Josie Larsen is a Sydney TV news reporter. She finds her life is at a bit of a stand still while everyone else’s lives seem to move forward. She has a panic attack on air. She gets banished to Newcastle by the TV station . Zac, her best friend since high school who she hasn’t spoken to in a couple of years, is also there. They reignite their friendship and find that they have new feelings for each other.

Josie suffers from anxiety owing to her family’s medical history, which is what caused her to panic on TV. She trues to revisit the past with Zac, adding another emotional layer to the friendship. She has a feeling of caution about developing things though.

Zac has his own personal issues, one of which is a fiancée who passed away tragically. He feels guilty because of his romantic feelings towards Josie.

I liked the characters in this story. I would recommend this book to others.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Love, Just In
Things I liked: I think it’s great the author had a character with health anxiety. I didn’t relate to it personally, but I’m sure many readers will be appreciative of feeling represented! Also, some of the banter was fine. My favorite part was when Zac said he might have to ask for forgiveness if he kisses Josie and Josie said “I forgive you” YES loved that so much. I liked the behind the scenes of what it’s like to be a reporter, and Josie has very human moments while still nailing her job. Spoiler ahead: I loved the twist that he and Tara broke up before she passed. It made it easier to believe that Josie was #1 instead of runner up.

Things I didn’t enjoy: I didn’t connect with Josie and Zac at all. Josie was so immature, some of the things she said or asked Zac felt so cringe to me, and her overt flirting while Zac had a girlfriend felt wrong. It also felt out of character for her accept Zac not talking to her for 2 years. Zac was just kind of bland to me. I think most of the flashbacks goes me understand their friendship a little more, but I didn’t like the jumping around on the timeline. It DID make sense for the “now” parts of the stories, but I had trouble keeping up with where they were in life.

I liked this a lot. It filled the Emily Henry sized hole in my heart (well, like half way. Because let’s be real that a BIG hole). It was heavy and gave ME medical anxiety and also I wish we had less flashback scenes and more now scenes but it’s fine. It was a slow burn friends to lovers that somehow worked for me despite me hating slow burns.

This book had Emily Henry vibes and i’m here for it.
It feels as though it is not just a romance but also a literary women’s fiction novel as well.
It was definitely better that the synopsis made it out to be.
The push and the pull, the banter, the chemistry.. all were done so well imo.

This was a good romance that deals with so many serious issues. Josie the fmc, is a newsreporter who struggles with health anxiety and seeing people in her life with cancer. Zac, the mmc is a paramedic who is dealing with grief and past trauma. They are also childhood best friends who drifted apart because of different things in the past. When Josie moves to the city that Zac is in, we see them start to rekindle their friendship even though things are different than it was in the past. This is written in Josie's pov with present and different past chapters, and we see how their friendship started, the more than friendship feelings about each other and events in their lives that have shaped them. The romance was cute, but it's a slow burn, there's some miscommunication and a lot of angst. I really liked the portrayal of health anxiety because I've been there, and I related a lot with Josie. I did want to see more of them together without any conflict, but overall, this was a very solid romance with real issues.

Tropes/themes:
- Childhood friends to lovers
- Australian setting
- Mental health and anxiety rep
- Healing from grief and loss
- Some steamy scenes

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc for an honest review.

One word to describe this book…angsty. Josie and Zac are childhood friends who faced a traumatic event and went their separate ways. Work takes Josie to the city Zac now calls home and after years apart they reconnect. While it isn’t easy to rekindle their friendship, they finally fall back into their old ways. There’s always been an attraction and now circumstances seem “right”. But life isn’t as it seems on the outside for either of them and both are hiding true feelings. Josie is keeping what she feels is the biggest secret.

This book took me a little while to get into even though I did love how the very beginning grabbed me. The hidden feelings and all of the worry about how the other was feeling got a little old but once I got to the middle of the story I was invested. Mental health is no joke so seeing life through Josie’s eyes, while difficult, is reality and I appreciated the author bringing it to life.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book a little early.

This is a sweet friends to lovers story about two best friends who have been pulled apart by their own tragedies and struggles finding their way back to each other. I loved everything about this story- down to all the new Australian terms sprinkled throughout the book. Josie's struggle with health anxiety is relatable and authentically written. Zac is immediately loveable and your heart aches for him throughout the whole book. Fans of Emily Henry, Christina Lauren, and Carly Fortune will love this book!

