So excited to receive an ARC of this book. I discovered Hannah Bonam-Young this year and fell in love with her stories. Hannah knows how to write refreshing romance books. I LOVED that this book was about an established couple, who while still very much in love, found that they weren't the best at communicating their needs. But also that it was about a woman, who experienced loss, was still grieving and kind of lost who she was along the way. I think that's something a lot of people can relate to, myself included. I appreciated that it wasn't just about a couple constantly fighting throughout the book over ridiculous things. Their problems and the way they dealt with it felt relatable and realistic.
I loved that it felt like reading two stories with the flashbacks to younger Sarah and Caleb, and how their relationship bloomed. But also seeing everything that they (Sarah, Caleb AND Win) had to experience when Sarah's mom got sick. Ugh, that broke my heart and the more into the story we got, the more I felt for Sarah. Sarah's journey throughout the book was so precious.
And lastly, lets not forget about how amazing both present day and past Caleb are. That man is a giant green flag and I love how he was all in from the beginning.
I cried, I laughed, I swooned. My only complaint is that, Hannah knows how to write some really good spicy scenes, and I would have been inclined to read at least one more 😉

Out in the Woods

I really enjoyed this latest book I read an advanced copy of thanks to #netgalley, Random House Publishing and Hana Bonham-Young, in exchange for my honest review! I really enjoyed all aspects of this book. After leaning on her teenage love during her mother’s ailing health and untimely death due to ALS, once in her thirties, Sarah began to get restless and wondered if she made the wrong choice marrying young. They decide to go on a week long couples retreat and I absolutely loved watching them relearn and remember how to love each other and most importantly why they chose each other in the first place. With the support of her best friend (and non-biological sister) Win, Sarah and Caleb remember who they were together, as well as individuals and show it’s never too late to work on your relationship. Most of all I LOVED that Sarah and Caleb had no interest in having children and that never wavered. It’s not something people use in a book often and I think it was a great little detail that was important to their story and insight to their relationship. This book hits shelves in January and you want to be sure to snag it. It’s a rather easy, 260 something page read. I look forward to looking up Hannah’s other books and reading those as well!

Getting married at the very young age of 19 seems crazy, but sometimes when you know you know. And sometimes, your mom is about to die and you were probably going to get married anyways, so best to do it while she’s alive to see it, right? Which, also crazy, but Sarah and Caleb might just be the lucky ones.

High School sweethearts Caleb and Sarah Linwood have been each other’s other half for a startling seventeen years. They’ve been with each other through it all—awkward phases, heartbreaking losses, and everything in between. Now they’re well into their marriage and financially comfortable thanks to Caleb’s incredibly successful business.

Sarah, in her thirties and feeling a bit stuck, is grasping for something in her life to be proud of, something that’s all her own. So she pulls together a fundraiser gala in her mother’s honor, and tragically, it fails. That is, until Caleb steps in with a fat check at the last minute to save the day. This uninvited and mostly well-intentioned gesture throws a stake into their relationship. To save it they decide to go… hiking?!? As two people who don’t like the outdoors?!? Crazy! But they’ll do anything to save their marriage.

From there they go on an incredible journey, albeit a bit of a roller coaster, of healing and self discovery via the great outdoors, all while supported by some truly strange, wonderful characters.

The only other of HBY’s novels I’ve read (tragically, and trust me I’m about to fix that) is Out on a Limb which is the prequel to Out of the Woods. You don’t need to read the first in order to understand this one, but trust me when I say you should and you won’t regret it. Anyways, despite the pregnancy trope of the first, HBY made me fall head over heels for Win & Bo, and she did the same for me with Sarah & Caleb. HBY has this incredible talent for painting the most beautiful pictures of humans and their complicated lives without making the whole thing feel like something cliché you’ve read before in any other romance.

Out of the Woods took me on a journey. In starting it I didn’t think it would hold any relevance to my life, and boy was I wrong. I learned with these characters, laughed with them, and cried with them. This book will fall into one of my favorites this year along with Out on a Limb.

Hannah Bonam-Young is an amazing and incredibly underrated writer. Don’t let the theme of the book scare you away, because I swear you’ll love it anyways.

Thank you infinitely to the author & publisher via NetGalley for this ARC!

I ATE this book up! Like oh my goodness, this may have been the best Hannah book I've ever read??

Literally dived headfirst into this book and it was utter perfection. The romance, the plot, the spice, everything was top tier. Hannah has a way of writing books and characters that you absolutely fall in love with, and this book was no exception. It was everything and I love it so much.

The way I need to read this book over and over again because I cannot get enough of it.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

Bonam-Young has done it again! The masterful way she weaves a tender story while remaining realistic is so special. The story of a long married couple trying to reevaluate their past and future while reaffirming their love was truly not a plot I’ve ever seen before. The author tapped into something fresh, a rarity.

