{"id":31242,"date":"2024-06-04T11:09:27","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T15:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=31242"},"modified":"2024-06-04T11:09:35","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T15:09:35","slug":"review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-31242\" data-postid=\"31242\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-31242 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_a30b170 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_zxcb170 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_bfs3170 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"987\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?resize=640%2C987&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-31244\" title=\"love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon\" alt=\"love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?w=973&amp;ssl=1 973w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?resize=195%2C300&amp;ssl=1 195w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?resize=664%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 664w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?resize=768%2C1184&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?resize=400%2C616&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_ccax170 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Ellie Greco wishes she weren\u2019t stuck in Milborough. For a few brief, shining years, she escaped her hometown to pursue her dream career\u2014designing beautiful, elaborate costumes for theater\u2014until her father&#8217;s death five years ago called her home to run the family&#8217;s decades-old deli. Yes, she loves the place, but she\u2019d always thought she was meant for more exciting things than stocking the\u00a0<span class=\"a-text-italic\">right<\/span>\u00a0tinned fish. But when Ellie hears that a local landlord is planning to rent to Mangia, the glitzy gourmet food department store, the very existence of Greco\u2019s Deli is suddenly in jeopardy.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">She tries to plead her case to Theo Taylor, scion of the property management firm that is about to put her out of business, but their meeting goes from bad (it\u2019s not\u00a0<span class=\"a-text-italic\">her\u00a0<\/span>fault he\u2019s infuriating) to worse (no one expects the ceiling to literally fall in).<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">With Theo out cold, Ellie panics and claims to be his fianc\u00e9e . . . and almost passes out herself when amnesia means Theo seems to actually\u00a0<span class=\"a-text-italic\">believe<\/span>\u00a0her. Soon, the effects of the head injury wear off, but Theo proposes that their \u201cengagement\u201d stick around. If they manage to convince enough people, they might both get what they want: an end to the Mangia deal. Ellie doesn\u2019t trust him (after all, if Theo Taylor wants it, how can it be good for her?) but seeing no other option, she reluctantly agrees.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">And miraculously, the fake engagement seems to be working\u2014even Ted, Theo\u2019s shrewd, cold father seems convinced\u2014that is, until Sam, Theo\u2019s ex-fianc\u00e9e, reappears on the scene. Not only does she see through their ruse, but she proposes an arrangement of her own, forcing Ellie to decide between a blossoming friendship, her family legacy, and the burgeoning romance she frankly never asked for.<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_dekh170 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_hcai170  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16471 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/2_5-hearts-1.jpg?resize=107%2C44&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"107\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Apr 30, 2024<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Penguin Random<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Dell<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $12.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Ellie<\/strong> came back home after her father\u2019s death to help run the family\u2019s deli. She loves the small town, but she never dreamt of staying here. Her concerns are not leaving her hometown but fighting for her family business when a big gourmet deli threatens to move into the neighborhood and push her small business out. She has to convince the son of the property management firm to find somewhere else to go. Things just don\u2019t go as she plans.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I was immediately drawn to the blurb of the book. Who doesn\u2019t love a small-town\/ fake romance? However, this story instantly fell short on multiple levels. The romance didn\u2019t hold a heavy punch, and I didn\u2019t care for the characters.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ellie sets out to meet Theo to convince him to move on, but he has a freak accident at the site. Ellie has to pretend that she is his fianc\u00e9 to go along with him to the hospital. <strong>Theo<\/strong> has a short stunt of amnesia and confesses that he doesn\u2019t really believe in the gourmet deli moving into the small town. He asks Ellie to agree to pretend they are engaged in order to play on his father\u2019s heartstrings. Of course, his father wouldn\u2019t want to put his daughter-in-law out of business, so Ellie agrees.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This all sounds good at this point until other characters start to come into play. Sam is Theo\u2019s ex-girlfriend who shows up and befriend Ellie after she recognizes the scam going on with their so-called engagement. She wants Theo back, and Ellie agrees to help her. Why? I guess to create this love triangle. I felt bad for Sam, and I didn\u2019t like how Ellie handled that situation at all. She lost any potential of me liking her.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Then, towards the end of the book, Theo&#8217;s behavior shows that he isn&#8217;t the nicest person. He ends up being a jerk. I thought he ended up showing that he is a typical rich man, unaware of how he speaks to others.