i really enjoyed reading this book. i was rooting for the main character from the very beginning. there is always something special about you finding yourself and realizing that you've been holding yourself back the whole time. when you are the last to realize what everyone has already known about you.

this was a very cute meet cute situation, or would it really be a reintroduction meet cute, either way at the moment o thought it was going to go one way and it went another way that was pleasantly surprising and fun to read.

really great read!

Thank you Ballentine and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. When I was growing up I loved watching romantic comedies movies but I never saw myself in them. So when it came to reading I always wanted to focus on LGBTQIAP+ relationships, but I decided to read Love you, Mean it and I enjoyed it! Ellie and Theo have a contentious relationship. She wants to get her business going and he manages the property it’s on. When an accident happens Ellie goes to the hospital with Theo saying she’s his fiancé to get in. But Theo has some short term memory loss and thinks it’s true. The two end up pretending to be engaged and then Sam comes around, she’s Theo’s ex. And she’s determined to prove that the two are up to something. Can they pull it off? What happens if they actually develop feelings? A sweet story with a romantic setting and great chemistry between the leads! And Sam is a stand out character very enjoyable! Excited to read this again!

i loved this book soooooo much! this book was filled with a ton hilarious moments. i really liked the romance in this book and i loved the characters too! however, i do think that about halfway through this book, the pacing started to slow down which made it a bit harder to stay interested. overall, i still really enjoyed it and if you’re looking for a fun, meet-cute romance then this is the book for you!

thank you to netgalley and the publishers for sending me this arc. all opinions are my own.

The plot was very cute! It was very random and almost definitely a situation that would never happen in “real” life, but it made for a great story. There were parts of this that were predictable and parts that made me so irritated because the characters just needed to get their sh*t together, but overall it was a quick, fun read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC!

This book started promising but honestly I found myself loosing steam and interest partway through. The initial premise had a lot of promise but then too many other plot points were added and it got a bit muddled for me. Overall I did enjoy the characters!

This was an ok romance for me. It felt a little predictable and I just didn't really get into it as much as I had hoped. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

With family legacies to uphold and striving to make their own distinguishing mark on those respective businesses, an unlikely pairing might just help them succeed in Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon.

Running her family’s deli wasn’t what Ellie Greco envisioned for her life, but after a brief time pursuing a career designing costumes in New York City she’s returned to her hometown and has been running the deli for the last five years after her father’s death. When word reaches her that there are plans underway to bring a large gourmet food store, Mangia, into a recently vacated building, Ellie begins to think of how she could possibly save Greco’s Deli. Meeting with Theo Taylor, privileged son of the Taylor property management firm legacy that owns much of the town, Ellie heatedly pleads her case, but things become complicated after Theo suffers a head injury at the tail end of their meeting that leaves him unconscious, and to make sure he’s OK as well as check on how her pleading landed she panickily claimed to be his fiancée as he was taken to the hospital. Sticking with the engagement ruse, Ellie and Theo use it as a means to attempt to prevent Mangia from becoming reality and seem to be rather convincing; however, it’s not until the complication of Ellie trying to help Sam, Theo’s ex, get back together with him that Ellie realizes just what it is that she wants in life and love, even if one part of it might now be more difficult to attain.

The interactions between Ellie and Theo were entertainingly cutesy and fit easily within the well-established expectations and tropes familiar to the genre as the story unfolded from Ellie’s point of view. The writing included extensive details while describing architecture and clothing, likely as a means to help deepen and flesh out Ellie and Theo’s otherwise rather surface-level characters. With communication issues as a mechanism of conflict, that’s rather frustrating as, outside of admitting to herself what she felt or wanted, Ellie repeatedly demonstrated that she was more than capable, and willing, to speak what was on her mind up to the point where it actually mattered. The inclusion of Theo suffering an oddly specific timeframe of memory loss after his concussion did introduce some intrigue to his character with regard to his relationship with his father and introduced Sam to the story, but there was already plenty going on where this felt like an unnecessary addition to the larger scheme; in a similar way, the complication of Sam wanting Ellie’s help to get back with Theo, was added drama that resulted in the story as a whole feeling like it was trying to incorporate too much and feeling less realistic (for a trope-heavy romance).

