Well this book is like a poor man’s attempt at “While You Were Sleeping,” but unfortunately there will be no Jack Callaghan at the end. “Love You, Mean It” is the story of family deli owner Ellie and property owner Theo, whose proposal to make way for a big box store puts her family deli at risk. Their first encounter with each other turns disastrous when the ceiling collapses on him (of all things!), resulting in a flurry of confusion at the hospital. À la Lucy Eleanor Moderatz, she tells the hospital workers that she is Theo’s fiancée. Conviently, Theo’s short term amnesia lends to this story, and he follows along with this ruse until his true memories start to return.

Just as Theo and Ellie attempt to work out a mutually beneficial deal, enter Theo’s ex girlfriend, Sam. Why did I find Sam more likable and relatable than Ellie? Maybe it’s because Ellie tends to be her own worst enemy. I just did not find Ellie her very relatable.

Overall, I give this book 3 stars. It felt slow and bogged down at times, plus it’s hard to enjoy a book when you don’t like one of the main characters! I do love a good fake dating trope, but this one is not it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine/Dell for the digital ARC in exchange of my honest review.

In Love You, Mean It, Jilly Gagnon delivers a fun romantic comedy that’s packed with humor and heart. The main character, Ellie, is refreshingly sassy and sarcastic, bringing a realness to the story that keeps it from feeling too sweet.

The plot kicks off with Ellie and Theo, who start as enemies. Their banter is sharp and entertaining, setting the stage for the story. When an accident leaves Theo with amnesia, Ellie pretends to be his fiancée to help him out. This twist leads to a series of awkward and hilarious moments as their relationship starts to change.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dell Publishing for the opportunity to read Love You, Mean It.

Love You, Mean It is an entertaining read of enemies to lovers with some fake dating and amnesia thrown in. I enjoyed this story of Ellie and Theo, who start off as enemies due to the fact that Theo is a property developer whose company wants to bring in a new deli grocery, which is the exact small business Ellie runs. While the characters are hard to root for at times, I did like reading the story to see how it turned out for both Ellie and Theo, as well as their families and other characters.
Thank you to Random House/Ballantine/Dell and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a cute romance that had me swooning, and craving the delicious food mentioned afterwards.

I paired the book and audiobook, and the narration was great! Performed by Amanda Ronconi, who really brought the character of Ellie to life.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-enemies to lovers
-fake dating
-foodie fiction
-fake dating

*many thanks to Dell Romance, prh audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I freaking loved this book. I love a good slow burn and Ellie and Theo were so perfect for me, so glad this book ended the way it did. I love Mom and Pop shops and everyone really needs to utilize them so much more. I would love a story with Sam and Elliott too. I'm excited to read this author again.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

I normally love this trope, but this one just fell flat for me. I didn’t really care for the heavy real world topics at the start, and I struggled to finish it. Books are an escape to me, and it felt like these heavy real world topics were being forced.

I had a really hard time getting into this book. I usually really like fake dating but this story didn’t do it for me. I felt that Ellie complained too much and made things too complicated. I didn’t understand the whole issue with Sam and why she had to pretend to date Theo but not really because Sam wanted him. I felt like the ending was a little too quick but the middle dragged for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the eARC

I didn’t read the summary before choosing this read. It started off slow, until Ellie and Theo finally meet.

It took what I expected and totally turned it on its head. I thought the amnesia/fake engagement would last longer and be a bigger part of the story. While the fake engagement stuck around, the amnesia was short-lived. Teddy and Ellie had great banter, though their chemistry beyond that was a little lacking for me. It's a quick and light read and brings the humor. (3.5 stars)

Sometimes, you just need a book that makes you laugh and feel good, and this book delivers! Enjoyed this one!

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love You, Mean It
Author: Jilly Gagnon
Romance

Thank you so much Netgalley, and Dell for this ARC! I really enjoyed this one. Ellie is stuck in her hometown helping her family with their little deli business. When a new competitor enters the scene, she makes it her mission to confront the owner of the property management companies son, Theo, in an effort to stop their advances! Within an hour of their meeting, Theo suffers an injury leading to some amnesia which gives Ellie the brilliant idea to pretend they are engaged! To make matters worse, Theos ex arrives. It was silly and entertaining, and the story really flowed. I was a little mad at myself for putting this one off for as long as I did. I thought it was YA but it is most definitely not. I really enjoyed this book, and all of the characters involved. It was light hearted and a cute read.