I loved the storyline and how the author painted the fictional reality of these characters. Tho the story takes it's time to build and you feel the anxiety and mounting fears and pressures for how they are going to overcome these challenges. And, this story was totally filled with so many of them. It has has had my heart racing. It deserves nothing but full 5 stars. I so loved this book!

Not my favorite
Felt a little like wanted to tackle so many things that the story didn’t grip me. Characters didn’t either so it was a cute love story and the resolution was solid

The pacing and the gradual development and easiness in their relationship followed by the cute moments was just chefs kiss good. Plus, I loved the hero for being so patient, caring. The heroine was fun, relatable and entertaining too!

I requested this book as I loved the premise and the cover just hooked me in.
The story definitely had potential but in the end it was not really for me.
I was confused for part of the book, especially with the panic attacks that Josie had regarding cancer. The back story for that just came a bit too late for me in the book.
I did enjoy the chapters set in the past which showed how their friendship grew over time.
But then Zach ghosted Josie for two years and she basically just accepted it instead of going up to Newcastle to demand answers. Just didn't fit for me with the friendship that they have shared the majority of their lives.
I would have also liked more internal dialogue of Josie as we are reading from her PoV but we didn't get a lot of her internal monologues or thoughts.
I did appreciate that Josie got help for her health anxiety as mental health is very important.

There was so much to love about this book! First, the setting of Australia. I studied abroad in Oz so I have a deep affinity for this magical place. Now I wish I’d made it to Newcastle! I also loved this story. There were so many layers to it, and I think we can all relate to the health anxiety part to some extent. I think the author did a great job of dealing with these heavy topics in a “light” read. I really enjoyed the way she told the story of their journey… plenty of build up and steam too! The only thing I didn’t love was the nickname Zac has for Josie; it felt kinda cheesy, but that’s just me ;)

Josie Larsen is a TV news reporter in Sydney and has been sent to regional Newcastle for six months. Zac Jameson is Josie’s best friend since high school and happens to live in Newcastle. However, Zac has barely spoken to Josie since he left Sydney two years ago after the tragic death of his fiancée. Love, Just In is a friends-to-lovers romance that explores what happens when these two old friends come back together and have to repair their friendship and navigate a love that has existed between them all along.

I found this book to be well-written and funny. I enjoyed the banter and the chemistry between Josie and Zac. I’d never read a book set in Australia and as someone who had the pleasure of living there for two years, I really enjoyed the setting. I think the author treated the topic of mental health delicately and I appreciated that aspect of the story. Sometimes when two characters have disconnected I end up really disappointed when I get to the reason why but I think that part of the story was laid out well and believable. Zac Jameson was lovely. *I* am in love with Zac Jameson.

I didn’t care for some of the flashbacks. Some of them told me nothing in the flashback that hadn’t already been said. I did not always find Josie easy to like, at times she was self-centered and lacked accountability.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of Love, Just In by Natalie Murray!
The first couple chapters I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this book but glad I kept going. I really enjoyed Zac and Josie’s friends to lovers evolve.

Love that this is set in Australia. Always good to read a Aussie romance

This is a slow burn friends to lovers.
Zac is a big softie and I just wanted to give him the biggest cuddle and make him smile.

Josie was a little hard to like at the start for me but she warmed up and turned into the sweetest character.

It a great book to read and I highly recommend

⭐️ news reporter x paramedic
⭐️ friends to lovers
⭐️ illness anxiety
⭐️ slow burn
⭐️ He falls first and hard

Love, Just In available January, 2024

3.5 stars – This was such a good story! It was very slow for me in the beginning, and I wasn’t a fan of how often the author jumped back and forth between the present and the past. But stick with the story as it comes through big time in the end. Zac and Joise are friends from high school and are attracted to each other but through miscommunication and the timing of life events, they miss out on deepening their relationship.

Please note that there are several trigger warnings that a reader should be aware of.

A big “Thank You” to NetGalley, Allen & Unwin and Natalie Murray for allowing me to read an advance copy in return for an independent, honest review.

I am telling you guys my heart grew legs and walked out of my chest to spend the day in this book. It was utterly emotional, a friend's to lovers romance that I never knew I needed.