This was such a sweet and fun read. I gave it four stars because it felt a bit like the conflict was resolved with minimal effort. I would have loved to see more glimpses into the therapy sessions and their conversations about their future. Because of this it was more of a lighthearted read considering it’s a fairly heavy topic. I LOVED the first book in this series, and this was a nice follow up. I would definitely recommend this to friends.

Absolute perfection. Hannah Bonam Young has done it again. This story was beautiful to read and I loved every part of it. This book reminded me why I love romance books and read them from time to time. Will definitely be rereading in the future.

this was absolute perfection from hannah as always! if you want a romance but with an already married couple, this is IT!! finally found it!

I was drawn to the premise of this book - a long married woman, struggling to find her purpose in her marriage. The book didn't really live up to what I hoped. First the woman is only 32, having married very young, so it was essentially the standard age-range of young romances. Also, the marriage was never at risk to begin with; the couple was still ferociously in love. It was less about the marriage needing a reboot, and more about the woman finding a career to fulfill her. Still, it kept my attention.

A very heart-warming exploration of both grief after loss and how marriage takes work, no matter how much you love each other.

I loved both Sarah and Caleb, how you could tell they loved each other and the true connection they have after loving each other for so many years, through true hardships.

Caleb is the nerdy man of my dreams. I love a man with glasses, who just wants to love his woman and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her.

Their week-long camping/couples therapy trip was such a great setting for this story! I loved the cast of characters we were introduced to as well.

To say I cried reading this is an understatement. I related to Sarah in so many ways. Losing a parent in your formative years is life-altering and I can't imagine also having been my parent's caretaker to some extent. The portrayal of life after that type of loss, how it can change you, how it can make you afraid.. ouf, that cut to the bone for me. It mirrors my experience.

There are some truly heartfelt and emotional conversations that take place in this book, and Hannah did such a wonderful job with them.

The reason I didn't rate this 5 stars is that I felt like there was a bit of a lack of intimacy when it came to the spice. I think I was expecting something more emotional considering this book is about a marriage in crisis and these two reconnecting.. but the spice was more of the spicy/sexy side, and there was a bit of a lack of emotional connection for me. (this could just be personal preference)

I also wish that we could have explored Sarah's own personal journey a tad more.. it felt like it was maybe getting somewhere, but then the story change course and it didn't really circle back to her in a way that felt meaningful.

that said, I still absolutely loved this book! I think I will reread the finished copy in 2025 and see if my feelings have changed.. I always find it difficult to truly formulate my thoughts after I binge through a book, so maybe a slower read through it will make me see things differently.

oh and we get the best little moments of both Bo & Win and I lived for every second we got of them on page.

Hannah is a fantastic writer and I can't wait for her future releases!

I want to start out by saying this book hooked me from the first page. I can relate so much with the fmc and her worry about her life and where her marriage fits in. Throughout the first 50% of the book, I was extremely engrossed. However, somewhere around the 60% mark I started to lose interest. It started to feel less like a second chance romance, and more like then just getting over one big fight. I never felt as though divorce was a real possibility and the lack of angst at this point made me lose internet even more. I really really wanted to love this book. But it just didn’t deliver for me, as much as I wish it had.

WOW...just wow. Hannah has this way of writing these characters that make them feel so REAL, like they're people you know. Sarah and Calebs story is so full of love and acceptance and healing, its beautiful. As someone who also got married young, seeing conversations Sarah had and knowing ive had those exact same conversations and feelings really made this book hit home on another level for me. Also getting to see more Bo and Win was such a good little bonus. This was such a beautiful, romantic story. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House for the amazing opportunity to read this story.

out of the woods

after reading out on a limb, i was so excited to receive this arc!

i’ll start by saying that this trope (couple saves dying marriage? idk what to call it) has never really interested me before, and i’d still probably place it low on my preferred plot list. that being said, i feel like hannah bonam-young couldn’t have done a better job writing this story.

the first half of this book dragged just a little for me. it didn’t keep my attention as much as i would have liked, but i’ll note that i read most of this while fighting the flu, so that might’ve played a big part. aside from being in a fever-induced haze for the majority of this book, i think the lack of setting and character changes also made it feel a bit slow. you spend pretty much the entire story in one location with the same characters, so if that’s something that bothers you, keep it in mind. even though this kept me from loving the book, it definitely didn’t stop me from really liking it.

this story was so realistic, and i know sarah’s character will resonate with so many people, myself included. the reality of both characters and their relationship made this a super tender story that surprisingly had me choked up multiple times. on a similar note, i thought the scenes about sarah’s mom’s health were really well done. even though i can’t relate to their story exactly, i still found myself connecting to it in a lot of ways.

overall, i just feel like hannah bonam-young writes relationships extremely well, has some genuinely witty and funny dialogue, and creates unique stories that i’ll always be excited to read.

thank you netgalley and penguin random house for this early digital copy!

ps: the dedication was NOT lying, this book really was for the amy march girls.

