Josie and Zac absolutely captured my heart. The romance was a slow burn but worth the wait as the characters were developed. Trigger warning- this book contains panic attacks related to health anxiety and cancer.
I found Josie's anxiety to be very relatable and appreciated the way Zac supported her and talked her down without judgement.
I appreciated the flashback scenes that showed the depth of their ling time relationship. Some books in this genre feel too superficial, but this one had real heart.
I highly recommend 👌 but grab some tissues and prepare for all the feels.

I hate to say it, but this was a DNF for me. I was just so confused and then I finally gave up. I found it hard to read with the single quotation marks too.

I stayed up until 2am reading this! I thought it was a great story, and relatable. There was a spelling error of “drink driving” instead of “drunk driving”. Overall it was a great read and I had to know what happened.

Let me start with I really liked this book! I had some struggles in the beginning but it was worth it. Josie and Zac’s chemistry was stellar. They truly cared for each other by being a shoulder to cry on and celebrating each others wins. The childhood flashbacks sprinkled though out the book were my favorite part! Oh and the epilogue! The bench scene! Ugh! Loved it so much!

Also, Josie’s illness anxiety resonated with me. It was a little jarring when the first few of inner thoughts appeared. I think it was towards the 50% mark when we found out why. I think we all to an extent have anxiety about our health so it was nice to have representation in this book.

Now some parts I struggled with were in the beginning. I just couldn’t get into this book and at the 20% mark I took a break. Josie’s wording was awkward. Some of the situations were hard to believe. The world building was good but I really wanted to know what made Newcastle special.

Don’t get me wrong, I ended up loving this book! I’m glad I pushed through and binged the rest of this book!

Song that reminds me of this book: Surrender by Natalie Taylor

WOW !! All the stars, I was so blown away by this friends to lovers romance. I am not even a big romance reader, but I loved this so much. I loved the characters, so well developed. You feel like you know them personally and are right along with them throughout the book. I also appreciated all the information on health anxiety. Not a lot of people talk about it. The flashbacks throughout their friendship were great. I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes romance or is willing to give romance a try! I am looking forward to reading more of Natalie Murray's books as soon as possible.


Thank you Netgalley and Allen and Unwin for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Aside from how often Zac's eyes changed colors, I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick and enjoyable read. Love, Just In is a delightful plunge into the intricacies of friendship and love. Josephine "Josie" Larsen's journey from self-doubt to self-discovery is both relatable and heartwarming. This friends-to-lovers tale explores the depths of grief, the nuances of mental health, and the undeniable pull of romantic attraction. The chemistry between Josie and her long-lost best friend, Zac Jameson, is palpable, keeping readers engaged and rooting for their love story. With its witty dialogues, engaging characters, and expertly crafted plot, Love, Just In is a perfect addition to the romance genre.

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. A fantastic friends-to-lovers romance with depth. If you love novels by Emily Henry and Christina Lauren, you’ll love this book!

I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher.

Wow - I picked this up thinking it was going to be just a fun, light romance.

Nope! It was filled with serious issues {anxiety, cancer, trauma, and grief} and big emotions related to those issues. What a delightful surprise that this was more than a fluffy book.

The main characters {Josie & Zac} are relatable. Their friendship is beautiful and this story is amazing. Definitely add to your to be read list!

Love, Just In feels like a warm hug of nostalgic childhood crushes combined with the representation of how health anxiety plays a massive roles in so many people’s lives. Murray’s depiction of Sydney and Newcastle adds great depth to her storytelling as native Australians will be able to recognise many descriptions. The dual perspective between then and now allows the readers to deeply connect with the feelings of the main characters while still keeping the flow of the book.

A cute friends-to-lovers romance. Josie and Zac have a lot of chemistry and interesting jobs (TV news reporter and paramedic, respectively). The most compelling aspect of the plot to me was Josie’s health anxiety and how it affects her overall state of mind, decision-making, and career. The novel is arguably too long with too much ‘will they, won’t they’ and some inconsistent character behaviors/reactions. However, there is still plenty to enjoy if you are in the mood for a rom-com/drama between best friends set in Australia!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Unfortunately I didn’t finish this book. I really tried. I got 52% but couldn’t do it. It was confusing that every other chapter was a flashback. 14 years, 5 years, 8 years, one year, two years. There was no rhyme or reason. She didn’t like the guy she was dating but let him kiss her face off and drink too much then drive her around. Then she unfortunately thought she was dying of cancer because she looked on the internet. Then there was the roommate from hell. How she stayed longer than one night was beyond me. I kept waiting for it to make sense but it didn’t. Zac was the saving grace in the book but even their relationship was strange too.

