I loved this! The love between Caleb and Sarah was so beautiful and real feeling. The grief they both experienced and how much they wanted each other to succeed was so sweet. Will definitely be buying for my store and recommending. 5/5

Hannah is back at it again with another incredible book. How does she do it? We will never truly know but she has MASTERED the art of writing fully formed characters, their hopes, dreams and fears. As with each of her couples these two step perfectly from side characters to the center stage because it truly feels as though no character in her books is a side character. I hope to continue to have the enjoyment of reading works from Hannah's heart for eons to come.

Out of the Woods is a poignant exploration of marriage, second chances, and the enduring power of love. This beautifully written novel follows Sarah and Caleb, a couple who married in their late teens, only to find themselves drifting apart over the years as the weight of unmet dreams and unspoken resentments strains their bond. Through its heartfelt storytelling, the book examines how love can survive—and thrive—amid life’s inevitable changes.

Wow! Another fantastic book by this author! I loved it so much and will be recommending it for sure!

Out Of The Woods - ARC Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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PUB DATE: January 28th
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FEATURES:
-Adult Contemporary Romance
-Highschool Sweethearts
-Marriage in Crisis
-Identity Crisis
-Loss of Parent at a young age
-Teens who had to grow up too fast
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WHY 5/5:
I am thoroughly convinced we need more romances about people in long-term relationships doing the messy, hard, beautiful work of re-connecting, communicating, and fighting FOR each other.
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HBY's depiction of this marriage gave me so much hope. Not because the marriage was perfect. But because despite all of their struggles and how hard it would be, these two committed to doing the work. They had hard conversations, got very vulnerable, asked for help from others, identified roles/patterns that weren't working, and tried to make changes.
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It should also be said that this book is really two journeys. Caleb and Sarah of course go on a journey to reconnect as a couple. But Sarah is also on a personal journey to discover who she is and wants to be.
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When her mother died right after high school, Sarah was forced to grow up quickly and got married right away…she didn't get the chance to explore herself or her dreams. But, now that her grief is not quite as heavy and her life is a bit more secure, she can finally go on that journey.
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These two journeys are deeply intertwined and oh-so-messy, but also deemed worth it by the characters, and that is so, so beautiful.
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Thank you, Hannah, for writing this gift of a book!
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Thank you @netgalley and @dellromance for my eARC copy. I was given this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

thank u to netgalley + publishers for an e-arc ♡
as someone who also fell for their high school sweetheart, this put me thru nearly every emotion possible. was entertained the entire time! the spice sprinkled in HITTTT & caleb was hawt. didn’t expect it to get as deep as it did, def teared up, but i always know miss HBY will deliver!! honestly wish some scenes were longer and that we got more teenage flashbacks of sarah+caleb.
didn’t beat out on a limb but still totally recommend 💞
3.75⭐️ rounded up 😙

heartbreaking and soo relatable.. I don’t love second chance romances and this was just so beautifully written. This second chance romance follows the couple we meet in Out on a Limb, Sarah and Caleb who are high school sweethearts. We follow their journey into the woods to rekindle their marriage and find themselves 🫶🏻 cannot read out on a limb enough, and definitely adding this one to my stack because omg!! Comes out Jan 28!! Thank you to NetGalley and the Hannah Bonam-Young for this digital ARC

Having met Sarah and Caleb in “Out on a Limb” and thinking they had the perfect life, it was really fun reading about them and seeing their lives and struggles. There’s a good balance of struggle, relatable moments, and it’s broken up with good, cute humor. Overall it’s a quick read and light hearted. I felt some moments good have dug deeper emotionally but overall happy with the story and love getting to see Win, Bo and Gus again

Thank you NetGalley for a digital copy of this read in exchange for an honest review

I was *so* excited to receive this ARC, as I absolutely loved Out on a Limb! If you haven’t read that already, I would definitely recommend doing so before jumping into this book.

After 12 years of marriage, and 17 years together total, Sarah and Caleb’s issues have come to a head and they decide to join a week long outdoor retreat to repair their marriage. Throughout the book we get short flashbacks, taking a look at the development of Sarah’s relationship with Caleb, as well as the progression of her mother’s illness.

Despite this being about Sarah and Caleb’s relationship, I felt the most poignant part of the story was Sarah discovering who she is, where she wants to be, and facing the expectations she’s put on herself since her mother first got sick (Big CW for illness/death of a parent).

I enjoyed watching Sarah and Caleb find their way back to each other but, honestly, I wish the process would’ve taken a bit more time, instead of having the third act conflict. As with Out on a Limb, Sarah and Win’s friendship was a highlight of the book.

Thank you to NetGallt and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I mean… what words are there really? Out On a Limb was one of, if not my favorite, romance book this year, I hopped on tickets for the upcoming release tour, and I have raved about HBY to anyone within earshot at times. I had arguably the highest of hopes that Out of the Woods was going to destroy me, heal me, make me cry, make me laugh, and have me hiding behind the collar of my sweatshirt during ✨those✨ moments.

I love Sarah and Caleb. I love this book, I love these characters, I love this author. There is plenty more that I could say but then I would go on forever so I’ll just leave it at this: Yes.

FIVE STARS. 😭 I loved Out on a Limb, so I was so excited to have this ARC. Sarah and Caleb were absolutely amazing in Out on a Limb, and I fell more in love with them in their own book.

Sarah and Caleb are married high school sweethearts. Sarah feels lost and when their marriage starts struggling, her best friend, Win suggests that they go on a couples camping retreat.

