Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I LOVE Jenny Holiday and this book just makes me keep loving her. So many things about this book were great. The MCs grew together, learning from each other, and getting better at communication throughout the book. I loved that they met at a camp (finding their artistic sides) and worked through trauma very maturely together. Holiday is a master at writing adults falling in love in such mature ways, as well as being funny. She’s so good, I can’t wait to read her next book. I have never read one that wasn’t good. Maybe I am her biggest fan :) I recommend this book for fans of Holiday, contemporary romances, and people connecting to their artistic side.

Into the Woods is an extremely cute and sweet romance. It is the follow-up to Canadian Boyfriend, but following Gretchen instead of Rory. Like Canadian Boyfriend it deals with some serious topic yet is overall lighter. Things I loved- the camp setting, the prickly main characters, the rockstar, the character growth, and older main characters! For me it was a pretty perfect romance.

Thanks to Forever and NetGalley for this eARC!

This was a sweet follow up (but stand alone) to last year’s Canadian Boyfriend. It was maybe, dare I say, better? This story follows Gretchen and Teddy who both get spots as artists in residence at a summer camp. What ensues is a lovely combination of classic romcom (see the night they almost spend in the woods) and exploration of their passions (her’s is dance and his is music). They’ve both got pasts and think that their futures are set in stone too, but maybe something else will bloom in between the campfires, swims and hikes that neither of them foresaw.

Into the Woods had a great balance of humor and depth and made me want to go back to summer camp.

Gretchen owns a dance studio and is in a bit of a mid-life crisis. She has sworn off dating and when she gets the opportunity to escape to the woods by being a mentor for an arts camp she jumps at it. Teddy is a rock star whose band recently broke up and also ends up at the arts camp.

I loved so much about this book. Gretchen and Teddy both stole my heart. I loved the camp setting and that this was a late 30s romance. Both the MCs felt well developed and I enjoyed all the side characters as well. The themes of this book were also deeper than some romances. The characters were both dealing with mid-life identity crisis's, they both grew up in poor homes which shaped their adult lives in interesting and real ways.

Tropes:
* Lost in the woods
* Summer Camp Romance
* Bad First Impressions
* Forced Proximity
* Friends with Benefits

5 stars

Jenny Holiday is an author that I always hear about but have never read. ‘Into The Woods’ is for the Camp Rock kids. Gretchen and Teddy are both ‘older’ MC’s that are going through mid life crises. The camp allowed them to disconnect from reality and focus on personal development. This created massive character development. During their personal development, a wonderful friendship forms between Gretchen and Teddy.

I really tried to like this book, but it was so incredibly boring and there was absolutely no chemistry between the leads, so I finally gave up.

At almost halfway through and these two haven't even touched each other. They casually chat about nothing important and then they talked about their childhood trauma once, but that's it.

DNF at 39%

I will read anything that Jenny Holiday writes. I loved Canadian Boyfriend and this is in the same universe and can be read as a standalone.

Teddy and Gretchen are both mentors for an artistic camp. Both attend the camp for personal reasons to reset their life and unexpectedly becomes attracted to each other and develop a friendship.

I love how they treated each other and the isolation of the camps for so many fun moments. I loved Teddy's sense of humor and him not being a total rock star asshole.


Thank you @readforeverpub @netgalley for a copy of this book.

I really enjoyed these two characters. Even though this was a bit of an enemies to lovers/grumpy sunshine dynamic, I liked that they still had a certain amount of respect for each other and really just seemed to get off on the wrong foot.

I really loved the setting. It provided a great backdrop and gave us a lot of time with the characters. I also appreciated the care with which the author handled the characters’ past trauma.

I think towards the later half of the book, I did start to lose interest. The things going on in Teddy and Gretchen’s personal lives seemed to drone on a little for me.

Truthfully, it was a slower start - or maybe I was in a slump. BUT (in a positive way!) Once I dug into it, I was hooked. I loved a story about a successful, independent 40 year old woman. Sure, she's a little unconventional, but I loved how comfortable she was in her skin, and her life. Seeing her relationship with Teddy blossom in a way that most relationships don't was really endearing to read and be a part of. Their relationship was so supportive and thoughtful and done without changing who teddy and Gretchen were to their core. They got to be them and they supported and pushed each other to be the best and happiest versions of themselves.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What I loved about this one:
- nature
- adult professionals joining a camp for the arts as teachers
- getting lost in the woods
- the chemistry between the two main characters
- grumpy/sunshine

This is probably my new favourite read from Jenny Holiday and I can't wait to read more from her! Recommended for people who loved summer camp, wished they'd gone to summer camp, fans of the arts (dance, music, acting, writing) and fans of a slow burn.

