Liv Bakersfield has always played it safe. She watches what she eats, is the go to graphic designer at work, and is up just an all around reliable friend to have.

Speaking of friends, she has a core group of them that vacation together often. Unfortunately, due to being so rooted in her day to day, Liv often misses out on trips like these. Then one day, something snaps. Suddenly, Liv finds herself doing the unexpected, unexpectedly. Unceremoniously quitting her job, the out of character Liv hops a plane to join her friends who are vacationing in South Africa.

Through storylines told in both past and present, we learn more about the friends Liv has had in her life for so many years. While Liv’s redefinition of what’s important is dealt with in this book, I’d say it’s really a story about the redefining of all sorts of relationships. As happens in some groups of friends, there are blurred lines of jealousy, competition, and all around complicated feelings. The trip arises all of these emotions and more. But when the gang returns home, Liv finds herself getting a harsh dose of the reality she temporarily escaped. Can her friends help her get through it all or did she jump into more than she bargained for?

Once again my Booksta friend, the talented @allaboutthe_lace has created a niche of characters to become invested in. There are some predictable tropes explored in this novel, but they are touched upon in unpredictable ways. I particularly was drawn to the way Liv and Deiss’s relationship evolved. The underlying humor was great as well. I mean who doesn’t love a book with feline friends named Cat Stevens and Fluff Daddy?! Surely not this friend of felines! 😉

Getting to read buddy read this one with a core group of my own Booksta pals only made the experience sweeter. If I were you, I wouldn’t hesitate going all in on From The Jump!

I really enjoyed Lacie Waldon’s debut novel The Layover, so I was excited to read her next one. It did not disappoint.

I really enjoyed both of the main characters, the banter, the friend group (though Simone was the worst), and the setting.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for any of Lacie’s future releases.

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
From the Jump by Lacie Waldon is a slow-burn romance partly set in Africa and California. I just loved the long-lasting friendships in this book and the romance and setting.

Liv Bakersfield has a nice life, great friends, and a great job. But something is missing as she still feels lonely. One day at work, after another stressful day, she decides to say no, and she leaves her job to join her college friends on a vacation in South Africa. But, instead of a relaxing vacation, her time with her college friends Phoebe, Simone, Diess, and Mac, becomes more complicated. Especially her relationship with Lucas Diess. The dynamic of all five friends starts to change, and Liv is afraid that the change could break the friend group up for good.

I really enjoyed the friendships in this book. I was a bit reminded of the TV show “Friends” while reading this. The way these five people remained friends for all those years and kept in touch and took vacations together was lovely to read about. Of course, there was some dysfunction, and that made the book more interesting. The romance was a very slow burn, but very satisfying when it finally worked out for them.

I also enjoyed watching Liv grow and change and step out of her comfort zone. She was stuck in a rut, and she needed to learn to enjoy life and do more of what she wanted and less of what she should do.

Friend groups have to grow and change as individuals grow older, and this group had to change too. The book is more about friends and growing up than romance, but it sure was a good romance too.

I highly recommend From the Jump to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction and romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

**3.5 Stars**

Here are my ramblings for From the Jump:

The Pros:
*The writing itself is spectacular. It flows really well between now and then with the story taking place in mostly the now.
* I love the message of “you don’t have to be perfect”. Just be you.
* It’s a slow burn, friends to lovers.
* Deiss had to grow on me. I could see that he cared for Liv but I questioned him a lot. I am super grateful the author clears some of my misgivings up later on in the story. I also kinda dig that he had to grow on me. It was refreshing.
* If I ever have a cat, I want the cat to be just like Cat Stevens

The Cons:
* I am not a fan of Simone….at all.
* The story ends too quickly. All is forgiven so fast and in reality, things do not work out that way. It takes time to get over that kind of betrayal.
* The friends group is problematic.. None of them want to appear vulnerable with each other but vulnerability is a big part of friendship. They have a surface level friendship. Each character is afraid to share things about themselves because they are afraid they will not be accepted. I don’t think it ever gets resolved really. The characters are only vulnerable with their love interests (thank goodness for that).
* The cover doesn’t match the story although it is gorgeous.

Pros and Cons aside, I would definitely recommend it for others to read.


Thanks for you for the advance copy!! All opinions are my own.

I adored this book. I thought that it was light and fun, yet it also had a lot of depth in it as well. You have two characters who are afraid of being hurt and have found a group of people that they call “family” that means the world to them. Now they just have to keep hiding their feelings for each other, or risk losing what is most important to them.

Deiss is a closed-off, love ‘‘em and leave ‘‘em man who learns to open up and allow people into his life. Liv is a chronic yes women who learns to put herself first and stand up for what she wants. The chemistry and tension between them is amazing. Friends to lovers done right. I enjoyed every second.

