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Leap Before You Look
Jaime Lane definitely wasn't gay. But, he wasn't exactly straight either. In an attempt to satisfy his growing bi-curiosity, Jaime accepts a hookup with a male stranger online. It was going to be his one-time wild moment, an experiment to scratch the itch, and to subsequently forget about the next day.Instead of getting a casual one-night fling, however, Jaime finds himself in a big mess when his annoying, flirty coworker, Isaac, shows up for their date. All Jaime wants now is to erase the awkward encounter from his memory, but he and Isaac can’t seem to leave each other alone anymore. And what was supposed to be a small diversion ends up making Jaime question not only his sexuality but everything he thought he wanted.
234 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 30, 2019
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62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 14, 2022
3.5 / 5 : what messes me up is that the book is fairly good in my opinion; how the author developed these characters and jaime’s own internal conflicts while still honing in on his personality was something i genuinely appreciated. it reminded me why i like contemporary YA’s in the first place—because there’s so much to explore in a teenager’s mind and what they’re passionate for and what they aren’t. all teenagers face problems some of us feel like we can’t face while others believe it’s only getting in the way.
in jaime’s situation, i really liked that the author made a big deal to show how he clearly messes up sometimes but he always surprises himself by stepping up. i think venturing into the mind of someone who, just like me, doubts themselves very much so and yet grows to learn that there’s so much more they can do, it feels very empowering seeing that development.
i also love the build-up of the surrounding characters and how they support jaime’s journey through the book. how the author does it, i think, is very clever because it isn’t some self-struggle jaime’s facing. rather it’s the struggle that we so clearly see in a very important character, isaac carrillo.
isaac’s struggles with his identity is something that made me feel on edge because we aren’t in his head and so we have no way to know how he’s dealing with everything. the only person that gives us those glimpses is jaime himself, who is very narrow-minded in the beginning of the book. and it’s not something that’s his fault! it’s just who he is and how he thought and i like that the author didn’t shy away from that. i like that we got to see jaime stumble his way through his bisexuality while also confronting the fact that someone he didn’t consider too highly of was dealing with his own conflicts. that focus throughout the story develops the main character but also hones the reader in on this other character who we only know through jaime and his gradual change of mind as he learns more about who isaac really is.
it fits very well overall and i like how the author added some small changes here and there, although my nostalgic heart did feel a bit disappointed that they cut out this very small moment in this one scene. i think that moment in of itself could’ve been very endearing to read among all the hurt and pain that isaac obviously faced. with the added depth on isaac’s difficult situation, i felt a lot of concern over his well-being, and his mental state most importantly, just like jaime did. reading that one very awkward but real and lighthearted moment could have chipped away that concern and so it just felt like a missed opportunity.
i also think that with how well the author built up the the story, there was a lot of missed opportunities near the end. that’s where the 3.5 rating comes in. i was genuinely surprised to see that i was almost done with the book, and it was because i felt like there was so much more to include nearing the end. all the conflicts i saw throughout the story as i was following on, it all reached its peak in the climax. and so then we have the resolution, which only felt rushed.
i’ll give an example:
the relationship between jaime and his dad, i really loved that aspect of the book. i loved how jaime felt so protective over his dad and genuinely cared about him. i loved how even though we didn’t hear from jaime’s dad too often, you can tell how much he’s done for his kids and how much his kids want to do for him. so nearing the end, i was hoping to see this final talk between them, even if brief. we saw as jaime was clearly hiding a lot from everyone, including his dad, and so being able to unload that with him would’ve been very special. especially because again, jaime had a bit of a narrow mindset in the beginning where he thought one thing that was way more complicated than he perceived—such as with his dad being in america and so possibly missing his home in argentina. after everything that jaime has learned and been through on this back-and-forth journey with isaac and some additional characters, it would’ve been nice to see how it all tied together for him as he got to maybe talk more openly with his dad.
but i didn’t see that.
the 3.5 rating isn’t to say that this book isn’t good, it’s really good! i hope that a lot of more people could read it and see how not only jaime but even isaac’s story unfolds. but i do think there could just have been a clearer way to really resolve everything we’ve seen throughout the story, something to give a satisfying ending to each thread that was placed. with how much i was interested in the different plots and how they connected, in the end it felt like they were hung dry a bit, such as jaime and his father’s relationship. so it’s just something to say.
i feel thankful that i got to read this book in its final stage after so long, and that i got to give it the honest review and recognition it deserves. i’ll always love jaime and isaac, olivia and lauren, and especially jaime’s father—who again, we didn’t get to see a whole lot of, but when we did it meant something.
i’m happy that their story can be reached to everyone outside of wattpad, and that there’ll be a few just like me who appreciate the story. no matter what.
in jaime’s situation, i really liked that the author made a big deal to show how he clearly messes up sometimes but he always surprises himself by stepping up. i think venturing into the mind of someone who, just like me, doubts themselves very much so and yet grows to learn that there’s so much more they can do, it feels very empowering seeing that development.
i also love the build-up of the surrounding characters and how they support jaime’s journey through the book. how the author does it, i think, is very clever because it isn’t some self-struggle jaime’s facing. rather it’s the struggle that we so clearly see in a very important character, isaac carrillo.
