Blog Tour: Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

I’m so excited to be included on the blog tour for the new release from author, Hannah Bonam-Young. I fell head over heels in love with her work last year when my book club chose Out on a Limb to read. So naturally, I jumped at the chance to be a part of this blog tour. Here’s my review of the fantastic Out of the Woods.

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

Published By: Bedford Square Publishing
Publication Date: January 28, 2025
Date Read: January 5, 2025
Genre: Adult – Contemporary Romance
Source: eARC from Random Things Tours
Format: E-Book
Pages: 336

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High school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb Linwood have always been a sure thing. For the past seventeen years, they have had each other’s backs through all of life’s ups and downs, achievements, losses, stages, and phases.

But Sarah has begun to wonder… Who is she without her other half?

When she decides to take on a project of her own, a fundraising gala in memoriam of her late mother, Sarah wants nothing more than to prove to herself—and to everyone else—that she doesn’t need Caleb’s help to succeed. She’s still her mother’s daughter, after all. Independent and capable.

That is until the event fails and Caleb uninvitedly steps in to save the day.

The rift that follows unearths a decade of grievances between them and doubts begin to grow. Are they truly the same people they were when they got married at nineteen? Are they supposed to be?

In a desperate attempt to fix what they fear is near breaking, Sarah and Caleb make the spontaneous decision to join a grueling hiking trip intended to guide couples through rough patches.

What follows is a life-affirming comedy of errors as two nature-averse people fight their way out of the woods in order to find their way back to their roots.

Hannah Bonam-Young is a new favourite author of mine. I have to admit, I never really thought that I would be saying this as typically contemporary romance isn’t my preferred genre. But after falling head over heels in love with Out on a Limb when my book club group read it last year, she immediately went onto my favourite author list. So naturally, when I was offered a proof copy of Out of the Woods and to be on this blog tour, I jumped at the chance. Despite it being a week or so into February when this review goes live, this was actually my first read of 2025 back in January… and what a way to start the year. I absolutely devoured this book. I could not put it down.

Out of the Woods follows Sarah and Caleb, a married couple who have been together since their teenage years. Both of these characters will be familiar to readers who have read Out on a Limb, as they featured quite prominently as side characters in that one. Due to this, I highly recommend reading Out on a Limb first. While they are both standalone books, I feel like I really felt Sarah and Caleb’s story much more deeply because I was already familiar with what happened with them in Out on a Limb. Out of the Woods takes place a few years after, and Sarah and Caleb have hit a rocky patch in their marriage. This leads to them going on a hiking retreat, ran by relationship counsellors to help couples who are going through rough patches. As neither of these characters are ‘outdoorsy’ people it does lead to some hilarious goings on.

I honestly cannot put into words how much I loved this book. It was absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t put it down right from the get-go. I feel like this is such a unique romance as the couple are already together and married so this is not the start of their love story. Neither is it a second chance romance, where they have split and are coming back together. I feel like the majority of romance books out there follow this concept of finding love and then once you have it, and get married, that’s it. End of story. They all lived happily ever after. With this one, I loved the realness of the fact that these characters have already had that and it’s not the end. Marriage is hard and there’s going to be rough patches throughout and it really focused on re-establishing that communication between the couple, after they’d had years of just living in a routine. I feel like that’s what really makes this book stand out against others of this genre and it’s one of the reasons I loved it so much. One of the things I really love about Hannah Bonam-Young is how realistic her books are. Her characters feel like they are someone I could meet in real life while doing my shopping or something. I always feel like with romance books, you often have to suspend your belief a little bit, as they often are romanticised and not necessarily realistic to how people actually are. But with Hannah’s characters, I do feel like they’re completely real and that is what makes me love her books so much.

Out of the Woods is such an emotional read. Hannah’s books often have some element of hard-hitting emotion in them. In Out on a Limb, it was Win’s experience of discrimination due to her disability. In this one, Sarah is still dealing with the loss of her mother from a decade ago and this book focuses partly on that. It really explores the concept of just because a big loss happened years ago, doesn’t mean it doesn’t still affect people. I honestly found this plot line really hard hitting and there were many times I cried my eyes out in this book. Yes, it’s a beautiful romance and is really hilarious in places, but man does it also pack a great big emotional punch. I loved this aspect, but I would highly recommend checking trigger warnings. As someone who is currently experiencing a parent having quite serious health issues, I really appreciated the warning from Hannah herself in the beginning of the book.

Out of the Woods was the perfect way to start 2025. I loved every single moment of it, and I will once again be waiting for news of Hannah’s next book. As I said at the start of this review, I don’t read a lot of contemporary romance books any more, but Hannah is one author I will buy and read over and over again. Her books are just fantastic and I cannot recommend them enough. If you haven’t read any Hannah Bonam-Young, I highly recommend that you do. However, I would recommend reading Out on a Limb first before diving into this one. It will just make the book and the characters’ journeys that much more special and meaningful. This was the easiest 5 star rating I think I’ve ever given.

Interested in buying Out of the Woods?

Readers in the UK…

*Please note that the audiobook in the UK has a release date of April 3, 2025.
*At the time of posting, there are still currently sprayed edge editions in stock on The Works. These are subject to selling out at any point.

Readers outside of the UK…

About the Author

Hannah is a USA TODAY bestselling author who writes romances featuring a cast of diverse, disabled, marginalized, and LGBTQIA+ folks wherein swoon-worthy storylines blend with the beautiful, messy, and challenging realities of life.

When not reading or writing romance you can find her having living room dance parties with her kids or planning any occasion that warrants a cheese board. Originally from Ontario, Canada, she lives with her childhood friend turned husband, Ben, their two kids, a feisty orange cat, and a sleepy bulldog near Niagara Falls on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.