I wanted to love this book, but I ended up on the fence in the end. The plot felt unfocused. Where the spotlight needed to be on the romance, it sometimes felt like it was anywhere but. Then, the flashes back in time, although I understand their purpose, kept pulling me out of the story rather than deepening that relationship. On top of all that, her relationship with Lindsey felt like it was really unnecessary, and after the first date kind of gross.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

This book was a very different read to what I was expecting after reading the blurb and seeing the cover, but I definitely enjoyed it.

I felt like the author handled difficult subjects like mental health and grief well but it did mean that for me the book went from what I thought would be a rom com fun vibe to something more serious.

Josie and Zac’s love story is a friends to lovers, with a slow burn feel and I really loved their HEA.

Being marketed in the vein of Emily Henry, I had high expectations for this book. While it was a cute story, I felt like we spent more time reading about Josie and Zak’s other relationships that it kind of had me disengaged for much of the story. I appreciated the way the author portrayed the deeper topics of mental health, and I enjoyed the friends-to-lovers trope, but the pacing felt too slow for me. I also felt like the characters were well developed; I just wished that we had more of them together.

This is my first by the author, and I look forward to seeing what she has in store next.

Thank you to Natalie Murray, Allen & Unwin, and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book for an honest review.

Friends to lovers story with all the rom-com tropes plus some heavier issues like anxiety. I feel the overall story and characters are relatable . Not a lot of banter or laughter but a serious look at relationships and mental health issues in today's turbulent world . You may shed a few tears reading.

This was a fun story. I thought Josie was an interesting character representing people with mental health issues. Zac was a good foil for her character. Everyone loves a good friends to lovers trope, and I think this one delivers beautifully.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

3.75 rounded up to 4 because I’m feeling generous in 2024! My first book of 2024 didn’t disappoint! While you know friends to lovers is my least favorite trope, I’ll make an exception for Josie and Zac! Gets a yes from me.

Josie and Zac are two friends who have obvious chemistry but never made it happen. As they both come together for the first time in years, sparks fly and yet they seem to misstep a ton along the way.

This was one of the biggest struggles I had when reading... knowing that could these two best friends communicate better they likely would have worked out most of their issues. There was a lot of unresolved tension but also a lot of unresolved pain in their history.

With that being said, I really did love following along on the evolution of their friendship into something more, and the way it was handled was really well done.

Thank you to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love, Just In is a slow burn, friends to lovers story set in Australia (Newcastle and Sydney) which I really enjoyed. It covers the heavy topics of death, cancer and mental health but does it in a well executed way. The story alternates between the present and the past - but the past is a non-linear timeline. I enjoyed the flashbacks of Zac and Josie's lives as they have a long history, and it was great to see their friendship evolve. The additional characters such as Josie's best friend and various flatmates added to the story.
Great read by another great Australian author.

"Love, Just In" is full of heart and heartbreak, friendship and longing, love and loss. It’s essentially a good story, but I had such a hard time getting through it that I thought about not finishing it multiple times.

It started with the main character Josie and then seemed to escalate from there. My first impression of Josie wasn't good. I was 3% in and already didn’t like her. Then and now, I still don’t believe Josie is inherently a bad person. She's kind and gets along easily with most people. She just, in the beginning, had the unfortunate tendency to say the wrong thing that came across as unlikable and at times immature as she attempted to reconnect with and differentiate between Old Zac and New Zac after two years apart. This could stem from the fact that I didn’t understand Josie and Zac’s best friendship or humor, but they clicked and greatly enjoyed each other’s company so that’s all that matters.

Chapters alternate between the past (not in chronological order) and present, so you get a really good insight into where they started and where they are currently. You see a once genuinely happy pair with Zac being secretly in love with Josie who refuses (even in the present) to acknowledge that there may be more between them than “just best friends.” That was frustrating and made me think Zac deserved better, but I get that she didn’t want to ruin what they had (14 years of friendship) if things didn’t work out.

And this is more of a me thing than a quality thing but some of the characters, situations, dialogue exchanges, and lack of real communication were filled with more tension/awkwardness than I liked.

But I kept reading.

It wasn’t until the story was more than halfway over that I started empathizing with Josie. In addition to the Zac situation, it seemed like Josie couldn’t catch a break. I felt bad that she struggled so much under the increasing weight of so many problems.

I also could relate to some of her health anxiety and catastrophic thinking. Whenever Josie hears something health-related (particularly concerning cancer) she has intense panic attacks. She’s terrified of getting cancer because her grandmother and aunt both died young of breast cancer. She’s afraid her life will be cut short too before she can do everything she’s wanted or achieve her goals.

To me, this was the strongest part of the novel as I’d never seen this form of anxiety (or discussion of cancer) done before in books. Anxiety can be a frequent, irrational monster that can occupy your mind and body for what seems like a tortuously endless amount of time. The author did a good job depicting the petrifying chokehold anxiety can have on anyone (yes, anyone).

I liked that Josie is a reporter and how passionate she is about her job. That was a new-to-me occupation for any main character to have. It was interesting and I felt grounded in the world of news. Josie’s definitely the kind of reporter we need more of.

I liked that the story takes place in Australia. I liked the cute nicknames Josie and Zac had for each other: he calls her “sunbeam” and she calls him “favorite.” The epilogue was very swoon-worthy and parts of the acknowledgments made me laugh.

This story and I got off on the wrong foot in a way that I almost couldn’t recover from. Contrary to my experience, I do think the author wrote a good story and it’s already well-liked by many readers. The author’s research and experience really showed in this story. So if "Love, Just In" sounds interesting to you, I say go for it. I really do hope you enjoy it.

