This “While You Were Sleeping” type of romcom is usually one that I love, throw in fake dating and I’m your girl. But… there is a very fine line with enemies to lovers that needs to be tread to ensure that we can still understand that they are enemies and also still root for them. It’s tricky and I wasn’t convinced at the beginning that these two should be together. Another tricky trope to navigate is the amount of lying that has to take place when writing fake dating. This book had great moments, but overall wasn’t my favorite.

Jilly Gagnon is a new author for me and I enjoyed this rom/com.. Tropes: amnesia, enemies to friends and fake engagement. It reminded me a bit at the begining of the Sandra Bullock-Bill Pullman movie While You Were Sleeping, but the amnesia didn't last that long

Ellie Greco had to return to her hometown of Milborough after her dad’s sudden death a few years ago to take over the family deli, leaving her nascent career as a costume designer for the theater in New York. In some ways she is resentful, as her best friend and cousin, Bella was able to escape their hometown, but it also is safe, because it keeps her close to her father's memory. That is until the very survival of the deli is threatened when the wealthy Taylor family that owns most of the retail properties in town, announces that they may sell a large property to Mangia, a large food market/ department store, a combo of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's on the scale of IKEA. Ellie tries to appeal to Theo Taylor, and old classmate, who has been put in charge of the project. A accident in the building results in Theo being hit in the head, and not wanting him to go alone to the hospital tells the ambulance driver that she is his fiancee. Things get out of hand with the ruse until Theo does remember, but he has a proposal to her. He has his own plans for the building, and if she pretends to be his fiancee it might keep the board at bay until he can finalize his own plans.

Theo is likable from the beginning. Ellie had to grow on me, because she kept sabotaging herself and her relationship with Theo by lying to him, his ex, Samantha, who she wanted as a friend and mostly to herself. But the writing style and the lively banter make it an enjoyable book. I read a gifted Advanced Reader's Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.com. This is my honest, unbiased voluntary review.

The best way to describe this book is Hallmark with spice and a whole lot of banter. She’s trying to save her family’s deli, and he’s trying to help her for reasons of his own. It’s the sweet small town vs the mega grocery store & we LOVE to see it. There’s fake dating! There’s sweet family moments! There’s girl friendships we love & some plot lines in the book where it would’ve been really easy to pit certain characters against each other, but Jilly didn’t! I loved that. ALSO I loved that we got to explore Ellie’s dreams and motivations. It would’ve been so easy to just say she’s running the deli for her dad/family legacy, but I loved that was written in such a way that we got to know so much more of her interests but also understand why she wants to work at the deli and save it. Getting to read her POV was so good 🥹

Now I will say that the third act break up was so deeply rooted in miscommunication that I had second hand embarrassment bad, and I had to pause because of it. I also felt like the romance & one of the friendships have me emotional whiplash. Will they? Won’t they? Do they hate each other? You aren’t super sure until the end? Which may not bother a lot of people but I was just on edge for most of the second half of the book??

I would recommend this book if you’re a fan of fake dating, Hallmark feeling romance books that have feel good endings 🫶🏻

Thank you Jilly Gagnon and Dell for this advanced reader copy of this book!

Love You, Mean It overall was a cutie fast easy read.

Five years ago, Ellie Greco, returned from New York City to deal with family matters. With the passing of her Dad, she was left to run the family business, Greco’s Deli. Although she loves this place, Ellie has always wonder if there was something better for her to be doing. But with the possibility of this swanky gourmet food type department store called Mangai moving in, she fear it will place the family business at risk.

Ellie’s plan is to appeal to the property management company specifically Theo Taylor, but things go south when Theo is knock unconscious, ends up in the hospital with amnesia and Ellie as his fiancée. The amnesia turns out to be a huge ruse however both discover they kind of want the same thing .. they do not want Mangai to move into town. Theo purposes to continue with the fake fiancée dating thing in hopes that his father will be swayed to not bring in Mangai and possibly close down Greco’s Deli.

Generally, I am not a fan of enemies to lovers’ tropes and was getting a little nervous that this was going to be a retelling of “While You Were Sleeping” but was happy to see that the amnesia was fake and the enemies to lover’s was lightweight. I can see Love You, Mean It as an appealing Hallmark movie it has all the elements of a romance, loyal small town, ex- fiancée that you want to dislike but cannot and a small family business that needs saving.

Thank you, Jilly Gagnon, Random House/Deli and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (rounded up)

This was a cute, easy read. The fake dating trope is hit or miss for me, but this scratched the itch. I'd recommend it to the right person!

I love a sweet rom-com and Jilly Gagnon delivered with this fake-fiance trope and some interesting characters. If you'd told me I'd be so into a a romance story about a snobby rich guy and a butcher, I'd call you crazy. But Sam and Theo are adorable in their love/hate relationship.

