This was another really great read from Bonam-Young. I love her quirky characters, humorous dialogue, and the realistic yet feel-good growth arcs they experience across the storyline.

I was first introduced to Sarah & Caleb in Out on a Limb, and was excited to read about a happily married couple going on a camping/hiking retreat to address some underlying issues that crop up after 10 years of wedded bliss. These two decidedly not outdoorsy people find themselves connecting with other group members while also reconnecting with each other (with a few bumps along the way). Interspersed with the current-day chapters are scenes from their past, the history of their relationship and the loss of Sarah's mother, which plays a significant role in the plot.

A key moment in the plot is when the protagonists develop a 10-year vision/plan to help them focus on a shared goal moving forward, and the book wraps up with an epilogue ten years into the future that shows which elements of their plan worked out and how it all impacted their life together, making for an extra special HEA.

Sweet, nostalgic, and memorable, OUT OF THE WOODS was such a beautiful novel. I am such a sucker for this trope, and Bonam-Young executed it so well. I had so many moments where my heart hurt for these two lovers only to have my heart soar with happy emotions after. This is Bonam-Young’s best novel so far.

This was a gorgeously written, tender, soft hug of a book.

We met Sarah and Caleb in Out On A Limb, where they appeared to be a perfect happy couple. They were childhood sweethearts who got married as teens, and now in her 30s, Sarah is questioning her life and whether she has anything to show for herself outside of being Caleb’s wife and has grown to resent her situation. Her best friend recommends a marriage retreat in the form of a hiking expedition with a group of strangers, and Sarah is just desperate enough to take her up on it.

Sarah is a great character, it’s a single POV from her so we get to learn all about her and what shaped her into the person she is today. She’s a bit lost and adrift, not sure what she wants from life but she knows she can’t stay stagnant where she is.

It’s technically a “marriage in crisis” story but that’s really only from Sarah. Caleb, sweet Caleb, loves his life and his wife and will do anything to keep her even if it means a week long hiking trip with strangers. I just really, really, loved him and his big heart.

I really enjoyed their journey and all the quirky characters they were on the trip with. I also especially loved that this couple was childfree by choice, which was reaffirmed multiple times throughout the book. Their HEA looked different than we normally see in romance and I LOVED it.

Since this is really one woman’s journey to self acceptance, I think this was more women’s fiction rather than romance, but nonetheless I swooned, I cried, I laughed.

What an excellent book, and what a gift the author gives us in sharing her tender heart with us all.

This book has truly left me speechless. It struck the perfect balance of emotions—joy, sorrow, love, and resilience. Sarah and Caleb feel like my best friends; their struggles, triumphs, and deep connection resonated with me in such a personal way. The way their relationships are portrayed—authentic, complicated, and tender—felt so real, and I could see myself in them.

Though I haven't experienced the same loss as Sarah, I relate deeply to the emotional journey she navigates. My own mother had a massive stroke while I was pregnant with my first child, and reading Sarah’s story of learning to cope with a life she never expected made me feel understood in ways I didn’t know I needed.

What struck me most about Sarah and Caleb's relationship is how rare and beautiful it is to find a soulmate at such a young age. Their commitment to one another, through the good and bad, was so touching. They were truly all in—no hesitation, no reservations—and that kind of love is so incredibly rare.

I adore this book and its characters, and it hit home for me in such a profound way. I’m beyond grateful for the chance to read this ARC. Thank you so much for this incredible gift. Hannah, your writing is exceptional. You've created something special that will stay with me long after I’ve finished reading.

Love love love. She does it again. I did not want to put this book down. You definitely don’t have to read Out On a Limb first, but I would highly recommend it. Seeing Win and Bo again was a treat.

Hearing Sarah and Caleb’s story in both the current timeline with flashbacks to their beginning was perfect. As with all her books, the pacing was perfect. The story keeps moving but nothing felt rushed. Their story is one of young love and how time changes relationships. Both main characters have to face their own insecurities and how to deal with them. I appreciated how none of the issues ever felt childish or forced, they were well explained and valid. A very healing book!

Their love is a great one and their story is worthwhile read.

Thank you to Random House and Hannah for this amazing ARC.

