Jerry Cooke
4.75⭐️ - A truly beautiful and affirming exploration of a marriage, healing, and grief.
Sarah and Caleb are childhood sweethearts, having been together since they were both fifteen. When an attempt to be helpful at a charity gala leads to a period of trouble between them, Sarah's sister Win recommends an outdoor retreat called Reingite that she thinks might help them reconnect. As they're thrown into the wild together, they find the opportunity to explore the way things have changed for them, the effect of past trauma, and their hopes for the future.
This was a really wonderful sequel to Out on a Limb, especially to see more of Win and Bo and their growing family. The couple running the retreat, Yvonne and Helen, also have Yvonne's granddaughter with them, Libby, who has recently lost her mother. This allows Sarah to explore her own trauma regarding the loss other mother at nineteen. This was alluded to in the first book, but in this book it's revealed that her mother died regeneratively due to ALS (/motor neurone disease). This was particularly sad to me, as my grandmother died of ALS when I was a child and I know first hand just how cruel of a condition it is. The examination of it was filled with the same tenderness and research that is a hallmark of Hannah's writing.
This was such a sweet and beautiful story and all I could wish for is more stories about Sarah, Win, Caleb, and Bo, because they are such wonderful characters and I loved their stories so much!
4.75⭐️ - A truly beautiful and affirming exploration of a marriage, healing, and grief.
Sarah and Caleb are childhood sweethearts, having been together since they were both fifteen. When an attempt to be helpful at a charity gala leads to a period of trouble between them, Sarah's sister Win recommends an outdoor retreat called Reingite that she thinks might help them reconnect. As they're thrown into the wild together, they find the opportunity to explore the way things have changed for them, the effect of past trauma, and their hopes for the future.
This was a really wonderful sequel to Out on a Limb, especially to see more of Win and Bo and their growing family. The couple running the retreat, Yvonne and Helen, also have Yvonne's granddaughter with them, Libby, who has recently lost her mother. This allows Sarah to explore her own trauma regarding the loss other mother at nineteen. This was alluded to in the first book, but in this book it's revealed that her mother died regeneratively due to ALS (/motor neurone disease). This was particularly sad to me, as my grandmother died of ALS when I was a child and I know first hand just how cruel of a condition it is. The examination of it was filled with the same tenderness and research that is a hallmark of Hannah's writing.
This was such a sweet and beautiful story and all I could wish for is more stories about Sarah, Win, Caleb, and Bo, because they are such wonderful characters and I loved their stories so much!
4.75⭐️ - A mind-twisting, heavily emotional, and action filled continuation of the Gods and Monsters series!
I'd usually summarise the book in my review, but there's honestly so little I could say about it without spoiling all the other books in the series. It was such an amazing ride though, with the number of POVs now larger than ever. There's so many twisting and intersecting paths that the ongoing conflict feels incredibly vast.
Amber has done such a good job creating and expanding this world and I'm so desperate to know what comes next!
4.75⭐️ - A mind-twisting, heavily emotional, and action filled continuation of the Gods and Monsters series!
I'd usually summarise the book in my review, but there's honestly so little I could say about it without spoiling all the other books in the series. It was such an amazing ride though, with the number of POVs now larger than ever. There's so many twisting and intersecting paths that the ongoing conflict feels incredibly vast.
Amber has done such a good job creating and expanding this world and I'm so desperate to know what comes next!
3.75⭐️ - Plots and poisoning about in this return to the world of Faebound
With Yearn returning to the lands she was exiled to in the hopes of averting war and Lettle under constant threat of assassination, the fae lands are more at risk than ever. As schemes are uncovered and mysteries solved, everyone's futures are held in the balance.
This was.. okay. I din't find it gripping and I wasn't massively compelled by the characters or plot, but it was interesting enough. I'll still be reading the next book, I think, if only to see what happens, but I can't say I'm particularly motivated.
3.75⭐️ - Plots and poisoning about in this return to the world of Faebound
With Yearn returning to the lands she was exiled to in the hopes of averting war and Lettle under constant threat of assassination, the fae lands are more at risk than ever. As schemes are uncovered and mysteries solved, everyone's futures are held in the balance.
This was.. okay. I din't find it gripping and I wasn't massively compelled by the characters or plot, but it was interesting enough. I'll still be reading the next book, I think, if only to see what happens, but I can't say I'm particularly motivated.
5⭐️ - A beautiful and affirming journey of healing and found family!
Win and Sarah have been friends their entire life, which was inevitable given that they were raised together after both their mothers became pregnant at the same time in their last years of high-school and so moved in together - making them sisters in every way the counts. Sarah has been with Caleb since she was fifteen and with them now married and living a well-to-do life, it's hard for Win not to feel like a third-week and an underachiever by comparison. She's also dealt with varying levels of self-consciousness over the years due to a lifelong limb-difference (a shortening of her hand), something her toxic ex- definitely made worse.
