I wasn't too sure how I would feel about this book since I am not a biggest fan of the second change troupe while the couple is still together, especially if they are married. I have enjoyed Hannah's other books so I wanted to still give this a chance. It was written great and I thought the plot flowed very well but I am just not a fan of this troupe. If you are, then I would highly recommend this book!

Wow wow wow! Thank you Hannah Bonam-Young for writing this masterpiece! As a married young gal, I don’t think I’ve read many romances centered around a married couple and I think I need more of this! Their relationship felt so real and their struggles felt so real, but their solutions to these struggles were so good. I felt like I was reading a therapy session for myself and my husband in these pages. I was feeling every emotion from giggling to crying to full on anxiety to second-hand embarrassment to grinning from ear to ear to absolutely blushing.

I already have this book preordered and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

Quick intro:
Caleb and Sarah, highschool sweethearts who have been together for half of their lives, attend a week long hiking trip to reconnect and work through some personal and marital issues.

Quick thoughts:
I think this is the first time I’ve read a book that is a marriage in crisis sort of story. What I really liked about it was the comfortability and familiarity between Sarah and Caleb. I liked the playfulness and teasing, because it all felt secure and deeply rooted in a place of knowing and loving one another for a long time.

A lot of this book feels like conversations about Sarah and Caleb’s marriage. Much of it felt like being in therapy myself. 😂 However, I guess I found myself wanting more to happen. More plot and more to the story. Ultimately, I do feel like a lot of people will connect with Caleb and Sarah - to be 31 and questioning what am I doing with me life? Am I proud of what I’ve accomplished? What do I want in the next 10 years? I think many readers will resonate with their struggles and feel incredibly seen.

Read if you like first person single POV, spice, cameos from past characters, eclectic and lovable side characters, books that feel like going to therapy, he calls her baby, highschool sweethearts, books with flashbacks, and second chances.

Thank you so much to Dell and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts! I’ll never tire of the privilege it is to read and enjoy books early.

Quick details:
🔥🔥🔥: Two open door scenes (easily skippable)
PUB Date: January 28, 2025
CW: ALS and caring for a sick parent, questioning faith, accident resulting in injury

I super enjoyed this! Hannah does such a good job of taking tropes that are typically not my favorite and turning them on their head with such heartwarming stories. This kept me laughing at every turn.
This is a marriage in trouble, where Sarah has lost her spark and she is worried it's because she is relying too much on Caleb. She thinks she maybe needs to go off on her own, but decides that they should go on a week long trek in the woods together to see if they can rekindle things.

When you tear up from the author's note, you know Hannah Bonam-Young has done it again and her secret X factor hasn’t gone anywhere, so you exhale, grab a box of tissues and prepare yourself for the emotional roller coaster incoming… and what a ride this book was!

It’s very hard to keep this review spoiler free, so here’s me telling you this book made me ugly cry, laugh out loud and even scream at some point. It made me feel seen and understood, it made me appreciate the people who love and support me, it made me go and tell them how much they mean to me and made me realize the importance of doing so now, today, and not to wait for some ideal moment.

It also felt like a more mature book, both in theme and in writing, Hannah’s prose feels bolder, sassier, I’d like to believe the past year of rave reviews and success have given her more confidence in her craft, cause that confidence shines through the pages of this story, its angstier, it has plot twists and fully fleshed flashbacks, it feels like a courageous sidestep from her usual comforting concoction of slice of life romances (which I ADORE might I add) but I’m so proud of her for exploring within her insane set of skills. As a consequence, this ends up being so much more, though don’t doubt that it is a full on rom-com at the same time 😊

Another one of Hannah' strengths in my opinion is the chemistry between her characters, often achieved through a mix of deliciously witty banter and a compatibility that makes you go -oh they belong together- from the beginning.
That domesticity she is able to infuse in the relationships she writes through little details that makes all of them so believable. In OOTW, this special formula gets elevated to god levels since Sarah and Caleb have been together almost their whole’s lives, from the way they talk to each other, to the way they just get each other thoughts without talking, you never doubt their established relationship.
In addition, I loved that throughout the story their love for each other was not questioned, they had issues to work through, but always knew deep down they loved each other. To be honest throughout the book I just wanted to hug them and tell them everything will work out and everything would be fine 🥺

Some very vague for spoiler reasons highlights:
-The flashbacks broke my heart but were so necessary to fully understand Sarah and Caleb’s dynamic and their present problems.
-Caleb!!! just adorable and so gone for Sarah, he is definitely adding to the problems finding real life men some of us readers have lol wdym you won’t pack my kindle and download new books for me to read?
-I (the Out on a limb stan that I am) absolutely adored every Win, Bo and Gus scene and mention, those are my people, my heart in a book
-The last chapters got me real good I was sobbing!
-Libby!!! We love you Libby
-A love letter to non-outdoorsy people lol I feel so seen
-It had so many quotable moments, I highlighted almost every single page

In conclusion, Hannah continues to deliver the most perfect well rounded romcoms nowadays tailor made for me and OOTW feels like a step further in what I think will become a romance-writing career for history books. You definitely don't want to miss this one.

