This was cute and easy! I read it in a day alternating between the ebook and audiobook. I adored the narrator - she nailed the different voices and accents!

Beware - the first chapter is rough. Ellie is so negative and rude. But I’m begging you to push through and keep going! As you get to know Ellie you’ll root for her a bit more. I didn’t … love her; she self sabotages and lies, and it’s irritating. But she’s not as bad as the first chapter makes her out to be. Theo is a sweetheart!

Ellie Greco moved back on to Milborough after her dad’s death a few years ago to take over the family deli. Ellie wishes she wasn’t stuck in this life, but she’s resigned to it, at least that’s what she tells herself. When a competent store is getting ready to come to town, Ellie is ready to do all she can to keep them from coming, including pleading her case to Theo Taylor. When she is pleading her case, Theo is in an accident and comes ups with amnesia for a little while. During the time Ellie claims she is his fiancée just so she can check on him, but it sticks and before she knows it Ellie is fake engaged to Theo. The pair come up with a plan to thwart his dad’s plans and save Ellie’s deli. It’s all an act, until it isn’t and suddenly Ellie wants nothing more to be in her home town with this man she thought she hated running her family’s deli, but is that in the cards?

I didn’t know what to except when I picked this book up. I’ve read other books by this author and they weren’t totally for me, but this romance mixed it up. I’ve also read other romances with amnesia lately wasn’t a fan, but I definitely enjoyed this take on this trope. There was really nothing about this book that I didn’t like. I enjoyed the characters and their love story. The chemistry and comedy in this romance was great and had me coming back for more. This was the type of romance book that I didn’t want to put down and couldn’t wait to get back to. If you are in the moody for a fun romcom with snarky characters that are perfect together, this book is a fun summer read!

My thoughts- Cute, cute, cute! Ellie & Theo meet over a business disagreement, but their relationship jumps to the next level when a ceiling falls- injuring Theo. In a fit of panic, Ellie tells a nurse she’s Theo’s fiancé. To her shock, he agrees because he’s suffering from short term memory loss! ⁣
⁣What to expect: enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, open book, and so much family drama! I did think Ellie was a little hard to like… She’s very negative and quite mean to both herself and others! ⁣
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⁣Overall- I was a fan of this book on audio! It was quick, fun listen! Three and a half stars- rounded up to four! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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⁣Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for a copy of Love You, Mean It in return for my honest review. This one is available now!

✨ 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰✨

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 🌶️🌶️
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: 15 & 21
𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧: 49%
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: Small town romance, fake engagement, opposites attract, reversed grumpy x sunshine
𝐏𝐎𝐕: 1st person, Single POV
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Single
𝐊𝐔: No

This was a fun romcom with a different twist to the fake dating trope with a hint of amnesia. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately and just finished a long fantasy book so this was just the palate cleanser I needed!

I liked how the characters were flawed and messy. I even liked Theo’s (MMC) ex-girlfriend Sam, and I loved how her character wasn’t the classic b!*&%y ex that we often see in romance novels.

I didn’t like how quickly everything was resolved after the 3rd act conflict. Even though the author resolves everything, it seemed too fast and easy for me. But overall, this was a quick, easy, and fun read!


⚠️𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:⚠️
Multiple open door scenes with explicit descriptions
Strong language

𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:
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Loss of a loved one (recounted), grief and loss depiction, alcohol consumption, mention of heart attack, hospitalization & strained family relationships

This was a pretty mediocre romance. I didnt love it and I didnt hate it. Just not my favorite. It took me a while to get through.

I tried very hard to finish this book, but it just didn’t sit right with me. I wasn’t enjoying the story, was not a fan of either character, and did not feel the chemistry with this relationship. While I love enemies to lovers in fantasy, it is often so poorly done in contemporary. There’s also other woman drama, poorly expressed emotions, and lack of character depth.

Anyone who loved the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks romances is guaranteed to fall in love with Ellie Greco and Theo Taylor in Love You, Mean It. Ellie gave up her dream of becoming a theater costume designer in New York when her father died. She came home to run the Greco family deli, where she still feels close to him. Now the deli is threatened by a giant food department store opening in town. She plans to appeal to Theo Taylor, the project’s manager who dated her cousin in school. Meeting at the construction site, Theo is injured by falling material. Ellie identifies herself as his fiancée to accompany him to the hospital. When he comes to he experiences temporary amnesia and Ellie becomes trapped in her lie. As Theo’s memory returns, Ellie explains the reason for her lie. Theo would rather preserve the historic building and devises a plan to stop the project and save the Greco’s deli. If they continue the engagement lie, Theo’s father Ted may stop the project rather than destroy his future daughter-in-law’s business.

Ellie comes from a close Italian family with a no nonsense grandmother, who gathers the family every Sunday for dinner. Theo grew up on an estate. His father has been married several miles and has plans for his son that do not include Ellie. Theo’s ex-fiancée has also decided that she wants him back. Ellie has no intention of falling for Theo, but she is very different from the women he has dated and he begins to look beyond their scheme to a possible future with Ellie. She has also found her creative groove once again. A major falling out, however, could open the way for Theo’s ex to re-enter his life. While the engagement started out with a plan and a set of rules, this was a couple that belonged together and deserved a happily ever after. Jilly Gagnon’s story is an absolute delight. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for providing this book.

