Holy anxiety. As someone who doesn’t have health anxiety after reading this I felt myself starting to grow health anxiety. Some of it just seemed unrealistic but who am I to judge? It seemed whenever someone else sneezed in the FMC vicinity she would spiral. It was actually heartbreaking to think people live like this. The book was a good rom-com though and the plot was good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for providing me with an ARC of Love, Just In in exchange for an honest review.

This was a solid rom-com with a compelling premise and a relatable protagonist. While it wasn’t my favorite, I can absolutely see it appealing to fans of books like People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. The romance had its sweet and heartfelt moments, and I really appreciated the realistic portrayal of anxiety—Natalie Murray did an excellent job of capturing the way it can impact daily life.

That said, I did feel the book ran a little long, partly due to the internal monologuing of the main character. Some of it didn’t add much to the story and slowed down the pacing rather than driving the plot forward. Still, the chemistry between the leads was engaging, and the writing was charming enough to keep me invested.

Overall, a solid and enjoyable read for rom-com fans looking for something with depth and emotional resonance!

Thank you Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for the DRC of Love, Just In. All opinions in this review are my own.

I am DNFing this one at 9%. There is a lot of health anxiety right from the start that I wasn't prepared for and it is overwhelming.

Anxiety-ridden friends to lovers storyline. That's a new one for me! I can't say this was one of my favorite romance books of the year, but I found the story line between news-anchor hopeful Josie, and her childhood best friend, Zac very sweet.

Here's my only quip, and it may be because I'm an anxiety sufferer myself, but seriously every cough or slight body issue caused Josie to spiral and it became a little annoying. Like I said, that may be because I have had those thoughts (although not as pervasive) before.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This friends to lovers romance was everything i needed. i absolutely LOVED the spicy scenes. i was NOT expecting that. I loved the time hopping between past & present. I really liked Josie's character & how she grew in the book. I loved Josie and Zac's relationship & how we saw how their romance blossomed over the years. all in all it was a great romance.

i love a friends to lovers. i love a forced proximity. so this was right up my alley.

i loved the anxiety rep in this book for our fmc. the way natalie was able to write zacs character and his grief was inspiring.

i loved the banter between zach and josie.

this book gave me massive emily henry vibes and i can’t wait to read more from her

**Love, Just In by Natalie Murray

Sydney TV news reporter Josie Larsen feels stuck—until she’s assigned to cover a six-month leave in Newcastle. There, she crosses paths with her former best friend, Zac Jameson, whom she hasn’t spoken to in two years. Could this be their chance to reconnect?

I enjoyed the beginning of this book, but the middle dragged for me. I’m a firm believer in "if he wanted to, he would," and I struggled to buy into Josie and Zac’s chemistry. With so many tropes at play, the story lost some of its emotional depth. That said, I did appreciate the alternating past and present timelines. Overall, I’m on the fence with this one.

Well this was a delight! If I’m to read a a romance you bet it’s going to be a friends to lovers. I like to think they’re more wholesome for this closed door romance girlie. Parts of this… not so wholesome! 😅

But my goodness this had everything. Aussie-based, humour, sweet and spicy, past and present, real issues including grief and mental health, particularly health anxiety which is so often dismissed. A perfect summer read.

And that cover?! Gorgeous!

I had high hopes for this book based on the positive reviews, but it just didn’t resonate with me. Friends-to-lovers isn’t my favorite trope, and the pacing felt slow, particularly in the first half. Josie and Zac’s story, set in Australia, had potential, but the focus on their dating other people for much of the book made it hard to root for their relationship early on. While the second half picked up and addressed meaningful issues like grief, health anxiety, and the uncertainty of the future, it still wasn’t enough to fully engage me. That said, I appreciated the thoughtful exploration of Josie’s struggles with anxiety and the emotional depth it brought to her character. Memorable quotes like, “...when we become very afraid of something ending, nothing else can really begin,” added a reflective touch. Overall, it was an okay read but not a standout for me. Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was about friends of fourteen years that are battling through their own personal demons. But in the end they find their way to each other to find they have loved each other for years.

I liked this slow burn friends to lovers romance which is told in past and present timelines. It was more emotional then I expected delving into deeper topics. Despite the heavier topics, there was fun banter between Josie and Zac.

This one was cute and gave very similar vibes to an Emily Henry book just with an added touch of beachside Australia. The slow burn got a little too slow by the end and I got frustrated with Josie getting in her own way but the pay off was sweet. There were times where this one tugged at my heartstrings with mental health and grief being a key focus but the author did a good job of balancing the emotional roller coaster so that the pace of the plot didn’t suffer too much. Overall a fun and easy read that kept me engaged until the end.

Cute friends to lovers romance! Perfect for lovers of this trope and those who love a slow paced book.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley!

The Book is set in Australia this is the tale of two friends. Josie Larson and Zac Jameson have been friends since they first met years ago when Josie changed schools, from a private girls school to the local high school They did everything together. When Zac asks her to be his girlfriend, Josie said No but even then she’d wondered about a Yes.
They went to university together, had too much to drink together, laughed and mourned—together. Natalie Murray has crafted a delicate love story that tells a realistic tale of the intricacies of crossing the threshold from friends to lovers laced with tense moments and heavy emotional baggage that makes these characters feel so real. Joise and Zac both are prime examples of humans who have been through immense trauma and are dealing with the aftermath. This is a very slow burn romance that deals with a few heavy topics (health anxiety, cancer, tragic car accidents). The story was enjoyable enough but it felt like it was a little too long. 3.5 rounded up. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this arc for an honest review.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

I wanted to enjoy this one but I just couldn’t get into it. The MCs had no chemistry and it felt like we were just being told and not shown that they were supposedly once close. Also the writing style felt really choppy.

While I really tried, I just didn’t find myself engaged in this story. I think it just wasn’t for me, but I think many will enjoy.

This was a cute friends to lovers romance that reminded me of writing of Emily Henry. Josie is almost 30 and feels like she's failing at life. When she has a work job to cover for six months in a different town, her best friend from high school, Zac, also lives in that town. But they havent talked in a couple years, since Zac lost his fiancee traumatically.

Now they are back in each others lives and can respark their friendship and an attraction that has always been there.

This was a wonderful rom com!

friends to lovers is a great trope!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this work!

Sometimes, books just try to incorporate too many tropes to meet the masses and they miss. That's this one. From friends to lovers to second chance to slow burn to mental health rep to "I'll wait for you," it was just too much! I wish that it was more focused on one or two tropes because then it would have been much more believable and an easier pill to swallow, so to speak. That negative, though, is overshadowed by the wit and banter between Josie and Zac. My goodness, they were goofy! However, their spark wasn't really there for me... it felt too "we've got to meet the trope or else"-esque. Overall, not the worst, but not the best I've ever read. I'd pick up another book by Natalie Murray, though. Her writing style was enjoyable! Thanks for the opportunity!