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A review by katiedermody
Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young
We've made it to my last book of the year! I got this arc months ago but have been putting off reading it and saving it til the end because I wanted to wait until closer to release date (just under a month now!) and savor it. While it still didn't usurp Next to You and Set the Record Straight as my fave HBY books, there's just something so easy and comfortable about reading her stories that it still felt like a pleasant ride despite some of the more emotional content, and I always love that about her writing.
We first met Sarah and Caleb in Out on a Limb, Sarah as Win's sister (essentially) and Caleb as her longtime friend and sort-of friend of Bo's. We learned that the couple started dating in high school and married really young right before Sarah's mom died from complications of ALS. In this book, they've hit a bit of a boiling point as Sarah realizes she never got to figure out who she was on her own or what she has in her life to be proud for that is just hers. These two very not-outdoorsey people end up on a week-long hiking trip held for couples wanting to Reignite their relationships. Neither of them want their marriage to end, and out in the wilderness, they discover to better rely on and support each other, and also to rely on and trust themselves.
The book is all in Sarah's POV, which makes sense since this entire thing is largely her journey. It definitely is for both of them, but as a reader it was good to stay with her the entire time and see her rediscover her passion and the joy in her relationship with Caleb. They're both funny and sweet at times, awkward and biting at others, and the chemistry between them that only sort of went away is charged up as their emotional intimacy returns. But also, they're not supposed to have sex during the trip.
It was great to see these characters again and learn more about them and their backstory via short flashbacks between each chapter. I love Sarah's personal journey from beginning to end of book, and Caleb is still the hot nerdy gentleman, this time also opening himself up to emotional growth that makes him a better partner. I also loved seeing Win and Bo, this time as parents to Gus, who is around two now. Funny little moments that call back to the first book were great, especially Gus now calling geese 'bully-birds'. While they weren't in a large portion of the book, seeing them at the beginning and more near the end re-established how close these two couples are and how they support one another like family should.
I do wonder if part of me didn't connect as deeply to this book as some of Hannah's others because I'm not married or in a long-term relationship; that's happened before (Freya and Aiden's book in the Bergman series comes to mind), but that's also what makes me think that this is going to become a favorite for a lot of Hannah's readers who do relate to it. Regardless, I still enjoyed it and am so glad and grateful that I got to read it a little early so I can promote it right before release date (Jan 28/25). Thanks to Hannah and the publisher for the ARC!
We first met Sarah and Caleb in Out on a Limb, Sarah as Win's sister (essentially) and Caleb as her longtime friend and sort-of friend of Bo's. We learned that the couple started dating in high school and married really young right before Sarah's mom died from complications of ALS. In this book, they've hit a bit of a boiling point as Sarah realizes she never got to figure out who she was on her own or what she has in her life to be proud for that is just hers. These two very not-outdoorsey people end up on a week-long hiking trip held for couples wanting to Reignite their relationships. Neither of them want their marriage to end, and out in the wilderness, they discover to better rely on and support each other, and also to rely on and trust themselves.
The book is all in Sarah's POV, which makes sense since this entire thing is largely her journey. It definitely is for both of them, but as a reader it was good to stay with her the entire time and see her rediscover her passion and the joy in her relationship with Caleb. They're both funny and sweet at times, awkward and biting at others, and the chemistry between them that only sort of went away is charged up as their emotional intimacy returns. But also, they're not supposed to have sex during the trip.
It was great to see these characters again and learn more about them and their backstory via short flashbacks between each chapter. I love Sarah's personal journey from beginning to end of book, and Caleb is still the hot nerdy gentleman, this time also opening himself up to emotional growth that makes him a better partner. I also loved seeing Win and Bo, this time as parents to Gus, who is around two now. Funny little moments that call back to the first book were great, especially Gus now calling geese 'bully-birds'. While they weren't in a large portion of the book, seeing them at the beginning and more near the end re-established how close these two couples are and how they support one another like family should.
I do wonder if part of me didn't connect as deeply to this book as some of Hannah's others because I'm not married or in a long-term relationship; that's happened before (Freya and Aiden's book in the Bergman series comes to mind), but that's also what makes me think that this is going to become a favorite for a lot of Hannah's readers who do relate to it. Regardless, I still enjoyed it and am so glad and grateful that I got to read it a little early so I can promote it right before release date (Jan 28/25). Thanks to Hannah and the publisher for the ARC!