This book was such an emotional, yet fun read. I think more authors need to become comfortable with their characters having such strong and complex relationships with their mental health. Josie’s constant anxiety and struggles (although not exactly the same) are something that I deal with on a regular basis. I find comfort in being able to relate to her.
That being said, I sort of felt that both Josie and Zac were kind of annoying in their discussions and there was such a strong sense of miscommunication between the two that frustrated me. When those scenes were happening I often grimaced and trying to speed through.
Although that was the case throughout some of this book, I still feel like this is a great read. Is this my favorite book of the year? No, but I highly recommend this book to everyone so we as a collective reading audience can talk more about mental health!
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reading this book!

Love, Just In is a cute friends-to-lovers romance with plenty of rom-com banter. I enjoyed exploring the world of news reporting through MC Josie’s eyes and thought the career exploration was well done and insightful. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel a connection to Josie or love interest Zac. They didn’t feel like real people to me and that caused me to feel a disconnect with the story. It’s a shame because health anxiety was explored in this book and I find that very relatable, but the approach taken felt a bit juvenile.

Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this heartfelt, swoony romance - teenage besties estranged by their shared trauma and individual anxieties, reunited by circumstance to find their relationship changed - was unique enough to catch my interest. The story was very well-written and easy to read. I enjoyed Josie's narrative voice and characterization, and I could simultaneously understand her mistakes (e.g. dating a hot but wrong-for-her guy) and root for her to make better choices. Clearly those better choices were meant to be Zac, although I did not find him to be a particularly compelling hero despite his broody attitude and tragic backstory.

Speaking of broody and tragic - there's a lot of that here. Josie has health anxiety which affects her daily life and, occasionally, her ability to do her job. I thought this was portrayed in a very nuanced and sensitive way and really added to the story. Zac's grief and guilt over his dead fiancee, however, felt less subtle, perhaps because he wasn't a point of view character so we didn't have direct access to his emotions. And Zac's very sad past - although mentioned in the blurb - gave the story an emotional heaviness that felt out of keeping with the cover graphics and tagline.

Love, Just In
A charming rom-com with engaging characters. Meet Josie and Zac, two best friends since they were 13. They were inseparable but they haven’t stayed in touch after Zac suffered a horrible tragedy when his fiancée was killed in a car accident.
Now they have a chance to reconnect when Josie has a short term assignment where Zac is living. Will they be able to save their friendship or perhaps have even more?
A very enjoyable romance.

Natalie Murray’s new book, Love, Just In, stole my heart. It was everything that I look for in a contemporary romance and somethings I didn’t know I was missing. The characters feel raw and real and there’s a powerful story in their struggles with real world scenarios. It’s nice to see characters who are figuring it all and stumbling through life a little while they try to find themselves and each other.

Zac and Josie‘s friends to lovers romance is a 14 year slow burn in the making and I kind of loved it. Natalie had me rethinking everything. I am normally an enemies to lovers girl, but I was buying into the friends to lovers trope. She really sold it. And nailed the pining and fear that goes along with changing a relationship. Natalie took these two broken and lost people as well as the reader for a trip down memory lane with alternate timeline of the past that showed Zack and Josie’s friendship and budding romance from the time that they’re 13 to their late 20s.

I love that Josie’s character also dealt with health anxiety, which I think is something a lot of women struggle with and it’s some thing that we don’t talk about enough. It was real and empowering to see a character deal with those real world struggles in a way that made you empathetic and acknowledge that this is something we all feel at some time.

And I don’t have enough good things to say about Zac. He’s a patient cinnamon roll of a guy who doesn’t mind telling it like it is. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own demons but he’s working through them and you find yourself rooting for him.

So if you were a fan of friends to lovers, alternate timelines, handsome cinnamon rolls, some spice, and some pining, you definitely want to pick up Natalie Murray’s new book. It won’t disappoint. I’m already clearing a spot off on the shelf for the next one.

Thanks so much to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review Love, Just in by Natalie Murray. From the first page, I was hooked. I couldn't stop reading this and found myself staying up until 2am because I just couldn't put this down. Josie and Zac, best friends since the age of 14. Both battling their own issues and eventually losing touch; only to be thrown into eachothers lives again. I don't want to spoil a thing and highly recommend everyone picking this one up and giving it a go. One of my favourite tropes involved - friends to lovers and a bit of spice too which never goes astray. I really enjoyed reading about the health struggles incorporated into the book, it was definitely very relatable in that way too. This was the first Natalie Murray book I have read but it certainly won't be my last! Thanks again!

New favorite author alert?? ✨ I saw a blurb from Emily Henry about this book so I HAD to read it asap. Thanks for the ARC!

📖 The Details:
Love, Just In by Natalie Murray

⏱️ Quick Summary:
Josie is a TV news reporter in Sydney that just got sent on a temporary assignment to Newcastle, which is also the home to her long-time best friend, Zac, who she’s grown apart from in the last few years.

