4/5 Stars

Hannah Bonam-Young’s Out of the Woods is a beautifully written story that strikes a balance between heartfelt emotion and personal growth. From the very first chapter, I found myself captivated by the authenticity of the characters and their journeys.

The book’s exploration of identity, healing, and self-discovery resonated deeply with me. Bonam-Young has a talent for weaving relatable struggles into her narrative, and I appreciated how raw and vulnerable the protagonists felt. Their connection grew organically, and watching them navigate their fears and desires felt both realistic and rewarding.

One of the standout elements for me was the setting. The woodsy backdrop was not just atmospheric but symbolic, mirroring the characters’ emotional journeys as they stepped out of isolation and into connection. I also loved the gentle way Bonam-Young approached mental health, never shying away from its complexities but always treating it with care.

While there were moments where the pacing felt a bit slow, the overall experience was one of warmth and inspiration. Out of the Woods reminded me of the importance of community and the courage it takes to step into the light after being lost in the shadows. It’s a story I’ll carry with me and one I highly recommend to readers who enjoy heartfelt contemporary fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Cue ‘Out of the Woods (Taylor’s Version)’

Hannah got me to enjoy an accidental pregnancy trope. Was she successful in getting me to enjoy the marriage in crisis trope? Yes. Yes she most certainly was. The number of tears I shed reading this book cannot be counted, the number is infinite. But it also had moments of absolute joy, ones that had me laughing, a few that had me swooning, and moments that me giggling and kicking my feet.

Out of the Woods follows another book from Bonam-Young, Out on a Limb. The books are best enjoyed in that order, but this could still work as a standalone.

Sarah and Caleb (best friends of Win and Bo from Out on a Limb) have been in love for 17 years. They’ve been together and there for each other through all of life’s challenges - including the loss of Sarah’s mother shortly after their wedding at 19. For most of their relationship, they have played the same roles. Sarah is the damsel in distress and Caleb is the knight who comes to her rescue. Always.

Sarah organizes what could be considered an unsuccessful fundraiser in honor of her mother and Caleb once again comes to the rescue. This causes a rift between the two. Sarah feels stuck in the ‘sameness’ of their roles and Caleb doesn’t understand why anything needs to change if they are happy. Sarah comes up with a plan for the couple to on a weeklong couples camping trip/wilderness retreat.

Neither Sarah nor Caleb are naturally outdoor people and find the trip to be physically and emotionally demanding. With no phones or other distractions, they are forced to face the hard truths, resentment, and buried emotions of their relationship.

The book is told solely from Sarah’s POV. Because of this, at first it feels like Sarah is the only one committed to making this work. When the two start to learn to open up and communicate with each other, we find that Caleb is equally committed to their marriage.

I absolutely loved watching this story unfold. Learning how deeply these two love, and I mean absolutely LOVE, the other. They are actual soulmates and nobody can convince me otherwise. Caleb just does something for my geeky, nerdy soul.

Sarah and Caleb are rounded out nicely with a great cast of supporting characters, including some Win, Bo, and Gus moments!

Overall, Out of the Woods was a real, raw, emotional, and moving story that I cannot recommend highly enough. Another phenomenal release from HBY.

I absolutely loved this book just as much as I did the first one. Hannah Bonam-Young's writing is so beautiful that everyone will get attached to every story. This is the third book I've read of hers and have ugly cried at some point while reading all three. This showed that even the best relationships go through hard times and it is how you handle them that determines if you make it or break it. I absolutely loved that even during the hard time Sarah and Caleb were going through, Caleb still did the little things for Sarah. He brought her E-reader and a solar powered charger so she could keep her reading streak. This book is so realistic in the story telling...Hannah Bonam-Young is quicking becoming one of my all time favorite authors and I hope she continues to write stories like these!!! :)

OutoftheWoods #NetGalley

“All cannot be lost when there is so much to be found”.

Think this quote encapsulates Sarah and Caleb’s story.

Together for so much of their lives, they arrive at a crossroads. Sarah had bypassed typical teen years with the onset of her mom’s sudden serious illness. Caleb, in turn, learned to be her support. Each embodied a specific role as young adults that naturally continued as they moved into their middle aged years.