This was fantastic! All HBY books are, but I loved it so much. She does such a good job exploring difficult topics in a beautiful and make me cry way. I can’t wait to have a copy on my shelf.

This is lighthearted romance that brings a bit of charm to the workplace romance genre. The characters are likable, and the storyline is engaging, but it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. The chemistry between the protagonists is enjoyable, but there are moments when the pacing feels uneven, which affects the flow of the story.

While there are several funny and heartwarming scenes, some of the plot points feel predictable, and the character development could have been deeper. Despite these minor issues, Its still enjoyable read for anyone looking for a feel-good romance with a few laughs along the way.

Rating: 3/5

Hannah has very quickly become an auto-buy author from me, I was so excited to receive this arc in exchange for my review!

I think any couple in a long term relationship could relate to the themes that started out in this book when you meet Sarah and Caleb. The storyline of Sarah's mother was devastating, and the dynamic her illness played into Sarah and Calebs relationship was both so touching and complex. I loved how it explored and gave airtime to real relationship problems such as outgrowing old beliefs and growing UP in a relationship, becoming so intwined with one another those subtleties go unnoticed until something big happens. I related to this so much.

I felt the pace of the story was perfect, but I did expect a bit more around the conflict resolution between sarah and caleb, or more conversation, more discussion between themselves. Also I want to know how Caleb, being made out to be such a "nerd" in an almost amateur/not self-aware way was such a hot partner in bed and he and Sarah were so sexually confident/compatible?

I loved the epilogue, getting to Sarah live out her dreams after the sacrifices and years spent consumed with her mothers illness, her desire to finish school, was the perfect way to end her story. We all knew Caleb was a huge success but it was even better to see Sarah who came from so little get to live out her big dreams!

Highly recommend this book and I will be buying a book trophy when this releases!

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

“And I hope that if you have to rewrite your life, you won’t erase my part in it, that you’ll let me stay a part of your story.”

This was advertised as a marriage in crisis but it felt more of an argument than a full blown crisis?? It felt more as though the “crisis” could have been a third act break up.

Since it was only from Sarah’s POV, I felt that I was missing a big portion of the crisis or how it ended up there; Caleb’s POV would have packed a little more emotional punch for me because it didn’t seem like he even know she was struggling so it didn’t feel like they were truly in crisis.

I did love the dual timelines and ALS representation. I didn’t read Out on a Limb because I hateeee a pregnancy trope, but I did love the friendship between the two FMC's. I have read Hannah’s other series and this book fell a little short, in terms of what I was expecting.

Major things to NetGalley & Random House for the early copy!

I'd like to send a huge thanks to the author, Hannah Bonam-Young, the publisher, and NetGalley for the awesome privilege of being able to read a digital copy of this advanced reader copy of Out of the Woods. I will share my review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble upon release.

Out of the Woods was soooo good! Bonam-Young uses the characters of Sarah, Caleb, Win, Bo, and others to explore love, loss, grief, identity, marriage, resilience, and confidence in such a heartwarming and sweet way. The characters from Out on a Limb are back, and this time, we get more about Caleb and Sarah's story. Throughout the book are flashbacks to the beginning of their love story in high school, considering the two are high school sweethearts and years into their marriage. Their relationship has hit some snags due to some traumas and insecurities, but they both have enough love for each other to try coming together at a camping retreat. When all of their normal comforts and abilities to hide from each other are stripped away from them, the couple are forced to expose the most vulnerable parts of themselves in a new, more mature way than they are used to sharing. They've grown up together, and therefore are learning how to be adults together. Marriage is a constant craft, and their story is a lovely reminder of how much it means to work towards goals together with your chosen family.

I love the cover, which I think gives an overall tone of the book - Caleb and Sarah working together to accomplish feats to increase their confidence in their own identities and their confidence in their future. They love each other and belong together, but even couples who are perfect tend to go through times of strife. The moments of humor and sweet dialogue had me so giddy. I read this one so quickly because I loved the characters and the plot so much. I loved the idea of the retreat to force them into proximity. There's themes of flashbacks, nature, camping, therapy, marriage, relationship struggles, supportive side characters. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys those themes and Hannah Bonam-Young! Love isn't always easy, but it's worth the effort when it's good!

