I found this one to be incredibly cute and adorable and emotional. Do not go into it thinking it's a Hallmark-type feel-good read. Oh no! These characters are extremely well-developed and complex and carry a serious amount of baggage, unresolved trauma and mental health issues. If you love the friends-to-lovers troupe, this emotional read will surely pull at your heartstrings and will have you rooting for Zac and Josie every step of the way. A huge thanks to NetGalley, Allen & Unwin and the author for the gifted ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Love, Just In by Natalie Murray
Publish date: Jan 03, 2034

I really just adore when a book completely surprises you and this book seriously caught me off guard in the best way possible.

Now, it started off a little rough, I won’t lie. But that’s where the delightful surprise comes in. There’s so many things about this book that I just adored.

The switch between past and present was so enjoyable, I loved that there would be little mentions of a certain thing that happened in the past and then later you got the full past pov of that happening. Every single one of Zac’s silly t-shirts had me smiling. And let’s talk about the health anxiety rep. Wow. I truly felt so seen and just connected with Josie on a whole new level than usual, it was fantastic and real and so raw.

I think one thing that really stood out about this is how realistic the characters felt. Especially towards the end, when both Zac and Josie need time away from each other and are considering this thing between them might not work out.
It just felt like something that would happen outside of a romance book and I loved that aspect. There was just something so beautiful about being able to read their journey.

This book really stole my heart and took me through a whirlwind of emotions and captivated me so heavily I was in emotional DISTRESS over these two’s story! I cried, I laughed, I gushed over how cute Josie and Zac are and I found yet another book that I will forever hold close to my heart.

Thank you so much to Natalie, the publishers & Netgalley for this ARC.

Thank you Allen & Unwin for the ARC of Love, Just In. I was so excited to read this because it hit so many of my favorite tropes in a fell-good romance: friends to lovers, he fell first, cinnamon roll boyfriend.

What worked in the story: Zac’s incredibly tragic backstory, the healing process, and underlying reason for the conflict. Josie’s rejection of him a young teen, their lifelong “best friend” push and pull, their “back up plan” pact. Her grief over loosing her family members and the roadblocks she had reporting on the topic. The super hot open door spice.

What didn’t work: The grief having the effect which turned into health anxiety adding an entirely different storyline to follow. If I could revise the story, I’d step that storyline down to grief and fear over it happening to her and perhaps make the health anxiety (which I think is an important story to tell) the main conflict in a different book, but here it became too busy, too much conflict. It kept it from feeling like a romance and made it feel more like women’s lit. So much conflict it became a bit un-swoony which is unfortunate for a romance that grew 14 years in the making.

Overall I liked it a lot and I’d give it 4/5.

Wow. This one was so much more than I expected. I love a great friends-to-lovers trope. This one did not disappoint, but it was so much more than that. Zac and Josie have been best friends since they were 13. Pulled apart by tragedy, and brought together again by circumstances, they fight to gain back their lifelong friendship and mend the past. What happens when feelings change, or where they there all along? Natalie's writing is fantastic, pulls you in from the start, never lets go, makes you fall in love with these characters, and I definitely lost some sleep staying up late to see what would happen! For romance lovers, this is one not to miss!! Thanks so much to Natalie Murray, the publishers, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this advance review copy!

this book was lost in my kindle so I have not yet read it--didn't know it was there till I got this email. I will read and report back!

Josie moves to the town her former best friend lives in for work. She sees it as the opportunity for them to reconnect but didn't realize how far they could go reconnecting.

The Australian based romance may look like a romcom but it is much more serious than that. Josie and Zac have been through so much in their lives that it changes and affects so much around them, including their own relationship. A lot is held back early in the book but needless to say, once things start coming out, you feel so much for both of them and their missed opportunities.

Make sure you go into this knowing it will make you very sad at times and break your heart in others.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted copy. My reviews are always honest.

I really wanted to love Love, Just In, especially since the mc’s anxiety is very similar to my own, but unfortunately just didn’t connect well with the story.