Sarah questions her role and, Caleb is left floundering. Can they find their way back to one another? There’s a more serious tone to this novel then Win and Bo’s story in “Out on a Limb”. It was a wonderful story of a marriage that seemed to have been broken only to knit itself stronger than ever.


This ARC was provided by the publisher, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

✨O U T O F T H E W O O D S✨
🅶🅴🅽🆁🅴—𝒞𝑜𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓂𝓅𝑜𝓇𝒶𝓇𝓎 𝑅𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒
🗓ℙ𝕦𝕓 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖—𝕁𝕒𝕟𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝟚𝟠, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟝

✂️ P L O T L I N E
After seventeen years together, Sarah and Caleb Linwood’s marriage hits a rough patch when Sarah’s attempt to prove her independence backfires, leading to old tensions resurfacing. Desperate to reconnect, they join a grueling couples’ hiking retreat, where they fumble their way through the wilderness to rediscover themselves and their relationship.

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
An enjoyable book, but it lacked the character connection I desperately crave. I appreciated the mix of lighthearted and emotional topics, but the lack of story depth and character development kept me from rating it higher than 3.5 stars. While there were many side characters, I didn’t feel like I truly got to know any of them by the end. The exploration of marital complexities was relatable, but I never felt like Sarah and Caleb were facing a severe crisis, so there wasn’t a moment where I believed they might actually break up. This took away the typical “will they/won’t they” tension. Additionally, the flashbacks didn’t add any new or exciting insights to the story. I think many readers will love this book, but I think I’ve become a bit pickier about my romances lately.

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
💍Complexities of marriage
💕High school sweethearts
💡Self-discovery
😢Emotional
💔Dealing with grief
👭Friendships
🏠Found family
🌶️Steamy
🔄Nonlinear Timeline

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: death of a parent, grief, terminal illness.

🥾𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾🥾
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E: “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. 𝒰𝓃𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓉𝓊𝓃𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓎, 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝓃𝑜 𝓂𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓂𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓈𝓀 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜."


🙏Thank you NetGalley, Random House / Dell Romance, and Hannah Bonam-Young for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💕
📚🥾💕📚🥾💕📚🥾💕📚🥾💕📚🥾💕

Another beautifully written book by Hannah Bonam- Young! It was an emotional and heartwarming read.

I loved Sarah and Caleb. Getting to know how their relationship started and how it’s grown was everything. Their relationship felt real to me. You could tell how much they love and mean to each other. The little things Caleb did for Sarah had my heart melting.

There were so many quotes that I loved in this book and can’t wait to annotate on a physical copy.

Seeing Win and Bo made me so happy!!

Thank you Netgalley and Dell Romance for the arc!

can we go higher than 5 stars? because this is definitely one of those ♾️⭐️ books.

after finally reading 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣, i was sooo excited to know more about win’s bestie sarah, and her husband caleb 💗 and this book did NOT disappoint. it ripped me apart and put me back together again. how will i ever recover? caleb & sarah 🥹

hby has such a way with words and storytelling, and it will suck you in completely, and you’ll feel everything that her characters feel and that's exactly what happened—i laughed, giggled, kicked my feet and sobbed. like really ugly cried. like had to take off my glasses because i couldn't see the words anymore type of cry. 😭 this book deals with grief, love, trusting and believing in yourself and so much more. it's about falling in love maybe a little too young and growing up faster than you should have to, and doing life together. and just trying your best because that’s all that you can do 🩵

thank you so much to netgalley & random house publishing/ballantine/dell for this arc of out of the woods! 🥹🤍🤍

I’m sure I woke up every one in my neighbourhood when I saw that my NetGalley request for out of the woods was approved last week! I have been waiting for this book since I first read about Sarah and Caleb in Out on a Limb.
Sarah and Caleb have such a warm loving relationship. It is very clear from the beginning that despite having been together for nearly two decades, these two are still very much in love. Maybe they have taken up some roles in their marriage that they need to let go of, but that they love each other is never in question.
They go to a wilderness retreat despite not being outdoorsy people in an attempt to reconnect with each other. We follow them as they hike and camp and in the process learn lots about themselves and each other. I honestly started this book out without a very high opinion of Sarah. Everything I learned through the course of the book changed that opinion. Caleb Ofcourse continues to be a sweetheart throughout.

