*I received this book as an advanced reader copy*

Josie and Zac have been best friends since high school. Now in their late 20s, tragedy has seen them drift apart. But a job opportunity sees Josie pack up her bags and move from bustling Sydney to the quieter Newcastle, which just so happens to be where her estranged best friend now lives…

What follows is a heartwarming story about people overcoming trauma, facing fears and realising that sometimes the answer is right in front of them.

Add in some adorable pet names and you’ll be swooning in no time.

Plot: 3.5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5

Overall rating: 4/5

SPOILERS:

I really identified with Josie; as a fellow 28 year old navigating life, and feeling a bit behind those around me. Josie is a likeable protagonist, who is quick witted and flawed. She’s not too perfect, makes mistakes, and is a tad blind at times, but I think it makes her more likeable and more REAL.

Zac was harder to like at first, as I really wanted to dislike him for hurting my girl Josie. However, as the reader learns more about him as a character and the trauma he’s been through, it’s clear WHY he’s acted the way he has, and it’s easier to understand him. He comes across as a really incredible friend, and it’s clear from very early on that he adores Josie, even if she’s blind to it!

Josie and Zac have a really sweet relationship and I really loved how he supported her through her health issues. And I think the way the author wrote about health anxiety was so important and powerful. Zac is incredibly supportive of Josie throughout the story, even when she’s making bad (and sometimes destructive) choices. I also think it accurately portrays the way people with anxiety often put on a front to avoid making others worry, often to their own detriment. Zac communicates his feelings (albeit sometimes a BIT late) and doesn’t let Josie trample him with her misguided goodwill.

I also think that the book touches on some interesting issues around paramedicine and trauma, but since it’s Josie’s story, these aren’t really explored in great detail. I imagine Josie doing a report on it though! I think it would’ve been interesting to touch more on Zac’s trauma post car accident but I think the writing was super respectful and tasteful about trauma victims.

It took me a little while to get into the book at first, particularly since some scenes are strictly text messages between the main characters and there’s quite a bit of jumping around between past and present. I almost think the past scenes would be easier to read if the tense was shifted to make a clear distinction.

I didn’t love the Lindsay/Josie story arc, particularly because I felt like the references to Lindsay’s drinking needed to be either more overt, or more subtle. The weird middle ground made it seem like Josie is an idiot for not realising he’s a functioning alcoholic, given the story is written from her perspective.

I also felt as though the character of Lola doesn’t really serve a huge purpose in the story, and as the reader, we don’t really develop a relationship with her. Similarly, Ross plays such a major role in the plot, yet his character arc is so small I forgot who he was. However, I really loved the relationship between Josie and Christina, and the way it portrayed female friendships. And the sort of mending the bridge with Meghan towards the end was really lovely, as it showed a lot of growth in Josie.

Overall, this book was a great read that definitely got me emotional at times and I would definitely recommend it!

3.5⭐️
Thank you to Allen & Unwin and Netgalley for this arc.

Josie is a tv presenter in her late 20s who has made the move from Sydney to Newcastle following an incident during a segment. Coincidentally, her high school / uni best friend Zac (who she hasn’t seen for a couple of years since he moved away following an accident) also lives in Newcastle and she takes the opportunity to reconnect with him following a period of no contact.

The book switches between current times and flashbacks, usually showing scenes that one of the characters has referred to beforehand, and this was done pretty well.

I’m not going to lie, I found Josie a bit irritating throughout, but this may be because I found some parts of her anxiety a bit too relatable (as I’m sure a lot of people will l, particularly in this day and age). She also made some questionable decisions in the earlier part of the book. And the slow burn was pretty slow (and a bit frustrating, sometimes I just wanted to slap some sense into them! Haha.).

I did like that it was set in Sydney and Newcastle, as I could picture the places they were talking about. I also loved Zac, and the way their relationship grew was quite cute. There was also some funny scenes with her housemate which broke up the serious parts quite well.

Overall, I found this to be a nice (and quick) read.

This is a friends to lovers romance that is set in Newcastle, Australia, a couple of hours from Sydney. Best friends Zac and Josie have been friends for 14 years, and multiple times have felt an attraction toward one another. Zac stopped communicating with Josie when his fiancée died in a car crash a couple of years ago. When Josie moves to Newcastle for work, she ends up reconnecting with Zac.

The story is told through alternating timelines, one in present time and the other cataloging key moments in Josie and Zac’s relationship. I liked getting that background and found it necessary to get invested in their history.

