This is my first book from this author, and I know it will not be my last! I found all of the characters in this story to be very likeable and relatable. This book is so well written, you are able to travel into the book and live vicariously through all of the characters. If you are a friends-to-lovers trope person, you will love this book!

Lacie Waldon has become my go to travel author! I read The Layover on an airplane earlier this year and this was the perfect follow up. I loved the vibrant setting and the globetrotting adventure of this book. It was fun, smart, and sexy at the same time. This is a book about friendship, love, and finding yourself in the midst of it all. Thank you to Putnam Books & Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book!

2.5/5 stars rounded up. In "From the Jump," we meet Liv Bakersfield - a girl who doesn't say no out of fear of reliving her past. Liv meets her friend group in college and they stick together for 11 years via monthly hangouts and the occasional fancy vacation. One day, after years of saying yes to projects at work that she hates and no to vacations with friends, she turns it all around and says no for the first time. This vacation leads to a whole new Liv and shifts in her relationships with friends that only get dicier (lol) when she gets home.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

While I mostly enjoyed this book, there were too many small things that bugged me to make it a super pleasurable read. Reading this brought up so many questions that were either unanswered or didn't give a satisfactory answer (in my opinion). How was Liv's stuff able to be stolen so easily? Wasn't Elena supposed to be housesitting? Why do her "friends" call her the Ice Queen, and why are they friends with her if she's so cold? How does her personality change seemingly overnight? Why are they friends with Simone, even before the whole Deiss secret thing? How is Deiss able to forgive Liv and Simone for telling someone his biggest secret, resulting in it getting out to the world? Did Liv ever get her money back?

Maybe I just went into it with expectations that were too high, but I was slightly disappointed with the whole thing. I liked so aspects of it enough to continue and not DNF. I also felt so disconnected from the plot and the characters that I was literally about the read the conclusion to the whole book and chose to sleep instead.

Some good things about the book: Deiss, CAT Stephens, forced proximity, girl finally becoming who she wants to be rather than who she was supposed to be. This is a good book if you like friends-to-lovers - obviously I'm a sucker for that - and can deal with loose ends not being tied up and reading about unrealistic friendships.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

This book definitely gave me ‘Friends’ vibes, centering around a group of close friends who stay together through thick and thin over the past decade. Liv, a girl who lives by the book and religiously sticks to her rigid plans, decides to say ‘cya’ to that lifestyle and ventures out of her comfort zone by daring herself to do things she’s never done before.

This book was so insanely cute, and the slow-burn between Liv and Deiss was swoon-worthy. I loved the dynamics between the friends, and I absolutely adored Elena. Also, Deiss making an effort while flirting? Yes please.

Will definitely be purchasing this book when it comes out on July 5, 2022!

Thanks for letting me read this, it really took me some time its not one of those books that can keep your interest for very long I liked it but I didn't love it, I think it definitely needed something more to it

I will definitely be keeping up with all of Lacie Waldon's future releases. This book made me laugh, smile like a fool and SWOON. I have yet to stop thinking about Lucas Deiss and wondering if I could order my very own Deiss online. I recommend this book to any fan of contemporary romance novels. This one will definitely hit the spot.

i really enjoyed getting to read this book early. it was so much fun and such a sweet little romance. it made me feel good and that's something i really enjoy in my books. a lovely escape!

I haven't read The Layover yet but am definitely moving it up my list after finishing From the Jump! This book was so much cuter than I anticipated. A quick, easy read with enough drama sprinkled in to keep the reader interested, and a really fun cast of characters - I couldn't put it down! I didn't love Liv at first, but she grew on me as the story went on and I found myself rooting for her. There was one side character I could not stand, but otherwise I really loved the dynamics, banter, and history of the friend group. There were a couple of slightly unbelievable plot twists, but I liked the rest of the book so much that I didn't even mind. I highly recommend this one, and can't wait to see what the author comes out with next! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was cute! It was a light, mostly happy read with a few nice angsty twists and turns sprinkled in, and I read it all in one sitting!

If you’re looking for an easy, fun, and warm read with just the right amount of drama, this one is for you.

Liv has spent her entire life trying to become exactly who she needs to be. She wears the right styles. She reads the magazines and the books and the blogs. She has the career, the friends, and the perfect apartment.

