Thank you NetGalley and Dell Romance/Penguin Random House for an E-Arc to read and review. All my thoughts and opinions are my own.

Something about the early morning sunlight filtering through trees, the birds and echoes of nature closing us in some sort of bubble away from the outside world and all its realities . . . and him preventing my reading streak from ending. I am a simple creature, at my core. Give me books, sunlight, water, and a handsome man looking at me like I’m some rare jewel, and I’m all set.- Out Of The Woods, Hannah Bonam-Young.

Out of the Woods is an arboretum of love; seeing many versions of the good, the bad, and the even worse in a marriage, seeing the achievements and losses. Readers will get to see versions of Sarah and Caleb of the last 17 years of being together. It's Heartfelt and tender, yet will make you laugh and uncontrollably cry. You will fall madly, deeply in love. It was utter perfection. This is the type of book that brings comfort and warmth when you feel an unshakeable heaviness in your heart. This is the type of book that will tether an anchor to your heart and tell you everything is going to be okay, be gentle with yourself and you are enough.

- High school Sweethearts / Marriage in distress
- Reader Girl/ Nerd Boy ( With glasses, yes you will go feral).
- one week in the woods
- outdoor /tent spicy scenes
- Hot Nerdy man dirty talking ' A grown man knows how to take his time', the type you want to jump on their bones and be smitten all the time.
- Flashbacks from Highschool to now
-Mentions of Win and Bo from Out on a Limb

Mentions of death of a parent from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, medical treatments, questioning religious practices, references of alchol and drugs and accidents resulting in hospitalization.

Book review ✨ Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonham-Young

ARC 📲 PUB DATE: Jan 28, 2025 🗓️

When I first read Out on a Limb, I didn’t know Sarah & Caleb were getting their own book! So when I re-read OOAL this spring, I paid extra special attention to these high school sweethearts who were going to have their time in the sun (literally)!

This book is so special. I feel like rom-coms with the “marriage in trouble” trope aren’t very common; it’s not about the beginning of a relationship (getting to know each other, butterflies, etc)… rather, it’s about comfort, knowing each other inside out, and still wondering… “who am I truly on my own, without my other half?” As someone who started dating my husband when I was 17 and he 18, I felt seen! Long-standing love means deep connection, security, and shared history… but it also takes continued care & effort.

This book finds Sarah doubting her identity and accomplishments, and reflecting on her life since her and Caleb married at 19 years old. She wants something that is just hers, and when Caleb steps in to save the day at her fundraising event without asking if she needs help, things start to unravel.

I love that this nature-averse duo decided to take on a hiking/camping trip called “Reignite,” meant to help couples work through rough patches and come out the other side bonded and stronger than ever. It brought such an element of humor to many otherwise serious discussions. I don’t want to say too much - but this book had me laughing, crying (swipe for proof), and kicking my feet. I also adored the cameos of Win, Bo, and Gus 🥹 and related to Win being proud of Gus for pooping, that’s so real lol.

Another fave moment without context? Saving the kindle reading streak 🥹 Caleb is so sweet, soft, and thoughtful (with just enough stern brunch daddy energy…). It honestly broke my heart how low Sarah’s self-esteem was at parts of this book, but I was happy to see her build it back up slowly over time.

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

All the stars!!! ⭐️

Thank you @authorhannahby and @netgalley for the advanced copy of this lovely book in exchange for my review!

I was able to read an ARC of Out of the Woods and I’m so glad I did! I haven’t read the previous novel, but that did not cause any problems in following this story of a marriage in a bit of a crisis.

I found the main characters, their conversations, their issues, and their chemistry so completely believable and real. This is a look deep into a relationship that began when the main characters were teenagers and they’re still together but trying to figure out how to grow from here, in their mid-thirties. The loss of Sarah’s mother to ALS was gut-wrenching and I thought the author did such a beautiful job of showing realistically how that affected these two people’s marriage and how they related to one another.

