like their argument that led to the breakup was human and sort of savage.

This one was a fun, light escape from reality and, in my opinion, went by quickly! Once I was invested, it flew by and the story happens quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review,

Will a fake engagement help her save her family’s business?

Five years ago, Ellie Greco left her new life in New York City when her father died unexpectedly so that she could take over the running of Greco’s Deli, the family business which has been an institution for decades in the small Massachusetts town of Millborough where she grew up. Not exactly the career she had envisioned, but she had made no real progress in establishing herself as a costume designer in NYC and her family needed her. Now she spends her days whipping up family specialties behind the counter, dealing with quirky customers (oh, to be “Pinskied”!), and adding her own stamp on the deli. She’s in a rut, has no love life to speak of, but does love being back home near her mom, her grandparents (especially her pistol of a grandmother Mimi) and her cousin Bella. You don’t always know how much you love something until you lose it, though, and when the future of the deli is threatened by the possible arrival in town of Mangia, an Italian food superstore, Ellie is prepared to do whatever it takes to save Greco’s. It will mean dealing with Theo Taylor, whose wealthy family owns half of the property in town including the property that Mangia wants to rent. Ellie remembers Theo from her high school days as an arrogant, lacrosse-playing rich kid, and isn’t sure she can keep her temper from flaring when she arranges to meet with him to discuss the situation. But Theo isn’t all that keen on the Mangia situation either, for his own reasons, and a plot is hatched to fake an engagement to shame Theo’s dad into killing the deal. Shouldn’t be hard, right? Theo may be too good looking for his own good, but they aren’t one another’s type. This is strictly business….until, well, it isn’t.
Love You, Mean It is a fun romantic comedy, a little “While You Were Sleeping”, a bit of “You’ve Got Mail’ and maybe even a hint of of “My Best Friend’s Wedding”. Ellie has fallen into the trap of sticking with what’s safe rather than taking risks and going after what she wants and although she thinks that she and Theo are nothing alike, he’s in a similar rut in his own life. They also have both suffered losses which are still affecting their ability to find happiness. With a domineering father, a beautiful ex-girlfriend, and the feisty Greco clan surrounding them, pulling off a fake romance isn’t easy. Fighting the attraction that develops isn’t either, but Ellie doesn’t see a way to happily-ever-after. Fans of Emily Henry, Meghan Quinn and Abby Jiminez will enjoy rooting for the artsy girl trying to find her groove and the boy who was born with everything he could ever want except the ability to live his life on his own terms. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine - Dell for allowing me early access to this enjoyable read.

Looking for a book with short-term amnesia, a love of elegant buildings, and a Logan-Huntzberger-coded male main character? Then you should definitely check out Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon!
First, let me assure you that the While You Were Sleeping trope is short-lived and ethically sound! Ellie and Theo are both running their families’ businesses, and a fake engagement might be the perfect way for them to both get what they want. Using Theo’s head injury smoothes over anything that doesn’t quite make sense, and the two should be able to end the engagement after saving Ellie’s deli and annoying Theo’s dad.
My one star deduction was mostly for Ellie’s lack of character development. She is our only narrator throughout the book, and her negativity and indecisiveness were starting to grate on me by the end. She had a lot of contradictions, both in her personal beliefs and her actions, so it felt like her development was incomplete. In comparison, Theo was fully developed, and really carried my interest. His chemistry with Ellie was the saving grace, along with the antics involved in keeping their engagement believable.
Overall, this was a fun and fresh read. I loved the deli and the moments we got to spend with the Greco family. Theo’s commitment to the bit was excellent, and led to so many fun moments, like a double tennis date, that are exactly what makes a good rom-com.
Thanks to Netgalley and Dell for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really thought I was going to love this book, because fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, but it was so tiring to hear Ellie say all the time that nothing was going on between her and Theo, specially because the way she thinks about herself and because she is not as rich as Theo, she keeps telling Sam to get back with him when there she is having sex with Theo.
Besides it didn’t even seem like they liked each other as people or really cared about each other but just what they could get out of the arrangement.

Yep it has serious You've Got Mail vibes and it's mega trope-y, what with the enemies to lovers, fake fiance thing but it's also entertaining. Ellie's working in the family deli, the one that Theo's family wants to take and when a ceiling falls on Theo, she claims at the hospital to be his fiancé, a surprise to all concerned. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. You know what's going to happen but the characters are good and sometimes an easy read is just what you need.

oh this was so cute. love you mean it is a heartbreakingly funny, cosy, and romantic read. i really enjoyed myself with this one. if you love while you were sleeping you will love this! i found myself bored at some parts (it's not my fav trope) but this was done pretty well. give it a read!

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon is a romance with some fun characters.

"Ellie Greco has come home after her father's death to run the family deli. She left her dream in NYC because she felt a responsibility to her family to keep Greco's Deli going. And now the family that owns most of the real estate in town plan to bring in Mangia, a foodie superstore. The deli is doomed unless Ellie can figure out a way to stop it. And she's willing to do anything."

