I was so emotionally invested in Zac and Josie’s relationship I could not deal with the heartbreak. Even though as I was reading my own anxiety was being triggered, I loved the take on mental health and how it was a big part of Josie’s storyline. But also I am now a full on convert to the friends to lovers trope.

WELL THAT WAS LOVELY!
I started this book by feeling devastated after every chapter, the flashbacks in particular made my heart ache (but in a good way) but that ending made it all worth it. As an Aussie, I wasn’t sure that I would like to read a book set so close to home, but I was proven wrong! It was so comforting to read about characters that have that familiar Aussie banter, who grew up in Sydney, went to their local public school and studied comms at uni in Bathurst. There is no other way for me to describe how it made me feel other than it was gezellig (Dutch word that means cozy, quaint, or nice, but can also connote time spent with loved ones, seeing a friend after a long absence, or general togetherness).
This was a spicy read (chapters 26, 30 & 32) and most of the romance in it was probably too 🌶️ for what I would normally feel comfortable reading (it's a 4.5 star for this reason, purely for personal preference). Aside from that, I enjoyed this book. It felt relatable, honest, familiar and heartfelt!
These friends-to-lovers books get me every time! 😂😭
Thank you NETGalley for the E-ARC.

This is the kind of friends to lovers I don’t like, Josie spend a lot of time like wanting their friendship to be the same as in the past but we know that something happened that changed their friendship. I am a firm believer that if something happens that changes your relationship there is no way to unring a bell. This book proves that time and time again, when both main characters realized they had feelings for each other they just couldn't go back in their minds to just be friends, they always wanted more.

I will say this book has a FMC that has anxiety and a fear of illness. Josie’s family has a family history of getting cancer in their 20s and she her anxiety of getting cancer and dying young is something she struggles with in the book. There is a lot of cancer talk in the book.

The pacing of the book was okay, it has flashbacks in some chapters to show us how their friendship was in the past and when her aunt was sick.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

This book comes out on 01/06/2024!
I received this e-book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for the copy!

Josie is a Sydney news reporter that is approaching 30. After a slight panic attack during a news story, Josie is told to go to Newcastle to cover another reporter's leave there. Newcastle just so happens to also be the place that her best friend, Zac, has been living for the past 2 years, with little to no contact. As she makes the short term move, Josie tries to figure out how to get her friendship back to what it used to be by navigating these new waters.

This book was definitely a slow burn friends to lovers trope, but turned out to be so good! If you enjoy Emily Henry novels, I think you would enjoy this one! But beware, there is discussion of health anxiety and cancer throughout the novel.

Thank you to Net Galley and Allen & Unwin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Josie is moving to the smaller city of Newcastle as she's just had a major career flub, she's a new journalist and froze during an interview on a live feed. The smaller station in Newcastle will give her a chance to do some solid work, news reading and reporting so she can get a temporary position as a newsreader at her home Sydney station as her friend and newsreader is going on maternity leave. But, moving to Newcastle means she needs to see her best friend, Zac. In high school, he had a big crush on her and she's only seen him as her friend. Then, a tragedy struck and they haven't talked for two years. Can they find their way back to the best friends they were before? How does Josie really feel about Zac - friends or is there something more? This story was enjoyable and I liked that it took place in Australia which provided something a bit different than most of the romance books I've read that are either in or characters from the US or UK. The story felt familiar and a bit long for it to develop.

3.5 stars. This book was enjoyable to read. I did feel like there was so much lead up to the friends to lovers piece that could have been cut out to make it a little shorter. For example, some of the in the past chapters felt unnecessary to me. Also, there was so much lead up in the present timeline that I feel like I barely got to know the friends as lovers. That being said, I think once I got through about 50% of the book I liked it more than I had the first half. The first half felt too long and they both spent so much of it in other relationships. Like I get that they were friends first but we spent so much storyline on their other love interests, and I felt that could’ve been done more in the background and not so much time spent on the story. I thought the mental health representation was super well done, so I think that helped the story more, especially when you get more of that in the second half. Overall, I would recommend this read.

Josie is a news reporter looking for her big break, closing in on 30 and so not meeting the goals she set for herself. Zac is her best friend since middle school. They share all their hopes and dreams.

I typically don’t read romance, but for for some reason, I grabbed this one. I’m so glad I did. Much more than ‘just’ a romance. A young woman facing the doubts, fears and questions I think most 30 year olds face. I found the characters likeable and situations relatable. Love a book with a message and a lesson! I enjoyed the subtle backstory of the TV station. A little steam, friends to lovers and a diagnosis needing to be accepted and dealt with. I’ll admit that at first I found Josie slightly annoying and paranoid, but that soon changed as I got further in, and my empathy took over. Loved the friendship (and more) between her and Zac that developed slowly.

This was a new author to me, and I’ll gladly read her again. I must admit that I can be a cover snob and typically steer away from this type of cover and genre. But, this book has proved me wrong! It was definitely a fun read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

An absolutely beautiful friends-to-lovers romance that tackles some really heavy issues. I love that the author kept the emotions messy - there’s a lot of indecision and confusion which totally makes sense given all the trauma. Besides, no relationship is perfect (duh) - that’s why it’s so satisfying when the MCs choose to work it out together. Also, I love being immersed in books not set in the US or UK, so an Australian book by an Australian writer - *chef’s kiss*! I look forward to more from Natalie Murray in the future.

