Wow!! This narration blew me away!!
Because of the Audiobook I am rating it the 5⭐️
The book itself probably 4.25⭐️
Spice 🌶️🌶️

This is a circumstance where the audio narrators can impact the overall enjoyment of the book. When I rate books I am doing verse the genre and how well the author met certain goals. Many times contemporary romance is cozy fluff and this went well beyond that.

I am so thankful to have gotten an ALC for free from Hachette Audio & Forever Publishing through NetGalley to enjoy which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

First the audio which is what I’m tasking with reviewing…
Teddy Hamilton and Kitt Swan hit it out the park. They truly brought the prose to life where I didn’t want to stop listening.
I did listen at 1.75x which kept the pace swift but still completely listenable without the pitch changing or words getting garbled . I’ll definitely be on the look out for their other work.

For the book itself. Narrators can only do so much but when there is well written prose it makes it easy for them to shine which was the case here. I really enjoy the banter between the FMC and MMC. I also appreciated that their relationship was actually built on something and not just the insta-love or insta-lust. I wouldn’t call it a slow burn but it was paced more naturally and they discovered things about each other which made their relationship change over their time together.

The book also was about their individual self explorations which was a nice treat to offset the romance while also interconnecting each other into that exploration in a meaningful way. Was it perfect? No. Where some things repetitive? Yes. In the end did it take away from my enjoyment? Not at all.

This book comes out on January 7th and I think it’s a perfect book to get cozy with after all the holiday reading! But do yourself a favor and grab the audiobook!

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.
** I rate verse the main genre that the book is in.
⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing extraordinary
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others highly.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! There was something about it that stood out to me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

🎸Summer Camp Romance (Adults)
🍋New Beginnings
🎸Dual POVs
🍋Middle Age MCs
🎸Grumpy X Sunshine
🍋Enemies to Lovers

I love that this book takes place mostly in Minnesota.
I grew up in the twin cities so it was nice to be familiar with the setting.

Teddy Hamilton did a phenomenal job as Teddy. I loved his narration. Kit did a great Job as the FMC. She really brought out the quirkiness of Gretchen.

I really enjoyed the romance build up between the two characters. There was balance in every aspect.
The right amount of characters growth, spice, comedy and friendship.

Quick Summary: A journey to knowing self

My Review: Into the Woods by Jenny Holiday is a 2025 fiction release.

About the Book: "Summer camp just got a whole lot hotter..."

In My Own Words: Two performing artists from different walks of life meet at a summer art camp experience for youth. Soon, the relationship that started out as rocky turns into something that is remarkable.

4 Words About the Characters:

Teddy - > Haunted, good, selfless, evolving

Gretchen - > Creative, encouraging, friendly, becoming

What I Loved: Watching Teddy and Gretchen come face to face with themselves as they dealt with their own personal demons was deep.

About the Narration: This novel was narrated by Kit Swann and Teddy Hamilton. They did a superb job communicating the feelings of each character. I particularly appreciated how they conveyed the emotional tension that existed between the characters. I loved the realness of their interpretations.

My Final Say: While this was a romance in part, it was also something more. It was about relationships of all kinds. It was about dealing with the things that hold us back in life. It was a story about self actualization. It was a story about growth. I adored it.

Other: Readers who like stories about summer love, self discovery, and the rhythms of life will enjoy this book.

Rating: 4.5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: 💛
Favorites Shelf: Yes
Audiobook: Yes
Narration: +

Sincere appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (Hachette Audio | Forever), and to NetGalley. Thank you so much for granting access to an audio ARC of this title in exchange for an honest critique. It was a pleasure to review this story. I am grateful for the opportunity.

A cute book. I liked the fact that the characters were older and “later in life”. Nothing earth shattering and new. But lots of fun!

Overall rating 4 stars due to the narration and story.

Narrators - 5 stars
The performances by Kit Swann & Teddy Hamilton were the core of what made this book work for me.
Narration is an art and I think Kit showed that with their many character portrayals; they really made many characters their own as they read -no matter if they were they were a secondary or minor character.
Teddy Hamilton is one of my favorite narrators and he continues to prove this to be true. The fact that he truly makes each role sound different than all his other ones and I honestly could identify them, is gold!

Story - 3.5 stars
Into the Woods was a slower romance and very heavy on the growth of character and realization of their personal issues that wasn't tied completely to the romance. I enjoyed that!
So glad that I clearly didn't have to read Canadian Boyfriends before reading this. It could 100% be a standalone and thank god as I hate when I accidently pick up a book in a series.

In my completely biased opinion, Jenny Holiday can do no wrong and her dual POV sequel to Canadian boyfriend was MASTERFUL!! I loved that this featured two older main characters dealing with midlife crises who meet at a summer arts camp where they are both guest instructors.

Anyone who enjoys a good Rockstar romance with a grumpy MMC and a girlboss FMC who is so over the toxic masculinity of the online dating scene will not want to miss this one. Great on audio narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Kit Swann, this is a must read book of 2025 and I'm so grateful to Hachette for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Be prepared to laugh out loud and swoon as Teddy and Gretchen go from friends with benefits to something more. HIGHLY recommended for fans of Tessa Bailey and Emily Henry. This is definitely going to be a favorite read for me and has great mental health rep in the form of Teddy's sister who struggles with panic attacks and a form of agoraphobia.