This was a very emotional read for me. I wish more authors wrote about married couples, this was an emotional read for me. It had so much depth, I am still unpacking my feelings. I will definitely be recommending it to others and adding Hannah to my favorite authors.

5 stars!!

Every Hannah Bonam-Young book I read becomes my new favorite. Out of the Woods is beautifully raw and authentic - a love story filled with heart and joy, but also pain and challenges.

The "marriage-in-crisis" trope usually gives me anxiety, but I never once questioned that Sarah and Caleb's love for each other was real, or that they wouldn’t find a way to work things out. It felt more like a story of two people trying to navigate marriage while one of them is feeling lost and having an internal crisis, than the typical marriage-in-crisis setup. I love that Hannah took Sarah and Caleb out of their comfort zone and into the woods for a retreat - it allowed for the perfect opportunity and setting for vulnerability and growth.

I also love, love, loved seeing my sweet baby angels Bo, Win, and Gus again!! The dynamic of their whole friend group just warms my heart and brings me to tears. It was so special to see Win show up for Sarah, just as Sarah did for her in Out on a Limb.

I cried (a lot), I laughed (a lot), and I swooned (a lot) - Hannah is masterful at blending together humor and wit with depth and emotion and I love every second of it. It’s such a privilege to read her work, and I'm eagerly awaiting People Watching's release!

Thank you to Hannah for the ARC! 💕

book review: 4.5 stars

Hannah Bonam-Young… I am obsessed with you. NO ONE DOES COMFORT ROMANCE LIKE HANNAH. I open her books and it feels like someone is hugging me.

OUT OF THE WOODS is the sister-novel to OUT ON A LIMB (one of my all time faves). It follows Sarah and Caleb who have been together for 17 (!) years, ever since they were teenagers. They can’t imagine their lives without one another, but lately Sarah can’t stop wondering if she’s formed *too much* of herself around Caleb. If she’s not there, can she stand on her own? She needs the space to find out, but Caleb loves supporting her and doesn’t understand why she needs change and a little space. So, they set out on a week-long wildness retreat to reconnect…

This book had my heart from page one. You can tell Hannah poured her heart & soul into this one. There is soo much love and vulnerability and care within these pages. The whole story is incredibly well-crafted with dual-timelines. We really get a feel for these character backstories and why they are they way they are. I love when character’s actions ~actually make sense~. The romance between these two is tender and screams “I know you, I love you, I will always love you.” My heart melted… a must-read.

While I enjoyed Hannah's newest book, I didn't quite love it as much as Out on a Limb. I'm not sure the "marriage in crisis" trope is the trope for me. I liked the realistic issues Caleb and Sarah faced from being together since their teenage years. Hannah did a great job showing how you can lose yourself over the course of time, especially after a traumatic event of losing a parent. I think a dual POV for a marriage in crisis book would be ideal. Readers were able to see Sarah grow as an adult and take charge in her relationship. Ultimately to me, it felt like Caleb did not grow and change nearly as much as Sarah did. Overall, I enjoyed this title and am excited for Hannah's future works! Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a review of Out of the Woods!

I absolutely LOVED this book.

It can be hard to grow together when you find your person young. You start to wonder if you missed out on anything. But that doesn’t have to be the case - and you can still grow as an individual while walking alongside your soulmate in life. HBY beautifully captured this in Out of the Woods.

This book was so emotional and beautiful I LOVED IT. Coming from Out on a limb I was excited to dive back into Hannah Bonam-Young writing and this did not disappoint. These characters felt so real, honest and vulnerable I couldn’t help but relate (even though I’ve never been married lol). Sarah’s quarter life crisis was so real and I could relate so hard to how lost she felt and how confused and unsatisfied she was with her life and finding her purpose (especially with how it related back to her mom and not wanting to let her down). Caleb wasn’t perfect (especially in the beginning) but he was SO WILLING TO DO ANYTHING for his wife and that’s what truly got to me. I appreciate the conflict of this book because of honest and real it was and seeing them overcome their challenges both personal and in their relationship was so healing and beautiful. This book also had such GOOD tension and chemistry, I absolutely loved seeing a married couple who was still so invested and in love with each other despite the hardships.

Amazing story about a married couple struggling and finding their way back to each other again. This book was so realistic and heart wrenching. I loved it from beginning to end. As a mom of 3 that has been married for 12 years this was just such a relatable book.

Something I wouldn’t normally pick up, but it’s definitely something I’m glad I read Hannah bonam young definitely is the Queen of feelings !! This couple has gone through hell and back with each other , Sarah and Caleb are the definition of soulmates!

Sarah loses her mom at a really young age and Caleb was there to help pick up the pieces and in turn she falls into a life of over comfortablility because Caleb’s there’s to take away the stress but when she become self aware of the situation at a gala in her mothers honor she’s unsure she’s willing to keep her marriage afloat .