If you like. . .
🐘 the sound of an exotic vacation with friends
🐘 Friends to lovers trope
🐘 He falls first 💕
🐘 A surly, brooding, mysterious love interest
🐘 Friend group drama/complicated relationship dynamics
🐘The Layover by Lacie Waldon

Liv follows all the rules to have a happy and successful life. These rules require her to sacrifice a lot of herself to her job and to look 100% put together and perfect at all times. When she gives the word "no" a try, everything changes and she finds that she likes who she becomes when she sets boundaries and follows her gut. On a whim, she joins her best friends on a trip to South Africa and finds that she sees things differently now, especially while in close proximity with Lucas Deiss.

I loved the chemistry and romance between Liv and Deiss. There's a forbidden aspect (an off-limits pact in their friend group) and really adorable banter. After somewhat of a slow start, I found myself really sucked in just trying to understand their dynamic. Deiss is mysterious and both characters have secret pasts that they don't share with their other friends. I just really enjoyed reading about their connection.

What didn't work for me: The conflict! I really didn't want the plot to go here even though it was sort of an obvious choice. It was a 'wish I could throw my kindle at the wall' moment. I also felt like certain people were forgiven too quickly in the end and things wrapped up really fast.

Olivia is trying to live her life differently than her mother did. Poverty, a brief period of homelessness and poor choices made Liv feel out of control as a child, so as an adult she’s determined to never feel that way again. She’s sacrificed a lot of who she is in order to never appear weak or emotional and to be perfect in every way. Until one day at work she says no instead of yes and suddenly everything changes. At the last minute she decides to join her friends on a trip to South Africa where she starts to see her life a little differently, especially when it comes to one friend in particular, Lucas Deiss.

I was so on the fence about this one! It’s a friends to lovers, “it’s always been you”, close proximity romance. It’s fast paced and I found Olivia’s character to be so relatable that I quickly became invested in her story. Liv and Deiss had great chemistry and I loved their evolution from friends to lovers. Liv was a strong heroine and she had an incredible character arc in this story as she went from the girl that kept her true self hidden to one that embraced change and spontaneity. And Deiss is enough of a mystery that I was intrigued by him, as well. I loved the witty humor, the record store/music scene setting, the slow burn, the longing and tension between Liv and Deiss and their amazing trip to South Africa.

My issue is that as much as I loved Liv and Deiss, I didn’t really like any of the other characters. The book focused a lot on friendship, specifically the friendship between Liv and four of her former college classmates. It’s mentioned more than once that these friends were like family to Liv, and I just didn’t buy it. These “friends'' had no idea who Liv really was and she seemed to barely know them, either. After eleven years of friendship where they consistently met up and hung out, that just didn’t work for me. I didn’t feel any kind of connection to Mac, Simone or Phoebe and the group dynamics felt off. They were more like acquaintances, and in one case “frenemies.” Most of the drama in the story has to do with these other characters but I couldn’t bring myself to care about them as much as I cared about Liv and Deiss.

I really enjoyed the love story in this book and it’s getting a lot of great reviews on Goodreads! If you like friends to lovers, exotic vacations, close proximity, a broody and mysterious love interest and a complicated friend dynamic, then check this one out! I will definitely look for more from this author in the future. Thank you so much to Edelweiss and Putnam Books for the advanced copy to read and review! From The Jump is available on July 19th.

I was excited about this one due to enjoying her book, The Layover.
While I enjoyed this book and read it quickly, there were elements about it that were not my favorite, for example the friend group.
I gave this book 3 stars.

I really loved The Layover but I think something was missing in From the Jump.

I liked Liv’s character well enough—she’s a people pleaser and can’t seem to say no, no matter how full her plate is. A lot of her problems were self inflicted and she whined about things that were completely within her control to fix. I liked that she was finally able to start saying no and put herself first, but thought quitting her job to go on vacation with her friends was a little crazy.

I didn’t really like the friend group, especially Simone, but loved her connection and budding chemistry with Lucas. Although I would have liked more steam and build up between them. Overall I really liked their relationship, and thought the book was really fun despite me not liking some of the characters.

Thank you Netgalley and Putnam for the arc!

From the Jump
by Lacie Waldon
4 stars

Every since college Liv, Phoebe, Simone, Lucas, and Mac have all been close friends they get together every Thursday and they take an annual trip together. Except for Liv she stays and keeps working and doesn't want to spend the extra money, after growing up with a single mom she knows it can be a struggle.
She finally realizes she can say no to her boss and just live a little bit, so she decides to join her group of friends in South Africa. After a great trip so much has happened at home that she is a little over her head and struggles to handle the new life she is handed. Slowly she sees the good and bad of it all. The group's friendship is put to the test.

