Rounded up from 4.5 stars on The Storygraph.

Out of the Woods is the romance novel for the long-term relationship girlies, the high school sweethearts, and the lost girls.

Sarah and Caleb are characters that are so clearly crafted from the heart. I saw myself in Sarah in so many ways - big and small. Not only did this make me feel seen, it made me confront and learn things about myself, my relationships, and my approaches. When you connect to a character on a level like this, it makes it really difficult to hide from yourself. As for Caleb, he reminds me so much of my partner in the way he approaches the situations that we see play out in this book, which added an entire second set of roots for me. I know that this level of connection is a unique experience, but I do truly think that every reader will love these characters and be able to take something valuable away from the story.

I would be doing all romance readers a disservice by not mentioning that Caleb Linwood is a tall, fit, curly-headed, glasses-wearing nerd who is obsessed with his wife and is willing to do whatever necessary to hold onto her, maintain a healthy relationship, and support her as an individual. And the way Hannah Bonam-Young writes about water running down this man’s back muscles. I mean…the person I became while reading this was unhinged, sending voice notes to her bestie, kicking her feet, and squealing.

The setting and the premise for the story were so engaging and left so much room - in the midst of a heavy theme - for humour and those lighthearted moments we all enjoy in our romances. This was highlighted even more by the additional loveable characters and the almost found-family style relationships that were formed.

Without getting into spoilers, the last chunk of the novel masterfully completed the arc of Sarah’s journey towards confronting the grief that’s been holding her in place. Without sending the message that these hurts can be fixed or that we need to be whole people, there was a peace made with the loss that allowed Sarah to move forward and wake up into her life. It was a really well-crafted finishing point in my opinion.

My only criticism - the reason for my missing half star in my The Storygraph review - is that I did not just want more of this book but I needed more of it. It’s such an incredibly important story in my eyes and it felt, at points, that it was written for me and me alone. I don’t often come across romance books that address real experiences in the ways that Out of the Woods does. To feel so seen by a character and a set of circumstances, and to learn from them, is so special. I just wish I had the opportunity to sink myself into the pages more - to completely bask in the story as it unfolded. The pacing of events was just a little too quick to allow me to do this.

A huge thank-you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ebook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Out of the Woods: ★ ★ ★ . 7 5

Hannah Bonam-Young

“If you give me the space to grow, I’ll plant myself next to you. Always.”

Sarah and Caleb have been married for years and been together for even longer, but Sarah’s having some difficulty finding her own identity in the midst of it all. In order to reignite what they had, the couple go on a camping trip to rediscover themselves as individuals and the spark they used to have.

Tropes:
– High school sweethearts
– Marriage in crisis
– Found family
– Forced proximity
– Dual timeline

So here’s the thing about a HBY book - it’s like the best hug… with a couple of thorns pricking you in the chest. There’s a very unique quality about Hannah’s writing that just feels so safe to me. Like I can give her my heart and pour all my trust and she’ll take me on a journey that’s gonna make me cry and is most certainly going to hurt but at the end, I’m going to believe in love so hard that i really can see it in everything around me. That’s how this book felt.

I’m a sucker for a marriage in crisis, so when Hannah announced this book I knew I needed it asap. The whole read felt like an exercise in being comfortable with vulnerability to really appreciate the more tender moments of life and love in a magnified way. They’re just so real—flawed and human and perfect and truly two pieces of the same puzzle.

My only qualms were that I don’t really think that this was a marriage in crisis book strictly speaking. I think that Sarah just wanted to figure out who she was outside of the relationship, which is obviously completely valid. I also think for the most part they were doing their growing and facing their realizations in very siloed ways and not really addressing a lot of of their issues together, except for when it would be in the form of a fight… like, we saw so many conversations between Sarah and literally everybody on the camping trip, but I feel like there weren’t that many conversations between her and her husband? Idk that threw me off a bit because I wish they did more of their healing as a couple.

Sarah and Caleb (and Hannah) are a gift so do yourself a favor and pick their story up. Hannah knocked this out of the woods ;)

one of the most emotional and incredible books that i had the privilege of reading(early!!!) in 2024 is out so so soon! this book was absolutely incredible, 5 stars, no notes! sarah and caleb teach us that you can go through hard things and find yourself while still choosing your person! i am so excited for this book to be out in the world! highly highly recommend 🏕️🔥

