Tried to get this one finished up before the ball dropped but it didn't happen, so this became my first finished read of 2024.

I actually really enjoyed this book! Friends to lovers is not normally my thing, but I think Josie and Zac were snarky enough and had enough of the unrequited love vibe to win me over.

Friends forever, teenage Josie shot young Zac down the one time he asked her to be more than friends. Fast forward years later and while their friendship has struggled the last few years due to a traumatic life event for Zac, the two wind up being in the same town again when Josie temporarily relocates for her TV news job. Told from two timelines (the past vs the present) the reader can clearly see that Zac has been pining for Josie for most of their friendship. While Josie has never admitted it, you can see at times she was interested in Zac too, but the timing was never right.

While there are lots of laughs and jokes (Zac's message tee collection is on point) the book does tackle some tough issues too. Drunk driving, loss of a loved one, cancer, and health anxiety are the main ones. I ultimately REALLY enjoyed how the author chose to tackle Josie's health anxiety. It made Josie grow as a character and made her more likable in my eyes. The world of TV is tough, but she was able to shine despite her hiccups. Zac was a gem and perfect in almost every way except for the guilt/shame that had been hanging over his head since the accident. That was the one area that I wished the author would have fleshed out a bit more but I think we were meant to think he had addressed it and was working through it.

Overall it was a cute, fun read that kept me entertained with perfectly imperfect characters that didn't back away from the hard things life threw at them.

If you like tropes, then this book might be right up your alley. It has so many top tropes: friends to lovers, slow burn, childhood friends… it’s tropes on tropes on tropes up in here.

The book is single perspective, and I’m always fascinated by this authorial decision because the standard is dual perspective. That said, there’s usually a GOOD reason for eliminating the love interest’s perspective and providing the reader with only the information the protagonist has. Yes, we—as readers—know that Josie and Zac are going to end up together, but not having that confirmed by Zac’s perspective opens us up to the possibility that he might not feel the same way. Of course, this involves some suspension of disbelief because the couple always ends up together at the end of the romance, but this book does a great job of building the tension with single perspective.

This book also plays around with the timeline. As I mentioned, Josie and Zac have been friends since they were young, and they’ve always had a “will they won’t they” dynamic, but it’s never worked out. Every other chapter is a flashback to some point in the past, pinpointing a moment that provides further context to their complicated dynamic.
I don’t want to give too much away, but I do think I need to share that this book deals with some heavy content; the description hints at some of the issues, but it’s much heavier than the typical romcom/contemporary romance. My ARC contained an Author’s Note that goes into more details, but it’s at the end of the book. I do hope that this Note is moved to the beginning of the book for the published edition.

I would recommend Love, Just In. Despite the heavy content at times, this book is a lot of fun. The banter between Josie and Zac is lively, and the flashbacks give an added layer to the narrative. I don’t want to take away from the effectiveness of the written word, but this would make a perfect series on a streaming Netflix—with the Australian accents, gorgeous settings, and the flashbacks, it would translate beautifully from page to screen!





I received a digital ARC of this book from Allen & Unwin/NetGalley

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I think I struggled a little bit with the miscommunication trope in this book. However, I think the flashback scenes in the book were done very well, and slowly as the book went on, I continued to be surprised and see more and more character development. This made more of the story makes sense and made it more clear why these two friends were having the issues that they were having. So, while the beginning didn’t grip me as much as I initially thought that it would, I was thoroughly riveted by the end and would really recommend this book!

I know a lot of people loved this book but I just found it okay.

The theme was unoriginal - boy and girl are close friends from childhood but cannot make that step from friendship to romance. Both of them are longing to do so but think the other one does not. Fair enough but this went on for over four hundred pages during which they were frequently actively unkind to each other. Especially Josie. Now there is a character you would not want to know in real life.

Basically I think my real issue was the length of the book. The subject matter just did not warrant so many pages and it became tedious. I made it to the end with some relief.

I loved the romance between Josie and Zac, but I felt that there were too many flashbacks. It could have benefited from a faster plot line, but I appreciated the authors note at the end explaining how personal it was for her. I can definitely tell that through her writing. She is a new to me author and I will be following her next works!