I love the voice of Ellie She's just trying to figure out her life but seems afraid to go after what she really wants. The "worst case scenario" voice is strong in her head. So it's fun to read the interactions between Ellie and Theo (the family member in charge of the Mangia project) It's a romance so there's an expected ending. And Gagnon throws us some red herrings so the ending may be a little different. But it works. These are characters that would be nice to see in more books.

Nice read from Gagnon.

Theo es una materialista, a la gente que no son ricos los ve como menos. Ellie, juzga a todos, pero a lado de Theo es más agradable (un poco). Sam (la ex) fue el personaje más agradable, directo y comunicativo

Cuando paso la escena en donde ambos se dicen sus verdaderas, me enojó que fue Ellie la única que se disculpó y andaba rogando por el perdón de él, en cambio, Theo, no vio como algo malo lo que le dijo a ella, no se disculpó e hizo algunas cosas para lastimarla aún más.




Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for and honest review.

This is a new-to-me author and I really enjoyed getting to read her work. From what I could tell by the acknowledgements at the end, Jilly Gagnon tried a different genre and overall I'd say she succeeded! Love You, Mean It is a charming story of a fake engagement in order to save both a family deli and a beloved building in the small-town of Milborough, Massachusetts. Ellie Greco is a riot. Her sharp wit had me chuckling often throughout this book. Her family, especially her grandmother Mimi, certainly provide plenty of fodder and you could see the apple didn't fall far from the tree for Ellie and this lively bunch. On the other side of this crazy arrangement is the well-bred Theo Taylor, who is still following his vile father Ted in all things business but finds a surprising ally in Ellie as they scheme to keep a large eating establishment from taking over the afore-mentioned downtown building. Thus keeping Greco's Deli in business since it's truly the only thing Ellie currently has in her life.

Gagnon paired two very different characters but even from the start of their interesting journey, there was a spark that neither could have ever imagined. But as the book progresses, both Theo and Ellie realize they find a sort of kindred spirit in the other which further fuels their secret arrangement and sudden thoughts of having more together. I liked both of these characters very much. Their struggles, albeit very different due to their standing in society, give both Ellie and Theo a new perspective as they start to spend plenty of time together in order to prove to the world that they are a couple very much in love. I loved that they really did admire one another and were kind of enjoying this ruse. Both in and out of the bedroom I might add.

I will say at times, though, the book felt overly wordy, inner thoughts rambling on a bit too long. The book is told in Ellie's POV and yes, she has a feisty nature but I didn't always need to have her musings be excessively detailed. But her chemistry with her fake fiance and keen sense of humor drove the book and it was sweet to watch Theo marvel at how she handled even the most difficult of people, including his father.

There are plenty of secondary characters who round out the story and give great advice, good-natured ribbing, and honesty when needed. I wouldn't hesitate to read more from this author, who interestingly enough typically writes thrillers but again, I applaud her for trying something new.

Love You, Mean It would be a great book to have at the beach or pool since it's easy to read and the characters are fun to be with. A joyful little rom-com, I happily give this book 3.5 stars.

DNF pretty early on. Ellie was incredibly insufferable and it was awful to be reading her innermost thoughts.

I had so many high hopes for this book, but unfortunately, I just could not get into it. For one, I couldn't connect with the characters, and to me, it felt like the pacing seemed off. I guess it just wasn't for me.

This was super cute! I love a good fake dating story and this hit the spot. I'm also a sucker for a good epilogue so I wish this had some more closure past the main events. But I really did love all these characters and would love to read more about all of them!

I had high hopes for this book as it was similarly compared to While You Were Sleeping, one of my favorite movies! However, unlike Jack, Lucy and Peter...there was no love triangle and there was no chemistry. I didn't connect with Elllie from the beginning when she declared she hated Theo just because he was rich. Then Theo's "memory loss" (during which Ellie conveniently pretended to be his fiancé to help save her family's deli) was so short lived, it was kind of unnecessary.

While there was no chemistry, there was definitely spice! I also enjoyed the storyline of Ellie's homemade clothes more than her family's deli. Fun premise, but ultimately, I did not connect with the characters.

Title: Love You, Mean It
Author: Jilly Gagnon
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Love You Mean It" by Jilly Gagnon

My Thoughts:

I enjoy how these fake romances can turn into quite a read after all is said and done. When it looked like Ellie Greco and Theo Taylor had a fake romance going to try to fool everyone, there was one person who didn't believe it. Why was that, especially being Theo's ex and even his father? The story will give one a lot of drama from this little bit of amnesia that Theo had from what had fallen on him. How far would this story go on about this fake romance?

To understand how this story will go with Ellie trying to save her family's Greco Deli business, it looks like Theo's family [father] was getting ready to sell the Mangia deal that would lower prices for the mom-and-pop shops in the area. What will happen when Theo goes along with the fake engagement?

The story will continue, so be ready for a long story. However, by the end, the reader is given a decent story that will come out. Pick this one up to see how the author brings it out, which will be surprising. Be ready for a good read that will keep you reading till the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.