Overall, I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

(2.75★)

The fake dating romance Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon centers on Theo Taylor and Eleanor Greco, two business owners.

This novel had a lot of needless lengthy paragraphs that focused more on the deli and company than on the main characters. There was just too much going on, and at some point I started to skim and wanted to dnf.

Also, I found that I preferred Sam—the other woman—to Eleanor, and I felt sorry for Sam instead of Eleanor. Plus, Eleanor's attempts to reconcile Sam and Theo since she knew Sam still loved him, while also still sleeping with Theo behind Sam’s, back felt so pathetic and dirty. 

However, except from Sam, I absolutely disliked every character because the girl was just plain boring and the guy was overly conceited.

Though things did improve a little bit, and Eleanor and Theo's situation began to take on new interest.

Overall, because so much happened in this book, I'm still not sure if I liked it or not.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and to the author, Jilly Gagnon, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.*

Love You Mean It has a lot of everything. Ellie and Theo knew each other in high school (he was one of the cool kids, she was a theatre kid, so not friends). His Dad’s evil empire is moving a Italian market (think balducci’s) into the small town that will undoubtedly destroy the family butcher shop that Ellie runs, since her Dad died, which is why she returned from NYC where she was trying to break into costume design (unsuccessfully). Whew, and that is literally just the set up. There are injuries, amnesia, fake fiancé, an ex girlfriend that wants him back, small town, family drama, rich kid privilege and more that are just spoilers). It is a lot. Maybe too much. Theo and the supporting characters are great, lovely written people. They feel real and not caricatures. Ellie our FMC is really the only one that makes weird choices. For instance, she tells the ex she will help her get Theo back and of course Ellie hooks up with him. But her internal monologue is still “he really wants the ex” despite the fact that he is literally telling Ellie that he does not want the ex. Now I understand the imposter syndrome trope, but it just goes on for too long.
Having said that I really enjoyed reading it. The dialogue is snappy. No one is “evil” (except his Dad). It is a solid romcom. I would absolutely read another book by Jilly Gagnon. Heck I would love to read the romcom adventures of the side characters. Overall, 3.75 stars.

I enjoyed this book. It was about a girl who comes home to run her familiy’s deli and must try to safe it by faking an engagement. Of course we all know what happens. It’s a done trope but it works.

Thank you Netgalley for an advance copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

This story pulled me in with the fake dating, it caught my interest with the seamstress running a deli, and kept my attention all the way through!

The story did feel a little out there - fake engaged to stop a company from coming into town and wiping out the deli? But, the author made it work. I could definitely see Ellie's frustration with how slow the merger was happening, and it made for a good conflict point in the story. The author did a good job of portraying family dynasties, and the politics in them, especially when it comes to old money families not caring about the small businesses they might be affecting.

I think the characters had good chemistry right off the bat, and even with Ellie consistently denying her feelings it was easy to see how they both cared for her. It does seem like "he fell first" in this situation, but she just consistently convinced herself that it was "all for show." There is some spice in this book too, so this is more than just a kissing book!

The third act breakup happened super late in the story (less than 15% left of the book), and I was really concerned these characters wouldn't have a happy ever after. It happens because of typical miscommunication, then the characters have to spend time apart and realize truths about themselves, but ultimately the story does end on a good note. It is a typical romance, nothing too crazy about the formula.

Overall, I did enjoy this cute romance. I liked the depth to Ellie's character, the chemistry is there, and there is even a decent cast of supporting characters. I am a little on the fence on the believability of what started the fake dating, but I also know it's a book and not meant to be realistic. Still, I enjoyed reading this one and would be open to reading more work by this author.
Content warnings: loss of a parent, sexual content, child death, grief, alcohol use

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell and NetGalley for an eARC of Love You, Mean it!

