Hannah does it AGAIN 👏🏼 I’m not sure how she does, other than sheer talent, but she knocked it out of the park & I couldn’t be happier!

Out Of The Woods (OOTW) follows Sarah & Caleb, Win & Bo’s (from Out On A Limb) best friends & pretty much their kindred spirits too 🩶 Sarah & Caleb are high school sweethearts, who have been together for 17 years & have endured so much together. Through major realizations, existential crises and questioning if she’s jumped from one safety net to the other, Sarah finds herself wondering many things about her present life, most importantly wondering if they are truly the same people that got married at nineteen + the impact that has on the present state of their relationship. In an attempt to fix their relationship, Sarah and Caleb make the decision to join a hiking trip intended to guide couples through challenging parts of their relationships. The bigger issue about this trip? The two are not fans of nature!

In Hannah’s true witty, hilarious & page-turning style, OOTW took me on a journey like no other - making me feel incredibly seen & understood. As someone who got married fairly young & almost right after college, dove head first into navigating what life was going to look like when an unexpected turn occurred for my husband (a diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia) and all that comes with it - I found that Sarah’s questioning was similar to some I’ve done in my life. Loving my husband with everything in me, while periodically wondering a lot of “what could have been” if we didn’t encounter the challenges we did right off the bat in our marriage. I could resonate with Sarah somewhat in her journey of self-discovery amidst reflection & the beautiful way in which the story was interwoven between those two concepts was astounding to me! Reading this gem of a book was so life affirming & beautiful, reminding me that many things can be true at the same time - and how grateful I am for a spouse who loves me for me while also supporting my growth as an individual. But in the words of Sarah, “If you give me the space to grow, I’ll plant myself next to you. Always.”

Marriage in trouble is a new trope for me. Can't say it's going to be a go-to, but the ups and downs of marriage were beautifully written by HBY. The MMC being named Caleb took me a while to get over as that's my husband's name. I could empathize to Sarah's wonder of who she is without her other half and what she is capable of. Watching Sarah and Caleb fall back in love and learn that the way they used to communicate might not work as they continue to grow up. There was just growth on growth on growth, personally for each character, and together as a couple, which was very well written. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the free eARC. All opinions are my own.

instagram review will be live 22Jan25.

this was such a raw and beautiful story, i wish i had the proper words to really articulate how this book made me feel

you can really tell HBY puts herself and her all into these stories and it pays off TENFOLD

I loved reading the acknowledgments after I finished the book, because I love knowing that the writing of the book affected her as much as the reading of the book affected me 🥰

Sarah and Caleb are high school sweethearts. They married at 19, in the middle of Sarah’s personal trauma, and launched into life a little earlier than most of us do. Over a decade and a half later, they’ve nestled into a routine so contactable they resemble roommates. Sarah feels stagnant - I daresay in the way many at her age do! - and her bestie suggests that she and Caleb go on a couples’ retreat in the woods to reconnect and rekindle what they once had.

This book is tough in a lot of ways - there are CWs (dm me) and tough moments between Sarah and Caleb, but there are also excellent times of reconciliation and two people dedicated to making through a rough patch and choosing each other forever.

HBY, thank you for this beautiful book.

This book was one of my disappointing reads of the end of 2024 and I am still sad about it. I was SO ready to love this. Marriage in crisis is an underrepped trope in my opinion and well this book didn't really even have it honestly.

-the billionaire/millionaire aspect threw me off immediately. This is marketed as something for people who got married young and then grew into themselves and how that affects your partnership (I have direct experience with this) and I know you don't need to relate to a book to enjoy it but the marketing doesn't make sense when they have oodles of money and it almost makes their relationship problems irrelevant. Especially because this book is more about the FMC's grief journey after losing her mom and then never going to therapy about it even though they have a ton of money and she doesn't work outside of managing their house. Her grief journey is SO valid don't get me wrong whether she went to therapy or not but this book is not a marriage in crisis.

-Plot holes: She tells Win at the beginning maybe their marriage should end, but on the trip she repeats to everyone that they were never going to break up, it was only a question if they were going to be happy in the future or not. You JUST said you were thinking of divorce so which is it. When she says she couldn't go to school because he works long hours and they would "never see each other", if he's working long hours then what are you doing?! You'd be at school or studying at the same time he'd be at work!

