I've read several Jenny Holiday books and totally fell for her 2024 release- 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥. Her upcoming release, 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝗪𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐒 (pub 01.07) is even better. Thank you to Forever Grand Central Publication and Netgalley for the early copy.

𝗪𝐇𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝗪𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐄:
- Set in MN. Love love love. But, no one would fly from Mpls to Duluth if they were local to the Twin Cities.
- Contemporary romance with heft
- Camp setting but with more focus on the adults than kids.
- Teddy Knight - Just left his longtime band and is looking to start over as a songwriter.
- Gretchen has run a successful dance studio in a strip mall and is taking a plunge into larger entrepreneurial pursuits.
- Loved that they are in their late 30s/early 40s
- Each of them are working towards getting "unstuck" and next steps in life- alone and together.
- Commiserating over similar less-than-stellar childhoods.
- A bit of forced proximity.
- Made me laugh and made me swoon.
- Sexy & perfectly steamy

Gretchen was such a fun character and honestly so relatable. I have one parent similar to her dad so that was fun to read about. Teddy, was an interesting character with depth. I loved the camp setting so much! These are my favorite types of books to read. I have to be honest, the multiple orgasms sex scene was a little unrealistic and a bit cringey. I loved Gretchen but her dialogue, both internal and external, during this scene gave me the ick. She was making things so awkward. It really took me out of a moment I was looking forward to.

Loved the, sort of, idealized adult summer camp setting. The freedom and loose mentor parameters they’re given seemed a tad unrealistic, BUT it did give a great setup for artistic and emotional growth for all characters involved. Overall it ends up working (even if Teddy’s purely platonic mentoring felt like it needed a different framing).

I love that it’s a dual POV romance. Midlife crisis characters, their struggles and anxieties feel all too real. But it’s also fun and flirty with great chemistry and, most importantly, fantastic emotional intimacy. Gretchen and Teddy’s individual, but also shared, childhood traumas bond them in a very visceral way. It’s wonderfully and thoughtfully written. I loved them together more and more as the pages turned.

Overall, it was a great read and one of the best Jenny Holiday has released in recent years. Definitely recommend.

3.5 stars

There is something about a romance where both characters are going through the wringer that always does it for me. I love watching them learn more about themselves while learning about each other, and both Teddy and Gretchen go on different forms of the same journey as they reconnect with themselves and connect with each other for the first time.

Both characters felt incredibly real to me, and the side characters did as well, which shows me that Jenny Holiday's characterization is her strong suit. I really enjoyed how Holiday used shared experiences as the main connecting point between Teddy and Gretchen, allowing their relationship to feel more emotional than most.

I started reading this at the beginning of the month, lost the will to do anything for several days there after the 5th, and then came back to it and finished it all in one go.

And honestly, Gretchen’s maybe-too-on-the-nose trench warfare and desire to be a crone in spite of really wanting love (don’t we all) was just what I needed. She’s angry, and sad, but mostly she’s TIRED. And then she meets Teddy, who is finally out of the cycle that has exhausted him for years and is realizing just how tired he’s been, and he doesn’t need anything from her. And she doesn’t need anything from him. And that makes all the difference, initially.

Watching them both unknowingly tumble closer into each other was so sweet. Seeing Rory live her dream with her Canadian Boyfriend in the background and use it as (rightful) justification for her determination was delightful.

And we love a grand gesture that’s sweet but also a little funny 😂

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

What a great book!! It had me hooked from page one! I couldn’t put this down. I finished it in one sitting. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. This was a first for me by this author but it will not be my last!!

4.25/5 Stars | Delightfully hilarious and deep, all at the same time!

What I liked: Jenny Holiday does this wonderfully disarming thing where you think she's giving the surface-level romance novel, and she seamlessly weaves in profoundness and real pain or emotion that absolutely GUTS you, but also brings you along in its astuteness where you're hashing out your own traumas alongside these beautiful characters. I know this book is being marketed to fans of Tessa Bailey and Lucy Score, but I think that downplays the strength that she's able to grip you with as a read and the depth of emotion she's able to help you feel. I think it would be much more appropriate to compare Holiday's writing to Emily Henry and Julia Quinn--the high-level of character development and hollistic writing is right there for me.

