3.5 ⭐️ • I went up & down with this book. A lot in the middle was kinda wordy & boring for me, but the end had my stomach in knots! I didn’t know how it was going to end and I was so nervous for them.

There’s a lot of talk about their jobs & some of the story line re: fake engagement and related story were kinda far fetched, but overall I grew to like Theo & Ellie and was really rooting for them.

This was a cute and fast read! The story had fun tropes of fake engagement and felt like an enjoyable Lifetime movie with a great, dry sense of humor and the right amount of spice!

Ellie's stuck back in her home town and wishing she was somewhere else. She soon find her family's business in danger of being closed and she's forced to find a way to help save it. Ellie goes to see Theo whose family owns the property management company for her family's deli. However things go horrible wrong when Theo gets hit in the head and temporary loses his memory. She says he's her fiancé in a moment of panic and when Theo wakes up he believes her. He quickly recovers from his memory loss but convinces Ellie to continue with the fake relationship to help both them get what they want. Love You, Mean It is a funny and sweet rom-com! I really enjoyed it!

Ellie Greco is back in her hometown, running the family deli after her father passed away. Her high school classmate, Theo, is back too. He is working with his father to bring in a large Italian deli/restaurant. Only this could be the start of a Jilly Gagnon classic.

The two pretend to be engaged for totally different reasons. There could be no problems with this, right? This was a quick, cute read. Definitely a good pick for a summer beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC for review.

Love You, Mean It is my first Jilly Gagnon novel. It follows 28-year-old Ellie Greco who is called home to Milborough to run Greco’s Deli. She has been in charge for the past five years since her father’s death. When word reaches Ellie that a local landlord is planning to rent to Mangia, a high-end food department store, Ellie is determined to save her family’s business. She pursues 30-year-old Theo Taylor who works for the property management firm to plead her case against Mangia. When Theo ends up hitting his head, through events Ellie ends up posing as his fiancé to accompany him to the hospital. This leads to a tale of fake dating. When you add in Theo’s ex Sam who wants to win him back, the story is a nice web of journeys.

Ellie was an interesting character and conflicting as I wanted to like her, but I just couldn’t. It seemed in many places that she found enjoyment in making herself a martyr. One example was the change in her life from being an aspiring costume designer to running a deli. She did grow as a character, but it was difficult to care when she wasn’t likeable. This novel was unique because of this as I normally think the main character is the likable one while the other romantic option is not. In this novel, it was the opposite as I found Sam far more likeable than Ellie. Theo and Ellie shared great chemistry, but I think Ellie’s character made it difficult to root for them. The concept of a woman who is trying to save her family’s legacy is a great one that I enjoy reading in many stories. I can see how Ellie’s journey could be endearing to readers, but I just think she didn’t reach her potential. Overall, the writing itself was good and makes me intrigued to read more from the author in the future.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Dell, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

A playful romantic comedy featuring dueling delis, fake dating, a shockingly awesome ex, and just the right amount of amnesia.

Ellie Greco wishes she weren’t stuck in Milborough. For a few brief, shining years, she escaped her hometown to pursue her dream career—designing beautiful, elaborate costumes for theater—until her father's death five years ago called her home to run the family's decades-old deli. Yes, she loves the place, but she’d always thought she was meant for more exciting things than stocking the right tinned fish. But when Ellie hears that a local landlord is planning to rent to Mangia, the glitzy gourmet food department store, Greco's Deli's very existence is suddenly in jeopardy.

She tries to plead her case to Theo Taylor, scion of the property management firm about to put her out of business, but their meeting goes from bad (it’s not her fault he’s infuriating) to worse (no one expects the ceiling to literally fall in).

With Theo out cold, Ellie panics and claims to be his fiancée… and almost passes out herself when amnesia means Theo seems to actually believe her. Soon, the effects of the head injury wear off, but Theo proposes that their “engagement” stick around. If they manage to convince enough people they might both get what they an end to the Mangia deal. Ellie doesn’t trust him (after all, if Theo Taylor wants it, how can it be good for her?) but seeing no other option, reluctantly agrees.

And miraculously, the fake engagement seems to be working—even Ted, Theo’s shrewd, cold father seems convinced—that is until Sam, Theo’s ex-fiance, reappears on the scene. Not only does she see through their ruse, she proposes an arrangement of her own, forcing Ellie to decide between blossoming friendship, her family legacy, and the burgeoning romance she frankly never asked for.


Cute little love story! Fake dating and enemies to lovers are some of my favorite tropes. This was a very cute romcom. Ellie is trying to save her families business and meets Theo. There were times that I wasn't in love with Ellie's character but overall it was a fun romance to read as a pallet cleanser.

This was an entertaining book overall. I was a little surprised to see how much the first couple of chapters were a duplicate of "While You Were Sleeping" (which reminded me of how much I liked that movie and that I should re-watch it!), but it quickly came into its own.

It was a typical enemies to lovers, to being in love book with several different monkey wrenches thrown into the mix.

I would have liked to have seen less inner dialog, extra-long descriptions of inanimate objects, and perhaps an epilogue to see how Ellie and Theo were doing in the future.

This was a very fast read, and it appealed to me quite a bit. I tend to stay away from books like this because I think they wouldn't appeal to someone my age, but if all these types of books were written with a mix of characters like this one, I would be more tempted to read more of them.

It sure is a book that I'm going to recommend!