3.75 stars

I really enjoyed this book! At first I thought I wasn’t going to like Caleb and Sarah’s characters, but both of them grew on me by the end. I think sometimes it is important to step away from your day to day life and just pause. People can get stuck in their routines and not realize how unhappy they are. Sarah knew that something needed to change in her life, but also knew that she didn’t want Caleb to change. Caleb just wanted to love Sarah and take care of her. Overall I thought the storyline was good and Caleb was my favorite character.

🌲Out of the Woods ARC Review🌲

“It doesn’t feel like I’m healing... I kind of feel like I’m
b r e a k i n g o p e n more than ever.”

“Often, we can find ourselves playing what-if instead of recognizing what we can do now to build the life we want. The truth is the past is one of the only things as stubborn as us humans.”

I screamed when @netgalley @randomhouse and @dellromance approved me for the Out of the Woods ARC a few months ahead of its release, and I devoured it immediately. I became an instant @authorhannahby stan the minute I finished Out on a Limb, the preceding novel, to Out of the Woods. I loved getting the opportunity to learn more about the seemingly stable, happy couple, Sarah and Caleb, and their relationship beyond the small glimpses we see in OOAL. I appreciated how Bonam-Young poignantly wrote about the challenges of young love and the growing pains of a relationship. This book hit incredibly close to home as I met my husband at 19 years old, and we have also had our share of obstacles and need for couples therapy to buoy our relationship when life seemed destined to rip us apart due to unforeseen circumstances. For Sarah and Caleb, it’s grief, the untimely loss of Sarah’s mother due to ALS, and the need to forge their own identities outside of each other. What struck me the most about this book was how astutely Bonam-Young captured the experience of how love is constantly evolving and that sometimes we need just a little help to see our partners clearly again. Caleb and Sarah unpack their grievances and try to find their way back to each other at a nature retreat that helps couples rekindle their relationship, all while not being the outdoorsy type of people, making it even more entertaining and beautiful as they put themselves outside their comfort zones in more ways than one. I cried a lot reading this book — primarily because of how tender and affirming it was — and I was filled with joy getting to see Bo, Win, and Gus again.

Highlights:
🌲Found family
🏕️High school sweethearts
🌲Marriage in crisis
🏕️ Grief and healing
🌲 Personal growth

CW: death of a parent, grief, terminal illness, medical trauma, head injury

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review 💕

I absolutely loved Out on a Limb and was thrilled to hear about the second book! The witty humor and adorable romance in the first story made me eager to dive into the spin-off.

However, this follow-up wasn’t quite what I expected…

Sarah and Caleb, the main couple, have a few marriage issues and decide it’s best to attend a “marriage retreat” called Reignite.

I understand that this is a book about growth and learning to take accountability for your actions, and I appreciate that focus, but the romance part was lacking for me. I couldn’t feel the connection between Sarah and Caleb, which made their journey harder to invest in.

The story itself felt a bit choppy and just wasn’t hitting the mark for me. The FMC came across as a bit frustrating, often feeling super ungrateful, and the romance felt a little cringe at times, taking away some of the charm I loved in the original.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!
I really enjoyed this beautiful story. It was emotional but not overdone and these characters and their experiences just felt so real and vulnerable to me. Bravo!

SO MANY EMOTIONS. Hannah Bonam-Young never misses. This is such a breathtaking, raw, beautifully vulnerable marriage in trouble. The characterizations are so deeply relatable and well-written. My heart ached for Sarah, crumbled for Caleb, and then healed itself with their unwavering love for each other. There are truly very few words to describe what a gem this story is. Infinite stars.

I loved this story. I cried and then laughed so hard I had an actual snot bubble at the most ironic moment.

Caleb and Sarah’s story was so real and raw. To fully grow up together and continue to love each version of each other, while figuring out who they were as individuals was really exposing. The raw honestly and vulnerability they showed through their journey made it feel like I was really there with them.

The fish-out-of-water idea to put two very indoorsy people and have them do couples counselling while hiking for a week was an inspired choice. Neither of them got to lead or be an expert, and they were able to fail or succeed, together.

The paper airplanes got me in the feels every time. The song “Grow as we go” by Ben Platt kept coming up for me as I was reading. “You can change right next to me”.

I highly recommend this book 📢

I had never screamed out loud over an ARC until this one! 😱

After Out on a Limb, I officially became a Hannah Bonam-Young superfan. Seriously, I was already hooked, and just the thought of getting more Bo and Win? YES PLEASE. But the real kicker? We got to dive deeper into Caleb and Sarah’s world. SOLD. 💖

This book is a whirlwind of rediscovery—of self, of love, and all the messy, beautiful in-betweens. I laughed so hard with Sarah I nearly cried (okay, I did cry), and when Caleb struggled, my heart was struggling right alongside him. The emotional rollercoaster this book took me on? Pure. Magic. 💫

The only downside? It ended too soon! 😩 I need more. I’m still not over it. More of these characters, more of their lives—can I get an epilogue that goes on forever, please? 📚