Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young
SYNOPSIS
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.
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The ultimate fall comfort read to wrap around you like a warm hug with great disability representation, Out on a Limb was a quick delightful romance. If you’re looking for a slow-burn, cosy romance to ease you into the cold weather, this book is the right pick. It starts on Halloween and ends on Halloween and so I found it to be the perfect fall read to listen to on my long crisp autumn walks after work. These two characters were warm and funny and chipped around the edges but still independent and I loved that no matter the shit hand life dealt them, they still managed to stay warm and inviting people open to love. I’m a sucker for the “wear my heart on my sleeve” kind of character and this book came through on that. I did, however, have a problem with the consistency of the two main characters, staying in character throughout the book. Yes, there’s room for growth, but that doesn’t change a character from their core beliefs typically and I didn’t love the shift that began to happen between the two for some brief glimpses. So due to some red flags raising, I gave this one a 3.5 stars.
We follow Win’s point of view throughout the entire book and I feel the singular point of view elevated this read quite a bit. I loved seeing the story through her eyes and not know everything that Bo was thinking. It kept some mystery and a little bit of anxiety about how things would play out to only be in one point of view and I think romance novels need to get back to this way of writing. Win and Bo have a one night stand, Win ends up pregnant, and so her and Bo are somewhat thrown together in this life changing journey. They both really connected but are also both characters that have gotten used to independence and also have lower self-confidence so neither of them reached out and this pregnancy gave them the perfect opportunity to reconnect. I typically don’t mind pregnancy tropes. I feel when you grow up on fanfic it becomes somewhat part of your expectations when a story is solely focused on the romance and no outlying factors but it was done so well in this book that I think it could win over even the hardcore haters.
Win is independent and strong-willed and despite her less than stellar role model of a mother, she decides she’s going to embark on the journey of motherhood. It was nice to read a character that weighed all the options and considered each one comparing needs and wants and what is possible with her current way of life. Not many books explore that and I think it’s important to shed light on the topic and privilege Canadian’s have when it comes to options for pregnant women. Once Win decides to stick with it, we spiral into all the anxieties with her that come through the idea of this major life change and it made it such an emotional read
My one big issue is that the characterization did not feel consistent throughout. Particularly, at the 3/4 point their dynamic shifted greatly and then…. shifted back? Like it felt like an editing error and that the chapter where this happened was accidentally left untouched. Throughout the entirety of the book Win is independent but willing to accept help… grudgingly. But she still stands on her own and makes her own decisions about her life. In this one part of the book she seems helpless and totally reliant on Bo to the point that she didn’t feel liker her own person anymore. Even when she stood up for herself, her opinion was disregarded and she just…. let it go? It didn’t fit with her character development. And Bo is the sweetest, warmest, most supportive man and yet all of a sudden he’s coercing Win to rely on him COMPLETELY financially, disregarding her discomfort with this, and conspiring with her best friend behind her back in order to sway her opinion. Did not like that. The author also begins describing him at this point as “bordering on condescending” and “arrogant” and I found this to be an interesting twist from how he’d been described before this point AND after this point. It just made no sense and I didn’t love how this small short dynamic in this one scene was so romanticized when in real life I’d see this as borderline manipulation. Which is toxic. Why did the author include this scene? Why did the editor leave it in? Who knows? But it knocked this book down a good 2.5 stars for me.
Overall I enjoyed it and the narration was on point but I had some problems with the inconsistency with characters which ended up knocking down the rating for me. However it’s the perfect read for this time of year and the book does end on a good note, correcting these character blips that seemed so out of place.