SARAH AND CALEB 🥵😍

I love love love all of HBY books and honestly binged this in a few hours.

I NEED MORE HBY BOOKS

Hannah Bonam Young will forever write love stories that carve their own place into my heart, and Caleb and Sarah were no different

A marriage in crisis (lower case c for crisis don't worry) leads this couple who we know well from Out on a Limb, to explore their relationship deeper in a week long wilderness hike

Sarah, lost in her own life, and Caleb, securely attached to the comfortable life they've made, decide to delve into how much they along with their relationship have changed since they were high school sweethearts

There's heartbreak, love, and a lot of laughs - HBY is the queen of writing the soft boy for us girls (and her girls) who desperately need that soft kind of love

Thank you to Bedford Square Publishers and Netgalley for this arc!

Out of the woods follows Sarah & Caleb’s relationship as they attend a programme for couples to reconnect when they find something isn’t right in their marriage. I enjoyed following the journey but I did find it lacked something in the book, it just wasn’t as exciting or as fast paced as the first book, Out on a limb. I really enjoy Hannah’s writing style and the closeness and foundations of her characters. I have rated 3 stars as it just wasn’t a book I found myself excited to carry on reading. This is a personal opinion as I think many people will really enjoy this and I am glad I’ve read it and I’m extremely grateful to be chosen to read it. The last quarter of the book was the best when things started to get a little more interesting for me. I would read more from the author and have more books lined up. Maybe because I loved Out on a limb so much this one didn’t stand a chance, I would recommend reading though.

4.5 stars rounded up.

After reading and adoring Out on a Limb, I have been counting down the days until I could read Out of the Woods. A million thank you’s you to NetGalley and Bedford Square Publishers for providing me with an eARC so I could read it a couple of months early!

Out of the Woods follows Sarah (Win from Out on a Limb’s best friend) and her husband Caleb. The couple are high school sweethearts who have been married for 17 years. However, they’ve drifted apart and seem to want different things. In an effort to save their marriage, they join a week-long wilderness expedition to help them reconnect.

I absolutely loved the setting of this book; the camp setting was so fun! I feel like if this book was the couple just going to “regular” therapy in their hometown, it wouldn’t have been as engaging.

As for the characters, I really enjoyed getting to know Sarah and Caleb better after meeting them in Out on a Limb. Their relationship was so raw and real, and I loved reading about their love story in flashback chapters, as well as seeing them find their way back to each other in the present. The characters went on such a journey as both individuals and as a couple, and there was so much growth and development.

I found Sarah in particular very relatable. She struggles with getting older and feeling a bit lost in life, wondering what she’s supposed to be doing. I feel like this is something so many people experience at some point in their lives, and it made me feel seen. She’s also a kindle girlie!

It was also refreshing to read about a couple who didn’t want children. As someone who also doesn’t want children, I don’t often see this represented in books.

Hannah Bonam-Young always handles difficult subject matter with so much thought and care, and this book did a great job of exploring grief, loss, toxic parental relationships, and feeling lost in life. There was also so much love in this book, and not just between Sarah and Caleb. This book showed love in all of its forms, and it was so beautiful to read.

I’m so glad we got a decent amount of Bo and Win from Out on a Limb in this book. They are my favourite of Hannah Bonam-Young’s characters, and I particularly loved reading about the friendship between Win and Sarah.

The only reason I’m giving this book 4.5 stars instead of 5 is that the conflict was resolved a little too easily for me. Lots of issues can be solved with communication and honesty, but I could have done with the characters being in the conflict stage for a little longer.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It had me feeling every emotion, and I finished the book bawling my eyes out. The epilogue was perfect, and I felt so proud of the characters for where they ended up. I can’t wait to read whatever this author writes next!