I’m a big fan of any sort of travel story, so the couple going on a weeklong hiking retreat with a couples’ counselor was a blast to read. I loved seeing the friendships that developed with the other couples, too. It’s definitely spicy in terms of the romance, and very well-done. I’d love to see more romances that feature couples that are already committed or married!

I love the idea of this book based on a couple that have been together for a long time and are now looking to fix something that may be slowly tearing them apart. Wanting to have something of your own is an important feeling and Sarah is looking for her thing. When her husband Caleb is just trying to help, he inadvertently starts a rift between them that has Sarah questioning everything. A week long backpacking+therapy trip is a dramatic answer to the questions Sarah is asking since neither of them claim to be outdoorsy. I enjoyed the easy-read nature of this book and the backpacking trip sounded fun to me. But the end was a little too dramatic for me, and felt a little out of place. I enjoyed so much of this book!

One of my new absolute favorite books! So much of this book was as if it was written about my own life, I related to it in so many ways. It had everything, made me feel allll of the feelings, and was perfect from beginning to end.

This was my favorite kind of second chance romance. I loved getting to see how while Sarah and Caleb were having a rocky time, they were able to grow back together and become a stronger couple than they were.

This was such an interesting approach to a second chance romance. Normally you read them and the couple has already broken up and come back to each other years later, but having this idea that they are a married couple that have been together for years and want to stay together was a very fresh portrayal of a popular trope.

I also loved that we got flashbacks to Sarah and Caleb and their relationship when they were in high school. It really helped confirm that these two characters love each other and have loved each other for a while, they are just going through a rough patch right now.

4.5 stars!

Hannah Bonam-Young has become a new favorite and an auto-buy author for me. I adored Out on a Limb, and this was a great sequel to that. I loved getting to see more of Caleb and Sarah's dynamic and getting to go inside their heads. I found Sarah to be relatable (maybe a little too much), and I thought her grief and self-doubt/anxiety was portrayed really well. I liked that every few chapters we'd get a flashback to young Sarah and Caleb, especially showing her family dynamic. It helped us understand her character better and made her grief for her mother hit harder.

I of course loved getting to see more of Win, Bo and August too. This author really knows how to write a MMC that the reader will fall in love with, and write a compelling romance that deals with real life issues that hooks you from page one. This will definitely become a book I'll read again and again. I adore this little found family group!

Huge thanks to Dell and Netgalley for the ARC!

I didn’t realize how much I needed this book at the time I read it. My husband and I just went through a funk that felt sososo similar to Sarah and Caleb’s story. This story gave me so much hope and also made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

I loved reading about how the two found each other and the fact that it not only tells their story now but also when they met. Caleb is just the absolute sweetest and such an absolute tether for Sarah when her life is spiraling, even to her detriment at times. Sarah is finally ready to figure out who she is, and Caleb is afraid of the change.

This was so good. Highly recommend. Buy a copy for your friends, too.

Wow. WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW. Miss Hannah… I fear you have joined the ranks of auto-read authors!!!

After loving Out on a Limb I was SO OVERJOYED to read an ARC of Bonam-Young’s next novel. I love love LOVE that HBY writes things that aren’t commonplace in romance books: accidental pregnancy, physically disabled main characters, and NOW a romance book about high-school sweethearts that are ALREADY MARRIED!!!

Out of the Woods hit me hard from the jump. As you may know, my husband and I met and started dating in high school (although unlike Sarah and Caleb, we waited until our late 20’s to get married). Our marriage, and us as general people, are decently different than Sarah and Caleb but MAN…reading a book about high-school sweethearts really got me in the feels.