The piece of anxiety in this story was relatable, it held my hand saying I see you. I loved this story to pieces.

Finished this book in one sitting -- it was so cute! Agree with the Emily Henry comp; it felt similar to PWMOV but different enough to be interesting and fun to read. The Austrilian setting was really fun to explore and the relationship between Josie and Zac really sold the story for me. Recommend to anyone looking for a classic, feel-good romcom.

Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for letting me read an early copy. Opinions are my own.

Let me tell you, I LOVED this book. It was so captivating and it left me wanting more once I had reached the last page. From the very beginning of, Natalie Murray draws readers into a world exploring the joys of romance but also the complexities of living with mental health conditions. As someone who both experiences PTSD symptoms and anxiety on a daily basis, the author's approach to these sensitive topics was not only done with the upmost empathy but it was also incredibly informative for people who don't know what is is like to deal with meatal health conditions. I felt as though she truly captivated my thoughts and feelings! She not only weaves these themes into the book, but allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding on the daily lives of those who deal with these challenges. The characters' experiences were authentic and were portrayed with sensitivity allowing the reader to connect but also empathise with them.

Beyond the touching exploration of mental health, "Love, Just In," is a beautiful, fast-paced read. It was impossible to put down once I got stuck into it and I was super sad it ended. The slow burn romance was also super cute and I was cheering on Josie and Zac the whole time. The balance of serious themes and swoon-worthy moments was executed beautifully.

The cover artwork also deserves a special mention. It has the Emily Henry charm we all seem to love at the moment. The Australian setting adds unique and also refreshing dimension (and is expertly shown on the cover artwork), offering a much needed change of scenery from the usual American settings of romance novels. I felt like I could connect with it easier as it was just like home!

This book put the biggest smile on my face and I urge you to keep it on your release radar! It is out Jan 2024 and if you are looking for a book that entertains, educates and makes you swoon, this is a must-read!! Natalie Murray is 100% going to be an auto-buy for me now.

In this friends-to-lovers romance, we follow Josie, a TV news reporter, who’s reassigned to the same city her best friend, Zac, lives, after an on-air anxiety attack. I was very intrigued by the plot and especially the Emily Henry comp because those are some BIG shoes to fill in, and unfortunately, filled they were not. The writing style was great, it flowed so smoothly and MOST of the time, it was really quick and easy to get through. The times when I got stumped and had to reread sections, it wasn't because of the writing, it was because the plot didn't make sense, and unfortunately, this happened quite often in what I could get through.

The hardest part of this book was the prologue, which is NOT a good place to be stuck because that is where you want to be drawn in as a reader, not confused. The setting, tone, and vibe were off, and a few pages later, this prologue is essentially rewritten as a memory as opposed to the present tense first-person view we saw in the prologue, rendering it useless, a waste of words, and confusing to the reader. It really got me started on the wrong spot and it didn't get better than there because I was so CONFUSED.

At one point, Josie has a panic attack about cancer, and there's probably some big tragic backstory about why she has this fear, but it's so out of place and under-explained, that I was... you guessed it, confused.

I also wasn't really buying the friendship or relationship between Josie and Zac, which is not ideal when reading romance. Josie keeps on calling him her best friend in her head, but they haven't spoken in 2 years, so clearly they're not that close. In the Emily Henry comp, there's a prior CONFLICT that led to the main characters' separation which makes the distance make sense, but in this story, there's nothing, no reason for the 2 years of silence and no reason for the awkwardness.

I think the point where I gave up on finishing this was when I realized there was no interiority within the characters, which is why you read first-person POV books. We were reading from Josie's perspective, but we got none of her emotions or internal thoughts. At one point in the beginning of their reunion, she bumps into Zac's chest, and we get NONE of her inner monologue. Nothing about being close to him (this is a romance, she should feel SOMETHING about touching the chest of the man she'll fall in love with, or at least at this moment, her best friend), about it being awkward because it's been two years, about wishing she could hug him instead of backing away, about ANYTHING.

Also WHAT is up with the single quotation marks whenever there was dialogue. It wasn't a cute Sally Rooney vibe, it was quite literally just bad grammar.

Overall, I think the writing was lovely, the story idea was interesting, but it was executed poorly. I think plotting out this whole story THEN writing it, with HEAVY edits could do this book a lot of good.