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bridget_magpie's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was my first try with contemporary romance and honestly I am surprised how much I enjoyed this book. No paranormal characters, no futuristic elements, no saving the world, just general, very real life problems and love and friendship and I was properly entertained. I even got teary eyed several times at the end. If you like the genre this will be definitely a fun read for you, especially if you enjoy friends-to-lovers trope. Also the spice level wasn’t too much so if you are looking for smut, this isn’t it. I suggest this for people who are more into the romance with some spice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Cursing and Terminal illness
Minor: Child death, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
mishaps's review against another edition
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
danajoy's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A romance very in the vein of People We Meet/You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry. Josie and Zac have a lot of platonic history. They've been friends since school, even roommates at uni. Josie even threw his engagement party! It's been a few years and there is a distance between them much further than the physical Sydney to Newcastle. A work opportunity sees her relocating to him and maybe this is their chance to reconnect.
Love, Just In was quite a lot heavier than I expected. I did really enjoy the book but I would recommend caution to anyone who struggles with health anxiety in particular. There is also reg lar discussions of a fatal car crash. Both main characters have trauma and flaws.
It is lovely to have a book like this set in Australia. As an Aussie, I feel like I mostly get local mysteries, historical fictions and literary novels. It is exciting to get an approachable summer read romcom style story.
Love, Just In was quite a lot heavier than I expected. I did really enjoy the book but I would recommend caution to anyone who struggles with health anxiety in particular. There is also reg lar discussions of a fatal car crash. Both main characters have trauma and flaws.
It is lovely to have a book like this set in Australia. As an Aussie, I feel like I mostly get local mysteries, historical fictions and literary novels. It is exciting to get an approachable summer read romcom style story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
katey_'s review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book gave me vague "People We Meet on Vacation" vibes. It addresses some pretty heavy topics -- grief and severe anxiety, specifically health anxiety -- and is at the same time cute and entertaining. I was rooting for Josie and Zac the entire time. This was one of the most true-to-life friends-to-lovers romances I've read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Grief
Moderate: Death
deetabz's review
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
spectacles_and_books's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A sweet friends to lovers story. The flashback chapters that separate the present day timeline provided great insight into the characters and their relationship dynamic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Car accident
jordanlgilbert's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This one was fun and definitely gave some People We Meet on Vacation vibes! I really loved both of the main characters working through some real things, and I felt like they were fully fleshed out. For the romance itself, I went back and forth between being obsessed with them and rolling my eyes at how high school they were acting. Maybe that's a me-thing because I find myself often slightly disappointed by friends-to-lovers but I'd overall definitely recommend it to anyone who loves that trope!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
cassiealexandra's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, I loved the representations of grief, anxiety, and mental health. On the other hand, I had a difficult time with some of the strong teasing, a main part of the plot, and the overall length of the book.
Here are the positives:
The setting in Australia was fun for me, especially imagining the weather being literally so polar opposite to my own in the same months. It felt like reading a summer romance in winter because, of course, it is summer in Australia right now (reviewing this in January).
I love a friends-to-more story done well. Zac and Josie had a long foundation of friendship, having met when they were only 14. He was the one to welcome her to a new school, and they’d stayed close over the years even attending college together.
The flashbacks to teen and college years were very short and didn’t pull me out of the story too much, unlike some other books that have a similar structure. The cause of Zac and Josie’s lost time (two years with little contact) is revealed in a timely manner as well. The “big reveal” or “big secret” that doesn’t come until ¾ through a book can drive me crazy, and this one had enough hints to what happened along the way that I wasn’t frustrated.
This made me laugh and tear up. I experienced a mixture of emotions, and that’s a sweet spot for me when it comes to romance. I like it when complex and heavier themes are at least touched on. This one had that and more. The grief and anxiety were realistic and felt through the writing.
While I don’t come to fiction strictly to learn something, I came away from this with a greater understanding of people who have extreme and sometimes unrealistic fears about their health. At first I wondered how Josie could be so fearful, but as the story progressed, I understood her health anxiety even if I couldn’t relate to it.
Here’s what didn’t quite work for me, but could be fine for other audiences:
I don’t love the plot device of characters dating other people, whether for jealousy or distraction from their true desires. While I don’t think Josie or Zac started their relationships intending either of these outcomes, the results were the same, sometimes leading to what I would consider more than friendly teasing. Their conversations came off as mean-spirited at times. I was uncomfortable until both main characters broke off their other attachments.
I would have liked more insight into Zac—his decision-making process and his longtime unrealized feelings for Josie. There were times when I just didn’t quite connect with how he could have repressed or hidden these feelings for so long and why.
Finally, this was just a tad longer than my preference for a book of this genre.
