4 Stars

Love You, Mean It was the perfect fun & trope-y Rom Com! I really enjoyed it. It was over-the-top and not the most realistic but it was a damn good time!

I will say, if you hate when a character is keeping a secret & it gives you anxiety then this is my one con. Otherwise it had a fake engagement, a touch of amnesia, a swoony main man, it gave me butterflies & had women supporting women!

Thank you to Net Galley & Random House Publishing Group Ballentine for the ARC of Love You, Mean It in exchange for an honest review.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. So laugh out loud funny and kdrama like plot. Aka all the things I love in a book. Thank you for a chance to read an early copy!

The blurb sounded so good, and I personally felt like it fell so flat! Ellie was an awful character who lacked self-confidence and was always down on herself even though she was incredibly talented. Theo had a few more redeeming qualities, but I didn't believe the chemistry between them at all. I was super underwhelmed from start to finish.

2.5 star rating, thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy for my honest review.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book since it is my first written by Jill’s Gagnon. However, I was fully invested by the time the fake relationship was established. I really enjoyed the entirety of the story and it felt very relatable in a lot of ways. I loved how Ellie and Theo interacted and I also really enjoyed their friends and family. I thought it was a little odd that Ellie seemed to be thought of as a confident person, but she had a lot of self-doubt and didn’t seem to have a good grasp on any of her talents. She was a bit pessimistic, but I still enjoyed her character overall.

I couldn’t put this book down, and ended up reading the bulk of it in one day. I would definitely like to read more from this author! If you enjoy fate dating/enemies to lovers tropes, be sure to give this one a try!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Dell for inviting me to read and review an ARC of this novel.

I had a fun time with Love You, Mean it. The beginning gave me While You Were Sleeping vibes with the amnesia and lies about being his fiance. While I loved that, I also loved that this deception didn't last more than a few pages when Theo gets his memory back and proposes the fake dating scheme. Ellies family, especially her Mimi was great, you could feel how much they cared for each other, and Mimi brought the laughs even if she was only mentioned by other characters.
I thought the chemistry between Theo and Ellie was good, I liked the way it slowly built and grew. I also really enjoyed the first meeting between Theo's dad Ted and Ellie, I won't say what happened but it was so good!
There was one thing I didn't really love that had to do with Theo's ex, but it didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the story too much.
I thought the plot was well executed, the characters were lovable, and ones I rooted for, and I was entertained from beginning to end.

i love a good fake dating romance and this one delivered! i could do without the third act conflict but I still enjoyed this one!

Love You, Mean It is a fun romantic read. Ellie has given up on her dream of becoming a fashion designer
to run the family deli after her father passed away. Trip, now Theo, works for his father’s investment company, mainly commercial business. The two cross paths when the deli is threatened by a big
company coming in to undersell them. Will their differences be help or hindrance? There are plenty of lies and conspiracy theory theories to keep this story moving along at a good pace. I enjoyed it and
recommend it. A 5 star read!
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second ‘injured man wakes up to a fake engagement’ book I’ve read this month, and while I enjoy the concept as a launching point for fake dating, I didn’t really love the execution of this one.

Ellie runs her family’s deli and is concerned as a corporate giant is rumored to be coming to town. When she’s trying to convince Theo, the man responsible for the potential deal, not to put her business in jeopardy, he’s hit in the head by a falling piece of equipment. Confusion in the ER leads to a fake engagement and the two of them deciding to work together to make a better use of the space for the whole community.

For the most part, I did enjoy the dynamic between Ellie and Theo. They were both quick witted and had dry senses of humor that complemented each other. I did also feel some surface level chemistry between them, but ultimately it never seemed lasting to me. This book also suffered from a third act conflict where things were said that I’m not sure the two of them could come back from. There were highs and lows as their relationship played out for me, but that lowest point was very, very low.

To end on a positive note, I enjoyed Ellie’s family and the closeness they all possessed. I fully believed they would have her back and support her in whatever path she chose to take.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell/Random House - Ballantine for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this didn’t do much for me! It started off okay but I lost interest pretty quick. I didn’t really like the main characters especially Ellie. She was annoying and always negative. I usually love a fake dating romance but this one was so hard for me to root for. The chemistry was no where to be found. Super bummed!

This book was fun but not my favorite. It was a fast read but it was just ok. There were a few things in the story that just turned me off to it. I really wanted to love it because it sounded so fun.

Pick up LOVE YOU, MEAN IT for:

Fake Dating
Blue vs White Collar
Small Town
Family Business

This will be a relatable read for anyone stuck inbetween - jobs, relationships, life. It has a heartfelt through line of being honest with yourself which pairs so cleverly with the fake dating trope. I appreciate the journey both Ellie & Theo went on to be confident enough to advocate for themselves.

Sadly though, I feel like best friend (and ex) Sam, and am very skeptical of the legitimacy of Ellie & Theo's relationship. There were hints of Theo having an "I've always noticed you," revelation that didn't have a payoff. The use of amnesia after a traumatic brain injury is there and gone so fast I would note it as a content warning but not a trope.

