In this friends-to-lovers romance, we follow Josie, a TV news reporter, who’s reassigned to the same city her best friend, Zac, lives, after an on-air anxiety attack. I was very intrigued by the plot and especially the Emily Henry comp because those are some BIG shoes to fill in, and unfortunately, filled they were not. The writing style was great, it flowed so smoothly and MOST of the time, it was really quick and easy to get through. The times when I got stumped and had to reread sections, it wasn't because of the writing, it was because the plot didn't make sense, and unfortunately, this happened quite often in what I could get through.

The hardest part of this book was the prologue, which is NOT a good place to be stuck because that is where you want to be drawn in as a reader, not confused. The setting, tone, and vibe were off, and a few pages later, this prologue is essentially rewritten as a memory as opposed to the present tense first-person view we saw in the prologue, rendering it useless, a waste of words, and confusing to the reader. It really got me started on the wrong spot and it didn't get better than there because I was so CONFUSED.

At one point, Josie has a panic attack about cancer, and there's probably some big tragic backstory about why she has this fear, but it's so out of place and under-explained, that I was... you guessed it, confused.

I also wasn't really buying the friendship or relationship between Josie and Zac, which is not ideal when reading romance. Josie keeps on calling him her best friend in her head, but they haven't spoken in 2 years, so clearly they're not that close. In the Emily Henry comp, there's a prior CONFLICT that led to the main characters' separation which makes the distance make sense, but in this story, there's nothing, no reason for the 2 years of silence and no reason for the awkwardness.

I think the point where I gave up on finishing this was when I realized there was no interiority within the characters, which is why you read first-person POV books. We were reading from Josie's perspective, but we got none of her emotions or internal thoughts. At one point in the beginning of their reunion, she bumps into Zac's chest, and we get NONE of her inner monologue. Nothing about being close to him (this is a romance, she should feel SOMETHING about touching the chest of the man she'll fall in love with, or at least at this moment, her best friend), about it being awkward because it's been two years, about wishing she could hug him instead of backing away, about ANYTHING.

Also WHAT is up with the single quotation marks whenever there was dialogue. It wasn't a cute Sally Rooney vibe, it was quite literally just bad grammar.

Overall, I think the writing was lovely, the story idea was interesting, but it was executed poorly. I think plotting out this whole story THEN writing it, with HEAVY edits could do this book a lot of good.

This book, WOW!! I won’t actually say just how late I stayed up to finish this last night, but I literally COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. It spoke to my heart and had me crying like a baby, so naturally, an easy 5⭐️!!

These characters were so multi-layered, each dealing with their own past traumas. Josie has crippling health anxiety and Zac is dealing with grief from a past relationship. They lean on each other and support each other so beautifully while each person is dealing with the fallout from traumatic events from their pasts. There were beautiful, light moments, but also some heart wrenching and heartbreaking moments.

I loved the text message exchanges, mental health representation, cute dog side character, and Josie’s and Zac’s sweet friendship most of all. This book was such a pleasant surprise! I did not expect it to be so phenomenal! Go request this on NetGalley now and grab it when it comes out this January!!

TW: grief, anxiety, car accidents, cancer

Thank you to NetGalley and Allen and Unwin for access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review. 💕

I read this book in an afternoon and enjoyed it. The story was sweet, if a little predictable, but takes you on a journey of second chances and love.

I read this in one night - lovely little rom-com with a focus on mental health. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

3.5 stars for this sweet friends to lovers romance. This book did a good job dealing with health anxiety, and I loved the friendship between Josie and Zac, and Josie and some of her other friends.

Books that get compared to Emily Henry are tricky for me, because in addition to sweet, moving romance, she writes such entertaining banter. So a blurb comparing a book to EH sets me up to be more critical, I think. The banter and dialog in Love, Just In did not reach EH quality for me.

I also felt the resolution was a little anti-climactic, but overall this was an enjoyable read.

Thanks to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley I received an advanced electronic copy of the book to read and provide a review.

Rating: 3.5 rounded up!

Oh this was a roller coaster of a book! Fair warning, I HATED Josie for the first half of the book. How could she not see how she was getting in her own way?! I was beyond frustrated but also couldn’t put the book down. The story made it hard not to root for Josie and her best friend, Zac, despite the miscommunications, general lack of communication and social obstacles.

The author won me over by the end with her character development and vulnerability shown through her journey with a health scares, love/loss and medical anxiety. I enjoyed this book - I ran the gamut of emotions but ultimately was swooning by the end. This is a great second chance (ish) / friends to lovers book.

This is a lovely, slow burn friends to lovers rom-com based out of Australia. Josie is a tv presenter who has made the move from Sydney to Newcastle following an incident during an on-air segment at work. And who also happens to live in Newcastle but her best friend Zac from university that she hasn't seen in two years. Zac and Josie reconnect as friends but the romance builds over time. I did find Josie a bit immature at times (like trusting Lindsay, and getting medical appointments) but I appreciate the reason behind this behavior (anxiety). Zac had his own set of issues but he was so supportive of Josie at every turn.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and (most) of the characters. This was my first time reading Natalie's work but I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley, and Natalie Murray for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

5/5 stars.