*ARC was supplied by the publisher Dell/Random House, the author, and NetGalley.
Edit Review

Title: Love You, Mean It
Author: Jilly Gagnon
Length: 320 pages (paperback)
Format: ebook arc
Pub Date: April 30, 2024
Genre: RomCom
Rating Out of 5: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Spice Level: open door
Summary:
In a small town threatened by a gourmet food store, Ellie's family deli faces closure. When a mishap leads to amnesia for Theo, the landlord's son, Ellie seizes the opportunity, pretending to be his fiancée to save her business. As they navigate the charade, old flames and unexpected alliances complicate their plans, forcing Ellie to choose between her family legacy, newfound romance, and unlikely friendships.

Thoughts:
I just loved this book. It had me at fake fiancés tbh. I was in such a reading slump before starting this book, and it dragged me out of the trenches! It was just so cute and witty and humorous and steamy and all the good things (except for that third act breakup, but you basically sign up for that in a fake dating romance). Not only was the romance good, but we also get a lot of growth for our main characters and some pretty cool girl friends. I could’ve binged this book in one day, but, you know, adulting.

Special thanks to the @dellromance and @netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first Jilly Gagnon book and I am now a FAN.

Love You, Mean It was an adorable enemies to lovers, fake dating, family drama read and I was hooked from the very beginning.

This book was fantastic and I found myself thinking “this is me” multiple times when it came to Ellie’s personality and her “weird theatre kid” energy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the variety of characters and personalities in it. I hope Jilly Gagnon makes it into a series!

Solid 3-star read. Love You, Mean It is a cute and quick read rom-com. I knew I wanted to read it when I saw it was marketed with "You've Got Mail" and "While You Were Sleeping" vibes-- big conglomerate coming in and potentially running out a local business + amnesia with fake relationship. I usually steer clear of the amnesia trope, but I was willing to try this one out. The amnesia in the story had a comedic element to it and was not a big part of the overall plot-- so yay!

Make sure to read at least 2 chapters before putting this book down. Ellie is NOT a likeable female lead, especially in the beginning. I almost didn't finish the book because I found her to be rude and frustrating at first. There is some other-woman drama that reflects poorly on Ellie, but everything is HEA (or at least HFN) with all characters involved. Ellie also has a few good moments of self-reflection, which helped root for her relationship and life goals.

I read this book in an afternoon, and I recommend this for someone who wants that kind of quick rom-com read. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Groupon-Ballantine for an e-arcy copy of Love You, Mean It. Publication is April 30, 2024- just in time to add it as a beach read/summer read!

Description: A fast-paced, playful, and engaging romantic comedy featuring fake dating, an enemies-to-lovers theme, a gorgeously awesome ex, and just the right amount of amnesia.
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Five years after giving up her dream career to take over her family’s beloved deli, Ellie Greco discovers that the Taylors, a family of local real estate magnates, plan to bring in an upscale Italian food superstore Mangia and put Greco’s Deli out of business. While Ellie is meeting with Theo Taylor to save the deli, an accident lands him in the hospital with a head injury. A panicked Ellie tells the EMTs that she’s his fiancée so she can stay with him. When Theo’s memory returns, he suggests they continue the fake engagement to stop the Mangia deal. But things quickly get complicated when their fake engagement leads to real feelings.

Facing up to the reality of your life isn't always easy. Ellie had to do that and more and her journey was so relatable that it kept me turning pages.

Ellie runs her families local deli and one day she finds out that a major competitor might move into town. She puts on a brave face and meets with Theo, who works for his families property management company. Unfortunately during their meeting, there was an accident and now Theo has amnesia and everyone think they are engaged. They work together to try and stop the deli competitor from coming to town.

This was a fun read. I generally like Ellie and Theo. I found myself wanting more from them and wishing I could see more chemistry. Overall I enjoyed reading Love You, Mean It.

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

Cute little book fake dating romance!

*fake romance
*saving the family business

Ellie & Theo’s banter was great and really made the book super fun!

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of Love You, Mean It!!

This book had a very slow start for me. It was hard for me to get into and the main character felt unlikeable to me. I appreciate how hard working Ellie is and how family oriented she is but she just annoyed me at times LOL.

The ending of the book was so good. I really enjoyed it. I don’t know it I love it enough for 4 stars but definitely 3.5 stars.

Loved it. Give me the witty banter, fake romance trope any day. This book was such a treat! Such likable characters, I didn’t want it to end. I bindge-read this book in two days.

A fun read, the story of Ellie and Theo. A fake engagement romance. I would have liked something from Theos point of view.

This romance suffered from a rather unlikable heroine. Ellie Greco had given up her dreams of becoming a costume designer in order to save her family's deli when her father died. When a local property developer threatens to bring in a huge competing deli, Ellie pulls out all the stops to foil the deal. This plot gives a nod to "While You Were Sleeping" with a brief bout of amnesia, and then, for rather bizarre reasons, Theo the property developer agrees to fake-date Ellie because he himself is not actually that into the deal with the other deli. This plot is sounding ridiculous when I type it out. A wacky plot can work with the right characters, but I just never bought in to Ellie and Theo together, and Ellie alone was self-absorbed and petty. If you love fake dating tropes, you might still want to give this book a try, but it was a miss for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Dell for a digital review copy.

Cute little rom-com. Author didn't succeed in making everything plausible and I didn't love the two main characters. Good for beach reading.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.