This book was so cute and fun! I really enjoyed it. The main female character, Ellie, had one of the most sarcastic personalities. Her humor and wit had me LOLing sometimes. I loved her banter and chemistry with the main male character, Theo. It did take me a bit to warm up to him but there’s a generally nice guy hiding underneath his exterior and he clearly cared a lot about Ellie.

Their scenes had me smiling and laughing. There’s a scene where Ellie releases her frustration on a character (he definitely deserved it) that made me clap out loud.

I also really loved the small town. Ellie’s family was also great in this story… particular her cousin and then Mimi. Gotta love Italians.

There’s also a character thrown in that had an arc that I was not expecting. I like that the author didn’t put these females against each other.

There were some instances I really wanted to shake Ellie and I just could not fathom her thought process.

I wish we would’ve gotten an epilogue bc I wanted more scenes with Ellie and Theo.

You’ll like this book if you like:

- fake dating
- great banter between the FMC and MMC
- laugh out loud scenes
- great secondary characters that are family
- small town vibes
- he’s super protective of her
- a sarcastic, witty, and cynical heroine

Highly recommend!

This is the first Jilly Gagnon novel I have read and it was a sweet rom-com with the feels of You’ve Got Mail. Small town business about to be put out of business by a big box store…

With a twist! Ellie and Theo’s characters have an interesting meet cute that ends up with Theo claiming amnesia and fake dating! There wasn’t a ton of depth to them (though the story does include some family drama). All in all this is an easy beach read story which should leave readers happy at the end.

Love this book, mean it. Between the sassy characters, small town, and spirited family involvement, what's not to love? This fake dating story carries the perfect mix of witty banter and sweet moments. My only complaint is that I want more of these characters.

Ellie Greco may have gone too far to save her family’s historic deli in Milborough, Massachusetts, in Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon coming out April 30. She enters into a phony-bologna fling with Theo Taylor, the son of a businessman who wants to bring in a superstore that will put the Greco Deli out of business, in order for each of them to get what they want out of the ploy.

Ellie wants to save the business for her family, even though returning to Milborough means giving up on a career possibility she has been striving for in New York City. Theo, who is not a fan of his father’s, wants a free hand to develop the Taylor building in a way that will not threaten the small businesses like Ellie’s in the downtown area. The two plot a fake engagement that will push Ted Taylor to drop his plans for a gourmet food department store rather than ruin his future daughter-in-law's business.

What could go wrong with the pretend relationship? Will the stuck-up Taylor senior buy into this romance between his elite son and a delicatessen owner he refers to as “a butcher”? How will Theo’s ex-fiancée favored by his father interfere with the plan when she reappears in Theo’s life? In the end, Ellie will have to decide what’s more important: her legacy business or a faux romance that seems to be taking a different direction.

Jilly Gagnon, the author of the young adult novel #famous and the suspense novel All Dressed Up, has had her work appear in Newsweek, Elle, Vanity Fair, and The Huffington Post. A Minnesota native, she lives in Salem, Massachusetts.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting February 26, 2024.

I would like to thank Dell, an imprint of Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

This was a fun romcom, and I really liked the premise of how the main characters meet. Ellie and Theo meet while Ellie is trying to save her family business, the ceiling falls which leads her to get amnesia and claim that Theo is her finance. The meet-cute happened pretty early in the book and hooked me. Once getting past the first few chapters I really enjoyed the story. There is a bit of business rivalry, drama, dislike to love, business deals, and lovely, heartwarming friendships.

This book was a tough one for me because I just didn’t feel any depth towards the main characters or the relationship they were building. It was hard for me to understand what ultimately made them fall for each other (and no I’m not counting this as a spoiler because this is a romance lol). I like the fake dating trope but I found myself bored by this one. Also, I found the writing a bit too verbose at times which detracted from the overall storyline.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book tickled my heart strings in the best way possible! A sweet book about two people, and of course- they end up together! Would definitely recommend this to other people and might read again!

