This story was so good especially being in a relationship myself for many years. I feel most of us hit that part of life where we ask what am I doing and am I on the right path? I loved the relationship between high school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb. You can really feel how much they truly love and appreciate each other. 5 ⭐️!

Out of the Woods was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 so imagine my excitement when I got the email from NetGalley!!!! This book lived up to every single expectation that I had. It has the typical humor, and heart that you expect from Hannah Bonam-Young but there was this really deep additional level about grief, acceptance and building a life that brings you joy. I wouldn't change a thing, no notes, absolute perfection!!!

I loved this book. I could relate to the main characters who got married young and then years later wondered if they'd changed too much as individuals to work together. Everyone needs a little space. Hannah Bonam-Young's books are a great read and this one made me think.

wow. hannah has done it again! out of the woods is so refreshing, so heartfelt, so brilliant, you will wanna read it again as soon as you finish! even though we meet sarah and caleb in out on a limb, their love bleeeeds through these pages. this book tackles so many different things: marriage in trouble: self esteem/confidence issues, neurologic conditions, grief, and so many more. how do you find happiness in your life experiences?

this book brought me to tears, made me giggle, made me so excited for the paperback so i can annotate some lines that will stick with me. if you haven't read anything by HBC yet, i feel like if you wanted to start here you could, just be warned for spoilers for out on an limb.

please check your trigger warnings and if you can - read this book. it will stick with you forever 🤍

thank you so much netgalley and ballantine for the arc!! check out my review on goodreads posted 11/26/2024 🫶🏽

Where do I start this book. First I just wanna say Hannah Bonam-Young is a phenomenal writer. I don't know how she's does it but you fall in love with the character so quickly. But this book we had a little taste of Sara and Caleb and you luv them in Out on a Limb but this book you fully fall head over heels in love with them! I'm not usually the biggest fan of "saving a marriage" trope but from truly getting there back story to the vulnerability of these two characters to just their willing to do the work to "save" there marriage is so fricken good! Also just the way they love each other and talk through things was EVERYTHING! This book is truly beautiful! I laughed and I cried a lot. I will always recommend Hannah's book but this one is going to top tier now!

hannah bonam-young refuses and can not write a bad book. this book made me feel every single emotion possible and made me instantly want to reread it and experience it all over again.

I will suggest this book to EVERY married person I know! I took my time with this book because I knew it was going to be good from chapter 3. I feel like books about saving your marriage are far and few these days. I truly LOVED this story! Thank you to Hannah for this story, she brought it to life! I loved every page. Thank you to Natgalley for the ARC in return for my unpaid opinion on this story!

A great story of a couple who married young reconnecting within their marriage after reaching a stagnant point in their lives. Sarah and Caleb work together to communicate and grow since they're still so in love after all this time. Really lovely story.

As soon as I started this book I knew it was going to be a new favorite. As someone who’s been with her high school sweet heart for 16 years and married for 13 this book hits close to home.

You have Sarah and Caleb who are high school sweethearts. A few years into their marriage, Sarah feels like she hasn’t accomplished anything. She feels like she’s been relying on her husband, Caleb so much. Which leads to them taking a getaway trip.

I felt like I could relate to Sarah in so many ways. Seeing her grief broke my heart. Caleb is literally a dream. The way he’s been there for Sarah through everything. Their relationship is so beautiful. It felt realistic. I just adored everything about them.

Seeing win & bo again made me so happy.

As soon as this hits the stores I’ll be adding a copy to my library.
Thank you netgalley for this arc.

I had been waiting for this one for a while, and it did not disappoint.

Sarah and Caleb are back from “Out on a Limb” and this time we get to hear their love story. After 17 years together, things are feeling off in their relationship as they both struggle to put into words what is missing or who they have become as individuals and a couple.

They attend a weeklong wilderness retreat to focus on rediscovering who they are.

As someone else who married the love of my life young, and has been married for 18 years, the way HBY depicted their relationship was so real and relatable. It was so nice to read a story that was more than just falling in love the first time, but how you can fall in love all over again nearly 2 decades later. Working through more complex and difficult obstacles, but with the end goal always being each other.

It was beautiful and emotional and real.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Out Of The Woods by @authorhannahby

Oh boy… I absolutely devoured and loved this book so so much. Caleb and Sarah 😭 These sweet babies had some very real struggles and watching them communicate and work through their issues while having a grand adventure was a delight. I criedddd reading about Sarah’s mom and I laughed at parts as well. It was emotional and so beautiful. This was a perfect follow up to OOAL and definitely cements Hannah as a favorite author. I’m about to go catch up and read her older books as well.

Add this to your tbr friends because it was absolutely perfect and you don’t want to miss it!

Thank you to @netgalley and @dellromance @randomhouse for the arc!
Pub date: 1/28/2025

Oh my God. Hannah always has me in my feelings but this was NEXT LEVEL.

Thank you so much to Dell/Random House for the ARC. These are my honest thoughts.

I adored Sarah and Caleb in my favorite book of 2023, Out on a Limb, so when Hannah Bonam-Young announced Out of the Woods, I felt feral. I literally could not wait.

And this book? It did not disappoint.

I love marriage in trouble books, and the concept of a marriage retreat in the woods with no cell phones or work distractions?? Perfection.