Thank you to Hannah, Dell Romance and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion, I couldn't have been more blessed by the ARC god(desses) here :)

Hannah has done it again!!! Every scene was amazing and I cried so many times while reading!! And the scenes with W+B and S+C altogether, their friendship is so amazing! I'm so sad that this series is over 😭😭😭

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

This was my first book by Hannah Bonam-Young and I must say, I completely understand the hype behind her books!

Out of the Woods was an amazing story! At first I was not a big fan of the FMC, Sarah. She felt selfish and hard to connect with. But, as I learned her story and the trials she had faced, I started to love her character. And her development throughout the book was one that made me so happy to read!

Caleb, was one of the best MMCs, I’ve ever read about. From the very beginning, his patience and selflessness was apparent. And his love for Sarah, even when she wasn’t at her best, was amazing.

The plot twist, almost had me in tears and I was heartbroken to see them have to face another hardship in their relationship.

I will definitely be picking up more books by Hannah!! If this book is any indication of how good her other books are, she will be a new fav author, no doubt!! 🤩

3.5 ⭐️

The moment I saw the cover of this book I was excited to read it! I haven’t read OOAL as the main trope is not one I enjoy so I was glad to see this was an interconnected standalone.

First, the pros:

I felt like the side characters all served a purpose in this story and had enough backstory/personality to be enjoyable without taking away from the main story.

The relationship between Sarah and Caleb was definitely realistic and the problems in their marriage made sense for the characters.

Now, the cons:

This book was MUCH heavier than I anticipated. I know as long as there’s a HEA it’s a romance but it really wasn’t expecting so much of this book to be sad. It made it hard to enjoy the few happy moments for me because it seemed like as soon as they came they were ripped away.

The lack of Caleb’s POV made it much harder to sympathize with his character. Where we were only getting Sarah’s side of the story on thoughts it made Caleb’s reactions to certain things seem pretty douchey and resulted in me not liking his character for at least the first 50% of the book.


Ultimately I would say this was a good book but not a great book. I don’t regret reading it but I also don’t know that I’ll find myself recommending it to anyone.

Beautiful portrayal of deep love in the setting of personal change and growth. I was given a free ARC copy of Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Out on a Limb was one of my favorite reads last year and this continuation of the story was just what I needed. Sarah and Caleb have been together since high school and from the opening chapters you realize Sarah is struggling with who she is and what she has accomplished in her adulthood. She is clearly still struggling from her childhood trauma of losing her mother and having her dreams of being a writer diminished. Caleb is one of my favorite dorky kind of clueless characters who clearly cares deeply for Sarah and doesn’t know how to process her current struggle. They make an uncharacteristic decision to partake in a couples retreat to help work through their current problems. The side characters on the retreat are well done and add depth to the story. I love the required journal entries they do and the depth of feeling from Caleb that was almost unexpected from a more reserved workaholic. The ending few chapters were unexpected and definitely heart wrenching but done so perfectly. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

I adored this book! Hannah Bonam-Young does an excellent job exploring the joys and challenges of a long-term relationship as Sarah and Caleb face the changing needs of themselves and their respective partners. It's rare for a book that focuses on two people already in a loving, committed relationship to bring this much joy, emotion, and tension, but Bonam-Young nailed it. I was fully giggling and kicking my feet at their banter and messiness, while other tender, vulnerable moments had tears streaming down my face.

Sarah's character in particular got me good - it felt like some of my own most vulnerable flaws were being mirrored back to me, and seeing them in her gave me compassion for those moments I am not the best version of myself.

She's done it again, Hannah Bonam-Young knows how to write a romance that will tug at your heartstrings and make you wish the men in your life were that pure. Despite the premise of this book being heavier than your normal romance, there was SO much heart and plenty of swoon-worthy moments. Bad boys and enemies to lovers had their moment in the sun, and now it is time for sincere men who want to work through their own issues!!! I wish we had gotten more of what their relationship looked like once they were on the same page. I will definitely read anything this author writes in the future!

Incredible. From start to finish this was incredible. As a proud member of the HBY fan club, I truly will never shut up about this book. I felt the full range of emotions with this one. From little chuckles and big laughs, to literal goosebumps during the forest scene (IYKYK), to sad tears and then happy tears, I went through it with this one. It’s just so beautiful. What I didn’t expect was for Hannah to heal part of my soul with this. Grief is something I’ve always struggled with and feel that I don’t really have any concept of dealing with so I guess I mostly just ignore it? But through Sarah and her journey I came to understand so much and process a lot of the grief I have weighing me down. I feel like I gained pieces to keep forever to move forward in life where I know loss will come. Sarah and Caleb’s love runs so insanely deep, it was incredibly moving to read as they found their way back to each other again and to see their love intensify in so many ways. This read like a real life story, real love and I adore these characters so much as if they were real friends of mine. The fact we even got so much Bo and Win was just icing on the literary cake because I adore them and miss them so much. I will treasure these characters forever and always.