What first drew me to this book was the title. It’s something that I am forever saying to my own husband! Then, after I read the summary, I knew I had to read this book. It was so cute, fluffy, romantic and funny. I really enjoyed every bit of it and who doesn’t love a bit of a fake engagement trope?!

Very cute! You've got mail vibes but the ending we all actually wanted. I can't get too frustrated with the unreasonably stubborn Ellie because she is me and I am her. Sweet MMC who falls first. Not the deepest romance you've ever read but sweet enough for a lovely romantic comedy escape.

We'll say 2.5 rounded down.

The premise of this sounded interesting and I think the plotline would have been very cute, but the execution wasn't quite there. For one, the pacing of the storyline seemed to be all over the place - it seemed very slow with not much happening until we hit the third-act breakup, and it flew by from there. But a majority of the book was very slow and not as interesting as the premise had promised.

The main issue I had was the main character, Ellie. She, for reasons that were not explained, had a severe dislike of the rich - of all the rich - and never looked past their status to determine if they were a good/bad person. She kept looking at Theo and everyone she met during the book and assuming they were jerks and horrible people, and it was never explained why she had such a negative outlook toward that class.

Ellie read as a judgmental character that constantly pushes people away. It was a little hard to like her, especially since the whole book was from her perspective and her thought process was just... constantly negative. Theo didn't have much as a character; he was kind of there, romantic sometimes, and rich. That was what his whole personality seemed to be (especially to Ellie).

The idea was there, but I think the characters and speed of the storyline really took away from the enjoyment.

Love You, Mean It is a cute romcom. It is slower paced and missing a bit but still a decent read. I lost attention a few times, but I was able to bring it back around.

Tropes: Fake Dating, Amnesia, Small Town, Family Business

Ellie setup a meeting with Theo to try to save her family's deli, during the meeting Theo is met with a concussion and amnesia. Not sure of what to do, Ellie tells the paramedics that she is Theo's fiancé. Theo recovers rather quickly but comes up with a scheme of his own to keep Ellie's deli safe.

One obstacle they had to overcome was Sam, Theo's ex, who seemed to be everywhere in this story. Ellie really wanted to be friends with Sam, but of course Sam wants Ellie to help her get back together with Theo. This becomes a huge debacle.

Ellie and Theo are both kind of hotheaded but also have a very tender side to them. You have your classic fake dating; no feelings will be caught ordeal. However, Ellie starts to see things about herself that others have been trying to tell her, she also starts to feel real feelings towards Theo.

Miscommunication and a hot-headed argument led to your third act break up. Which recovers very well but it would have been nice to see Theo's POV during the separation. There was a decent gap in between the fight and the recovery.

Overall, I would recommend!

This book releases April 30, 2024! Add it to your TBRs!

Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Fake Fiancés
Amnesia
Small town

I truly enjoyed this one. After reading a super thick book before this one, it was a quick & easy read. The writing flowed nicely & there weren’t any parts of the book that I was ‘bored’. I was excited to see where to Main Characters’ story went & what obstacles they overcame.

The banter & witty back and forth was awesome & had me literally giggling out loud at some parts. Theo turned into quite the dreamy MMC & became obsessed with him.

One thing I wasn’t a huge fan of the amount of insecurities of Ellie & how prevalent they were when it came to Theo. I do think this was purposefully done, but in my opinion maybe slightly too done.

**Loss of loved ones is mentioned a decent amount of times too; so if that’s a trigger, this one might not be for you

tl;dr
A light and cheery read for fans of the fake dating trope. Also has a ton of great supporting characters. And a deli.