💁🏻‍♀️ My Take:
Classic friends to lovers with such freshness and heart. I was rooting for Josie and Zac, as their own people, as friends, and as more. They had great chemistry and a lovely banter. There were times I just wanted to say “Josie, you can’t be THAT clueless,” or “Zac, just be honest!” But there were so many other themes (some heavy ones - grief, anxiety, illness) that brought the story to life. Really really well done.

4.5 ⭐️ 100% recommend!

This is a best friends-lovers romance that had quite the long (and bumpy) road to get there. Their friendship started in high school and continued on through college and now it's some 14 years later. After a devastating incident, one moves away and they haven't seen, nor talked to each other in about two years. Now they find themselves in the same city once again, only this time both have some mental issues they need to deal with. Can they pick up their friendship where they left it those years ago, or has everything changed, and not for the best? Josie has several health anxiety, mostly due to some family deaths. She lives in almost constant fear of dying young. (Of course, doing her best 'ignorance is bliss' thought process in regards to actually taking any tests to prove if her fears are warranted or not.) Zac is really quite the man. He's kind and patient. There are hints at his feelings toward her when we get the flashback chapters from their younger years, but he's never really made his real feelings shown. In the present, he is struggling to overcome the death of his fiancé two years prior, and what role Josie played in it. He also struggles with his feelings toward her. He still loves her, but she isn't keen to do anything to disturb their best friend status. Josie's character isn't perfect. There may be aspects of her that turn readers off, but if you can get past any negative thoughts about her and get to the end of the book, you will see she does redeem herself. She also sees herself in a different light, and becomes self aware of her 'wrongs,' and works to be a better version of herself. Don't get me wrong, she isn't a terrible person at all, but I can see some personality traits that readers may not care for (especially after growing fond of Zac.) Readers who are a little more nit picky. There was some tension with the characters and some hot and cold going on. There are some laughs throughout, but there is also some heavy/tenseness about the book as a whole (with the subject matters included.) There is a small amount of sexual content (nothing too graphic.) The book is taken from Josie's POV.

*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

Love, Just in can easily sit on your book shelf with your Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry books. It is set in Sydney, which is so nice for an Aussie reader! It is a childhood friends to lovers, forced proximity. This book is so beautifully written and just draws you in for a touching read. The Author addresses mental health and anxiety issues in such a touching way with the two main characters, making you stop and think without being all preachy.

I will definitely be adding this one to my bookshelves when it is officially released.

Thank you NetGally and the Publishers for my ARC copy of Love, Just in by Natalie Murray. I gave this book 4 stars.

Josie and Zac have been friends since since thirteen when Zac befriended the new girl. In fact they are best friends. Now that they are grown they work in two different cities in Australia. Josie suffers from health anxiety and believes she is unwell. She works as a reporter and has a meltdown on camera. This causes her to be sent to a smaller station. It happens to be in the town where Zac lives in. They haven't really talked in two years and Josie wants to rekindle the friendship or something more.

This is the first time I am reading a friends to lovers trope. It was hard to imagine that the two had not hooked up at any time during their friendship. Josie's anxiety makes her a mess and trying to figure out how to save her career. Zac has had trauma of his own and just now is in a good place. Should they risk their friendship for love?
This book has some slow spots but is a lovely read.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #NatalieMurray, and #Allen&Unwin for a copy of this book

I really loved this book! The characters were great and how they were best friends to lovers was really sweet. Josie was also dealing with health anxieties and loved how that was handled. Great story!

I wanted to like this book more than I did, especially seeing the comparison to authors who I have given 5 stars across the board.

I really liked the realistic showing of how someone with anxiety lives their lives, and their thoughts that go along with it. I did find it confusing in the start, understanding what was real and what was her anxiety. I love a friends to lover trope, but couldn't really feel the connection at first. It was still a fun fast read, and I really enjoyed that it was an Australian romance book, it felt different and added some flare to it! I liked this book, didn't love it. But I would recommend it to someone looking for a quick fun read especially if they were interested in friends to lovers. 3.5 rounded up for the accurate portrayal of anxiety.

I impulsively picked Love, Just In up because it was "read now," and while it had its cute moments, it was kind of boring. People are comparing the writing to Emily Henry and People We Meet On Vacation, which is one of my favs by her, but I have to disagree. The slow burn romance was too slow and the parts that were supposed to be funny missed the mark for me. The main character's personality didn't fit with some of the choices she makes in the book and the romantic relationship wasn't believable to me. One positive thing about this book is the focus on health anxiety. This isn't a topic that is covered in a lot of books, but is very real and relatable.

Overall, this book isn't bad, just okay. I read it quickly and liked the Australian setting. I've seen tons of love for it, so check it out if you are a friends-to-lovers fan and enjoy predictable rom-coms.