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, the book started off promising and lost a bit of its spark. Fans who don\u2019t mind some of the small nuances may like this more.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Samantha<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_31a1171 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3RaAkB2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/4eawD8o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon\/1143849278?ean=9780593722978\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/love-you-mean-it-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Jilly_Gagnon_Love_You_Mean_It?id=Wx7OEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ellie Greco wishes she weren\u2019t stuck in Milborough. For a few brief, shining years, she escaped her hometown to pursue her dream career\u2014designing beautiful, elaborate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[543,46,48,50],"tags":[142,216,217,404,565,452],"class_list":["post-31242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dell","category-random-house","category-reviews","category-samantha","tag-2-5-stars","tag-contemporary","tag-contemporary-romance","tag-recommend","tag-rom-com-2","tag-small-town-romance"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon - Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ellie Greco wishes she weren\u2019t stuck in Milborough. For a few brief, shining years, she escaped her hometown to pursue her dream career\u2014designing beautiful, elaborate [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-04T15:09:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-04T15:09:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"973\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"beverley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"beverley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"beverley\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d\"},\"headline\":\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-04T15:09:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-04T15:09:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":8,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?fit=973%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"2.5 Stars\",\"contemporary\",\"contemporary romance\",\"recommend\",\"rom-com\",\"small-town romance\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Dell\",\"Random House\",\"Reviews\",\"Samantha\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon - Smitten by Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?fit=973%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-04T15:09:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-04T15:09:35+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?fit=973%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?fit=973%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"width\":973,\"height\":1500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/04\\\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Smitten by Books\",\"description\":\"Where HEAs are guaranteed\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Smitten by Books\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1\",\"width\":281,\"height\":265,\"caption\":\"Smitten by Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d\",\"name\":\"beverley\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"beverley\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smittenbybooks.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/beverley\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon - Smitten by Books","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon - Smitten by Books","og_description":"Ellie Greco wishes she weren\u2019t stuck in Milborough. For a few brief, shining years, she escaped her hometown to pursue her dream career\u2014designing beautiful, elaborate [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/","og_site_name":"Smitten by Books","article_published_time":"2024-06-04T15:09:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-04T15:09:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":973,"height":1500,"url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"beverley","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"beverley","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/"},"author":{"name":"beverley","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d"},"headline":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon","datePublished":"2024-06-04T15:09:27+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-04T15:09:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/"},"wordCount":8,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?fit=973%2C1500&ssl=1","keywords":["2.5 Stars","contemporary","contemporary romance","recommend","rom-com","small-town romance"],"articleSection":["Dell","Random House","Reviews","Samantha"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/","name":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon - Smitten by Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?fit=973%2C1500&ssl=1","datePublished":"2024-06-04T15:09:27+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-04T15:09:35+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?fit=973%2C1500&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?fit=973%2C1500&ssl=1","width":973,"height":1500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/04\/review-love-you-mean-it-by-jilly-gagnon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/","name":"Smitten by Books","description":"Where HEAs are guaranteed","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Smitten by Books","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1","width":281,"height":265,"caption":"Smitten by Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d","name":"beverley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"beverley"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/author\/beverley\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?fit=973%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"builder_content":"<img