What I didn't like: I didn't like how little time we had with Teddy and Gretchen actually together.

OMG I LOVED THIS. Camp is just the best setting - this was everything I wanted from Wildfire (which was good, but this was better)! Enemies to lovers, rockstar MMC, witty banter, and just the best atmospheric vibes you could hope for - this is going to be a bestseller I am sure of it!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Jenny Holiday is just SO GOOD. I loved this follow-up to Canadian Boyfriend, featuring Rory's best friend and dance studio owner/teacher Gretchen. Gretchen has spent her whole adult life trying to build something stable that she can be proud of after a childhood that offered virtually no financial stability. She's about to expand her business, and has decided the time is right to completely quit looking for love and enter her crone era, just in time for her 40th birthday. She gets a last minute opportunity to spend a month at Camp Wild Arts to serve as an artist-in-residence, and the timing coincides with her personal and business missions, so she takes it. On the way there, she meets fellow artist-in-residence Teddy Knight, of the recently dissolved rock band Concrete Temple, and they get off on the (very) wrong foot. But after getting lost in the woods together, they realize that they have a lot in common and Gretchen decides that having a camp hook-up, totally outside of her context in the real world, is what she needs. I loved Gretchen and Teddy, and something that felt really special about this story to me was that, while of course there's a romance here, there's also a ton of personal creative self-discovery for both of them, just when they need it. I'm very much an indoor person, but this whole book made we want to go to camp for a while and figure things out.

This fun, flirty dual POV rom-com is the perfect summer escape—complete with campfire vibes, unexpected sparks, and a whole lot of heart!

Gretchen is done with men after a string of cringe-worthy dates. She’s swearing them off for good and focusing all her energy on growing her dance and wellness business. No distractions allowed!

Teddy, on the other hand, has just been kicked out of his band and is channeling his anger into writing the ultimate revenge album. But after throwing a tantrum that ends with a trashed hotel room, he's not even sure if he still has a manager—or any semblance of control.

Enter Wild Art Summer Camp, where they both land last-minute gigs as the new Dance and Music experts. What starts as an enemies quickly turns into a sizzling summer fling. But as sparks fly and feelings get real, they’ll have to decide: was their original summer plan really what they needed all along?

Coming out with my rating up top. 4 stars for sure! Here’s why:
- Gretchen and Teddy are both slightly older and emotionally mature. Their conversations are honest and meaningful and the relationship they have feels like real friendship.
- There’s a storyline with a plot. It’s not just an excuse to write a bunch of steamy scenes. The story had real heart. But there’s still steam for those who like it.
- Holiday attempts to tackle the difficult topic of the “male gaze” and does a good job of it. So much of Gretchen’s growth happens when she decides she’s done living for men.
- both main characters have a friend or family member in their corner that challenges them and supports them wholeheartedly.

A really great read all around!

I like Jenny Holiday’s books and this one was charming, as her writing generally is. I wasn’t in love but it was fun.

So cute!!!! This makes me want to rad The Canadian Boyfriend, since I heard that they're connected.

We love a good ole grumpy x sunshine trope. I also feel that Teddy and Gretchen both had so much growth in this book!!! It was definitely an emotional journey.

I absolutely love Jenny Holiday so I knew I would love this one and to no one’s surprise- I did! I need to immediately buy this.

I absolutely loved this book! I loved the setting being in a summer camp setting. I love the FMC and MMC so much, but mostly I loved that their ages were relatable at 35 and 40 years old.
I would encourage everyone to pick this book up and read it because you will not be sorry.
The growth that Teddy and Gretchen take during this book is amazing and I really wanted it to keep going.

Thank you Netgalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and Jenny Holiday for the opportunity to read this amazing book!

