3.5 ⭐️

This was a cute, cozy romance book. Takes place in a small town, but mostly on an island off the small town. It does mention mental health like depression, anxiety, and panic attacks which I loved since I do struggle with those. Aside from the romance side, it’s truly about finding yourself and realizing what Blair wants instead of just going through the motions of daily life with no reward at the end.

“𝓨𝓸𝓾’𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓯𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮.”

Rating: ★★★★☆

Spice: nada (closed door)

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 that beautifully intertwines the struggles of two main characters, Blair and Graham, while finding love along the way. The story delicately navigates themes of love, depression, family drama, and the complexities of life stress, offering readers a deeply moving and relatable story. I love that the struggles are depicted in an emotional but not overly dramatic way, as this also makes it easier to understand and relate to.

Blair and Graham’s relationship shows that if you truly love someone, nothing can get in the way of that. They brought out the best in each other, and were a good example of how to support someone through the struggles of mental health.

Say You Mean It is book 1 in the Ruby Lodge Series by Megan Reinking.
Can I get book two yet? I need book two!
This book was so good I read it in one sitting.
The story is well written and the characters are fleshed out very well.
Blair and Graham really captivated me with their story and personalities.
Reinking’s writing is compelling drawing you from at the beginning and will have you routing for these characters throughout the book. I appreciated the realistic look into the characters lives.
I’m ready for book two.
Say You Mean It is a delightful and heartwarming novel.

Thank You NetGalley and Megan Reinking for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I love this book. Blair is a big city lawyer, and she is struggling with high-functioning depression and low self esteem. The last place she wants to be is a remote island in a lake near the Minnesota/ Canada border for her firm’s annual retreat. But she’s going to fake it till she makes it (plus see a therapist, and put in so much work on her own). There she meets Graham, the lodge owner, and they form a really supportive friendship that eventually turns to more. I loved the setting: the wilderness, the lake, cozy cabins, bon fires, float planes, the lodge library, fishing boats, and guitar playing. It was just so cozy while at the same time dealing with some serious topics. This book is a very slow burn with low spice but it felt so right for this story. It was really beautifully written.

“To me life is about grasping onto the high moments and hoping like hell that they’ll carry you through the low ones.”

Say You Mean It was a fantastic ride. Like Blair in the plane in the opening scene, I felt shaken at first, when I realized the book was about depression (I knew that when I chose it, I had just forgotten about it when I began to read).
The mental health’s representation was delightful –truly– and a perfect opportunity to heal.
I adored how Blair’s thoughts were pictured as voices, how their content and “interlocutors” changed, until Blair found her own voice again. It was really moving, believable, and a great character’s arc. The role of Nature was a delight too, Blair’s evolution regarding her interactions on the island, but mostly the physicality of it –supported by a magnificent writing, the sensorial descriptions were a marvel– and how it helped her to anchor herself in her body and life.
I loved Graham, how unjudging and supportive he was, helping Blair in her journey. The fact that he had his own challenges, very different from hers (and outside the relationship) was also great and added a plot to the romance.
Through the characters (main and side), the story, and the immersive and soothing writing, this novel was a sweet and soft bubble that came to me right when I needed it. I was on this Island –but I wish I were really there– and like Blair I began to heal.

Thank you NetGalley and Megan Reinking for this ARC in exchange for my free and honest review. My opinions are my own.

3.5*

If you enjoy slow burn romance, perfectly unperfect people with really relatable issues, this book was written for you. As a fellow Minnesotan with a cabin on Namakan Lake, I loved the northern MN setting. I felt like something big was going to happen throughout the book, and it just kind of fell flat for me. I liked the mental health aspect, I just felt like something was missing? Overall, it was a quick, enjoyable.

say you mean it by megan reinking is a heartwarming escape to a secluded island on a lake, where city girl Blair Williams (fmc) finds unexpected solace and a budding romance with Graham Peterson (mmc), the owner of the struggling Ruby Lodge. miss reinking crafts a beautifully emotional tale of blair's journey through high-functioning depression and self-discovery, intertwined with graham's fight to save his family's lodge. the dual pov adds depth, letting us delve into blair's relatable struggles and graham's unwavering charm. their slow-burn romance is tender and captivating, set against the picturesque backdrop of northern minnesota. overall a quick and enjoyable read! thank you to netgalley and megan reinking for this arc in exchange for my review!

Wow...this was an enjoyable but emotionally charged book. The female main character, Blair, was so relatable.

Blair suffers from depression and the book tales you through her finding a bit of joy in living again.

I absolutely loved that the epilogue really closes put the story. Wasn't left wondering what happened with certain plot lines.

My only issue was some parts felt...i don't know...flat? Some conversations felt stilted.

This book was such a fun read. But trigger warning for depression. The story is a dual POV that follows Blair in her battle with depression and her story to overcome it, and Graham who is dealing with the chance of losing his family's Lodge on a secluded island in Minnesota. The perfect quick summer read with strangers to lovers and a slow burn relationship. It was very heartwarming and easily a book to read time and time again.

Thank you NetGalley, and Megan Reinking for the digital ARC to read. All opinions in this review are my own.

I always worry when I see a book has mental health themes as sometimes authors don’t do it justice. I think Megan done a really beautiful job with our FMC Blair.. Also our MMC Graham was so loveable and handled everything to do with Blair with such care. I really enjoyed this story and found it really relatable in ways too. I rated it 4 stars, no spice but really gripping slow burn between the characters.

- Work Retreat
- City Girl/Country Boy
- Lawyer FMC
- Depression Rep
- Fade to Black

This is such a heartwarming romance. I absolutely loved Graham and Blair. Graham has major golden retriever energy and Blair, boy oh boy, my heart just broke for her reading the negative thoughts she had about herself. I really enjoyed and appreciating her journey to finding her peace. Say You Mean It also has some lovable side characters which is always a plus as well.

