Don't Let the Forest In is and aching beautiful tale that explores the beauty in one's darkness.

CG Drews uses the juxtaposition between the morbid and the beautiful to weave a tale that is atmospheric and heart-wrenching. The two MC's are deliciously flawed and nuanced. The relationship they pursue is one of the most tender and thought provoking that I have ever read.

Readers who gravitate towards a "happily ever after" ending needn't add this to their TBR's but if you're someone who enjoys the macabre and the exploration into characters darkest corners, pick this one up ASAP!

What a strange and morbid world that Thomas and Andrew live in. I truly loved this book, though there was too much flowery writing that bordered on purple prose sometimes. I especially loved the way that the characters' mental health and sexuality were discussed alongside the development of a dark and twisted parallel world bursting into theirs. I'm generally not the biggest fan of body horror for the sake of forcing the audience to understand the linkages between the themes and the ways the characters embodied them, but Drews did an amazing job of writing body horror and dark academia that was suitable for a YA audience, which I think can be very difficult. I'm grateful for the chance to have read this book and voted for it in the Goodreads awards!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

this was breathtaking to read (because it was so beautifully written and because it was actually horrific and made my heart pound). pure magic and art is sewn into every phrase. this was some of the most beautiful lyrical writing i’ve ever read. i’ve never wanted to make a movie of a book so badly than i do of this one right here, because the author wrote scenes in a way that i could visualize the moment like i was watching an artsy, thought provoking film (along the lines of super dark times or an A24 horror film). i wish i could make this a movie actually, and i rarely get that impulse. but it is good art that inspires more art to be made after consuming it and this was good shit. one of my fav reads this year. this kind of horror is my favorite thing on earth, and you’ll love it if you’re a fan of ari aster movies or andrew joseph white books (aka a person with taste). i read the acknowledgments of books, and in these acknowledgments the author said “may this one haunt you,” and that fills me with delicious dread because yes, c.g. drews, this one will haunt me for life! thank you for this delectable experience and for sharing your wonderfully twisted brain!

thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I'm not much of a horror fan, but this synopsis for this book intrigued me to no end! I devoured this into the morning hours every time I tried to read this before bed. The writing in this book is beautiful and ethereal. I found myself highlighting every other sentence, or at least it felt that way. It was gothic, and macabre, and creepy, and overall a joy to read. It was the perfect Autumn read for anyone who wants a queer, fairytale infused story with monsters and queer characters. LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!

Don’t Let the Forest In is a beautiful mess of emotion and history and fairytales set against a dark academia backdrop.

Andrew and Thomas have the most painfully codependent relationship and my heart broke for both of them while I simultaneously begged them to confess their emotions instead of torturing themselves and each other any longer.

A nightmare situation (drawings of literal monsters coming to life in the forest) was somehow made worse thanks to teenage angst and gay panic and I couldn't look away.

There was a lot of arguing and miscommunication but instead of annoying me l felt so much empathy because the characters were written with complexity and care and I was also 17 once.

I have never read more beautiful body horror.

I didn't know what to do with myself when I finished.

If it isn't obvious, I absolutely recommend this book! It was easily one of my favorite reads of 2024. That said, there are some heavy subjects covered - please take care of yourselves and check TWs before reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Looking at the cover helps but doesn't fully describe the creepy yet amazing love story that it contains.

This book was incredible! It was just the right amount of creepy mixed with touches of magical realism. There were moments where I was literally on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happened next. Some of the twists and reveals definitely took me by surprise and I loved every second.

Wow! What a beautiful and haunting fairy tale! The prose is absolutely lovely. The plot is a twisting, turning, exciting ride. If you like YA horror, you'll love this one

“It hadn’t hurt, the day he had cut out his own heart.” Immediately, the opening line of the story had drawn me in. I was intrigued and throughout the story, the writing itself primarily kept me invested. For the most part, I enjoyed the imagery and the mystery surrounding the forest, but the ending itself did not live up to the rest of the story for me. In hindsight, it was heavily foreshadowed, and despite that, somehow it still felt jarring and off kilter to me.

I will say, if you are a fan of The Wicker King by K Ancrum, this book gives a lot of similar vibes in terms of the kind of imagery as well as the relationship between Andrew and Thomas.