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this one! I am not the best at writing reviews sometimes, but sometimes books take you by surprise and this one did just that. I got invested a few chapters in and couldn't put it done. It was so good! I highly recommend this one. HBY is a magician at romance, and I loved this one too!

This one was heavy, but so very good. Hannah BY once again writes a story that has me both laughing and sobbing and fills my heart. I wasn't sure about a romance of an already established relationship because it's not my favourite but I have to say seeing Sarah and Caleb work through their relationship, deal with past grief and pressure and still find time to find joy in each other was beautiful.

Outstanding! Hannah had mentioned that she wasn't sure if this was a story people would want to read, since Caleb and Sarah were already together, and married, that this wasn't a second chance romance either. She couldnt be any more wrong, I enjoyed this entirely.

Just want to say that aside from the relationship between Caleb and Sarah (which I loved entirely). What I appreciated the most from out of the woods was Sarah dealing with the loss of her mom and picking herself back up and putting herself first after over a decade realizing she wanted more for herself. Along with the core people in her life that she surrounded herself with for comfort and support. Her talk with Libby saying she loves dreaming of her mom but it hurts waking up and realizing she’s still gone, that she knows how hard it is to lose her over and over again.

Out of the Woods Review🌲🥾⛺️🐿️

A big thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this arc!

I’m a little delayed in sharing my thoughts but this book was an emotional roller coaster (affectionately). This is a book that will leave long lingering thoughts and feelings. I absolutely adored Out on a Limb and was so so excited to see a book about Caleb and Sarah. Actually heavily contemplating a re-read of Out on a Limb bc I miss Win and Bo. 🥲

Sometimes you read a book at the right time and at just the right place in your life where you need to. I didn’t know I was signing up for a free therapy session with this book (but it was a fantastic thing) so a big thank you to Hannah for that.

So many takeaways. So many real life relatable feelings that I feel so many people can relate to. It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day and the mundane that sometimes you start to lose small pieces of yourself and individuality. There’s heavy topics of grief and loss, the healing journey, and rediscovering yourself while still growing with your partner.

This was a fantastic read that will stay with me for a long time. Hannah has not failed yet to make me sob and absolutely adore her characters. I would check your TW if you prefer to, as there are some sensitive topics, but aside from being a fantastic book in general, there are so many valuable takeaways. Lots of love for Out of the Woods.

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up

Book 8 of 2025 - ☑️! Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell & Hannah Bonam-Young for an ARC of Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young.

Hannah Bonam-Young is an author who’s been on my list thanks to Bookstagram. Out on a Limb is still on my TRB, but I was thrilled to get this ARC of Out of the Woods. This was sort of a buddy read with my friend Val, and I enjoyed it so much!

I can’t think of any other marriage in crisis books that I’ve read, and this was a great first book to venture into that trope (though I’m not sure how much I love the trope itself, the writing is top-tier). Our protagonist, Sarah, meets her husband, Caleb, in high school. They’ve grown and grown up together. Now that they’re in their 30s, Sarah starts to wonder who she is as an individual, since she’s been part of a couple for so long. After her husband Caleb steps in during a fundraiser that Sarah spearheaded, which leads to fight, they decide to go on a couple’s retreat to figure out who they are together, and who Sarah is an individual.

Bonam-Young’s writing style and ensemble of characters are top-notch. Bonus points for diversity within the characters: class, disability, sexuality, race & ethnicity. The 🌶️ scenes were great.

Despite being married to a Canadian, I haven’t read too many Canadian authors (yet), so that was another fun fact to learn about Hannah as I was reading the book. Bonam-Young has a fan in me, and I look forward to reading her other work.

4.5/5 ⭐️ overall, and 3/5 🌶️ rating. 🇨🇦 🌲 📝 #NetGalley #OutoftheWoods

“𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰’𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔. 𝑨𝒏𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒇 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑴𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐."

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🔥.5
Relationship: MW
Tropes/content: Marriage in trouble, high school sweethearts, relationship retreat, flashbacks

⚠️Check triggers⚠️

Sarah and Caleb Linwood are high school sweethearts who have been together for seventeen years. There's no doubt that they're the perfect match for one another. Sarah starts to wonder if she can stand on her own without Caleb by her side, so she decides to host a fundraiser in her mother's honor. When Sarah falls short of her goal, she's prepared to own it, that is until Caleb swoops in to save the day. Sarah and Caleb soon find themselves at odds and wondering how to move forward. They decide to go on a couples retreat in the woods to work on their relationship.

As someone who loves Out on a Limb and had it as their top read of 2024, I was so excited for this book. It hurts my heart to say that I didn't care for this story.

