This book did not work for me. Even though the main character Liv had some personal growth throughout the book she comes off whiny, overly dramatic. She had a tough childhood and she is desperate to be seen as perfect and somehow she fools her friends of 11 years. She has 4 close friends from college and they always vacation together but Liv doesn't join them until she does, and sparks starts flying during this South African getaway between LIv and one of her close friends Deiss. But they all make a pack to not date each other because, wait for it, they don't want to destroy the friend group. I think they are in their late 20s at this point!

They come back from vacation and Liv finds herself crushing at Deiss's place and of course they cannot keep their hands off each other. This coupling doesn't happen until 70% of the story, But the whole time Liv's internal dialog is about how Deiss sees her as a friend and how she cannot betray the other friend't trust by dating Deiss anyway, yada yada.

Deiss has some secrets that he only shares with Liv and they somehow form a bond and get to know each other. You'd think they just met because even though they had been friends for 11 years (best friends!), they don't really know basic facts about one another. The writing is choppy, the couple lacks chemistry. The other couple in their friend group Mac and Phoebe is much cuter.

The cover made me think this was a beachy romance but maybe 40% of the book takes place on their vacation. This book was more of a women's fic with a romance storyline, a sub genre I usually enjoy but it just couldn't hold my attention and I had to force myself to finish it.

This was just the perfect book. I absolutely loved it. From the friendship of the group to Deiss and Liv finally getting together. It made me heart swell.

Waldon follows up the success of The Layover (2021) with an entertaining friends-to-lovers story set in Los Angeles and on a South African safari.

Full review published in the May 15 issue of Booklist.

Unfortunately not to my taste. This was one where I just didn’t like the direction of the plot or the writing style. Might work for those who are looking for a quick rom com but it wasn’t to my taste.

I adored The Layover and I loved this book even more. Yes there were some plot holes and yes some of it didn't feel truly believable (e.g., how did they really go eleven years without having more than a few conversations) but Deiss quickly climbed the ranks of book boyfriends to love. I loved his back story, his quiet confidence, his unwavering devotion to Liv. At times it definitely felt more like women's fiction following Liv's journey from a wallflower to a confident woman and I always love a bit more romance. The friends group was great and the villains were easy to hate. If you have a tight group of friends from college or earlier in life this would be a fun read. It actually reminded me a lot of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife but with more making out and less murder.

I loved this book! It’s truly a friends to lovers book. Olivia and Diess have know each other for 11 years so they have a lot of history. I love how comfortable the two of them are with each other. Olivia and Diess’s chemistry is amazing! I love every moment the two of them were together!
The friend dynamic group is one of the best things about this book. I love how after all these years the five of them are still very close. I really liked reading though how Olivia realizes she’s kept everyone at a distance and hasn’t really been living life. I loved reading how she just gets on a plane to South Africa and after learns to not care about things so much. The pacing is a little slow but I very much enjoyed it and flew through the book pretty much in a day.

Read if you like:
Heroine’s POV
Friends to lovers
Amazing friend group
Vacation romance
Only one bed
Closed door romance

I love this cover! It’s a slow burn romance, not usually a fan but I really like this one. This is a great summer read. If you like friends to lovers trope, this one is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnan for my ARC

Liv definitely in the live to work camp, which makes complete sense after her tough childhood. She's missed out close relationships, vacations with friends, and in general fun.

But one day, she decides she's done, takes a leave of absence, and hops a plan to join her friends (including mysterious, long-time friend Lucas Deiss) on an Africa safari. In that moment, her life is never the same again. Full of roadblocks along the way, Liv is reminded sometimes you need to just jump and trust everything is going to be ok.

Falling under the "friends-to-lover" trope, 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙅𝙪𝙢𝙥 is a heartfelt romantic comedy that is PERFECT for summer reading. Add it to your beach bag. Deiss is everything you want in a "book boyfriend" and will leave you rooting for them to work out.

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Thank you to @PutnamBooks for an advance copy. It is out on 7/19/2022!

I knew I'd enjoy this book before I even started the first chapter. Lacie Waldon won me over with her previous book, The Layover, so I was SO EXCITED to be able to review this as an ARC. Thank you to Netgalley!
I appreciate main character (Liv's) development and related to her self doubt and protective nature at times. The romance was addictive and the humorous dialogue and situations bring the story together and maked this a fun read. Booker literally made me laugh aloud. I want to get to know Phoebe more, she sounds like an amazing character. Pros: the romantic tension, slow burn, and humor. Cons: The story felt a bit rushed near the end and would have liked to see other characters focused on. Overall, do recommend for a light, romantic, humorous read.

I’m usually not the biggest fan of a slow burn romance novel. However, with the enemies to lover plot and the fantastic pacing of this book, I thought it was very good. I really enjoyed Liv’s character and her growth throughout the book. My only complaint is the ending fell a little flat for me. Still a great summer read. I can picture this book being read by the pool on a vacation.

I loved the pacing of this story which is always really a hard thing for me to enjoy. I usually find things too fast or too slow but this wasn’t. I loved all of the characters too. I just wish it would have finished out a little bit slower.

I’m sorry, but this one was a no for me.

When I saw this one on Netgalley, I was immediately sucked in by that gorgeous cover and the idea of a vacation romance, in South Africa no less. Sadly, many aspects of this one fell flat.

Overall, I was terribly bored. I was expecting a lot more romance, but IMO, this one felt like a romance-light woman’s fiction. This one packs a ridiculous slow burn and with the lack of palpable chemistry and build up of sexual tension, I found myself not really invested in their relationship.