This is not just a breezy romance though — we deal with Zac’s PTSD over losing his fiancée and Josie’s health anxiety. Those extra layers help turn this into a deeper dive on the relationship between our two leads.

I would say the comparisons to Emily Henry are fair — the book is easy to read, but thoughtful and smart. There were definitely moments I was super frustrated with Josie, but we see her grow throughout the book. Zac of course is the perfect book boyfriend and there were times I wasn’t sure Josie deserved him!

Spice level is pretty hot a couple of times in the second half of the book.

Overall this was a solid debut and I look forward to more works from Natalie Murray.

Thanks to Netgalley, Allen & Unwin and Natalie Murray for the ARC.

title: Love, Just In

author: Natalie Murray

publisher: Allen & Unwin

publication date: January 3, 2024

pages: ? (It's not out in paperback yet. My phone said 308, but that doesn't always seem accurate.)

peppers:  (on this scale)

http://www.caritagardiner.com/219-why-netgalley/

warnings: 

car accidents with fatalities
drunk drivers
a house fire with fatalities
vomit
cancer and cancer scares
mental health issues, mostly health anxiety

summary: Josie and Zac have been best friends since they were thirteen. The story, in Josie's point-of-view, goes back and forth in time between moments of importance in their past and the current six months, during which she ends up living and working in his town.

tropes:

friends-to-lovers
pining for one's fated mate
trying to fall for the wrong guy
don't want to lose my best friend
friend's having a baby

what I liked:

Zac's clearly been pining for Josie forever, but since we're in Josie's p-o-v, we can see her not get that.
They have great banter by text and struggle to say what they're thinking in real life.
Good portrayal of health anxiety.


what I didn’t like: 

Josie repeats the "I don't want to mess up our friendship" thought too many times. 
Josie gets into a car with someone Zac has all-but said might drive while drunk. I didn't buy that she'd fall for the "they're just light beers" line.

overall rating: 4 (of 5 stars)

From the very first page, I was committed to Josie and Zac's relationship and seeing it unfold. I so loved their true friendship, especially in their younger years. After being distant for two years, two best of friends since high school reconnect, but this time, it's different. Josie sees Zac in a different way, and is she willing to do something about it?

They always have and still freely and openly tell each other everything and anything, including all their firsts, except when it comes to their feelings for each other. At times, I just wanted to talk some sense into both of them so they would just acknowledge that they are meant to be together!! I appreciated the depth and complexity to Zac and Josie and just adored Zac. First time reading work by this author and looking forward to her next book.

Thank you to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

💓Second Chance
💓Illness anxiety rep
💓Newsreporter x paramedic
💓Forced proximity
💓SLOW BURNNNNNN 🔥
💓He fell first AND fell harder

In this new Romcom that gives vibes of Emily Henry and ‘Love, Rosie’ (the movie), you’ll fall in love with every character you meet. (Except Oliver). Anything Natalie Murray writes is something I will read. Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate the cover of the book? It’s stunning.

I couldn’t get into the book fully until page 100, but the push was so WORTH it. I’d say it’s medium paced with so much slow burn, and the slow burn is PAINFULLL. Straight up so painful🥲. I believe that’s why it was difficult for me to actually read in the beginning.

There’s so many things that happened in this book that made me feel giddy. I loved Zac, but be prepared for how incredibly VAGUE this man is, until the last 50 pages of course. We don’t get to see his point of view but I think it gives him the mystery we keep reading to uncover.

Josie is struggling with illness anxiety, googling her symptoms everytime she senses something wrong with her body. I went in blindly so at first I didn’t understand why she was feeling and thinking those things about. It eventually clicked and my heart broke.

Everything in this book came together so nicely and was such a lovely read. I loved the banter and the friendship between Josie and Zac. Each chapter went back and forth between “today” and memories from years ago. That added so much depth to the story. Seeing who they used to be made me fall in love with them, and the whole time I was hoping with every page turn, one of them would give in to each other.

I’m so grateful for Natalie Murray (and her publisher) to have this ARC available on NetGalley so I could read and provide this review🥹💓

This book releases in January of 2024, so put this on your TBR now!

**TW include: death, cancer, car accidents, grief**

I thought this book had a lot of potential. The story was good, but the characters fella a little short for me. Overall it was an enjoyable read, though!

3.5 stars

This friends-to-lovers romance was cute! I loved it’s focus and exploration into health anxiety, something I wasn’t really aware was a thing. I’m not sure if I’ve really read any other books set in Australia, so it was a fun change in setting. There were a few cringey parts between the two main characters and their texts back and forth, but overall I liked Zac and Josie’s relationship and I think “sunbeam” as a nickname is adorable!!