I’m really torn about this review…. Because the writing itself was very good and the author created many feelings in me through my reading of the story… but I just didn’t enjoy some of those feelings. I’ll describe more about that to help others choose if this book is for them or not, but it might lean towards semi-spoiler to some facets of the book. Be warned.

The MMC was truly an 11 out of 10 unicorn of a human, friend, and man. Hard to believe but then also hard to cheer for the FMC when she was NOT even close to his level in her life choices, communication, consideration of him or others, etc. Aside from that the majority of the book just made me feel sad, especially for the FMC.

Aside from the sad feelings this provoked for 85% of the book (not why I read romance books) I really, really didn’t love the in your face OM physical relationship moments and the clearly alluded to sexual relations with OW (overnight stays don’t normally indicate a PG relationship). Not cheating technically since they weren’t together, but still ick and not enjoyable once two people start their journeys together again on the pages before you and you are supposed to hope and cheer for them getting their HEA.

2 stars seems a bit harsh, but overall I didn't love this one unfortunately amd there were too many things that annoyed me.

I did like it much more towards the last third of the book and I loved Zac. I also liked the health anxiety rep.

I didn't like the first third or so of the book - I didn't like any of the characters and it all just felt a bit detached. I was excited to read a romance book set in Australia (as an aussie) but it felt overly forced in the beginning. Without spoilers, I hated the scene about a third of the way in where Josie does something stupid and lands her in a situation that is very triggering for Zac. Despite all the talk from other characters about how good a person Josie is and how forgiving she is, I think Zac was much more so.

Overall, I didn't really click with this one unfortunately, but I think it has potential!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, NetGalley and Allen & Unwin, for this ARC.

It was nice to read a Friends to Lovers Romance, set in Australia.
The main characters Josie and Zac, were best friends growing up but drifted apart due to a tragedy. When Josie's job brings her back into Zac's life, they rebuild their friendship.
Josie is struggling with health anxieties and Zac with a trauma in his past.
I loved the mental health representation in this book and think a lot of people can relate. The story switches between the now and flashbacks. I feel that the flashbacks could be explored more deeply. This was a very very very sloooooww burn…very slow!! It was a bit of a struggle to get through the beginning, but it was not that I wanted to DNF the book. I liked how easy it was to understand the characters and their struggles. They are ‘human’ and I love that. The only thing that made me cringe at moments were the text messages and the pet names, it felt a bit immature. The story has some heavy topics, but I guess we all (or most of us) deal with them in our lives. There was some good banter and lovely moments. I truly enjoyed the book, even though I had to push myself through the beginning. Definitely recommend this book especially if you are interested in Mental Health.

Thank you to Allen & Unwin and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Josie and Zac are childhood best friends who reconnect two years after Zac’s fiancée dies. Overall, I had mixed feelings about this book. I usually enjoy a friend to lovers romance but Josie’s obliviousness annoyed me throughout the book. It is challenging to explain why the flashbacks seemed forced without spoiling the story. She is adamant that she is just friends with Zac and has no clue about any possible feelings he may have. The flashbacks seemed forced in order to justify the plot line as the story unfolds.
Additionally, I do not feel as though the description accurately summarizes the heavier topics explored during the story. I went into the book believing it was going to be a lighthearted romance and was surprised to find the author depicting many serious topics that could be triggering for some readers (death, grief and anxiety in addition to other topics).

I was hesitant on this book because the pitch mentioned Emily Henry and I just can’t seem to get myself to like those books. But I am glad I tried it! The story was easy to get into and connect to — the characters were real and down to earth. I love a good enemies to lovers. The time switches in each chapter were sometimes hard to keep track of but the book flowed well.

2.5 stars

This wasn’t terrible, but I think Josie and Zac need therapy more than they needed a romance with each other.

Also, they were almost too into each other if that makes sense? Like almost toxic how intense they were about their feelings.

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

Love, Just In was kindly provided to me by NetGallay and Allen&Unwin in exchange for my honest review.
Unfortunately I did not care for this slow burn reconnecting friends to lovers romance. This book felt very similar to People we meet on vacation in that both books are ultimately about friends who have feelings for each other and don’t realize it after years of friendship until after they reconnect and already seeing other people. It always gives me kinda verging on cheating lines (emotional affairs) and I’m not a fan of those storylines.
The flirtation between Josie and Zac while they are “just friends” includes her touching him, playing with his hair etc at times. Him stuffing a TV remote down his pants and her shoving her hand in there to go get it. We even get the standard all 4 of them in this drama go to the fair and the boys get to have the standard who can win their lady a toy routine.
By 65% of this book I was ready to DNF it, but continued on. Probably should have just DNF to be honest.
While I appreciate the chance to read and review this book it didn’t work for me and i won’t be recommending it.