FRIENDS TO LOVERS WILL FOREVER BY MY FAVORITE TROPE!!! Lacie Waldon truly knows how to write the perfect summer beach romance and I am so here for it. Between From the Jump and the Layover, she has been able to deliver everything I am looking for, FTL, chemistry, and good banter that keeps the reader falling more and more in love with their relationship. I loved how relatable this book is, our society has become so obsessed with work, so it was fun to see this main character take a step away from that to live and LOVE life.

Liv, Phoebe, Lucas, Mac and Simone have became inseparable from the jump. But Liv doesn’t really believe she truly belongs because of the different upbringing she had, hence why she overcompensates by working so much and being financially responsible, and because of this she never had the chance to join her friends on their trips. Then now, Liv decides to join her friends on a trip to South Africa impulsively and Liv has no idea how this impulsive decision will affect her life. From the Jump is a very easy read, perfect for summer. I will say that I did not like Simone’s character as much as the other person, that is mainly because of her acts throughout the book. I loved the author’s debut novel, The Layover, and having another story from her that’s almost has the same feels yet it is so different is refreshing. Give this book a go if you like friends-to-lovers.

Lacie Waldon is going to spoil me with all of these great locations in her books! I never thought South Africa would be on my travel bucket list, but I think it is now.

From the Jump, Waldon's follow-up to last year's enemies-to-lovers The Layover, is the slow-burning friends-to-lovers story of a group of five friends (Liv, Phoebe, Simone, Deiss, and Mac) who became close in college and have succeeded in maintaining their friendships years later. We see this story through the eyes of Liv, who has lived with financial hardships all her life, and she is determined to work her hardest so that she never knows homelessness again. Unfortunately, a side effect of this driven lifestyle is that she's become the consummate "yes woman" - never taking time off from her job to enjoy time with her friends, always being financially responsible, and living her life according to what books and internet "experts" say she's supposed to do.

And then one day she finally tries out a different word - NO. "No" to her newest grunt assignment at work. "No" to missing yet another exciting vacation with her friends. And "no" to living in the box she has let herself be put in. As a reformed "yes" woman myself, I related to Liv so much. The word "no" can be so freeing. Women especially are trained from an early age that they need to do what they are told and to go along to get along.

Once Liv frees herself from the constraints of her life and hops a plane to join her friends on their vacation in South Africa, we get to ride along on the adventure and witness a love story 11 years in the making. But this isn't just a romance. It's a story about life-long friendships; the good, the bad, and the ugly. And also about making yourself a priority in your own life, something I think we could all benefit from.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

This was a cute friends to lovers rom-com, which is a trope I personally love as there’s already history and feelings. I loved the chemistry! I think there were some shaky bits and some people were forgiven too easily, but overall I enjoyed it and feel like it’s a great summer read.

This book was a super cute and fun read. I loved getting to see liv develop as a character and grow from an uptight workaholic to doing more of what she loves and truly living. The romance was cute and fun but slow-moving. Seriously this was an adorable and predictable (but not in a bad way) from com with one of my absolute favorite tropes friends to lovers.

As a busy mom, content creator and self-described rule follower, I admire the theme the author explores in From the Jump: what happens when a woman decides to stop doing what she thinks she should and goes after what she really wants?
This story takes readers on an epic adventure through South Africa and then Los Angeles. Fans of friends-to-lovers stories and the slowest of slow burns will enjoy Lacie Waldon's second novel. This story features a most delicious hero. Lucas Deiss is amazing and I predict romance readers will be swooning over him forever.
My main quibble with the story is the heroine's group of friends. They are all quite shallow. Particularly Simone. Eww. Given this is a novel about a journey of self-discovery, I feel Live could've made some major changes regarding the people she chose to spend time with. Except Deiss. He's a keeper.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions shared here are my own.

