Friends to lover troupes are my favorite. Toss in dual timelines and I’m there! The detailed back story with incredibly relatable and layered characters made this story that much harder to put down. The author included heavier themes surrounding mental health and alcohol while handling them with thoughtfulness. It was an immersive experience filled with inside jokes and clever bantering between the two characters that had me rooting for them.

Murray's writing style is engaging and fluid, making Love, Just In a really enjoyable read. The pacing is well-balanced, and the plot twists keep the reader guessing. The book is filled with moments of humor, heartache, and joy, creating an emotional rollercoaster that will keep readers hooked from start to finish.

I relly enjoyed this one. I thought the plot was really cute. If you like Emily Henry books then you will like this one. Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me a copy to review!

This book had me hooked from start to finish! The friends-to-lovers plot? Totally my new favorite trope

Good vacation read - friends to lovers is always a good trope. Especially non-US authors. Reporter is a convenient plot point to move people around.

This was a friends to lovers romance that had grief, anxiety, and guilt fueling it. Zac and Josie have been best friends for 14 years, but haven’t seen each other in two since Zac moved to Newcastle. Josie moves to Newcastle for 6 months due to a mishap on air at her news station job. Zac is a little distant with her and she makes it her mission to rekindle their friendship, and finds herself coming to terms with feelings for him instead.

I struggled with what to rate this one. I liked the writing style and I enjoyed the flashbacks though other reviewers did not. I also thought the mental health and anxiety rep was done well here. I guess part of me didn’t buy their uncertainty about their friendship and feelings for each other. They had the same conversation at least three times, where Josie believes Zac doesn’t want her even though he’s told her he does. He just has to protect himself. I also thought the random people they both date in the beginning were unnecessary, and the their conflicts being resolved immediately (initially at least) were a little unnerving.

Overall I thought it was okay, but it isn’t one that will sit with me for a long time- this could be a quick beach read or a lazy Sunday read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for honest review.

Such a sweet emotional book. Extremely relatable plot line that was easy to follow. I absolutely loved it

I love that I could see into her mindset and read exactly what she was feeling when she thought out situations. Her thoughts flowed well and moved the book along very quickly. Cassandra's narrative voice is wonderful. She is serious at times, but also very witty, which makes for an engaging read.

This is a second chance romance where to best friends get another chance with each other.

I think the story could have benefited from dual POVs as I didn't take to Josie that much. The story was also a little too slow burn for me.

A sweet story with an nice message, but with the mental health aspect, I was expecting a more emotional punch.

I received an ARC of this book. All the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Best friends since high school, Josie and Zac are reunited after two years of not communicating, following the death of Zac's fiancé. He is grieving and guilt-ridden, and Josie is dealing with crippling health anxiety, which is impacting her career. Great premise, and well-written, but I found myself often annoyed by Josie, who just kept making bad decisions and ignoring the good advice she was getting. For best friends, it took them a long, long time to get to the important conversations they needed to have, and for Josie to even ask Zac about his grieving process. That said, the writing about grief and anxiety was handled well, and tenderly. And the ending was sweet and satisfying. The story takes place in Australia, Sydney and Newcastle

This book was okay.
It felt pretty slow. You wanted to yell at the characters to get together already.

It was cute but I think if it was faster paced it would have been a better read

This is a best friends-to-lovers romance between Josie and Zac, although the two have not seen each other (and barely spoken) in two years. Zac is dealing with losing his fiancee and Josie is dealing with severe health anxiety.

This book was a struggle for me. I would up liking it, but I initially wanted to DNF it and only pushed through because it was an arc. It was hard to get into when they were both dating OW and OM for almost half of the book. I knew there would be OW drama to an extent due to his late fiancee, but also adding in another woman in the present timeline was overkill. "It's always been you" is also a very hard trope for me to believe because they were both dating other people the entire time they knew one another. He was engaged to another woman. Even in the present that's an issue.

I did end up enjoying the second half of the book after that was over. I liked when it focused more on the two of them, their pasts, and their individual mental health issues.

~2.75-3/5

I have very mixed feelings on this book. Love, Just In follows our main character, Josie, as she reconnects with her childhood best friend, Zac, whilst also juggling work stress and health anxiety.

I really liked the health anxiety rep. I have suffered from this and I appreciated it being shown here. I also enjoyed the tension between the two main characters. However, I feel like it took me a really long time to get into, and even when I was into it I would go through hot and cold moments where I felt like I was having a really good time, and then I really wasn't. I think Josie was a little on the annoying side, and I did not enjoy the spice at all (feels like the MMC's personality switched up a lot during them). The flashbacks were somewhat similar to Emily Henry's people we meet on vacation, which is not a book I enjoyed much either, so perhaps it is just a writing style preference. I can definitely see this being a book many people would enjoy.

Josie and Zac have been best friends since they were fourteen, but they have never taken the step beyond friendship into something more. When Zac’s fiancée tragically died in a car accident two years ago, however, everything changed. Zac moved away, he and Josie stopped talking, and Josie herself became wrapped up in the terrible thought that she, too, would die young. But fate reconnects the two in a small town two hours from Sydney, and it is there that Zac and Josie begin rebuilding their friendship and ultimately discover what was waiting for them all along.