I felt so connected to these characters and this story. The struggles and feelings represented in this book felt so authentic and real. There are topics of grief and loss, so be sure to read content warnings as always.

Hannah’s writing and characters are spectacular. I was so happy to see Win & Bo again.

Thank you Hannah and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading this ARC. All options are my own, and are genuine. 🫶🏻

When a book resets your life...

I don’t even know where to start, but reading this story felt like an emotional reset. Hannah, if you ever read this: THANK YOU. 🙏

Their relationship gave me a completely new perspective on marriage. Let me share a bit: I’ve always been afraid of the idea of getting married. Even though I do want it, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to spend my entire life with just one person. The thought of failing, getting bored in 20 years, and having to start over terrifies me. At 30, that feels overwhelming.

But this book... this book showed me that there are so many ways to love and to work things out. It made me realize that fears are valid, but they’re not impossible to overcome.

Sarah, I understand so much of what you’re feeling. At 30, we want to have a thousand things figured out by ourselves. Even when we have support, that desire to build something on our own is so powerful.

And Caleb... will I ever meet someone like you? You feel like more than just a fictional character. Thank you for loving Sarah and for not giving up, even when you almost did.

Finally, Hannah, you made me cry so much. 😭 If I ever get to meet you, I promise I’ll tell you how many tears I shed while reading your story.

Out of the Woods is Sarah and Caleb's story, high school sweethearts that have grown but Sarah feels their relationship has stayed the same. She always feels Caleb is the white knight coming to her rescue even when she doesn't need it. She feels they hit a rut or maybe just she has.
They go on a couples hiking retreat that is built around couples reconnecting. They are finally open and raw with their emotions. They remember what brought them together in the first place.

I don’t know if I’ve ever read a romance about a couple that was already married and where both partners wanted to stay married! There was no cheating either! Just two people who had drifted apart finding their way back together.

I loved the two MCs. Caleb is the most lovable golden retriever of all time book boyfriend. First in line to help everyone. And Sarah was very relatable to me as she tried to figure out how to stop just existing and start living. Their journey together was so sweet with some great spicy scenes. I enjoyed the secondary characters, too.

I thought the plot was interesting as well. Seven days of hiking and camping with a therapist would be quite the couples counseling experience!

This was an interconnected standalone, but I was able to enjoy it without having read book one. It was an unusual romance that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to @Netgalley, @dellromance, and @penguinrandomhouse for the chance to review this ARC.

Out of the Woods follows Sarah and Caleb, a couple introduced in Out on a Limb, as they navigate the next steps in their marriage. They have been together since high school but lately Sarah has felt like she doesn't really know who she is without Caleb. In an attempt to make things work, they decide to go on a couples hiking trip.

Dare I say that this is my new favorite Hannah Bonam-Young book?? Something I love about her books is that her characters deal with problems that you would see in "real life". This book in particular resonated with me as I recently had a family member pass, and like the character's in OOTW, I am still trying to process my grief. I feel as though HBY handled their grieving process with the care it deserved. On top of this aspect, Out of the Woods delivered some of the most tender dialogue between love interests I have ever read. One quote in particular stood out to me: "If you give me the space to grow, I'll plant myself next to you. Always." This quote alone should convince everyone to read this when it comes out. I cannot wait to get myself a physical copy to annotate. This book cements that Hannah Bonam-Young will always be an auto-buy author for me, and I hope that she becomes everyone's next favorite romance author.

I LOVED this book. It is so refreshing to read a second chance trope done with characters who are already in a relationship. It is not often romance novels look at couples who've been together for years versus younger couples just getting together and I thought Hannah did such an incredible job of writing Caleb and Sarah's story. There was no third act breakup because the problems the couple was facing were on going and their love needed to be rekindled from the start, which set the plot up nicely to allow for good communication and reconnection. Sarah needed to recognize who she was outside of their marriage and her role as a wife, while Caleb needed to stop being the savior and jumping in to help. As someone who has been married for a few short years, it felt very real and I enjoyed it so much. There's some good spice thrown in and there's a twist that pulls at your heart strings. As a nurse, I found the healthcare part to be written fairly accurately and well - which is rare!

vibes:
second chance
marriage in crisis/rekindling
outdoor adventures
high school sweethearts
healing with humor
dual timeline
hiking as foreplay
MS representation
cameo from Bo and Win

I ate up Caleb and Sarah’s story! I’m a sucker for the marriage in crisis trope and this was just so well done. I love how Caleb and Sarah found a way to reconnect and reaffirm the things that they love about each other. The communication and maturity from both main characters was refreshing. I genuinely loved this book!!

Thank you again to NetGalley and Random House Ballentine/Dell for Young Readers Group for a chance to read and review an advanced copy of this book!

There’s just something so refreshing about reading a romance book with grown characters that have already been in a relationship for years. There’s room in my heart for all romance, but majority of the time they’re about people in their young 20s meeting and making dumb mistakes, etc. In this book we get a couple who have already been together for 17 years that have started to drift apart and throughout the book find their way back to each other and remember why they loved each other in the first place. I loved the main characters, I loved their new and old friends, I ate all of this up!

Loved Caleb and Sarah’s story! Not often are romance books about characters that start off married but I thoroughly enjoyed a new trope!

Sarah and Caleb have grown throughout their long relationship and need to reconnect. They do so by going on a camping trip which does the trick!

We also got more from Win and Bo from Out on a Limb. I love all these characters!

4.5 ⭐️

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I CRIED and it was fantastic. HBY knows exactly how to pull at your heartstrings and write a fantastic story. I’ve never been happier to read one of her books. This marriage in crisis is as so well done and has a perfect HEA.