Thank you Hannah for sending me an early copy of your newest book. I am once again in awe of you and the stories you tell. I will forever appreciate being along for the ride this far and cannot wait to see what you create next. You’re such a wonderful human.

Out of the Woods was a perfect second chance/finding yourself novel. Hannah Bonam-Young is phenomenal and you need to read this book (after reading Out on a Limb, of course).

10/10!!!!

Loved Out on a Limb and this book was a great follow-up. Full of green flags 💚💚, endearing characters, and some soul searching.

MY HEART. Perfection. No notes. Out on a Limb was my favorite read in 2023 and this follow up was INCREDIBLE. I love a marriage in crisis book and this one was done SO WELL. You can tell that the MC's love each other and want to do whatever they can to continue loving each other, just better. I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on this book and to gush about it with my friends. You guys aren't going to want to miss this one!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

"If you give me the space to grow, I'll plant myself next to you. Always".

Hannah has done it again!! The way I laughed, cried and loved every single character in this book - the most green flag characters to have ever existed but done in a way that’s not cringey and just makes you want to hug them all and be their best friend 😂😂

This book follows Sarah and Caleb, who are high school sweet hearts that got married at nineteen before the passing of Sarah's mom. Sarah has been a stay at home wife since Caleb's business took off and begins to have an existential crisis about her purpose in life after hosting a fundraiser that failed. She is striving to live a life that she feels will make her mother proud and feels that she is failing at that which ends up manifesting as issues in their marriage. After a blow-up fight, Win (Sarah's bestie and FMC from Out On a Limb) suggests Sarah and Caleb take their place on a "wilderness retreat" called Reignite to reconnect. The majority of the book follows Sarah and Caleb as they trek up a mountain, meet a fantastic cast of side characters, and remember why they love each other and more importantly what they love about themselves. It is equal parts heartbreaking, heartwarming, and deliciously spicy!!

I loved that this book was interconnected with my favorite characters from Out On a Limb, Win and Bo. I do wish we got to see more of Win and Sarah together in OOTW because their banter is top tier in my opinion! I absolutely adore the bromance between Caleb and Bo in OOAL and Caleb and Jai in OOTW. One part that threw me in this book was the crisis of religion that seemed to randomly pop up in Sarah's inner monologue at the beginning and then at the very end. I really would've liked her perspective on religion to not have left her feeling like she was left to "stand on her own two feet". But that said, I still adored every moment of this book and will read everything and anything Hannah writes!

Out of the Woods
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks so much to @dellromance for the free eARC!

Are you kidding me??? I LOVED this. This was so incredibly, wonderfully good. This was a true breath of fresh air for me.
Hannah Bonam-Young has a gift when it comes to writing couples with realistic problems and emotions. I’ve always adored the way she incorporates different mental health representations into her books.
This story follows Sarah and Caleb, who go camping for a couples retreat hoping to improve their marriage. I believe that many people will be able to connect to this book. I don’t think you need to be married to understand their relationship struggles. Anyone who has ever been married, been in a relationship, or has simply had a crush on another person can probably relate to at least one part of this book.
There were so many good things packed into this book, including learning to get in touch with your emotions and how to communicate effectively. Of course, HBY adds humor to the story to keep it fun!
I was in my feels on one page, but laughing the next. Plus, Caleb. I love this man, he is quite literally my type. My GoodReads review says that “I would still love Caleb even if he were a worm” so I think that really expresses how much I adored his character.
These two are so good together, and I’m just so in awe of this story. This was perfection.
Be sure to add this book to your TBR for January 28th. In the meantime, make sure you read Out on a Limb!

Read If You Like:
🌲second chance romance
🌲realistic struggles of marriage
🌲flashbacks
🌲therapy representation
🌲experiencing nature when you actually hate nature and exercise

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC. This review may contain spoilers (mostly in the final paragraph, but I will provide a warning), so proceed with caution.

This book brought me to tears. At times, it felt as though it was written just for me. Knowing that the story reflects Hannah Bonam-Young’s life, along with the fact that she is one of my favorite authors and we share many similarities, made me feel a personal connection to her. Is that weird? Maybe, but it’s the truth.

I got married when I was eighteen, and although our circumstances were different, my early and quick marriage was fueled by young love and challenging situations. There were many similarities between the characters in this book and my own experiences with my husband. Getting married young is whimsical but also difficult, and as someone who’s been through it, I believe the author did an excellent job capturing the realistic struggles and emotions involved.

