From the Jump
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4.3 • 8 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This winning friends-to-lovers romance from Waldon (The Layover) centers on a group of college best friends—Liv, Phoebe, Simone, Mac, and Deiss—who have stayed close for 11 years. Still, Liv feels like the odd one out, envying the others' self-confidence and money. Having grown up poor and occasionally homeless, she works herself to death at her office job. But just before her friends leave for a safari that Liv's afraid to splurge on with them, Deiss challenges Liv to get off the corporate treadmill. Impulsively, she starts saying no to the unfair demands of her job and follows her friends to South Africa. There, she winds up sharing a room with Deiss, who has a secret past of his own. The proximity forces Liv to finally admit her ever-present attraction to Deiss—but Phoebe makes her vow not to ruin the group dynamic by sleeping with him. So when Deiss reveals the attraction is mutual, Liv must decide whether their potential relationship is worth the risk. Though the story starts slowly and Liv remains a repressed character for much of it, the romance is charming and believable and the group's vacation will delight armchair travelers. Fans of Susan Mallery and Jill Shalvis should snap this up.