Hannah Bonam-Young is an absolutely fantastic author, I have yet to get through one of her books without tearing up. Hannah beautifully crafts a relationship that is so real and powerful its impossible not to relate to, from the author's note on the first page, the reader immediately is set up for a story of growth and self exploration, which is Hannah's absolute expertise. The beauty of the dual timeline in this book expertly presented the reality of Sarah and Caleb's marriage in crisis, allowing the reader to see the relationship from the full picture, rather than having it told to them. An absolute pleasure to read.

Hannah Bonam-Young writes romance books like no one else! After Out on a Limb was able to make me love the Accidental Pregnancy Trope, I fell in love with the Marriage in Crisis Trope in the second book. Such a great love story, that isn't like other romance books, with great characters and amazing writing.

This was a book of two halves for me, I loved Caleb and all of Sarah's family and I'm so intrigued by Aunt June (would love to see more of her in the future!). Caleb was such a cutie and definitely was done dirty by Sarah for a lot of this book! I didn't find their relationship difficulties to be particularly trying, Sarah honestly just seemed to need a good talking to and then to be encouraged to talk with Caleb (stick them in a cupboard or something ;) ).

Whilst I certainly value therapy and therapeutic practices as a mental health professional, it irritated me how shallow and surface level their issues were and the time that was given to them in the book, my professional background might colour my perceptions here though! I also struggled to reconcile this with the romance and sometimes intense and out of the blue steamy scenes. This was especially tricky as it was very introspective and not a lot was going on!

I enjoyed the drama of the end of the book although I think more pages could have been dedicated to this (especially recovery and their life going forward) and I wish this drama had been spread more through the book!

Overall it wasn't my favourite but I didn't dislike it. I will try HBY again but I reserve judgment still as to whether their work is for me!

3 stars

Thanks to Bedford Square & Netgalley for my e-ARC! xx

Really great seeing Win and Bo again and to get some insight into Sarah and Caleb. Really enjoyed the dynamic but this wasn’t quite as amazing as Out on a Limb is. However HBY has written a sweet and enjoyable novel.

Hannah Bonam-Young, you've done it again. As an already huge fan of Hannah's books with Out on a limb being one of my favourites, I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed by Out of The Woods. Hannah has such a gracious way of writing about romance in a real life, relatable way.

In this book we follow Sarah and Caleb going through some relationship turmoil but finding their way back to each other and reconnecting. I think the emotions and experiences in this book is something we can all relate to within our lives and relationships. This book made me laugh, smile and feel really emotional but overall the perfect combination for a *chefs kiss* five star read. I can't wait to read more of Hannah's books and meet more characters.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I highly recommend!!! Loved getting to know more of Sarah and Caleb after Out on a limb, especially as they have so much history. So nice to also see Win and Bo again and get to know the new characters. The location was so perfect! Thank you NetGalley

This was PHENOMENAL!!!! Out on a limb is one of my favorite books EVER, and seeing the announcement for this one had me giddy with joy!!

This is also for the girls who have gone through more than others at a young age. We are different because of how quickly we had to grow up. Sarah always felt like she was doing too little, being too little, or just wasn't enough. Since her mom died young, she had to grow up fast. With traumatic life events, sometimes there's no room to "dream". No room to find yourself because all you're trying to do is survive.

I felt how personal this story was to her, and it’s special when an author can literally make their readers feel the soul they put into their art. Caleb and Sarah’s journey was beautiful, from young love to a married couple fighting to relearn each other after years of taking the other for granted.

The thing with Hannah’s books, they are so deeply intimate and heartfelt that you will find yourself crying over it all. I genuinely feel safe with her writing and storytelling and finish each book dying to reread it immediately! The dual timeline with this one was very emotional and beautifully done, I just….HANNAH REALLY DID THE THING. DAMN!!!!!

Hannah Bonam-Young has never disappointed me, and I don't think she ever will. Love, and a long-term relationship, takes hard work, and Sarah and Caleb are losing their footing. A couple's camping retreat gives them a chance to reconnect and to find their way back to each other. Out of the Woods made me laugh, cringe, and cry, the perfect combination of a five star read. I'd follow Hannah Bonam-Young into any forest, and across any rickety bridge, because she will handle the most complicated plot-lines with so much love and grace.