The strongest theme in LOVE YOU, MEAN IT is family - both supportive and dysfunctional. Ellie comes back home to support her family after her father dies. Theo tries to balance his individual goals with the family business bottom line. I was more invested in their family roles than in their romance.

With a hopeful heart, theres still much to love in Theo & Ellie's lives in progress.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy!

This story starts out like the movie While You Were Sleeping and turns into an enemies to lovers/fake dating romance. Overall it was cute but I didn't find myself rushing to get back to the story. It was a like not a love for me.

Enjoyed this book. I wasn’t feeling well and searching for something relaxing to read, this fit the bill. The story was cute and worked well overall. Little bit of sadness thrown in but not too much. Not really a rom com either.

eh? That's how I felt at the end of this story. It was very "eh" overall. The plot was a play on "While You Were Sleeping" but if the amnesia patient was in on the ruse from nearly the beginning and was getting something out of it. I liked that part. But everything else was some even more ridiculous than the movie plot. The writing was so hard to rate! The dialogue was amazing, but the choices Gagnon made on where to put exposition and self-discovery moments was so bizarre. I found myself skipping entire paragraphs because I just didn't care about that moment and wanted to get back to the conversation we were in the middle of. I pictured the other person in the convo just hearing Jeopardy music while our MC thought through her entire life before giving a witty reply. I will say it's a fast read, I finished it in 2 sittings, and the pacing was good. I just think this author's style of storytelling isn't for me.

**Thank you NetGalley and Dell for the eARC**

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon is a romcom that follows Ellie, a deli owner who is on the verge of losing her job when the threat of a bigger market comes to town. She decides to try and sway, Theo, the building owner, to not move the new store in and hijinks ensue.

This book was mostly a fun time. There was a bit of amnesia and some fake dating. This entire book is from Ellie’s POV and she is pretty oblivious to things and she can be a little whiny but it didn’t bother me too much. I really didn’t like the direction this went in the third act. Things were wrapped up too quickly and the drama was kind of silly.

I think this was a cute was overall and perfect for a quick read. It just had a few problems but I think most people will have a good time reading it.

This romance tells the story of a deli owner, who finds her livelihood threatened when the rich family in town threatens to bring in a big market. In order to stop this plan, she begins a fake romance with the heir of that rich family—and complications follow from there. There were a few holes in the plot, but it was overall an enjoyable read.

A wonderful rom-com that's not exactly the normal plot. Ellie was living her dream life until her father's death. When she comes home to run the family deli, she never thought that it was be in jeopardy of closing. When she goes to plead her case to the son of the guy trying to ruin her life, she is put in an awkward position and tries to make the best of it. Now, can she hold it all together and keep everyone happy?

I'm actually quite disappointed that I didn't like this more. The premise sounded SO FUN and when a book initially starts out like one of my fav movies of ALL TIME (While You Were Sleeping), I'm almost always a surefire sign that I'll love it.

Alas, I didn't like any of these characters or the situations they got themselves in. They all felt selfish and hypocritical and it really didn't make sense for them to be in any of the scenarios that they were in. That, and it's supposed to be a romance and I felt a whole lot of NOTHING between our MCs.

This could be a case of me just being off and not in the mood, but. Do with this what you will.

Love You, Mean It is set to be published on April 30, 2024. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, NetGalley and the author for the digital advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

ARC REVIEW

Love you, Mean it
BY Jilly Gagnon

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Ellie is in charge of  her family owned, decades old, deli. Everything is smooth sailing until she learns that  a local businessman is planning to bring a multi-level grocery store to the neighborhood. This "food department store"  will certainly hurt, if not ruin her family business.

Ellie decides to contact the landlords son Theo to plead for reconsideration.  After an accident and brief amnesia (yes, lol), Theo and Ellie decide to pretend they are engaged. I mean...would your fiances dad REALLY put his new daughter in law out of business?!

Ellie didn't think she would have to fight off her own feelings for Theo as well as his ex fiance, who she somehow agreed to help get back together....all this to save her deli?!?

REVIEW: Eh.

I feel like I've read so much "fake dating" that it has to really be something special to impress me. And this didn't wow me.

I didn't hate it. It kept me mildly entertained, but for me, it was mediocre. Not memorable.

You know what they say....You can't love em all!

I won't be going out of my way to recommend this one but as always, thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse the Arc!!

Dueling delis, amnesia that leads to fake dating, and two people, who despite coming from two completely different worlds have more in common than meets the eye,,,what more could you want?

I have been looking for a romcom that had characters I adored, banter that had me giggling, and a couple I wanted to root for from start to finish, and Love You, Mean It checked all of my boxes. I absolutely adore Theo and he may have taken his place as top romcom MMC. He and Ellie's chemistry (even when forced) had me rooting for them and excited to see whether or not they got their happily ever after.