Such a great read! I’ve never read anything from this author and now I’m wondering why I haven’t sooner. She writes really well and brings a humorous element, almost like your inner thoughts. I almost cried a few times throughout. The story was amazing and can’t wait to try out her other books!

Beautiful beautiful beautiful. Hannah Bonam Young NEVER disappoints! I loved continuing the story of Sarah and Caleb! Such a unique perspective of a couple who had been together for years and had to figure out issues in their marriage and accepting and growing off the negative emotions that can grow in life!

I think this one for me, was what Out on a Limb was for so many. I liked Out on a Limb a lot but I loved this book. They are both expertly crafted and written stories about complex characters who are so genuine but this one hit home for me in a lot of ways. It was aching, beautiful, and so so hopeful. I cried a lot, this thing had my heart gripped in a fist. But I also laughed, swooned and above all rooted for Sarah and Caleb 1000% to the very end! The relationship between these two and their journey was amazing to watch but it went beyond them too. This is a book about finding and never giving up on yourself, dealing with grief and loss in the moment and years down the line, and knowing family is so much more than just blood. I’ll always keep with me, give when you’re able, help when you can, and don’t waste your one shot at life.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing, Hannah Bonam- Young and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early. I am beyond grateful.

Tropes: boy obsessed, soulmates, rekindling/reconnecting, counseling/therapy/mental work, outdoor spice, found family, loss/grief

I have loved you since we were 18…”

This book is both heart wrenching and heart warming in the best way. Hannah just creates the most fleshed out, complex, and warm characters. You just feel so connected with them. Typically I’m anti-the marriage in crisis trope but this book does it so well. Sarah and Caleb deeply and truly love one another and just needed a way to communicate more openly. Through it all their love and connection shined. Sarah has been through so much, which becomes so clear in the flashbacks. But equally telling was how Caleb has been there supporting her through it all. I appreciated Sarah’s personal journey in the book as well, finally giving herself some grace so she can take the steps she wants in life. It was all so beautifully written. Bonus was the Win and Bo content! I recommend this book to fans of a soulmate/high school sweethearts vibe.

Read If You Like:
- Marriage-in-crisis romances
- Second-chance romance
- Couples Retreat/ Group Therapy
- Camping and Hiking
- Alll the Sexual Tension
-Flashbacks From Falling in Love
- High school sweethearts
- Win, Bo, & Gus Sightings (Out on a Limb)

Are we Out of the Woods yet, Hannah?! Emotionally? Absolutely not! I am so in love with this duology of Out on a Limb and Out of The Woods and so sad it’s over! 😭

This was my first buddy read of 2025 with my bestie Ashley and I am so glad we picked this story to kick off 2025 with!

Caleb and Sarah’s story is everything and more that I expected it to be, especially with starting out with the bang of the author’s note ahead of starting this story! It was heartfelt, funny, steamy, emotional, and truly makes you wonder… who are the lucky ones? The ones that fall in love young before they know who they are, or those of us that find our person later in life? To me, I say both!

I loved getting the flashbacks of Sarah and Caleb falling in love as kids in high school and as their relationship grew and they were faced with Sarah’s mom getting sick, changing the trajectory of their love story and lives forever, especially when she passed away when Sarah and Caleb were only 19 years old.

When we meet Sarah and Caleb Linwood for their story, they have been married for seventeen years and are finding themselves at a crossroads as Sarah grapples with her identity beyond her role as stay at home wife to Caleb. Because of this struggle internally, everything boils over when Sarah tries something new (and Caleb swoops in) and to make a mark and something for herself after years of being unfulfilled and being lost in grief and feeling as if she hasn’t moved or grown or changed in the last 17 years.

This kicks off the recommendation from Win after a month of tip toeing around each other, for Sarah and Caleb to attend a week long outdoors couples retreat to find themselves as an partnership again and come back together stronger.

As they go through the week we get to experience along with Caleb and Sarah the complexities of a marriage in turmoil, delving into themes of personal growth, grief, fighting for love, and the evolving dynamics of long-term relationships that just aren’t simple and easy. Because love takes work and growth…

Sarah's journey of self-discovery is both relatable and inspiring, and has me crying right along with her. Caleb's own journey of wrestling with feeling like a failure for their life not being enough for Sarah while unwavering in his love and support of her was so beautiful as well.

I loved the balance Hannah struck between moments of humor, sexual tension, and their deep rooted vulnerabilities. Sarah and Caleb confront road they are on and how they have very much been frozen in place for years and their need to reassess their present, and to define a future they can grow planted side by side for worse or for better.