When a rival company threatens Ellie’s family deli, she goes right to the source. Theo’s company is selling the building to the rival, so she goes there to beg him to stop the sale. The meeting isn’t exactly going well when an accident causes Theo to lose consciousness; panicked, Ellie tells the EMTs that she’s his fiancée so that can go to the hospital with him. Her plan backfires when Theo wakes up with amnesia; he believes they’re engaged… at first. Eventually, Theo regains his memories, but he decides that staying engaged to Ellie has mutual benefits. An amnesia, fake-dating storyline is enough to draw readers in, but they’ll stay for the family stories. This is a romance, but moreso, it’s a story about family obligations and family legacy. Romance readers who love some great side characters will devour this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Love You, Mean It was a cute fake fiance/fake dating, smallish town romance. It was a short read so good for those summer days by the pool. Ellie and Theo are nice people who were sometimes frustrating and needed to talk but also it was just a nice story to read.

Overall review of this book.Is it was okay. I really struggled to find connection with Ellie and found Sam to be more interesting. And a better developed character. The ending felt abrupt and Ellie's storyline about her clothing design abilities unresolved. Not all books Need dual point of view, but I believe this one could have benefited from getting to know Theo more. There was chemistry lacking between the protagonists, both characters need to be further developed to create a strong reader to character relationship.

This romcom is set in a small town where Ellie Greco is stuck running the family deli when she would rather be in the big city designing theater costumes. Theo Taylor is a rich kid property developer who might be eyeing the deli and the building it is in for development. HIs plans look like they would put Ellie’s family deli in jeopardy.

First, I liked the setup of this book: small town girl stands up to property developer, perfect for an enemies to lovers trope extravaganza. However, this was more fake dating with a brief stint of “while you were sleeping” amnesia-type situation thrown in. The story moved quickly (too quickly for me) straight into a fake dating trope.

I didn’t care for the ex-girlfriend storyline and it really set this relationship up for the inevitable big conflict later on in the book.

If you like your rom coms with a Hallmark show type setup and fake dating trope, this is the perfect summer read for you!

3.5

Ellie Greco is willing to do anything to save her family’s deli in her hometown, including pretending to be engaged to the son of the local developer who is threatening it by partnering with an Eataly-esque mega-store looking to take up residence down the block. Theo Taylor eagerly goes along with the fake engagement in an effort to save a historic building from his father’s destruction. Throw in a little amnesia, a beautiful ex-girlfriend looking for a second chance, and one of the worst fathers a romance novel can muster for a little extra fun.

Love You, Mean It was fine - not great, not terrible, but pretty average in the realm of romance novels. It tried to do A LOT - Theo’s amnesia was incredibly short-lived, the fake dating quickly became lusty, the ex-girlfriend looking for a second chance took up a lot of the story, and Ellie’s personal journey through grief and self-discovery felt super rushed given everything else going on. This novel could have benefitted from trying to do less. As a cherry on top of this sundae, Ellie the FMC was generally pretty unlikeable. With all of that - did I still enjoy reading it? Yeah. Would I recommend it in a world where romance novels abound? Probably not.

My appreciation to NetGalley and Ballantine for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was cute! It had two of my favorite tropes. (Enemies to lovers and fake dating).
It was a fun romcom read!

Cute cute cute! If you're a fan of Sarah Adams' books, I think you'll love this! Love the banter and chemistry

This book had all the ingredients for a fun summer read it just fell a little short for me. I think I wanted a little more character growth and things just moved by a little too fast.

I am a little frustrated with this book. Disclaimer: I was not able to finish this book so take that into consideration when reading this review. I rarely DNF a book but I just had a really hard time finding the story interesting. I just did not click with the main character and found myself unable to concentrate on the story line. This just was not a book for me. However, I want to thank the publisher for the opportunity to read an early copy.

I was pleasantly surprised by LOVE YOU, MEAN IT. The initial introduction of Ellie in the deli (LOL) had me questioning if I would enjoy the Ellie character, but by the time she was texting with Theo in chapter 3, I was hooked.

The tropes in this book are extra tropey— amnesia, fake dating, enemies to lovers! The meet cute of Ellie and Theo is super cute. After an accident leads to amnesia for Theo and a fake engagement for Theo and Ellie, they decide it would be mutually beneficial to their own family businesses to continue the engagement. Can they convince their families that their relationship is real and save Ellie’s family deli business from Theo’s father’s business deals?

The bulk of the story is enjoyable as Ellie and Theo get to know each other, but the third act was rough when Ellie makes a poor choice of conversation with Theo. Both characters had their moments of being un-likeable.

I’m also still wondering about the book’s title and how it ties to the storyline… I couldn’t figure it out…

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book! I enjoyed it!

I couldn’t get past chapter 3. I just wasn’t pulled into the story and usually by that point I am feeling a connection to at least something in the story to keep me going.

This book was too annoying for me to get into. The main character is very negative and I’m sure if I continued the story maybe she would redeem herself but I don’t want to waste time on a story I’m not feeling. Also, the audiobook didn’t help either. I tried reading it and listening to it and I was not enjoying it at all. Maybe the fake dating trope is being overplayed at this point or maybe it’s just the main character that ruined it.

Ellie Greco’s dream is to be a costume designer but for the last 5 years, she has been running her late father’s deli. With the news that a big box deli maybe moving in and threatening to put Greco’s out of business, Ellie meets with Theo, who is handling the project to see how to stop it.

The meeting with Theo goes from bad to worse and eventfully, Theo gets knocked out by the ceiling caving in. Ellie panics and pretends to be Theo’s fiancée. Theo has amnesia and believes her.

I enjoyed this book a little bit. Obviously some things were quite far fetched and I would have been more inclined to let them go if I rooted for the FMC. I liked the FMC but she bordered on being negative for much of the book. Theo was ok. This book has fake dating/ While You Were Sleeping tropes along with grumpy/sunshine.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this eARC. Love You, Mean it is out now.