I loved this! It was so sweet and fun and emotional. I laughed so hard at theo and ellie. The start of their fake romance is so funny to me. I had a great time with this one! The importance of small business, family, and friendship.

A fun, light romance that ticks off a lot of boxes - enemies to lovers, fake dating, amnesia, love triangle, slow burn - but it might be the plotline of our heroine coming to terms with moving back to her hometown that touched me the most.

But, as a romance, it gives me everything I need - likable characters, not insurmountable obstacles, medium-level spice and a happy ending.

Love You, Mean it held all my favorite tropes: Grumpy/Sunshine, Enemies to lovers, and especially...fake dating, so I was really hoping to love this book! Ellie and Theo's meet-cute happens pretty early in the book and it hooked me from the get-go, which was promising, but the book slowed down a lot after this, and as it turns out, has one heck of a terrible protagonist. Ellie is just not a good person. She acts younger than she is. She does Sam really wrong. And she said the absolute worst thing she can say to Theo, who immediately forgives her, but as the reader, I cannot. Theo was ok, but that's the problem. He was just ok. As a character, he was a bit bland, and did not seem at all interested in Ellie outside of the physical. I did like Sam and Everett's relationship, so I may keep reading. But I did not care for Ellie and Theo much at all.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Jilly Gagnon for allowing me to review this rom com. I don’t think I was the reader for this one. I struggled to enjoy the book because of the main character. I thought this was a lighthearted rom-com and it just seemed a bit heavier than I expected. Thank you again for allowing me to review this book.

I tried to read this multiple times and I couldn't get into it. I wanted to love it so much and I'm super bummed that I couldn't get into it. I had to DNF this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

I usually love a fake dating trope, because it’s a romance book so everyone falls in love in the end. This book fell a little flat for me. The characters moved too fast and also too slow, and there wasn’t good development along the way. I felt like it was just missing something, but it was also too long. I just don’t think this was the book for me.

I enjoyed this one but I didn't love it. Something about the pacing felt slightly off, especially with the ending.

I received an advanced copy for review.

Love you, mean it is a little bit you’ve got mail (with the small local shop threatened by the big box store) a little bit while you were sleeping (not for long) and a fake engagement. Ellie moved home after the death of her father to take over the family deli, but when it’s threatened by an incoming superstore, she has the opportunity to fake a relationship with the son of the owner of the man behind the new store. As their fake relationship develops, they have real feelings, but Theo’s family isn’t buying the relationship and his ex wants him back.

I love the idea of the big Italian family, and wish we’d seen them more! Ellie was a frustrating character for a while, but she overcame it in the end.

3.75 ⭐️
Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine/Dell for the arc!

I really enjoyed this book! I love a well done fake relationship/engagement story line. The characters in this one were so cute together even when Ellie is trying to set Theo up with his ex. Their chemistry was totally there even when Ellie tried to pretend it wasn’t, she really couldn’t fight it. There was some miscommunication but I’m starting to realize… when is there not? The audio was really entertaining and the narrator kept me engaged. I binge listened in one day so I definitely recommend this one.

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon is a new contemporary romance novel. The story in Love You, Mean It is full of romance tropes such as enemies to lover, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attracting and fake dating.

Ellie Greco always had dreams of becoming a costume designer but five years ago her father passed away leaving the family in need of someone to help run the family business, Greco’s Deli. Returning to her hometown of Milborough Ellie has since put everything she has in the deli.

Now however the deli is being threatened when Ellie learns the Taylor family who are the local landlords are set up to offer a space to a huge box store that may put them out of business. Ellie vows to meet with Theo Taylor and see if there is anything she can do to stop tha deal but before she knows it she is in a fake relationship with Theo to possibly benefit them both.

