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.

Fun little break from life. Theo and Ellie have nothing in common except for the goal of keeping the new store out of town. When they team up as an engaged couple to put a stop to the company coming in, laughter is sure to follow…. After all, what could go wrong?

I liked this love story—even though it was chucked full of familiar tropes. They simply worked for me. Ellie Greco was failing at her New York City career search as a costume designer when her father died leaving the generations old family Italian deli with no one to manage it. Because family meant a lot to Ellie, she felt obligated to return and take over. As in many Hallmark movies, things grew desperate when a Boston based organization was rumored to be preparing to move in the town and this business would compete with and likely drive the Greco family deli out.

Theo Taylor, the eldest son of a very successful real estate management firm was in charge of the project. The thing is that Ellie discovers that Theo is no more thrilled about the new business than she is. Naturally the two team up to save the deli and the town. Ellie’s problem is that Theo’s suggestion that the two undertake a fake engagement as a way to protect the deli.

What follows is Ellie struggling against her growing attraction to a man whom she sees as far out of her league. Even though Theo initially agrees, we see him slowly becoming more and more attracted to his fake fiancée.

I enjoyed this light, quick read even though it felt as though it were a literarily Hallmark movie with all the familiar story lines and images. It was not the best book I have read so far this year, but it was a very long way from the worst. I appreciate the chance NetGalley gave me to read it.

Meat-based humor and tricky relationship gymnastics mix well in this romantic comedy! Ellie and Theo just keep making things more complicated while, well, making things more complicated…

I think you’ll love the humor, the flirty looks and the badass grandmother! This was a fun read!

Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my copy. These opinions are my own.

I was excited for this book and I really wanted to like it but….I struggled to get through this, physically cringing at how awkward some of it was.

We have zero chemistry at ALL between the MCs. I don’t know how to explain it but none of their interactions felt like there was any spark at all. Their first kiss was one of the things I cringed at.

There is too much “telling” not showing, literally like there is WAY too much dialogue. Speaking of which, the MC and the LI have the same voice / personality like there was nothing unique about either one of them.

Additionally, Theo does not read like a man and I don’t know how to explain it. His dialogue and personality was so….unbelievable? Unrealistic? The way he speaks and acts felt very unrealistic and made it hard for me to connect with him as a character. For example the guy says in regards to his position at his father’s company “Now . . . I’m trying to make changes from the inside. I have more clout than when I started, and Ted’s much less involved.”
The use of “clout” in a conversation about a professional business position just does not fit and again, made things cringeworthy.

The writing is very easy to read but something about this novel didn’t resonate with me. I really tried to enjoy this or find something redeeming but it was disappointing and uninteresting.

Thank you anyways to the pub for the e-arc!

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐦-𝐜𝐨𝐦! 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦! 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲, & 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬? 𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞! 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐨𝐟-𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝!

𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒥𝒾𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒢𝒶𝑔𝓃𝑜𝓃, 𝑅𝒶𝓃𝒹𝑜𝓂 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒫𝓊𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 - 𝐵𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑒, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

🩷 ᗷOOK ᖇEᐯIEW 🩷

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Ellie, while trying to save her family’s upscale food store comes face to face with Theo. Theo, is the property manager where the store is located. During their first encounter, a ceiling tile falls hurting Theo. Ellie takes Theo to the hospital, as they are waiting for treatments she mentions she is his fiancé to be able to follow him in. 😱
Theo has short term memory loss. As he starts to remember little by little that he does not have a fiancé he plans to keep the lie. he comes up with a plan to trick his dad!
Will their plan work to convince Theo’s dad and save the gourmet store ?

This enemies to lovers story had some funny moments and some not funny moments. I felt like Theo cared more about how he looked to others than helping Ellie save the gourmet store and although I love some spicy he was too much. It did remind me of one of my favorite movie “While you were Sleeping” with the story line at the beginning.

DNF at 50ish%. I couldn’t care less about Ellie or Theo as main characters and they had no chemistry. I was looking forward to this based on the author’s previous works (thrillers). This one sadly just did not work for me.

Ellie Greco moves home when her father passes away. She was trying to be a costume designer in New York but could not get her foot in the door. She takes over the family deli to feel closer to her father. Meanwhile the Theo's family is trying to be a new Italian food store to town. This will put Ellie's store out of business. She tries to talk to Theo but he has a construction accident and his memory is gone. She pretends to be his fiance. This could help both of them.

This is a fun and quick read. Ellie is a mess and trying to figure out her life. Theo works for his father and does not like the business. He also has an ex who works for the company. What a complicated mess Ellie finds herself in. If you have read a lot of heavy topic books, this will be a bit of fresh air. It will make you feel better about life.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #JillyGagnon and #Dell for a copy of this book
#LoveYouMeanIt

Enemies to lovers isn't my favorite romance trope because it is predictable, but they always are fun and flirty! And I liked that this turned into fake dating because I do like that trope. I didn't love the main character, Ellie-she just wasn't my favorite. But I did love that she took over her family business and I loved that it was a deli because that is a little personal to me. The romance was good! And I did really like Theo. So some things were a hit but some were a miss, for me. Also, the writing style wasn't great-just pretty basic.