I received a copy of this book from Allen & Unwin through NetGalley.

This was a nice reconnect book, friends to lovers . Is tactfully done, and I enjoyed quite a bit. The characters where nice and cut. And the chemistry was good. Thanks for allowing me to read this book really enjoyed.

I really enjoyed this book. It was so heartfelt and raw reading the love story of Josie and Zac. I felt like I could relate to Josie's anxiety with her health. I've dealt with health issues of my own and it can be tough when you're not feeling well and don't know why. I look forward to reading more of Natalie Murray's books.

This book is a DNF for me. I’m not going to post my review on Goodreads since many people seem to enjoy the book but I was not one of them. I found Josie to be an incredibly unlikeable character and didn’t feel she deserved to end up with Zac.

Josie and Zac have known each other for many years while living in Sydney and, while Zac asked her out once and she declined, they’ve remained close friends. After 14 years, their friendship seems to be in a holding pattern as once Zac moves to Newcastle, he has very little contact with Josie.

Josie is a newscaster and due to some online incidents, she’s sent to work in Newcastle and tries to rekindle the friendship with Zac. There is a lot of angst between Josie’s health anxiety and Zac’s grief in losing his fiancé’. With Zac determined to remain in Newcastle and Josie anxious to be able to return to work in Sydney, their developing relationship seems doomed.

This isn’t a light story with Zac and Josie’s various issues. Josie’s health anxiety was difficult to read as most of us worry about medical issues but not to the same extent where it seems to take over her life. At times, this heavy material was overwhelming. I appreciated the author’s note at the end of the story to explain why this topic was used.

While I sometimes struggled to get through this story, I enjoyed the past and present scenes, the text messages and the slow burn romance.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and enjoy a new-to-me author.

Love, Just In by Natalie Murray (comes out 3rd January) is a wonderful contemporary romcom. In fact, there is much more to this tale than its bright cover and promise of friends-to-lovers trope. Of course one always appreciates some steamy romance but to have some real in-depth, realistic issues addressed was a real game changer in my appreciation of this book.

‘It’s time to admit that my life isn’t made up of a series of adorable little ducks sitting in a perfect row. My ducks are injured and losing feathers, and one possibly has a bung eye, but that’s OK. That’s me, stumbling through life.’

Both Josie and Zac fit the bill as leading characters with the quick witted banter and fun encounters but it is balanced beautifully with some much heavier topics which bring a real credence to this book. Written from Josie’s point of view, readers are presented with the long term history of this friendship and how the feelings of both evolve over time. I really did like the ‘Colleen Hoover-esque’ epilogue from Zac’s POV which I thought was a winner.

‘… anxiety can affect anyone, anywhere - even when you’re doing something you love.’

So apart from all the romcom elements both Josie and Zac bring individual trauma’s to this friendship. That brings depth to these emotional connections with both elements of joy and sadness. For many, these traumas could be triggers, however, I found the love and honesty to be refreshing and encouraging. Some of the issues covered include health and cancer scares, living with anxiety and grief.

‘I need to stop thinking about what I’ve lost and start thinking about what I’ve found.’

All up I found Natalie’s book to be a truly thoughtful and a well considered narrative - a perfect balance of friendship and love, anxiety and honesty. This is a contemporary romance you will want to try and find yourself happy that you did.








This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

I enjoyed this Australian rom-com story. Zac and Josie have been best friends since high school. Two years ago he moved away from Sydney after his fiancee died in his arms and he's barely talked with her since. When she moves to his new hometown of Newcastle to cover another reporter's 6-month leave after she has a panic attack live on TV she looks forward to reconnecting with him. Soon they are reconnecting their friendship and dealing with their secret attraction to each other.

I found Josie annoying at first while dealing with her anxiety, but she slowly grew on me as did her relationship with Zac. It had some of my favorite tropes- friends to lovers and one of my least favorite is miscommunications. Altogether I enjoyed this sweet rom-com set in Australia.

Thanks to Netgalley, Allen, and Unwin, and the author for the ARC of this story.

