4.5⭐️
Sarah and Caleb can be called nothing but soulmates. TRUE soulmates. Can one possibly find such perfect match in real life???

Hannah really made us beg for a Sarah/Caleb book since meeting them in OOAL because they are just the most fun deeply in love couple. And in OOTW you get to see both their backgrounds but mostly sarah’s and realize how truly through it they’ve been together.

This is a book that makes you believe in love. I’m not married, I’ve never been in a relationship but one day-i want my relationship to be as perfect as this in all its imperfections.
Sarah and Caleb show you how marriages can go through bumps and remain strong, how two humans can go through a lot and stay glued still out of deep adoration and appreciation for each other.
That there’s no such thing as “going through a rough time alone” because one is always there for the other. One is always standing behind the other to help them rebuild whatever gets broken.

HBY, you’ll forever have me as reader.

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young follows up her outstanding contemporary romance Out on a Limb with the story of Win’s dearest friend Sarah and husband Caleb. Sarah and Caleb are high school sweethearts who married young (19) and from the outside everything seems perfect. More than a decade in Sarah is making it known how dissatisfied she has grown. Win recommends the couple heads to the woods on a marriage retreat.

Hannah Bonam-Young simultaneously hit home in a devastatingly relatable why while filling me with hope. I also married young (early 20s) and have lived the same struggle of feeling directionless that Sarah experiences. There were moments in the book that felt like looking in a mirror and called for serious self reflection. She managed to balance this with heartfelt swoon worthy moments from Caleb and some HOT intimacy. I was incredibly moved by her writing and story.

Would recommend without hesitation to contemporary romance readers who love depth and character development.

⭐️4.5/5
🌶️3-5 spicey scenes, a few in flashbacks
Would reread? YES!
Would recommend? Absolutely, but with caution, if you are sensitive to grief (death of a parent)
👀Single POV, Dual timeline

Excited for everyone to get to know Caleb & Sarah in their book. I recommend reading Out on a Limb first as it gives context to these characters and Bo and Win who make appearances.

Tropes & Themes
🌲High school sweethearts
🌲 Marriage “in trouble”
🌲 MMC wears glasses
🌲 Couples group marriage therapy retreat
🌲Complexities of LOVE
🌲The importance of open- without judgment - communication
🌲 Learning to trust in those you love even if you aren’t sure in yourself
🌲 He makes a lot of money, she’s never had a job/a thing - and she’s unsure about not having SOMETHING that’s hers
🌲Reconnecting and second chances

The best part of this book, for me, is that Sarah and Caleb go on this camping couples therapy trip, even though neither of them like the outdoors. They just know they have to do SOMETHING to get on the same page and reconnect in their relationship. They take a leap of faith, and trust that giving their relationship attention will help 💕 It can be hard to talk when you don’t know what’s bothering you and can’t sort how you’re feeling - I appreciate that they took the leap anyway.

The author's note had me in love with this book before the story even began. Hannah Bonam-Young pours her heart out in the pages of her books, and the result is a story that makes you laugh, makes you cry, and makes you FEEL.

Sarah and Caleb are a couple who married young, before they were given the chance to grow up and find out who they really were. Now in their thirties, Sarah feels lost in life and in her relationship. The pair go on a week-long wilderness trip in an attempt to learn more about themselves and re-establish their once unbreakable bond.

I loved the dual timeline of this story, allowing us to watch Sarah and Caleb fall in love and care for one another through some very dark moments. Sarah's mother passed away when she was still a teenager, and that lost has hung heavily over her every choice since then. Seeing the close relationship they shared and the way their wedding came to be made my heart ache, though they have plenty of joyful moments as well. Hannah handles tough topics with care and sensitivity while giving us room to breathe and laugh on the next page.

The wilderness retreat was a fun setting, and the other couples add plenty of levity to the story. Watching our couple re-connect out in nature made me smile, and I just adored their relationship, their banter, and their care for each other that was at the heart of all their choices.

This book was unique in its focus on a marriage in crisis, and I really enjoyed reading a different kind of romance. Bravo to HBY for another incredible book that I'll be screaming about for months to come!

I received this book as an ARC, thank you to the publisher and Netgalley. 4.75/5 This book was an absolute treat. It's the story of a beautiful love and learning how to change and grow while still retaining a relationship. We can plant our trees next to each other every time and still give ourselves room to thrive There are some hard topics in this book, including death so read up on the triggers if that might be a problem for you. Hannah handles these topics with sensitivity while also keeping the book hilarious and fun. The way she navigates the two remind me of Abby Jimenez's style so if you enjoy her work, you may want to pick this one up!

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young was a sweet and sometimes steamy romance about a married couple who were doing life together and they’d been together a long time. I felt their relationship deeply and understood the demands marriage makes to be better. There were sweet moments and also scary sad moments. The MFC had many qualities I didn’t like because I saw myself in her but she won me over because she refused to give up. Overall a happy satisfying read for me.
Thanks Dell via NetGalley.