Considering that fake dating is one of my top tropes in romance I really went into Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon thinking I would absolutely love this story. However, this one starts off with a lot of “white privilege” being tossed around which really turned me off of the main character. I just don’t enjoy this type of heavy real world hot topics with racism being brought into something that is meant to be light and fun and from that moment I just couldn’t bring myself to really root for the romance. Overall, I’ll give this one two and a half stars, some will love it but it just wasn’t for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I read about 20% of Love You, Mean It and I really wasn’t enjoying it. I didn’t like the characters and the plot was feeling like a poorly executed patchwork of 90s movies. I talked to a few friends who also read arcs of the book and they didn’t enjoy it. Then I read good reads reviews and they were pretty mixed as well, so I’m making the decision to not waste my time finishing the book. Disregard the star rating.

This was a pretty cute read. Ellie Greco runs her family deli that is supported and beloved by the neighborhood she grew up in. As a college grad, and grown adult, living back in her hometown is not ideal. Ellie has many talents, not just for cooking up her family deli recipes or tolerating picky customers. Ellie's livihood is challenged when she discovers that the big Italian chain store is coming to town and looking to settle in her neighborhood. She knows the developer - and hates him and his Doucelroy family, but is forced to see out Theo to beg him not to sell and work with the Mangia Company. Before she can get out the door from the dismal meeting with an arrogant pig, Theo is hit in the head and has amnesia. What should she do with this golden opportunity? Tell him she is his fiance, of course!

This was a light and easy read. Theo, his family, and their world felt very inspired by the Huntzbergers—Gilmore Girls fans will know. Theo was very Logan, but minus entitled party boy phase.

Full transparency, I almost DNFd because of the early amnesia plotline. It seemed unnecessary and bit too wacky, but luckily it was dropped pretty quickly.

I really struggled to like Ellie for a lot of the book. She had a huge chip on her shoulder and read as very judgy as she constantly assumed Theo was insulting her based on class. I did really enjoy Ellie’s extended family. They brought a lot of life and humor into the story, especially her grandma.

Really I could have used a bit more depth to the relationship between Ellie and Theo. The steamy scenes never felt earned to me.

Overall a lighthearted rom-com for the Team Logan girlies.

Thanks to Netgalley & Dell for the advanced eBook!

This was a very enjoyable read. One that I would recommend to people that want a quick easy read. I think the thing that really got was the introduction of the ex-girlfriend who at times was more likable than the FMC

Look, this book sat in my currently reading folder on my kindle for WEEKS, and I just never once reached for it eventually.

The premise of the story was what drew me in, but after starting it.. I just dont know what happened

Thanks to NetGalley and Dell/Random House for the ARC of "Love You, Mean It" in exchange for an honest review.
As a complete sucker for romance, I'm normally pre-wired to love a book like this.......but sorry, I couldn't on board with this one.
The problems........a not particularly lovable pair of leads and a traffic jam pile up of multiple tropes - a brief fling at with a bout of amnesia for the guy followed by the girl coping with simultaneous fake dating and clandestine matchmaking on behalf of the guy's 'one-who-got-away'. Which results in all kinds of self-hating agony for her while engaging in steamy episodes with the guy herself.
Since Ellie Greco's dreams of theatrical costume designing were thwarted by rejection, she's back to running the family legacy business, a much beloved neighborhood Italian deli. But the Taylor family, the town's ruling business dynasty might bring in 'Mangia' a big-box Italian food Emporium that would put Ellie out of business faster than Tom Hanks 'You've Got Mail' book chain did to Meg Ryan's little bookstore.
To put a stop to 'Mangia' Ellie pleads her case to the Taylors's somewhat rebellious scion Theo, who's looking to bring his own independent business ideas to the forefront apart from his imperious family. And then all of those colliding romance tropes kick in. There's Ellie and Theo's fake engagement, designed to stop Theo's ruthless father from bringing in any business that would destroy the livelihood of his son's future bride. And then there's Ellie's unwise decision to try to secretly help Theo's ex-flame (and newly appointed Taylor business exec) to rekindle her romance with him.......not the best idea, given the fake daters' steam-and-spice quotient is clearly apparent.
I truly would not have minded all of this over-plotting if Ellie and Theo were a sympathetic couple worth rooting for. But Theo smirks a lot and Ellie's endless woe-is-me-I"m-a-terrible-person internal monologues grow tiresome. I did want to love 'em both......but they just plain wore me out.