Love, Just In portrays an issue that often goes unnoticed. This compelling narrative not only sheds light on Josie's challenging circumstances but also prompts us to contemplate our own reactions to such situations (as evident from my earlier frustration). The power of awareness cannot be underestimated, and cultivating compassion for others is truly a remarkable quality.

This book was honestly so good. It was cozy, it was warm and fuzzy - while there was still struggle and strife, it wrapped everything up so beautifully.

The awareness of a lesser talked about mental health struggle was refreshing to read and I’m sure will resonate with anyone struggling with medical/health anxieties.

Loved this book. Will definitely recommend.

This book is SO good!

I have recently become an absolute sucker for friends-to-lovers stories, and this one is a fantastic example. It is reminiscent of 'People We Meet on Vacation' by Emily Henry, or 'Love and Other Words' by Christian Lauren (one of my all time favourite books). The romance between Josie and Zac felt really natural, and the pacing of the book was really well done. It is also set in Australia, so it was great to read a book set in my home country!

I also loved the mental health representation. As someone who has health anxiety that is pretty much identical to Josie's, this book was an extremely accurate portrayal of my experience. Health anxiety is often portrayed (in my opinion) poorly in a lot of media, so it was refreshing to see something that I was able to relate to. I also loved the exploration of Zac's mental health, and how it impacted his job as a paramedic.

Overall, this book is phenomenal and I would highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this book, the plot was incredibly relatable and I found myself engulfed in the pages. I couldn’t get enough! I would highly recommend this book to fellow romance lovers!

Zac has been Josie’s best friend for years. They were always the right person at the wrong time and then life just got busy. When Josie is sent to a different location, she realizes that she will be in the same city as Zac. It has been two years since he moved away and cut all ties to her. She had no idea what happened but felt that he left just like her family did. The thing is we are given a glimpse into Josie and the anxiety that she lives with. It is her story and struggle and honestly, I appreciate that we are given someone that isn’t “perfect” to read about and learn to love. This book is raw and emotional. It is two best friends that lost their way and found it a few years later. It is two people that never could find the other when the time was right. I love the little flashbacks we get from years past with these two. They add a little something special that is not just who they are as friends, but also what they were thinking at the time. I think my favorite thing though is the nickname Zac has for Josie, Sunbeam. Not one you typically hear but it is perfect and describes her so beautifully. We are given a story of a person that struggles with something personal but makes the decision to show the world that it is who she is and refuses to let it determine her future any longer. Such a great story, that I could not put down!

"Love, Just In," by Natalie Murray, is a great book to get any romance reader out of a reading slump. The book is face-paced in giving digestible information that does impact the reading. I will say that the plot/main points of this story does resemble the same as other romance stories by Emily Henry or Ali Hazelwood, but it does have some unique features.

As a reader whose main genre is not romance, I do think the story is a nice comfort read. I enjoyed how the author respectfully handled the topic of health anxiety, as well.

This book from the cover and description just made me think of Emily Henry. Except it’s set in Australia! I enjoyed reading through this story set in my own country.

It’s from new-to-me author Natalie Murray. It’s a friends-to-lovers (after a separation) romance. And it was super cute! I enjoyed the friendship between Josie and Zac (also side note - where can I get a Zac?). Also, can I just say with the amount of t-shirts he owns with different messages on them - the man clearly only shops at Jay Jays 😂

At times I found Josie to be quite self-centred/focused, and sometimes I felt a bit frustrated with her. However, she showed a lot of growth throughout the story and I was really proud of her by the end. I was rooting for her to be successful, and I was so pleased with how much she grew through the story, and through her own challenges. It was truly a lovely character arc.

This story represents an issue that is relatively invisible. I think this story can help others understand Josie’s situation, but also gives a chance to reflect on how we respond to this (see my frustration above). Awareness is powerful, and having compassion for others is a beautiful thing.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all I want to say thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an ARC of Love, Just In, in exchange for an honest review! With that said lets get to it.. I would rate this book a solid 4/5 the cover is what initially drew my attention because it was giving me Emily Henry & Ali Hazelwood vibes. In my opinion I feel like comparing Natalie Murray to both of these authors is justified after finishing this book. For an adult contemporary romance debut all I can say is BRAVO!