This charming, slow burning friends to lovers romance incorporates a wide range of feelings throughout its delivery. Jealousy, anger, grief, and humor are just some of the layers that find their way into the story, and each one makes the narrative more enjoyable. Told in the first person from Josie’s perspective, the reader gets a clear view into her thoughts, feelings, and anxieties, but everyone else only becomes more visible when they interact with her directly. Josie is a significantly flawed character, but through her experiences and her willingness to finally open herself to her true feelings, she is able to emerge stronger than ever before.

The story unfolds as a series of flashbacks interspersed within a present-day narrative, which gives readers insight into the characters’ backstory in an intriguing and piecemeal way. This permits the momentum of the novel to continue in a forward direction while still providing essential context at opportune moments. Though the romance is slow-burning to begin with, there are frequent references to sexual acts and observations featuring other characters, and the heat between Josie and Zac sizzles as the story progresses. Altogether, this is an enjoyable novel that will satisfy both readers who appreciate steamy romances and those who value the plethora of emotions that affect the human spirit.

I had seen some good reviews for this book so I was excited to get the ARC but it just wasn't for me. I think I am not a fan of friends to lovers. I feel like I read this book the entire month of November. I would just read a chapter here and there. I was not getting pulled in at all at the beginning. When I read a romance I do not want to read about the main characters dating other people. Half the book was them with other people so I did not start getting interested until toward the end. This book takes place in Australia. Josie and Zac have been best friends for a long time. They were even roommates at university. Zac sadly lost his fiance and had to move away from Sidney and stopped talking to Josie. She did not understand why he just stopped talking to her. Well, it is 2 years later and she is moving to his town for 6 months for her work and they will see each other again. She has no idea if it will be awkward or not. They strike back up their friendship, but both start dating other people while having feelings for each other. I will say I appreciated that Josie knew they had to talk about real things. She was going to be moving back to Sydney so what would their relationship look like in the future? Also Josie has health anxiety. Zac already lost someone he loved so what would happen if they get together and then she dies. She has cancer in her family and is constantly worried about herself getting it. I suffer with anxiety so I totally understood her fears even if some of them were irrational. She definitely had things to work through. So I liked the second half better but overall it was okay for me.

-"...when we become very afraid of something ending, nothing else can really begin."

-"Just remember that when you're afraid, the fear is often worse than the danger itself."

-...but I understand for the first time that I'm not a screw-up. I have a condition that's diagnosable and treatable.

Love, Just In by Natalie Murray offers a refreshing take on romance with its unique plot twists and authentic character dynamics. I particularly enjoyed the author’s captivating writing style, how she skillfully navigates emotions, and the Australian setting. Overall, a solid read for anyone craving a heartwarming love story with a hint of unpredictability.

Three Stars! ***

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Love, Just In has alternating past and present timelines which made it difficult for me to get into. Josie and Zac are long time best friends who have lost touch and reconnect when Josies moves to Newcastle for work. There are some heavy topics. The concept of Josie having health anxiety isn't something I've read much so I liked that. Overall, Josie was too wishy-washy for me. Her voice seemed too immature for a 30 year old. She just seemed too boy crazy.

This was a just OK read for me.

3.75 reporter anxiety stars

I enjoyed this one with Josie Larsen as our main character. Josie’s on track to be a TV anchor in Sydney until she blows an on-air opportunity with a panic attack. She’s sent to a smaller town to see if she can pull herself together.

It just so happens that she’s sent to Newcastle, which is the town where her best friend Zac lives. However, they’ve been estranged for the last two years after he lost his fiancée. Will this give them a chance to patch up their friendship?

As Josie and Zac grew closer, I wondered what would happen when her time was up in Newcastle. I was rooting for them, but there were a lot of roadblocks in the way, starting with acknowledging their real feelings.

I enjoyed this “friends to lovers” story and thought it had good complexity. Josie has health anxiety, and this made for a compelling read. This isn’t an anxiety I know much about, so I found it fascinating. I also enjoyed the angle of Josie being an on-air personality, reading and reporting the news.

I have not read a book that surrounds a character with health anxiety before, but I feel that the author did a fantastic job allowing that to be a focus of the book while not allowing it to be the only thing we see in Josie. The balance her having a career that puts her front and center and forces her to face those fears and sometimes not be able to push pass the anxiety made her feel real. The quick wit, humor, and banter we get to see from her also makes her a lovable character, but one that isn't without flaws (and we get to see those).

Seeing her and Zac come together and rekindle their friendship and allow it to potentially grow into something more was a fun ride, but it didn't come without stress or tension. NM also did a great job showing how 14+ years of friendship between Zac and Josie could evolve while remaining the same and highlighting the fears that can come along with the possibility of seeing your best friend as more.

Love, Just In was a breath of fresh air. It is a well written friends to lovers novel, but tackles themes of grief, anxiety, and overall mental health. I really liked the representation in that aspect, but I can see how some of the main characters decision making throughout the book could trigger some feelings. This book made me smile and made me cry, which I really look for in a book. It made me feel all of the emotions and would recommend it to anyone!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

I was lucky enough to receive this ARC and wow it was an absolute gem!! I would definitely rate it with the likes of Emily Henry and Tess Bailey.

The story follows Josie and Zac, friends since they were 14 and the story is written in past and present context.

I simply adored the characters and the effort put in to create their rich backstory, it was so detailed and you could really connect to the characters and their past.

I couldn't put it down and devoured it quite quickly, I am very much looking forward to seeing what comes from Natalie Murray in the future!