Review: Out On A Limb

Out On A Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young

Published By: Random House Publishing
Publication Date: July 11, 2023
Date Read: August 25, 2024
Genre: Adult – Contemporary Romance
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 409

From Goodreads:
Winnifred “Win” McNulty has always been wildly independent. Not one to be coddled for her limb difference, Win has spent most of her life trying to prove that she can do it all on her own. And, with some minor adjustments, she’s done just fine.

That is until she has a one-night stand with the incredibly charming Bo, a perfect stranger. And that one night changes everything.

While Bo is surprisingly elated to step up to the plate, Win finds herself unsure of whether she can handle this new challenge on her own or if she’ll need a helping hand.

Together, Win and Bo decide to get to know one another as friends and nothing more. But, as they both should know by now, life rarely goes according to plan.

Out on a Limb is a book I’d never heard of, until it was chosen as the monthly read for the book club that I am in. After looking it up, I can’t lie… I was apprehensive about this book. I never would have chosen it to read myself if it hadn’t been a book club book because I am not a fan of pregnancy tropes in books. It’s usually something that really puts me off picking a book up, and had this not been a book club book I wouldn’t have ever picked this up. And I would have missed out on one of the best contemporary books I’ve read this year. I am about to eat my words about pregnancy tropes, because this book was… in a word… brilliant.

I am honestly so surprised by how much I loved this book. While the unplanned / surprise pregnancy is a major plot point in this book, I would say that there is so much more going on. Both of our main characters are disabled. Win has an underdeveloped hand, and Bo has had one of his legs amputated. And I loved that a focus of this book was how they cope in their day to day life and how they come together to face the struggles they may face being parents with these disabilities. The disability representation in this book was superb and I honestly loved that element of the book.

Win and Bo’s relationship was so adorable and I loved that. I really loved that this is a very normal, healthy relationship. They are both adults, who communicate like adults and that is something that I really don’t see a lot in romance books so this was very refreshing to read. I also loved that even though they meet as adults it’s still very much a case of friends to lovers and a bit of a slow burn in terms of their romance. I adored that! I really loved that you see their really normal and calm day to day life. They move in together as roommates and you see them going to work, coming home, cooking at home and doing other hobbies at home. I feel like a lot of romance books has the couple going out and doing a lot of outdoorsy stuff (which is fine) but I loved seeing a totally normal, healthy introverted lifestyle in this book. As an introvert myself I adored it.

Out on a Limb is without a doubt the biggest surprise for me so far this year. I went into it expecting to not like it, or to DNF it… but I really really enjoyed it. It was heartwarming and cute and honestly… really realistic. Which in my opinion, is what we need in books. We need to see more realistic, healthy ‘green flag’ relationships in books and I am now a Hannah Bonam-Young fan. I will definitely be going out and getting her other books to read. This was truly fantastic!