Member Reviews
FIVE STARS!
This book feels like a warm hug! This book is centered around three aspects of life: grief, strength, and love. Read this book if you love healthy relationships. It is not often that you find a second chance romance, especially a couple that is already married, that proves you can grow as individuals while maintaining a strong and healthy relationship. The grief in this book while sad felt like a love letter to Sarah's mom. Hannah Bonam Young knows how to write raw characters that face their struggles head on with strength, grace and growth.
This is a romance between Sarah and Caleb and having them reconnect. I also felt that this was a love story between Sarah and her mom and how a person in your life can impact you forever.
I have three quotes that I must outline because I think after reading these you will alone want to pick up this book!
* "And I hope that if you have to rewrite your life, you won’t erase my part in it, that you’ll let me stay a part of your story.”
* “I don’t want easy. I don’t want anyone else. I want you, Sar. I want to be the only man every lucky enough to be loved by you.”
* "You love so deeply, it’s hard for me to understand. It seems exhausting, but you do it anyways. You leave yourself open for anyone who needs a safe place to land, even near perfect strangers. That is all, uniquely, individually, perfectly you. Something to be proud of that is all yours.”
Hannah Bonam Young is able to make you feel ALL the emotions in her writing. Trust me you will laugh, cry, and feel the love her characters have for each other through her words.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for this eARC! My review will be posted to Goodreads and Amazon closer to the release date of January 28th. Reading this book early has made my year, this was my most anticipated book and it did not disappoint. I will scream from every rooftop that this book belongs on everyones bookshelves!
I loved this book. We follow Caleb and Sarah who go to a couples retreat in the middle of the woods to try and fix their marriage. This book made me cry and laugh. An authentic and relatable story.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
Meh, book was fine.
It seemed more along the lines of women’s lit than second chance romance. I couldn’t really connect with Sarah and her issues. Her husband and life seemed pretty perfect to me she just kept harping on the fact her mom died 10+ years before. Sarah was basically a sugar baby, she didn’t have to work because her husband was rich and gave her everything she wanted and nfn acted pretty selfish. They had one fight and she was acting like their marriage was over and needed a whole week away to reconnect. Maybe since you didn’t have to work or have any responsibility for anything you could’ve passed your time at therapy for yourself.
Book just felt like a big therapy session for issues I wish I had. Also kind of jarring that we’d go from a chapter of edging and dirty talk to a flashback of her mom dying from ALS. Ice bucket challenge in book form.
Sarah and Caleb have been together since they were teens, and now in her 30s Sarah finds herself not knowing who she really is without him, discontented, and questioning all of the life choices that have gotten her where she is today. Despite Sarah’s love of Caleb, this drives a wedge in the middle of her marriage, so when her best friend Win suggests the couple go on this therapy-like camping trip she decides it’s worth a shot. They then embark on a wilderness adventure that will either bring them back together or finally break them apart.
What really punched me in the feel was how deeply I connected with this story because like Sarah and Caleb, and like the author herself, I married my high school sweetheart. We literally learned how to be grown ups together so naturally we’ve have had our share of ups and downs over our 14 year relationship (fun fact I was actually working on finishing this book on our 14 year anniversary 🥹). I’m about the same age as Sarah is and I’ve shared a lot of her same insecurities and struggles. This book had me realizing I probably take my husband for granted at times because of how familiar we are with each other after all of these years together, and it made me reflect and appreciate how good we have it, how lucky we are to have found our person so young. This book made me reminisce, hug my hubby, laugh, cry, & cry some more.
The messages this book delivers just really resonated with me on a soul level, like all of Hannah’s books have, but this one feels even more personal to me. Dare I say this may be my new favorite HBY book!!! It’s beautifully written and pulls at the heartstrings.
Sarah and Caleb’s journey from comfort to questioning everything was so raw. I loved how the story didn’t sugarcoat their struggles. That hiking trip? A total disaster in the best way; awkward, hilarious, and somehow exactly what they needed. The tension between them felt so real, especially with Sarah’s need to prove her independence clashing with Caleb’s instinct to step in. It’s messy, it’s emotional, and I couldn’t stop rooting for them to find their way back to each other. If you’ve ever wondered who you are outside of a relationship, this one’s going to hit you right in the feels!
This is the first novel that I have read from this author. I really did enjoy this book. It was a cute and cozy romance read. The characters, Sarah and Caleb, were cute through all the miscommunication. I think it was well written, and I would recommend to others for a fun read. I look forward to more books from this author. Thank you Net Galley ARC!
This was a cute follow up with some of my favorite characters. The ending did seem to be a tad bit rushed and over the top good- and having the whole family change because of of one stern tell-off on the phone seemed a bit… outcome of a fake argument in the shower.
And, we never got to see Caleb’s reaction to the abstinence rule being a joke.
Cute though!
Fantastic read! Especially as someone who has been married over 10 years, this book was such a fun read. Their growth as characters was fun and healthy to watch.
This was a nice read. I like both characters Sarah was sweet and full of doubts and I feel she really need it this journey to find herself and save her relationship. Caleb on the other side is this very sweet guy that just want her to be happy but unfortunately sometimes communication is not the best trait on this two. I liked the retreat part and how they found each other again. Definitely sweet and cute. Can wait for more of this author.