I'm so glad that I took a chance on a new-to-me author when a golden opportunity to snatch this up emerged. What a terrific friends-to-lovers tale with more weight than your typical romance due to its subplots sensitively covering health anxiety, trauma and grief. I really enjoyed central characters Josie and Zac and reading about their long friendship through the events unfolding in the present interspersed with jumps back to important moments that they shared during different years in the past; the tagline of "one missed chance" is technically correct, but there are many smaller fleeting opportunities revealed along the way. At close to 500 pages, the book feels a touch long and Zac's hesitation during the final act became repetitive, but overall I found this to be an incredibly rewarding read. While it would have been nice to receive more of the story from Zac's perspective, relaying it primarily from Josie's point of view allowed for Murray to effectively convey the oppressive effects of her spiraling thoughts about dying of cancer. I loved how the book came full circle to a train station during both the final scene and epilogue.

I didn’t even get a chance to read this before it was archived. Usually things aren’t archived until after publication date. It’s too bad because it sounded really cute and was looking forward to reading it. I usually wait to read them until right before pub day, so that way my thoughts are fresh. I’ll still check it out after it is released. I have to give a star rating to submit, so three it is. I feel like that’s pretty neutral.

I absolutely loved this book! Loved the friends to lovers and the banter back and forth. Josie was a wonderful female lead character. Zac was a very likable character. There was so much anticipation on the two characters getting together that I was totally enveloped. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy contemporary romance.

Thank you to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for an advance copy for my honest review

Taking place in Australia, Love, Just In primarily focuses on Josie and her best friend, Zac. A reporter, Josie is sent to a remote television station for six months after a major on-air gaffe. Luckily for her, her best friend from high school, Zac, lives there. The two lost touch in recent years after a tragedy took Zac's fiance's life, and he needed time to recoup and recover.

Over the course of the six months, the two face their emotions, many of which are holding them back from finding career success and love. After Josie has an epiphany about her feelings, the two have to figure out what their future holds.

A cute rom com that also delves into anxiety and grief, looking to perhaps normalize these feelings, I recommend it when you want something with a little depth but also want the romantic formula.

4-4.5 stars. While friends to lovers tends to be my least favorite trope, I enjoyed this one. Josie and Zac have been friends for decades, but as of late, there’s been more distance between them geographically and metaphorically. When a snafu at work sends Josie to Newcastle where Zac lives, they have the chance to rekindle that lost connection.

Normally a heroine like Josie would annoy me, but I found her to be relatable and also a bit careless at times. Mainly she would ignore any undertones of the more-than-friends feelings with Zac and keep things platonic, but now she is seeing him again with new eyes. Before anything romantic can take place, they have to get their friendship back.

I loved Zac, he wore the coolest tees with fun messages and is an all around stellar guy who has some issues he is still overcoming. Yet he is solid in his support for Josie. Any awkwardness between them stems from the elephant in the room that they navigate carefully around. There’s humor, wit and angst, as well as definite sparks and chemistry between two people who are tiptoeing quietly into it. They both make their fair share of mistakes, but what doesn’t change is their need to have the other person in their life be number one. Zac is truly swoon worthy and Josie really comes into her own by the end and shows true growth and maturity once she faces her insecurities. As a duo, they really are unstoppable together.

While the cover leads the reader to believe that it is going to be a light read, the depth of characters was such a fresh take on the romcom genre. A captivating and engaging story.

I was so emotionally invested in Zac and Josie’s relationship I could not deal with the heartbreak. Even though as I was reading my own anxiety was being triggered, I loved the take on mental health and how it was a big part of Josie’s storyline. But also I am now a full on convert to the friends to lovers trope.

WELL THAT WAS LOVELY!
I started this book by feeling devastated after every chapter, the flashbacks in particular made my heart ache (but in a good way) but that ending made it all worth it. As an Aussie, I wasn’t sure that I would like to read a book set so close to home, but I was proven wrong! It was so comforting to read about characters that have that familiar Aussie banter, who grew up in Sydney, went to their local public school and studied comms at uni in Bathurst. There is no other way for me to describe how it made me feel other than it was gezellig (Dutch word that means cozy, quaint, or nice, but can also connote time spent with loved ones, seeing a friend after a long absence, or general togetherness).
This was a spicy read (chapters 26, 30 & 32) and most of the romance in it was probably too 🌶️ for what I would normally feel comfortable reading (it's a 4.5 star for this reason, purely for personal preference). Aside from that, I enjoyed this book. It felt relatable, honest, familiar and heartfelt!
These friends-to-lovers books get me every time! 😂😭
Thank you NETGalley for the E-ARC.