-The therapy rep was atrocious. She's told not to worry about her problems because she's "young" AND SHE'S COMFORTED BY THAT. That is one of the most invalidating things to say to someone. Also her therapist saying she's "way ahead" of other couples with problems because she only fantasizes of a future with him. Actually intrusive thoughts or even just an active imagination does not mean you don't love your current reality or partner, this way of thinking is so harmful. We don't need to shame others for their thoughts that don't hurt anyone else. And it's not like this therapy is called out for being bad, it is taken as miraculous and they become quasi-friends which is also boundary crossing. It's like when the mom in Next to You dates her grief therapist and everyone thinks it's cute.

-Repetitive flashbacks. There would be flashback chapters of them in high school and then go to present time and she would recap everything we JUST read and it wasn't even interesting in the first place. The flashbacks were also very logistical and didn't even add to the depth of her relationship with her mom, it was clear they were close and she's greatly affected by her death. Also the dialogue and thoughts of her as a minor was giving Dawson's Creek, not accurate to an actual child at all in my opinion, not every author can access that mindset in their writing and that's okay just don't write flashbacks.

-The reconciliation- if they were as close as they claimed they were this could have been solved by conversation 10 years prior.

-The main character was not cohesively developed because the Mitchum Huntzberger of it all with that author she admired as a teen ruining her life was weird to me. With how headstrong she was and confident, she went after the MMC full steam ahead after all which I admired, it didn't make sense for a random stranger to ruin her self confidence to that level for SO long. That storyline was genuinely so confusing.

Thank you to Dell for the chance to read this via eARC. I am so sad how much I disliked this UGH.

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young is a heartwarming and humorous tale that will resonate with readers who have ever wondered if their partner is still the same person they fell in love with, and who are looking for a story about the power of self-discovery, love, and the unbreakable bonds of high school sweethearts.

Sarah and Caleb have been together for 17 years, since they were teenagers, and Sarah has come to realize she doesn't even know who she is without Caleb. Everything in her life has revolved around and been attached to him. After Caleb saves Sarah's failed gala fundraiser, their fight ignites buried resentment and unhappiness. Desperate to save a marriage that seems to be falling apart at the seams, they embark on a week-long hiking trip designed to help couples reignite their spark.

I've begun to discover that, while I do of course enjoy swooning over new couples and kicking my feet reading their first everythings, I also love marriage in crisis stories. At least, I love the (very) few that I've read. It's nice to see where couples are years later, after the butterflies and cloud9 feelings of a new love have calmed down a bit. If Hannah can make me adore a one-night-stand-turned-pregnancy story (Out on a Limb), she might be able to make me love anything. Hannah is one of my favorite authors, and I will read absolutely anything she writes.

Sarah and Caleb are so real and realistic, honest and determined. And so in love. Watching them rekindle their relationship as they fumble through the woods and their couple assignments was a joy and an honor. They open up and put their feelings out there, with Sarah's existential crisis and figuring out who she is as a person without Caleb, and Caleb's confusion as to why she's not happy, because he thought that they both were. Their conflict and growth is heartbreaking and beautiful, sexy and sweet, and funny and cute.

I loved the flashbacks from their time together as teens! The ending is also wonderfully satisfying, and the epilogue takes the cake.

Read this if you enjoy marriage in crisis, best friends who are basically sisters, women who own their pleasure, spice, dual timelines, outdoor fun.

The characters from Out on a Limb are also in this one, and while this can be read as a standalone, it's definitely better to read OOAL first.

CWs: Death of parent, terminal illness, grief, injury, blood, hospital stay

I think anyone who has ever been in a committed relationship will be able to relate to so much of the content in this book. It’s a look at two people who love each other so deeply, but also got married really young, before they really knew what life was all about. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows, but it can still always be beautiful and filled with love and passion for your partner if you choose it. Thanks to Dell Romance and Random House Publishing for the e-arc!

4.5⭐️ One of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it did not disappoint! I loved Sarah and Caleb as soon as they were introduced in Out on a Limb, and I immediately wanted their story (not thinking it would actually happen because they were already married.) but then I saw that they were getting a book and I screamed!

This one was full of so many emotions. It seemed so real, and I was happy, sad, anxious, worried, and laughing. I loved seeing them go through real struggles as a married couple and working through them in such a healthy way.