Sarah is struggling with her own identity, in such a way that I felt deep in my bones. She's pondering the question, "Who am I if I'm not who I've always been? What if I don't want to be that girl anymore?" Married to a helper/fixer, Sarah decides to do this drastic outdoorsy thing with Caleb to save their marriage.

And Caleb, my God, is perfection, too. He's so sweet and sensitive and smart. He loves Sarah with his whole heart and is so scared by her desire to change because he loves their life together.

There's miscommunication (as there is in marriage). There's banter. There's hurt feelings. There's so much love, it consumes you in this story. There's tension. There's thoughtfulness. There's growth. There's sadness and grief and heartbreak and hope.

It's just... it's everything. If you've ever been in a serious relationship, you'll relate to this story. If you've ever experienced grief, hope, uncertainty, longing for something different, you'll love this story.

And there's so much other goodness in the pages from Sarah's perspective. Flashbacks to childhood moments she didn't know would be so defining in her life. Meeting her soulmate so young. Someone she looked up to letting her down. Watching her mom slowly fade away. Win. So many moments with Win. And Bo + Gus, too (pls read Out on a Limb before you read this one). Caleb's thoughtfulness since the moment they met and him proving HOW MUCH he sees Sarah for exactly who he is.

Just swoon. All of it. 5 perfect stars. Out in January 2025!

I've been patiently waiting for the story of Caleb and Sarah. I was excited when I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Was it a five star book, no, but it's nothing against the author. I think I just hyped it in my head too much. Was it a good book, yes, it had all the feels. Happiness, sadness, and everything in-between. The found family aspect that we have become accustomed to was well shown. It was a treat to see a book where the main characters don't want kids. I enjoyed the journey each of the characters faced.

The premise of this book is not the norm for a romance, we are used to getting the characters together, this stRtys with them already together.

Out of the Woods was such a beautiful story! It made me cry but also smile at all the ways Sarah and Caleb showed they loved one another. I am not married, but this book taught me lessons on comminucation I can use in all my current and future relationships. This book quickly became one of my favorites and I can't wait to see what story comes next from the author ❤️

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

The author deals with grief so sensitively. You really feel empathy for the FMC. So many mixed emotions yet the story never drags you down. It's very much interspersed with laugh out loud moments, especially the hiking/camping scenes. I love that we got to see so much of Win and Bo from Out on a Limb! I couldn't really connect with Sarah and thought she was fairly immature, given her age, and I never got the feel that the marriage was in crisis considering their issues were so quickly resolved. I liked Caleb a lot, and not that it matters, but didn't get a "nerd" vibe from him at all, although supposedly that was his thing. Excellent epilogue, great side characters.

This is one of my highest anticipated books of 2025. Thank you so much to Hannah Bonam-Young and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early. Out on a Limb is one of my favorite books of 2024, having one of the tropes that I do not enjoy. However, Out on a Limb changed my mind; full of empathy and love that I couldn't resist. Out of the Woods follow Caleb and Sarah, side characters from Out on a Limb with another trope that I usually do not enjoy, Marriage in Crisis.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Hannah Bonam-Young has such a fantastic talent for writing stories full of empathy. I loved Caleb and Sarah learning to grow together after being together for 15+ years. Sarah's growth in particular hit me in ways I was not expecting going through the backstory of grief. I was so touched by her inner dialogue and self-reflection. Caleb is so attentive and knows his priorities in life but goes through a journey of refocus with Sarah. Hannah is now an auto-buy author for me. I highly recommend reading Out on a Limb prior to Out of the Woods, but it is not required. TW for death of a parent and long term illness. Thank you again for this opportunity. I look forward to reading this again really soon.

- [ ] Hannah’s trademark care for the sensitive topics is seen right off the bat
- [ ] Sarah and Caleb’s outdoor skills are deeply relatable and LOL funny
- [ ] THE BANTER “I fell” “oh? I thought you were taking an oddly placed rest”
- [ ] Loveable cast of side characters - I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM AND THEIR LIVES
- [ ] as someone who met their person early, Sarah is such a deeply relatable character that will stay with me for a long time. Her struggles felt like mine and I can’t thank Hannah enough for her.
- [ ] I lost my grandfather to ALS 13 years ago and the representation of this disease means so much because of the awareness it will bring.

More in depth review to come on socials

This story was such a true depiction of how easy it can be to lose sight of appreciating and understanding your spouse as the years go by. No matter what age you find your person, you still have to grow and change and love each other through all stages of life. This book showed the reality of that in a really careful and beautiful way. I always enjoy this authors writing.

Thank you Dell and Netgalley for the arc!

I really enjoy that this author weaves fun story lines with difficult topics. The book was much heavier than its companion novel and darker than I expected based off of the information I reviewed beforehand. Although, I think it was refreshing to see a book that tackles the struggles that can come with long term relationships. And to see the journey of a couple learning how to communicate with each other, for the goal of maintaining the love they already have for each other. Overall, it was a very enjoyable and poignant read.

I absolutely loved this book! It was so great to learn more about Caleb and Sarah from the first book. I really enjoyed the development of their feelings and relationship- it felt real and genuine and can picture this as a real life scenario. The ending had me holding my breath and hoping for the best for our characters! The only downside of the book is that it’s over! Looking forward to more books from this author!