Win, Bo and Gus make appearances as well and it was so nice to see Win and Sarah’s friendship in this book.

I didn’t love the timeline switching back and forth but it doesn’t take away from the book in anyway.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell Romance for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This book was adorable!! I love the “fell out of marriage” trope, I find it so interesting to see how two characters that already know so much about each other get to relearn themselves and each other. Caleb and Sarah were such a heart warming couple. I relate to Sarah a lot and I thoroughly enjoyed her character

This! Is! What! I! Dream! About! A partnership where you truly fall deeper into love with each other every day. One that can change along the way because individually we grow too. One where you your commitment and love for one another is powerful enough to withstand all the bad days and exhausting fights and scary moments. Where you can be vulnerable and honest, especially when it might be uncomfortable or scary. A best friend, a soulmate. Hannah crafted the most incredible representation of just that. It was written so vividly, I felt like I was there going through it with them. I have no words, truly. In lovee with this book!!!!

4.5 Stars

Sarah and Caleb start dating at 14, got married at 19, and now at 31, Sarah feels like her life is at a standstill. She feels like she has yet to accomplish anything she really wanted and that her husband is always coming to her rescue. After another event where Caleb swoops in to save the day, their marriage turns tense. Sarah suggests a couples therapy hiking retreat and Caleb reluctantly agrees. They spend the week trying to fight their way back to one another.

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

When I tell you all I nearly screamed when I opened my email to find out I got an ARC of this book! I’ve been a HBY stan since I read Next to You almost two years ago and my obsession has only grown since then.

I knew this book was going to get me, but it hit me in ways I was not prepared for. As a single girl in her 30s, I swooned over Caleb and his attentiveness. What I would give for a man like that 😂 But it was Sarah and her internal struggles that spoke to me. Don’t read this on your lunch break unless you want to go back with puffy eyes.

I do think the conflict got resolved a little too quickly, but overall the story was so good! The number of times I screamed ‘Hannah!’ while reading this! She knows just how to break your heart and put it back together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC! Y’all made my dreams come true! 🩷

How does HBY keep churning out 4-5 star reads with every book? Such a fan of her writing and stories!

"Out of the Woods" introduces us to the BFFs of Win (and Bo) from "Out on a Limb". Sarah and Caleb met at 14 and have been inseparable ever since. In their short lives they have experienced achievement, great loss, and love and they do it all together. But at a turning point decades later, Sarah feels the need to succeed (or fail) on her own and wonders who is she even, without Caleb? This stirs up decades of unresolved grievances between the couple and threatens their future together. When they decide to embark on a couples' renewal outdoor wilderness retreat, they have to examine if they can get out of the woods and back on a path to forever together or not.

I enjoyed the dual timelines of their teenage beginnings to present day. The themes of love and loss and especially the exploration of a couple who met very young trying to stay together was unique. The backstory of Sarah also shed more light into the deep friendship/kinship she had with Win as a child which was a treat for fans who wish "Out of a Limb" had a sequel.

HBY writes steamy scenes like no other with angst, pining, sweetness, and spice that feels more intimate than most contemporary romance/rom-coms.

Her surprisingly deep evaluation of spirituality, especially in the presence of loss hit me harder than any other "light" read. I feel like she personified in words my same experience. (Thank you!)

HBY (and this book) is a gift to readers. I was so pleased to receive my first ever ARC e-book from NetGalley in exchange for my candid review. I will look forward to a physical copy and hope for the audiobook too as I am now obsessed with who the narrators may be to bring this story to life!

Hannah just doesn't miss. Out of on a Limb is favorite book of mine and this one didn't disappoint.

The story starts with Sarah failing at throwing a fundraiser for ALS in honor of her mother. What ensues causes a big fight between her and Caleb and has her questioning her life. Win suggests they try a couples therapy outdoor hiking retreat to try to reconnect.

