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.

A pretty easy, quick read that was enjoyable if not super memorable. I liked the inclusion of some heavier and more unique topics that aren't in romance as much, but honestly I felt like the chemistry between the two characters was a bit lacking. Overall, good but not great.

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While the premise of this book and the characters were intriguing, (it would have been the first Australian romance I've read, as well as an insight into jobs that I haven't seen in many books before), unfortunately I didn't click with the author's writing style enough to want to continue after about 16% of the novel.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to have read some of this, since I hadn't heard of the author or the book before the Netgalley promotion. Thanks for introducing it to me!

*I am rating what I read three stars, as I found it quick to read, and interesting/entertaining even though the writing was ultimately not for me.

What a super cute book!! I read this so fast, I didn't want to put it down. This is the perfect friends to lovers, dealing with some difficult mental health issues, as well as some past trauma. The way this was tackled in the book was fantastic, and in the author's note at the end of the book, we learn that it is from lived experience.

Josie and Zac are fricken cute, and Zac in particular is a bit of a dream. This is an Aussie based story, which made me like it even more! Plus there's some great insight into working in broadcasting in Australia.

The characters have a lot of complexities and their daily difficulties made you root for them.

This book has:
Childhood friends to lovers
Mental health rep
Forced proximity
Protective MMC

I loved this book, and would very happily read more by Natalie Murray.

I loved this book. It was a slow burn with a will they won’t they aspect. The only think I wish it had was duel pov so we could have gotten Zac’s version of how things happened.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! As a rom-com lover, I’ve read my fair share of the genre, and definitely agree that it’s on par with the popular Emily Henry books. As an enemies-to-lovers girl, friends-to-lovers can be hard for me to get on board with, but this had just enough push and pull between the two friends to keep me on my toes. I also appreciated the realness of the main character - the story felt like what you want in a romance without being “eye-roll” level improbable. I gave this 4 stars!

I had a hard time getting into this one, but I'm so glad I stuck it out! I absolutely love friends to lovers' stories. And the sexual chemistry was on fire. I had a hard time because of the heroine, but the author explained in the authors note that health anxiety is a real thing. I had just never heard of that before and experienced it with anyone. I just had a hard time with the fact that Josie was so freaked out that she was going to die at any moment and relegated every single thing that was going on with her body to cancer, but once I got into the book and the chemistry going on between Josie and Zac, the pages flew by. The other aspect of the book I did not like was how Murray handled the backstory. Every other chapter we had to go back 14 or so years to when they were friends at Uni and how Zac had this huge crush on Josie. I skipped over those chapters because they were long and not really helpful in moving the story along, it would have been better I think if Murray just interweaved bits of the backstory throughout the present. Oh and the last part that kind of rubbed me the wrong way and feel I have to mention is that Josie was going to move bac to Sydney and break up with Zac in the end. That didn't sit well with me because isn't this supposed to be a romance? Isn't love supposed to take precedence over a career? But she stayed in Newcastle because a job opened up there for her. And that's the only reason they stayed together.


If it sounds like I didn't like this book, you have me wrong. There were aspects I didn't like but overall, I loved reading Zac and Josie's story. I love how detailed to was and descriptive. and I love that there was a dog in there as well.

A lovely friends to lovers rom com with all the feels!

Josie and Zac met with they were 13 and she was the new kid in school. On that first day, she was lonely and he was a sweetheart and they’ve been best friends ever since. He fell for her when they were kids and asked her out when they were 14 but she said no out of fear of losing their friendship. And he accepted it and said that he’d never ask again. And so they stayed friends through it all high school, university, Zac’s engagement. But two years ago, their world changed when Zac lost his fiancé in a car accident. He moved away and grew distant. And Josie misses her best friend. Fortunately, her job is transferring her to Newcastle for 6 mos and that just happens to be where Zac lives now. And so they’re back together again….Sunbeam and favourite. But it’s not the same, he’s acting strange and she’s feeling different and things have to change right? You’ll have to read to find out!

Such a well written story with the perfect amount of spice, angst, and fun plus flashbacks sprinkled in of all the key tingly moments throughout their 14 year history that make you root for them. Guaranteed you won’t be able to put it down….highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

This was excellent! I'll be honest in that it took me a little while to get into, but once we started to see more of the character development, and connections, I couldn't put it down. If you enjoyed "People we Meet on Vacation," you will likely love this one as well!

Love, Just In by Natalie Murray follows the friendship of Zac and Josie as they navigate seeing each other after a two year lapse in their friendship. Zac and Josie had been friends since school days and we're always close. Then Zac's fiancee Tara died in his arms in a car crash and he stopped talking to Josie, and there was no way for her to comfort him. When Josie is sent to Zac's town as a punishment for freezing on air at her news job, they meet for the first time since Tara's death. The story turns into a very awkward friends to lovers to friends dance that will keep you turning the pages!
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

What an absolutely wonderful friends to lovers book! I was excited to read a book set in Australia and to read about places that I know about was so refreshing to see.

The main characters Josie and Zac, were best friends growing up but drifted apart after a tragedy. Once they were reunited they needed to reignite the friendship they once shared.

This was a slooow burn but this makes sense with the context of going from friends to lovers. There was a lot of fantastic angst and pining (ohh angst and pining!) along with the flirting and the push and pull that drew me in something fierce. The story made me feel quite emotional with everything they were dealing with. Josie with her crippling health anxieties and Zac with a trauma in his past. It was so heart warming to see them help each other through and I loved them together. It was such a beautiful story with great mental health representation and the banter between Josie and Zac was so much fun.

Also the charm bracelet. That made my heart melt :)

If you love friends to lovers, a slow burn romance, mental health rep, fun banter, and a story set in Australia, definitely check this one out!

CW: death, anxiety, grief and trauma

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

I always love a book set in Australia/written by an Aussie author and Natalie Murray did not disappoint.

News reporter Josie Larsen has spent the last two years without her best friend Zac Jameson after tragedy drove a wedge into their friendships. They start to reconnect after Josie’s work brings her to Zac’s new home town for six months by chance. But there’s been a lot of water under the bridge for these two and there’s some heavy wading to do before they can really be honest about how much they mean to each other.

This book was really fun, the main characters were likeable and a friends to lovers trope is always wholesome. It was a bit of a slower start and I didn’t really get that ‘don’t want to put it down’ feeling until about 1/3 of the way through. The book has some heavy topics (sudden death, cancer, health anxiety, shame and fear) and it’s not very long so it’s a nice quick read. Character descriptions are fabulous and I loved some of the characters little quirks.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved the way the chapters alternate between the past and present. It really gave you a good look at Josie and Zac's friendship throughout the years. But I didn't love the start. It was very slow and I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it.

Overall, this was a sweet and enjoyable romance that is set in my hometown of Newcastle 🙌 Whilst it will give you all the feels, it also needs a trigger warning for the mental health struggles that are portrayed throughout the book. I'm really looking forward to reading more from Natalie!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book.