I instantly liked Sam because she was all about her family and she loved her dad, who had passed away. My father has also passed and I was a daddy's girl so I knew I was going to like her. I also like humble people, and Sam was humble and kind. I am also a fan of enemies to lovers and fake dating turning into something so Gagnon had me hooked from page one. I think the character development was fantastic in this book, which is not something you always see in a romance book because the focus is more on the feelings than the in-depth characters. We really learned a lot about Theo as the story went on and watched his character grow from someone slightly selfish to someone really caring for people and thinking of others. Sam really grew as a person in-general and came around to figuring out how to mix her old life and new life into one.

My only issue with the book is that I wish we had more growth or even information on some of the side characters. The focal point was obviously Sam and Theo, but I love a good side story from a relatable supporting characters and I didn't feel we got that much in this book. However, that didn't break the book for me, just left me wanting a little. Overall, the main romance story carried this book and while I knew what was going to happen (who doesn't when reading a rom-com) the story to get there was a fun journey to take.

Grab Love You, Mean It and cuddle up on your couch with a glass of wine or some tea and help yourself to this feel-good novel! I can't wait to see what Jilly Gagnon writes next!

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon was a cute romance book with the fake dating enemies to lovers trope. If this trope is up your alley, you're in for a treat! I loved the banter and growth between Ellie and Theo.

Synopsis
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.

I love a small town romantic comedy with an enemies to lovers premise. This one sounded very Hallmark-y and perfect.for a light read. Things quickly changed to a fake dating scenario (think While You Were Sleeping) and something didn't flow right to me, but maybe I just didn't feel the pivot or saw some big problems on the horizon.

I tried, I really tried. But with the old romance plot and build up of characters, I could only read about twenty pages...

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read this!

Love You, Mean It” is like a warm hug with a side of giggles. Ellie and Theo’s fake engagement is full of sweet, funny moments that kept me entertained from start to finish. It’s one of those feel-good romances that’s easy to get into and perfect for a lazy afternoon.

I liked the book, but it didn’t completely sweep me off my feet. It’s cute and charming, but not my all-time favorite. Still, if you’re in the mood for something light and fun, this one’s definitely worth a read!

Thank you netgalley and Random house for the opportunity to read this book.

Fun Rom Com, enemies to lovers - fake dating, kept me engaged the whole time. The author did a great job with character development and I felt the main character were relatable. There were times when the author had me guessing, for moment I thought things were ended differently. But I loved it from beginning to end, this story is a quick read you are sure to love.

Ellie stuck in back in her hometown of Milborough, returning from her dream job in New York after the death of her father. She is back to help run the family deli business. She loves it of course it has been in the family for generations, but before she can think more about her future the deli could be in danger. Her landlord just told her just told her he is planning to rent to Mangia, a glitzy gourmet food department store.

When she goes to plead her case to Theo the property management firm about to take her out of business, but the meeting goes from bad to worse when the ceiling literally falls on him. With him out cold, Ellie panics and says she is his fiancée. Since Theo has a bit of memory loss he seems to believe her. That is until the head injury effects wear off. He proposes that they continue this engagement front and hopefully when the right people get wind of it, they will both get what they want. But acting starts to cross the line of feelings, ex-girlfriends and the future for her family.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for a copy of this book for my honest review.

A cute story about a woman trying to save her family business from a corporate developer. I usually like enemies to lovers stories but this one missed its connection for me.

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, but this one felt a bit bumpy. Too many off putting topics that turned me off from the mcs in the beginning of the book made this one a bit hard to get in to.

This was such a fun read. Witty-the banter scratched an itch I’ve been missing in books lately. Romantic- the chemistry between the characters was the delectable, Enjoyable-the writing was actually next level of professional as far as rom com types go, I’ll be recommending this to everyone,

This enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine, take dating romance is cute. It was an entertaining read and had sweet HEA.

I wanted to LOVE this book, but it ended up in like. I found it difficult to be fully captivated into the story.

The idea of dueling delis, fake dating, and a dash of amnesia had me hooked. Ellie’s return to her hometown to save her family’s deli from a corporate giant is something I could totally get behind—who doesn’t love rooting for the underdog?

But while the setup promised a lot, the execution left me wanting more. Ellie and Theo’s fake engagement had its moments, but their chemistry didn’t quite sizzle, and some of the plot twists felt a bit far-fetched. The ex-fiancée showing up should have added drama, but it just didn’t hit as hard as I expected.

Overall, it’s a cute story with some laughs, but it didn’t fully deliver. If you’re looking for a light read, it’s okay, but don’t expect to be blown away.

2.5 stars rounded up

Normally I am a sucker for fake dating, but this book fell a little flat for me. I didnt like the female main character.

I enjoyed the mischievousness and chemistry between Theo and Ellie. When the situation required it, they were both able to put their feelings aside and be there for each other. The side characters were funny and relatable, and I particularly appreciated the authenticity of Ellie's family and their willingness to express their strong opinions. Although they held their tongues for Ellie's sake, their love for her was remarkable. I also felt the Italian family dynamic was well-portrayed for Ellie's family. Although Ellie and Theo carried the weight of their losses, I appreciated how they ultimately found solace in each other as well as love.

This was a cute book but I just didn't love the characters. Just couldn't get into the story like I would have liked. Great premise, just fell flat for me. Would be a good book for a book club to discuss. Would try this author again.