isaac’s struggles with his identity is something that made me feel on edge because we aren’t in his head and so we have no way to know how he’s dealing with everything. the only person that gives us those glimpses is jaime himself, who is very narrow-minded in the beginning of the book. and it’s not something that’s his fault! it’s just who he is and how he thought and i like that the author didn’t shy away from that. i like that we got to see jaime stumble his way through his bisexuality while also confronting the fact that someone he didn’t consider too highly of was dealing with his own conflicts. that focus throughout the story develops the main character but also hones the reader in on this other character who we only know through jaime and his gradual change of mind as he learns more about who isaac really is.
it fits very well overall and i like how the author added some small changes here and there, although my nostalgic heart did feel a bit disappointed that they cut out this very small moment in this one scene. i think that moment in of itself could’ve been very endearing to read among all the hurt and pain that isaac obviously faced. with the added depth on isaac’s difficult situation, i felt a lot of concern over his well-being, and his mental state most importantly, just like jaime did. reading that one very awkward but real and lighthearted moment could have chipped away that concern and so it just felt like a missed opportunity.
i also think that with how well the author built up the the story, there was a lot of missed opportunities near the end. that’s where the 3.5 rating comes in. i was genuinely surprised to see that i was almost done with the book, and it was because i felt like there was so much more to include nearing the end. all the conflicts i saw throughout the story as i was following on, it all reached its peak in the climax. and so then we have the resolution, which only felt rushed.
i’ll give an example:
the relationship between jaime and his dad, i really loved that aspect of the book. i loved how jaime felt so protective over his dad and genuinely cared about him. i loved how even though we didn’t hear from jaime’s dad too often, you can tell how much he’s done for his kids and how much his kids want to do for him. so nearing the end, i was hoping to see this final talk between them, even if brief. we saw as jaime was clearly hiding a lot from everyone, including his dad, and so being able to unload that with him would’ve been very special. especially because again, jaime had a bit of a narrow mindset in the beginning where he thought one thing that was way more complicated than he perceived—such as with his dad being in america and so possibly missing his home in argentina. after everything that jaime has learned and been through on this back-and-forth journey with isaac and some additional characters, it would’ve been nice to see how it all tied together for him as he got to maybe talk more openly with his dad.
but i didn’t see that.
the 3.5 rating isn’t to say that this book isn’t good, it’s really good! i hope that a lot of more people could read it and see how not only jaime but even isaac’s story unfolds. but i do think there could just have been a clearer way to really resolve everything we’ve seen throughout the story, something to give a satisfying ending to each thread that was placed. with how much i was interested in the different plots and how they connected, in the end it felt like they were hung dry a bit, such as jaime and his father’s relationship. so it’s just something to say.
i feel thankful that i got to read this book in its final stage after so long, and that i got to give it the honest review and recognition it deserves. i’ll always love jaime and isaac, olivia and lauren, and especially jaime’s father—who again, we didn’t get to see a whole lot of, but when we did it meant something.
i’m happy that their story can be reached to everyone outside of wattpad, and that there’ll be a few just like me who appreciate the story. no matter what.
August 7, 2025
Sweet and easy read. I needed something light hearted and this hit the spot. Jaime’s journey of discovering his truth was so relatable and real. I appreciated the real-life aspect of this book. Unfortunately the reality is homophobia is alive and real but we have people here to catch us and love us for who we are no matter what.
April 27, 2020
I had been reading it from day 1 on Wattpad (i havent reread in A While but i still think its good 💖)
October 27, 2023
WOW!
I really don’t know how to put into words how incredible this book is. I started it yesterday on a whim and quickly had a hard time stopping. You get so many different emotions when reading this book and I had such a hard time trying not to read ahead of where I was at because parts got so intense and I just wanted to know what happened!!! It’s such a beautiful story!! PLEASE PLEASE PLASE do yourself the favor and read it!!
I really don’t know how to put into words how incredible this book is. I started it yesterday on a whim and quickly had a hard time stopping. You get so many different emotions when reading this book and I had such a hard time trying not to read ahead of where I was at because parts got so intense and I just wanted to know what happened!!! It’s such a beautiful story!! PLEASE PLEASE PLASE do yourself the favor and read it!!
July 18, 2024
A great story with some twists I didn't expect. But then I get they wouldn't be twists otherwise, would they? Isaac and Jaime both have some issues to work out. I won't give them away, but this provides some interesting moments in the book. It is nice to see Argentineans and Spaniards ta king front and center stage in a Young Adult novel. While I am neither of those, I love reading novels that are more representative of the world we actually live in.
December 19, 2021
Not what I expected… in the best way
This books plot did not go the way I anticipated, and that made it all so much better. It’s a slow burn MLM romance, and probably one of the better ones I’ve read (and all queer books are pretty good in my opinion). The characters were relatable and all too human, the plot was refreshing and cute.
This books plot did not go the way I anticipated, and that made it all so much better. It’s a slow burn MLM romance, and probably one of the better ones I’ve read (and all queer books are pretty good in my opinion). The characters were relatable and all too human, the plot was refreshing and cute.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews