Rating: 4/5 Stars


Liv Bakersfield has always lived her life exactly “by the book”. Job, boyfriend, finances - she’s always done what she should and only taken calculated risks. When Liv finally gets the courage to stray from the books she finds herself on a vacation of a lifetime with her best friends in South Africa.

As we get to know Liv and her best friends, we meet a cast of likable characters who are nuanced and growing in their own way. When Liv and her friend Lucas find themselves living together after their Africa trip, they start to question whether or not they’ve always been friends or maybe something more.

From the Jump is a wild ride from beginning to end - a highly unrealistic storyline and a character is slightly out of touch with reality (and in some cases common sense) - but it works. I really loved the romp in South Africa and the translation to real life in LA. Lacie did a great job at making the characters all work in their own specific way.

Thanks to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam / G.P. Putnam’s Sons and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Synopsis: Do you struggle with being a person that always says yes? Are you a person who lives your life on the "shoulds" instead of what makes you happy? Liv, a graphic designer, is stretched thin because her chronic trait of being a yes-woman, all until she decides to say no and become spontaneous. Her friends embark on a journey to South Africa, and what better way to practice her new plan to say no more often and take back her life by quitting her job, and jumping on a plane to join them! Filled with incredible self development, friends to lovers romance, and a newfound adventure ahead of her, this books follows Liz as she begins to take back her life and put herself first for once!

Thoughts: This book was a pleasant surprise and definitely caught me off guard. I originally requested it on @netgalley after reading the synopsis and was genuinely intrigued. Fast forward to weeks later when I finally decided to read it, forgetting the synopsis, and going in blind, I expected a lighthearted rom com, but this book is SO much more than that!

Liv, as the female main character, is such a strong role model and the character development she underwent throughout the book was absolutely amazing! I loved it! I truly enjoyed the overall theme of learning to saying no and doing what makes you happy instead of what you should do. It's solid advice that I can appreciate and use as a reminder for my day to day life.

Liv's relationship, both romantic and a friendship, with Deiss was definitely swoon worthy! Their friendship was so admirable!

Read this one if you like:
✨️ Friends to Lovers
✨️ Forced Proximity
✨️ Strong female main character
✨️ Self Discovery

Thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks for an eArc of this fun summer read!

I loved this group of friends, the life they live together, and the relationship between 2 friends-to-lovers. The story starts with Liv forced to make some changes and take some chances in her perfectly ordered life. It’s not easy for her. At all. But she gives it a go. Deiss refuses to take any relationship beyond friendship or hookups and he has his reasons. Valid reasons. Once they finally admit their attraction to each other, all bets are off and a brand new future awaits - but only if they will make the jump. This story and characters are so well written I felt like I was right there with them every step of the way. Hopefully this friend group will have more books in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

In From the Jump, the most put-together character goes from workaholic to hot mess. Going on sabbatical from her job, to vacation in Africa with her college friends, and returning to a dumpster fire, it feels like our heroine Liv lives nine lives in just a few chapters. When Liv has nowhere to stay upon her return from her last-minute vacation, she shares the apartment of long-time friend and crush, Lucas. Finally taking time for herself to reevaluate what she wants, she realizes that may include Lucas... and not the job or life she left behind.

Despite a stressful start to our story, I love to see a unique turn of events and a long-time crush finally come to be. There's a flash of celebrity element that I don't want to spoil--but it's a fun plot twist I certainly didn't see coming. I think this book is even better that Waldon's first, and I have hopes for even more strides with another!

Thanks to Putnam for my eARC and finished copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 8/10

Thank you Netgalley & Putnam Books for the e-book of From the Jump!

I was SO excited to read From the Jump after absolutely adoring Lacie Waldon's other book The Layover, but sadly this one was just okay for me. The main character Liz was just so unsure of herself that sometimes it drove me absolutely crazy! Deiss was adorable and I loved him, but overall this story and the group of friends felt quite juvenile..and that made the story just a little too slow for me. I also expected more of the book to focus on the friends trip that Liz finally decides to go on, but was disappointed to find out that it was really just a small portion of the book! I will definitely still be looking forward to Lacie Waldon's next book though!

From the Jump is my first book by Lacie Waldon. When I saw the gorgeous cover and read the synopsis of a getaway romance to South Africa, I quickly cross-check with Goodreads and saw that my friends rated it highly, so it was a no-brainer to give it a try.