This was my first book by Lacie and I think I just didn’t jive well with her writing style. It felt like a lot of plot and not a lot of substance/depth. Almost like it was trying hard to be angsty, but was too superficial to hit the mark. For example, I couldn’t for the life of me understand how these MC’s (the whole friend group, really) who have known each other for 11 years and are described as the closest of friends yet knew so very little about each other. It felt very unrealistic to me.

I begrudgingly finished this one, but if it wasn’t an ARC, I probably would have DNF’ed. But what do I know? I read this as a part of a large buddy read and I was the only one who seemed to have a hard time connecting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam’s Son for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Friends to Lovers ✔️
Second Chance Romance✔️
Slow Burn ✔️

This book has one of the best group friends we’ve read about to date and we’d like to be their circle! Reading about Liv and Deiss’ past and present really makes you want to see these two throw themselves at each other!! We fell harddd for Deiss. He’s the quiet, semi mysterious, hot best friend with a really sweet side he likes to hide that everyone should fall for!

We don’t want to give too much away because this is a must buy! From the Jump is out July 19. Make sure you add this to your preorders!!

Thank you @netgalley and @allaboutthat_lace for letting us get our fix of your books in advance! We truly couldn’t wait for this after The Layover, and it did not disappoint!

From the Jump pulled me in from the start. I enjoy a friends-to-lovers romance but this book is so much more - the love between friends, romantic love, and the self discovery and growth of the hero Liv. The bravery to say no, to start over, to keep moving forward, to admit what you want and go after it, and to embrace love make Liv MY hero. The supporting cast was great and played a pivotal role to our understanding Liv and Liv understanding herself. I highly recommend From the Jump and look forward to reading Lacie Waldon’s next book.

3.5 Stars

I loved Liv and her journey. I loved her lack of balance, and fears, and neuroses because the way it was explored and built, that need for perfection and how it stunted her life, made so much sense. And also how she finds balance and realization was beautiful in a way.

Liv’s friendships and how she viewed them was great, but the actual friends and how THEY treated the friendship in reverse was up and down for me. Some moments were great and made sense but others had me questioning whether they were ever true friends because they never seemed to try at all. I’m not sure there was enough backstory established.

I also felt a lack of continuity in the flow of the story. The vibe just never settled in for me. The office to Africa to L.A. record store left me wishing for just a single location. I wanted to stay in Africa or have never gone there at all.

The romance was great though. I’m not one for friends-to-lovers but I thought this slow-burn discovery of romance between Liv and Deiss was great. Every little thing was touching or cute and gave the book life. There was depth to it.

Overall, there were things to love and like, though it had hang ups. Still, I think Lacie Waldron is a great author.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an adorable book. It would be perfect to take on vacation or to read by the pool.

This book was so cute! I really liked the friends to lovers trope! The writing was so good! I really loved the first book in this series and the second book was good too! I would definitely recommend this book!

This book was such a cute read 😍 I loved Liv and Deiss and their sweet relationship! They both brought the best out in one another and their growth was really nice to see. The flashbacks were a nice addition to this story and I liked that there were just a few so it wasn’t overkill. The author does such a great job when writing about traveling and I felt like I was right there with the characters on their safari adventures! Her details really helped to bring that part of the story to life!!

The beginning was a little bit slow, but things picked up pretty quickly and I had a hard time putting this book down! Simone was definitely my least favorite character and I really had a hard time finding any redeeming quality in her that helped me to understand her place in the group. Overall, this was a really fun romance read and I’m looking forward to more from this author in the future!!

At its core, From the Jump is an escape romance that follows Liv and her tight-knit group of friends from college. Liv lives her her life planning for the future and doing what is expected of her rather than what she wants. That is until she impulsively quits her job to join her friends on a trip to South Africa. While there, she quickly realizes how much she's been missing out on and starts to figure out what she wants in life. One of these wants is her best friends Lucas Deiss. The only problem is that the group already survived a break up, and she made a promise that her and Deiss will stay in the friend zone for the sake of the group.

I loved how character-driven this book was. It highlighted relatable themes such as, happiness vs. perfection, found family, living in the present and resiliency. The chemistry between Liv and Deiss was A+, and it was special to see how the two opposites supported each other through moments of vulnerability. I loved that there were "Then" chapters sprinkled throughout the story that allowed us to better understand why Liv worked so hard. However, I do wish that we got to see a little bit more of Deiss and Liv's relationship in these past snippets. The beginning was also a bit slow and choppy, but the last 70% blew me away!

Read this book if you:
-Met some of your best friends in college
-Are a rule follower
-Plan for the future but would like to live more in the moment
-Enjoy a friends to lovers, slow-burn, opposites attract romance
-Love cats
-Want to visit South Africa

Thank you Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC. Pub date: 7/19

Liv like rules. And structure. And making her life into a perfect set of tailored expectations. But with the encouragement of some friends (and alcohol!) she learns that she can say “no”! She takes six weeks off work and books a flight to meet up with her college friends in South Africa. But when she doesn’t have a place to stay, she rooms with Deiss - her friend she’s been attracted to since college. What could go wrong?

I adored this book. Deiss is so swoony and irresistible. Liv’s character development is phenomenal as she shows a lot of growth.

It’s a friends-to-lovers, forced proximity, man who can’t commit kinda romance and basically all my favorite things.

Such a perfect summer book!