This book was a bit of a mix for me, but unfortunately, overall, I just didn't really enjoy it. I liked the idea, I liked the characters, I really related to their feelings and situation in life, and I definitely teared up a couple of times.

That said, though, I found the writing to be a bit cheesy at times. Definitely a personal opinion because I'm not the type of person who talks about their feelings and is really vulnerable and puts themsleves out there like that and I think I get a bit of second hand embarrassment from it when people start giving speeches to their partner about loving and growing together. If it's a quick sentence and some humor and banter are also thrown in there, I'm good, but pages of it are too much for me.

Also, the big dealbreaker for me was that this book was very spicy! That is also not my thing. Personally, I felt like their sexual behavior didn't match their personalities and often felt like scenes were added in for the wow factor or something. They seemed a bit out of place. Most of the book was just two very horny adults wanting each other to talk about and do dirty things to them. I know these books are very popular right now, so please take that into consideration when reading this review. If that is your thing, you will probably really enjoy this.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆ Playing ‘So High School’ by Taylor Swift ⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆

3 stars ✨

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

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Love is complicated. Marriage is difficult. As a married woman in her 30s, this story really hit home.

Like so many women, I also struggle with the realities of marriage and the fact that women all too often lose ourselves in our relationships. Sarah, our FMC, is having a personal crisis as she journeys to find herself and what she really wants from life. Along the way, we get brief glimpses into her past as she met and fell in love with Caleb and the trauma of losing her mother so young.

The first half of this book was wonderful. I was locked in right away and getting 5 star feelings. I wished I had the physical copy so I could highlight whole pages. Where this book lost me was after about the 40% mark. The story lost steam and focus. I just got…bored, the worst possible thing to feel when reading. It felt like their relationship problems were resolved far too easily and quickly. The remainder of the book then felt like an afterthought. For a book that made me cry twice, it sounds silly to say that I wanted this story to delve deeper. I expected our characters to really be put through trials that brought them back to each other. There is a reason that communication in relationships is so difficult. While there is so much love between Sarah and Caleb, they also have nearly two decades' worth of trauma and resentment to work through. It wasn’t believable to me that they were able to figure that all out in a matter of two days with little intervention.

I appreciated what this book set out to do. I enjoyed many aspects of this story It made me laugh and it made me cry. We need more romance novels like this that are written by authors like HBY who have the emotional intelligence and wit to tackle tough topics and admit that happily ever afters don’t just happen, they take lots and lots of work to maintain.
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I adored this book with my entire heart 😭 Caleb and Sarah are so unique and perfect for each other that seeing them struggle throughout this book was heartbreaking but HBY does such an amazing job of showcasing the healing journey and stitching our hearts back together ❤️‍🩹

Sarah’s journey with grief and finding herself when she’s been married since very young was phenomenal. I think, in some ways, this book reads more like fiction and follows Sarah’s character development very heavily (WHICH I ADORE)! I related to her in a lot of ways. Feeling lost, being scared to take a chance on yourself, and grief were all heavy topics that HBY handled perfectly.

Caleb!!!!!!! The man that he is <3 that is a man who loves his wife fiercely and was DOWN BAD. But more importantly, I loved how supportive and kind and loving he was. The dynamic between Sarah and Caleb was fun and hot and emotional, and seeing them happy was everything!!!

This was a marriage in crisis, and I wish we would’ve gotten more of the crisis part 🥲 I loved seeing my babies happy and I felt like their struggles and fears were real but I think they got over it fairly quickly. The book wasn’t slow at the beginning but I feel like it takes a minute to get to the premise of what the book is actually a book which is them on this trip.

Overall, I loved Sarah and Caleb, seeing the friendships between them and Win and Bo, the setting and the writing!!!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND BESTIES 🩵

Truly nothing like a HBY book

So obsessed

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Returning to the world of Sarah and Caleb after falling for Win and Bo is like coming home to a familiar and comforting place. However, the journey isn't easy—right from the start, Sarah is grappling with an identity crisis fueled by unresolved trauma surrounding her mother's death. These deep-seated insecurities create significant communication barriers between her and Caleb, culminating in a seven-day group therapy hiking trek.

Fans can still expect laugh-out-loud moments, genuine and relatable struggles, and immersive flashbacks that add rich context to their story (with nods to Win's, too!).

I rated this book 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. While the story offered plenty of action, it lacked depth in places. Many conflicts were resolved too quickly, sometimes without enough exploration, leaving the plot feeling somewhat flat despite its many twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC! Opinions are my own. Read it for yourself January 28, 2025!

This book deals with real life issues. Illness, insecurity, finding oneself, relationship issues. It’s so relatable. I feel like I’m reading about a friend. It’s a nice palate cleanser from the fluffy stuff. I’d love to see the stories of the supporting characters in this book. It was that much fun. Highly recommend.

