This was my first read by Gagnon so I went in with zero expectations. It was not my favorite but also not the worst. I'd say if readers are looking for an easier/lighter read this is it!

Love You, Mean It is an adorable rom-com story with a wonderful plot, relatable characters and an inspiring ending which is, no spoilers... happy and satisfying!

Ellie Greco works at her family's place of business, Greco's Deli. This was never her plan. She had been going to college to become a clothing designer but felt obligated to abandon her dream when her dad died, and she had to come home to take over for him. So, she put her own ambitions aside to help her family navigate this sad situation.

But suddenly she discovers her family business could be in danger. A huge chain gourmet store called Mangia is trying to move into a building very close to the Greco Deli. If this does happen, they will never be able to compete with them. As they try to consider their next move, her sister mentions Theo Taylor, a boy her sister had dated back in college whose father owns the building. She suggests perhaps Ellie plead her case with him.

Enter Theo who Ellie takes a dislike to immediately. Theo comes from a very wealthy family whose father is not very liked. But he's the property owner of the building and she will do anything to salvage their life's work.

At Ellie and Theo's first meeting which does not go very well, something occurs which leads Theo to end up in the hospital. Ellie feels terrible and decides she needs to stay with Theo in order to make sure he's okay. She tells all the hospital personnel that she is his fiancé. Theo wakes up and for a while does actually believe she is his finance.

But, after his recovery, he and Ellie decide to continue the charade in hopes that Theo's father, thinking they are getting married and will become part of the family will do the right thing and cancel the deal.

But, of course, that's not what happens, and Ellie and Theo find themselves in this awkward situation of having to pretend. Or...gulp...are they pretending? Humorous chaos ensues and they will certainly discover more about each other than they ever imagined.

Love You, Mean It is a lighthearted, uplifting read with wonderful messages about how life can change in an instant, but perhaps by believing in yourself you never have to let your dreams die.

Thank you #NetGalley #Dell #LoveYou,MeanIt #JillyGagnon for the advanced copy.

3.5 stars rounded up. Who knew an opening about deli meats would captivate me so much? I read this entire book in one day and enjoyed the spin it put on amnesia and fake dating tropes in a contemporary romance, but the third act breakup was just so stupid.

Thanks to Dell and Netgalley for my copy to review.

Well I really loved the idea behind this book but it was very hard to read and stay focused on. Also my review didn't post the first time so that's why it's just now being posted.

I felt like a lot was lacking and maybe it was just when I read this book that made it harder for me to read. There were some mixed reviews out there but this may just not have been the book for me, but I know that many out there did love it.

Love You, Mean It follows Ellie, the owner of Greco's Deli, and Theo, scion of the property management firm that is about to put her out of business. Ellie and Theo stumble into a fake engagement in order to save Greco's Deli. Everything is going well until Sam, Theo's ex fiancée, figures out their little scheme.

I had the. best time reading Love You, Mean It. As someone who has lived in Massachusetts most of my life, I loved all the little details Jilly Gagnon included. It was fun to see elements that I recognized, even though all the town and business names were changed. Even if you're not from Massachusetts, the setting of the book was incredible. From the deli to the fancy houses, everything was described so well. I could picture it perfectly in my head and it made for such a cozy read. I also enjoyed that it was a small town, but she still included trips to Boston to bring in some of the big city elements to the story.

This book was a little ridiculous (in a good way), which is just what I needed when I picked it up. If you're looking for a fun time, this is it. Even though the stakes were pretty high, it never felt like too much. I did enjoy the incorporation of the serious topics, too. It made for some excellent character development throughout the story. Specifically, all the conversation around family was incredibly interesting to me. Ellie and Theo's family life was so vastly different, but the end result was similar in that they both had so much pressure to continue the family business.

Though I enjoyed the plot and the setting, Ellie as a character fell a bit short for me. She was constantly negative and kept blatantly lying to Sam for no good reason. What baffles me the most is that Ellie constantly mentioned that she highly valued her friendship with Sam and thought the best way to continue it was to lie? Sam had been nothing but kind, honest, and understanding the entire time.

Additionally, I found the ending to be lackluster. Despite the third act conflict, Theo and Ellie get back together in the end. The way it happens, though, was quite abrupt and out of nowhere? It didn't seem like they were desperately in love with each other and excited to get back together at all. Quite frankly, it lacked in emotion. Despite the book being called Love You, Mean It, not once did they say they loved each other.

Overall, I would still recommend this book if you're looking for a good time. I am excited to check out more from this author in the future, as I did really enjoy the writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
This was a wonderful book and I'll be purchasing it for the library!

"Love You, Mean It" was my first novel by author Jilly Gagnon. It's an entertaining Hallmark movie-esque read, with a little salty language and a few *spicy* scenes added here and there. The main characters are hometown high school acquaintances who reconnect as adults. What follows is a series of story twists that lead the two to form a faux wedding "engagement" with an end game of thwarting the takeover of a historic building and a decades old family business in their quaint Massachusetts town. Let the romance begin!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of "Love You, Mean It" by Jilly Gagnon.