Five stars! Oh my gosh, this book was EVERYTHING! The premise had me anxious— I’m a Lover girlie and love my romance novels, so I was nervous to read about a marriage on the rocks. However, not only was this a love story, but also a story about managing grief, rediscovery, and two people finding themselves outside of their relationship for the better. My favorite thing about Sarah and Caleb was at no point did it seem like they didn’t love each other. They bickered, which was necessary to be raw and open, but they were always rooting for the other and clearly wanted to find their ways back to each other and strengthen their relationship for years to come. I related to Sarah so much, both on the aspect of parental grief and questioning my own self-worth and identity. Hannah Bonam-Young did such a fantastic job at detailing every emotion in their journey, and I am so excited for this beautiful story to be out for everyone to experience 🩷

I loved Sarah and Caleb from Out on a Limb so I enjoyed getting to know them more in this story. I liked how the author included flashbacks at the end of some of the chapters to give the readers a glimpse into the start of Sarah and Caleb’s relationship. Despite the issues they were going through, Sarah and Caleb’s love for each other always shined through.

"Out on a Limb" was one of the BEST books I read in 2024, so I was incredibly excited to receive an ARC of "Out of the Woods" and it did NOT disappoint.

This had a similar balance of cute romance and emotional depth that I've come to recognize from all of Hannah Bonam-Young's other books, but with fresh characters, tropes, and plot.

Sarah and Caleb were both extremely loveable and complex characters with incredible banter, great chemistry, and a few issues to work through. It was so lovely to follow their journey of reconnecting and redefining their relationship so they could each have the room they needed to grow. You can feel throughout the book how their relationship evolves as they grow closer again and rediscover the things about each other they fell in love with. One of the things that I really loved about this book was just how much they both matured over the course of the story and worked on communicating their feelings to build a life that they both wanted. Their relationship had incredible moments of comedy, sadness, and the intimacy that comes along with being married for so long that you know almost everything about your partner. This was such an emotional book and I just wanted to give both of them a hug.

The other characters on the retreat were also great additions to the story that gave Sarah and Caleb new perspectives on their relationship and some fun new friends. But it was also so nice to see Win, Bo, and their cute baby girl again!

I read OUT ON A LIMB last year and loved it. I'm so glad Hannah Bonam-Young returned to this world with OUT OF THE WOODS because I truly think it will be one of my favorite romance books of 2025!

This book evoked so many emotions in me and I could have spent another 100 pages with these characters. I loved the dual timeline that flashed back to Sarah and Caleb's past. It was so sweet seeing how they met, but it was also heartbreaking reading about Sarah's mom being sick with ALS.

Marriage in crisis is typically not one of my favorite tropes -- but I'm now questioning that after reading this! It's probably my favorite marriage in crisis book I've read. Sarah and Caleb are high school sweethearts needing to reignite their love. I adored these characters and it was evident how much they loved each other. Being out in nature with other couples was the perfect place for them to get back on the same page. The other couples were wonderful side characters.

And speaking of side characters, I was so happy that there were cameos from Win, Bo, and Gus from book one! I will always be a big fan of inter-connected series <3

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars- full review to be posted in goodreads and on bookstgram @fadhee.reads

Finished it around 3 a.m. today and all I got to say is this book was too raw, realistic and beautiful!😭💙 I loved reading about Sarah & Caleb, them trying to mend their relationship and also learning about eachother all over again and trying to change themselves for each other for the better. They made me giggle like a teenager, and they made me sad at so many moments.🤧 I just wish I could give the biggest hug to Sarah for going through so many things at such a young age 🥺🫂❤️‍🩹 Also the characters like, Nina, Helen, Libby, Yvonne and all the others from the camp were so good! And meeting Win & Bo again with their baby girl Gus was EVERYTHING!!🥹💗 Overall, the epilogue ATE, it was so wholesome!!!🫶🏻💘

Thankyou to the Author, the Publisher and Netgalley for this beautiful ARC inexchange for an honest review 💌

1⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for an advanced copy of Out Of The Woods.

Sarah is feeling like a failure and that she has accomplished nothing in her life. She feels like her life has been wrapped up in her husband Caleb so they decide to change it up and go on a week long camping retreat. Can they find their way back to each other?

I did not like the female main character at all. She came off as selfish, ungrateful, and blamed everyone else for her problems. She honestly came off as a spoiled brat. I was not a fan of this book at all.

"Out of the Woods" by Hannah Bonam-Young is a fairly decent marriage-in-crisis romance about high school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb Linwood, who have been married for seventeen years. Sarah, grieving the loss of her mother, wants to prove to herself—and everyone else—that she’s capable of being independent by taking on a fundraising gala in her mother’s memory. But when the event fails and Caleb steps in uninvited to save the day, it creates a rift between them. This forces the couple to confront years of unspoken doubts, eventually leading them to join a grueling wilderness retreat for struggling couples to try to rediscover their relationship.