An easy 5 star read for sure. I loved Liv as a main character and Deiss is irresistible. I sped through this book and really enjoyed the writing. I cannot wait to read Lacie Waldon's next story.

Super cute romance! This was my first Lacie Waldon book and I really enjoyed it. I do wish it was a little spicer, it was a little tame compared to the romance books I’ve been reading lately.

Liv always does what she’s supposed to do. At work she does what she’s supposed to do, she stays late when asked (when no one else does), she takes the crappy projects when asked, and she allows her work to change her creative work into cookie cutter deliverables. She works out everyday like she’s supposed to and she eats what she’s supposed to. She decorates her apartment like the magazines tell her to and she dates who the blogs tell her she’s supposed to.
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𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁.
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She’s sick of never eating food she likes, never doing projects that stoke her creative juices, and most importantly never getting to spend time with her friends.
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The close circle of friends offers an amazing variety of dynamic characters. The interplay of relationships and emotions was just the right amount of drama. The relationship between Liv and Lucas was a delicious rollercoaster.
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If you like:
✅ Sweet HEAs
✅ Getaways to Africa
✅ Secret celebrities
✅ Self-discovery
✅ Friends to Lovers
Then you definitely have to read this book!

This was the perfect way to finish off summer by being transported to safaris and motivated by Liv’s transformation.

Liv and Deiss are friends who become romantically involved and have to deal with their new relationship affecting their friends. A slow burn romance for Liv as she makes major life decisions. I thought Simone was an unneeded character, not sure how the friends ever made her their friend. A good summer, quick read.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this friends to lovers book. Liv and her friends met in college and have been life long friends since. Even after they are all in their careers and moved from college life they still keep a monthly meet up just to stay close. I loved the build up in the romance between Liv and Deiss. I loved that Liv was able to finally stand up for herself, especially at her job and find her voice. I loved that she learned the word "NO". Great summer read.

I was initially drawn to this book because of the cover. However, as I was reading the book, I found that I was more drawn to the story and have not been able to stop thinking about it after I have read it.
The story is told from Liv's perspective and while I like multiple POV storylines, I really liked just reading from her perspective. It added the the mystery of the friend group that I think Liv was experiencing throughout the book.
I found this book to be so relatable (aside from a taking a last minute trip to South Africa)! Liv going through her entire life trying to be seen as perfect and doing what she should be doing resulting in her constantly working to be financially successful that she misses out on life with her friends. I also found glimpses of her realizing that some parts of their friend group tended to stay surface level and never getting deeper than that. I think a lot of people can relate to that, where time and history kept you being friends and not ever really knowing someone past the superficial/surface level.

Overall, this book was very enjoyable. The story was well paced and the third act drama was surprising and it wasn't overly obvious. It really tied the whole story together and the treasure that is true friendship and the occasional problems that may arise with friends.

Liv Bakersfield is used to living her life in “shoulds.” Be fit. Be financially responsible. Be your best self. An overworked graphic designer, she’s stretched so thin that she’s about to miss yet another vacation with her beloved group of college friends. But when Liv finally decides to start saying no, it feels good…good enough to leap straight into quitting her job and hopping on a plane to join them in South Africa.

Amid the exotic landscape and unforgettable sights, Liv expects sun and safari animals and an easy time with her best friends. But such close proximity makes everything more complicated, especially with the emotionally unavailable Lucas Deiss. Their friendship is the only thing in her life that's still solid, and she vows to do anything she can to keep the group together. But once they get back to LA, Liv discovers that her leap of faith has become a freefall, sending her crashing into Deiss's arms. With the trust of the people she loves most on the line, Liv must decide between doing what she should … and risking everything for what she shouldn’t want.

I received a free e-copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Also, I'm very behind on this review and for that, I am sorry.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I think this book actually started off strong, and despite the ending feeling a little strange and rushed I still enjoyed reading it. I'm impressed with the author's ability to take a character like Liv and make her have all of these characteristics that are annoying without making Liv annoying. I thought I wouldn't like her, but the author did a good job at making Liv almost relatable, and I could sympathize with her. I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Deiss...sometimes he could be such an annoying man but other times he could be very sweet and I think him and Live did a good job at balancing each other out.

I thought the romance in this book was pretty cute, and even though it was slow and not super spicy, it was still such a fun read. I liked that this book includes 5 friends, but I wish Simone wasn't such a....well I'm not gonna say the word, but I'm sure y'all can guess what word it is. I liked seeing their friendship and how it came to be with the time-jumps here and there. It was nice to see how they could rely on each other and help each other out. I don''t really like Simone and how she's pretty much a pointless character in my opinion.