#LoveYou,MeanIt
#JillyGagnon
#NetGalley

I feel as though Jilly Gagnon just proved she is adept at writing all different genres, and I love how she went from mystery/thriller to romance with Love You, Mean It. Ellie is sassy and sarcastic in all the best ways and has the mouth of a sailor, so this isn't just some super sugary romance. The characters start as basically enemies with Theo not being particularly helpful until the ceiling problem where he gets a bit of amnesia and Ellie pretends to be his fiancée to make sure he is ok. Things get more and more interesting from there, and I really enjoyed the way Gagnon added fake dating into the mix! It is my favorite romance trope and it worked well here.

The audiobook is narrated by Amanda Ronconi, and she was the absolute best as Ellie. Her voice, tone, and narration perfectly fit the character in my opinion, and I loved listening to her. There was a bit of tinniness that I picked up on in the audio which may have been an editing thing, but otherwise, it was fantastic. There is also plenty of family and small-town drama mixed in with the romance and I loved all of the different elements. There was some spiciness mixed in, which after reading her thrillers kind of threw me for a loop! Overall, I was really satisfied with Love You, Mean It and there were plenty of laughs along the way.

Grumpy/sunshine is my absolute favorite romance trope, but not the only trope this book has to offer. This was also opposites attract AND fake dating !

However i didn’t like our Female Main Character at all. She didn’t seem to like herself either but wasn’t willing to do anything to change it.

The conversations on race and white privilege were not well done in my opinion.

I enjoyed the fake dating element and the "While you were sleeping" type storyline! It's a cute romance and kept me entertained and wanting to read more.

I enjoyed this romance novel! The fake dating and opposites attract tropes & witty banter made this novel fly by reading it. I could play it out in my mind like a romcom. It had short, easy chapters and I found the characters really entertaining, especially Ellie's side of the family. Definitely would recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Such a cute, quirky rom-com! Amnesia and Fake engagement.. what could go wrong!

I really enjoyed this novel! Fake dating and fake engagement is one of my favorite tropes and I thought the author did it so well with this novel.

I was rooting for Ellie and Theo and I thought it was so cute that Theo had noticed her when they were in school even though she didn’t know it.

Having Theo’s ex show up added so much tension and anticipation to the story and I was there for it.

This was such a good book and I definitely look forward to more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of "Love You Mean It" by Jilly Gagnon. Gagnon's writing style in this romantic comedy is witty and sharp, filled with clever dialogue and humorous observations. The story follows a charmingly flawed protagonist navigating the complexities of love and friendship in a refreshingly realistic way. While the plot is predictable at times, the dynamic characters and snappy banter make for an entertaining read. Gagnon captures the essence of modern relationships with authenticity and humor, making "Love You Mean It" a delightful choice for anyone seeking a light-hearted yet thoughtful romance novel.

A little romance-trope heavy, Love You, Mean It is still a heartwarming, engaging, and playful romance perfect for rom-com enthusiasts everywhere! The slow-burn romance and beautiful writing are the sprinkles on top of an already delicious dessert of a book.

Quick rom com read!

What I liked:
1. The homage to "While I Was Sleeping".
2. Great premise and promised to be fun.
3. Loved the ex-girlfriend.

What I didn't like:
1. The main character was terrible - grumpy, angry, self-deprecating and not at all fun.
2. Just didn't feel the chemistry between the two characters as you usually do in a rom com.


Thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Dell for providing me with this digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

"Love You, Mean It" is a delightful contemporary romance with a classic enemies-to-lovers plot. The story line is engaging and most of the characters are charming and well-developed. However, I found it difficult to connect with one of the main characters, which slightly dampened my overall enjoyment. Despite this, I couldn't put the book down because I was eager to see how the story unfolded. The writing is solid, and I appreciated this book even more than Gagnon's first novel.

Thank you #NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own and freely submitted.

#BookReview #LoveYouMeanIt #ContemporaryRomance #EnemiesToLovers #ARC #BookLovers 📖💕

Love You, Mean It is a remake of While You Were Sleeping but not as great. I've read a few novels with this premise, and they can be done well, but I have to actually like the main character. Ellie is negative, has the self-confidence of a gnat, and is generally hard to like. Theo is cold, but I could warm up to him.

Overall, I just didn't click with these characters.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. But unfortunately, it fell flat for me. The beginning was extremely slow, and I mean it took me soooo long to get into this book. I’m pretty sure the initial plot didn’t start until like 30% into it, and at that point I wasn’t even interested anymore.

I’m also firstly certain I’ve never felt the class difference between characters before, but this book made me feel just how absolutely different these two main characters were living. The fact that Ellie felt so judged when Theo first saw her place was not good. Then, when he reassures her because he lived somewhere “scary and rough”, and Ellie thought that the only way he would live somewhere like that willingly was “as some sort of long-term gentrification plan” was absolutely the most wild comment she could’ve made. She also just had no other thoughts about that afterwards, like it would make sense for this man to live somewhere so he could gentrify it. That is where I decided to DNF this book.

I do want to thank the publisher for sending to me, but ultimately I will not be finishing it or recommending it to anyone else.

I thought this book would get better but it didn't, after soft DNFing it originally, I'm gonna say I powered through but decided to rate this 2 stars.