This one was fun and definitely gave some People We Meet on Vacation vibes! I really loved both of the main characters working through some real things, and I felt like they were fully fleshed out. For the romance itself, I went back and forth between being obsessed with them and rolling my eyes at how high school they were acting. Maybe that's a me-thing because I find myself often slightly disappointed by friends-to-lovers but I'd overall definitely recommend it to anyone who loves that trope!!

Thank you to the author Natalie Murray, publishers Allen & Unwin, and NetGalley for a complimentary digital copy. All views are mine.

Opening Quote: 'You can be with people and still be alone.' Loc.384

I don't think this book was too bad, but rather just really "not for me"!

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. I like the hypochondriac element of the fmc's development. It's a fascinating form for her anxiety to take. Hopefully the author won't take it to a stereotypical or sanist place.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. The style is, in part, overwritten. The narrator often describes the same detail twice or more. This tendency contributes to the book's bloated size.

2. Honestly, I cannot relate less to a character's motivations for a novel than this: Oh my god, is she right? Could I actually win this job? After that , all I would need would be to fall in love with an incredible man, get married on the beach in Hawaii, and be pregnant. All my ambitions achieved before I’m thirty— tick, tick, tick. Loc.477

3. I think this book is a bit sanist in how it looks at its fmc. For example, at Loc.1301, the fmc herself stigmatized her own socially acceptable behavior.

Rating: 😬😬.5 nervous leads
Recommend? yes, just not for me!
Finished: Dec 31 '23
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetG0alley
Read this book if you like:
💋 romance
🎥 journalism
💜 prose
🩻 characters anxious about health

Love, Just In is such a perfect, heartfelt book! The main characters were so lovable, the MMC Zac being absolute perfection. I couldn’t dream up a better best friend/lover myself! The depth of emotional connection the two held really pulled my heart strings all the way through the book. I found there to be a perfect balance of romance, humor, emotion and spice. It was just an all around wonderful book! Natalie Murray is definitely an author to look out for in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy!

4 1/2 stars

I really enjoyed this "kind of" second chance romance with Josie and Zac. They've been best friends since childhood and have each had on and off again crushes on the other person but never at the right time. Due to a traumatic loss, Zac moved and has been pretty much radio silent with Josie for the past two years. But now she's temporarily moving to Newcastle where Zac lives and it's a chance for them to reconnect and repair their friendship. But things are more complicated than Josie anticipated.

The flashbacks to Josie and Zac's past are a bit heartbreaking because you can see how they took so many missteps along the way. You can see the two of them reaching toward one another and then pulling back out of fear that the other person doesn't feel the same way.

It's a story about life and the pain of finding your way through all of its realities and hardships. Zac and Josie both have traumatizing events from their past that are impacting their present lives and that is a key part of the storyline as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Okay so if you have regular anxiety or health anxiety, I don’t recommend reading this book because it had me STRESSED.

First of all, the writing itself was not great. Like the female MC is the narrator but not only are we getting her narrating we have like double narration because her like Lizzie McGuire cartoon character thoughts are in italics within the narration and we are being pulled to the side way too many times with her inner-inner thoughts.

Then like, this was supposed to be a rom-com and out of nowhere this girl starts internally panicking about the smallest things being like cancer, and okay don’t we all I guess, but it wasn’t explained where this was going until like waaaayyyy into the book, like we are 60-70% in before we start getting some explanation.

And then this friends to lovers romance is all over the place, and the guy went through this truly tragic experience, and this MC is leading him ON. And toying with him, and everyone just keeps praising her for being such a good person but she says the most ridiculous things.

Like, okay so maybe if this had some better writing and editing, it wouldn’t be so bad. I’ve never seen health anxiety addressed in a book before, but is a rom-com the right place? I don’t know. These rom-coms lately are doing too much, like I’m looking for something lighthearted and this has SO much trauma and anxiety in it, I was stressed every time I picked it up.

Not sure if I’d recommend this one? If you want to read it just know it’s heavier than your typical rom-com, the writing isn’t great, and everything is a mess.

Thank you @allenandunwin and @netgalley for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Love, Just In is the story of childhood friends reuniting after two years of little communication and given a second chance to see where their relationship might lead. This takes place in Australia, beginning in the summer through to winter.

