It was so refreshing to read a rom-com set in Australia! Natalie Murray is mixing it with the big guns like Emily Henry and waving her story in their faces. Whilst I love all authors no matter their background, I will always be loud and proud for my fellow Aussies.

Josie is sent to Newcastle to chase her dream in the news room after a panic attack on live tv. Her intentions are to gain experience in order to move back to Sydney to bigger and better things. What she doesn't account for is rebuilding a relationship with her best friends, Zac.

Being set in Australia makes the characters and experiences more authentic and realistic.There is no glitz and glamour, it's messy, it's fun, there's trauma to unpack but it's a great ride.

I’m not even slightly surprised that I enjoyed ‘Love, Just In’ as much as I did. It is, after all, set in my side of the world - and it’s a rom-com!

However, as the story went on, I also found myself appreciating the fact that the main character suffered a similar sort of anxiety to me - and unlike other instances I’ve come across in other books over the years, I feel like the approach to present such in this was written particularly well. Real and raw, but respectful!

Thank you to NetGalley, Allen & Unwin, and of course, Natalie Murray, for the opportunity to read ‘Love, Just In’ before its release yesterday.

Following Josie, a newsreader, who has relocated to Newcastle from Sydney for work for six months, the book takes us on the awkward at times journey she experiences settling into her temporary home.

In addition to adjusting to her new surroundings, and meeting the demands of her new job, Josie finds herself struggling more than ever with anxiety about her health - and as if that wasn’t enough on her plate, she’s also realising just how much she has drifted away from a long-time friend.

Zac lives in the same area now too, and although he is happy to help Josie find her feet, it’s clear to see that their connection has faded in the two years that they stopped speaking as frequently to each other.

Although Josie’s heart is broken by the revelation, and she’s sad to see Zac struggling with his own things too, she’s determined to do everything she can to rekindle what they’ve lost.

At risk of sharing spoilers, I’ll leave the synopsis there, but I will say, it features the friends to lovers trope, and it’s amazing what can come from a bit of time and patience.

‘Love, Just In’ is written with alternating timelines, and as mentioned above, I appreciated the depth added into the storyline. This wasn’t at times, a light read, but it was all through, a good one - and I recommend it!

Josie is a hot mess, Zac is the best friend everyone needs. I loved getting to know them throughout the years. Their love story was magical to me. I would love to read another book about them, or about Ross. I enjoyed learning about her health anxieties and how she was learning to deal with them, alone and together as a couple.

I couldn't get into this book at all. The miscommunication from the very beginning was a problem and the characters were not likeable.

This book was not for me. I will start off saying I have never read anything by this author so I was excited to check this book out. However the way the story was told was just to much, There are 44 chapters and and Epilogue in the book every other chapter is in the past it jumps around I found this to be distracting not always easy to keep up with, and yes the chapters are labeled but still found this too be annoying. I wish the author would have either picked the past or the present but not try and squeeze both into the story this way. For grown adult I found Josie acting like a young girl in high school or early college years. I found Zac standoffish and just overall annoyed at Josie no matter what she did for most of the story. The story is told from Josie's point of view. Overall like I stated this book was not for me and I really struggled with even finishing it.

I really enjoyed this book. The author does a great job handling health anxiety and trauma. The slow burn romance between these best friends hit just right and I felt myself really rooting for both of them. I’m not the biggest fan of the miscommunication trope, but I do like how the author handled it and had the characters actually talk to each other to figure things out like actual adults (which is a nice change of pace from how some authors handle miscommunication). I also thought it was perfect how the author ended up handling Josie’s health anxiety in the end (don’t want to say more for fear of spoilers).

Thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Giving Australian Emily Henry vibes, LOVE. JUST IN is a solid friends to lovers romance set in Newcastle (with the occasional jaunt to Sydney) and gives the reader an insight into the fourteen year friendship of Josie and Zac - alternating the with the present where the pair on the edge of something much more than friendship.

I like it, but Josie’s neurotic behaviour started to grate on me a bit but once I understood more around the motives of this particular plot device, it was okay.

Would recommend!

Josie and Zac were best friends in high school and college but never dated even though Zac wanted to. Life separated them but years later Josie finds herself in Newcastle for 6 months which happens to be where Zac lives. They hadn’t seen each other for 2 years. Could they once again be friends or even get romantically involved?
A heartwarming story about love and life.