I adored this book, and I'm so glad Jenny Holiday wrote a book about Gretchen -- I loved her as a side character in CANADIAN BOYFRIEND! I really appreciated that Gretchen is 39 & 40 in this book -- we do not get as many romances with older protagonists as I would like. Gretchen is kind of hitting something of a midlife crisis and wants to reevaluate her life, so she makes her next big career move and decides to give up on dating, but then she agrees to be an artist-in-residence at a summer arts camp and her experience there makes her rethink both of these decisions. I loved the way Gretchen balanced her professional and personal aspirations.

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like Teddy Knight (neither was Gretchen, to be fair) but he grew on me so much as he mellowed out throughout the book. He actually ended up being one of my favorite male romance characters I've read this year!

The setting was the best part of the book. I love a summer camp story but I really appreciated that this one isn't that focused on the kids and counselors; they are just background for Teddy and Gretchen's story. It felt like a different kind of summer camp romance than I've read before, and I know this is partly because Teddy and Gretchen are older characters. I loved it!

Loved this so much more than Canadian boyfriend- honestly one of the first for me. I loved the idea of adult camping. Perfect time for a fling 😉

Unfortunately, the prose leaves much to be desired, constantly telling readers every little detail (often more than once in quick succession) rather than using descriptive language or of the setting or characters' reactions. The narration for both MCs is exhausting, namely because they state a fact, think on that fact, and then state it again. The narration treats readers as if they're unobservant, skipping paragraphs, or incapable of making deductions themselves. While I think the characters are realistic--both grew up poor, unable to rely on their parents, and therefore became self-sufficient--there's little given about either one beyond this baseline foundation.

The adult spin on a summer camp romance is a fantastic idea to begin with, and Holiday absolutely knocked it out of the park with Into The Woods.
A forced proximity, dislike to lovers romance in a peaceful rural setting, with strong female characters and fully developed side characters? What more do you need from a book?
Into The Woods is fun and flirty, while managing to weave in serious topics seamlessly. Emotional trauma, parental neglect, therapy. misogyny, and much more are focal points without branching into self-help territory. The banter between characters is well executed and feels realistic, making it easy to immerse yourself in the Wild Arts camp. The balance of sweet and spicy, combined with the low angst vibes makes for a heartwarming and incredibly enjoyable read.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book which is a follow up to Canadian Boyfriend with Rory’s best friend, Gretchen who meets a cranky-pants rockstar while working at art summer camp in the North Woods.

I had so much fun with Gretchen and Teddy! This grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers book was so engaging, I couldn't put it down! Gretchen was so wonderful, happy and giving and kind and thoughtful...but also a little lost as she's getting ready to begin the next stage of her business and life. Teddy is so lost. Like, so so lost. He's gone through so much and has no idea how to move forward. Watching him slowly open up and engage with the people around him was absolutely lovely. Also, I cannot stop laughing at horizontal hugging lol. A total joy!

𝟑 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 .𐦍༘⋆

this book was cute!
i loved the idea of two people being in their mid & late thirties meeting at a camp as leaders and falling in love especially after both of them going through so much in the past.

i really appreciated that this book went the extra mile to be deep and raw in so many instances where the main characters are discussing serious topics that involve their childhood, careers & relationships. i will also say that the author does kind of go on long tangents about the kinds of men that gretchen doesn’t like and can’t tolerate (i agree with her on everything she said in those areas) however i do feel like as a reader it just reeled droned on because yes we know she hates self obsessed and egotistical men but when it’s discussed time and time again it does feel a bit repetitive.

i think this book was really well done and over all i enjoyed it.

i would say though that personally it’s not a favourite book of mine just because i wasn’t completely super inthralled & attached to the plot or the characters.

I was really excited about the premise of this one, but unfortunately the writing didn’t hold up. This is just personal preference, but I hate when a narrator breaks the 4th wall. Giving 3 stars because it’s just my bookish ick and the book has a really good synopsis!

4.5 stars
Thank you netgalley for an arc of this book. This book follows Gretchen who is a dance teacher and Teddy who was formerly in a rock band. They meet as camp counsellors and start up a camp fling. I really enjoyed this book and the characters. I felt their chemistry and was rooting for them since they met.

Summer camp is a time when kids learn new skills, make new friends and create life long memories. When Teddy's band breaks he is looking for his next step but realizes he can't go back home because his ex girlfriend hasn't moved out he decide to become a camp counsellor at a summer camp. Gretchen is going through a mid life crisis and when her friends encourage her to go find herself again she finds herself at a summer camp teaching young kids about dance. She and Teddy are collogues but also flirt a bit and that is when things get interesting.