I found this book very enjoyable. I loved the banter between the characters and absolutely adored the friends to lovers trope in this.
I will say it took me a little while to get hooked in, but once my attention was caught I was all in!

This was such a fun and exciting read! Ooh and the tension? Amazing. I could not put this down! Cannot recommend enough!

Not a huge fan of this book. I typically really like rom coms because they are easy to read and fun, but this was not it. I was stressed out by the main character and their banter was toxic at times.

DNF - I attempted to start this book and it just did not hold my interest. This may be a book I come back to in the future.

This was such a great story that centers around Josie and Zac and their career.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-friends to lovers
-TV newsroom
-health anxiety

*many thanks to Allen & Unwin and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

This book definitely had me hooked, there were definitely scenes that had me going for a tissue.. it had emotional moments and the character development was well written and it was overall a great read

This book was a nice surprise for me. The anticipation that was built up between Josie and Zac was great and filled with so much tension. There are some books where I find the time jumps to take away from the storyline, but I thought that Natalie Murray did a great job weaving back and forth between the past and the present to give context to the present relationship and what went wrong in the past.

The concept of health anxiety that was described here was something that I don't think I have seen in any other book that I have read, and was something I immediately connected to, and never really thought was something people discussed. I found this to click so strongly with me and I really could elate to how Josie was feeling. I also enjoyed how Zac was unconditionally there for his friend for this part of her life, no matter how awkward things were between them. Romance aside, there is something to be said for a strong friendship, and theirs was so lovely to see.

For me, this was definitely a 4.5 star read, if I was allowed to do that. :)

Many many thanks to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you for an early edition of Love, Just In. What a sweet friends to lovers romance book. I loved this one!

Thank you, Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

I'm not sure what to say about this book. I loved it, and at the same time I was frustrated with it. Maybe the frustration was more to do with main character Josie Larsen.

Josie and Zac Jameson are childhood friends. From the start, it is shown that Zac has been in love with Josie, but she straight away puts him in the friend zone. When they meet up again, when Josie is transferred to Newcastle where Zac is based.

I really enjoyed the way Zac was written, but found the chemistry between him and Josie lacking, but despite my feelings for Josie, it was very interesting reading a book that not only covers mental health, both of which Josie and Zac overcome with their own personal demons, but also Josie's anxiety that bleeds not only into her career but also her personal life and relationships.

Still wonderfully written and will still recomend people to read.

I liked this so much more than i thought i would, to the point that i finished it in an afternoon. I loved the friends-to stranger-to lovers romance and that it also included flashbacks to the past throughout the book to understand how their friendship evolved before the current timeline. Super easy, lighthearted read.

Holy anxiety. As someone who doesn’t have health anxiety after reading this I felt myself starting to grow health anxiety. Some of it just seemed unrealistic but who am I to judge? It seemed whenever someone else sneezed in the FMC vicinity she would spiral. It was actually heartbreaking to think people live like this. The book was a good rom-com though and the plot was good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for providing me with an ARC of Love, Just In in exchange for an honest review.

This was a solid rom-com with a compelling premise and a relatable protagonist. While it wasn’t my favorite, I can absolutely see it appealing to fans of books like People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. The romance had its sweet and heartfelt moments, and I really appreciated the realistic portrayal of anxiety—Natalie Murray did an excellent job of capturing the way it can impact daily life.

That said, I did feel the book ran a little long, partly due to the internal monologuing of the main character. Some of it didn’t add much to the story and slowed down the pacing rather than driving the plot forward. Still, the chemistry between the leads was engaging, and the writing was charming enough to keep me invested.

Overall, a solid and enjoyable read for rom-com fans looking for something with depth and emotional resonance!

Thank you Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for the DRC of Love, Just In. All opinions in this review are my own.

I am DNFing this one at 9%. There is a lot of health anxiety right from the start that I wasn't prepared for and it is overwhelming.

Anxiety-ridden friends to lovers storyline. That's a new one for me! I can't say this was one of my favorite romance books of the year, but I found the story line between news-anchor hopeful Josie, and her childhood best friend, Zac very sweet.

Here's my only quip, and it may be because I'm an anxiety sufferer myself, but seriously every cough or slight body issue caused Josie to spiral and it became a little annoying. Like I said, that may be because I have had those thoughts (although not as pervasive) before.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This friends to lovers romance was everything i needed. i absolutely LOVED the spicy scenes. i was NOT expecting that. I loved the time hopping between past & present. I really liked Josie's character & how she grew in the book. I loved Josie and Zac's relationship & how we saw how their romance blossomed over the years. all in all it was a great romance.

i love a friends to lovers. i love a forced proximity. so this was right up my alley.

i loved the anxiety rep in this book for our fmc. the way natalie was able to write zacs character and his grief was inspiring.

i loved the banter between zach and josie.

this book gave me massive emily henry vibes and i can’t wait to read more from her

**Love, Just In by Natalie Murray

Sydney TV news reporter Josie Larsen feels stuck—until she’s assigned to cover a six-month leave in Newcastle. There, she crosses paths with her former best friend, Zac Jameson, whom she hasn’t spoken to in two years. Could this be their chance to reconnect?

I enjoyed the beginning of this book, but the middle dragged for me. I’m a firm believer in "if he wanted to, he would," and I struggled to buy into Josie and Zac’s chemistry. With so many tropes at play, the story lost some of its emotional depth. That said, I did appreciate the alternating past and present timelines. Overall, I’m on the fence with this one.

Well this was a delight! If I’m to read a a romance you bet it’s going to be a friends to lovers. I like to think they’re more wholesome for this closed door romance girlie. Parts of this… not so wholesome! 😅

But my goodness this had everything. Aussie-based, humour, sweet and spicy, past and present, real issues including grief and mental health, particularly health anxiety which is so often dismissed. A perfect summer read.

And that cover?! Gorgeous!

I had high hopes for this book based on the positive reviews, but it just didn’t resonate with me. Friends-to-lovers isn’t my favorite trope, and the pacing felt slow, particularly in the first half. Josie and Zac’s story, set in Australia, had potential, but the focus on their dating other people for much of the book made it hard to root for their relationship early on. While the second half picked up and addressed meaningful issues like grief, health anxiety, and the uncertainty of the future, it still wasn’t enough to fully engage me. That said, I appreciated the thoughtful exploration of Josie’s struggles with anxiety and the emotional depth it brought to her character. Memorable quotes like, “...when we become very afraid of something ending, nothing else can really begin,” added a reflective touch. Overall, it was an okay read but not a standout for me. Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was about friends of fourteen years that are battling through their own personal demons. But in the end they find their way to each other to find they have loved each other for years.