Absolute perfection! Sarah and Caleb were high school sweethearts now in their 30s and married. Sarah has an identity crisis and they hit a rough spot in their marriage. So they head into the woods in a hiking trip for some couples therapy. We get to see Sarah and Caleb as teenagers and as adults with the dual timeline. This book was so real and raw- full of emotion, struggle, grief, growth and love. I love these characters so much, I relate to them. So beautifully written. I cried and laughed multiple times. A MUST READ.

Review to be posted on Goodreads and Fable after book publication date.

I absolutely adored this book! This is a companion book to Out On A Limb. When I requested this ARC I didn’t realize that, so I made the point to read Out on the Limb before reading Out of the Woods, and I’m sooo glad I did! You get to know Sarah and Caleb a little bit so it makes it even easier to fall in love with them prior to reading.

Hannah does such a good job of capturing the characters emotions and personalities. I was rooting for Sarah and Caleb the whole time and felt all the emotions they did. Topics of grief, young love, changes in your marriage and finding yourself are all apart of their story and it was so beautifully written. I am a huge Hannah fan now and can’t wait to dive into another one of her books!

4.5 stars

Another fantastic book by HBY! Caleb and Sarah are a great example of two people who are meant to be together but have hit a bit of a rough patch. Even with all their arguing and tension at the beginning of the book you could feel how much they both loved each other and it was heartbreaking to watch them struggle to work through it. I loved the way they reconnected throughout their hiking trip and I especially liked how Hannah Bonam-Young showed the amount of work that it took. Even though there was so much love between Caleb and Sarah, they had a lot of work they needed to put in in order to get back on the same page and figure out how to move forward.
Throughout this book you also get to see Caleb and Sarah at the beginning of their relationship, when they were still in school. Young Caleb was such a sweetheart and I loved how he was there for Sarah throughout everything with her mom and how he loved her and supported her. This backstory also built the foundation for how they behaved as adults and helped to explain why they were having some of the issues they had in the present.
This book made me laugh, made me cry, and made me believe in love, even if it takes work. This was such a heartwarming, fun story and I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Dell for the ARC!

I want to thank NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Hannah for allowing me access to this Advanced Reader Copy; it was amazing!

Wow. I can’t explain how much this book touched me.
Let me start off by saying, this is my first “marriage hardship” trope. I walked in with a clean slate of opinion.

Caleb & Sarah are having a hardship in their marriage, and not only that but Sarah feels lost. They were gifted a “retreat” for couples, and let me just say it was a JOURNEY.

This book had me crying, laughing, crying again, and all together had me on my toes.
It switches back and forth between the past and the present, and both of those timelines had me gripped to the page.

There is a mix of grief, second guessing, optimism, the feeling of wanting change, anger, resilience, and other hardships that happen through the book, and it all ties together so melodically.

The realness of this novel, it allows you to resonate with what is happening into your own life as well, and it has you thinking that maybe your life isn’t so crazy.

I loved how there isn’t just one plot, and there are multiple focuses throughout the story.

There is not much that I have to complain, close to nothing, ONLY that Hannah the author will throw you for a spin towards the ending and your heart will have some anxiety for a moment (Not ultimately a complaint, just beware not everything is sunshine and meadows 😛) the best authors throw you for a spin ;)

Please please everyone read this book, you will NOT regret it! It was so beautiful and optimistic!

I loved this book! Both Sarah and Caleb were great as individuals as well as them together as a unit. And while I wasn’t originally sure about a ‘marriage on the rocks’ trope, I enjoyed this because I wasn’t actually worried that they would break up.

I also appreciated the writing. I felt like I could feel Sarah’s pain, struggles, and anxiety. In capturing these emotions, I felt more empathy for Sarah. Similarly, the vivid and descriptive writing helped bring the entire story to life.