I love Liv and how she overcomes it all between the hardships that happen after she returns. `She struggles between her job, her feelings, and how to handle her friends and seeing them more than one Thursday a month. I love Liv, I feel like I can connect with her a lot you have to work all the time and not much time for fun, but you have to learn a balance between fun and making a living. I don't want to give away any spoilers but Lucas is a hunk and is every girl's dream guy but he only has eyes for one girl. This is my first Lacie Waldon book and I am impressed fully.
Thank you, Net Galley and Penguin group Putnam for the eARC for an honest review

4.5 stars
Well, this gem came out of nowhere and surprised me! What a great romance!
What if instead of always saying yes, you started saying to stand up for yourself and started saying no. I loved these characters and loved rooting for them in this fantastic friends to lovers romance. Great chemistry, light hearted, and an easy quick read.
This is one you’ll definitely want to get your hands on and one I’ll be getting a physical copy for myself.

From the Jump was a funny, charming friends to lovers story with extremely likable characters. I loved their background stories and the strong bond of their friend group. Would definitely recommend.

Such a great read for summer. After reading Lacie's book last summer, I was so excited for this one and it did not disappoint. I related so much to Liv and loved that Deiss was completely opposite of her. Thank you for sharing this book with me.

if you read the layover in summer this is the next book to catch this summer. it'll will make you travel while being on your couch. we also love a complicated love story in midst of paradise. it was good, the -i take control of my life back- aspect was kinda cathartic experience. it makes you reflect on your own life too. this was really good!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lacie Waldon, and Putnam Books for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read “The Layover” by Lacie Waldon a few weeks ago and it wasn’t my cup of tea. This book thought did a whole flip. I loved the story and the setting and the characters of this book. Everything worked so well together and I wasn’t bored even once. The beginning was written really well as I did not feel like giving up on the book while the story was developing. Liv is this perfectionist, put-together girl on the outside who is mentally dying on the inside. Her character was so lovely. I fell in love with how she was trying to figure herself out. Don’t get me wrong her figuring out whether freelance or her job is better was definitely a really good part, but it wasn’t introspective. I don’t think that if you are looking for an intense connection that she finds with herself you would like that part. It is cute and gets the point across. I also loved the first set of South Africa. I went there on vacation once and did the safaris and all that. Lacie Waldon did an excellent job of making me reminisce about my trip there. She was able to describe the safari and the thrill of all of it exactly. Liv and Diess had an adorable romance. I really liked the friends to lovers trope and how close they got over the book before they actually started a relationship. Diess’ acting weirded me out a little, but the whole concept added a good touch to the story. My favorite scene of Liv and Diess has to be the one where they order Chinese takeout and Liv finally gives up on her diet of Egg Drop Soup and digs into the dumplings. I loved it when she finally gave up on her book perfection and finally started doing things that she enjoyed. I would have loved to see a little bit more of Diess’ background. He was a good character, but to me, he needed a little bit more development. Also, I think I might be the only one who has hated Simone from the start. She gave me yucky vibes throughout the book. Elena though… how did this girl facilitate a financial theft by accident? She really went for the guy. No, but it was cool to see how Liv started doing her freelance work and started building herself back up client by client. I kind of want to see her work. Overall, this was a super cute summery romance book. Would recommend.

Loved this book so much! I need to go back and read the debut book by this author! Thank you to Lacie Waldon, NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy of this book.

Ehhhhh, i was hoping to love this one as so many people rave about The Layover, however i wasn’t feeling it. I didn’t like Livs group of friend at all!! They were so mean to her. I’ve also learned I’m not a fan of slow burn romance, they tend to drag for me. I will however be checking out her first book!

Lacieeeeeeee you're an automatic buy for me. I absolutely ravished The Layover, and this one too. Can't wait for the next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for an ARC.

4.5⭐️

What I liked:
✨I love a mc where they’re trying to go against the grain of either what they’ve put on themselves or what others have put on them.
✨their friend group dynamic was interesting. I liked that there was an accurate amount of going back in the past to explain the origins of their friendship.
✨Deisssssssss - he is literally so lovable. He was the perfect amount of aloof and up front.
✨Deiss and Liv had that chemistry that was so interestingggg. I enjoyed reading their journey, AND I love a good forbidden romance/friends to lovers trope!!!!

What I didn’t love:
✨the timing of the story wasn’t my fave. It seemed like there was quite a lot of timing in the plot that got wrapped up pretty fast (including their friend trip to Africa). (This is also just my English teacher-ness that I can’t turn off when I’m reading 😂)

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review 🖤

This was a great book and really made me think about my own life and what I need to start saying no to in order to live a better life. This was a great romance and I will definitely be reading more Lacie Waldon in the future.