This was genuinely so cute and also a little hilarious, and the only time in which the “I pretended to be their partner while they have amnesia” trope has been genuinely wholesome instead of making me fear for their health and safety.

🌟🌟🌟🌟✨

While Ellie Greco is happy to keep her family legacy alive, it’s not what she wanted from her life. Returning home from her brief foray into the world of fashion to take over the family deli after the death of her father was never a regret, but it also doesn’t thrill her. It does, however, make her feel safe.

Safe, that is, until Greco’s Deli is suddenly under threat by the potential new addition of Mangia - a high-end gourmet chain - moving into town. Even if running the deli isn’t her dream, losing it is her nightmare.

But when Ellie attempts to plead her case Theo Taylor - the man running the potential incoming circus - she barely even has time to talk (okay, argue) to him before the construction site goes awry and she watches him crumple unconscious to the ground before her very eyes.

Panicking and with no way to contact his family, Ellie claims to be his fiancée in order to follow him to the hospital. But when Theo wakes up and believes the nurses who address her as such, Ellie has a whole new reason to panic (that is, until Theo admits he knows the truth).

But Theo isn’t opposed to continuing the ruse - in a much more elaborate and detailed way - to try and both help Ellie and keep his relentless and cold father from ruining the charm of their hometown.

Can the two of them convince everyone necessary that they’re deeply in love, without actually developing feelings for each other? The answer may (not) surprise you.

Overall, I thought this book was really cute! I really like Ellie and Theo’s characters. They bounce off each other well and definitely start to grow and discover what they truly want in life. Ellie is trying to save her family’s deli and gets stuck in a situation when trying to go to Theo for his help. Theo comes from a rich family and is part of the plan to have a big company move in near by that is essentially a fancy deli itself. These two might come from different worlds but that doesn’t mean they don’t gravitate towards each other.

I do think parts of the story didn’t completely flow together and threw me off a little when the next chapter began, but all in all, it was a book I really enjoyed.

I received an eARC from NetGalley after being sent an email from the publisher to review.

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon a cute rom com that tells the story of Ellie the owner of Greco’s Deli and Theo a real estate developer which takes place in a small town. This could be a Hallmark movie! Thank you to NetGallery and Dell for letting me review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Love you, Mean it
The attitude starts right from the first words. Ellie is a strong willed young woman with lots of attitude. She has a quirky sense of humor, a strong work ethic and strong family ties. Five years ago, she left her dream of becoming a costume designer to take over the family deli when her father suddenly passed away. She has been in limbo ever since.
When the deli is about to get serious competition she springs into action. The deli has been in the family for generations. She contacts the son of the wealthy developers to see if there is a way to stop the big Italian store opening in their town. And from there sparks fly!
Totally enjoyed it. Would read more from this author.

I ended up to middle of the road on this ARC.

Did I devour it in less than a day? Yup.

Was the MMC delicious? Yup.

Were the tropes perfect? Yup.

But the MMC… ugh… one chapter she had it all together and was strong and independent and unique. The next she was indecisive and insecure and lashed out emotionally. Listen, I know ALL about being sad, insecure and emotional and unleashing it as anger on those I care about. Frankly, most of it was forgivable. But there was one line, one scene towards the end (I’m talking 85% in) where I almost said “nah I’m done”. I literally gasped, clutched my pearls and said out loud “oh Ellie that was too far.” It almost felt out of place in the story.

Theo, our MMC, starts out looking like a typical rich boy spoiled brat but ends up being very down to earth, in touch with his emotions, openly communicating his thoughts and oh his PDA and sense of protectiveness was knee wobbling.

Theo’s ex was actually a pretty great side character, albeit pushy. His immediate forgiveness of her for her part in the scheming was a little off putting though. She was pretty deceitful towards him and he was all “oh, ok” 🙄

The fake engagement scheme was fantastic and aside from a few scenes that were cringy and uncomfortable I honestly did enjoy the book as a whole.