Things I loved about this book -
• I loved that Natalie put so much of herself into this book throughout the main character, without spoiling anything, I think it really gave me as a reader insight into what it is like to be someone who suffers from anxiety.
• I am a sucker for friends to strangers to lovers plot & I think it was executed beautifully.
• The immediate opening into the past of our two main characters was brief but just enough to get me hooked & gave me an idea of what to expect throughout the book with frequent flashbacks.

Things I didn't love about this book -
• Some parts of dialogue throughout were a bit unrealistic for my tastes, but it didn't deter me from continuing.

I am excited to read more by this author and see where this debut into contemporary romance takes her!!

I chose to read this book because it was in the same vein as People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (long time friends that had been apart for about 2 years) and while I felt the similarity is 100% its own unique story and I loved it!

When I read a romance novel, I want to feel deeply. Love, Just in made me feel beautiful pain from the opening prologue. While the story is written from Josie's perspective, I quickly ascertained Zac's feelings even if Josie was irritatingly unaware. I found her to be difficult to like for the first third of the book, but after that, I really connected with her especially in regards to her health anxiety. I thought the topic was handled with care and respect.

Quick nitpick: Josie had a concussion, she should have been resting without tv or puzzles.

Overall, I feel in love with Josie and Zac. I felt their range of motions: longing, confusion, frustration and definitely love. Their chemistry is undeniable and absolute 🔥. I felt their connection throughout the flashbacks without feeling stuck in the past and their present drew me in. I cried big, ugly tears when they were apart and giant, joyful ones when they were reunited. Just an absolute delightful book! I look forward to seeing more from Natalie Murray!

So NetGalley told me I hadn't logged into my account in long enough that they were going to delete it, causing me to remember I had a NetGalley account and deciding to check out the books - I'm always looking for good new romance novels (I have a hugely long list of literary fiction and other books to read, but I read so much romance/women's literature that it sometimes feels like I run out) and they offered me options for a few!

Anyways, I REALLY liked this. It reminded me a fair amount of Words in Deep Blue (Cath Crowley), which is also about Australian teenagers who reunite as adults, and also of Love and Other Words (Christina Lauren). Some of the bad roommate scenarios seemed a little preposterous but also hilarious, and I liked that the people who were friends were friends, not waiting in the wings for betrayal. Definitely cried. Loved learning about Australian news broadcaster careers. 4.5 rounded up.

I received an early copy of this book on NetGalley with the hope I would provide a review.

4.5 Stars
This book can, in fact, sit beside your Emily Henry, Sally Thorne, and Ali Hazelwood books.

Josephine “Josie” Larsen is a Sydney TV news reporter who feels like she’s a bit behind in life. She is approaching 30 and is seeing everyone else’s lives move forward while she stays stagnant. After a panic attack live on air, she gets sent to Newcastle to cover another report’s six-month leave. Who is at Newcastle you may ask? Zac Jameson – her best friend since high school who she hasn’t spoken to in two years. Now within the same city, they navigate through their lost friendship and experience these new feelings for each other while also dealing with their own personal issues.

One look at this book and I already know people will be reaching for it. The cover, the title, the description – absolutely pleasing to those of us who love books that look like these.

Josie is a sweet character who suffers from health anxiety due to her family’s medical history. It hinders her from her daily life and caused her to freeze up on live TV which affected her job. With the rekindling of her friendship with Zac, she tries to jump back into it as though time hasn’t passed with the use of old nicknames and habits. But there’s still that part of her that wonders, “What if?” At times I wanted to jump into the book and scream at her to get a grip but if I was in her position, I’d be so in my head he’d probably think I was ignoring him indefinitely. I definitely think she had a slight character bump when she was making the accident about herself. And not literally since she was in the crash, but Zac had all the right to be upset with her and she completely forgot about his trauma till he had to bring it up.

Zac is an absolute sweetheart who just needs a hug. No matter what happened between the two of them, he was always there for Josie. He is still dealing with the grief he has over his fiancée who passed in a car accident he survived. Although he does have feelings for Josie, he still has all these emotions that cause a block between them that manifests into guilt.

These characters are so loveable and complex not only as a couple but as their own individual characters. I love how the past chapters were short and sweet and out of order because it felt like these memories were placed specifically for the following “now” chapters. There were times when it felt like they were blurring the line of friendship/relationship while in their own separate relationships but nothing actually happened. Thank you NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

P.S. I don’t see a physical copy to be pre-ordered so I will be keeping an eye out for it.

Omg I freaking LOVED this book. It gave me real People We Meet on Vacation vibes. Josie was a great female main character. And Zac. He definitely is up there on list of top book boyfriends. Highly highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!