Blair and Graham were very relatable characters. Their relationship and the struggles they went through just felt so real and raw. It made me love them so much. I love stories that can make me feel all the feelings and this one did that for me.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Clean romance (no🌶️)
Author: @authormeganreinking
Pages: 261

My thoughts & review:-

I can totally understand Blair's because in some dark era of my life I have been like her but all I had was myself, I didn't have Graham to help me....

So when you first meet Blair her thought was like:
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.
𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔.
𝒀𝒆𝒔, 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒕. 𝑮𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆

Then we went to "𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒔?".
These small acts are like magic for any one who is suffering from depression, especially if she/he isn't a talkative person :(
And when she opened up to Graham he said "𝑰𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔" , maybe it looks like a normal words but trust me it everything✧⁠*⁠。
Actually I really felt everything Blair did or thought about because I know this dark spot and I know how bad it is, I mean going from " 𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒇𝒊𝒕" to knowing exactly that you're worth it isn't easy at all and needs a lot of efforts and brave decisions to finally say "𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓. 𝑰 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆."

The way Graham gave her support and space to let her choose herself first was incredible, he gave her space but he was there, he was always there for her..."𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇." .

This book was really worth it and if you are depressed and have these annoying inner thoughts/voices you need to get that book on May 14, 2024 ♡

Say You Mean It is about Blair, a lawyer who goes on a retreat with her firm. She has been dealing with depression for a long time and just feels like she's trapped in life. While at Ruby Lodge, Blair meets Graham, the owner and soon to be friend. After the retreat, Graham calls Blair for help and she returns to Ruby Lodge. Something about Graham makes Blair feel like she can trust him, so she slowly lets him into her life and talks to him about how she feels. Slowly, Blair decides that she might not want to leave and could take things slow with Graham as they begin a relationship.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like it was short and to the point and it didn't really go in circles, like I feel some books do when it comes to relationships. I felt like Blair really showed growth from beginning to end and I enjoyed reading her inner thoughts as things were happening in her life. It gave us more of an insight to her other relationships. Graham was overall just a good person and I felt like he did a great job of helping Blair without actually prying information out of her.

Thank you Netgalley and Megan Reinking for the ARC for my honest opinion.

Wonderful cover, wonderful book! The cover is everything - shows the seaplane, Graham's tenderness and protectiveness, Blair's vulnerability, the cabins, the lake, the mood. This is a gentle, contemplative slow burn. Graham is running Ruby Lodge on an island in Minnesota, on behalf of his family. Blair is a Chicago lawyer who visits the retreat with her work. Both Blair and Graham feel a connection and he contacts her later to ask for assistance with a potential court case (romance reasons).

The thread that wends through this novel is about depression. Blair suffers from it and its effects have muted her life. Over the course of the novel she begins to feel again, she gets involved in Graham's world, connects with his family and finds a some purpose in helping them out. It's quiet and thoughtful, closed door, and full of tenderness and hope.

There's a few loose ends and some handy coincidences, but overall this is a beautiful read. Thank you NetGalley, and Megan Reinking for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

The cozy feels of Ruby Lodge were really sweet. I enjoyed the meet cute of the two main characters and how they seemed to be comfortable with each other straight away.
A cute book but a little slow for me at times.

3.25⭐️ Excuse me while I book a cabin vacay on an island. This was a very cozy and heartwarming story. It tackles the very heavy subject of depression and how debilitating it can be. That was hard to read about, so I loved watching Blair go through her healing journey, becoming happier and finding joy. Graham was an absolute sweetie pie, so I couldn’t help but just want the best for both him and Blair.

I think where the story fell flat is that it was a bit slow. It already isn’t a particularly long book, but it could have been shorter. There were some things just thrown in there to make it longer, which ultimately led me to being a bit bored. Nothing really happened either. It was a story of a woman healing through finding purpose and love and nothing else.

It is fade to black, so it pushes the closed-door envelope, which made me a bit uncomfortable (since I only read closed-door books) But it is not explicit.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and watching Blair and Graham fall in love.

Read if you enjoy:

- Dual POV
- Strangers to friends to lovers
- Cozy small island
- No 3rd act breakup
- Mental health rep

Content 💋:
- infrequent mild language
- Fade to black (chapter 31 and 39)

TW⚠️:
- Depression (major plot. Self deprecating thoughts on page)
- A parent mentioned with Alzheimers

A sweet romance. Our sweet protagonist has multiple issues. So nice to see her grow and discover her self worth. Lovely location. Thanks to the author for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Thank you NetGalley and Megan Reinking for the digital arc of this book!
If you love small town romance/slowburn/dual pov this is for you .
This was my introduction to Megan’s writing and let me tell ya I was not disappointed. Highly recommend you reading!if you like big city girl goes to a small town and ends up rediscovering herself then don’t skip out on this one. A comforting book that includes a slow burn romance between Blair and graham the lodge owner she meets. Both going through their own struggles and life hardships.The mental health representation in this book is refreshing to see done and adds to the character building and growth.graham is just the sweetest character. I can tell the author put so much care into writing this and it was greatly appreciated

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I was really submerged into the life at Ruby Lodge. It was comforting and cozy. I always appreciate any kind of mental health representation in books. It really helps me connect more with the character.

I loved that there was no third act breakup. It was closed door with small town vibes that are easy to get swept up in.

My one wish is that I would have connected with the main characters a little more. I feel as if I didn't get to experience Graham and Blair at their full potential.

Overall, it was a feel good story that makes you want to go stay in a cabin and cuddle up the fire to read it.