Liv holds herself to insane standards and has spent the last 11 years of her life trying to be perfect. She is the perfect employee who always says yes, never complains, saves money, always has her makeup done and her clothes professionally tailored. One day she is so fed up at work that she finally says no - she takes a leave of absence and joins her group of college friends on a South African adventure. She forces herself to be comfortable being less than perfect 24/7 and while it is an adjustment, she finally feels like she can breathe.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I found a lot of holes in the logic and the story in general which really affected my enjoyment of it through the first half, but I was so addicted by the second half that I stopped caring so much. I really loved the side characters and growth in Liv, but I would have enjoyed seeing her stick up for herself a bit more. She was very fast to forgive others which is a great quality but also cost her a lot. I liked how the book ended but I would have preferred if all the loose ends were tied up a bit more nicely - I think this book could have benefitted from an epilogue. Did she get her money back?!

Overall I would recommend this one to friends who love a fast, fun and addicting friends-to-lovers summer romcom!

I initially requested this book because of the beautiful cover. It caught my attention and I thought that it would be a good beach or vacation read. This is perfect for the summer. I really like this book. It was very lighthearted and a good palate cleanser for me (I’ve been reading a lot of dark, heavy books lately). I do wish there was a little bit more chemistry, I think that was what I thought was missing. But I did enjoy this and I would highly recommend reading at the beach or while laying out at the pool!

From the jump was a sweet story about self discovery. It follows Liv as she navigates finding a place for herself in her friend group, work, and life. She is the rule follower, she works late, she puts in extra work, and she doesn't veer off the path... until she does.

It was fun to see her experience life as a fish out of water. She endures some pretty big life upheaval that sends her into a tailspin of total renewal. Much like Lacie Walden's first book the story features a major trip which creates amazing scenery and sets a tone for the story.

I found myself relating to some of Liv's story and appreciate Lacie Walden's finesse for storytelling. The supporting characters were a great sounding board for the story and added some interesting side stories that I enjoyed seeing through to the end.

From the Jump by Lacie Waldon was great. 4.5⭐️ is what I would rate this one! It took a minute to get into and it felt like it was dragging but I soon realized that I had to have the back story to really enjoy the entire book.
What I love about L Weldon’s books is the romance. She writes just the right about of chemistry, angst and fun I want to see in every romance. This was a slow burn and I couldn’t get enough. It’s the one on one situations that are so delightful. Great job LW I can’t wait to read your next one.
Thanks G.P. Putnam's Sons via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed Lacie’s debut novel The Layover last year. I was so excited to get an early copy of her sophomore novel and it did not disappoint! Swipe for the Goodreads synopsis.

This is a perfect summer/beach read! I have to say that I think I enjoyed it a bit more than The Layover! This is a fun story about friendship, love, family and learning to embrace who you really want to be.

I did find the first twelve percent of the book to be a bit slow, but after that the story picked up and I was fully engaged in Liv’s story. I tend to be a perfectionist so at times she reminded me of myself. Her background with her mom was sad and I do wish there had been a bit more of storyline with her mom, but there was just enough to help us understand how Liv’s past helped shape her constant need to be perfect.

I loved the aspect of a very close group of friends with just snippets of the past given to us from their college days. It wasn’t too heavily focused on the past. I have to admit, though, that I was never a big fan of Simone and didn’t think she fit in with the group at all.

Liv and Deiss were the cutest together and I thought the romantic tension between them was perfect. I also loved that this wasn’t your typical romcom. There was more depth to their stories, in my opinion. I highly recommend this book!

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
•Friends to lovers
•Group of friends since college
•South Africa
•LA
•Romcoms
•cats

🔥 Open door romance (one scene) with mild details.

Perfect summer read!

I LOVED Liv's character. She's so relatable with the struggle between what we 'should' be and want we want/what we could have with a little risk. I also loved Lucas. I will always love a distant, emotionally unavailable MMC just as much as I love a softie cinnamon roll. Their relationship was so cute and charming and everyone needs to pick this up this summer.

Lacie Waldon creates rom com magic with her latest release, From the Jump! A fun and heartfelt story of what happens when you stop worrying about the future and doing what you're supposed to do.....and instead fully embrace living in present. I absolutely loved the witty and smart banter, the close-knit friend group, the hilarious and sometimes outrageous plot twists, the friends to lovers romance, and the tremendous character growth arcs. A perfect summer read that will leave you with a smile on your face; I can't wait to read even more from this author. Thank you so much to Putnam and Netgalley for my copy.