Thank you so much to Ashley for buddy reading this with me, and to Dell for my gifted ARC!

Sarah has been with Caleb since high school. Their whole lives have been wound around each other and now Sarah feels she doesn’t know who she is on her own.

The loss of her mother seemed to stunt her somewhat. Caleb does his best to try and care for her, so much so that neither realized how much she hadn’t progressed. That is, until Sarah tries to do something on her own, and it does not go off as planned.

The couple decided (mainly Sarah) that they need a shell shocking change of pace. So the pair head on a couples wilderness retreat (neither outdoorsy) to test themselves in a major way.

Sarah’s character is a lot more fleshed out than Caleb’s. We get a close look at grief through her eyes. As well as what trying to build life after loss can like. The anger, anguish, and guilt. She shares her progress in life, or lack there of, and we watch as she builds the confidence to see what can come next for her.

While I could really relate to her feelings, the romance felt a bit one-sided. Caleb always seemed to be playing catch up. Just about everything he wanted came back around to Sarah, while Sarah had her mind elsewhere. Rationally, that was because she hadn’t done much while Caleb had been getting his degree and building his company. However, I still felt like there was an element missing in his journey.

Their love felt real. The author did a wonderful job constructing a very natural marriage. It did, personally, seem to lower the stakes for this “second chance” because there never seemed to be a moment where it felt like there was a real danger in their relationship ending.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was a bit slow at times due to the low stakes but I do feel it had a lot to offer by way of self reflection and resilience.

5⭐️ Hannah wrote this book for me. This book is about ME.

Thank you Dell Romance and Net Gally for this ARC!

Sarah is now a soul character for me. She has experienced trauma and grief and also met their partner and married young, just like me. She questions her spirituality and beliefs and wonders who she really is outside of everyone else. I relate to this so much. Reading this book at this time in my life at a very difficult anniversary was meant to be. I laughed, I cried, I felt comforted. I adore Sarah and Caleb and look forward to rereading this book for years to come.

Read if you like:
• Camping (kidding but also not)
• Growth and finding yourself
• Books that touch on dealing with grief
• Married couples reconnecting

This was well done and some of the banter made me laugh but it was just overwhelmingly sad. The character’s POV switching between her upsetting past and her unhappy current reality was just a bit too much for me. Glad they found their happy ending but this book didn’t put me in a fun mood.

Thank you to Random House, Dell Romance & NetGalley for the ARC <3

Sarah and Caleb were high school sweethearts and have been married since the age of 19. And Sarah is feeling all sorts of aimless as a wealthy housewife, wanting to build some independence and something of herself to be proud of. And as sweet and caring as Caleb is, he’s always swooping in to save the day, making Sarah continue to feel inadequate. Things come to a head at a charity event that does not go well, and it turns into a huge fight with all sorts of resentment and unhappiness bubbling up to the surface. And so, Sarah and Caleb are on a couples retreat in the woods to work out their relationship and communication issues. The humor factor here is that they’re both indoor people with no physical endurance whatsoever. But the emotional angst is ever-present. We get some flashback chapters to the past with how their relationship developed and how it intertwined with Sarah’s mom being ill and her career ambitions. This whole book is a heart punch and I enjoyed the supportive cast of characters present during the retreat. Loved it.

6⭐️

This book is so incredible!! I literally devoured this in one sitting; I could not put it down. It made me laugh and cry. I felt all the feels. I relate SO much to both Sarah and Caleb and their relationship. This book is so personal to me wow. I expected it to be good or even great but this could possibly be my favorite contemporary romance of all time??

Anyway thank you thank you thank you to Hannah Bonam-Young for this book! And thank you to Netgalley and Random House for this early copy!

WOW
Hannah Bonam-Young this book is amazing!
Sarah and Caleb's story is not one to miss and publishes January 28th, preorder now!
I typically don't read romance books with married couples, but this book definitely proved this trope is a good one! I didn't read the book prior to this one because I don't love the accidental pregnancy trope but FINE HANNAH ILL TRY IT! If you write it, I'll read it! Plus now I already love Win and Bo
I related to both main characters so much. Like Caleb, I really hate change and like Sarah, I often put expectations on myself and think I'm behind. This book somehow felt like a healing therapy session.
This read follows the story of Sarah and Caleb. These two high school sweethearts have endured great loss and grief at the beginning of their marriage. They survived it and Caleb supported Sarah through the loss of her mother to ALS. Years later, Sarah feels as though Caleb is always running to her aid. She wants her own strength in moments, her own successes. A huge fight occurs when Caleb once again runs to her aid and Sarah and Caleb find themselves in a backpacking marriage counseling retreat. They meet some truly fun and wise characters and re-meet each other along the way. There is banter, witty humor, heat, but also some heavy topics of grief and finding yourself. This book is one you don't want to miss! If you don't believe me read the swoon-worthy quotes from the book below

"I didn't want you to lose your reading streak"
"If you give me the space to grow, I'll plant myself next to you. Always."
"I can sense your presence like a second nature...and when you're not near you occupy every corner of my life"
Thank you @authorhannahby and Random House publishing for this eARC!