Thank you very much to Allen & Unwin for an advance copy of this book for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this! If you love titles by Emily Henry, Beth O’Leary and Sally Thorne then look no further for your next summer read. Natalie Murray really delivered with ‘Love, Just In’!

I really adore rom-coms and even more so when they’re set near home in Australia. It’s so great to have Australian representation in the rom-com space, to me it just feels like most rom-coms are set in America (although this could be very wrong!)!

I really enjoyed getting to know Josie and Zak over the course of this novel and flew through the ~400 pages in one sitting. My only drawback was that the plot felt a little repetitive and drawn out towards the end, although that could have just been because I had read through it so quickly.

This sorry definitely had potential, but I unfortunately didn’t love it. It was a very cute romance but some parts almost felt a little forced and unnatural to me. I found myself rolling my eyes at the decisions people were making and some of the dialogue.

I did enjoy parts of it, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

A cute story overall about 2 best friends.
Heavy theme of health anxiety which i found interesting and relatable.
The back and forth timelines got a bit co fusing and hard to follow at times.
3.5-4 stars overall.

Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC of Love, Just In.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the decision to include flashbacks to earlier moments between Zac and Josie. I thought it really helped to give a better perspective of their friendship.

I think including the health anxiety was really relatable and gave the book some extra depth.

I would definitely recommend this book.

I absolutely loved this book! Josie is a news reporter moving up the career ladder, and she is temporarily locating for her job to the city that her best friend, Zac, has run away to after the tragic loss of his fiancee. Josie is desperate to find out what caused him to cut off all communication with her and make amends. When the two reconcile and start moving on the path of more than friends, they have to come to terms with all that entails - long distance, grief, anxiety, dreams - and decide whether or not to take the risk.

To say I loved this book is an understatement! It's been a long time since I've read a book that I just legitimately did not want to end but I was struggling between not wanting to put this book down and not wanting it to be over! Josie was such a well fleshed out character. I loved her so much. As someone who struggles with anxiety I felt like the author did a great job portraying Josie's health anxiety throughout the book. I usually prefer dual POV but for some reason I felt like doing the single POV just worked so well for this book. I loved that it was more mysterious as far as knowing what was going on in Zac's head. I definitely felt closer to Josie because I felt like her where I was wondering what Zac was thinking. This book was so much fun and such a great read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for the advanced reader copy of “Love, Just In” by Natalie Murray. This friends to lovers story takes place in Australia and as I haven’t read a stories with Australia as the location, I was pleasantly surprised.

Josie and Zac have been best friends for years, and after two years of near silence, they are living temporarily in the same location. This book reminded me in all the best ways of “People You Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry. If you lived that book, you will love this one.

Zac and Josie are characters you will fall in love with-separately and together. This book also uplifts some serious issues (trauma, health anxiety, alcoholism and grief) with aplomb. All were well researched and written extremely well. Both characters are flawed, thankfully, but their “flaws” are what make them human. This is a beautiful love story and well worth the read. I finished it in one day!

This friends-to-lovers trope was cute! I loved its exploration into health anxiety, something I wasn’t really aware was a thing.T he setting in Australiait was a fun change in setting. The spicy scenes are very hot (fans self) and perfectly written. This author is new to me and she didn't disappoint in any way, I look forward to reading her future work. 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.

Love, Just In is a love story between Josephine "Josie Larsen and Zachary Jameson, two best friends who fell out of each other's lives for a time, then now finding themselves falling back in. While I like the premise and the fact that it is in "Regional" Newcastle.

Story wise, it is a nice, warm-hearted- "I've always been in love with you" vibes, but the delivery was less than desirable. The story flips between 3 timelines. What's worse: 3 timelines have different stories and they don't exactly converge properly for a smooth transition.

I am also slightly unable to marry some facts/ details that the book has because of the varying timelines. But I feel it is too much hard work to actually plot which goes where, especially it is just a romance story.

Josie and Zach have chemistry, enough, but it wouldn't burn the house down for sure.... It's a nice enough read though.

I loved this book! Friends to lovers is my favourite trope. The main characters Josie and Zac are both so relatable, and I wanted so badly for them to find their happiness. The spicy scenes are very hot (fans self) and perfectly written. This author is new to me and she didn't disappoint in any way, I look forward to reading her future work. My ARC copy of this book was sent to me by Net Galley, and I will be happily recommending it to all of my bookish friends.

First up, I am so so glad to see romance being taken a bit more seriously here in Australia! Especially rom-coms, which are my absolute favourite. Especially when they are set in Australia too!

Here in Love, Just In, Josie, a late 20s TV presenter, moves back to Newcastle after an on-air panic attack sends her spiralling. Back in Newy however is her old friend Zac who she hasn't spoken to for ages. We all know what that means!

I'm not usually one for alternating flashback scenes, but Murray delivers them well enough within the plot. Josie is at times a frustrating character until you remember she's just as human as we all are - it's funny how sometimes we want relatable romances, but not *too relatable*. Something was just missing from the romance however, and maybe friends-to-lovers/second chance romance just really doesn't tick my boxes as much as I wish it would.

Overall, a great, easy read that will be perfect for summer!

*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.