Quick Synopsis

Liv Bakersfield lives her life according to what she should do, as dictated by her beloved self-help manuals. At the urging of a coworker, Liv throws all her rules out the window and sets off on a the yearly vacation with her college friends that she has always missed. Without her rules, will Liv flounder or find the life and love interests she has always wanted?

Publisher’s 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 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.

Book Review

From the Jump is a friends-to-lovers romance that includes forced proximity and one bed. This novel is follows Liv Bakersfield and her group of college friends initially on a vacation to South Africa and then in their home city of Los Angeles.

Although setting does play a bit into the story, From the Jump is largely character and relationship-focused novel. I do wish that there were more details about the setting. What fun is a vacation setting if you do not feel like you are also on the vacation and experiencing South Africa?

My biggest issue with this book was the protagonist, Liv. First, this lady clearly needs therapy. (Having a mess of a protagonist is seemingly becoming a trend. One I am not onboard with.) Her naiveté and dedication to perfection was grating, and I desperately wanted to shake the stupidity out of her. Liv’s so-called best friends for 11 years basically knew nothing about who she really was, because she did not want them to know in fear that they would not like her. How Liv was not totally and completely exhausted by her life is beyond me. As Liv grows through the story she becomes more likeable and less annoying, which is a much welcomed reprieve.

The romance portion of this book was enjoyable, and I was a particular fan of the love interest, Lucas Deiss. In fact, he was the one person out of the friend group with which I would want to be friends. I kind of wish that the entire story was told from his perspective instead. But alas, we are stuck with Liv.

I realize that I am grumpy, and consequently, highlighting what I did not like in this book. However, I did enjoy From the Jump. I thought the romance built well over the course of the book and was satisfying. For those of you who need spice in your romance, From the Jump was a clean romance, which I found to be tastefully done and still present a spark between the love interests. In addition, I thought the conflict was not cringey or based upon miscommunication as is so often the case in contemporary romances. This made for a very pleasant read and resolution.

Overall, I enjoyed From the Jump and recommend it. I do not think that Liv is an intolerable or unlikeable main character. She just was not my favorite. I am looking forward to reading Lacie’s debut novel, The Layover.

Rating

Overall Rating

Writing

Plot

Character development