Would I necessarily recommend it? Eh, I might if someone asked for fake dating books within the next couple weeks due to recency bias. But it isn’t something that will stay on my radar for long.

There is some witty banter, some very quote dialogue, a bit small(ish) town romance. It is very low spice but the angst and lead up was very good in that respect.

All that to say it wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible.

I am loving this book!

Connecting to the characters has been incredible and the storyline is great. I wasn't sure how I was going to like the amnesia bit, but it flows so well with everything.

Romcom with a side of billionaire and family business.

Definitely recommend!

Thank you netgalley for the arc.

I had sorta high hopes for this book but it fell a little short for me. Sometimes I really enjoy the fake dating trope but this one felt weirdly forced. The romance was ok, but I didn't feel like I truly got to know the characters.

Ellie is frustrating and I couldn't tell if she wanted to be a fashion designer or if she wanted to run her family's deli. It never quite got resolved what it was she truly wanted to do (despite her saying she wanted to run the family business - I didn't *feel* it, ya know?).

I did like Theo, though, and his overall arc. I wish we got to know him and his history a little bit better. I would've liked to hear more about stories of him and his brother to show that side of him.

I think the author could've had a bit less "telling" and more "showing" throughout the book. I got a little bored as she described every single minute detail in every room the characters were in. It got a bit exhausting. I also didn't understand some side characters. There was no real development of them - Sam, Bella, Jenna (I think that was her name). It just felt a little disjointed.

Overall, this is your typical fake dating romance with a third act breakup. The ending was a little underwhelming and went quickly. But it's an easy and fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book! Made me frustrated at some points, made me smile. Really liked the storyline. Would love to read more by this author!!

This was really cute! I was nervous at first because the plotline seemed based on a dumb, very explainable lie. But the main characters work their way through it much faster than I anticipated. I don’t want to give away too much, but the chemistry was believable, and the dialogue was witty and natural. The best friend character was a dud — very much written in to be the narrator’s conscience rather than a real friend you want to see more of. She was so boring that even the main character actively looks for new friends the whole book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine.

Ellie has taken over the family deli shop back in her hometown, and she gets the worst news possible: an Italian deli chain warehouse may be coming to town which would certainly drive her out of business. Ellie interacts with Theo, whose father owns the building that this competitor might move into. Tropes abound as she tries to convince him not to go through the deal.

Ellie and Theo have some good banter and chemistry in the book. The only criticism is I feel like the book jumps from trope to trope a little fast.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

Elle and Theo are your classic opposites attract. Theo, on one hand has been born into a posh lifestyle that’s drastically different from Elle’s day to day of running a deli. I really enjoyed the plot of this story. The obstacles, each turn of the relationship, it all was so interesting to read and kept me guessing as to how everything would play out. Love You Mean It is ultimate fake relationship that gets real, real fast.

This is a romance of the opposites attract variety. Ellie runs a family delicatessen while Theo is a rich kid heir. There is a head injury storyline that was problematic for me…I’m a brain injury RN specialist. Fortunately the amnesia aspect is resolved quickly and then the plot to thwart the Mean Rich Father dovetails with the love story. By the end I was engaged with both main characters. The writer does a nice job painting middle class life and struggles. I enjoyed the book quite a bit more than I anticipated.

I really enjoyed this story about Ellen Greco , who was running the family deli and Theo is a from a local family that is bringing a large store that specializes in things items that could evening close down the family business.. Ellen calls Theo and arranges a meeting to talk at the new property. During that time as construction workers are there something falls from the ceiling and Theo is knocked out. Ellen saves him when EMS responds she wants to with him and says she is his fiancee'. Nobody thinks differently so she stays with him.. He wakes up with amnesia back to 6 years ago. This the fake engagement starts because it benefits both of them . He does not want the store either as he has other plans for the story. Follow their journey. A VERY GOOD READ.

