This book was fine. I have found I have a heard time with books where one of the main characters are lying about who they are. While that is not a trope I love I still enjoyed this book.

This has all the tropes I usually love, but I really struggled to get into this and ended up having to DNF it. I would love to come back and reread this sometime,

this was my first from the author and I was pleasantly surprised! I went in pretty blind, but overall, had a really fun time reading this! it had some of my favorite trips and I would definitely read more from this author!

The cover of this book looked so cute and I have to admit I went in blind. It started off cute and it was holding my attention ...until it wasn't. I found the main character kinda annoying. The plot was so reminiscent of the movie While You Were Sleeping. Maybe that's what ruined it for me. I kept putting it down and saying to myself that I would pick it back up. Sadly I did not. This was a DNF for me. Rating it 3 stars because while this wasn't the book for me it might be the perfect book for someone else.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the E-ARC.

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Cute read !! I forgot to put in my review after I read it. This was my first by the author , and really enjoyed the style of reading

I’m very picky with rom-cons and I found this plot “unique-ish” — while at its core, broken down, it was a similar formula but different enough that it held my attention throughout. Funny at the right moments and the relationship was built organically from a comical start. A couple of misunderstanding tropes but not long-enough for me to want to chuck the book🤣 I had fun!

Thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

It was cute, spicy, fake dating, and grumpy/sunshine romance; it was made for me.
Ellie and Theo both had to grow on me a bit before I was able to get into the story entirely, but once I did the story felt too short.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this arc, in exchange for an honest review.

I'll give this a 3.5.

Enemies to lovers
Fake Dating/ Engagement

At the beginning I wasn't really a fan and it was hard to get into, but after the faking dating started I was enjoying myself. It was hard to root for Ellie half the time because she just kept complaining about everything and saying poor her. Theo was fun to read about and how he grew throughout the story. Him turning from a rich jerk that doesn't want to talk about his past and expects a lot from Ellie. To him being vulnerable and caring.
I love the fake dating and convenience trope, but I felt like something was missing. It was a cute read and I did enjoy most of it.

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon is a charming and light-hearted read with a delightful fake engagement twist. Ellie Greco, who had to forgo her dream career in theater costume design to manage her family's deli after her father's passing, faces a new challenge when a gourmet food store named Mangia threatens her business. In a desperate bid to save her deli, Ellie meets Theo Taylor, the landlord's son. Their first encounter goes awry when the ceiling collapses, leaving Theo with amnesia. In a panic, Ellie pretends to be Theo’s fiancée, and surprisingly, he believes her. As Theo’s memory begins to return, he proposes that they continue the ruse to combat Mangia. Despite her skepticism, Ellie agrees, but their scheme hits a snag when Theo's ex-fiancée, Sam, reappears, creating complications and forcing Ellie to navigate her loyalty to her family's business, a burgeoning new friendship, and an unexpected romance.

The novel brought to mind the movie While You Were Sleeping with its endearing fake engagement plot. I appreciated the small-town setting and the chemistry between Ellie and Theo, which added a lot of charm to the story. However, I felt the book could have benefited from deeper background on the main characters and more character development for Ellie. I was hoping to see Ellie grow more throughout the story. Overall, it's a light-hearted read that would be perfect for a beach vacation.

Single POV, Spicy, Fake Dating/Engagement, Opposites Attract, Grumpy x Sunshine

Ellie and Theo are hard to root for as characters as they are hard to get a read on. Ellie is always quick to cut herself down and constantly questions why anyone would like her or want to spend time with her. The plot is fast paced and there is so much going on leaving the romance second to all of the other drama going on.

I chose this book because it had the premise of a hallmark move but it fell short of my expectations. Maybe it was because both main characters were a little annoying? Idk

Ellie is determined to rescue her families gourmet deli/food store, even though the property manager has other ideas. Enter Theo Taylor, said property manager. Ellie is trying to convince him when the ceiling literally falls on Theo's head and in order for Ellie to ride along to the hospital and make sure he is okay she suddenly finds herself being his fiancée.

Once Theo wakes up and his memory returns, Theo proposes a mutually beneficial arrangement for him and Ellie. Ellie agrees because she wants to save her families deli/food store.

I enjoyed the book and liked to plot line.

Thank you Jilly Gagnon, Random Publishing Group/Ballantine/Dell, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

TLDR: You've Got Mail vibes with delis instead of bookstores. Fake engagement and some light spice.

This book is a sleeper -- I haven't heard much about it, but as someone who has not been thoroughly impressed by romance novels this year Love You, Mean It help my interest. Mildly spicy (it kind of came out of nowhere!) but great You've Got Mail (insert family deli and Eataly-style corp deli competition for bookstores) vibes,

Ellie Greco returned home to run her family''s deli five years ago after the death of her father and has been struggling to keep things afloat ever since. When she learns that gourmet deli chain, Mangia, is coming to town Ellie knows that she has to come up with something to save her family's business. she turns to the family who owns the building Mangia is eyeing to try to convince them to put a stop to Mangia. Enter Theo, the son of the head of the property management firm who can save -- or kill -- Greco's Deli. After their initial meeting leads to an unfortunate fall and a case of temporary amnesia where Ellie is pegged as Theo's fiancée, the fate of Ellie's deli is wrapped up into an elaborate lie and potentially real feelings between Ellie and Theo.

4.5 upped to 5 for NetGalley. Thanks for the arc in exchange for my honest views.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the ARC of Love You, Mean It. This was such a fun romance with just a touch of spice! The memory loss angle had me cracking up from the beginning! And I also loved Sam as a support character… maybe we need her story next? 😊

This “While You Were Sleeping” type of romcom is usually one that I love, throw in fake dating and I’m your girl. But… there is a very fine line with enemies to lovers that needs to be tread to ensure that we can still understand that they are enemies and also still root for them. It’s tricky and I wasn’t convinced at the beginning that these two should be together. Another tricky trope to navigate is the amount of lying that has to take place when writing fake dating. This book had great moments, but overall wasn’t my favorite.