Hannah Bonam Young can do no wrong in my eyes!! Like all her previous works I loved this one. We follow Sarah and Caleb who we met in OUT ON A LIMB. After almost 15 years together Sarah wants to break the pattern of never truly having anything that is solely hers. So to get out of this runt in their relationship Sarah and Caleb embark on a forest adventure. I loved this story so much. Every single side character was amazing, I loved the setting and I loved watching Sarah and Caleb learn to communicate better. This was definitely a bit heavier then her others books it deals with a lot of grief

I was not a huge fan of this book. I think I had a hard time with the main couple already being married so there was even less tension about if they would end up together, and you don’t get to see the early days of their relationship. I liked some of the flashbacks but some were so sad it just killed the momentum of the book. Overall it was just ok.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an early copy!

This book hit home and discusses how sometimes marriage can become monotonous in day to day life. I loved watching Sarah and Caleb go through this journey to discover who they are without the other. Most importantly they learn that their love for eachother is still there.

Reviewed on goodreads

this book!!!! college sweethearts from out on a limb! diving deeper into this world is magical. i am also a sucker for relationship in distress stories and this one did not disappoint !!! obsessed with this book, it was such a joy to read!!!

Hannah Bonham-Young does it again! Out on a Limb will always be one of my favourite books—I absolutely adored it. So, as you can imagine, I couldn’t wait to venture into Out of the Woods, and thankfully, it exceeded all my expectations. I love a well-written romance with believable depth, strong emotional pulls, and just the right touch of humour. Out of the Woods ticked all those boxes and so many more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Out of The Woods is sure to be one of the best contemporary romances of 2025. This book is completely perfect, I laughed and I cried. Going in, I wondered how you could possibly write a book in the genre about a long term married couple? How could that plot line stay interesting? Sarah and Caleb were high school sweethearts married at 19. Sarah’s single mother, Marcie, lost a battle to ALS just 3 months after Sarah and Caleb’s wedding. Sarah wonders who she is without the relationships in her life, going from daughter to caretaker to wife. What better way to reset their marriage than a long camping hike away from all connection to the rest of the world.

This heartwarming book has themes of love, grief, and connection. I love the friendship between Sarah and her best friend Win. Although I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, I’ve already preordered a hard copy as I will read this again and again.

The dialogue is just wonderful, there are at least 10 sentences in this book that made me shiver in their authenticity. Hannah Bonam Young is a very gifted writer, not only in her stunning characterizations, but in everyday observations. This is not one to miss!

Book to be published January 28, 2025.

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

Spice: 3/5 🔥
✨ 4.5/5 ✨

Hannah Bonam-Young does it again. She has such a way of making her characters feel so relatable and real!!

Tropes:
marriage in crisis
flashbacks 
Bo & Win cameos
high school sweethearts 
therapy

I don't typically like second chance romance books, but I really loved every moment of this one!! This book was funny, sweet, deep, and a little spice - it takes you on quite the ride (in a good way) I loved the duel timeline and the connection we made with the MC (and side characters) Hannah did such a great job of making me really root for Sarah and Caleb the whole time and felt all the emotions they did.

10/10 suggest picking this one up 01/28/2025 💖

I’m so glad I got to read about Caleb and Sarah’s story🥹 The love that they have for each other is written so well. I think this book has a heavy emotional cloud over it with serious topics but also a great bit of comedy to balance it. I also really enjoyed all the other characters in the book and thought each of them played a good part in Caleb and Sarah’s story.
Also loved that we got to still have Win and Bo in this story🥹

* Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for this advance copy and huge thank you to Hannah Bonam- Young as well!

@authorhannahby strikes again. The love and human-ness she bakes into her characters is just so lovely to read. I loved Sarah and Caleb and their second chance. I even screenshot one of their confessions of love to each other and sent it to my husband. So wonderful.

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

I’m trying to think if there’s another author that brings me as much comfort as HBY, and I don’t think there is. This book was a balm to my soul. I don’t have much in common with either Sarah or Caleb, and yet I was filled to the brim with joy. The balance between happiness and sorrow, the optimism… I can’t say enough good things about Out of the Woods. Thanks to Dell and PRH for the ARC.

I read this book a few months ago and forgot to leave a review. Like most books I read, I have forgotten almost everything about it. So here is what I remember :)
Out on a Limb will always be on my top books list. I adored it. I couldn’t wait to read Out of the Woods. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. I love a well-written romance book with believable depth, big emotional pulls, and just the right amount of humor. Out of the Woods checked all the boxes for me. I was so excited to have the opportunity to read a book early on NetGalley for the first time.

😭 this book! It was a beautifully written story about rekindling love and finding yourself. I enjoyed the changes between the past and present and seeing the importance of communicating in a relationship. It was a cute story of Sarah and Caleb and their rediscovery of their relationship. Cute, meaningful and a little spicy too 🙌🏻

I really enjoyed this book. The characters feel like people you know, and Caleb and Sarah’s story is so precious and rich with history. This book tackles heavier themes than I expected. The exploration of found family, grief, marriage issues, and the healing nature of being outside were woven into a seamless story about two characters you can’t help but root for. My only qualm is that this story wasn’t quite as escapist as Out on Limb, with moments of real stress and danger that felt more relatable and made it harder to unwind with!

Beautiful book and beautifully written. I am a sucker for "A love worth fighting for" MS. Hannah you did your thing with this one *Chef Kiss*