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I’ve read one other book by this author and didn’t like it but figured I’d give her another chance with a different genre. This one was also not executed well. I found the main character to be very unlikeable and honestly irritating. It was like nothing seemed to make her remotely happy and she thought the worst of everyone. She and the male character decide to have a fake engagement and I usually loveee those books and there was ZERO chemistry. It was uncomfortable to read. If you told me this was a regular fiction book I’d believe that more than this being a romance. When they got physical it seemed so forced by the author. These characters barely treat eachother like they’re even good people (I won’t even bother trying to say friends) and I’m expected to be jumping for joy?? I really can’t see anyone enjoying this book. All of the side characters are 10x better than the two main ones.

Would not recommend. I pushed through this book when I probably should have given up.

Love You, Mean It was a quick, fun read, sweet with a touch of steamy, and pretty satisfying when it came to character development.

As with any fake relationship romance novel, we already know how it's going to end, but what I appreciated most about this book was watching Ellie grow not just as a romantic partner but also as an individual and a friend. I actually wish more page-time had gone to developing her longstanding and potentially new female friendships. That being said, when it came to watching her reevaluate her ideas about success and belonging? I was all in, hooked, sold. For me, that was what ultimately made this book a four-star read.

I will admit that some of Ellie's behaviors were cringey, which mostly bothered me because the cringe factor could easily have been lessened if some of the time she spent complaining (so. much. complaining.) had instead gone to developing the roots of her insecurities and self-doubt. Also, the forgiveness she was shown at the end of the novel felt too quick and unrealistic. But in the end...yeah, I'm not usually reading romance for the realism, so...

Definitely read this if you enjoy rivals-to-lovers and fake engagement tropes, or if you're just looking for something fun to read on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

This is a cute and predictable read. The premise started out strong. After the death of her father, Ellie comes back to run the family deli business in her hometown. Theo's family is looking to bring in an Eataly like establishment into town that will hurt Ellie's family business. Ellie goes to confront Theo and through an accident he has temporary amnesia and she tells people she's his fiancee. Hijinks ensue. An enemies to lovers trope.

The middle dragged for me and Ellie was frustrating and self sabotaging, which wasn't my favorite.

Thanks for the advanced reader copy Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell.

3.5 stars. It had a lot of elements I really enjoy: fake dating (a la While You Were Sleeping) & small biz owner vs. commercial suit (a la You’ve Got Mail). Ellie was a really fun main character, blunt & self conscious but loyal and hardworking. We only see Theo through Ellie’s lens but we do see a nice character arc as he grows more comfortable in his own skin. I also like the text messages interspersed throughout the chapters!

While I thought it was a lot of fun, ultimately it was a bit too trope-y and melodramatic for my tastes. Still had a good time and would definitely recommend for anyone interesting in salami jokes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jilly Gagnon, and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars! I enjoyed the story but I just felt like it was missing something 😭. Theo and Ellie are cute together though! I thought their relationship developed pretty realistically as well. I thought it was pretty interesting to learn about Ellie's interest in designing clothing as well. I personally couldn't picture what anything looked like but that's just my problem 😭. I kind of wish we could've heard more from Theo and why he went along with the fake dating plan. We heard a little, but I wanted more lol. I lowkey did NOT like Sam though. She was just annoying me most of the time and I didn't like her little agreement with Ellie either. If there is a chance for it, I would honestly be interested in a book about Everett but idk if I want Sam to be his gf LMFAO. I did feel like the ending was a little bit rushed though. I wish we could have seen more of what the building becomes after everything that happens. Also, more of Theo and Ellie lolz. This book did have a third act breakup (which I HATE 🙄) so beware if that's not something you enjoy.

This was a fun book centered around a white lie that became...not so white? Definitely recommend to any romcoms lovers! 4 stars

This was a really cute book! I loved the banter between the two MC’s and thought they were both very likable characters. The small town story had lots of charm and nostalgia. Overall, it’s a really strong 4/4.5 stars!

