From the Jump by Lacie Waldon: Romance Review

synopsis

Liv is used to being the “yes” woman. Always playing by the rules, she lives in the box society she feels she should. But after an impulsive comment at work, Liv finds herself flying halfway across the world to vacation with her group of college friends. Through forced proximity and traveling outside of her comfort zone, Liv just might find the woman she always intended to be, instead of who the world thinks she should be.

review

From the Jump is the perfect escapist summer read. As the first half of the book is set against the amazing South African landscape, the book made me want to hop on a plane and go on Safari! This is a forced proximity, friends to lovers romance.

Liv was an extremely relatable character, especially as she strives to do what she thinks is best for others, instead of what is best for herself. She is incredibly loyal to her group of friends from college. Her love interest, Deiss, was completely her opposite, yet he knew the ways to push her outside of her comfort zone to grow and change. I loved how he was incredibly private and illusive, which added to the mystery surrounding him.

While I enjoyed the book, I waffled on what to rate it. The pacing felt off to me at times. There were parts that I really liked and was totally engaged in, but then the next chapter wouldn’t capture my attention and I felt bored. I didn’t care for the flashbacks to “then,” because it didn’t feel like they moved the story along or added anything pertinent to the arc of this group of friends.
I also struggle when heroines are wishy-washy with their feelings, so Liv’s going back and forth over her feelings for Deiss frustrated me.

in conclusion

However, I loved the found family aspect of the book. It explores not only how people grow and change as they get older, but also how friendships fluctuate as well. Just as people aren’t expected to stay the same, the book shows how hard it can be when group dynamics change, even though the group tries to keep the status quo. The loyalty of Deiss, Mac, Phoebe, Simone, and Liv is something people crave in life and I appreciated their friendships.