hannah delivered an outstanding and deeply impactful novel that captured the raw, unfiltered reality of a marriage in crisis. she didn’t shy away from the challenges and complexities, presenting them with brutal honesty, which only made me love this book even more. often, when writing a marriage-in-crisis trope, authors tend to romanticize the situation, letting unresolved feelings overpower the narrative. but here, hannah gave equal attention to every aspect of caleb and sarah's relationship.


she showed the hardships sarah and caleb were facing and how a wilderness retreat for couples could serve as a catalyst for addressing those issues, offering them fresh perspectives through different couples and their situations and clarity about the lives they want to build together. everything was perfectly balanced, making this story an authentic and moving exploration of love, healing, growth and reconciliation.


hannah's narrative was effortlessly beautiful and engaging. she seamlessly blended all the elements of the story into a swoon-worthy and heartfelt tale that also captured the challenging and messy realities of life.

everything was balanced out so perfectly, including the side characters, who added a refreshing touch to the story with how each and every relationship was different. i loved the various situations the couples presented and the much-needed depth and authenticity they added to the story. hannah focused on the past, present, and future of sarah and caleb simultaneously to help them work through their problems, and it was emotionally profound to see how everything was connected in one way or another.

what caleb and sarah had is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. their chemistry was intense and raw, filled with heavy unresolved feelings and sexual tension, which only fueled it to another level. i loved how it was not just about their physical intimacy but how they established an understanding before moving on to that. it was adorable how they wanted and craved each other, and the longing between them was palpable, drawing them closer with every passing moment. i loved the emphasis on therapy and the sessions they had with helen and yvonne; it provided them with better clarity about their situation and how they could make it better. they are so perfect together and for each other. caleb and sarah will always be dear to me and close to my heart.

This is by far my favorite marriage in crisis book. Everything about it was just done so well. We got to see Sarah discover herself while trying her hardest to make it work in her marriage. I think the best part of the book was that they were never doubting their love for each other, no matter what scenario she played in her head it was still her and Caleb in the end.

I received an arc through netgalley.

HI HELLO I LOVED THIS SO MUCH.

I have truly never felt more seen or understood than by this book and by Sarah.

As someone who also got married at 18, had kids shortly after and never went to college or "made a name for herself", I really felt everything Sarah was going through. Every single thing she was saying is something ive either felt, gone through, or said out loud myself. Constantly feeling saved by my sweet, perfect husband, feeling like I have nothing to show for myself other than being a wife and a mom. It was all a little to close to the sun if you know what I mean.

Hannah Bonam-Young absolutely nailed the feelings of feeling lost, like you have nothing for yourself, like you're a person just existed alongside the people around you without a "purpose". Watching Sarah process all of her feelings, not knowing what exactly she wanted but knowing she wanted more for herself and knowing she wanted all that with Caleb still was so refreshing.

I loved that this book dove into the topic of couples who married young without making it all look bad. I loved that we got to see two people who have been in each others lives since they were kids, who got married still as kids basically, and still continued to choose each other and do everything in their power to continue to make things work TOGETHER. Getting married young comes with so much stigma and seeing such a beautiful and raw portrayal of it was refreshing.

I'll never get over this book truly. I loved everything about it and I'm so thankful to Hannah for writing such a beautiful book that will make so many of us feel seen and understood in a way we havent before.

The sheer talent and craft evident in this book and the storytelling is astounding. HBY understands how to tell a story! Further, the pacing and the emotional give and take were so beautiful, that I didn’t want the story to end; I would gladly read ten years worth of Caleb and Sarah stories.

4 Stars

I became a dedicated fan when I read Bonam-Young’s Out on a Limb last year, and this quasi sequel featuring BFF Sarah and her devoted hubby Caleb was a no brainer!

This is less a marriage on the rocks and more about processing grief, emerging from the safety net of your partner, and trying to find your identity and self worth, all along forging ahead to tackle life’s challenges together. Sarah has been in survival mode for the last decade, still deeply affected by her mother’s untimely chronic illness that took her too quickly and too soon. However, she’s trying to make some headway towards having more purpose and is determined to prove she can accomplish that.

Ever by her side is her wonderful husband Caleb, who is the epitome of support, but when does that become a crutch? Sarah thinks it’s high time she does some deep diving into her psyche instead of just coasting through life. Thus, she enrolls herself and Caleb into a couples boot camp to see if they can figure out individual and relationship goals.

Don’t worry. This isn’t all serious drama, but know that it is a thoughtful, emotional look at Sarah and Caleb’s dynamic, seeing them in flashbacks on how they met and fell in love, and how they are wholly committed to each other despite these uncomfortable issues they’re facing.