When Win attends Sarah's annual halloween party in her dependable pirate costume (because when you've to a shorter hand, a hook looks incredibly convincing) and finds herself called out for being a duplicate pirate by the tall and handsome Bo, whose prosthetic makes for a wonderful peg leg. Feeling an undeniable connection and attraction - and feeling understood thanks to their shared experiences - it's pretty hard to resist ducking out of the party and hooking up. When, six weeks later, Win's period is nowhere to be seen, it becomes clear that their lives are about to change in a way neither of them could have anticipated.
This was a wonderful book, filled with all of Bonam-Young's trademark tender and authentic exploration of the topics. With her experience of the same limb-difference that she's written Win with, as well as her experience of pregnancy, there's a potent about of truth and honesty in this story and it shines through. That first-hand experience makes the book feel like something special and with the same kind and wholesome relationships as in her other books, this is a truly affirming and sweet story to read. There's also so much relatability, having experienced much of the same narcissistic emotional manipulation from an ex- that can make it really hard to open yourself to love again.
I loved Win and Bo together so much, and loved Sarah and Win's pseudo-sisterhood and ride-or-die connection just as much. They're truly the best characters and I'm so glad I can read more about them in Out-of-the-Woods.
5⭐️ - A beautiful and affirming journey of healing and found family!
Win and Sarah have been friends their entire life, which was inevitable given that they were raised together after both their mothers became pregnant at the same time in their last years of high-school and so moved in together - making them sisters in every way the counts. Sarah has been with Caleb since she was fifteen and with them now married and living a well-to-do life, it's hard for Win not to feel like a third-week and an underachiever by comparison. She's also dealt with varying levels of self-consciousness over the years due to a lifelong limb-difference (a shortening of her hand), something her toxic ex- definitely made worse.
When Win attends Sarah's annual halloween party in her dependable pirate costume (because when you've to a shorter hand, a hook looks incredibly convincing) and finds herself called out for being a duplicate pirate by the tall and handsome Bo, whose prosthetic makes for a wonderful peg leg. Feeling an undeniable connection and attraction - and feeling understood thanks to their shared experiences - it's pretty hard to resist ducking out of the party and hooking up. When, six weeks later, Win's period is nowhere to be seen, it becomes clear that their lives are about to change in a way neither of them could have anticipated.
This was a wonderful book, filled with all of Bonam-Young's trademark tender and authentic exploration of the topics. With her experience of the same limb-difference that she's written Win with, as well as her experience of pregnancy, there's a potent about of truth and honesty in this story and it shines through. That first-hand experience makes the book feel like something special and with the same kind and wholesome relationships as in her other books, this is a truly affirming and sweet story to read. There's also so much relatability, having experienced much of the same narcissistic emotional manipulation from an ex- that can make it really hard to open yourself to love again.
I loved Win and Bo together so much, and loved Sarah and Win's pseudo-sisterhood and ride-or-die connection just as much. They're truly the best characters and I'm so glad I can read more about them in Out-of-the-Woods.
4.75⭐️ - A mind-twisting, heavily emotional, and action filled continuation of the Gods and Monsters series!
I'd usually summarise the book in my review, but there's honestly so little I could say about it without spoiling all the other books in the series. It was such an amazing ride though, with the number of POVs now larger than ever. There's so many twisting and intersecting paths that the ongoing conflict feels incredibly vast.
Amber has done such a good job creating and expanding this world and I'm so desperate to know what comes next!
4.75⭐️ - A mind-twisting, heavily emotional, and action filled continuation of the Gods and Monsters series!
I'd usually summarise the book in my review, but there's honestly so little I could say about it without spoiling all the other books in the series. It was such an amazing ride though, with the number of POVs now larger than ever. There's so many twisting and intersecting paths that the ongoing conflict feels incredibly vast.
Amber has done such a good job creating and expanding this world and I'm so desperate to know what comes next!
4.75⭐️ - A mind-twisting, heavily emotional, and action filled continuation of the Gods and Monsters series!
I'd usually summarise the book in my review, but there's honestly so little I could say about it without spoiling all the other books in the series. It was such an amazing ride though, with the number of POVs now larger than ever. There's so many twisting and intersecting paths that the ongoing conflict feels incredibly vast.
Amber has done such a good job creating and expanding this world and I'm so desperate to know what comes next!
4.75⭐️ - A mind-twisting, heavily emotional, and action filled continuation of the Gods and Monsters series!
I'd usually summarise the book in my review, but there's honestly so little I could say about it without spoiling all the other books in the series. It was such an amazing ride though, with the number of POVs now larger than ever. There's so many twisting and intersecting paths that the ongoing conflict feels incredibly vast.
Amber has done such a good job creating and expanding this world and I'm so desperate to know what comes next!
