Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of Love You, Mean It

A cute rom-com about a woman trying to save her family's deli from wealthy developers bent on gentrifying her neighborhood and bringing a "whole foods" esque supermarket into the area. We've got "While You Were Sleeping" vibes with a fake fiance schtick and amnesia (if you know, you know), opposites attract and fun family dynamics to round everything out.

Ellie Greco has worked for her family-owned deli, aptly named Greco's Deli for her whole life. After a short stint in the city and then the sudden death of her father, she finds herself back home schlepping deli meats, tinned fish, and other necessities for her family and customers. But when a local investor, Theo Taylor, wants to bring a mega store to the area, she decides to confront him and plead her case. Things go from a bad first impression to so much worse when the ceiling of the building they're meeting in caves in and Ellie falsely claims to be Theo's fiance. One hospital visit and a bout of short-term memory loss have these two stuck playing the fake fiance game. Theo's memory loss is shortlived, but he stuns Ellie when he proposes that their fake engagement continue on to manipulate their respective families to get what they want.

A fun rom-com that was a quick read, a great addition to your spring line up.

I liked the fake dating with a high school acquaintance angle and the white collar / blue collar contrasts, and I really loved the grandmother and the deli and the small town outside of Boston. I liked the premise of how a town would be changed with the arrival of an Eataly type mega-market, not just for the food businesses that directly compete but also with shopper traffic, rents, and infrastructure. I didn't love how judgy Ellie was. She makes assumptions about everyone and then is constantly surprised that people are nicer or more sincere than she expects.

(I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where this imaginary town is and landed on it being south of Boston like the Foxborough area since characters take 93 and the tunnel into the city even though the author is from the North Shore. Jilly Gagnon if you see this, I'd love to know!)

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. I am required by federal law to disclose this.

So, I wanted to love this book and I would say I enjoyed it quite a bit. But I’m gonna be honest - I did not love it and I have a couple of BIG complaints. First, let me just point out that I have absolutely NO idea where the title comes from. None. It is never a part of the story nor does anyone say it at any point. And that bugs me. Words matter, folks. Including the very first ones.

But the thing that really bugged me, so much so that it affected my enjoyment of the book, was the author’s tendency to jump from one incomplete thought or story moment to the next. I wanted to scream periodically as another scene was left dangling while the story moved on either a few minutes or weeks. Frustrating.

Cute story idea. Poor delivery.

LOVES:
- They mentioned Cribbage! I love that game

This was a really cute rom-com. I always love the combination of enemies-to-lover and fake dating, and this was no exception. The characters were lovable, and I really enjoyed the FMC managing a deli instead of a flower shop or bookstore. (Don't get me wrong, I love those too, but it's fun to see women running other businesses!)

This was a four star read for me because there were just a few things that took me out of the story, or strings I feel like were never tied up. (Did those two characters ever become friends? What happened to that family heirloom?) And the third act drama seemed to resolve very quickly, in a way that almost felt unrealistic. I think I was really missing an epilogue, I loved these characters and I wanted that "1 year later" peek at their lives! But even still, this book was a fun read and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to get my hands on it early!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

3.5 stars
CW: Mentions past death of a parent

Gagnon's Love You, Mean It is a cute romance involving fake engagement, family affairs, and opposites attracting.

I was excited to find that the plot wasn't completely predictable from the beginning. The characters are likable enough, though it doesn't really delve to deep into them as characters. It is a quick read that is sure to keep most rom-com readers interested and satisfied by the end.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.