Like I said before I did enjoy the writing in this book I thought the author did a good job bringing the characters to life in a way that didn't feel boring. I was pretty intrigued by this book from the beginning; even though the "plot twists" weren't surprising to me, it was still a really fun read. Overall I would recommend this book if you're looking for a cute and quick romance. This is a friends-to-lovers plot, so if you like that and you love seeing the MC grow as a person, then this is a good book to try. :)

I really really wanted to like this book. And it wasn't bad. It just wasn't quite as good as I was hoping. However, I do believe a bit of what bothered me about it was the fact that I had an early reader copy that needed a bit more editing, and maybe now that it is published, the final copy is improved. I just felt there were conversations in a few places that were a bit stilted and the flow didn't quite make sense all the time. Like it had been edited and not quite finished re-drafting it.

Overall, the story was pretty sweet. I think if it had a bit more time to be refined, this story could be really good. The backstory concept was interesting and what propelled me to keep going with it. I think what happened to Liv and her finances was a bit far-fetched. But hey, we don't read rom coms for the reality of them, do we? LOL! :-)

LIKES:
📝 descriptive, immersive, witty writing
⏳ flashbacks to college
👱🏻‍♀️ Olivia is a perfectionist hiding her past
🧔🏻 Deiss is a charismatic, magnetic playboy
🌴 features a trip to south africa!
🎶 music vibes
👫 explores college & adult friendships
🤫 + past secrets
💰 + wealth dynamics
👄 + beauty standards for women
👩‍❤️‍👨 friends to lovers (steam level 2/5)
❤️‍🩹 forbidden romance lite (no romance pact!)
🛏 + an only one bed moment!
🫂 + forced proximity
🌱 themes of personal growth
🎧 good on audio
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DISCLAIMERS:
⚠️ dm me for TW!
👥 REALLY wish this had been dual POV!
🧐 questioned how quickly Liv dropped her perfectionism & “ice queen” persona
🧞‍♀️ wanted more flashbacks!!
•
VERDICT: a stronger romance than meet me in paradise, from the jump serves a New Girl-esque friends to lovers romance with ZERO ick while lightly exploring past secrets, personal growth, & the evolution of college friendships into adulthood

From the Jump by Lucie Waldon was worth all the time I spent reading. It was such a trip!

The story introduced us to a group of close friends who met in the first day of college and moved through adulthood together. We have Olivia, Phoebe, Simone, Mac and Deiss. I totally love the friendship with these five! They meet up every third Thursdays to catch up. They take vacations together and they obviously love each other like family. I resonates with each and everyone of their uniqueness.

Olivia or Liv, is our story’s main character and heroine. She is struggling and so desperate to break free of her self-imposed rules to perfection. But constraints and norms has its end and reached it’s point where even Liv no longer finds it gratifying. She derailed herself from rules and became spontaneous.

From the Jump is a friends to lovers romance between Liv and Deiss and a comeback for Phoebe and Mac. But there is so much more to this story! There is the real, relatable and totally fun dynamics of a great friendship. The acceptance of every one’s being, the caring and watching our for each other, the teasing, the fun, the laughter and tears, the secrets, the trust , the honesty and most of all the forgiveness. Despite their mistakes, they know how to own it and they step up for the challenge to man up and make ammends!

This is a fun read and a fast one too. I thank Netgalley for the ebook copy in exchange of my review.

While I loved the author’s previous book last summer, I wasn’t as much of a fan of this one. It is about a group of college friends, including the main character Liv. The cover seems to imply a vacation setting, but while the group goes to South Africa, they are only there for a short time in the book. I guess I just didn’t like Liv or the rest of the friend group and I didn’t feel that they were as close of friends even when we were told they were. I feel badly that I didn’t like this one more.

I have been struggling to find the words to properly review this book. So please, stick with me and read on...

First, let me start by thanking @putnambooks and @prhaudio for sending me this book to read/listen to and give my honest opinion.

SITUATION
Pub Day: July 19th, 2022
Publisher: Putnam
Genre: RomCom
📃Pages: 352
🎧Audio Length: 9hrs 18min
BACKGROUND
Liv Bakersfield is used to living her life in “shoulds.” Be fit. Be financially responsible. Be your best self. An overworked graphic designer, she’s stretched so thin that she’s about to miss yet another vacation with her beloved group of college friends. But when Liv finally decides to start saying no, it feels good…good enough to leap straight into quitting her job and hopping on a plane to join them in South Africa.