I absolutely loved this friends-to-lovers romance! I’d say it’d make a great summer read (which it is in Australia where it takes place) but for those of us in the US it’s a great way to spice up a cold winter night! I could not put this one down!
The subplots and some of the traumas that the main characters are working through are quite serious but never took away from the care and love that these two best friends have for each other, despite their distance in the past several years. Sydney news reporter, Josie Larsen is sent to Newcastle on assignment loan and as punishment for botching a live broadcast. Coinsidently, her best friend since high school, Zac Jameson had previously moved to Newcastle. Instead of this being a happy reunion though, the two friends had hardly spoken in two years, cause Josie some anxiety when reaching out.
This was a fun and heartwarming story, with two very likeable characters who you won’t be able to help but root for! Zac is just a dream of a guy, and I loved him as a main character! I was always interested in journalism and appreciated the peek inside the competitive industry and the balancing act that on the scene reporters must make. I also appreciated the author including her own issue of Health Anxiety into the storyline. Not a term I was familiar with, but something I think that touches each of us but usually in a much lesser way than what I now realize some people suffer.

I just could not get into Love, Just In. I don’t feel like it’s completely fair to judge it since I am someone who has anxiety, and a good chunk of the premise is about a woman with health anxiety. The last thing I want to do is read about someone else’s fears. Yet I also didn’t connect at all with either character. I didn’t love the writing and there was nothing for me to grasp onto to get me into the story. All in all, I just didn’t enjoy this one.

A friends to lovers romance. I enjoyed the characters in this story. I thought health storyline line brought awareness to the condition. There was only one really spicy scene.

Love, Just In by Natalie Murray is a delightful read with great characters. While the story was probably quite predictable it still had lots of twists that kept you interested in where it was going. Josie and Zac were interesting and were very believable and realistic. Well written and while the going back and forth between time periods, was at times annoying, overall the plot was well developed.

I loved the fact that the author used this story to highlight a health anxiety mental illness and to share this with her readers.

An enjoyable read with a lot of positive energy. Recommended read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from Allen & Unwin Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#Love,JustIn #NetGalley

I wish this book was dual POV. I liked it but I didn’t love it.

I wanted to grab the FMC and scream some sense into her more often than not.

The conflict would’ve been solved if the 2 main characters stopped dancing around each other. That being said, it was insightful and full of depth.

dnf @ 15%

The premise of this sounded promising, especially with the Emily Henry comparison. Unfortunately, I can't get into the writing and feel absolutely nothing for either of the main characters.

I really enjoyed Love, Just In. This was my first time reading a book by Natalie Murray and I will definitely be picking up more from her. This romantic comedy is well-written and goes much deeper than a love story, giving us complex and well-developed characters, each with issues of their own, to which I believe a lot of readers will relate. And of course I must mention the sizzling chemistry. I couldn’t put this one down!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy.

Very enjoyable friend to lovers story that begins in childhood. Zac and Josie,best friends in and out of each others lives, now closing in on 30. He more steadfast,she the flakier one, now each dealing with their own anxieties and trauma.
Lots of missed signals and things unsaid sometimes to the point of annoyance. Yet even as this story can be frustrating it’s also good and the ending will leave you bleary eyed with 🖤

I really enjoyed this book, it was incredible to read about places I am completely familiar and to see mentions of the places I grew up! I think it was written really well. Josie was completely relatable.

Love, Just In by Natalie Murray

Australia's answer to Emily Henry has just taken me on the most beautiful, heartfelt, moving, friends-to-lovers journey.

Whilst working through some seriously hard issues, the chemistry and build up is sexy as hell. And, phew, Zac is my new book boyfriend.

Thank you netgalley for the early copy. I will be recommending this to everyone this summer!

I always love a friends to lovers story line. I especially appreciated how this book highlighted anxiety and it's hold over some people. Loved this story!

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this one early!

i have started to appreciate friends to lovers a lot more with how they suddenly realize that there is more than friendship there. i appreciated the health anxiety representation as well! i do think this story was a lot sadder than the blurb let on and i think i spent a lot of time stressed out. i know romance doesn’t always have to be rainbows and butterflies but i think the blurb definitely didn’t give us the right vibes that were actually there and i went in thinking this was an easier read.

Great book. The pace was a little slower than I liked, but the writing and story line were great! I would recommend this to friends.