Love, Just In by Natalie Murray is the perfect read for those who love the friends to lovers trope, and if you enjoy flashbacks throughout a story line. Josie hasn’t spoken to Zac in over 2 years since the tragic loss of his fiance and is now living in the same town as him again. Overall, enjoyed reading about these two characters finding their friendship again, and also about the real life issues they both struggled with. Overall, a really good read and very enjoyable book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided to me through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Natalie Murray and Allen&Unwin for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

Lovely back and forth pining. Great depiction of medical anxiety and varied reactions to it from people around the patient. Always glad to read about women having friendships and not automatically being enemies just because of the men in their lives. Just enough sex. Fun change of pace with the setting being Australia, and thus the language containing Australian slang.

I was unfamiliar with this author prior to reading this, but I love a good friends to romance so I was excited to read it! I loved a lot about this book - I loved the setting, I loved the banter between the two main characters, I loved that anxiety was one of the hurdles in Josie's life.

What I didn't love were the typical stumbling blocks (i.e. miscommunication). Especially miscommunication. I know it's a common trope in romance, but I'm so tired of characters being unable/unwilling to communicate with one another.

3.5 Rounded up to Four.

Josie has been out of touch with her best friend for a while, but she's about to be working in his town after an on-air panic attack. Her feelings for him have been unrequited. She's also hiding a health issue, and it plagues her.

Zac has been living life in a small town since his fiancee died, not quite moving on emotionally.

The back and forth of their relationship--friendship and possible love--drives the story, even when they find other dates, until they can't deny what they have known for years. But, they each have secrets, and until they reckon with the past, they can never have a future.

Slow burn romance with an Aussie accent.

If you're a fan of friends to lovers romances and Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation, this is the book for you. It is the story of TV news report, Josie, who is feeling a bit lost in life and her best friend, Zac, who lives in Newcastle after losing his fiance. After an on-air panic attack, she is sent off to Newcastle to cover another reporter's leave and reconnected with Zac, whom she hasn't talked to in two years. This was a light and fun read, yet was able to tackle a heavier topic, like anxiety. It dragged a bit at times, but ultimately it was a great slow burn romance that I would recommend.

I downloaded this on a whim when I spotted it as “Read Now” on NetGalley. Sadly, it was not the right fit for me. I really disliked the vibes between the hero and heroine, and I wasn’t rooting for them to end up together. For me, that’s the kiss of death in a romance. Also, the flashbacks were throwing off the pace of the book. It was so jarring! Once I realized I didn’t care at all about the resolution, I just decided to put it down.

Friends to lovers, will they or won't they, Australian setting, miscommunication, health anxiety, drunk drivers, past & present timeline

Josie Larsen, is sent to Newcastle after an on-air blunder when presenting the news.
Zac Jameson, her best friend since they were 13, also lives in Newcastle but they haven't spoken in 2 years.

Very emotional read about their past, and their present with many heavy topics addressed. Reminded me a bit of People We Meet On Vacation.

⛈️ REVIEW: Love, Just In ⛈️

Did you read and love Emily Henry’s friends-to-lovers romcom People We Meet on Vacation? If yes, read Love, Just In.

SUMMARY: When Sydney news anchor Josie gets assigned to the less than glamorous regional bureau in Newcastle, she’s worried her career’s headed in the wrong direction. Lucky for her, it’s also the home of her long-time best friend Zac. Will her proximity allow them to overcome the distance that’s been building between them?

[Chandler Bing voice] Could there BE any more angst in this book?

Answer: No. If you’re looking for a “will they-won’t they” story of two best friends who’ve known each other since grade school, this is the book for you.

One thing that I particularly liked about it was her pursuit of career success – and the realization that what you worked for isn’t necessarily what you really want. That said, this book made me an anxious mess. I have been less stressed reading psychological thrillers. Angst level: 11.

Check it out if you’re in the mood for:

🎤 He falls first
🎤 Friends to lovers
🎤 Anxiety rep
🎤 Present day + flashbacks

⭐⭐⭐.75

A delightful - even if heartbreaking at times - read! A great friends-to-strangers-to-friends-to-lovers read, if you will. Josie and Zac had such a wonderful rapport, all while grappling their own pasts and finding their way back to each other. This felt earnest, realistic, and heartwarming.

What can I say? I just don't think this book was for me.

I understand the miscommunication trope is very common in romances but I just kept yelling at both of them to JUST SPEAK UP AND SAY SOMETHING! Josie and Zac have been best friends since they were teenagers. He even asked her out when they were young and she rejected him. They remain best friends, live together while they go to university, and stay in each other's lives until Zac's fiancee dies in a car accident and she dies in his arms. He moves away and stops talking to Josie for two years until she temporarily moves to where he lives for a job opportunity.

I feel like the book dragged on quite a bit and I could not connect to the characters. Josie annoyed me with how impulsive she was and how stupid she was regarding Lindsay.

HOWEVER, I did enjoy the discussion about health anxiety and grief. I haven't read a book that portrayed health anxiety in this manner and it was nice to see that.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Love, Just In is a friends-to-lovers romance, with a little bit of heat, a peek behind-the-scenes in a TV newsroom, and a few well-timed public health messages. As a dyed-in-the-wool Sydneysider, who wouldn’t move to Newcastle no matter how hot the paramedic boyfriend is, I felt a bit slighted by all the city slander and country life propaganda… but besides that, Love, Just In is a fun read with a resonant message about health anxiety.