Bonam-Young doesn’t fail the reader on the vulnerability and the authentic range of growth these two go through. This author knows how to bring the humor (though a bit less than its predecessor in my opinion), the sexy, and the feels. She also doesn’t fail in regards to Caleb who embodies the devoted hot nerd very very well.

Overall, an uplifting and valid love story, warts and all, and for really sensitively paying homage to the memory of a beloved one who is no longer around. These two soulmates just needed some fine tuning on themselves so they could be fully present for each other and just know that Bonam-Young delivers!

Thank you to the author and Dell via NetGalley for a copy to review honestly

Really nice follow-up to out on a limb!
This couple is so adorable. I loved seeing them find each other yet again.

Definitely a book I will recommend!

This book was all heart and so freaking good. The love story does not end after marriage, and Out of the Woods is a unique and special book that looks at what happens after the happily ever after.

Sarah and Caleb have been together since high school, and while they love each other, it feels like they are stuck. Stuck in the same roles in the marriage and stuck in life. So on the suggestion of their friend, they sign up for an outdoors marriage course called Reignite.

Caleb and Sarah are special. I loved seeing how deep the love they had for each other was, to the point that they both felt comfortable leaning on each other and talking through their issues. We see both sides of their marriage; the goofy and loving side, but then the more difficult and flawed side. Caleb's struggle to understand what Sarah was saying without taking it personally, felt raw and real to me; just like their communication while discussing what they wanted from the marriage. Not only was I teary eyed while reading this book, I was also swooning at how adorable they were together.

There is nothing that Hannah Bonam-Young will write that I won’t love. The way that she depicts real life and real struggles is beautiful.

Caleb and Sarah!? I just love them. I love the banter, the tension, the love that pours out of them. They are so real and raw.

I can’t get over the glasssessss!! I love!! The friendship between Bo and Caleb?? The cutest😭 I loved seeing Win, Bo and Gus again 😭

10/10 again for HBY 🫶🏼

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC 🫶🏼🫶🏼

Read This Book If… you love a couple growing up together!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

Genre: romance
Series: Out on a Limb # 2
Spice Level: 3/5🌶, 1-2 explicit scenes
Setting: Toronto and nearby wilde3rness
POV: single, 1st person, present tense
Tropes: marriage in crisis, hurt/comfort, slow burn

My Thoughts:
HBY has no misses and I loved this book so much!! She does such a good job of creating realistic characters that are stumbling through life, just like most of us.

As someone who is a stay-at-home wife and childfree-by-choice, I really identified with Sarah. I thought this book did a beautiful job discussing how to find meaning in adulthood beyond our jobs and relationships and how to be at peace with ourselves.

And Caleb had me swooning throughout! The tension between these two was so good and the slow burn was well-worth it. I loved the little flashbacks into their high school days, although a few of them made me cry.

I would suggest reading OOAL before this book to get the sense of Sarah and Caleb, as well as the backstory to their close friends, but it’s not necessary.

Memorable Quote: “We’ve opened our hearts, let the ugly out, and welcomed each other‘s darkness with kind regard.”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

“I am a simple creature, at my core. Give me books, sunlight, water and a handsome man looking at me like I’m some rare jewel, and I’m all set”

If there’s something I know about HBY books when I open them up, I know I’m going to get romance with depth. The romance being the secondary part and the “life” being the centre.

This book is about grief and marriage. And the mess it creates when they become muddled up together. The FMC Sarah started the book with me feeling like she was ultra annoying. Picking on the smallest of things like their marriage being over when it really just felt like a big fight. She felt so immature and truly not like a woman who had been together with someone for decades.

But I should have known that it wasn’t really that, it was that she had confused her grief of losing her mother and the lack of dealing with it, with her marriage and the staleness that can happen over many years together.

Like a mid life (can you call it that at 30?) crisis of identity and then Sarah pulls away.
There are definitely some underlying issues with Sarah feeling “less than” to Caleb’s family with money. Carrying over from when she was a teen and manifesting still there almost 2 decades later. But it felt like the core of the novel was just grief and how it can manifest in other aspects of their life.

Honestly they needed the hike to just talk.
And Caleb, everyone should be a gentle Caleb.

Bottom line: like Happiness for Beginners but make it couples.

HBY can do no wrong; it's another stellar read from the author that brought us Out on a Limb.

OotW is an emotional read full of so much heart and soul. This book is for those who struggle with their place in this world, who may feel stuck, who don't know who they are, and how it bleeds into our relationships (especially marriage). HBY draws intimately at the ugly moments that are inherent in us all with raw authenticity, humor, and tension. I couldn't help but reflect on my own marriage and I think I may need a hiking trip too, to talk about ALL OF THE THINGS.

P.S. I also loved seeing moments with Win x Bo x Gus <3

This is a 12/10 and I can't wait to read more from HBY.