I am a Hannah Bonam-Young Stan. She can do no wrong. I love all of her books. I was so excited to receive this ARC! This book really hit home. Being a mom and wife, this was such a Refreshing book to read. It brought joy and hope and validation! Five stars! It was funny and sweet!
This was such a cute and heartwarming read! An in-depth review to come closer to publishing date per request of author 🤍 thank you for the ARC!
This book was a masterpiece!! Heartfelt and swoon worthy. High school sweethearts that needed to get out of their day to day routine to grow separately and together was not something that I knew I needed! Sar and Cay are very relatable characters and had me feeling all the feels. Win, Bo, and Gus cameos tied this found family in a perfect bow.
This book is an absolute delight! I laughed out loud more than once, and I understood what drew the characters together. This was a really unique take on the second-chance romance trope. I can't wait to read more of this author's work!
What can I say, Hannah Bonam-Young does it again in Put of the Woods. I fell in love with Win and Bo in Out on a Limb and got to do the same with Sarah and Caleb this time.
Sarah’s story is something that I feel is so relatable to many people and really resonated with me. This book felt so real and raw, showing both some serious sadness and lack of surety in life as well as how happiness and goodness can coincide with that.
Sarah and Caleb’s story is so sweet, truly loving, and a great representation of marrying young and figuring life out together. Through thick and thin. I think many people experience this and will be able to relate to it because of that. Bonam-Young and do no wrong in my book and will forever be an auto-buy author for me. Sweet romances like hers give me hope, help me heal, and will always be something that I need in my life.
Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Make sure to check out Out of the Woods when it releases on January 28, 2025!
Hannah Bonam-Young never fails at writing my favorite rom-coms. She writes the sweetest most loveable characetrs whith plots that I can't help but get sucked into. I could read thousands of pages about Caleb and Sarah!!
I started this the minute the email came through and immediately binged the entire thing.
This was somehow even better than I anticipated. Hannah has once again written characters that have been FAR too relatable, to the point where I feel like they were pulled from my brain. I’m absolutely obsessed.
This was a story wrapped in grief and love and finding yourself and truly it made my stomach hurt because of how real and raw the characters emotions felt.
This is one of the easiest 5 stars I’ve ever given. Hannah Bonam-Young has a way of writing emotions and banter in a way that I have not seen replicated. Her characters are all so raw and real and I spent so much time laughing and crying throughout this book, I forgot I was even reading. Thank you NetGalley, and Random House for the opportunity to arc read my most anticipated release of next year.
So great to read a book that takes place after the traditional happily ever after (getting married). I loved Sarah and Caleb's story and the fact that they were not perfect and their marriage wasn't either. Everything about this book was so real and heartfelt. Relationships aren't always sunshine and butterflies, they take work. This is a great sequel to Win and Bo's story and I loved spending time with all the characters again.
“Out on a Limb” was $1.99 on the Kindle store a couple weeks ago so I snagged it. Fell in love with the characters immediately. The author brought me in with her cozy writing. So when I saw its companion, “Out of the Woods,” on NetGalley, I had to request it.
I loved this story. So often in romance you get the turmoil and journey to the happily ever after, with a glimpse at the future. With “Out of the Woods,” you get to see two people in a long-term, loving relationship work on their marriage in a healthy and emotionally safe way. You experience their vulnerability, their dedication to each other and the realistic hardships of growing together, growing apart and finding your way back to yourself and each other.
Sarah and Caleb are #relationshipgoals. The supporting cast of characters are likable. Everything was tied together neatly after the epilogue. And, of course, you see more of Win, Bo and Gus!
Get your copy of “Out of the Woods” on Jan. 28, 2025!
This book makes me want to call my mom and tell her I love her.
I loved loved loved this book. It's a beautiful mix of love and growth and grief. I have been in a relationship with my partner since high school, and I've not read a book before that explored the question of "who am I without my partner?" between people who have been together for years, while also still maintaining the love and commitment between the partners. Sarah and Caleb's relationship really resonated with me because I saw my relationship in their relationship. I loved watching them have the hard conversations and find their way into an even stronger relationship in the end where both people felt heard and loved and appreciated. I enjoyed the flashbacks between the current story and Sarah's life growing up with her mom—and her experience losing her mom. The story really came together in the end.
I haven't read Out on a Limb but I am immediately going to request it from the library.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.
I was so grateful to receive this as an ARC!! Out in a limb is one of my favorite books of all time! I knew Caleb and Sarah’s story was going to be amazing and this didn’t disappoint.
Seeing all that Sarah had to go through at such a young age with dealing with her moms passing, and then seeing how she relied on Caleb in the first book. Only to learn that he felt like he needed to be strong for her and that she had regrets about how her life had turned out is going to be so relatable for so many who also got married young. I can’t say I related too much in this book, but it still hit on so many levels. The first book was extremely relatable for me with the disability and just wanting to be loved because of and not in spite of just melted me. I wish I could include all the amazing quotes from out in the woods in this review, but I guess y’all will just have to read it to see!