This quirky rom-com was such a fun change of pace in my reading.
Ellie returns to her hometown after her Dad passed away, to run the family deli. Soon, a huge chain Mangia wants to move into a historic building in town, which would prove disastrous to the small family deli.
After an unusual chain of events, Ellie finds herself fake-engaged to Theo, the real estate heir who is brokering the building’s sale. The banter and chemistry between Ellie and Theo is amusing and well written. Most of the supporting characters are well fleshed out. There is an open-door scene that some readers may want to skim or skip.
For me, Jilly Gagnon’s debut adult romance is a huge success and I look forward to seeking out her future books. I will be recommending it to fellow readers and followers.
Thank you # RandomHouse for sending me the eARC and #Netgalley for access.

This was a cute fake-dating story! I loved the dueling deli's and how the main characters realized how much they actually had in common. The ex-girlfriend turned to friend plot line was so interesting and I'm glad it was included. Overall not very memorable though.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my review.

Ellie and Theo are in a fake engagement - I suspect most of us have seen that trope in books and movies, likely because it's a fun one. And Jilly Gagnon does a great job showing how their relationship develops, and how many problems might arise. One of the things that I liked about this story is that the characters didn't minimize other factors in their lives - work, dreams, ambitions and friends. It was a nice, quick-to-read romance!

I really enjoyed Love you, Mean it. There's a cozy familiarity to it with elements of great romcoms,. I can see why it would remind people of While you were Sleeping and the plot revolving around saving Ellie's small business reminded me of You've Got Mail. While it shares the DNA of these romcoms, this book also stands on it's own. I loved Theo and got very frustrated with Ellie and her self-sabotaging decisions, but still rooted for her. it was a very fun read.

I’m not quite sure what happened with Love You, Mean It, but it wasn’t my favorite read.
The premise sounded interesting and I was ready to jump in.. except it’s taken me multiple times just to try and finish it.
I found myself disliking most of the characters and Ellie was just annoying. Theo didn’t seem bad at times but really, I just couldn’t find anything interesting about him.
The title really seemed to bother me as well. Maybe I’m clueless and didn’t see why it’s called Love You, Mean It. But I just couldn’t figure out if it was supposed to be a phrase said or something else. Such a small thing to fret over but I unfortunately do judge books based on covers & titles occasionally.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy.

I found this to by a little too cheesy. I also didn't find the characters very likable. Thank you, NetGalley.

I’m pretty disappointed that I didn’t enjoy this book more … I kept giving it chance after chance and it just wasn’t hitting home for me. I’m so glad so many others enjoyed it though! Maybe it’s just me, I hope not. I couldn’t get into the storyline or the characters. After seeing so many post their likes on this book. I won’t post any negative reviews against it.

I can say I throughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. If you looking for a fun rom com to lift your spirits that you and binge read in one sitting pick this book up asap. The story of Ellie who runs her family’s deli and Theo who running his father property management team colloid to try and save their town from a mega store from moving into a new property. This book is filled with some amnesia, fake dating/ finances, and a cute Italian grandma named Mimi. I loved the chemistry and banter between Ellie and Theo in which i was rooting for them and their endeavors the entire time! Excellent read!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Overall I would say it was a quick enjoyable read.

Love You, Mean It follows Ellis the purveyor of a family-owned deli that is struggling to survive when a developer announces that Mangia (think Eataly) Italian market will be opening nearby. The development is headed by Theo, Ellie's new nemesis. That is, until a construction accident at their first meeting leads Ellie into rushing Theo to the hospital and pretending to be his fiance in order to get updates.

Once Theo is released from the hospital he and Ellie fake date in order to prevent Mangia (which turns out was Theo's fathers development idea) from opening in the neighborhood.

All of our favorite elements in a romance :)

Thank you to NetGalley, Randomhouse - Ballantine / Dell for the advanced ecopy for review. Love You, Mean It is released this month if you want to check it out!

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.