I was definitely intrigued by this book from the premise and I definitely enjoyed it but I also struggled to finish it as well. It was okay for me

This was an ok read for me- to be honest it took me way longer than I expected to finish it. I thought the premise of the book sounded like a fun rom-com feel good book.

Once you get through the first few chapters it gets a little better but I just had a hard time connecting and liking the characters. Ellie just seems so judgy and negative. I wasn’t a fan of Theo either. Ellie running her family’s deli shop was just meh for me. They just couldn’t hold my attention long enough for me to finish this book faster.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for the ARC!

There seems to be a trend for me with books these days where I end up finding the ones with a main female lead who I generally find it hard to like. Ellie is another one, although she did grow on me thankfully as the book progressed. And part of that growth was the actual purpose of the book, because she had to actually figure out that she was an adult before she could embrace the relationships around her.

What kept me from bumping this one up to a 4 star was the fact that I wanted more of the folks around Ellie. There were some genuinely fun characters who Ellie interacted with, but they seem to have been pushed to the edges more than in other books. Maybe the book needed to focus on one supporting character rather than a few, or maybe we just needed to spend a bit less time on the deli meats and more time on the character meat.

The premise is cute. Theo is a good male lead in that he is not too perfect - well I guess his looks are pretty close - and has a personality that pushes back against Ellie. Sure, they kind of fall in love quickly, although the word love never truly leaves either of their mouths concretely. No epilogue either to wrap things up with a bow probably because we'll get a story about one of the other characters as follow up.

Love You, Mean It is a story about a young woman who finds herself thrust into a world of multiple dinner forks and shiny veneers in order to save her family’s deli. Ellie is a resilient and creative person who goes on a journey of self-discovery and grapples with the stagnation of staying versus the guilt of leaving. Theo is funny, brazen and so very charming as he is roped into Ellie’s plot to save the family business her father loved so much before his death.

I really enjoyed the banter and chemistry between Ellie and Theo, and found the pacing to be fast and entertaining. I'm always happy to read about the awkward moments and genuine discoveries that come with the ‘fake-dating’ trope, and this book provided all those moments. I found the writing to be a little long-winded at times and I would’ve preferred more dialogue and less narrator-provided descriptions/explanations. I also didn’t enjoy the plagued romance book arc of having a 3rd act breakup, reconciliation, and then happily ever after in approximately 3 chapters. Despite this, I would recommend this novel and will be looking out for Gagnon’s next work.

I was not familiar with Jilly Gagnon's work so I was not sure what to expect.

Love You, Mean It is a easy "beach/vacation" read. It is a story about Ellie Greco who is running her family's deli after the loss of her father. Despite enjoying the work, Ellie feels like she has no choice but to continue the family tradition.

Theo Taylor, her deli's landlord, is rumored to be bringing in a big conglomerate foody store that would destroy her family's business.

A well-timed amnesia puts Ellie in the position to say that she is Theo's fiance with hopes that her business will not be destroyed. Ellie's charades doesn't last long but Theo and Ellie decide to work together to hopefully get what they both want.

This is a predictable rom-com and was an easy read.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

Ellie is trying to save her family's deli from the big business that threatens to take over. In the course of this, she becomes reconnected with Theo from her past, the man behind the big business. The story becomes a fake dating trope with a "While You Were Sleeping" twist.

Overall, this was a decent rom com. I did not find myself as into to it as with other books. The characters did not connect with me. But it was not a bad book. It has a good supportive cast, and some fun snarky banter. And your typical HEA.

Not my favorite but a decent read.

Thank you Penguin Random House for sending me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My first impression of this book was that it’s another story where the main character fights to save their small family business and takes on the attractive broody son of rich business man. It read very much like a Hallmark movie which is fine when you’re in the mood for it but a little repetitive any other time.

I also did not really feel any genuine chemistry between the two main characters, and I felt that the MMC’s arc needed more details. Even at the end of the book, I still felt like they barely knew each other and they just needed a lot more chemistry/time for their relationship to work [like any real relationship].