Liv and Deiss’s story is by far one of the best friends to lovers books I have read in years!!! A brilliant combination of humor, relatable emotions, amazing characters, awesome settings, and a romance that will have you on the edge of your seat!!! A definite five star read!!! I can’t wait to see what Lacie Waldon has in store for us next!!!! A must read!!!

This group of five friends- Liv, Phoebe, Simone, Mac & Deiss meet in college and become the best of friends. It was love at first sight for all of them...not all of them knew it at the time though...

Over the next decade(+), they all remain close, they meet up at least once a month but Liv didn't realize how much she was missing out! She was so busy being perfect, making a perfect life that she didn't see that her friends were far more involved with each others lives...including their yearly trips! With a mishap at work at just the right time, Liv decides to take a chance and join the group for their trip to South Africa! It was a trip that would change her life forever!

I absolutely enjoyed this book! It was a quick summer read. I just couldn't put down!!! This book definitely has "Friends" vibe to it and the characters were so real/relatable. I enjoyed them all for the most part...Simone is lucky that her friends are so forgiving because I am just not sure that I would have forgiven her for her the chaos that she caused because of her jealousy! Can I just say that I absolutely fell in love with Deiss? He was definitely the star of this show!

It did take me awhile to warm up to Liv though. Her need for perfection really annoyed me at times but she was a great example that it is never to late to live the life that you want/deserve. I love how this group of friends are so supportive of each other in good/bad times. I am glad that Liv realized that she could break down her personal barriers and let them all in. I did feel like her personal conflicts did drag out a bit in the middle of the book. Even though Liv did overreact a bit, I was rooting for her all of the way!!!

I would love to see a "Where Are They Now" kind of sequel!!!

This is the first book that I have read by Lacie Waldon but she will definitely be put on my must read author list!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons & Lacie Waldon for this advanced reader's copy of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good slow-burn romance!

🌴 Book Review 🌴

From the Jump
Author: Lacie Waldon
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Read if you love:
🌺 Contemporary Romance
🌺 Friends to Lovers
🌺 Flashbacks
🌺 Books with Strong Friendships

First, can we talk about how gorgeous the cover of From the Jump is? It’s honestly a great book to get you in the mood for a vacation. Sadly, though, most of this book does not take place during a tropical vacation.

What I enjoyed about this book was the strong bond of friendship, the interesting side characters, and the main character’s development. What I didn’t like about this book is that it had a little too much of main character magic and that things seem to happen conveniently or too easily.

However, the book was entertaining without having to invest too much mentally or emotionally so it is great for a summer day of reading by the pool or beach especially since it also isn’t a long book.

If you’re interested in reading From the Jump, you can get your copy tomorrow, July 19!

Thank you, @putnamnooks for the ARC I received via @netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! The representation of anxiety and working through past trauma was very well done. The plot did drag a little in certain places but never enough to make me put it down, I finished it in one sitting!

I absolutely LOVED Lucie's first book and this book was just as good! She took the friends to lovers and turned it into so much more

Add to your tbr if you like
- friends to lovers
- found family
- Caroline Forbes

"𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧."
"𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞."


This is a must read for your summer tbr! I started to enjoy the book more once I hit about 20% in, not for any other reason than 'yes-girl' Liv reminding me of human Caroline Forbes from TVD. Liv (and Caroline) both became more likable and relatable once they transformed in their own ways. I think the beginning of the book worked very well to show the difference in Liv as a person, from college to the woman who finally learns to say no and choose things that actually make her happy. She's so used to following a rigid set of rules to try and protect her heart, she has essentially built a cage that not only keeps her in but keeps everyone else out.

Diess and Olivia from the beginning give you that warm cozy feeling of friends who have known each other forever and love each piece of the other. I loved seeing their flirtation develop and he became a very easy love interest to root for. Lacie writes some of the best spicy tension and it just keeps building throughout the book. The found family trope is beautiful and I love the flashbacks we get to the early days of friendship when they all met in college. The only part of the book that I was bothered by was the quick wrap up at the end. It felt like a stick-a-pin-it ending instead of fleshing out that ooooone last loose end.

Thank you to Penguin Group and Net Galley for the eARC. This is a voluntary review.

This was such a fun book! It kept my attention the entire way through! I loved the characters with all my heart and was sad once the book ended. Highly recommend!