It was surprisingly cozy, with relatable characters. I liked Sarah and Caleb, and I don’t think anyone was truly at fault in their struggles. It didn’t even feel like their marriage was really in crisis—Sarah just wanted to find who she was outside of the relationship. I do think a conversation would have resolved a lot of their tension without the drastic steps they took. The flashbacks to their earlier years were okay but didn’t add much to the story. Honestly, they could’ve been condensed into one chapter, and the story wouldn’t have lost anything.

The romance itself was a lackluster as it often took a backseat to Sarah’s personal journey. While I enjoyed watching them rediscover themselves and make an effort to move forward, the stakes didn’t feel particularly high. The steam was minimal, except for a scene in the woods that gave me the ick—it’s hard to find a moment sexy when they haven’t showered in days, but that might just be me.

Overall, this wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing either. The author did a wonderful job portraying a natural, realistic marriage, but the story lacked focus, and the romance didn’t pack much of a punch. Decent, but not remarkable.

Hannah has become one of my very favorite authors, and I will read literally anything she releases! Out on a Limb is one of my top favorite books, so I was so excited to read about their best friends, Caleb and Sarah! I’ll be honest, I’m not usually the biggest fan of the “marriage in trouble” trope, but as per usual, Hannah absolutely killed it, and I loved every second! Sarah was freaking hilarious, and everything that came out of her mouth made me laugh! I loved getting to hear their story from the beginning and seeing how Sarah and Win became best friends. The way Caleb loves Sarah so deeply is swoon-worthy, and I can only hope my future husband is as good to me as Caleb is to Sarah. This one comes out on Tuesday(January 28th), and I hope you all love it as much as I did!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5!

Thanks Hannah for once again make me question everything about life, contemplate moving to Canada, and loving words more than ever. Reading anything Hannah writes makes me feel like I'm empowered but also as if I was being taken apart piece by piece. I promise, it's for the better.

I'm so glad we got Sarah and Caleb. The dual timelines were done well and other than wishing we could have had heard from Caleb - I've got no complaints. Hannah is a please give me now author.

Thank you Dell & NetGalley for the emotional spiral. I'll send you all my therapy bills. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you Hannah Bonam-Young and Dell for an ARC of this book via NetGalley!

I love Caleb and Sarah so much!!! I adored them in Out on a Limb and seeing their struggle here broke my heart. There was so much love but also so much left unsaid between them. Yet, the solution wasn't simply talking (tho that was part of it); it was confronting the reality that the roles they assumed no longer fit in their relationship. In this aspect, I think many of us, in *any* type of relationship, could relate. Bc it's not just a matter of self-reflection; it's challenging the place others occupy in our lives which could potentially threaten *their* sense of emotional security. Then when all these factors collide, the future suddenly looks so unclear. And that's scary. So watching Sarah and Caleb work through their frustrations, their insecurities, *all of their struggles* tugged at my heart. But seeing them through this journey was absolutely worthwhile. And the fact that they had *so* much history, their growth felt esp meaningful bc we got to see where they started *and* and where they finally landed.

And altho this was a journey that Sarah and Caleb took together, this was very much Sarah's story. Her frustration with not being able to make something of herself felt so real and I felt it so deeply. The way her circumstances led her to rely on Caleb. How that dependence became security. Then wanting to *be more*. Only to fail and fall into self-doubt. And I loved her development bc it wasn't about making drastic changes in the pursuit of grand plans. It was personal. It was Sarah giving herself grace, finding and meeting herself again, and reclaiming her dream by taking one small step. And every bit of that just felt remarkable.

CN: open-door romance, grief from parental death (ALS), diagnosis & treatment of terminal illness, questioning of religious practices/spirituality, accident resulting in hospitalization

This book was super surprising to me. I know that this is a super popular author, but was new to me.

As woman who married relatively young, I really enjoyed how this book played out. I really felt the emotion between Caleb and Sarah throughout the book. The dual timeline was a unique way to share the story of how they got to where they were, and how their emotional state brought tension.

I loved the set up of the outdoor excursion camp as a way to connect to their base relationship.
There were a couple of spicy scenes and they were pretty well written!


Pick this one up if you enjoy:
* marriage in crisis
* high school sweethearts
* therapy during outdoor excursions

Out on a Limb is one of my all time favorite books so when I was approved for this ARC, I was so freaking excited to read Sarah and Caleb’s story and I wasn’t disappointed!