This is the kind of friends to lovers I don’t like, Josie spend a lot of time like wanting their friendship to be the same as in the past but we know that something happened that changed their friendship. I am a firm believer that if something happens that changes your relationship there is no way to unring a bell. This book proves that time and time again, when both main characters realized they had feelings for each other they just couldn't go back in their minds to just be friends, they always wanted more.

I will say this book has a FMC that has anxiety and a fear of illness. Josie’s family has a family history of getting cancer in their 20s and she her anxiety of getting cancer and dying young is something she struggles with in the book. There is a lot of cancer talk in the book.

The pacing of the book was okay, it has flashbacks in some chapters to show us how their friendship was in the past and when her aunt was sick.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

This book comes out on 01/06/2024!
I received this e-book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for the copy!

Josie is a Sydney news reporter that is approaching 30. After a slight panic attack during a news story, Josie is told to go to Newcastle to cover another reporter's leave there. Newcastle just so happens to also be the place that her best friend, Zac, has been living for the past 2 years, with little to no contact. As she makes the short term move, Josie tries to figure out how to get her friendship back to what it used to be by navigating these new waters.

This book was definitely a slow burn friends to lovers trope, but turned out to be so good! If you enjoy Emily Henry novels, I think you would enjoy this one! But beware, there is discussion of health anxiety and cancer throughout the novel.

Thank you to Net Galley and Allen & Unwin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Josie is moving to the smaller city of Newcastle as she's just had a major career flub, she's a new journalist and froze during an interview on a live feed. The smaller station in Newcastle will give her a chance to do some solid work, news reading and reporting so she can get a temporary position as a newsreader at her home Sydney station as her friend and newsreader is going on maternity leave. But, moving to Newcastle means she needs to see her best friend, Zac. In high school, he had a big crush on her and she's only seen him as her friend. Then, a tragedy struck and they haven't talked for two years. Can they find their way back to the best friends they were before? How does Josie really feel about Zac - friends or is there something more? This story was enjoyable and I liked that it took place in Australia which provided something a bit different than most of the romance books I've read that are either in or characters from the US or UK. The story felt familiar and a bit long for it to develop.

3.5 stars. This book was enjoyable to read. I did feel like there was so much lead up to the friends to lovers piece that could have been cut out to make it a little shorter. For example, some of the in the past chapters felt unnecessary to me. Also, there was so much lead up in the present timeline that I feel like I barely got to know the friends as lovers. That being said, I think once I got through about 50% of the book I liked it more than I had the first half. The first half felt too long and they both spent so much of it in other relationships. Like I get that they were friends first but we spent so much storyline on their other love interests, and I felt that could’ve been done more in the background and not so much time spent on the story. I thought the mental health representation was super well done, so I think that helped the story more, especially when you get more of that in the second half. Overall, I would recommend this read.

Josie is a news reporter looking for her big break, closing in on 30 and so not meeting the goals she set for herself. Zac is her best friend since middle school. They share all their hopes and dreams.

I typically don’t read romance, but for for some reason, I grabbed this one. I’m so glad I did. Much more than ‘just’ a romance. A young woman facing the doubts, fears and questions I think most 30 year olds face. I found the characters likeable and situations relatable. Love a book with a message and a lesson! I enjoyed the subtle backstory of the TV station. A little steam, friends to lovers and a diagnosis needing to be accepted and dealt with. I’ll admit that at first I found Josie slightly annoying and paranoid, but that soon changed as I got further in, and my empathy took over. Loved the friendship (and more) between her and Zac that developed slowly.

This was a new author to me, and I’ll gladly read her again. I must admit that I can be a cover snob and typically steer away from this type of cover and genre. But, this book has proved me wrong! It was definitely a fun read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

An absolutely beautiful friends-to-lovers romance that tackles some really heavy issues. I love that the author kept the emotions messy - there’s a lot of indecision and confusion which totally makes sense given all the trauma. Besides, no relationship is perfect (duh) - that’s why it’s so satisfying when the MCs choose to work it out together. Also, I love being immersed in books not set in the US or UK, so an Australian book by an Australian writer - *chef’s kiss*! I look forward to more from Natalie Murray in the future.

I received a copy of this book from Allen & Unwin through NetGalley.

This was a nice reconnect book, friends to lovers . Is tactfully done, and I enjoyed quite a bit. The characters where nice and cut. And the chemistry was good. Thanks for allowing me to read this book really enjoyed.