An enjoyable book about being spontaneous and what happens when you throw away your personal rule book! I really liked the characters and their friendships!

Isn't it funny how you can go your whole life thinking things need to be a certain way, only to have everything flipped and a new perspective opened up to you? That's pretty much what happens to Liv Bakersfield in From the Jump by Lacie Waldon.

Liv is responsible. Very responsible. She works hard, she saves, she doesn't go on vacation. She does everything she can to be who she thinks she's meant to be. Even if it means missing out on all the vacations her besties take together, and generally living her life. Eventually, though, enough is enough and Liv starts saying no. Will she get what she wants, or will her entire life implode?

I really loved the friendship dynamics in this book. They weren't neat, they were complicated and real and delicious to read. I could empathize with Liz a lot too. Right up until my 30s I did things because I thought I was meant to. It's hard to break out of that mindset and discover what you really want, rather than what you think is expected of you. I also agree that travel gives you a different perspective. It's a break from your everyday life which in itself can provide clarity and open your eyes to things you want to change.

I loved Lacie's last book, The Layover, and I may have even loved this one more!

Liv has lived her life by the book. She does exactly what she feels she ‘should’ be doing at all times. She eats the things her trainer tells her to, wears the right clothes, and basically lives an exhausting existence. In college she meets four people who become her family, but she keeps them at arms length in her adult life, missing out on their annual vacations every year because of her fear of taking off time from work.

As her friends are leaving on this year’s trip to South Africa, Liv has had an epiphany and has started saying ‘no’ to things, including to her job. With time to spare now, she joins her friends a few days late.

I absolutely loved this story. I loved the transformation that Liv goes through as she tries to learn what she wants for her life without putting pressure on herself to always be doing the ‘right’ thing. Her group of friends/family are amazing, and the interactions between them all are so much fun to watch. Liv enters into a relationship with one of her friend group, and I loved everything about their dynamic together, including their concerns about ruining their friendship and upsetting the balance. I was sorry when it ended, because I could read about these characters forever. It was a clear five star read for me!

Thank you so much to Putnam Publishing for providing me an ARC of this book.

I loved it! I also loved Lacies other book but this was a different twist and I absolutely loved the dynamic of the friends group.

I wish that Liv had been more upfront with her so called best friends about her history and life before.

I think that the whole friend group was fun and I really enjoyed majority of them except for Simone for some obvious reasons then.

I loved the ending and how Waldon didn’t have the characters dwell on the miscommunication issue that enfolds.

From The Jump is a sweet story about friendship, finding your true self, and falling in love with your best friend.⁣
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Liv lives by a strict routine and strives to be perfect, never staying out late, drinking too much, or saying no, to anything. She is a yes girl if it keeps her life on traffic.⁣
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When she’s finally realizing her friends are still living these amazing lives and she always stays home, she decides to finally meet them in South Africa for a yearly trip, she’s always missed.⁣
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The imagery of South Africa sounds beautiful, and made me want to visit!⁣
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The friends to lovers trope that occurs after Liv realizes maybe she sees someone in their group as more than friends, slowly blooms with lusty tension and tenderness, but the group made a pact not to cross any lines.⁣
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Deiss is handsome and carefree, never settles down, but always sees Liv in a different light.⁣
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The chemistry and banter between these two was hot and sweet and funny, and I really enjoyed it.⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 stars

From the Jump was an interesting, quick summer read. I enjoyed reading about their African adventure, Liv’s character development, and her discovering how much life can be lived. But I felt that her and Diess’ relationship seemed to be a bit insta love for me, and kinda didn’t totally feel believable. But I had fun reading about these friends and Liv coming into her own!

Thank you @putnambooks for the gifted copy

This is an eye-catching colorful cover to start with! From the Jump is about five friends going through life together. Liv has always tried to keep her past a secret from her four friends. Always keeping up the facade that her life is perfect until she tells her boss no to a work assignment. This starts the unraveling of her life...friendships, romance and family are all affected. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

This is the perfect read for the summer. I can relate to a being a "yes" girl and it was so refreshing to see a character take charge of her world. Plus, the slow-burn romance. The longing glances. The pining. Gets me every time. One of the best friends-to-lovers I have read in a long time.