Their 7 day journey is physically and emotionally grueling while they face their buried issues and find out how to be really honest with each other.

This was such a sweet and emotional read about a marriage in crisis. You really never doubt that they still very much love each other deeply, so the angst isn't too high.

This is an interconnected standalone, but I did read Out on a Limb recently and it always add some magic to see characters I loved from the opposite focus. It’s also Sarah and Caleb’s story and I just want you to know I will probably be crying multiple times while typing this review. I always love a dual timeline and it’s the perfect way to follow how they started while balancing the dynamic they have in the present. Now onto the actual story, in the present things aren’t great between Sarah and Caleb. After hosting a fundraiser for ALS research and some drama, the pair is even worse off. After several weeks of weird tension, this is where Win suggests a couples retreat. Initially hesitant, Sarah comes around to the idea that a big change to their routine could be just what they need to save their marriage. The retreat’s goal is to reignite the love and passion between couples by submerging you deep within the forest with no access to technology. I laughed, I cried, and I pushed through second hand embarrassment right beside Sarah over the week in middle of no where. There’s lots a deep chats and silly moments taken between the campers, making the pair lifelong friends. Also, fuck Cecilia Floodgate.

Pub Date January 28 2025

ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group— Ballantine, Dell Romance and NetGalley. Thank you.

review posted to NetGalley & Goodreads

As a committed fan of everything Hannah writes I was so SO excited to dive into her latest. Marriage in crisis is a tricky trope to make me fall in love with, but HBY’s already proved herself with Out on a Limb that she is more than capable of making me love tropes I usually steer clear from! This story follows childhood sweethearts Caleb and Sarah as they’re figuring out what their relationship and identities now look like in their 30s, all within the context of a wilderness adventure camp/ couples therapy retreat. I really enjoyed this! For marriage in crisis it felt relatively low stakes and I never really felt like the couple’s relationship was truly in danger - this made it more of a comforting read than angsty, which some people might not like but I found made for a quick and fun read. As always, HBY’s characters are well rounded, relatable, and loveable, and I absolutely devoured the book in one sitting!

I received an ARC from Net Galley for Out of the Woods. I will admit that I read this whole book before just now realizing the title is a play on words to Taylor Swift’s song, as well as the physical exploration that takes place in this storyline. Oops. I actually love it so much more after realizing that link though! This story was an enjoyable novel focusing on self exploration- on relationship, spiritual and individualistic levels. I enjoyed witnessing the growth of Sarah and Caleb. I could feel something ‘bad’ brewing in the story and I was definitely surprised at the turn of events that took place. Also, an honorable mention for the way that grief is described and explored throughout this novel— very well done. Add this one to your must reads for 2025!

Out of the Woods is absolutely the best book I've read this year. Hannah Bonam-Young writes beautiful love stories that feel real. I feel like I am watching her characters fall in love, experience heartbreak, and overcome every issue they encounter. I adored Sarah and Caleb's love story. I was already in love with them in Out on A Limb, and getting a whole book following their love was so special. I loved the writing in this story and I love that we got into Sarah's head. I sadly related WAY too much to Sarah and Caleb, so there were multiple parts of the books that hurt me. But that's what Hannah Bonam-Young does, she writes stories that make you FEEL. You fall in love with her characters and you feel what they feel, cry when they cry, and laugh when they laugh. I absolutely loved this book and I'm not sure how I'll ever move on from Sarah and Caleb.

This story was so good especially being in a relationship myself for many years. I feel most of us hit that part of life where we ask what am I doing and am I on the right path? I loved the relationship between high school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb. You can really feel how much they truly love and appreciate each other. 5 ⭐️!

Out of the Woods was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 so imagine my excitement when I got the email from NetGalley!!!! This book lived up to every single expectation that I had. It has the typical humor, and heart that you expect from Hannah Bonam-Young but there was this really deep additional level about grief, acceptance and building a life that brings you joy. I wouldn't change a thing, no notes, absolute perfection!!!

I loved this book. I could relate to the main characters who got married young and then years later wondered if they'd changed too much as individuals to work together. Everyone needs a little space. Hannah Bonam-Young's books are a great read and this one made me think.