But she’s not happy.

So when Liv makes a snap decision to finally join her friends on their adventure to South Africa (the first time she’s ever accompanied them, though she’s always been invited), quitting her job in the process.

And it feels great. So great, in fact, that Liv plans to keep shaking things up when they return home to LA.

But this new version of Liv has a whole new life to handle - not only cleaning up the wreckage of her spontaneous decision to leave but also the fact that she has definitely developed feelings for her best friend, and it looks like he might feel the same way.

A MUST READ!!!

From the Jump features Liv and her friend group from college that consists of herself, Deiss, Phoebe, Mac, and Simone. Liv lives her life doing what she thinks she should be doing; she always dresses presentable and wears makeup, works out and eats an extremely healthy diet. She never really lets herself go and just live freely, everything she does is according to what books and blogs say she should be doing up until she takes a leap to quit her job and join her friends on a trip to South Africa. She quickly realizes that she has been missing out and finally starts to figure out who she is and what she wants. She finds in these wants is one of her best friends: Deiss, but she makes a pact with phoebe that she won’t date him for the sake of the friend group. The friend group has already survived a breakup and doesn’t need another one complicating things. Things get messy when she finds herself living with Deiss after losing all of her assess and her apartment and she finds herself wondering if there is a possibility of having something more with him.

I LOVED this book so much!! I didn’t know what to expect coming into this book; I didn’t know that much about the storyline or the author, but I could not put this book down! I read it in one sitting!! This book is a friends to lovers book which is one of my favorite tropes. There was also incredible banter between Liv and Deiss and it also had a little bit of a slow burn. I loved how drawn I was to the characters and their worlds. I loved all of the side characters as well and hope there might be a book from Phoebe’s perspective! It is definitely a must read and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

The Layover was adorable, but this just made me swoon.
I honestly thought these two would end up as friends. This sweet love story just melted my heart.

OMG! I loved the layover so obviously I was excited for this one and it truly blew me away! Perfect beach/ vacation/ summer read! Highly recommend. One of my most anticipated releases of 2022!

MC Liv does everything right in her life. She has everyone’s dream home, works the longest hours to succeed in her job and tries to live a balanced lifestyle. This chronic yes woman finally decides to say “no”, and when she does, her life spirals out of control. Now she doesn’t have her whole life mapped out and realises how much she hates her job. Escaping the harsh realities of her life, she finally goes on her friendship group’s annual holiday away, with this year the trip taking them to Africa! Just when things are taking a turn for the worst, and her life is complicated beyond her control, she starts to fall for her longtime and entirely off-limits best friend. How can things in Liv’s life get any more complicated?!

This book was such a pure delight, and I honestly enjoyed this book from cover to cover. I honestly found all of the characters to be likeable and relatable. The banter they shared and the honest friendship for each other were so pure. This book is about individual growth, friendships and finding romance in the least expected places.

Lacie Waldon used to be a flight attendant, if you didn’t already know! I absolutely love her ability to bring this sense of wanderlust and the excitement we all know about when travelling. There is honestly such great energy surrounding all of her books and their ability to make you feel like you are travelling right alongside the characters on their next adventures.

This book has all of the tropes:
❤️ Found Family
❤️ Forced Proximity
❤️ Friends-to-lovers
❤️ Slow-burn romance
❤️ One bed

This slow-burn romance was so well written that the intertwined comedic relief and banter throughout the novel had me laughing out loud. This swoon-worthy, light-hearted and sweet read is honestly the perfect beach read that will give you the sense of escapism I’m sure we are all wanting at this time. This book is perfect for fans of “People We Meet on Vacation” by @emilyhenry and will give you all the feels 🥺❤️

I enjoyed this novel by Lacie Waldon. I found Liv a bit frustrating at the start but as the story developed, so fondness for her grew. I wasn’t in love with the idea that her friend group was so set against any of them dating, and found Phoebe hypocritical and Simone terrible. In the end though, I was able to get over it and overall enjoyed the romance.

While there are quite a few things I enjoyed about From the Jump, I’m unfortunately not ranking it among my top romances of 2021.

