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.

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!