Thanks again Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for the e-ARC to read in exchange for an honest review!

Love, Just In is a second chance romance that will give you all the feels. The writing style of Natalie Murray pulls you in and keeps you wanting to know what happens next. I couldn’t put it down because I found myself cheering for Zac and Josie and wanting them to overcome all those traumas.

This is just the book I needed to start 2024 off on the right foot! This Aussie friends to lovers romance plucked the strings of my heart. Perfectly imperfect characters trying to make their way in their careers while dealing with loss, anxiety, embarrassment, and repressed feelings. Josie and Zac were adorable in their teen flashbacks and grew up to be likeable and quirky humans. One couldn't help but hope they found their way back to each other whether in friendship or something more. Overall Love, Just In is a feel-good story with just the right amount of spice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

It was so refreshing to read a rom-com set in Australia! Natalie Murray is mixing it with the big guns like Emily Henry and waving her story in their faces. Whilst I love all authors no matter their background, I will always be loud and proud for my fellow Aussies.

Josie is sent to Newcastle to chase her dream in the news room after a panic attack on live tv. Her intentions are to gain experience in order to move back to Sydney to bigger and better things. What she doesn't account for is rebuilding a relationship with her best friends, Zac.

Being set in Australia makes the characters and experiences more authentic and realistic.There is no glitz and glamour, it's messy, it's fun, there's trauma to unpack but it's a great ride.

I’m not even slightly surprised that I enjoyed ‘Love, Just In’ as much as I did. It is, after all, set in my side of the world - and it’s a rom-com!

However, as the story went on, I also found myself appreciating the fact that the main character suffered a similar sort of anxiety to me - and unlike other instances I’ve come across in other books over the years, I feel like the approach to present such in this was written particularly well. Real and raw, but respectful!

Thank you to NetGalley, Allen & Unwin, and of course, Natalie Murray, for the opportunity to read ‘Love, Just In’ before its release yesterday.

Following Josie, a newsreader, who has relocated to Newcastle from Sydney for work for six months, the book takes us on the awkward at times journey she experiences settling into her temporary home.

In addition to adjusting to her new surroundings, and meeting the demands of her new job, Josie finds herself struggling more than ever with anxiety about her health - and as if that wasn’t enough on her plate, she’s also realising just how much she has drifted away from a long-time friend.

Zac lives in the same area now too, and although he is happy to help Josie find her feet, it’s clear to see that their connection has faded in the two years that they stopped speaking as frequently to each other.

Although Josie’s heart is broken by the revelation, and she’s sad to see Zac struggling with his own things too, she’s determined to do everything she can to rekindle what they’ve lost.

At risk of sharing spoilers, I’ll leave the synopsis there, but I will say, it features the friends to lovers trope, and it’s amazing what can come from a bit of time and patience.

‘Love, Just In’ is written with alternating timelines, and as mentioned above, I appreciated the depth added into the storyline. This wasn’t at times, a light read, but it was all through, a good one - and I recommend it!

Josie is a hot mess, Zac is the best friend everyone needs. I loved getting to know them throughout the years. Their love story was magical to me. I would love to read another book about them, or about Ross. I enjoyed learning about her health anxieties and how she was learning to deal with them, alone and together as a couple.

I couldn't get into this book at all. The miscommunication from the very beginning was a problem and the characters were not likeable.

This book was not for me. I will start off saying I have never read anything by this author so I was excited to check this book out. However the way the story was told was just to much, There are 44 chapters and and Epilogue in the book every other chapter is in the past it jumps around I found this to be distracting not always easy to keep up with, and yes the chapters are labeled but still found this too be annoying. I wish the author would have either picked the past or the present but not try and squeeze both into the story this way. For grown adult I found Josie acting like a young girl in high school or early college years. I found Zac standoffish and just overall annoyed at Josie no matter what she did for most of the story. The story is told from Josie's point of view. Overall like I stated this book was not for me and I really struggled with even finishing it.

I really enjoyed this book. The author does a great job handling health anxiety and trauma. The slow burn romance between these best friends hit just right and I felt myself really rooting for both of them. I’m not the biggest fan of the miscommunication trope, but I do like how the author handled it and had the characters actually talk to each other to figure things out like actual adults (which is a nice change of pace from how some authors handle miscommunication). I also thought it was perfect how the author ended up handling Josie’s health anxiety in the end (don’t want to say more for fear of spoilers).

Thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Giving Australian Emily Henry vibes, LOVE. JUST IN is a solid friends to lovers romance set in Newcastle (with the occasional jaunt to Sydney) and gives the reader an insight into the fourteen year friendship of Josie and Zac - alternating the with the present where the pair on the edge of something much more than friendship.

I like it, but Josie’s neurotic behaviour started to grate on me a bit but once I understood more around the motives of this particular plot device, it was okay.

Would recommend!

Josie and Zac were best friends in high school and college but never dated even though Zac wanted to. Life separated them but years later Josie finds herself in Newcastle for 6 months which happens to be where Zac lives. They hadn’t seen each other for 2 years. Could they once again be friends or even get romantically involved?
A heartwarming story about love and life.

LOVE, JUST IN seemed like it would be a light, frothy rom com with a friends to lovers trope underpinning the tale. It is that but the main characters have experienced more than the normal rom com share of bumps along the way. And they have the bruises and wariness to prove they didn’t come away unscathed. I found parts of the book, and aspects of both lead characters, hard-going and grating. Perhaps this early in the new year, I was hoping for a more upbeat tale with little reflection along the way. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.