Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. First off I did not read the first book of the series and maybe that was a mistake either not reading it first or reading this one at all. This novel held my attention in the beginning and then it just droned on till the end when it got interesting again.

4.5 rounded up. HBY can’t do any wrong in my eyes. I’ve been obsessed with Caleb & Sarah since their first appearances in OOAL and while my heart was SAD they got their own book (they were so happy and cute and although they changed for the better in the book like why was I said they even had hardships to deal with) I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OBSESSED WITH THEM. So proud of them. So proud of my sarah girl and how she really fought to get to where she wanted to be, and so in love with caleb and his heart!!!!!! Hannah can’t write a character I won’t fall head over heels for. And she can’t write a book that I won’t read. This was!!!! So good!!!!! I love my Duranwood family soooooooooo much.

FIRST TRAD PUBLISHED FROM THE START BOOK!!! THANK YOU DELL FOR THE EARC I COULD JUST KISS YA

✨ARC Review✨
Oh how I love a Hannah Bonam-Young story! After how much I enjoyed reading Out on a Limb, I was so eager to read Sarah and Caleb’s story, and it truly did not disappoint. Marriage-in-crisis is a trope that I don’t often gravitate to, but Hannah did such an incredible job with it. I feel like this story was one of the most realistic stories that I’ve read, capturing so many deep emotions and relatable relationship struggles. Hannah is really able to depict strong connections and feelings in her writing, and I can never get enough! Thanks so much to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Hannah for this ARC!
4.25⭐️

This was everything and more. Hannah’s writing never ceases to impress me. I was so hooked right away and Caleb soon became one of my favourite book bf alongside Bo of course. I loved to see how Sar learned to be confident in herself and her relationship with Caleb and to see how Caleb learned to rely more on Sarah and be more present and share more his feelings. I feel like any of Hannah’s books bring me so much comfort. Her characters are so relatable and I feel like everyone would love to have a Caleb as a husband (at least I do). Hannah has become one of my favourite authors and I will always cherish her books.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

Caleb and Sarah’s story was really interesting and I like that it focused on a couple that had been together for awhile and how difficult it can be to grow with a relationship. Staying together after getting married at 19 can be tough. It was a peek at what comes after the happily ever after and I thought it was entertaining.

The plot of Libby having to grow up without her mother the same way that Sarah basically had to was a nice parallel.

However, it just felt like it was missing something. I kept waiting for something really big to happen or for them to maybe struggle a bit more than they did. It was basically one day of therapy and then alls better? After a month of silence? It was good, the writing was clear and enjoyable, but it was missing that something that makes you want to stay up later than you should while reading it. It was good, it just wasn’t my favorite.

Hannah Bonam-Young has such a refreshing writing style that I admire and I think really resonates with the younger generation. She has a great way of incorporating real-life issues with the light-heartedness and warmth of a romance that I just love! The FMC and MMC were both very likeable in this novel, and although I don't think it's QUITE as good as Out on a Limb, it's still great! Would recommend! :)

This is a great follow up to Out on a Limb! I loved getting to know Sarah and Caleb in their own story.

Out of the Woods does more than simply continue the story of the couple we previously met. It fills in the back story of high school sweethearts, Sarah and Caleb, and the traumatic event that brought them even closer together. Sarah realizes that she is still dealing with grief and self doubt which takes a toll on her marriage.

Like other Hannah Bonam- Young books, this one is extremely real. You can feel the emotions of the characters and the writing is superb. I enjoyed the flashbacks and really liked the appearances of Win and Bo.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review 📚
Title: Out of the Woods
Series: Standalone (Takes place after Out on a Limb)
Author: Hannah Bonam-Young
Format: E-ARC
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: January 25th

Thank you for the ARC of this book 🩵

Tropes:
🏕️ Marriage in Crisis
🥾 High School Sweethearts
🏕️ Grief and Healing
🥾 Flashbacks
🏕️ Reader FMC
🥾 Outdoor Spicy Scenes 🥵

Review:
This book was one of my most anticipated reads for the year and it was perfection 🩷 This book was everything I wanted and more and I devoured it. Hannah Bonam-Young writes the most beautiful love stories that give us the perfect amount of softness, angst and emotion. This book follows Sarah and Caleb, who meet in Out on a Limb, which I do recommend you read first.

I loved that this book wasn’t about Caleb and Sarah falling out of love, but just needing to learn to communicate better. Sarah was struggling with her own identity and I felt that in my soul. I wanted to give Caleb and Sarah a hug throughout this entire book because they were really going through it, but they came out so strong at the end. Caleb and Sarah are so tender and sweet, but also so hot 🥵 I literally gasped at some of the things Caleb said 😏

This book had me in my feelings. I was laughing out loud and crying throughout the whole thing. Caleb and Sarah going on an outdoor retreat as non-outdoor people was funny as hell 😂 The hurt feelings, marital miscommunication, grief, sadness, tension, banter were written so well. The love that Caleb and Sarah have for each other is so powerful and it consumes you. I love this book! I was also so excited to see Bo and Win again 🩵

Thank you again for the E-ARC 🎉

I was really looking forward to this book based on the hype around it by some folks I’ve seen and the cover is very sweet. However I was very disappointed in the overall story. I didn’t find most of it believable, their argument/big fissure in their marriage solved within a couple of days with seemingly no real “work” put into it. It seemed like many chapters the author cared more about adding sex scenes than actual story and there were so many times I almost said I just can’t finish this (which I only dnf’d one book before). I didn’t power through mainly because I felt I had to. There really wasn’t much character building at all and maybe that’s because I didn’t read the book prior to this where the two main characters are side characters in that one. Just overall felt forced at times, overly explicit (for no good reason) and just lacking overall.

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! 🩷