Five stars! This one was pure love from start to finish. This novel told the story of Josie and Zac, childhood best friends who reunite under challenging circumstances, and it is clear their story is far from finished. Both characters have backstories with depth and layers that we learn as the novel unfolds.The story focuses on present day, but the reader is invited into a few flashbacks to Josie and Zac's early friendship days. I loved every minute of Josie and Zac. Their love story felt like a sweet hug while never becoming too saccharine. I will recommend this to friends and pick up the next book Murray writes!

Fans of Emily Henry, Annabel Monaghan, or Abby Jimenez.

A great book about friends to lovers with predictable plot points but a few twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. Both characters make you laugh, make you cry, and make you ache at times but love them for who they are in the end. This book also dives into mental health and how society needs to take better care of our mental health in all aspects. Situational fear is a real thing that often gets overlooked but Murray does a good job at showing how important loved ones are needed to combat it. Highly recommend this book.

Love, Just In by Natalie Murray is a constant struggle with misunderstandings, bad timing, and poor choices. Two people who were obviously meant for each other, just couldn’t make their lives click. The conflict was unrelenting despite the two main characters obviously being meant for each other. My complaint was that Josie was stubbornly stupid about Lindsay, whom she never really cared about—hard to believe.

I loved the way Natalie Murray wove the plot between the present and different times in the past so seamlessly. The characters were believable because they all had their own challenges that affected their behavior. This is a book I had a hard time putting down because it was so beautifully written.

loved this romance that starts as a friends to lovers and the different time periods when they really did like each other. I liked that she found a place to start over and then they started back up and trying to navigate their friendship and relationship. interesting dealing with mental health and cancer and health anxiety . Loved his nickname for her " sunbeam" and they had a back up plan pact and loved her friend.

I LOVED this book. Yanked me from a romance reading slump and made me wish I could move to an Australian beach town. Leaning hard into Emily Henry comps so often backfires, but, like PWMOV, this felt like an honest friendship between two real, complicated people, and their progression from friendship to love was full of yearning and honest conversation that respected their history together.

I feel like short is better when recommending a book, so I'll just say the romance really landed for me, as did Josie's struggle with her career and her anxiety. The inclusion and exploration of Josie's intrusive thoughts and the discussion around therapy and medication to manage them was authentic and felt so important.

Also, Zac is hottttttttttt. Hot hot hot in the best romance hero ways--sensitive, thoughtful, kinda dirty, and, duh, hot. Love him.

I'm rating this four stars, though it was probably more 3 1/2. I liked Zac very much and Josie was okay, though somewhat immature. I'm okay with books where the MMC and FMC start with other partners, but in this one I felt like it went on too long, and I'm rarely a fan of the third act misunderstanding. That being said, I was definitely rooting for them.

3.5 stars rounded up. I struggled with how to rate this one because it’s not a preferred trope for me, but in all fairness it’s right in the blurb that was present when I was requesting an ARC. It’s very much in the same vein as Emily Henry’s ‘…on Vacation’ (US or UK title varies), so while that’s my least favorite EmHen, this would be right up anyone’s alley who love that one.

This is a story of friends-to-lovers between Josie and Zac told in a present day timeline alternating with flashbacks to various times in the past. When Josie gets sent on an extended assignment to a news station in the same town as Zac, it has been two years since the best friends have seen each other. Zac has been coping with a tragic loss and Josie has been trying to carve her place in the news world. They both have a lot to sort individually and together as they try to find a happily ever after.

Friends to lovers when both the main characters are dating or in committed relationships with others for over half the book doesn’t do it for me, so that’s where I really struggled here. I needed more of just the two of them acknowledging their feelings and more one-on-one tension. The flashback chapters gave a window into their past and their friendship over the years, but more often than not they just took me out of the story. However, things improved in the second half of the book when they really started to feel out the changing landscape of their friendship.

I also want to acknowledge and appreciate the topic of health anxiety being spotlighted through Josie. It’s a very real thing and not one that is represented often, so I thought it was something important and unique to be included as part of who Josie was.

I have no complaints about the writing here.
The book was well written and had good character development. While it’s not my personal favorite trope to explore, overall it was well done.

I really liked this romantic comedy. It definitely was a delight. I adored the characters. They weee well deviled. Thank you netgalley for giving me this opportunity. I will be telling all my people about this book.