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
•
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.

A fun, friends to lovers romcom. LIV has never joined her friends on their vacations because they weren’t on her list of things she could do. Finally she joins them on safari and has a wonderful time. I loved reading about the safari, I’ve always wanted to go on one.

While in Africa, she spends time with her old friend Lucas. Their friendship is important to her, and all her friends know that Lucas isn’t interested in a serious relationship. Once they’re back home, they start spending time together and it seems like maybe things between them could be more than just friendly. It goes against everything she “should” do. 4 stars.

QOTD: I’ve always wanted to go on safari, what’s on your bucket list

Synopsis:
A chronic yes-woman finally admits to what—and who—she really wants in this unforgettable and heartfelt romantic comedy, by the author of The Layover.

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 L.A., 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.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/<id type="integer">4927290028</id>

I received a reviewer copy of From the Jump by Lacie Waldon from the Publisher Penguin Group Putnum through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Liv Bakersfield has always played by the rules and lived under a tight budget despite her friends being less concerned with money. This can lead to her missing trips with her beloved friends and not getting to see them as much as she wishes. But one day she decides to stop what she should do and what she should want to do.

What I Loved: I thought this book was fun, I love a good novel of the perfect well behaved girl gone bad. I felt like the main couple had serious chemistry. I loved that a lot of the conflict comes from not blowing up the friend group and I love the former couple who maybe did. I liked the travel aspects of this book too. Camping with elephants? Sounds like a dream!

What I didn’t like so much: Okay, here's my thing. I found the characters kind of uninteresting even when I learned their backstories. I found Liv to be kind of the basic perfect girl who has perfect friends and a perfect personality and all the boys love her and I just didn't get any reason why or who she truly is. I also didn't totally love our world-crashing problem for the couple, I didn't buy it.

Who Should Read It: People who love a low-stakes friends to lovers tropes.

Summary: A good girl decides to go for what she wants not what she should.

From the Jump was the perfect pool read this summer! I enjoyed seeing Liv’s transformation from a people pleaser who couldn’t say “no” to someone who figured out how to live a life she actually wants and enjoys.

It has one of the funnest friend groups you’ll read about. I loved riding along on their South African safari vacation, seeing flashbacks to their college days, and watching them navigating the next stages in their lives.

I laughed a ton reading this, and seeing Liv and Deiss’s plot twists along the way was just delightful. Thanks to Putnam and NetGalley for a review copy!

Let me start by saying that the cover on this one made me wrongly think that more of this would take place on vacation. Also the cover gives the impression that said vacation is a tropical one. But anyway… that did not impact my overall ranking.

What did though was the fact that I just really didn’t like these characters. Simone was by far the worst but the rest weren’t much more likable.

On top of that the plot was a mess for the first half. Even though I thought the second half flowed better, it wasn’t enough to save the book.

Liv and Diess had some cute moments but I didn’t feel like there was enough for me to be convinced that they worked as a couple,

This was so much more than just a simple romance. Liv is a chronic ‘yes woman’ who is finally taking charge of her life and going after what she wants. Her character growth is inspiring and really made me think about ways that I could improve the quality of my own life.

I loved the found family group of friends. They have their differences and disagreements, but still treat each other as a family and work to be supportive of each other. Even as some members become more than friends, the relationship between all of them is so nice to see.

I’m not usually a huge fan of the friends-to-lovers trope, but this one was so well done. I loved that their friendship really grew before it became more and you felt their connection become stronger. I was hooked from the start.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lacie Waldon, and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam’s Sons for an e-arc of From The Jump in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyable summer read. When I saw the bright cover (even though.I try to not judge books by their covers), I had a feeling that I would be in for a treat. And this was a great escape. I liked the slow burn romance and the well-developed characters. Now if I only I could be reading from a beach!

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for this eARC!

Liv Bakersfield has lived her life under the mask of a yes woman, trying to make herself as palatable as possible for the people around her. But after a run-in with college friend Lucas Deiss forces her to rethink this tactic, she starts to realize saying "no" feels pretty damn good. Sure it lands her with six weeks of unpaid leave from work, but now it means she can join her friends on the annual trip abroad. Once her mask starts to slip, so does Deiss's and Liv will have to decide if keeping hers in place is worth losing the people she loves most.

The start on this one was a little slow for me and I think the flashbacks to the friend group in college could have been a little more dynamic and shown more of Deiss and Liv's interactions, specifically how they could have been falling for each other and not realized it. Waldon's imagery was impeccable -- I felt like I was in Deiss's shop and apartment, but it felt like some subplot lines were necessarily left dangling until the final pages. I also would have liked to have seen Liv interact more with her mom, at the very least deciding to keep things the same between them as opposed to not addressing it at all.

Overall, it was a low-stakes romance that was a perfectly enjoyable place to spend time!

I was kind of disappointed since I loved “The Layover”--I think it might’ve been the group dynamics here that threw the whole thing off for me, for starters. It was quite chaotic.

After Liv begins her anti-Shonda Rhimes’s “Year of Yes” (which involves learning to tell people “no”) in the face of another disappointing job assignment, she runs off to South Africa to finally tag along on the annual group trip she has never been on these past 11 years (why couldn’t the other four members of this group plan a trip Liv could actually afford all this time??). Then we add child stardom, devastating break-ins, a record store concert, and a neverending ripple of All the Feels in general among the group, that can’t be overcome despite a pact that nobody will bone anybody else lest it ruin the dynamic. There’s so much grinning and flirting you kinda wish they would collectively bone to see if it gets out of their systems. (Two of the five already had been a couple, with a disastrous break up, that creates an undercurrent of tension throughout the book.) And if these people are as close to Liv as she says they are, why haven’t they bothered to talk and hang out with her more than once a month? Liv sees what she has been missing once she has more time on her hands and makes an effort, then covers up her feelings about it with an “it’s fine, we’re all here now. No really, it’s fine.”

Yet when one of the five completely loses it over Deiss and Liv dating? To Deiss: “She’s not like us. She doesn’t have anyone else. When you drop her, she’s going to end up all alone.” Another: “Are you happy now? You’ve ruined everything.”
Uhhhhhh, way to go, Besties! Sorry, but there could not be enough apologizing to fix that for me.

Sorry--this book just didn’t do it for me.

Liv Bakersfield is the “yes” girl and is a workaholic who is about to miss a trip to South Africa with her friends, only something inside her just explodes and she unexpectedly says “no,” which lands her jobless and on her way to South Africa to vacation with her friends. When she gets to South Africa, her friend Lucas Deiss picks her up for the long drive back to her Air B&B, only her accommodations are not what she expects and she needs a new place to stay. Deiss comes to the rescue… again and again as Liv navigates her new unfamiliar life both in South Africa and at home in LA.

This book was adorable! I was expecting the whole book to be about the trip to South Africa, but was surprised to see that it went even further. I loved all the scenes in Deiss’s record shop - it gave me a lot of Empire Records vibes. The characters were all well written and added a lot to the story, and I found myself laughing out loud a bunch with the personalities and conversations being had. If you’re looking for a fun summer read, pick up this book!


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and @NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

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