People say that men and women cannot be "just friends." Josie Larsen and Zac Jameson appeared to defy the odds as they forged a friendship at age 14 that lasted into adulthood. They even lived together during University. Of course, the signs were present that there was an underlying attraction, but one of them usually had a relationship when the other one started having "feelings." Fast forward to their late twenties when they have grown apart through tragedy and location. When Josie is temporarily transferred to Zac's town, she hopes to regain their friendship. In traditional "friends to lovers" romance, there are starts, stops and stumbles as they figure out how they feel about one another. Natalie Murray does a great job of building the tension and releasing the tension. This is an open door romance that delivers.

The second half was better than the first. There were some beautiful moments (courtesy of Zac), but the book in its entirety just seems to drag on. I think it could benefit from an edit that removes many of the flashbacks and instead establishes the history of the friendship versus reliving it. The simultaneous dating relationships with Zac + Meghan and Josie + Lindsay didn’t need to go on so long either. The first 50-60% of the book is the MC’s dating other people, whilst being lovesick for their best friend.

I did appreciate the focus on real issues (grief and anxiety) but it also felt like it took up so much emotional bandwidth from me as I was reading. I’d like to see a better balance of hurt AND HOPE written in. With some adjustments, this could easily be a 5 star book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Josie and Zac have been friends, just friends!, since they were kids, but when they find themselves living in the same town years after growing apart all of that is about to change… Josie is a news reporter who’s trying her best to succeed in her fresh start after her health-anxiety caused her to have a mini meltdown on air at her previous TV station. Zac is a paramedic who’s recent trauma, and forever crush on Josie, caused him to flee his hometown and bury his head in work. But when one thing leads to another, and Josie is left crashing at Zac’s place, the pair are forced to rehash their past separation, and come to terms with these scary new feelings.

I unfortunately just couldn’t really get into this book. I became much more connected with the characters around the halfway mark, but up until then I had no desire to read this book to learn more. I did love, love, LOVE the jealousy and pining and general squashing of their feelings until it all came out in a blaze! But ultimately this book relied too strongly on the dreaded miscommunication trope, and there was somehow 1.5(ish) third act breakups; even 1 is too many for me! Definitely some sweet moments that had me kicking my feet giggling, but I never felt fully sucked into the story.

Well written and emotional.
After freezing on national television Josie is sent to the Newcastle news desk. However in Newcastle is Josie’s estranged best friend Zac who she hasn’t spoken to since his fiancé died in a car crash two years ago. Josie must navigate a new job, crazy roommate, health concerns, and her growing feelings for Zac.
This story was well written and the characters well developed. However I found it a stressful read with not enough hopeful moments of sunshine to offset the angst. Maybe the portrayal of anxiety was triggering for me, I’m not sure.
There is a happy ending but there is so much angst to get to it.
If you like friends to lovers, flashbacks and emotional stories you’ll love this one. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

💕Friends to lovers
💕Second chance
💕 Mental Health/ Health anxiety
💕Slow burn
💕 Alternating timeline
💕 Set in Australia

This book reminded me I love a good friends to lovers troupe. As I was getting towards the end of the book I was hoping there would be a second book about their relationship. I loved his nickname for her was Sunbeam! I appreciate the author sharing her experience with health anxiety through Josie as it is relatable.

This book was not what I was expecting at all and I don’t mean that in a good way. I dnf’d about 50% of the way through because I was dreading picking it back up and just did not want to continue to read a very depressing and sad story rather than the lighthearted and fluffy one I thought I was getting. It also annoys me when authors from a different country insert their political opinions on what’s happening in the US into what’s supposed to be a romantic comedy. Please stop! I read to escape not to hear a regurgitation of what every liberal news station is saying on repeat.

I laughed, I cried, and I adored every second of this book!

Josie and Zac are the PERFECT friends-to nothing-to-friends again-to lovers trope.
I will not accept any other takes (okay, I *will*, but really, who would argue with me?).

Bonus points for really helpful and informative depiction of medical anxiety and an accurate portrayal of the way grief affects relationships of all kinds.

I absolutely 100% recommend this book!

I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley, all opinions are my own and a review was not required.

A slow burn, friends to lovers romcom set in Australia (we love)! This was fun and fresh and had enough depth that it was engaging and captivating. We love to see a an exploration of deeper issues to make it more realistic and relatable. Keen to read more from Natalie!

Josie is a news reporter who struggles with hypochondria; she’s constantly worried that she has cancer among other things. She ends up going to Newcastle to cover another reporter’s leave, and reconnects with her estranged best friend, Zac.

Zac had always had feeling for Josie, but he never acted on them. When they were apart, he fell in love with someone else, but she died in a car accident. So when Josie comes back into his life, he’s wary of letting her back in.

Josie and Zac were clearly both struggling with their own mental health, but they were there for each other. And it was great that they managed to rekindle their friendship and turn it into something more.

This is told in alternating timelines, but it’s not chronological. So it did get a little confusing, at times.

But overall, it was an enjoyable read between two best friends turned strangers turned lovers.

Also, it was fun because it was set in Australia.