I was able to read "Love You, Mean It" by Jilly Gagnon on NetGalley before its release date. And I loved it. The characters in the novel were great, and every one of them touched me. Ellie & Theo plan a fake engagement to try to stop a big name store coming to town, but before long the feelings are more real than either anticipated. This is a great read and a wonderful love story.

I had high hopes going into this book. I usually love an enemies to lovers and a fake relationship trope but this one fell flat to me. Ellie was unlikeable and pretty annoying throughout the book. Her negativity jut brought the story down. I feel like Theo only liked her appearance because her personality was annoying. I did like the side characters like Ellie's grandmother and Bella. I would read a story with Bella as the main character. Overall, I gave this book a 3/5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dell Romance for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was initially drawn to this book because of its premise--in an effort to save her family's deli, Ellie meets with Theo Taylor, son of the owner of the property management firm that's about to put her out of business. But when Theo is hit in the head and experiences amnesia, Ellie panics and pretends to be Theo's fiancee. When Theo regains his memory and realizes the truth, he makes a pact with Ellie to keep up the ruse so they can save her deli, which he has his own reasons for wanting to protect.

A common critique I've seen with this book is that Ellie is an unlikable main character, and I have to say, I completely disagree. I really liked Ellie and found it easy to root for her. Sure, she makes some frustrating decisions, but I'd rather have a flawed character than a perfect one any day.

In fact, I enjoyed most of the characters in this book, and I thought the characterization was (mostly) done very well. The side characters--Bella and Sam, mostly--were great, and Gagnon did a great job of making Theo's father Ted extremely unlikable, as he was supposed to be. Theo's character was a different story, though. I found him harder to root for as he seemed to embody the rich boy stereotype of being pretty out of touch, judgmental toward people who had less than him, and just overall not being a very nice person.

I've read that the plot is reminiscent of the movie While You Were Sleeping, but I unfortunately haven't seen the movie, so I can't comment on that component. But I have plenty of other thoughts on the plot.

The first act of the book I felt could've been stronger. Everything felt very easy and convenient--Ellie pretending to be Theo's fiancee, everyone immediately believing it, Theo being on board right away to help her save her deli even after he realized she's been lying... and even though Ellie and Theo are in a fake relationship, they start developing real feelings very quickly that verged on insta-love.

The second act is where this book really shined. The chemistry between Theo and Ellie was strong, Sam (Theo's ex) became more involved and I really enjoyed her character, and the characters faced actual obstacles and the plot became much less convenient, which I appreciated.

The third act is where everything fell apart. I was prepared to give this book a fairly high rating until the third-act breakup hit. Don't get me wrong--Ellie and Theo both said some unfair things to each other, but Theo crossed several lines when he insulted her, her living situation, and blatantly judged her for having less money than him. Ellie retaliated and said his brother would be disappointed in him (which I feel is a fair critique after everything he said), and apparently that was too far. Ellie ended up being the one to grovel and apologize, and Theo was incredibly stubborn about accepting her apologies given how rude he was, and he never even apologized to her about the things he said! And Ellie never asked for one or even noticed that she didn't receive one. The whole ending fully turned me against Theo, and I honestly think Ellie could do better.

Overall, though I do love a fake dating trope, there are plenty of other fake dating books I would recommend before this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dell Publishing for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this book, amnesia/fake engagement/working with the “enemy” to save the family business. And for like 75% of the book, it totally worked. I truly enjoyed watching the chemistry grow between Ellie and Theo, and watching her squirm as she realizes she actually likes this man.

But the ending felt too rushed. The fall out from their scheme, the third act breakup, all of Ellie’s plans catching up with her happened in about 15% of the book and it was just too much too quick. I think the characters deserved a little more space for that crash and resolution to breathe and give the book the fitting ending it deserved.