This book is literally perfection. This was romance book PERFECTION. Literally one of my favorite romance books ever. I almost want to say I liked it better than Out on a Limb—which I didn't even think would be possible—but both books are amazing in their own right.

First off, such a refreshing read in the sense that it didn't follow typical romance book formulas. There wasn't the "meet-cute," then "fall in love," then third act breakup. Nor was it the classic second chance romance book. I loved how it followed two characters almost at a crossroads personally and maritally. Sarah and Caleb dealt with realistic personal problems and relationship issues, and I totally think this is going to resonate with people in long-term relationships and marriages. And while it was raw and emotional, it wasn't too devastating or heavy. The first third of the book was giving You're Losing Me and My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys by Taylor Swift, which made me unwell lol.

I just adored Sarah and Caleb. They both had their flaws, but I appreciated how hard they were willing to try with each other. Thinking you met your soulmate at too young of an age before you got the chance to find yourself was such an intriguing theme. And the off-the-grid hike was the perfect reflective, forced proximity environment for the two of them to confront their problems and grow as a couple.

Also the flashbacks were perfectly integrated into the story. The scenes with Sarah's mom? Definitely tearing up. I loved seeing how Win, Sarah, and later Caleb grew up together. Sarah and Win's female friendship especially is everything. And the friendship between the two couples is everything too. Plus the pacing was great...read in one sitting. Just everything about Out of the Woods was beautiful. I couldn't recommend more! And the paper airplane references to the song Out of the Woods. I love it.

This book!! 🥹 seriously so so sweet. I loved it so much. The entire concept of it. Sarah and Caleb got married young and she’s having trouble with her individualism. They are working on reconnecting in their marriage by going on a week long hiking trip meant to guide struggling couples. The other couple on the trip made it feel lighter. I laughed so much and smiled a lot. I also teared up reading the parts of what it was like for Sarah that her mom was sick with ALS when she was so young and how much Caleb helped during that time. He was so supportive at such a young age. Truly so sweet.

I found myself so invested in their story and rooting for them 🩷 I loved that they both never stopped loving each other and were so determined to make it work. They also found the spark back in their marriage 😉 be prepared for some pretty great spicy scenes. Hannah’s writing is so beautiful. I can’t wait to dive into more of her books!

I’m obsessed with this book! I’ve never read a book quite like this, where we’re following a married couple falling back in love and rediscovering their relationship. Highly highly recommend!

3.5 stars

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young is a standalone novel in the same universe as Out On a Limb, this time focusing on the longtime married best friends, Sarah and Caleb, who join a wilderness retreat as a last ditch effort to save their marriage.

The parts I love most about this book are when we get down to the emotionally hard hitting subjects. Early on, we learn that Sarah continues to grieve the loss of a parent from ALS, and that shapes a lot of her character's trajectory. The flashback scenes of Sarah dealing with being her parent's caretaker at such a young age are some of the most poignant, and handled so well with simple but raw details.

Other parts that are equally poignant are the moments when Sarah and Caleb show intimacy in the small ways, as longtime couples do, which aren't flashy or spicy in typical rom-com fashion. The best part of being with the same person for so long are the details that are remembered and left unsaid, the warmth that comes with a kiss when both partners are on the same page.

That leads me to say that I personally do not enjoy the spicy scenes in the book, and the constant dropping of the F-bomb in everyday conversation. Readers who don't mind these things won't be bothered, but personally, I don't think these things add any value to the story, and instead undercut the emotional aspects of the book.

With that being said, I love Sarah and Caleb's love story, and everything that they have been through from high school to the present day setting at the retreat. This is not your typical light fluffy rom-com, and for that I'm so thankful.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Dell for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Out Of the Woods is available now wherever books are sold.

Hannah Bonam-Young has a way of writing realistically while not making it feel too heavy. Sarah and Caleb were really struggling in their relationship and rhe way she writes them going through it all, learning to work and communicate was beautiful

Hannah Bonam-Young strikes again! I loved almost every second of this book, from start to finish. This story follows Sarah and Caleb, a couple who have been together since they were in school, and got married at 19. Sarah lost her mother not long after they were married, and she still struggles with the grief of her loss, while also trying to find out who she is. After years of marriage, Sarah and Caleb have grown apart, and there is even some resentment on Sarah's part, after Caleb steps in to cover for her failed fundraiser, instead of letting her complete it on her own. The tension between the two explodes, and leads to the two going to a week long, disconnected trip into the woods for a couples retreat in an attempt to save their marriage. While there, the two are faced with different challenges, and not being able to hide behind anything when confronting each other and the struggles of their relationship.

