Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young
on January 30, 2025
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / New Adult
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
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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 did an amazing job with this beautiful and impactful novel. The story was told through dual timelines—past and present. Hannah’s narrative was effortlessly beautiful and engaging. She seamlessly blended all the elements of the story into a swoon-worthy yet realistic tale that explored the challenging and messy realities of life. She didn’t shy away from portraying a marriage in trouble, offering realistic and brutally honest storytelling that made me love this book even more. Often, when writing a marriage-in-crisis trope, authors tend to romanticise the situation, allowing unresolved feelings to overshadow the characters’ struggles. But here, Hannah gave equal focus to every aspect of Caleb and Sarah’s relationship. She showed us the hardships they were facing and how a wilderness retreat for couples could help them work through those issues. I also appreciated the emphasis on therapy and the sessions the couple had with Helen and Yvonne.
Another five outstanding stars for this novel. My only complaint is, I wish we get to see Caleb’s point of view. Sometimes this felt like woman’s fiction rather than romance because past chapters were mostly focused on Sarah and her mom and present chapters were mostly about Sarah’s life. In some moments I wished we got to see Caleb’s mind because he was struggling too but we didn’t know what was his struggle. Other than this slight complaining, it was literally perfect!
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