Am I normally a fan of the “marriage in crisis” trope? Absolutely not but this story was very emotional and raw and I loved every minute of it! Caleb and Sarah married young and found themselves questioning their marriage but the way they found their way back to each was so beautiful!

Sarah losing her mother so young really struck home for me and I related to her so much!While I still enjoyed Out on a Limb more, Sarah and Caleb’s story was beautiful in a different way!

Thanks so much to Hannah Bonem Young and Netgalley for an ARC of this book for an honest review!

This was a cute, quick read! I loved seeing the two reconnect and how much they love each other. It was really sweet! I can’t wait to read other books by this author.

3.5/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This is the second book in a series of standalones and I loved this one just as much as I loved Out on a Limb! I absolutely love the way Hannah Bonam-Young writes her characters and love stories. I do have a trigger when it comes to dead moms in books as plots because of losing my own mother unexpectedly and quickly in 2020 but I thought that the dead mom representation was done so well in this book. I can't wait to read more by this author!! Definitely an auto-buy author for me!!

Out of the Woods follows Sarah and Caleb Linwood, however, some of the characters from Bonam-Young's 2023 novel 'Out on a Limb' follow into this 2025 standalone. Sarah and Caleb are the perfect young couple, but a disagreement at an event Sarah organizes causes them to doubt what they thought was a near flawless relationship. Sarah's best friend and pseudo sister gives them an opportunity to go on a nature retreat to sort it out, but what they come home with is much more than they anticipated.

The writing here is simple, yet thought provoking. I really liked Bonam-Young's banter between the characters, the emotion you feel with them, and the character and relationship building is felt throughout. I expected a light, cozy romance and I got that, but I also got a little bit of spice, a little bit of sadness, and a whole lot of hope. The story did lull for me a little bit in the middle, but picked back up very quickly and I enjoyed it through to the end. The chapters can be a bit long, but there are a few shorter chapters as well, so overall the cadence of the read was a good pace.

I think previous reader of Bonam-Young will enjoy this as a next step in Win's life but new readers of her work (like myself) can still jump right in without feeling like we've missed anything.

Solid read for me, overall 4.5 stars. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing House for an Advanced Reader Copy of this novel.

I am completely convinced that Hannah Bonam-Young can just do no wrong.

I was outrageously excited to read Out of the Woods and read more about Sarah and Caleb. Like Sarah and Caleb, I also met my spouse in high school and we have been together for over a decade, so the story really hits home for me and I cannot express how on the mark HBY is with every single thing in this book. The feelings. The fights. The relationships. Everything.

I honestly am struggling to put into words what this book meant to me - it affected me that much. The characters are so complex and I just can't get over how much I relate to their struggles within themselves and with one another.

The relationship between the main couple is so unbelievably realistic (which makes sense since HBY also met her husband very young, so she would have first hand knowledge about so many aspects of this type of relationship) that I really felt immersed into the story and could see how while they truly love one another - its the little things that build up and up over time and end up being big things before you even realize its happening. How HBY manages it is true art.

If you haven't preordered, ordered, put on hold, requested at your library, etc then you really need to go and do that right now. I honestly think this may be the best book Hannah has written and I truly cannot wait to read more and more of what she comes out with. I wish I could rate this more than 5 stars.

I’m having a hard time putting how incredible and perfect this book was… When I picked this book up, I knew it would be incredible because come on, it’s HBY 🤭 but I will say, coming in knowing it was a marriage in crisis book, which is one of the tropes I don’t love as much, had me a little nervous about how much I would enjoy this one! But wow, it was incredible.

There’s so much that I enjoyed about this book… The story, the characters and their growth, the setting… This book felt really unique and I enjoyed every second reading it and I didn’t want it to end. I love that the main trope in this book, marriage in crisis, was so well done and how much grief, which is such a huge part of this book, was handled with so much love and care. This book pulled at my heartstrings and had me wanting to cry many times, and I love when a book is able to do that!

There’s just something about HBY’s writing that’s so beautiful and raw and real, and it definitely comes through in this book. The dialogue between our characters was perfect and so so so real, and made this work of fiction feel so real.

Speaking of characters, I ADORED both our MMC Caleb and FMC Sarah. I loved their relationship, how they’ve been together through thick and thin and still love each other, and how they grew together. They really complemented one another, and i feel like they’ll be one of my all time favorite book couple. Their love just felt so real and beautiful. I also really loved the journey that each character went through during the story, and I love seeing their growth individually as well as together. It was so beautiful to see, and it really made the story what it was.

I have a feeling this book will stick with me for a very long time, and I can’t wait until everyone has a chance to read it! Everything in this story worked so well together, and it was just such a pleasure to read!

5⭐️