Thank-you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the chance to review this ARC.

From the Jump was a very fun summer read!
I enjoyed my time reading it and the writing style as well.
It had lovable characters and a very interesting premise.

Is travel romance a sub genre of romance novels? If so, then Lacie Waldon is becoming the queen of it. And even if it isn’t a sub-genre, this author writes fun novels that make you want to jump on the next plane to an exotic location.

With her second book, From the Jump, she whisks readers from LA to South Africa on a romantic adventure of taking risks and living life outside the “shoulds” (should be fit, eat that, say yes at work).

As with her first book (The Layover), I flew through this one and enjoyed every minute. I loved the friend group from college (except for Simone who caused more issues), their adventures in South Africa which is where the romantic sparks start igniting, and the path that Liv’s life took once she stepped outside the rigid boundaries she set for herself. It’s so easy to get caught up in what we should be doing that we don’t take the risks that lead to greater happiness.

With forced proximity, friends to lovers, and only one bed tropes, this is a romance sure to please many readers. This is a fun, closed door romance with plenty of tension that would be perfect for beach or poolside reading. Extra points if you pair it with a fruity drink.

I have to say, I was kind of hesitant to read this book. I still did not forgive Lacie Waldon after the emotional pain she made me go through from her first book. But I am willing to forgive her if she does not leave me in an emotional mess with this book.

After finishing this book, I will say that she did not disappoint me at all. Like I freaking love this book so much. It’s better than her first book. Let me tell you why I love this book, and why you will love this book as well.

First, I really enjoyed both of the main characters as individuals and as a couple. Liv is a type A control freak that she never takes any risks without calculating the pros and cons. This is the reason why she usually skips out on her annual friends trips every year. But she finally decides to make a change when she temporarily quits her job and joins her friend's group trip. And she ends up rooming with her emotionally unavailable buddy, Lucas. He is very casual about a lot of things, but he truly cares for Liv when she opens up to him. He knows how rare it is when Liv shares something with you. He cherishes it very much as much as he gets closer to her with time.

Second, this was a true friends-to-lovers trope. Liv and Lucas have been genuine friends for many years. And they are the total opposite of each other in that they never expected to be a couple. But they both realize how much they enjoy their company together as they spend more and more time with each other. They go from rooming with each other to being roommates for several months.

And last, I love the slow burn between Liv and Lucas. It was the right pace for them since they had always been friends for so many years. There is no need to rush it when they have the time of the world. Plus, they get to know each other better.

One of my vacation reads was From the Jump by @allaboutthat_lace! I was also able to jump on a zoom discussing the book with Lacie (she’s absolutely hysterical!).

Liv is an overworked graphic designer that says yes to anything her bosses ask of her. This means all the projects that no one else wants. She also is constantly trying to better herself so she reads lots of self help books. Her mom relied on others to get through life and Liv doesn’t want to be like her, what she perceived as weak. Her core group of friends from college loves to travel and Liv never lets her self spend the money to go with them. After a friend encourages her to say No more often and she shocks her office by saying no to a terrible project, she impulsively decides to fly to South Africa to find her friends.

Liv realizes she’s living a life she doesn’t really want so she starts making some changes. She takes a leave of absence from her job and tries to freelance. On her trip, she also got very close to a friend of hers named Deiss. Nothing romantic had ever happened between them before, but they continue to get close after they return. I love that Liv and Deiss started as friends before turning into something more. It was very fun to see Liv become more herself and do things because she wants to, and not because she’s expected too. We could all learn from Liv!

Thank you so much to @putnambooks for my gifted copy. From the Jump is on sale now!

4.5 stars

This is a friends to lovers book set in South Africa (for the first part of the book). I loved the prologue showing how the friend group met in college. This was one of those book that I was just halfway invested in; some chapters were great and others felt a bit sporadic and I just wondered how we “jumped” from here to there in the story.

🙂liked || 💋some steam
🤟friendship, family, a little romance
📚Lease on Love
🎶Maybe Don’t by Maisie Peters + JP Saxe

From the Jump is my first book by Lacie Waldon.