This book was so cute. I loved how you read Sarah and Caleb’s relationship developing in the past as well as the present - I’m a sucker for a clearly marked flashback chapter. I haven’t read the first book (yet, it’s sat on my bookshelf waiting for me) but Win and Bo’s history was explained enough that I didn’t feel like I’d missed anything but not so much that it would’ve been annoying to people who had read the first book. The character development across the board was fantastic and the way Sarah pulled Cyrus’ head out from up his backside was majestic.

I kindly got sent an arc copy of this book by Netgallery and this book didn't disappoint. Sarah and Caleb are childhood sweethearts, when Sarah's mother becomes unwell Caleb doesn't even have to think about stepping up to the role of looking after her and supporting her through life.

When they find themselves going through a rocky patch in their marriage, they go on a wilderness adventure to reignite their spark. I LOVED this book and the characters, the writing style and having flashbacks included throughout.

I am SICK. Actually ILL over how much I loved this book. I will forever be a HBY lover.
I've always been an Out on a Limb girlie, but Out of the Woods might be giving her a run for her money???

I swear I felt so many emotions during this book. One minute I was giggling with my kindle hugged to my chest, the next minute I was sobbing on the floor. Caleb and Sarah just really hit me with all the feelings.

Honestly, this is just one of those books you have to read yourself to understand how freaking phenomenal it is.

Well, Hannah Bonam-Young made me cry again. This book was so raw, I absolutely adored Out on a limb, so getting Sarah and Caleb's story was perfect.
Hannah writes her stories so real, often times in romance books you get the perfect love story with the odd trial and tribulation but I swear these books always make me reflect and feel so deeply.
I'll be honest writing this I am feeling a little raw, Sarah's perception of grief and watching her grow and heal through the things she went through in her late teens was intense.
I loved everything about this and as always I will include a few of my favourite tropes:
-high school sweethearts
-second chance romance
-TAYLOR SWIFT title.

This book was *chefs kiss*, there is just something about Hannah’s writing that just puts me in a chokehold.

I loved getting to know Sarah and Caleb on a deeper level after meeting them in Out on a Limb. I adored their story, it was real - I laughed, I got emotional, I blushed. It was so raw in the most gorgeously wonderful way.

Hannah always writes real topics in a way that hooks you, but also with so much respect and honesty. I felt every moment of this book deep in my chest, Sarah was relatable, her marriage with Caleb and their story stuck with me.

Naturally, I also loved seeing glimpses of Win and Bo again, that alone heals my soul.

Rating: 4 ✨

I think I potentially would have rated this higher had I not been completely in love with Win & Bo’s story which was a 5 star read for me, this one as much as I loved it didn’t quite match up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bedford Square Publishers for a copy of this ARC.

Absolutely gorgeous romance about rekindling the love having been with someone for so long.

It was deeply moving in parts as the FMC spoke openly about neglecting her own dreams and not feeling like she was proud of any achievements.

I really loved the honesty and openness of the dialogue.

The ending completely had me in a chokehold. I was so worried.

Beautiful book. Hit every emotion.

This was a very sweet book, focusing on a couple who are going through a lot. There were some beautiful conversations surrounding grief and their own healing journey, and some beautiful quotes. It was an easy read, and one I did enjoy; but felt maybe there was a spark missing.

That being said if you enjoy Hannah’s books, I’m sure this is no different!

I am convinced Hannah Bonam-Young can do no wrong, and this book adds to her backlist of incredibly written and wonderfully captivating novels!

This story captures the nuances of a long term relationship, the development between Caleb’s and Sarah’s relationship is wonderful and I love the way the story unravels as a marriage in crisis novel.

The characters are wonderful and Bonam-Young does a great job in showcasing her internal battle with her as a person, having been with the same person for most of her life. I love the strong network the characters have and absolutely adored any and every mention of my favourite characters from Out on A Limb.

This story is magnificent and I highly recommend!