I loved Hannah's previous books, but had the hardest time appreciating Sara. I just struggled with that felt a little like entitlement from her. I absolutely get her frustrations but I found myself frustrated by her more often than not.

I cannot begin to comprehend how Hannah Bonam-Young does it, but man, she’s done it again — wrecked my heart and put it back together again. No one writes like her, no one tells stories like her. Caleb and Sarah were given such a unique and fresh story, a completely beautiful take on what a romance book can be. My heart still aches a little, because I’ve gotten to know them so well and I truly never want to say goodbye. Truly so deserving of a read!!

Hannah continues to outdo herself with each new release. This book was perfection. Loved Sarah and Caleb!! Hits you right in the feelers. This marriage in crisis was done SO well. I needed and wanted so much more, and for it not to end!! Easy 5 stars.

Incredible. This book was just so good. I knew HBY wouldn’t let me down! Sarah and Caleb’s story is so real, so raw, and so heartwarming that I found myself crying (more like sobbing, lol), laughing, and anxious all at once.

I loved getting to see Sarah and Caleb (and Win too!) basically grow up and become the people we know them as in Out on a Limb. While it was devastating to watch Sarah and Caleb struggle with their marriage and the inevitable changes that come after 14 years together, it was also deeply moving to see them work through it—learning new ways to communicate, grow together, and find their way back to each other.

This felt like such a real portrayal of love. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows 24/7—it comes with pain, loss, and so much growth, both together and individually. All that to say, this was amazing, and everyone should read it immediately.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Dell Publishing for sending me an early copy of this book! Hannah, I can’t wait to see what you write next!

As a huge fan of second chance romance and Out on a Limb I was very excited for this release. But it felt a bit flat for me. I was hooked at the beginning of the novel and was enjoying the premise and the way the book was going but as the book progressed it started to lose me.
Rather than feel like a marriage reconciliation story it felt like a self discovery journey for Sarah, at no point did I feel like the marriage between Sarah and Caleb was in peril, it felt more like a big fight. While I did enjoy some of the past chapters with Sarah, I think it would have helped the whole story if we got a bit more of the build up of Sarah and Caleb’s relationship. This juxtaposed with them being separated in the current timeline would help to build more tension and intrigue for their relationship.
I also found the end to be a bit gimmicky, I think a person getting hurt is such a cheap plot device to bring characters together.
Then the ending with Sarah being some kind of famous play writer felt very far fetched to me. Especially within the plot of the story, we see Sarah go from a house wife who wants to go to college in one chapter and then be so famous in the next chapter.
I did find the relationship to religion to be interesting but it was not fully flushed out in a way that made sense to me. Like it just kept showing up in the same way and then she resolves it at the end, it was weird.

5 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐

“Don’t think for a single second you could ever truly leave me. You can go as a far as you need to, but you’ll always me a part of me…”

Out of the Woods is an adult contemporary romance and interconnected standalone to Out of a Limb . You don't need to have read the first book but it can add to the story. In this story, though, we follow Sarah and Caleb who, despite being dubbed the happily married couple (childhood sweethearts in fact) in their friend group, are experiencing marital problems that have them second guessing their lives together.

Sarah has been feeling this sensation of dependency and incapability in her life for awhile. She struggles to think of any accomplishments she has done on her own and when she attempts to do one thing on her own her perfect husband inevitably saves the day when it fails.

Caleb has become struck in a rut and he's unsure what to do. Having experienced all the ups and down with Sarah he is finally faced with a problem he can't seem to solve. When Sarah suggests a hiking trip meant for couples struggling they quickly realize this may be their last chance to fix things before they break...

This book was beautiful and had me tearing up on THREE different occasions.

Sarah and Caleb are absolutely beautiful together. Using flashbacks we get to explore their lives together up to the present and, through it, we see how much they have been through together. Sarah is struggling to find herself after thinking back on her life while Caleb is struggling to meet the changes his family so desperately needs. Their love is powerful and beautiful but the heartache of knowing that love is not the only thing was a message needed.