Hot take: fake dating is the worst trope in contemporary romance. Do I still read books with this trope? Yes. Do I love all of them? No, but mostly because I get so frustrated at the characters for deciding that fake dating can solve any kind of real world problem. That being said, Love You, Mean It was a fun and quick read without too much of the cringe that gives me the immediate ick. I didn’t have to think too hard to get immersed in the story so it was a nice break from reality.

3.5 stars. My thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

Ellie had bigger dreams than running her family's deli, but when her dad passes away she is pulled back to her small town to help. When a real estate management company threatens to bring in a big box store that would surely run the deli out of business, Ellie makes a plan to talk to the son of the owner, Theo. During their meeting an accident occurs and Theo is taken to the hospital by ambulance. Ellie wanting to make sure he is alright tells a small white lie to the hospital staff that she is Theo's fiancé. Ellie and Theo agree to keep up the fib in order to convince Theo's father to cut ties with the big box store. During this time, they actually begin to have feelings for each other.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dell for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love You, Mean It is the first book I’ve read by Jilly Gagnon. The colorful cover and back cover copy of the faking dating enemies to lovers tropes drew me to reading.

The Good:

I really enjoyed the positive female friendships and family relationships in this book. Throughout the book, Ellie realizes she’s isolated herself and makes an effort to make more friends, aside from her bestie, Bella.

Ellie’s family and her community are clearly important to her, as she undertakes the scheme to trick the potential developers of an old classic building to not bring in a generic “food warehouse.” Bringing in Mangias would destroy the character of her small town and drive the family business, Greco’s Deli out of business.

The Bad:

Ellie’s inner monologue goes on for too long at parts and distracts from the flow of the story. Improving the pacing would have moved the story along more effectively.

The Ugly:

I like Ellie and Theo’s banter but there isn’t any heat in the love scenes. They seem short and perfunctory and impersonal. After their flirty text and verbal sparring, I expected heat but got a fizzle.

Bottom line: if you want a fast reading tropey read to stick in your bag while traveling, this may be for you.

Although there isn't anything I can think of that really bothered me about this romantic comedy, there isn't anything that stands out enough to make me recommend it to others. The characters are charming and the banter is fine, but I wasn't buying into the sparks between our main characters. There are many tropes in this one: memory loss, childhood friends, etc, and it really did seem like every time I turned around there was another one thrown into the mix. It was a decent romantic read, but wasn't a favorite for me.

This book felt very reminiscent of the 90's movie while you were sleeping however instead of falling for the brother Ellie fell for the guy with the head injury 😍. This book was very cute and I enjoyed getting watching Ellie find true love while also finding herself. The only thing I missed was an epilogue about the future of the couple but it still ended well enough for me to give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐!

This was a DNF for me. I couldn't really sit through it any longer. I just didn't care for the characters and had a hard time connecting to them.

Thank you @dellromance for the gifted ARC!

💚 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 💚
This was such a fun storyline to dive into! Ellie feels stuck in her hometown running her family’s deli. A local property management company might threaten her family’s business if they rent to a large department store, so Ellie goes to reason with a high school colleague Theo about it.

Ellie and Theo have a disastrous meeting that ends with an accident, and Theo in the hospital with amnesia! Not a meet cute but when Ellie wants more time to talk to him, she claims to be his fiance to get into his hospital room.

Things continue to spiral in this funny storyline. They may be opposites but it was fun to see Ellie and Theo have more in common than meets the eye! Also, I enjoyed seeing sparks fly and Theo’s protectiveness of Ellie come out!

The last part of this book really sucked me in when Ellie is confronted by Theo’s ex, who wants her help with something that will benefit them both! It added a fun plot twist!!

I enjoyed seeing Ellie embark on new friendships in this story too! The end result of everything in the book was nicely tied up too!

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🩷 Fake Dating
💚 Business Rivalries
💛 Opposites Attract
💙 Amnesia

This was a very cute, very quick read. It fulfilled exactly what I wanted at the time (sweet, predictable, comforting) and when I finished it I felt like I do when I finish a Hallmark movie: warm inside and ready for the next one.,

I enjoyed it! It was giving me the all angsty + cutesy enemies to lovers vibes that I depend on 🖤 Didn’t care for the ex girlfriend showing up though! But overall, it was a quick + fun read

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon is a delightful romantic comedy that captures the spirit of 90s rom-coms. The story follows Ellie Greco, who returns home to manage her family's deli, only to find herself embroiled in a scheme involving a fake engagement with Theo, who has his own motives for wanting to protect the deli from a corporate takeover. While Ellie starts off as a somewhat unlikable character, she grows throughout the book, making her eventual romance with Theo all the more satisfying. With charming chemistry, humorous situations, and a dose of heartfelt moments, this book is a light and enjoyable read perfect for fans of the genre.