Amid the exotic landscape and unforgettable sights, Liv expects sun and safari animals and an easy time with her best friends. But such close proximity makes everything more complicated, especially with the emotionally unavailable Lucas Deiss. Their friendship is the only thing in her life that's still solid, and she vows to do anything she can to keep the group together. But once they get back to LA, Liv discovers that her leap of faith has become a freefall, sending her crashing into Deiss's arms. With the trust of the people she loves most on the line, Liv must decide between doing what she should … and risking everything for what she shouldn’t want.
ASSESSMENT
📗Positive Results: Lucas Deiss. Read the book and you'll see there isn't really more to say there... He's your new book boyfriend. Then, there is a group of friends that have stuck together since college, meeting once a month. A group of friends who try to go on vacation annually. I mean, they sound like a great group of people. There are elephants. How can you say no to elephants?
📙Abnormal Results: Simone. I am not a fan. She isn't a nice person and I'm still not sure why she is part of their friend group... Every good story needs a character like this though, right? Well, this book has two because there is also the love-to-hate Mia.
Nursing Notes: At the beginning of the book, Liv is your typical just-trying-to-survive character. She's responsible and hard working, but it never seems to really get her ahead. Because of this, she is about to miss yet another vacations her friends are taking. This part made me want to reach through the pages and shake her - start living your life, Liv!

Thankfully, she listens because she quits her job (that doesn't appreciate her anyway) and books a flight to join her friends. She's late to the game so she's arriving after her friends and has some different accommodations. Thankfully, Lucas Deiss (who goes by Deiss) offers to drive to the airport (a mere 2+hr drive) to pick her up. Then the "hotel" she booked turns out to be... shall we say "less than ideal"... so Deiss brings her back to his hotel room.

Again, I wanted to reach through the pages and shake Liv, but this time because she's so damn obsessed with her makeup. Sure, I get it. Her mother screwed up her psyche at a young age, but I wanted her to actually let loose and be authentic. Praise be to God that the circumstances are not in her favor and she's required to "put on a good face" (did you see that? a makeup pun...).

My love of Deiss first began back at the bar Stateside, but his desire (or should I call it a craving) to see Liv's pure beauty really warmed my heart. It wasn't just about what he wanted though, it was about the way he made her feel comfortable being herself. He created an environment in which Liv's true self could still shine.

Cue the elephants. Imagine being in a one person tent and hearing a heard of elephants rummaging through the food left outside. Let's compare this to camping in the States and the bears growling outside your tent... Deiss to the rescue, but I'll let you read the book to know what else happens on the South Africa trip.

The best part of coming home from an amazing trip of a lifetime is climbing into your own bed after hours upon hours of travel. But where the hell is Liv's bed? Where is Liv's cat? And where is all of Liv's money that is supposed to be safely in her bank account? If she thought she'd hit rock bottom before the trip, she was dead wrong.

Liv's life seems to be in the dumpster and the dumpster was just lit on fire, except the reality is that the sparks that lit the fire were between Deiss and herself and all that heat? It's not from the dumpster being on fire... it's the sizzling sexual tension! And Deiss doesn't just prove to Liv he's an amazing man, he proved it to every female who reads this book!

I have so much more to say, but I can't give it all away. If you've read my review this far, you have to read the book... and then hit me up so we can discuss!!!

🎧Notes on Narration: Brittany Pressley is one of my favorite audiobook narrators. I love her cadence and her voice. I also love the way she narrates the male character's voices. When I see her name as the narrator, I'm confident I will enjoy the audiobook.
🗝️Key words: #ThisReadingNurse #FromtheJump #LacieWaldon #RomCom #Putnam #Travel #Friendship #FriendsToLovers

From the Jump was a great summer read! The first half of this book is a travel romance to South Africa, which made me want to go there ASAP. This is forced proximity and a friends-to-lovers romance between Liv and Deiss. I also loved their friend group, even though they had some strong opinions that caused some drama. If you want a fun wanderlust romance with some tight-knit college friendships, this is the book to read. I loved the narration and would recommend it.

Thank you, Penguin Random House Audio and G.P. Putnam's Sons, for my complimentary copies.