I love a good second-chance romance, and that was exactly what this one was. Throw in the fact that the two were already married, and had that pre-existing chemistry and foundation to their relationship, and it really was a perfectly written romance. The way that the two opened back up to each other was so beautiful and I was so glad that they were able to reconnect and discover what the other needed, instead of allowing things to continue the way that they were.

This book is also told in different timelines, where it goes back and forth between them: the present, and multiple times in the past. I will say, that sometimes I really do dislike when this is done, because it takes away from what is happening in the current timeline, but this one was really so well done. In the chapters of the past, it sheds more light on Sarah's relationships with her mother, Win, and the progression of her relationship with Caleb, when the were in love, and Caleb was there for her the whole time, while her mother's health was declining.

Now, let's talk about the character progression. At the start of the book, Sarah was lost and was not able to make a name for herself, doing something that she loved. In school, Sarah was a writer, but stopped after a bad experience with an author that she loved and after her mother passed, and she falls back into her grief and into her marriage, and loses her own identity. Throughout the book, she starts to prioritize and communicate her own needs and what she needs to be different in order to feel loved, and to pave her own path. And going by what we saw in the epilogue, I'm very glad that she was able to get back to writing, and do what she loved and made a name for herself that she could be proud of. Caleb on the other hand, was really a sweetheart, and thought that he was doing the best for "helping" Sarah during her fundraiser, but it was in the way that he THOUGHT she wanted, but not in the way that she ACTUALLY wanted. Caleb was also just comfortable with the way that things were, and stated that he didn't realize that things were that bad. I was glad that he opened his eyes and realized that things needed to change, and that he actually did change.

Win and Bo were lovely characters, and it was so nice to see them live happily after "Out on a Limb", which was my first book by Hannah.

NOW. My ONLY complaint about this book, was the random "third act" drama plot. It came out of nowhere, and I was completely fine to run with it. BUT it was a bit flat. A huge event happens, there's a bit of build up and tension, aaaaand then everything is fine. This is the only reason why I am rating this book as 4.75 stars instead of 5 stars. (Huge difference, I know.)

And of course, would I read it again? Absolutely. Over and Over.

Anyway, thank you to Hannah Bonam-Young, Random House Publishing - Ballentine, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

First and foremost, congratulations to Hannah Bonam-Young on her first fully traditionally published novel (aka trad from start to finish). You grabbed our heartstrings with Out on a Limb and have yet to let go, and you deserve the world and more. Thank you for sharing these stories with us.

I'll be honest, I tend to shy away from marriage-on-the-rocks romances. I'm not married, so I usually can't closely relate to the characters and their struggles. However when an author I know and love writes a book with that trope, you better believe I"m picking it up; you'll never catch me passing up a HBY book. And I am oh so glad I picked up Caleb and Sarah's story. Despite never having found myself in their particular position before, or in that kind of relationship, I was pulled completely in to the story and their emotions – the ups and downs and all arounds.

Hannah wrote a raw, realistic, painfully beautiful story of two high school sweethearts who find themselves struggling later in their marriage (as many often do). I completely resonated with Caleb's fear of change and anxiety that he wasn't needed anymore, and if he wasn't needed then he wsan't loved (oh my gosh I just wanted to hug him). And Sarah's completely understandable quarter-life-crisis of "who am I really??" I absolutely went through this at her age, and I can only imagine it would have been ten times harder for me if I'd been in her shoes.

One thing I especially loved is the way Hannah handled the conflict between Caleb and Sarah. All too often in stories like this, one is threatening the other with divorce, and absolutely destroying their heart in the process. Here, we see Caleb and Sarah truly making an effort – even while they're struggling, they communicate and make it very clear to the other that they are in this, they are committed, and they want to put in the effort to make this work. So refreshing.

This story was sweet, it was sexy, it was heartwrenching and healing at the same time. I can already tell it's one I'll come back to again and again. I've already made space on my shelf next to HYB's other books. And I absolutely cannot wait to see what Hannah writes next!

Hannah has always been such an amazing author. this book i got it hard to start reading it but, sarah and caleb are just so amazingly and they deserve all the good things. i love them so much it’s unhealthy. i love the way this book was written tbh.
it’s weird because a lot of marriage and crisis are more like they are divorced or whatever but this one… wow. this was very cute and wholesome. i love them so much and it was so cute to actually see them being together and explore their own relationship with each other and others.

Out of the Woods was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025. When I met Sarah and Caleb in ‘Out on a Limb’ I knew their story was one I wanted. Sometimes reading about already established couples is challenging, but Hannah Bonam-Young wrote this seamlessly between past and present. When I got to the dedication, I knew this book was for me.

‘Out of the Woods’ is my love letter to all of us who met our soulmates before we had the chance to fully meet ourselves.