Love love love them💖

This book was so, so, so beautiful. I’m blown away. I finished just a few minutes ago and I’m kind of speechless 😭 Ms Bonam-Young’s best work, in my (very humble) opinion. This story was so heart wrenching while simultaneously being an absolute joy and privilege to read. This is now my top romance novel of all time. I’m just so grateful to have witnessed the love between Caleb and Sarah. What a wonderful experience.

I relate so much to Sarah. Her story has given me so much to think about as someone who constantly feels like they were made for more than what they’re currently doing in life. This book made me laugh, made me cry, and ultimately made me hopeful for my own future.

A GIGANTIC thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this amazing ARC. I am forever changed, genuinely.

Absolutely pure perfection. Wow… where do I even begin. This story was extremely close to my heart and I cried through so much of it. As someone who is married to their high school sweetheart and approaching their 30’s, I closely related to Sarah and Caleb’s story. Their love for each other and the growth they did individually and together throughout the story was beautiful. Their struggles and how they communicated through it all was extremely realistic. I appreciated the rawness and realness that was put into this story. Thank you a million times to Hannah Bonam-Young, Random House Publishing, and NetGalley for this ARC. Thank you specifically to Hannah Bonam-Young for writing a story that is so near and dear to my heart.

My review was posted to goodreads on 1/11/2025.

3.5? i love sarah and caleb. i think their love for each other runs so deep and its so nice seeing a real relationship in romance books. unfortunately, this was really slow for me to get into. i felt like i was waiting for something up until the 55% mark but then it got really good! sarah’s brain is quite relatable and felt like her conflicts within herself were so raw and true.

thank you netgalley!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

This. Book. Caleb Linwood, the man that you are. Just like Out on a Limb, Bonam-Young approached this story with a unique and yet powerful prospective on an otherwise uncommon trope.

I was surprised to find how much I genuinely enjoyed watching Caleb and Sarah reconnect and rediscover how to communicate without it being your typical second chance romance. This story was the perfect palette cleanser between some heavier books, while still being full of depth and easily satisfying that romantic element that we all know and love. Watching Sarah not only fall back in love with Caleb, but discovering who she is, and what’s important to her resonated so much with me. There was so many moments where I was nearly brought to tears over just feeling so seen. Caleb had so many beautiful moments of forgiveness, but also so much growth in his own self as well. Overall such a wonderful story of rediscovery, and reconnecting to the ones who have been with us for as long as we can remember.

There’s so many incredible quotes but here’s 3 of my favorites:
•“You can go as far as you need to, but you’ll always be a part of me. You will always be the second voice in my head. The force that surrounds me. The source I pull inspiration from.”
•“Because she doesn’t have to be all right. She just has to try again tomorrow.”
•“We hugged without resolution. There was no bow tied neatly around our conversation. No clean cut answers. Just a mutual understanding that the pain would always exist but that we’d be a little stronger tomorrow. That, maybe, I’d helped her some.”

I would highly recommend this book to everyone! My only reason for giving it 4.75 stars instead of 5, is because I didn’t personally connect to the comments about religion, though I can still see their importance.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

i absolutely adored out on a limb and DEVOURED it in an instant, so when i found out there would be a companion novel about sarah and caleb i prayed to the netgalley gods to bequeath an arc to me. alas, the gods were merciful and i devoured out of the woods as well.

this is not a romance novel about a married couple giving their marriage a second shot — it’s about a couple who got married young in a strenuous circumstance, and now our fmc sarah looks back and feels as if she has not accomplished anything on her own, without the help of her husband caleb. when sarah hosts a fundraiser in honor of her mom and finds out that caleb was the anonymous benefactor who donated the remaining money to meet her goal, the couple’s relationship is the worst it’s ever been. thus begins their journey into the woods to learn how to communicate better.

i don’t think i’ve ever cried as much as i have while reading out of the woods — sarah’s mom passed away in her late teens, and we get so many flashbacks with sarah, her mom, and even caleb and win. anytime sarah brought up her mom, i cried. i can’t help it!

overall, out on a limb and out of the woods are MY FAVORITE romance novels because they tackle so much more than romance.

i’m so excited to read whatever hannah bonam-young puts out next💗

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.