Sydney TV news reporter Josie Larsen is still single and nearly 30. When she finds herself shipped off to a regional bureau in Newcastle due to a panic attack on live TV, she thinks her life has truly come to an end. Yet, when she bumps into Zac Jameson, her best friend since high school, her life changes. Zac has barely spoken to Josie for the past two years, as he has been struggling to cope after his fiancé tragically died in his arms in a car accident. Now thrown back into each other's lives, Josie and Zac’s relationship changes from friends to lovers, whilst they learn to also deal with their mental health.
This sweet love story unfolds amidst the personal struggles faced by both characters. The author dealt with their mental health concerns with great care and empathy whilst not allowing it to overwhelm the feeling between Josie and
Zac. This romance was touching with plenty of chemistry. A good read!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Love Just In," centers around the societal debate: can a man and a woman really just be best friends without falling in love? Can that relationship continue over a long period of time without one person gaining feelings for the other? Will one person knowingly, or unknowingly back away in fear of their feelings ruining a rock solid friendship?
Josie and Zac have been besties for high school, but after not seeing each other for two years, things get awkward when Josie moves to his town on a new job assignment. Upon reuniting their chemistry is off. Where they used to be self described "motormouths" around each other conversing about everything under the sun, now there is silence. The story flashes back as far as fifteen years ago, to the present day where Josie is overthinking each and every word from Zac's mouth. She is looking for a roommate, a place to live, the steps of forming a new life in a new town working up the ranks as a television news reporter. Zac is still friendly, and helpful however he can be, yet something is off. As they work towards rekindling their friendship and figuring out what it is in the present day, as well as their own personal dramas, the story develops. 
Thank you to Natalie Murray and Netgalley for this early read of a fantastic story. Can't wait to share with friends!

Natalie Murray’s Love, Just In is the strongest friends-to-lovers romance I’ve read in a while. Set in Australia, it features Josie Larsen, a tv news reporter who is trying to earn a promotion to a regular spot on her Sydney news station. After an on-air fumble, she’s moved temporarily to a Newcastle station where her long-time best friend Zac Jameson lives.

The problem? She and Zac haven’t talked—not really—for two years, not since a tragedy reshaped Zac’s life and caused his move. So, while Josie is left with the memory of their friendship, which began when, at 13, he became her first friend at her new school, she’s worried that a memory may be all that’s left.

Josie and Zac navigate the complexities of renovating a friendship that had always been effortless while balancing career changes and challenges. They’re also each dating other people: Josie is casually seeing Zac’s ex-roommate (Zac is *not* a fan), and Zac has been dating Josie’s direct competition at work.

There are hints as to the trauma that caused the rift in their relationship, but Murray takes a while to peel back the layers of that event. Earlier in the plot, however, the author explores Josie’s health anxiety, which is related to the deaths of her aunt and grandmother and is an issue that Josie is contending with throughout the novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed the development of Josie and Zac’s relationship, the history of which is revealed in intermittent flashbacks, and I thought the more complicated backstories for both characters were handled with great sensitivity and power. The subtle shift from friendship to romance is revealed beautifully, and I stayed up way, way too late to finish this compelling romance.

This was a great friends to lovers romance with just a touch of will they/won't they. Zac is definitely book boyfriend worthy although I did want Josie to get out of her own way several times. It got a bit too angsty at times but I did enjoy this book. Add to your TBR!

Love, Just In comes out next week on January 3, 2024 and you can purchase HERE.

I'd forgotten that the cutest sound in the world is Zac Jameson's laugh. The first time I heard it was when I secretly mimicked our Year Eight science teacher, Mr Rosebottom, who spoke painfully quietly and had a twitchy eye. Not kind, but hysterical to thirteen-year-old Zac. He'd laughed so hard that I'd suffered a fierce attack of the giggles too, and Mr Rosebottom had banned us from being lab partners for the rest of the term. Banished to the opposite side of the room, Zac would toss scrunched-up notes at me that said things like: 'Dare you to twitch your eye every time Rosebottom looks your way,' and 'Do you think he speaks so softly so he can hear the voices in his head better?'

Now, Zac's standing three feet away from me, yet it feels like twelve thousand.

Love, Just In is a contemporary romance based in Australia. It's very much friends to lovers, but also deals with a lot of heavy topics such as death of a loved one, guilt, and health anxiety.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but the first half was difficult to get through. I wasn't a fan of Josie and the decisions she was making. I stuck around because friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and I wanted to see how Josie and Zac's relationship developed. It took a bit longer than I would have liked, but it was worth the wait!

I really enjoyed and appreciated Josie and Zac's willingness to have difficult conversations about their relationship. It felt very authentic, especially with their distance, Zac's past, and the fact that they had been best friends for so long. High stakes, for sure!

I also really loved Zac's character. I was all in from the "Will you go out with me?" in the first flashback scene. It was so sweet! I am glad we got a bit of Zac's POV at the end. I felt it tied the story up nicely.

Thank you you NetGalley for the ARC!

- Friends to lovers
- Paramedic x reporter
- Second chance
- Forced proximity
- Set in Australia
- Slow burn
- Single POV

Love, Just In follows Josie and Zac. The former best friends drifted apart after Zac suffered a traumatic loss. So when Josie relocates from Sydney to where he lives for an assignment, she hopes they can reconnect and re-kindle their friendship.

What I liked:
- Good character depth: Josie suffers from health anxiety, which is often debilitating and holding her back from truly enjoying her life. Meanwhile, Zac is still suffering the effects of that past trauma, and he struggles to let Josie back into his life fully.
- The past and present chapters. I'm a sucker for a flashback!
- The angst. Their story was a lot more emotional than I expected, with tense and tender moments.
- The epilogue.

What I didn't like as much:
- It was very much a slow burn, but this also made it quite a slow-paced read for me.

But if you're looking for a contemporary romance that blends banter and heartwarming moments with grief and loss, check out Love, Just In.