While You Were Sleeping meets You've Got Mail

How fun a concept, right?! Small-town Ellie has a small, family-owned deli, and rich guy Theo is in talks to bring a big chain food store into the neighborhood. As Ellie tries to talk him out of destroying her business with his, a big hunk of plot convenience falls from the ceiling and knocks him out. She claims to be his fiancée so that she can ride to the hospital with him, and when he comes to, he doesn't remember the last six years of his life, so he goes with it. BUT, shortly after, his memory returns BUTTT as it turns out, he's against this deal too so he agrees to keep up the engaged ruse so that he can kill the big chain store deal to save "his fiancée's" store. There's an ex-girlfriend, a shitty dad (Theo's), a super quirky family (Ellie's), some underdeveloped musings on what the MCs really want to do with their lives, and a love story in there somewhere.

I always rate middle of the road books at 3 stars. They might have some snippets that are absolute out-of-this-world winners for me but if, at the end of the day, I'm left just kind of 'meh' overall, I cannot justify giving more stars. I've been very fortunate with Netgalley reads; either I've picked them and loved them before I even read them or the ones that I've been invited to review have been great. IN FACT! The last book I was invited to review (geez, I'm making myself sound like some big shot; let me be clear that I'm sure A BUNCH of people were invited to review it!) was ALSO a classic rom-com retelling. So while I had HIGH HOPES, because I was like 'this is a fun thing we're doing,' I was also cautious in a 'careful, this could get really murky' kind of way... It ended up murky, I'm sorry to say.

I just feel a little like this story suffered from the FMC's half-baked thoughts. Near the end, they started evolving and actually taking shape, but the only REAL, and I mean REALLY REAL thought Ellie had throughout most of the book was that rich people were stuck up and snooty. I think a lot of people, rich or poor, are going to be turned off by her attitude of reading every book by its cover.

And really, why not tack that on, he'd already won the white-male-with-money lottery.

Now, what I identified with was her propensity to trust her instincts when it came to meeting someone and going "that one!" because I have met many people in my life that I just knew were going to be important, and I have few *very close* friends for this reason but those close friends are my ride-or-die homies. I rely very heavily on that "they're the one!" sentiment...

I'd perfected my pointless small talk over years of working at the deli, but I was fundamentally too introverted to crave interaction with anyone who didn't lock into place with me almost immediately.

THAT SAID! Her first instance of this (Sam) was not a bad person but NOT a good friend (seriously, who uses their new friend to try to get back with their ex?!), and she never did have this feeling with Theo (an ACTUAL good person worth being besties with), her supposed HEA! And Jenna, who was mentioned all of twice, you barely saw! Don't get me started on how Bella, her probably amazing cousin, was only there to propel the romance, not on her own accord. Why make this a huge part of her personality and then make it so messy??

On Theo's side, he was (not surprisingly) a decent human being, and the story from his side was organic and sweet and yet, the entire book was from Ellie's perspective. We really deserved more of Theo. Ellie, for her part, was indecisive, put herself down constantly, and she was really shady! First, the whole lying about being the fiancée thing, yeah, central to the plot, but no less shady. Second, CONSTANTLY believing that these rich people were only one-dimensional and soulless. Third, lying to Theo about his ex-girlfriend Sam (she did NOT think this through AT ALL!). Fourth, being really really unsure of who she even was... Sorry, that last one wasn't shady, it was just really really annoying.