The bottom line: This was a romantic comedy with a lot of heart, bringing forward some serious and important topics. Overall, I enjoyed it and will read this author again.
— NOTES —
Genres: romantic comedy
POV: 1st-person, singular except epilogue
Content: moderate language, car accident, drunk driving, health anxiety, cancer, death of loved one, grief
Romance: two open door scenes in chapters 30 and 32
— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)
Pace: 4
Enjoyment: 4
Craft: 4
My Gut Feeling: 4
Total Stars: 4
I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, I loved the representations of grief, anxiety, and mental health. On the other hand, I had a difficult time with some of the strong teasing, a main part of the plot, and the overall length of the book.
Here are the positives:
The setting in Australia was fun for me, especially imagining the weather being literally so polar opposite to my own in the same months. It felt like reading a summer romance in winter because, of course, it is summer in Australia right now (reviewing this in January).
I love a friends-to-more story done well. Zac and Josie had a long foundation of friendship, having met when they were only 14. He was the one to welcome her to a new school, and they’d stayed close over the years even attending college together.
The flashbacks to teen and college years were very short and didn’t pull me out of the story too much, unlike some other books that have a similar structure. The cause of Zac and Josie’s lost time (two years with little contact) is revealed in a timely manner as well. The “big reveal” or “big secret” that doesn’t come until ¾ through a book can drive me crazy, and this one had enough hints to what happened along the way that I wasn’t frustrated.
This made me laugh and tear up. I experienced a mixture of emotions, and that’s a sweet spot for me when it comes to romance. I like it when complex and heavier themes are at least touched on. This one had that and more. The grief and anxiety were realistic and felt through the writing.
While I don’t come to fiction strictly to learn something, I came away from this with a greater understanding of people who have extreme and sometimes unrealistic fears about their health. At first I wondered how Josie could be so fearful, but as the story progressed, I understood her health anxiety even if I couldn’t relate to it.
Here’s what didn’t quite work for me, but could be fine for other audiences:
I don’t love the plot device of characters dating other people, whether for jealousy or distraction from their true desires. While I don’t think Josie or Zac started their relationships intending either of these outcomes, the results were the same, sometimes leading to what I would consider more than friendly teasing. Their conversations came off as mean-spirited at times. I was uncomfortable until both main characters broke off their other attachments.
I would have liked more insight into Zac—his decision-making process and his longtime unrealized feelings for Josie. There were times when I just didn’t quite connect with how he could have repressed or hidden these feelings for so long and why.
Finally, this was just a tad longer than my preference for a book of this genre.
The bottom line: This was a romantic comedy with a lot of heart, bringing forward some serious and important topics. Overall, I enjoyed it and will read this author again.
— NOTES —
Genres: romantic comedy
POV: 1st-person, singular except epilogue
Content: moderate language, car accident, drunk driving, health anxiety, cancer, death of loved one, grief
Romance: two open door scenes in chapters 30 and 32
— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)
Pace: 4
Enjoyment: 4
Craft: 4
My Gut Feeling: 4
Total Stars: 4
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Cancer
alienrosey's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
What if People We Meet On Vacation had a lot of cancer talk, an Australian news anchor drama, and discussed the dangers of drunk driving?? You get Love, Just In!
This one took me a little bit to get into and I can't say by the end it was my all-time favorite, but it was a cute read! I really enjoyed the portrayal of health anxiety, I was not expecting it going in but it was a welcome touch of character to the romcom genre. The Australia setting was fun too! I don't think I've ever read an aussie romance book so it was a lil culture shocky for me. but I liked it.
Now to the negatives, it took me much longer to get really interested in these characters than usual. I think that is just personal taste rather than writing style though. I wasn't a big fan of the spicy scenes, they just didn't hit the same for me as other romance novels.
Overall, this was a decent read but I'm not sure I will reread it.
Thank you to NetGalley for supplying the ARC in exchange for an honest review :)
TW: Cancer. car accident, grief, strong language, open door scenes.
This one took me a little bit to get into and I can't say by the end it was my all-time favorite, but it was a cute read! I really enjoyed the portrayal of health anxiety, I was not expecting it going in but it was a welcome touch of character to the romcom genre. The Australia setting was fun too! I don't think I've ever read an aussie romance book so it was a lil culture shocky for me. but I liked it.
Now to the negatives, it took me much longer to get really interested in these characters than usual. I think that is just personal taste rather than writing style though. I wasn't a big fan of the spicy scenes, they just didn't hit the same for me as other romance novels.
Overall, this was a decent read but I'm not sure I will reread it.
Thank you to NetGalley for supplying the ARC in exchange for an honest review :)
TW: Cancer. car accident, grief, strong language, open door scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Car accident
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