This was such a cute read, it's perfect for a cleanser book.
Jenny has become one of my must-buy authors

Thank you to Forever for the ARC of this book! I really loved Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday and I was excited to read this one as well. The two books are interconnected and it was fun to see what the characters from that book were up to, but I think this one could also be read as a standalone. This book follows Gretchen, a dance studio owner who is on the verge of expanding her dance studio. She has a desire to make sure that she is financially stable after a difficult childhood. She has also had a tough love life and is ready to give up on love all together. She agrees to take on a job as a mentor at an arts camp for a few weeks when she meets Teddy. Teddy was a member of a very popular rock band that has recently broken up. The two form an unlikely bond and despite not looking for love, they find connection and hope in their similar back stories and childhoods. I adored watching them find hope and love in each other and both characters were incredibly easy to root for. I think you'd really enjoy this book if you like the following: Older FMC and MMC, summer camp love stories, Love in unexpected places, Self discovery.

Jenny Holiday is officially an author that I was automatically read. This book had great banter, great character development and the love story was oh so sweet! Five stars for sure!

This might be Jenny's best work. No kidding. I personally loved Canadian Boyfriend and was a little worried about how much I loved it and how this would play out. Camp books aren't always my thing. But this one is so so good. It's not a second chance. It's not angsty with how much they hate each other. It's simply two grown adults trying to reset and make a fresh start in life and finding each other in the process It was the perfect blend of growth and humor and steamy romance and I loved it so much. Jenny just gets better with every single book and now she's stuck with me for life.

This book was simply wonderful. It was both an emotional and inspirational love story. This author never disappoints.

Facing her imminent 40th birthday, dance instructor Gretchen, inspired by her dad’s lack of follow-through on his own ambitions, decides to rise above his failed aspirations and expand her successful dance empire by offering more classes, and adding yoga and massage services. She buys a building, oversees renovations, begins learning how to do payroll, and still presides over Miss Miller’s with it’s morals of dance being welcoming, inclusive, and fun. When she’s begged by her pregnant! best friend Rory to fill in for another pregnant instructor the last minute for a summer camp’s dance residency, she reluctantly agrees–she can miss out on a few weeks of renovation and prep, and goes off to the woods to live deliberately, deciding this will also fulfill her crone plans: she’s sworn off men as a result of a yet another disastrous date, the most recent one with a rock star she’s never heard of who thinks he’s all that.

At camp, she is irritated by, then bonds with Teddy, a musician whose band has just broken up (sidenote: it’s his married former bandmate who matched with her on a dating app and was a jackass). Teddy and Gretchen find common ground in their impoverished upbringing and creative endeavors, and bring out the best in one another as they forge first a friendship, then give in to their chemistry. Swimming, Target runs, and cold pack cheese food grilled cheese sandwiches become relationship milestones. So does accidentally getting lost in the woods for a bit, forcing them to cuddle for warmth, and ultimately leading to a suggestion they become friends with benefits for the duration of the camp session. Romantic times are deliciously spicy (though, Gretchen’s effortless multi-orgasmic experience is a bit unbelieveable). Gretchen seems happy to say goodbye forever as she finishes her camp stint; Teddy is definitely going to miss her. Will he chase her down and make a grand gesture to win her back once camp is over?

This companion novel to Canadian Boyfriend features crossover characters, dual point of view, emotional depth, vulnerability, healing, humor, and excellent writing: the metaphor of The Lemon Tree is carried through beautifully as a bittersweet motif. The summer camp setting is vivid, and renovation details and disasters realistic. I appreciated Gretchen’s self-assuranceness, even as it sometimes wavered; her integrity, her vivaciousness, her passion, and her drive leapt off the page. The other artists in residence: a sulky author with writer’s block are fully realized. Teddy’s support for budding musician Sarah is treated carefully, with no hint of anything untoward, and the work he does to deepen his relationship with his sister is brave. The only thing that missed the mark for me is characters who use the adjective clean to describe their STI status. Clear, healthy, negative or uninfected don’t have the same connations as clean, which implies anyone with an STI is somehow dirty. It doesn’t work for most modern readers.

The cover, with Teddy’s man bun and Metallica t-shirt \m/ and Gretchen’s curves, is cozy and charming, but doesn't bring a specific scene to mind.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #IntoTheWoods via #NetGalley courtesy of #Forever. This review will post to HLBB on 1/07/2025.