Two pieces are holding it back from a higher score in my mind:
(1) the last bit of the story wasn’t necessary and it didn’t add to the overall story (other than providing some closure for Sarah and her issues with Caleb’s family but even that didn’t seem necessary to me).
(2) Caleb was originally described as a nerd, but once they are on the retreat his entire personality revolves around sex. It was an odd dichotomy that I think could have been done more cohesively.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hannah Bonam-Young, and Random House for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to recieve this ARC as I’ve been meaning to read Hannah Bonam-Young’s books and this got me hooked!
I think the style of writing and storytelling was similar to Abby Jimenez’s books and I absolutely adored all of these and i’m so glad i could add another author with similar type of books to my collection that i want to read over and over again.
But the story, it was very well written and not knowing any of their background as a well established couple, their dynamics were woven into the story beautifully and in every moment you just felt how these two really loved each other a lot, they just are going through a period where they questioned things. Which is totally valid, i think every 30smth does a little check with themselves at somepoint and takes audit if they are truly happy and what can they do different moving forward.
Overall it was a heartwarming and beautiful book about people who are finding their way again, together. And i truly loved it and i’m so thankful for the opportunity to recieve the ARC

First of all, thank you NetGalley and Random House publishing for an ARC of Out of the Woods in exchange for a honest review.

I was beyond excited to get an ARC of Out of the Woods! Hannah Bonam-Young is one of my favorite authors so I speed read anything of puts out. Out on a Limb is one of my favorite books, so I was excited to hear more about Sarah and Caleb’s story in Out of the Woods. The book follows Sarah and Caleb as they navigate the challenges of married life. Sarah feels she is missing something in her life and struggles to find her independence and identity that isn’t tied up in her marriage with Caleb. They decide to go on a couple’s retreat to learn how to grow together as a couple while also learning more about themselves along the way.

I loved the flashback scenes of Caleb and Sarah’s earliest moments in their relationships and how they dealt with the hardships thrown their way. One thing I was happy to see is that no matter what situation they were in, you could always tell how much they loved each other and wanted to work on their relationships. We got to see Caleb and Sarah grow as a couple and learn how to support each other through the changes that life throws at them. I’m also glad we got to see glimpses of Win, Bo and Gus as well!
Overall 5 stars and I can’t wait to see what Hannah Bonam-Young writes next!!

4.5⭐️ OMG this book was incredible. I felt every emotion!🩷😭 It took my soul and gave it the tightest hug imaginable!

Book Review: Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young is a heartfelt journey that tackles the complexities of long-term relationships with humor, tenderness, and emotional depth. High school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb Linwood have been inseparable for nearly two decades, facing life’s challenges as a unit. But as Sarah grapples with a need for independence—fueled by her desire to honor her late mother’s memory through a solo project—a fissure begins to grow in their seemingly rock-solid marriage.

The book’s emotional core lies in Sarah’s quest for self-discovery and identity outside her role as Caleb’s other half. Her struggles to make her fundraiser a success without relying on Caleb’s help is relatable and nuanced, making readers feel deeply invested in her journey. When Caleb’s well-intentioned but unwelcome intervention causes their marriage to reach a breaking point, the couple faces long-buried frustrations and questions about whether they’ve evolved too differently over the years.

In a bid to reconnect, Sarah and Caleb embark on an arduous hiking retreat designed for couples, an experience that’s both physically and emotionally demanding. Bonam-Young skillfully blends moments of vulnerability and hilarity, as the couple faces mishaps in the great outdoors that reveal both their insecurities and enduring love. The setting—a wilderness hike that strips away modern comforts—becomes a metaphor for the raw and exposed state of their relationship.

With its mix of poignant reflections and light-hearted comedic relief, Out of the Woods is a compelling look at how love can change and endure through time, growth, and reinvention. This story reminds readers that rediscovering oneself doesn’t have to come at the cost of rediscovering each other. For anyone who has wondered what lies beyond the “happily ever after,” this book offers both a realistic and hopeful answer.

If HBY doesn’t have a fan club, I’m starting one right now. This author knows how to write some of the most heartfelt reads I’ve ever experienced.

As someone who also married their high school sweetheart, even the forward by her had me in tears. I really thought nothing could top Out on a Limb; but dang this one might have done it.

The growth of both Sarah and Caleb through the entire book was beautiful, and their true struggle to get back to each other felt like a honor to witness, even though they are fictional. I found myself forgetting that fact, because the characters felt so real.

I experienced laughing, crying, sobbing, and just enjoying the journey. It was so great, and I’d recommend it to anyone (keep in mind, there is spice, and it is goooood).

Thank you to Hannah Bonham-Young and Random House/Dell for an eARC copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.