Love You, Mean It definitely checks off multiple romance novel tropes. Enemies-to-lovers? Check. Fake dating? Check. Woman trying to save her charming family business from going out of business when a big conglomerate comes in? Check. But Jilly Gagnon does a great job of bringing the tropes together for a novel that's charming. Both Ellie and Theo have their moments. Ellie can come off as abrasive, and Theo can come off as cold and arrogant, but the combination of the two of them fosters the better qualities in each other. Theo's dad Ted is clearly the villain, who is only concerned about dollar signs, but Sam is an unpredictable element I enjoyed. She makes an appearance early on as Theo's ex, and she figures out pretty quickly that Ellie and Sam are staging a show to keep Ted from bringing in a big box store. Since their relationship is fake, she tells Ellie that once the gig is up she wants another chance at Theo - but only if Ellie and Theo don't actually have feelings for each other. But it increasingly heads that direction, and with Sam taking on a major role in Theo's family business Ellie isn't sure if Sam really means it when she says she'll back off. Is Sam a friend, an enemy or a frenemy? There are places where it feels like it could use some cleaning up - like more about Theo's relationship with his brother Chase. And for as much time as Ellie spends with Theo's cold, rich family, it really feels like there should be a scene where she takes him home to one of her family dinners that's the complete opposite of his. I also would have liked it if Gagnon had provided more closure about Ellie's love for her family's shop and her love for designing clothes, but all in all I had a fun time reading this one. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you're a lover of the super adorable Hallmark style of movies, you'll love this popcorn fake dating (fake engagement) romance! Complete with an ex-fiance worth loathing and a small town deli that needs saving. Because absolutely no one in their right mind doesn't want the local deli with delicious sammiches to make it!

Perfect for a quick pool side read!

**Thank you to Ballantine, Dell & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

The premise of Love You, Mean It was pretty good. The characters were not the most likeable ones I've encountered, but I liked them enough to stick with it. I was a little worried about the amnesia being taken too far, but it was resolved before things got too morally uncomfortable for me. It gave the book just what it needed for the fake engagement to take hold without anyone being taken advantage of in an over-the-top way.

I liked that Ellie and Theo ended up working together to keep a big corporate company from taking over some of the small business in their small town. I also appreciated that Theo, even though he works for a company that has an interest in these kinds of deals, is trying to forge his own path away from that kind of business.

Out of all the characters I probably liked Sam the most. I was irritated that she kept being lied to, and felt that she deserved to know the truth. I'm glad she ended up with someone who seems to deserve her.

Overall this book is good for a light weekend read. It has some good tropes, good food, and a charming Italian family.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.

I am a first time Jilly Gagnon reader. I enjoyed this story; learning about what makes Ellie tick and, being half Italian, I definitely relate to her Italian family and roots. A story about how two lost souls; that don't even realize they are lost, and from "opposite sides of the track" to boot, come together for a mutually beneficial cause. Now if that's not a story in the making; I don't know what is. What begins as pretend, burgeons into something neither one is ready to examine. Ellie has emotional issues; same as Theo, but different.

Great character development and wonderful secondary characters that should now have their own story.
I loved reading about small town Milborough in the vicinity of Boston. Ellie's family deli is a character too :p.
The author built a lovely community with small town charm and nostalgia.

I will be looking for additional books by this author.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Dell for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on April 30, 2024.

When I started this book, I was very intrigued! I got excited when the "while you were sleeping"/"overboard" plot began to form, but if I am being honest, the book got really slow IMO and missed the mark on being a great romance. I think for me, it just lacked anything that allowed me to connect with the characters, and began to feel like a very long read and even after finishing, I just found it underwhelming. I actually ended up taking a break from this book to finish another...
I will say that there were some positives for any readers looking to see if this book is for them, I really loved the "while you were sleeping"/"overboard" plot when it first started to play out. This book has a great, happy ending... and I wouldn't be surprised if the author did another book for Sam and Everett's romance.
If you are not a fan of spice, this is a great choice as well, as there is very little spice in this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.