Jilly Gagnon is a new author for me and I enjoyed this rom/com.. Tropes: amnesia, enemies to friends and fake engagement. It reminded me a bit at the begining of the Sandra Bullock-Bill Pullman movie While You Were Sleeping, but the amnesia didn't last that long

Ellie Greco had to return to her hometown of Milborough after her dad’s sudden death a few years ago to take over the family deli, leaving her nascent career as a costume designer for the theater in New York. In some ways she is resentful, as her best friend and cousin, Bella was able to escape their hometown, but it also is safe, because it keeps her close to her father's memory. That is until the very survival of the deli is threatened when the wealthy Taylor family that owns most of the retail properties in town, announces that they may sell a large property to Mangia, a large food market/ department store, a combo of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's on the scale of IKEA. Ellie tries to appeal to Theo Taylor, and old classmate, who has been put in charge of the project. A accident in the building results in Theo being hit in the head, and not wanting him to go alone to the hospital tells the ambulance driver that she is his fiancee. Things get out of hand with the ruse until Theo does remember, but he has a proposal to her. He has his own plans for the building, and if she pretends to be his fiancee it might keep the board at bay until he can finalize his own plans.

Theo is likable from the beginning. Ellie had to grow on me, because she kept sabotaging herself and her relationship with Theo by lying to him, his ex, Samantha, who she wanted as a friend and mostly to herself. But the writing style and the lively banter make it an enjoyable book. I read a gifted Advanced Reader's Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.com. This is my honest, unbiased voluntary review.

The best way to describe this book is Hallmark with spice and a whole lot of banter. She’s trying to save her family’s deli, and he’s trying to help her for reasons of his own. It’s the sweet small town vs the mega grocery store & we LOVE to see it. There’s fake dating! There’s sweet family moments! There’s girl friendships we love & some plot lines in the book where it would’ve been really easy to pit certain characters against each other, but Jilly didn’t! I loved that. ALSO I loved that we got to explore Ellie’s dreams and motivations. It would’ve been so easy to just say she’s running the deli for her dad/family legacy, but I loved that was written in such a way that we got to know so much more of her interests but also understand why she wants to work at the deli and save it. Getting to read her POV was so good 🥹

Now I will say that the third act break up was so deeply rooted in miscommunication that I had second hand embarrassment bad, and I had to pause because of it. I also felt like the romance & one of the friendships have me emotional whiplash. Will they? Won’t they? Do they hate each other? You aren’t super sure until the end? Which may not bother a lot of people but I was just on edge for most of the second half of the book??

I would recommend this book if you’re a fan of fake dating, Hallmark feeling romance books that have feel good endings 🫶🏻

Thank you Jilly Gagnon and Dell for this advanced reader copy of this book!

Love You, Mean It overall was a cutie fast easy read.

Five years ago, Ellie Greco, returned from New York City to deal with family matters. With the passing of her Dad, she was left to run the family business, Greco’s Deli. Although she loves this place, Ellie has always wonder if there was something better for her to be doing. But with the possibility of this swanky gourmet food type department store called Mangai moving in, she fear it will place the family business at risk.

Ellie’s plan is to appeal to the property management company specifically Theo Taylor, but things go south when Theo is knock unconscious, ends up in the hospital with amnesia and Ellie as his fiancée. The amnesia turns out to be a huge ruse however both discover they kind of want the same thing .. they do not want Mangai to move into town. Theo purposes to continue with the fake fiancée dating thing in hopes that his father will be swayed to not bring in Mangai and possibly close down Greco’s Deli.

Generally, I am not a fan of enemies to lovers’ tropes and was getting a little nervous that this was going to be a retelling of “While You Were Sleeping” but was happy to see that the amnesia was fake and the enemies to lover’s was lightweight. I can see Love You, Mean It as an appealing Hallmark movie it has all the elements of a romance, loyal small town, ex- fiancée that you want to dislike but cannot and a small family business that needs saving.

Thank you, Jilly Gagnon, Random House/Deli and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (rounded up)

This was a cute, easy read. The fake dating trope is hit or miss for me, but this scratched the itch. I'd recommend it to the right person!

I love a sweet rom-com and Jilly Gagnon delivered with this fake-fiance trope and some interesting characters. If you'd told me I'd be so into a a romance story about a snobby rich guy and a butcher, I'd call you crazy. But Sam and Theo are adorable in their love/hate relationship.

I instantly liked Sam because she was all about her family and she loved her dad, who had passed away. My father has also passed and I was a daddy's girl so I knew I was going to like her. I also like humble people, and Sam was humble and kind. I am also a fan of enemies to lovers and fake dating turning into something so Gagnon had me hooked from page one. I think the character development was fantastic in this book, which is not something you always see in a romance book because the focus is more on the feelings than the in-depth characters. We really learned a lot about Theo as the story went on and watched his character grow from someone slightly selfish to someone really caring for people and thinking of others. Sam really grew as a person in-general and came around to figuring out how to mix her old life and new life into one.

My only issue with the book is that I wish we had more growth or even information on some of the side characters. The focal point was obviously Sam and Theo, but I love a good side story from a relatable supporting characters and I didn't feel we got that much in this book. However, that didn't break the book for me, just left me wanting a little. Overall, the main romance story carried this book and while I knew what was going to happen (who doesn't when reading a rom-com) the story to get there was a fun journey to take.

Grab Love You, Mean It and cuddle up on your couch with a glass of wine or some tea and help yourself to this feel-good novel! I can't wait to see what Jilly Gagnon writes next!