Had the privilege of receiving an ARC of “Out of the Woods” by Hannah Bonam-Young. “Out on a Limb” was one of my favorite 5-star reads I read last year and I couldn’t wait for the sequel. I related to Sarah’s struggles of wanting to be “extraordinary” & not having found her passion in life yet. There’s some great quotes in this book I can’t wait to share on pub day, January 28th!

Hannah Bonam-Young put her whole heart & soul into this book. My gosh, I am emotional from reading this! This book is phenomenal. It's gonna break you then put you back together.

Caleb and Sarah are going to steal your heart. I fell so hard so their love story (or rekindling love story). It's so nice to see a married couple in romance. It's a rare occurrence but when marriage in trouble trope is done right it really hits you in the feels. I felt their story was realistic and genuine.

I think the setting was unique as well as important to the story. Plus we get spicy tent scenes which is always a plus!

A wonderful romance that will definitively be for the romantics!

This book was very sweet. I really enjoyed that both characters were allowed to have some depth. I will say, Caleb still felt a bit too perfect. His flaws were too neat and easy to fix. He also fell too neatly into who Sarah wanted him to be— I felt like Sarah never really had to give anything. Overall, very sweet, but wish the conflict was less neat and required more work and effort.

The sweetest and most heartfelt story about grief and coming into your own person! I loved both our main characters, they are flawed people, but striving to be better for each other and that's always the best we can do, isn't it? Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

This book was a treasure!! Sara and Caleb were married young and have lived through a lot of life issues. Somehow in the mix, communication, life goals and identities were lost and at an attempt for fix it, they go on a type of outdoor therapy retreat. The journey both physical and emotional, make this book a wonderful story to get lost in. The characters have a depth of emotion and it's understandable why they are struggling. Caleb is such a wonderful husband and wants the best for Sara and she loves Caleb, but struggles with her identity apart from him. The humor and rawness in this book is heartwarming. I love all the side characters and all the funny things that happen while they camp out. This book was fantastic and I highly recommend.

Ugh Hannah, I love you. And I’m incredibly grateful for this ARC. I had to DNF this book as it hit a little too close to home, and I could not connect with the FMC. This is personal, not a quip to the author or plot itself. Genuinely love the plot and wish the main characters well. I did pre-order this book, so perhaps I will give it another go in a different season of life. Hannah remains one of my favorite authors to date and plan to continue to read everything she releases in the future. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this ARC.

“If you give me the space to grow, I’ll plant myself next to you. Always.”

A huge, huge thank you to Netgalley and Dell for the chance to read this early.

I was a huge fan of Hannah Bonam-Young from her Next duology and have been eagerly wanting to read more. I unfortunately had to skip Out On A Limb (not her fault, I can’t do accidental pregnancy books) so I’ve been looking forward to Out of the Woods for what feels like forever. And I am so happy to say: it absolutely lived up to my expectations.

I loved this book so much. I absolutely adore Caleb and Sarah. I loved their relationship so much and they felt so real to me. They were such a wonderfully well written couple that I was as invested as I am in my own relationship.

I am such a sucker for marriage in jeopardy/second chance romance sort of books and this did the trope so perfectly for one key reason: Sarah and Caleb’s love was never once in doubt. I loved that there was never once a question of if they loved each other, it was just a matter of how they showed it. We didn’t need to waste time on will they/wont they, it was just a focus of how they’d improve.

Know what else I love in a book? Dual timelines. Dual timelines in relationships! Seeing the start of a relationship at the same time as we see them struggling now? Yes yes yes yes, thank you! This book did this so, so well as we got to see them as kids falling in love and why they rushed into this marriage, and their story is so compelling through it all. I loved Sarah’s family and how easily Caleb fit into it and it was so wonderful to see them grow together.

This book definitely has some pretty heavy trigger warnings to consider. Death of a parent and the rapid health decline of a parent are two major components of this book with many scenes based around it. If that is a difficult subject for you, please use your best judgment here. It is not an easy topic to skip over in this book.

If you are ok with these trigger warnings, please consider picking up this book. It is such a wonderful story about falling in love, even if you already love the person, and finding yourself and your purpose later in life. I love them so much and I hope you will too.

Out of the Woods is beautiful and heart wrenching. As someone who got married young. It was beautifully written. 100% recommend but get ready for tears, laughs, and wonder

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Hannah Bonham-Young for gifting me with an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have enjoyed all of Hannah’s books, but this might be my new favourite🍃. This book had me crying both happy and devastated tears in all the best ways. I loved these characters in Out on a Limb and was so happy they were getting their own book!

It was so fun to see them back in high school and learn more about why they are the way they are. It made me love their present day characters and seeing the struggle even more emotional. I loved the premise of hiking therapy to help couples work through rough patches and made the story that much more interesting to me.

This is a book I want to have in my personal library so I can read it over and over again! 🍃✨