At 28, Josie has an opportunity to progress in her news reporting career and transferred to the city where her friend Zac lives. She had always placed Zac in the friend-zone from the time they met at 14, and may have developed feelings for him while they lived together through university, but supported him through an engagement until his fiancée died. He shut down, moved two hours away, and stopped communicating with Josie. Now that he is back in her life, she wants to repair that friendship.

They are both struggling with their mental health - Josie around getting cancer young as it runs in her family, Zac around traumatic car crashes even though he is a paramedic. Together they learn to open up and help each other through their insecurities, and soon realize their love for each other has developed past friendship and into romantic.

I enjoyed their journey together, and was rooting for them through the slow burn. They made it 60% in until they caved, and the rest to figure out how to make it work. Zac was adorable and Josie was hilarious. Many of the side characters were enjoyable too, but we didn’t get to know any of them too deep. Some of the dialogue didn’t feel genuine, and the conflicts were sensationalistic, but the story flowed well and was a fast read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for providing this eARC for my honest review.

This is a lovely story about first love and friends to lovers told through jobs and topics that are new to me. Josie’s newscaster job takes her to the town Zac Jameson, her BFF, lives and gives her the chance to rekindle their friendship after Zac moved from Sydney to Newcastle. Josie has to cope with her own health issues while battling for the news reporter job she has always wanted. Zac continues to heal from a past tragedy. Will these two BFFs find love? Told through dual timeline it gives the reader a glimpse into the beginning of Josie and Zac’s relationship that ties into the present. The story is beautifully scripted.

WOW!!! This book!!
I truly enjoyed this book, I picked it up and could not put it down. I also cannot stop thinking about it either.
Aside from the friends to lovers trope, this book highlights the genuine struggle people have with mental health and anxiety.
It is very clear these two characters have a genuine love for one another. There are also times when I want to shake Josie and say stop!!! When everything comes to light for Zac my heart just broke and I cried. I have never met to characters who were more destined than these two.

This is one of the best books I've read in a while. It will make you laugh, cry and swoon. It will be a favorite, that you'll pull out when you need a boost, because Josie and Zac go through some major issues and trauma, but find a way through it.

Thank you to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book overall. I love the alternating timelines as it added depth to the characters and their present day story. I related to Josie's anxiety and I felt that it was portrayed in a well thought out manner as someone who has these same struggles. The place where I fell this fell flat was the chemistry between Josie and Zac. I adore the friends to lovers and slow burn, but the miscommunication in adult romance is something I do not enjoy especially where communication should be a solid basis when they are friends in the start. I would recommend this to people and would look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honst review.

I love a good rom com and this one did not disappoint.

This was my first Natalie Murray book and I really enjoyed it. I loved the story and the characters.

This one is definately worth reading.

I really enjoyed this rom-com - a friends-to-lovers romance told with humor and feeling, with a couple of more serious underlying themes. Josie is almost 30, and thinks she knows exactly what she wants for her life. She's also her own worst enemy in achieving her goals. Zac has been her best friend since high school. He's slowly recovering from some serious emotional trauma. They find themselves back in each others' lives after a couple of years of near estrangement. Their story is told in present time as well as in a series of flashbacks to different periods in their friendship. I enjoyed the humor and their best friend banter. And I liked that their friendship was so important to them both, important enough that they worried about transitioning from friendship to romance, because they didn't want to risk the friendship. And as someone who's had Australia on my travel bucket list since I read The Thorn Birds in the 80s, the locale was also very appealing. More seriously, though, I liked the underlying theme of how health anxiety (aka hypochondria) can be seriously debilitating when it remains unrecognized and/or unaddressed. Natalie Murray addresses this in her acknowledgements, letting us know that she wanted to write a book that included health anxiety because it's something she deals with in her own life. Overall, this was a fun read that kept me awake way too long when I got to those last few chapters.
Thanks to Netgalley and Allen & Unwin for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

Love, Just In by Natalie Murray is a reconnecting friends to lovers romance where a news reporter lands in her old friend’s life once again. I am always thankful when mental health is discussed in books. I also thought it was neat that it was set in Austrailia because I haven’t read many that are.

This was marketed as hilarious & heartwarming, which it has some parts, but it also deals with some quite heavy things. I don’t think that part was emphasized quite enough & so I struggled to full immerse myself into it.

Thanks to NetGalley & Allen & Unwin for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Absolutely enjoyed this! This was my first Natalie Murray book and I really enjoyed it. I loved the story and the characters. I really can not wait to read more from this author. I can recommend this book enough

Love, Just In is an engaging contemporary romance novel from Australian news reporter Natalie Murray.