Things I loved:
* the entire plot surrounding Deiss’ record store (with some great character additions aka Mia)
* Liv being a “yes” woman but realizing that she doesn’t have to say yes to everything (I related to her a lot in regards to this)
* the growth of the relationship between Deiss and Liv
* Cat Stevens 🐱
* the ending

Things I wasn’t as crazy about:
* the entire portion of the book that takes place in South Africa. I’m not sure what is was about this part of the book but it felt very out of place for me?
* Same thing goes for what happens to Liv when they return from the trip (not going to spoil but it was almost too insane and awful to be believable)
* Liv’s Type A personality and her weird obsession with books and blogs telling you how to properly live your life to succeed in every aspect

I don’t want to make it seem like I didn’t like this book, because I did. The characters were likable overall and Liv shifting career paths because she wasn’t happy where she was at really resonated with me. Plus, I love a book about travel (despite what I said above).

If you like friends to lovers, books about traveling, and books that shift between different time periods, this one may be for you.

I was looking for a fun romance and thought this would hit the spot. However, I found this to be a bit lacking. I thought the plot to move too quickly; by that, I mean the actions just happened without any build-up at all, and truthfully, a lot of them didn't make sense.

Look, I totally get breaking out of the "yes" mindset; it's something I'm working on training myself to get out of. But Olivia's sudden change just didn't make any sense.

And unfortunately, I just didn't feel the chemistry between Liv and Deiss. I really, really wanted to, but I felt like the author was trying to tell us about it rather than show us.

Overall, I'm disappointed because it seems like this author is a hit for so many! Nothing really clicked here for me.
•••
Thank you Net Galley and Putnam Books for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

(4/5) Liv Bakersfield gives me huge Eleanor Oliphant (a la <i>Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine</i>) vibes, except if Eleanor had a found family of friends from college. She's a chronic yes-woman who makes decisions and lives her life based on the advice of blogs like Husband Huntress and the like. But when she decides to say "no," it feels better than she expected. The "no" snowball keeps on rolling and Liv decides to join her friends on a vacation to South Africa. When Liv gets back to LA, the snowball turns into a new apartment, new jobs, and a prospective new romance where she has to choose between what she *should* want and what she really wants.

Things I liked: FOUND!! FAMILY!! We LOVE to see it. I liked the pace of the book and found all of the characters (with the exception of one, no spoilers) to be endearing, if a bit overexaggerated sometimes. I'm not always a friends to lovers fan, but I liked this one.

Things I didn't like: Honestly I CRAVE(!!) a dual POV from Deiss' perspective. I need it! It would have really taken the book to the next level.

I really really loved this book, and from the moment I read it, I had a hard time putting it down. As someone who has a large group of friends that met in college, Lacie did an exceptional job of writing group dynamics. I fully believed that these characters would have become friends when they were 18 and continued that friendship into their late 20's and early 30's. Each of the characters had their own distinct voice and personality and felt like a fully fleshed-out person, which made the group dynamics feel even stronger. I thought that Liv's background felt realistic enough to explain the various choices that she made throughout the story -- however her background didn't feel dramatic for the sake of being dramatic. The trauma she experienced as a child informed the choices she made as an adult, but she never blamed her childhood for her choices, just used it as an explanation. I admit, in the beginning, she comes off a bit grating, but as the story unfolds and she eases up a bit, she becomes a lot more palatable. Not only does the author do a great job of portraying real found-family dynamics, but the chemistry between Liv and Deiss jumps immediately off the page. From the moment these two characters first started interacting, I knew that they were going to have amazing rapport. The various twists and turns of the book (all the way to the end!) keep the story moving forward and feeling fresh. I really really enjoyed reading this; thank you to Penguin Group Putnam for the early copy!

This was cute! It had me hooked from the start after a few books that have put me in quite the slump. The banter between Liv and Diess was great and I laughed out loud a few times throughout the book. It was so fun to jump into there world over the last few days. The friend group makes me wish I had one of my own like that!

From the Jump by Lacie Waldon was fantastic! I loved Lacies first book The Layover, but loved this one even more! Lacie always brings fun destinations in her books where you feel like you're there. The theme of this book is listening to your heart and following your heart instead of doing the normal and expected route. This slow burn love story makes for the perfect vacation read. I'm ready for Lacie's next book and the next destination!