Whew… talk about relatable. I met my husband when we were 15, and we became fast friends. We started dating at 17, married at 20, and are now almost 39. Like I said, relatable. But enough about me; back to Sarah and Caleb.

Sarah has a husband who has been with her and supported her through all the ups and downs of her life. Ever since she’s been a teenager. He’s the best partner she could ask for. But she finds herself wondering… who is she aside from being Caleb’s wife? To figure this out, she and Caleb go on an adventure to rediscover themselves. An outdoor hiking/couples retreat.

I enjoyed the first 40%- 50% of this book, but the last half… the last half was everything. I laughed, I cried, and I loved it so incredibly much. This was a beautiful journey of self-discovery and finding yourself, and it was a great example of how beautiful a long-term marriage/relationship can be when you grow together. I adored this book and couldn’t recommend it more. It is my first five-star of the year and one that will most definitely be on my favorites list of 2025.

Wow. This book was AMAZING!! I knew I was going to love Sarah and Caleb. They are fun and witty and this book showed that and so much more. The grief in this book was so real and was navigated beautifully. The storyline was honestly so real too. The ideas of working through hard times in a marriage can be so scary and difficult to tackle. And Hannah wrote everything to where you can feel the emotions. I laughed, I cried, I felt everything with this book. I’m so thankful I got to read this book as an arc from netgalley. Im also so thankful for Hannah and writing story’s that speak to the heart and make you feel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Dell for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rounded up from 3.5-3.75 stars

Sarah and Caleb are high school sweethearts, and after being together for nearly two decades, Sarah begins to not only question parts of their relationship but who she is and what she’s doing in life. When they join a hiking trip meant to help couples rediscover themselves, they begin to have open and honest conversations about their past, and what they want their future to look like.

As Hannah Bonam-Young writes in her author’s note, this book is for those who found their soulmates at a young age, and before they got to meet themselves fully. And because of this, Out of the Woods, toes the line between Romance and Women’s Fiction. While we do see Sarah and Caleb working on their marriage and confronting issues that they’ve ignored for years, a majority of this story’s arc is about Sarah finding herself as an individual. I also think that for any marriage in crisis book, I prefer to have dual POV, and I deeply wish we had Caleb’s POV in this!

But I did really love being back in this universe that Hannah Bonam-Young created with Out on a Limb. We still get to see Win and Bo who I love, but we’re also introduced to new characters on this hiking trip who are so fun and become so important to Sarah and Caleb over the years! That bonus epilogue was absolutely everything!!

Tender, cozy, healing, and STEAMY were are things felt reading Caleb and Sarah's story of reconnection and growth. I absolutely love this fresh take on romance, taking us past the initial HEA and into the journey of love and growth continues past the wedding vows. Hannah can write some incredible emotions with such an authentic and vulnerable approach and in balance, she can craft some delicious intimacy that will both get your heart racing and swooning from the scenes being so steamy yet real. I love this so much!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dell for the e-arc

4 stars

First of all lovvvveee a Hannah Bond-Young book and when I read that this book was set in the world of Out on A Limb I was sold. I absolutely loved Sarah and Caleb. This book was very different from what I usually read and I am not used to reading a romance about already married characters let alone have been married for years so I liked that it was different. I very much enjoyed reading about the struggles these two had an dhow they overcame it and how they started to understand each other. I think both characters make very valid points to each other about what they need to work on to make their relationship work and I think that felt very genuine. My favorite part was when Sarah was telling Caleb that she wants them to adapt and change as they grow and how he didn't want that and you see her start to stand her ground and tell him that they need to lear to adapt or they will have more problems. I felt really bad for Caleb when he said he felt like everything was fine and didn't notice that she was unhappy. I felt even worse for Sarah because that makes her feel like he doesn't care and doesn't notice her feelings. But, by the end they work out their differences in my opinion in a pretty healthy way and I just love to see a natural and genuine experience like that. So I really enjoyed this book.

while I do believe hannah to be an accomplished and talented writer, out of the woods didn't impress.

almost immediately, it became evident this book was not centered around a marriage in crisis, as it was largely marketed, but rather about sarah's grief and personal growth. and, to be clear, that plot design is not inherently bad since that is of course an incredibly important story to tell, highlighting a dynamic that was special, a loss that altered the entire course of sarah's life. but sadly, my invest never completely recovered from having to adjust my original expectations so quickly.

also, caleb — one-half of the marriage that was supposed to be at the forefront — was underutilized and underdeveloped, even almost entirely removed from the last quarter of the book for reasons I won't spoil here. in his own life, he somehow became a background character.

however, the many bo and win cameos did serve as a bit of a saving grace, their happy bubble of newlywed bliss served as a nice foil to the struggles sarah and caleb were facing.

in the future, I will absolutely reach for any future releases from hannah, aware that this one just wasn't for me and that's alright.

thanks to hannah bonam-young and dell for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.