After having a panic attack while reporting live on air Josephine Larsen is banished to cover another reporter’s six-month leave at the regional bureau in Newcastle. Nearing 30, perennially single, and steeped in anxiety, the only silver lining to her demotion is the chance to reconnect with her best friend, Zac Jameson, even though they have barely spoken for two years.

Friends-to-lovers is generally my preferred romance trope, and some of my favourite parts of Love, Just In were the flashback moments that showed Josie and Zac as teenagers and young adults. The ‘will they/won’t they’ of their adult relationship is far more complicated and there’s plenty of angst and miscommunication between the couple before they work things out. Zac’s hesitation in pursuing Josie makes sense, especially once certain information is revealed. Josie’s treatment of Zac frustrating at times, even knowing it stems from her own insecurities.

Murray touches on several serious subjects in Love, Just In including drink driving, grief, illness, and health anxiety. I found the latter to be an interesting topic that the author explored with sensitivity and compassion and I feel it’s something many can relate to at some level. There is some humour too, but I think the description of the story as a romcom is over generous.

I was a fan of the setting, since it’s familiar with Newcastle being just a few hours south of me.

I do like a happy ending, and though perhaps a tad long at over 450 pages, I found Love, Just In to be a pleasant and satisfying read.

"Love, Just In" by Natalie Murray is a heartwarming and emotional read that explores the complexities of friendship, love, and second chances. As a newcomer to Murray's writing, I was immediately drawn into the story and the well-developed characters.

The book follows the journey of Josie and Zac, former best friends who drifted apart after a tragic event in Zac's life. When Josie, a reporter, temporarily relocates to Zac's new hometown for an assignment, she is determined to reconnect with him and find the closeness they once had. However, the blurb doesn't fully prepare the reader for the level of angst and heartache that both characters are grappling with, which made the story more intense and emotionally charged.

One of the standout aspects of this book is the author's attention to character development. Josie and Zac are both multi-dimensional and flawed individuals, and their growth throughout the story is both realistic and relatable. Josie's struggle with health anxiety adds depth to her character, and I appreciated how the author handled this aspect with sensitivity and honesty.

The slow-burn romance between Josie and Zac is beautifully crafted, allowing their relationship to develop gradually and authentically. The forced proximity situation adds tension and chemistry to their interactions, making the eventual rekindling of their friendship feel earned. However, the presence of outside drama involving other characters may be triggering for some readers, so it's important to be aware of this aspect before diving into the book.

The steam factor in "Love, Just In" is moderate, with a focus on the emotional connection between the characters rather than explicit scenes. This choice aligns well with the overall tone of the book and enhances the emotional impact of the story.

One minor point that I noticed was that the pacing felt a bit slower at times, especially during the flashbacks that explored Josie and Zac's history. While these flashbacks were essential for understanding their relationship, they occasionally interrupted the flow of the present-day storyline.

Overall, I would rate "Love, Just In" a solid 3.5 out of 5. Natalie Murray has crafted a heartfelt and emotionally resonant story that will appeal to readers who enjoy friends-to-lovers romance, second chance love, and slow-burn relationships. Despite a few minor pacing issues, the book's strong character development and emotional depth make it a worthwhile read for those seeking a heartwarming and uplifting story.

Thank you Netgalley and Allen & Unwin for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book ticks so many boxes: humor, friendship, romance, heartbreak, and tragedy. Zac and Josie have been best friends since they were young teens and weathered life together through all the ups and downs. But an expected tragedy creates a separation that spans 2 years until Josie has to travel to Zac’s town for work. They reconnect and their friendship quickly reaches its old position of comfort and happiness. But as new situations reopen old wounds and new worries threaten their happiness, both of them work through their anxieties and realize their happiness together is more important than their work ambitions or comfort zone.
Solid 4 stars for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I loved this, highly enjoyable and entertaining!! thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommended!

This was an adorable friends to lovers, second chance story. The characters were highly relatable and likable and I found it so easy to spend a day getting lost in this story. I appreciate that the author included one of the main characters struggles with anxiety. It added a layer of depth and relatability and as a reader made you feel like you are not alone.

This was a heart-wrenching, extraordinarily-written book. I stayed up entirely too late reading it, and dreamt about it. The story is amazing and the characters felt SO real. Highly recommend.