The chemistry between the two main characters is so palpable that you feel not only their love but also the tension between them, like a taut string preventing you from fully immersing yourself in their relationship at first. While reading Out of the Woods, I felt exposed, as if my own heart were on display. That’s how well-written, realistic, and relatable this book is.

I appreciated the raw and real emotions portrayed—anger, resentment, anxiety, betrayal, and communication barriers, all topped with unbridled sexual tension. It was perfection.

Hannah Bonam-Young consistently delivers diverse and inclusive stories, and Out of the Woods is no exception. The characters are enjoyable and well-rounded, each adding something unique to the narrative. I wouldn’t mind seeing more about some of the other couples featured.

I loved the concept behind the book, the chemistry and progression between the characters, and the plot's development. I was thrilled to see Win and Bo, my favorites, included as well. Reflecting on the majority of the book, it stands out as one of the best I’ve read.

To be transparent, there were aspects I didn’t like. This is where more SPOILERS come in.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what was missing, but it felt like there was so much going on that some of the less relevant elements diluted the impact of the main points.

For example (SPOILERS), the book includes a throwback POV of Sarah’s childhood and loss. However, since Caleb’s childhood also influenced their marital issues, it would have been incredible to include his POV as well. I think this addition would have better centered the story.

I was also unsure about the young child being brought to the marriage retreat. It seemed to detract from the plot. Given her age and the adult themes being explored, it felt inappropriate and forced. While I understood the idea behind it, I believe it could have been incorporated differently.

The discussion of religion felt somewhat forced, and I wasn’t fond of the drama at the end. It seemed to overshadow the progress they made through hard work and commitment, making their reunion feel less genuine, as if it was driven more by tragedy than by their efforts to improve their marriage.

I know it might seem like I’m being overly critical, but it’s only because I loved most of the book so much that I feel it’s important to address these issues. They occasionally pulled me out of an otherwise compelling and inspiring story, leaving me feeling somewhat unsettled.

This was my first book that I have ever read by Hannah Bonam-Young, but I am so glad I got the opportunity to do so. She has blown up on booktok recently & I have a copy of Out on a Limb on my bookshelf, so I was super excited to dive in. This was a master piece! Most romances are of couples just starting to get together or dating, but it was such a nice change of pace to read a romance about a married couple.

This book is about Caleb & Sarah Linwood, who are best friends with Win & Bo from Out on a Limb. They have been together for 17 years, married young, and have been there for each other through the highs and the lows. Caleb is a successful businessman backed by his family trust fund. His family hasn't been the most present in his life, but he gained a whole new supportive family when he met Sarah. He is caring, likes to stay busy, and does whatever he can to ensure Sarah is happy. Sarah's mom has unfortunately passed away due to ALS, and Caleb was there for her through it all (before, during, & after). Sarah has been grieving for years and has essentially been a house wife after giving up her dream to become a writer (thanks to a very opinionated author) and grieving from her mother's death. Sarah finally wants to have something that is hers, so she decides to throw a gala in memory of her late mother. Unfortunately, the gala isn't as successful as planned, but Caleb wants to make Sarah happy. With good intentions, Caleb steps in and fixes the outcome of the gala. This is not want Sarah wants, she wants to be successful by herself and have something she can be proud of individually. This starts the questioning & turmoil of their relationship - Who is Sarah without Caleb? Does Sarah have something she can be proud of that she did by herself?

Win tells Sarah about a outdoor backpacking retreat for couples, & suggests that Sarah and Caleb go on it to work on their relationship. Sarah convinces Caleb to go on this trip, being the super non-outdoorsy people they are. We meet lots of other couples on this retreat that definitely add some fun to the story. Caleb & Sarah have hard discussions, learn a lot about themselves, and really take the time to understand what they need to do to make their relationship work. But will it be enough?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it has heavy discussions about being able to be proud of your individual success, even within a marriage. Sarah rediscovers herself and finds out who she can be as an individual person, without Caleb always being there to "fix." Caleb learns a lot about himself and starts to understand that he doesn't ALWAYS have to be there for Sarah when she fails. Failure is something required for growth. My only negatives from this book is I found the transitions between humorous/spicy scenes to sad scenes a little too fast. I found myself laughing on one page, but then crying a second later. I also didn't love the topics of religion as I felt they were unnecessary to the story.

Overall, this was a phenomenal book and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy in January!

Out of the Woods is a gut wrenching beautiful love story. This book was so much more than than a rom-com. There was the aspect of real life situations that aren't so happy but worth the fight. Sarah and Caleb's love story is a love worth fighting for. They teach readers a lesson to always fight for love, to accept change, to heal after a loss, and to put and love yourself first.