Thoughts
Well, I'm a sucker for a fake dating trope, so here we are. I also really love an ex girlfriend who is actually very cool and not entirely horrible, so that's two points in this book's favor. Although to be honest, Sam makes me realize why the ex girlfriends in books like these are so often terrible. She's maybe TOO good? This is not a complaint! I love her, but I found myself more invested in her and Ellie's relationship by the end. And honestly, that's probably my favorite part of the book. Don't get me wrong - the romance is cute, Theo's a keeper, the whole thing ends on the happy note that we all want. But I especially loved Ellie learning to make friends, especially with other women. The two women who show up alongside Ellie are super cool, and it was a great way to round out Ellie's own realizations about where she wants to be to have a full group of friends in the picture, and not just one dude.

But back to the romance, which is probably why you showed up. Ellie and Theo actually hit it off pretty early on. Not instalove by any measure, but it's never a full-on enemies/rivals situation, and their relationship feels like it clicked into place very naturally. The memory loss plot lasts very briefly, so don't expect that to be a huge part of the story, and the drama is barely between the two leads, and more the MC with herself. Ellie's natural position is to be self-sacrificial, even if it's what no one wants, so she doesn't always make the best choices regarding the relationship. It can be frustrating sometimes to Ellie not grab happiness when it's offered to her, but I'm glad she worked things out in the end.

This was such a cute enemies to lovers fake dating romance. Plus reading about all the food in it made me want to crack open a bottle of wine and snack on a charcuterie board. Overall, I loved the world building and the characters. The humor was executed very well and I found myself laughing aloud many times throughout reading this book. I never wanted it to end, but man was the ending great. I loved the tension that we got from the will they or won’t they scenes as well as the amazing spicy scenes. I honestly wish we had gotten more spicy scenes, but that’s just me. I loved this book and as soon as I finished reading I immediately preordered the physical copy because I just had to own a physical version of it. I loved the Italian family representation as an Italian myself, where food and family are everything. Overall this book was such a cute and quick read, and I wish there was more to the Ellie and Theo story.

I typically really enjoy fake dating and enemies to lovers romcoms, but Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon didn’t quite hit the mark.

The cons:
- The first thing that annoyed me was the dialogue. I just couldn’t get into Ellie’s dialogue and thoughts. I didn’t like her as a character that much because of it unfortunately.
- I didn’t buy the storyline. The “hating each other so much but then losing memory but only for a little then pretending then fake dating then falling in love and it’s us against the world”. I just couldn’t get as into it as I wanted.
- I didn’t love the enemies. They seemed too cartoon-ish.
- Again, I hated Ellie’s inner monologue. So much that I needed to say it again.

Although there was a lot I didn’t like, there were still some things I enjoyed.

The pros:
- Ellie’s cousin (whose name I can’t remember right now). A+, voice of reason, top notch cousin.
- The cutesy moments between Ellie and Theo. Seeing them come around to each other a bit.
- The fact that Theo falls first and harder!

Overall, even though this book wasn’t perfect for me, I still enjoyed my time reading it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!!

If you took the enemies turned partners in Two Weeks Notice and added an amnesia twist like in While You Were Sleeping, you’d get Love You, Mean It… and let’s be honest, you can’t go wrong with a Sandra Bullock double feature. This was a cute story and I really enjoyed the premise, the setting with its local charm and history, and the delightful side characters.

I do think the story could have benefited from having Theo’s POV, especially when the “enemies” tension rapidly shifted and gave way to him and Ellie having heart eyes for each other. I was also slightly frustrated with how Ellie continually doubted her dreams and self worth. But mostly, I wanted more clear communication - like come on, girl, you know that fake engagement wasn’t so fake when he invited you over to get cozy in front of the fireplace.

Both Ellie and Theo were likable characters, but I finished wishing 1) there was an epilogue and 2) that we had seen more growth from Ellie. The small glimpse we saw of her dipping back in to her designing dreams was excellent, but it was so brief compared to all the time she focused on doubts and self-sabotage. I wanted more for our girl and to see Ellie shining bright and regaining confidence to pursue her professional goals and passions.

In the end, the book made me smile and I was delighted to see these former enemies bet on themselves and get their happily ever after.