FOR YOU BOOK GORLS: Sarah is also an avid reader and Caleb doesn’t judge her for what she reads and the little kindle moments are SO ADORABLE!!!! Hehe also HBY slyly describes certain books Sarah is reading and I was able to guess every single one of them 😈😈

Anyways if you haven’t read anything by Hannah Bonam-Young…you know what to do. Also PREORDER OUT OF THE WOODS YOU WON’T REGRET IT. Toodles 🩵

Huge thanks to Hannah Bonam-Young, Dell Romance, and NetGalley for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📚 Out of the Woods
✍ Hannah Bonam-Young
📖 Contemporary Romance
⭐4/5
🌶️ 🌶️

➡ Sarah and Caleb may look like they're #marriagegoals on the outside but after spending more than half their lives together, Sarah is beginning to wonder if she has her own identify anymore or if everything about her life is truly tied to Caleb. After a fundraiser in her late mother's honor goes awry and Caleb swoops in to save the day, the cracks in their relationship become so apparent that Sarah decides to take drastic measures and suggests the two join a week-long hiking trip for couples in crisis. If rainy hikes, blistered feet and an abstinence rule don't break them, surely they can rebound...right?
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🙏 Thank you to Ballantine Books, NetGalley and the author. All opinions are my own.
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🎯 What I loved: For anyone who found their partner before fully finding themselves, this book is for you! There was so much to love about Caleb and Sarah's relationship: the way they remained committed to each other even when things were challenging, that they were able to find themselves and figure out how to grow together and that they pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to better their relationship. So many romances I read are about falling in love initially and I am cheering on behalf all the folks in the back that want to see more 'falling back in love' books because seriously, it doesn't end when you say 'I do.' I also really appreciated the representation of a couple that loves each other but doesn't see parenthood as part of their journey- not every book has to have a baby in the epilogue! If you loved Out on a Limb as much as I did, you'll appreciate all the Win and Bo (and Gus!) cameos and for anyone that is a HBY stan like me, rest assured that her magic remains very much in tact after transitioning fully to being trad. published.

🙅‍♀️ What I didn't: It felt like there was a section missing after the 'crisis' and before the epilogue and I didn't get quite as much closure from the trip as I wanted. But I really did enjoy this book!
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Read if you love:
*marriage in crisis
*forced proximity
*finding yourself AFTER finding love
*camping
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See also: Something Wilder, The Bromance Book Club, Do I Know You?

A beautifully written novel about what it’s like to meet your soulmate young. Growing together isn’t easy, and Hannah put those feelings so beautifully to paper. I laughed, I sobbed.

This book is truly a work of art, perfect in every way.

I found myself deeply relating to Sarah, having in common with her that I am in a long-term relationship with my high school sweetheart. I was worried that because of how much I related to her, I would have a hard time with the story but that was not the case at all! While reading, the first reaction I had was that it was clear how much care and love this story was written with. This is a unique love story in the sense that the couple is already together before the book begins, but this story isn't lacking in any character development, tension, and plot that you may think it would. Sarah and Caleb have a rare kind of love that truly only comes once in a lifetime, and I feel honored to have read about it. They're so cute and perfect for each other!! The impact that this book will leave on me as a partner and a person in general is one like no other.

The mental health representation (in all forms!) and vulnerability that these characters show was done so well, and I honestly couldn't have asked for more from this book. This series means the world to me, and I can't wait to recommend and rave about this book to anyone who's hands I can shove this book into :)

Ahhhhh I love when I can catch up with my "friends'" This book is an amazing story (filled with all the feels and laughs!) that touches on serious issues. Absolutely love it!

Out of the Woods
By Hannah Bonam-Young
4⭐️

This was such a wild and emotional journey! Sarah absolutely stole the show, all of her worries, emotions and struggles were so SO relatable! At times I found myself not liking her because I related a little too much to some of her struggles. This was a really intense and heavy read because Sarah’s grief journey in the past and present timelines were painfully relatable and real. Caleb was such a sweet bookish husband!! I absolutely love that he packed her e-reader and a solar charger so Sarah wouldn’t lose her reading streak while they were away.