Let me elaborate! She had tried her hand at costume design in New York but then her father died and she "had" to come home and run the deli. She kept telling herself she had an obligation but it wasn't what she really wanted to do with her life. She was also too jaded by rejection from her costume design days to keep trying at it, so she settled into this "oh woe is me, I guess I'm stuck here" narrative while also secretly being relieved that she didn't have to keep trying at the costume design thing. Now, what I described might actually be good character development, if it came to her by her own reckoning. I'm not convinced she had any of these thoughts ON HER OWN! Furthermore, we have to infer all this; the story starts when she's well and fully entrenched back home at the deli seemingly doing just fine. She keeps alluding to her past costume design days and you're like "what am I missing??" until you, the reader, finally put all the pieces together (to be fair, she does have one paragraph saying basically all this at about the halfway point, and I appreciate that, but before that I was confused, and overall, one paragraph is really not enough for allllllll that). Through interactions with Theo and Sam, her insta-bestie (not her very supportive family, btdubs, who she's around constantly), she realized costume design and clothing design in general, are still a huge part of her but she's stuck in place. Only through manufactured conflict and really nasty confrontations does she finally figure out who she is. And possibly the worst part is the story ends without any resolution on who Ellie is as a person. It ends on the HEA and I'm IMMEDIATELY like "mmmm, I bet you those two don't make it" and moreover "I bet you Ellie still stays stuck in place."

At the end of the day, I think this book tried too hard to be like While You Were Sleeping and You've Got Mail and not enough like its own thing. Tack on really one-dimensional characters, a not great FMC and a great MMC that we didn't get to know enough, and I just wanted so much more from this. The parts I liked were sweet and cute and funny - it was NOT horrible! - but it felt like an outline of a story that still has a lot of gaps to fill.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ARC to read in exchange for an honest review!!

Love You, Mean It was a delightful rom-com. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the amnesia trope, but it didn’t play nearly as much of a role as I thought. I really liked Ellie as a main character; she seemed to be fully fleshed out and self-aware. Theo was a great love interest, and the side characters (Bella, Sam, Everett etc) really helped make the story.

This was just OK for me. I didn't really feel the comedy aspect of it, but it had parts that were mildly amusing and playful. My biggest issue was with Ellie - I felt she was extremely unlikable, so I couldn't root for her. She was so obnoxious and condescending about her future love interest that nothing else made any sense.

That being said, I did enjoy the book. I'd read others from the author.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being given freely.

Absolutely delightful! 'Love You, Mean It' is a 5-star rom-com that's a perfect blend of humor, romance, and heart. Ellie's journey from reluctant deli owner to fake fiancée is a rollercoaster of emotions. The witty banter, unexpected twists, and charming characters make this a page-turner. You'll root for Ellie and Theo, but also fall for the other characters. This is my first Jilly Gagon book, but not my last! A must-read!

4.5 stars - As I was reading “Love You, Mean It” all I could picture was, Hallmark movie! At first I was worried I would not get into it, was a slow start. As I kept going it instantly turned into a book I did not want to put down. I found myself just needed to know what happened next for Ellie and Theo! To be honest, there were a couple moments I was screaming at Ellie, like I was her best friend telling her to stop being so naive and self sabotaging. I could not help it. I was fully invested in her and Theo’s romance. Some of the details through out the book were a little long winded for me. While others were short enough to keep you guessing. If you love a cute, easy read rom-com, this is your next book. Thank you NetGalley for this awesome read!

I started out enjoying this book, I was intrigued initially by what was happening, a local small town trying to save their family deli from a large business. Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with the characters and the remainder of the story. I was lost a little bit with Sam (Theos ex) and her role in the novel. Ellie couldn't get out of her own way and seemed a bit discontent.

It was a quick read, just not one that gripped me!

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for an advance E-Copy for Love you, Mean it by Jilly Gagnon in exchange of an honest review.

"Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon is a charming and entertaining read that combines several compelling story elements. The concept of fake dating, amnesia, and the grumpy/sunshine trope adds a delightful touch to the romance. The characters are well-developed and endearing, making it easy to root for their connection. While the beginning of the book may feel slow and heavily focused on the business aspect, once you push past the initial chapters, the story gains momentum and becomes more engaging. It's worth noting that there are some plot holes and certain aspects might not be thoroughly explored, but I appreciate that the book doesn't demand too much overthinking. Love You, Mean It provides a light-hearted and enjoyable experience, perfect for those looking for a sweet read with a bit of spice. ,