LOVE, JUST IN seemed like it would be a light, frothy rom com with a friends to lovers trope underpinning the tale. It is that but the main characters have experienced more than the normal rom com share of bumps along the way. And they have the bruises and wariness to prove they didn’t come away unscathed. I found parts of the book, and aspects of both lead characters, hard-going and grating. Perhaps this early in the new year, I was hoping for a more upbeat tale with little reflection along the way. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

An enjoyable Aussie rom-com which gave me all the feels. The main characters are relatable and quite likeable.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, sweet and held my interest. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

This book was so cute and heartwarming while also pulling at my heartstrings, I absolutely loved it.

I was captivated from the very beginning. I immediately was invested in their story from literally the end of chapter one, and I found myself constantly reaching for this book throughout the day. I really loved the way this book flowed as well - the flashbacks were just enough to provide helpful context as a reader and help us see the characters’ past in real time, without being an overwhelming duology like so many other books.

The romance in this book was lighthearted, very Emily Henry-esque with the classic friends-to-lovers trope, but the book itself managed to cover some heavier topics and dove into a bit of trauma and physical/mental health issues. The issues the characters dealt with were captivating and entertaining, but still felt overall relatable and realistic.

I loved this book and will be going back to find other books from this author!

I was provided a complimentary ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a wonderful read. It was spicy, but not all spice; had real world problems between characters and was still heartwarming.

Jodie Larsen is a reporter for a busy news station in Sydney and is being sent to a station in a smaller city for six months to cover an absence, following a gaff during a live report. Her best friend Zac moved there after his fiancé died in a car accident two years ago and he cut off contact. She is hoping to rebuild their friendship while she proves her worth at the station. Without giving any spoilers, this is a well written story about friendship.

This story ended up being way better than I expected. What did I expect? Something fluffy with surface treatment of several different issues. What I got was a charming story with witty banter and plenty of love (family, besties, coworkers). What I also got was some serious emotional pain-again from several different issues such as loss of a partner, fear of never finding love and serious health anxieties. (I've seen hypochondriac being mentioned but it isn't that at all bit a deep-seated fear that was debilitating). The author treated all the issues with the perfect amount of care and still gave us a great friends to lovers story

2024 is off to a great start because I absolutely loved Love, Just In. It is the story of a woman who reunites with her former best guy friend when she moves to his small town for a work assignment. As they get reacquainted, secrets are revealed, feelings surface and a perfect romcom of friends to lovers and second chances is created.
It was a slow burn sweet story with a real look at anxiety and grief. I loved the looks into their past to help explain their current situation and I loved their texts. It was emotional and endearing.

Wow. This was so good. I read it in literally a few hours. It was the perfect mix of real and raw with sweet and rom-com. I am a sucker for second chance romances, especially childhood best friends. I really love how the author wrote about health anxiety. I think it’s important to represent that, and normalize a discussion around it as well as other anxieties. I also just love how raw the conversations were between Josie and Zac. I love when our two main characters can actually communicate. I appreciate that the third act breakup wasn’t really a breakup-it added some angst and realness without making me angry that the main characters can’t communicate. I really enjoyed this!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

Thank you to NetGalley, Natalie Murray, and Allen & Unwin for the chance to read Love, Just In early for review.

While I don't normally go for friends to lovers books, this cover was so cute that I wanted to give it a try anyway when I saw it on NetGalley.

Overall, this book was a fun and easy to read story about childhood friends who've drifted apart coming back together by chance. They've both experienced grief, which was explored very well and I loved the additional exploration into Josie's health anxiety. The main characters were both really interesting and well developed, and the side characters were fantastic additions to the story.

Overall, a fantastic debut that I would really recommend!

Love, Just In is a wonderful friends to lovers story that takes its time to address the misconceptions, and misunderstandings left in the past. Josie and Zac have been close friends since uni, but haven't spoken in two years. Living in the same town again gives them a chance to renew the friendship and maybe much more, but first some tough conversations about the past. Slow burn open door romance. Issues of griefs and anxiety handled well.

Don’t let this bright and sunny cover fool you: this one packs heart and depth with its storyline.

Josie is given a second chance to prove herself as an up and coming newscaster after a disastrous on air fumble. This career opportunity just so happens to put her back into Zac’s orbit; her childhood best friend and maybe, just maybe, the one that got away.

Throughout the novel, we witness Josie struggling with health anxiety. As someone who has been dealing with a similar issue, I really connected to Josie’s character. My only wish for her is that she would have looked for help sooner (read this as my gentle reminder to take care of your needs, friends).

“Love, Just In” is the perfect book for those seeking a heartwarming and humorous romance that explores themes of friendship, grief, and mental health.