At times it felt like the book was more centered on Sarah alone rather than Sarah and Caleb’s marriage which made it feel a little more like women's fiction. One of my only other issues is that Sarah’s problems felt a little forced…I was waiting for it to be explained why she didn’t try to make a change sooner and it never came. I totally get the explanations of how life got in the way immediately after high school and in the years after Caleb graduated but there was nothing stopping her at the start of the book or even in those 5 years before.

If I haven’t read Out on a Limb first…. I would have loved this a little more. Sarah and Caleb’s story was such a good read but Win and Bo remain unmatched, probably forever ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this gifted arc!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6862683831
*will post IG @RasberryReads in December 2024* and then again in the days leading up to release

I was SO excited to get an ARC of Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young! This book broke my heart in the best way possible. I was so excited to read about Sarah and Caleb after Out on a Limb and was definitely expecting some laughs and cuteness and obviously some marriage troubles, but what I didn’t expect was a complex look at grief, young love as it grows up, and to be crying in my bed at 1am because of all the feels. Even though I don’t have a lot in common with the main characters, Hannah’s writing made their every emotion feel so real I couldn’t help but be pulled in and cheering them on as they rediscovered themselves and how much they truly loved each other and their life together. Also, it was so refreshing to read about a couple that had chosen to be childless and still had a full, amazing life - something we don’t see a ton of in the romance genre! Bottom line, Hannah Bonam-Young is an instant buy for me and I can’t wait to add this one to my shelf in January!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader’s copy.

This book was a just like a warm hug! I absolutely loved this story and thought it was a beautifully crafted story showing how love develops over time.

Sarah and Caleb fell in love young and started their lives way earlier than most, due to Sarah's past. Because of this, Sarah chose to support Caleb in his dreams to provide for their young family. However, years down the road, Sarah starts to get restless for her place in the world, and realizes that she's been stuck with Caleb always saving her. But who is she without Caleb?

First and foremost, Sarah is quite possibly one of my favorite female main characters I've ever read. She knows what's important to her, but she doesn't know where she fits as an individual, because of how others have caused her to view herself. Her growth is quite possibly so fulfilling to watch, because we had the best setup from Out on A Limb.

Caleb was well mastered throughout the story as someone who also has to learn what is important to him, outside of how he has been raised. His love for Sarah is so sweet and real, that I just love what it looks like.

Overall, I loved this story and thought it was a fantastic companion to follow Out on a Limb. I would, recommend, reading Out on a Limb first, to get a full depth of Sarah and Caleb! Bravo Hannah Bonam-Young!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book! I genuinely really enjoyed it, it was a sweet romance about high school sweethearts who are already married and rekindling their spark after a huge fight. I feel like that dynamic isn’t something you see a lot in the romance space so I appreciate the originality. The characters were extremely likable and reminded me a lot of my husband and myself. My one ehh moment was there was a sexy scene that immediately cut to a scene with the protagonist’s sick mom so that was a little jarring. But other than that it was a really sweet book with a cool premise and adorable characters.

I completely, utterly adored this book. Second chance/ marriage in trouble romances are usually too stressful for me, but the care, humor and love that permeated this book was so impressive and lovely. Hannah Bonam-Young is such a talented writer, and she wrote both main characters with so much empathy and heart. And their chemistry was through the roof! I can't wait to re-read it <3

A real work of romance and fiction!! Bonam-Young has such a way of creating realistic characters that latch onto your heart and make you say ‘wow, I’ve felt that way before too’. With themes of friendship, self identity, romance, grief, and so much more, this novel propels you through so many feelings and I’m happy I was able to experience them!

This book BROKE ME in the best way. Calling this a simple rom com does not do justice to the expert way Hannah has dealt with serious topics of marital issues, parental loss, childhood grief, losing one's purpose... I could go on. This story was a breath of fresh air (and not just because we were camping) and I flew through it in a matter of days. Literally couldn't put it down. The easiest five stars I've given all year - I NEED THE NEXT BOOK LIKE NOW