I love a good second-chance romance, but it's been a while since I've read one this good.

I appreciate that this couple has never doubted that they're still in love; they're just feeling like they are stagnant and no longer the same people they were when they fell in love. Throw in some trauma and misplaced guilt and you're bound to have a rocky patch in your marriage.

The woodsy-camping atmosphere provided the perfect setting to make this rom-com both rom-my and com-my. There were moments I was hurt for the characters, laughing with them, and generally just sharing their every emotion.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oops, she did it again. HBY could host a masterclass on tugging at my heartstrings without making me suffer through too much angst. Sarah is a force and I could spend many more hours reading about life from her perspective. Caleb may not top my chart of HBY men but lemme tell ya, he’s not too far off. (I’m so sorry, Bo4EVA)

Beyond grateful to have been able to read an early copy of this book and glad I had the sense to preorder a physical copy months ago. Is it 2025 yet???

I knew that this story was going to hit me in the chest, and I was right. It was achey, but always hopeful. It made me laugh, and blush, and cry (a few times). It’s a refreshing, realistic, heartwarming story about love. Long love, old love, love that is long past shiny and new. It is a story of the work it takes to maintain that kind of love and the vulnerability it takes to show up like that for your partner.

There are so many pieces of this that touch my life in personal ways, of course I absolutely loved it.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing!

I honestly wish I was good as words as Hannah is because how do I describe a book that actually changed my brain chemistry. Out of the Woods follows Sarah and Caleb, who have been together since they were 14, married at 19 and are now 31. Sarah is going though some internal struggles and starts to reflect what she’s done with her life; has all she’s ever accomplished really just been to be Caleb’s wife? They end up going on this wilderness expedition that is supposed to help them reconnect as a married couple.

And can I just say every single word in this book was brilliant? I feel like I read Hannah’s books when I need them the most. As someone who got married at 23 (and as Nina would say that’s practically a child bride) fresh out of college, still in a churchy-cult so lived zero experiences, I related HEAVILY to this book. I love Hannah’s vulnerability in being able to put a piece of herself in every book, because you can definitely tell when you’re reading it. This book was absolutely incredible, I loved the entire premise, the plot was executed beautifully. I loved Sarah and Caleb in Out on a Limb, but in this book? They were EVERYTHING. I loved the relatability for me for both Sarah and Caleb. I loved how they constantly were choosing each other, honestly I was left like “this is the kind of marriage I want” like they had been together for sooooo long, but we’re still deeply in love with one another because they never stopped fighting for their marriage. I also loved the representation of a married couple not having children in life to feel fulfilled, I think that isn’t done a lot and I was scared they were gonna go down that route but no, Sarah and Caleb stayed authentic to themselves and I’m here for it.

I laughed, I cried more times than I can count to this book, I screamed, I felt every emotion while reading this book, I felt completely seen with this one, and it was scary.

I can’t express my gratitude for being able to be approved for this arc, I probably won’t be able to shut up about this book for the foreseeable future. Even though this book comes out next year, I think it’s gonna be my top book of the year.

i ADORED this book! what a beautiful story that didnt lack in love. i loved the communication, the rawness, the humanness of this story and the way i never felt like they didnt love each other. i adored this.

4.25 stars!

it was so lovely to finally get caleb and sarah’s story!!! I will say there were moments I felt bad for caleb bc he’s truly a king and I felt like he was doing so much for sarah but it sometimes seemed like it wasn’t enough for sarah. I wanted to be like GIRL U GOT URSELF A GOOD MAN WHAT’S THE PROB!! but I also know that she had a lot to work through with her grief. I loved the camp aspect of the story, it really helped challenge caleb and sarah to work things out. I loved seeing them grow together and get past their obstacles. the third act conflict defo had me emo and crying my eyes out! I loved seeing how everyone came together at the end for caleb. truly so beautiful!!!

When I tell you, I have never *needed* a book so desperately as I have needed this one… and it lived up to all my hopes and expectations, tenfold.

A huge thanks, first and foremost to Random House Publishing Group, Netgalley and Hannah Bonham-Young for giving me an advanced copy of Out Of the Woods.

I have fallen in love with all of Hannah’s characters throughout her books and was both extremely excited and devastated to hear that Sarah and Caleb would be the subject of her next book following Out on a Limb. I am and always have been a sucker for friends to lovers, second chances and people finding their way through troubles to stay together and if you are too, all of those things are done to their absolute best in this book. Without giving much away, Sarah and Caleb have been together since high school and, as Hannah so eloquently put in her Author’s Note, met each other before they were able to fully meet themselves.

This is a beautiful book about friendship, loss and what it’s like to love someone through the many seasons of their lives.

In addition to the the continuation of their love story is also the story of Sarah and her family and, while it’s the not the plot line I expected to move me as much as it did, it might have become my favorite. Sarah and her mom’s relationship with religion and prayer in particular was really moving and, as with any HBY book, a very unique and thoughtful take on a topic we’re all familiar with.

This book comes out January 28th and I can’t wait for you all to get to know Sarah and Caleb even better!

As I get older, I find myself leaning more into "what happens after 'happily ever after'" romances because life doesn't just STOP once you meet The One, and as you go on in life, you grow and navigating how and whether you grow together or grow apart is part of that journey. I enjoyed seeing how Caleb and Sarah fought to grow together rather than relying on patterns dictated when they were still in high school, and ultimately, this was a sweet reflection on burnout and resilience and how to learn to rely on yourself while balancing a lifelong relationship.

This review is much drier than my feelings about the book, but unless I want to sit here and cry about it, I gotta keep it brief. Hannah Bonam-Young knocked it out of the park, as always.

I am such a HBY fan, and it hurts my heart to only give Out of the Woods three stars when Out on a Limb is one of my all time faves. I still love her writing, but the conflict was lacking for me—it’s a marriage in crisis story but I was never worried that Sarah and Caleb weren’t in love/going to stay together forever. I know that because it’s a romance there is a HEA but I wanted to feel their struggle more. They kept assuring each other that it was going to be OK, and it felt like high vibes, low plot, which didn’t work great for me.

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!