The narrator is Olivia/Liv (1st person POV). In college Liv becomes part of a friend group that includes her, Phoebe, Simone, Mac and Deiss. This group becomes super important to her.

The story takes place in both South Africa and Los Angeles. And I loved both of these settings.

I enjoyed Olivia because she seemed so real. I enjoyed the dynamic of the friend group. And I really liked the romance. I do wish that the book had spent more time in Africa. But overall I really liked this book and I thought that the end was really well done!

I enjoyed this book and look forward to more by this author

Liv is a, "yes" woman. Always saying, "yes" even when she doesn't want to, doesn't have the time, etc.
When her group of friends head out on yet another trip that she has to turn down, she realizes something needs to change.
She quits her job temporarily, hops on a plane and heads to South Africa to join her friend's that she's had since college.
On this trip she starts to fall for her friend, Deiss. But the group has a pact that they will not date within the circle. Once secrets start being exposed, Liv must decide if breaking the pact is worth it for the potential chance at love. It was hard for me to keep interest in this book and I felt there were places that were really slow. 🤷‍♀️

Loved this one! I don’t typically like friends to lovers because it’s always both MCs avoiding communicating with each other about their feelings and it’s annoying. But this was done so good and it didn’t feel like that to me. I really enjoyed watching Olivias personal growth too in addition to the romance side of the book. I am definitely going to read anything else this author reads!

Not only is Lacie Waldon a dear friend, but she is also a great author!!  If you haven’t read this one yet, put it on your TBR as fast as you can!  Her first book The Layover was also another five-star read for me!!  You are going to love the story!!!

·        This was a fun-filled friends to lover's romance/rom-com read.  This week, Deiss is my new book boyfriend (I’ll share him with Liv, but only this week)!!  I loved everything about Deiss & Liv and was rooting for them from the beginning!!

·        I think Liv appeals to so many people.  So many of us can relate to living a life of “shoulds” and maybe some of us still do, so in this book we can escape into Liv’s life for a while and watch her setting boundaries, letting her guard down and beginning to live the life she finally wants!! 

·        The characters were likeable and very realistic.  I really enjoyed the friendship dynamics within the group and it brought back some good memories of time spent with friends in high school/college and of course, the drama that goes along with that!

·        If you’ve ever dreamed of going to South Africa, you’ll enjoy the storyline and if you haven’t, you’ll want to go there after reading the book!!

·        Great summer read.  With a total of 351 pages, you can easily read this in one sitting (hopefully in a hammock, on the beach or maybe even in South Africa)!!  I highly recommend!!

·        In the end, From the Jump is about friends that are so much more than just friends and learning how to take some risks and embrace life!!!

3.5 stars rounded down

If friends-to-lovers is your jam, this is the right choice! I enjoyed watching Liv melt into the person she really wanted to be, as well as her growing relationship with Deiss. I found the group interactions were some of my favorite parts of the book, and I found it to be a pretty accurate representation of what happens when you're friends with the same people for dozens of years. I struggled a little bit with the predictability of it all (as soon as Simone is introduced, it's clear what the trajectory of the book is, especially after the night with the elephants). However, it wasn't enough of a deterrent to keep me from enjoying the ride to the end. A solid choice, especially if you're looking for found family, or friends-to-lovers.

This was a cute friends to lovers story. A group of friends stay close after college as they navigate the ups and downs of life. The friends come various backgrounds giving them all different perspectives on relationships, family and career aspirations. Liv is the central character who is very methodical. She has set routines and plans in place for every aspect of her life. She finds herself at a crossroads with her career and living situation. After making a spontaneous decision to join her friends on vacation Liv finds herself trying new things and getting out of her comfort zone. She finds herself spending more time with Deiss ,a member of the friend group and sees him in a different light.

This story is about friendships, finding yourself and of course love. There was great chemistry between the characters and some drama that made me 😡 !! Overall a great beach read , perfect for the season. We have selected it as our contemporary romance book club pick for our store in August.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
#NetGalley #FromtheJump #LacieWalden

3.5 Stars

A sweet, witty, slow burn romance. I loved the characters- they were flawed and relatable. The character development was amazing. There were a couple “friends” that I had issues with but overall, a fun and witty romance that left me with a smile on my face.