The tropes in this book were not my favorite/ones that I would read normally but I put aside those opinions and the writing was good, although the pacing of the book was strange. I read this book while sitting in an airport so it is a super light read and really fast paced!

This book is definitely perfect for someone [year round Hallmark movie lovers or small town romance lovers!], but that someone is not me : )

This was a super fun uplifting romantic comedy that made me laugh. I enjoyed the fake dating, fake engagement, and forced proximity. Elle wants to save her family deli when rumors fly of a big box rival moving into town. She agrees to plan with Theo but they find opposites really do attract each other.
If you enjoyed while you were sleeping or sleepless in Seattle you will love this fun rom com.

This was an alright read.
Two people. Two legacy.
Rich/ middle class trope
Enemies to lovers

Classic amnesia turned fake fiancée.
All hallmarks of a classic romance story that left little individual marks. I felt that Ellie came off too brash and her personality rubs me the wrong way. She takes an opportunity from a freak incident to try to save her family deli. All the while in this game of pretend I did not really vibe with this couple.

Overall I think it was a decent read.

I liked the fake dating with a high school acquaintance angle and the white collar / blue collar contrasts, and I really loved the grandmother and the deli and the small town outside of Boston. I liked the premise of how a town would be changed with the arrival of an Eataly type mega-market, not just for the food businesses that directly compete but also with shopper traffic, rents, and infrastructure. I didn't love how judgy Ellie was. She makes assumptions about everyone and then is constantly surprised that people are nicer or more sincere than she expects.

(I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where this imaginary town is and landed on it being south of Boston like the Foxborough area since characters take 93 and the tunnel into the city even though the author is from the North Shore. Jilly Gagnon if you see this, I'd love to know!)

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. I am required by federal law to disclose this.

I liked the premise of the story, I liked almost all of the characters but the main character who seems to disappear in the story. Ellie after standing up to Theo's father seemed to just disappear and she keeps telling herself that she wasn't up to par with the people who Theo associated with which was very irritating. I also didn't like that the part of Ellie that made her special (make exquisite clothing) and made her stand out in Theo's crowd was downplayed, but instead we hear about her disaster as a costume designer on Broadway and then that's it. The story would have been better if Ellie had more self confidence.
I did like that Theo, who seems to know more about Ellie than she expected; seems to say he likes Ellie from the beginning of the story, but that was downplayed too and made their relationship lose it's steam. I loved the strong and straight forward character Sam who was fun to see at work or playing tennis. I also liked Bella who was always on Ellie's side and playful Everett who made me laugh.
All in all it wasn't bad but wasn't great.

I want to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell and NetGalley for the advance copy of this novel.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Random House, as well as Kathleen Quinlan for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC.This book was very inconsistent for me. Part of the time I couldn't put it down and part of the time, I just could not keep focused. The plot is clever, if a bit derivative. It hinges on someone claiming to be engaged to a person who has amnesia. It quickly moves past that trope and does have some interesting angles. Ellie Greco left her home in a city outside Boston to move to New York City to become a costume designer. She came back when her father, who ran the family deli , died. Ellie gave up her dreams and ran the deli. Now, 5 years later, the Taylor family, who own a lot of property in the town, want to turn an old store into a Mangia-a store/food hall/ restaurant that will surely put the family deli out of business. Ellie decides to talk to Theo Taylor, the son of the head of the Taylor family, whom she knows from high school. The meeting goes from bad to worse when Theo is hit on the head at the building site and needs to go to the hospital. Ellie wants to go to the hospital with him, so he is not alone, and tells everyone she and Theo are engaged. She plans to tell the truth once they get to the hospital, but Theo has forgotten the last 6 years of his life.Luckily, the amnesia is temporary, and Theo is fine. Theo and Ellie realize that neither of them want Mangia to buy the building, and so they join forces. They pretend to be engaged to try to change the minds of the rest of the Taylor family about the sale of the building. It rapidly becomes much more convoluted.It is an interesting premise, and actually some of the supporting cast are very interesting. Ellie's family is a hoot, if a bit stereotypical Italian, her cousin Bella is witty and the customers in the deli are fun and realistic. Theo's family is not as well drawn , and seem to be out of central casting-tycoon father who is not concerned with his family, with a younger second wife . There is Samantha- Theo's ex girlfriend and co worker who was more interesting at times than Ellie, sad to say. Theo was hard to understand, and a bit dull. All in all, there was a lot of promise, but it just kind of fizzled for me.