I liked Sarah and Win's friendship. They're able to care for one another and have honest conversations without offending each other. I loved Caleb calling Sarah "baby" as often as he could. I especially enjoyed when he told her he loved her before the retreat and was happy they were going together. I thought the flashbacks were helpful in better understanding Sarah's grief and how her relationship formed around that grief.

I struggled with Sarah at times. I understood she had a lot of grief and trauma from her mom dying at a young age. I got why she felt incomplete as an adult. I struggled with the fact that she seemed to blame Caleb for a lot of her feelings, but never really communicated with him. It's hard for someone to change when they don't know they've been doing something that's impacting others. I felt like Caleb did a lot of introspection and owned up to his part in their dynamic, but I didn't think Sarah fully did the same.

There's not third act break up, but there is a crisis of sorts that happens. That did pull at my heartstrings, however, I felt like that was choppy. They went from being at the retreat, to being at the crisis, to epilogue. I felt like we needed a bit more of them post the crisis and navigating the changes they committed to in the woods.

In terms of the writing style, I felt like this book was a lot of internal thoughts. It felt like there wasn't a lot of dialogue, which isn't great for a couple that has a communication problem. The story dragged at parts and I found myself skimming some of the scenes in the woods because they felt repetitive.

Thank you to Hannah Bonam-Young and NetGalley for the early copy!

This was a beautifully written love story about high school sweethearts trying to navigate their relationship through life's ups and downs. The portrait painted in this novel delves into the complexity of continuing to love someone through the years as you both inevitably change as you grow. I love how this book explores so succinctly that love is something you do, it's a choice you make every single day. Beautiful story, I loved every page.

3.75 Stars

I was so excited about this book and I think I may have overhyped it in my head. Don’t get me wrong, I still had such a marvelous time with Caleb & Sarah, and I loved the story. However, I found myself annoyed by the miscommunication on more than one occasion, and the ending of this book created a new conflict after fixing the main focus of this book which was the Marriage in Crisis - so that felt unnecessary, and solely to bring back other characters in the interconnected series. I did however like the healthy communication scenes, the spicy scenes, and the way these two really stuck it out for each other, their relationship and themselves. Hannah’s writing is always so so beautiful and I loved so many quotes, I just was going with really high expectations and was a little dumbfounded when I saw my self and my own flaws reflected that I got angry at the miscommunication points. However loved getting to read this one early. Thank you to Dell Romance & PRH Audio!

I’ll leave you with this quote:
“if you give me the space to grow, i’ll plant myself next to you everytime” Out of the Woods, Hannah Bonam-Young

This was so cute!!! I love Hannah’s books but there is something about reading a marriage on the rocks that hits different for me. These two were relatable and real and I loved watching them fall back in love 🤍

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for honest review.

Fun idea to take married couples out in the woods for relationship therapy. Really enjoyed the setting. Caleb and Sarah's communication and banter made me smile. Those woodland encounters are a bit steamy, too, so be prepared for things to heat up!

I was a little disappointed because I thought this might be a much deeper dive into couples in crisis and how to find their way back to each other. What they say is a marriage crisis is just a small bump in the road. They were crazy about each other the whole time. I didn't feel a sense of the relationship being in real trouble. It's more about Sarah herself working thru some grief and being happy and well supported by the one you love. So it's a fine romance story, it's just not very deep.

I am in the minority though, many readers loved this book, although I suspect this is for a younger audience than myself. That said, if you are a fan of cute romance novels with lots of steamy bits, this one is for you!

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for this ARC!

Rating: 5 big ole' stars!!

Review:
I LOVE this book! I've never read anything quite like it!

The story is told through dual timelines of the past and the present and it is beautifully done. The writing can't help but pull you in with compelling dialog and swoon worthy moments. Hannah did an amazing job at showcasing the hardships happening in Sarah and Caleb's relationship without over romanticizing it. The hardships they were going through felt realistic, and I absolutely loved that. This book had me tearing up every other chapter! That might be partially because I'm a big baby that cries at anything, but I'm still shook!

In the book Sarah is trying to find herself after a few instances leave here feeling like she hasn't accomplished anything in her life. She feels static in her life and needs something to change. Caleb would do absolutely anything for Sarah, and he has, but Sarah is done feeling like she needs to be constantly taken care of. This is how they end up on their wilderness counseling retreat.

I loved saying Sarah and Caleb grow together as people! Their relationship and love for each other was so sweet. Caleb's love for Sarah is just absolutely swoon worthy and I just can't get enough of it!

Hannah Bonam-Young has definitely become an auto-buy author for me and I can't wait to dive into the rest of her books!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this book,it was a fun read and I it has some fun adventure in it, thanks so much for letting me read this book.