There are amazing side characters that help this novel from the iconic Win and Bo from the previous book to the crew at the camp - Gina, Jai, Helen, Libby, and more! These characters saw our main characters at their lowest and supported them in their rise with kindness, teasing, and empathy. Without them our characters would not have been able to find themselves a way forward and I loved every interaction with them.

“We have the rest of our lives to fuck each other’s brains out. I’m here to get your heart back first.”

There is spice in this novel - I would say 2.5 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers. This is an already established couple but we don't see full spice until the second half as they work through the marital struggles. I thought this was well done for the romance as the mix of present day and past showed their relationship grew and thus made the spice feel meaningful when it occurred. The spice itself is a bit feral with all the pent up feelings finally let go. Spice involved dirty talking, risk of being caught, and a whole lot of outdoor shenanigans. I had a lot of fun with it! There are about 2-3 scenes with some foreplay moments as well.

The story itself is a truly moving journey. We not only see Sarah and Caleb attempt to work through their differences in the present but also explore how their relationship grew and evolved from 14 years old onwards. There are a whole lot of ups and downs that help reveal how the characters ended up where they are today and some powerful heart to heart chats that unpack these. I really felt the setting was beautifully chosen (not just because it is my home province) but also the balance of Sarah and Caleb working through things together in addition to talking things through with others. There is excellent banter, camaraderie, and tearjerker moments that punctuate a pretty climatic moment I was not expecting but I really appreciated it tying everything together and letting our two characters shine.

Overall, I adored this book. It was truly a wonderful read that moves the soul. I need more couples like Sarah and Caleb!

Thank you Dell for this arc!

Note: This book does contain references to illness and death of a loved one. Be kind to yourself.

I was kindly provided by the ARC of this book by NetGalley and the editors in exchange of an honest review, thank you ✨

5⭐️

I laughed, I cried, I blushed, I felt Sarah’s grief and pain and love, I was having the greatest time reading this book 😭❤️‍🩹

Since the moment I read Out on a Limb, I fell in love with Sarah and Caleb and reading their story was just beautiful and overwhelming too, how she was trying to find herself after all she been through from her teenage years and how Caleb was so afraid of losing her, it’s was so so beautiful seeing how the two of them grow together and as individuals and how they managed to re connect and fell in love again and remembering how they always hate been there for each other 🥹❤️ my heart is so happy

as usual…. HBY wrote another heart wrenching masterpiece. this book has so much love infused in it, my chest aches so much. what a beautiful love story that sarah and caleb have with so much rich and painful history. the bo and win scenes made my entire life 💓💓💞💓💓 I loved this so so much!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Hannah Bonam-Young was recommended to me a while back right around the time her books had first been picked up for trad publication, due to the disability rep. And while I own all of them, I just haven’t gotten around to them. I did panic a little upon realizing that Out of the Woods is billed as a “companion novel” to Out on a Limb (despite not being linked in any series on Goodreads, Amazon, or the publisher’s page), and there were a lot of recommendations (including from the author) to read that first, and I was purposely avoiding making that my first experience with her books, as accidental pregnancy is an iffy trope for me. However, it can stand alone, with there being enough context that I didn’t feel I missed out on anything about the central couple or their romance. And in fact, I absolutely loved this, with it possibly clinching “marriage in trouble” as one of my go-to favorite tropes.
The romantic dynamic here is one I really like, with Sarah and Caleb being a high school sweethearts who got married and are now facing problems, in part related to Caleb’s choice to anonymously contribute a donation to an ALS fundraising gala Sarah was organizing in honor of her late mother. Both are real humans with real issues as a result of the stagnant state of their relationship, with Sarah in particular carrying a lot of baggage due to her grief for her mother and lack of professional growth, in comparison to Caleb, whose career has thrived. I love how active both are in addressing the need to make changes in both their lives and their marriage, and their journey is truly beautiful to observe as they come back together.
As much as I liked seeing the characters challenged by the Great Outdoors, I appreciated that the emphasis was on their emotional growth, both personally and as a couple, and the nature aspect was more a complement to that than the focus on the external plot itself. And with it being more insular, it feels like much more of a slow-burn, but one that feels worth it.
This was such a warm hug of a book, and I am now excited to go back and read Hannah Bonam-Young’s other books. While I can’t speak for her established reader base as to how it compares to her other books, I do feel this is a solid entry point for readers to get into her work, especially if you enjoy romance centered on the couple’s emotional journey.