When I requested this book, I thought it would be like a cute Hallmark movie. However, after the first few chapters I was very disappointed.
There is nothing cute or sweet about convincing a hurt man with memory lost that you are his fiancée. I honestly couldn’t even finish it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC for this honest review.

Initially, I really liked this story. Although some of the descriptions went a bit long I liked the characters and the way things unfolded. It was more of a slow pace but I still found myself enjoying it. At around the 80% mark it sort of lost me. It changed my opinion of the book and I found myself losing interest at the end. I was really liking it for the most part but I had a hard time believing the way things turned out.


Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the arc.

Fake dating with a nod to 'While You Were Sleeping'? I was intrigued!

Ellie Greco can't catch a break! After her father's death crushed her dreams of costume design in NYC, she found herself living in her hometown and managing the family deli—a place she never imagined she'd end up. When a gourmet food store threatens to steal her customers by building a store in town, Ellie devises a plan to save her livelihood. Enter Theo, the rich guy from high school who owns the property. After their first meeting results in Theo getting amnesia, Ellie finds herself faking an engagement to see him in the hospital. Even after Theo regains his memory, they decide to keep up with the fake engagement in hopes of both getting what they want. But Ellie comes to a crossroads: will she start fighting for what she truly wants instead of living as a placeholder in her own life?

Note: There are A LOT of architectural descriptions throughout that I ended up completely skipping. While I liked the overall premise of this story, parts fell flat for me or felt rushed.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Jilly Gagnon for allowing me access to this book. All opinions are my own.

Ellie came home from New York ton run the family deli and when a big corporate shop is set to move in, the future of the deli and her family legacy looks bleak. After and accident causes Theo, the man who could help save the deli, to get amnesia, and Ellie to blurt out a lie to get to the hospital, she becomes tied to Theo so they can both get what they want. Or what they think they want. Enemies to lovers, fake dating, fun supporting characters, and a bit of cured meat, this is a cute novel that was fun to read and just a little spicy.

*Will be posted November 29th, 2023 @ 9 am GMT

Hello Fellow Readers,

I am an absolute sucker for the fake dating trope, like frothing from the mouth, zombie wants brains kinda obsessed with the trope, so I'll pretty much read any book that has it. Love You, Mean It is basically made for me (not really but I feel like it is) If I wasn't a sleep-deprived mom, I would have read this in one sitting.

The book is through Ellie's POV, which I love as it keeps the mystery of what Theo is thinking and lets us (the audience) pick things up with his words and actions. I don't mind dual POV sometimes it works out, but in this case, I think it worked well. Ellie is very entertaining, but she is also very stubborn. There were times I wanted to get the power to reach into the book and shake her, but it's only because Gagnon makes you care about these characters.

The side characters were great, I wish they were in the story more as I think it would have helped Ellie more and also provide insight and comedy. I love Sam (Theo's ex) but I do admit that I kept waiting for her to turn into a backstabber but am I very happy that Gagnon did not go that route. We get too many times where women are pitted against each other, especially in romance novels, so the fact that I wanted Sam and Ellie to be friends gives this an extra thumbs up.

Overall, a very entertaining Romance must-read.

Low key, dry reading experience. Could not get into the story. Ok read, just disappointed. Others may enjoy this book, it was not one of my favorite reads.

One of the best romcoms I've read in a long time. I'm not familiar with Gagnon's other works, but I'll be looking them up. The characters were vibrant, interesting, and full of life. The chemistry between the main character sizzled off the page, and it became clear early on how perfectly they complemented each other.

Absolutely loved this delightfully layered plot that kept serving new angles the whole way through. Relatable independent Ellie and corporate rich kid Theo are nuanced, lovable and surrounded by a great cast of supporting family and friends.