title: Love, Just In
author: Natalie Murray
publisher: Allen & Unwin
publication date: January 3, 2024
pages: ? (It's not out in paperback yet. My phone said 308, but that doesn't always seem accurate.)
peppers: (on this scale)
warnings:
- car accidents with fatalities
- drunk drivers
- a house fire with fatalities
- vomit
- cancer and cancer scares
- mental health issues, mostly health anxiety
summary: Josie and Zac have been best friends since they were thirteen. The story, in Josie's point-of-view, goes back and forth in time between moments of importance in their past and the current six months, during which she ends up living and working in his town.
tropes:
- friends-to-lovers
- pining for one's fated mate
- trying to fall for the wrong guy
- don't want to lose my best friend
- friend's having a baby
what I liked:
- Zac's clearly been pining for Josie forever, but since we're in Josie's p-o-v, we can see her not get that.
- They have great banter by text and struggle to say what they're thinking in real life.
- Good portrayal of health anxiety.
what I didn’t like:
- Josie repeats the "I don't want to mess up our friendship" thought too many times.
- Josie gets into a car with someone Zac has all-but said might drive while drunk. I didn't buy that she'd fall for the "they're just light beers" line.
overall rating: 4 (of 5 stars)