src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg\" title=\"love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon\" alt=\"love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?w=973&amp;ssl=1 973w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?resize=195%2C300&amp;ssl=1 195w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?resize=664%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 664w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?resize=768%2C1184&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon.jpg?resize=400%2C616&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 973px) 100vw, 973px\" \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ellie Greco wishes she weren\u2019t stuck in Milborough. For a few brief, shining years, she escaped her hometown to pursue her dream career\u2014designing beautiful, elaborate costumes for theater\u2014until her father's death five years ago called her home to run the family's decades-old deli. Yes, she loves the place, but she\u2019d always thought she was meant for more exciting things than stocking the\u00a0right\u00a0tinned fish. But when Ellie hears that a local landlord is planning to rent to Mangia, the glitzy gourmet food department store, the very existence of Greco\u2019s Deli is suddenly in jeopardy.<br \/><br \/>She tries to plead her case to Theo Taylor, scion of the property management firm that is about to put her out of business, but their meeting goes from bad (it\u2019s not\u00a0her\u00a0fault he\u2019s infuriating) to worse (no one expects the ceiling to literally fall in).<br \/><br \/>With Theo out cold, Ellie panics and claims to be his fianc\u00e9e . . . and almost passes out herself when amnesia means Theo seems to actually\u00a0believe\u00a0her. Soon, the effects of the head injury wear off, but Theo proposes that their \u201cengagement\u201d stick around. If they manage to convince enough people, they might both get what they want: an end to the Mangia deal. Ellie doesn\u2019t trust him (after all, if Theo Taylor wants it, how can it be good for her?) but seeing no other option, she reluctantly agrees.<br \/><br \/>And miraculously, the fake engagement seems to be working\u2014even Ted, Theo\u2019s shrewd, cold father seems convinced\u2014that is, until Sam, Theo\u2019s ex-fianc\u00e9e, reappears on the scene. Not only does she see through their ruse, but she proposes an arrangement of her own, forcing Ellie to decide between a blossoming friendship, her family legacy, and the burgeoning romance she frankly never asked for.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/2_5-hearts-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"107\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Apr 30, 2024<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Penguin Random<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Dell<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $12.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Ellie<\/strong> came back home after her father\u2019s death to help run the family\u2019s deli. She loves the small town, but she never dreamt of staying here. Her concerns are not leaving her hometown but fighting for her family business when a big gourmet deli threatens to move into the neighborhood and push her small business out. She has to convince the son of the property management firm to find somewhere else to go. Things just don\u2019t go as she plans.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I was immediately drawn to the blurb of the book. Who doesn\u2019t love a small-town\/ fake romance? However, this story instantly fell short on multiple levels. The romance didn\u2019t hold a heavy punch, and I didn\u2019t care for the characters.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ellie sets out to meet Theo to convince him to move on, but he has a freak accident at the site. Ellie has to pretend that she is his fianc\u00e9 to go along with him to the hospital. <strong>Theo<\/strong> has a short stunt of amnesia and confesses that he doesn\u2019t really believe in the gourmet deli moving into the small town. He asks Ellie to agree to pretend they are engaged in order to play on his father\u2019s heartstrings. Of course, his father wouldn\u2019t want to put his daughter-in-law out of business, so Ellie agrees.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This all sounds good at this point until other characters start to come into play. Sam is Theo\u2019s ex-girlfriend who shows up and befriend Ellie after she recognizes the scam going on with their so-called engagement. She wants Theo back, and Ellie agrees to help her. Why? I guess to create this love triangle. I felt bad for Sam, and I didn\u2019t like how Ellie handled that situation at all. She lost any potential of me liking her.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Then, towards the end of the book, Theo's behavior shows that he isn't the nicest person. He ends up being a jerk. I thought he ended up showing that he is a typical rich man, unaware of how he speaks to others.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, the book started off promising and lost a bit of its spark. Fans who don\u2019t mind some of the small nuances may like this more.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Samantha<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3RaAkB2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/4eawD8o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/love-you-mean-it-jilly-gagnon\/1143849278?ean=9780593722978\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/love-you-mean-it-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Jilly_Gagnon_Love_You_Mean_It?id=Wx7OEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31242"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31254,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31242\/revisions\/31254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}