An amazing dark academia thriller. One of my favorite reads of the year and perfect for fans of Ninth House.

This book was so interesting in how it all played out. I was truly captivated and curious the whole time.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, & NetGalley for the opportunity for early access to read this book.

“Don’t Let the Forest In” by C. G. Drews left me in a state of stunned melancholic bliss that made me wish I could erase my memory just so I could read it for the first time again.

A queer dark academia YA thriller that follows high school seniors Andrew, who finds refuge in the twisted fairytales he writes, and Thomas, the only person who can ground Andrew in reality & who illustrates the macabre tales. And with Andrew’s twin sister Dove suddenly abandoning him during his senior year, Thomas is suddenly Andrew’s only friend at Wickwood Academy.

But Thomas arrives to school disheveled and with what appears to look like a blood stain on his clothes. And the police arrive at the academy to ask questions about Thomas’ missing parents. Thomas attempts to push Andrew away but this only makes Andrew push harder to find out what’s going on. Determined to discover what’s plaguing his friend, Andrew follows Thomas into the forest one night to discover that the illustrations Thomas has drawn from Andrew’s stories are alive in the forest and Thomas has been sneaking out to kill them every night.

The world building in this book is absolutely exquisite. You can almost feel the moisture hang in the air, feel the moss beneath your feet, and smell the leaves & mushrooms as you turn the pages. The addition of the illustrations of the monsters in the book is a horrifically tantalizing bonus that I absolutely loved. The toxic intertwining of Andrew and Thomas that just became more twisted and tangled as the book went on was addictive. They’re perfect and terrible for each other, all at the same time.

The way Drews wrote about Andrew’s panic attacks, it was truly real and palpable. You could feel the anxiety yourself on behalf of the character. And the way Andrew yearned to be “normal”, to claw the strangeness out of his own skin, I think all of us neurodivergent individuals can identify with that.

I am someone who often calls twists and sees them coming but there are a few in this book, which I won’t share, that I did not see coming that made me audibly gasp when I read them.

I can’t thank C. G. Drew’s enough for writing this book because this is literally going into the list of my top five all time favorite books. A five star absolute must read but prepare for stunned melancholic bliss upon completion.

I am so, so beyond thrilled that the world has finally understood the gift that is C.G. Drews' writing. It took them longer than it should have, to be sure, but they got there in the end and that is all that matters. That is also why when I pre-ordered the book, and then it was announced that there would be a more fun special edition, I did not cancel my first order, I just decided to pass it on to one of you fabulous folks. I have been a fan of the author's words for a literal decade now- via Paper Fury, via unpublished words I fell in love with, and via their incredible UK published books. So obviously, I am thrilled that Don't Let the Forest In is garnering so much (well-deserved) attention.

The writing, of course, is lovely. As I knew it would be. The characters were fabulous and so well developed. And look, maybe I guessed a thing or two that would happen? But I honestly think that is just kind of what happens when you are familiar with an author, and also, it didn't really lessen my enjoyment or anything. Oh, and there are many feels! Which as you know, is pretty much my favorite.

Bottom Line: Go see what all the fuss is about, and read this fabulous book!

Don’t Let the Forest In was such a fantastic and eerie book. I loved the setting and the characters. This is the perfect dark academia book for the spooky season.

The book follows Andrew Perrault as he returns to Wickwood Academy for his senior year. Andrew is anxious to see his longtime friend, Thomas, especially since he sort of told Thomas he had feelings for him last semester. Andrew identifies as asexual, and Thomas is the only boy he’s ever had feelings for. Andrew, his twin sister Dove, and Thomas have been the closest of friend. Since Dove and Thomas had a fight last year, Andrew worries how this year will be. His sister Dove is also upset with him, and is icing him out.

Both Andrew and Thomas are artists. Andrew crafts haunting fairy tales and Thomas brings the monsters to life in his sketchbook. Only this year Thomas seems to be having a problem with his art. Thomas keeps shutting Andrew down whenever he questions him about what’s going on. Then one day the police show up at school to talk to Thomas. Thomas’s parents have gone missing, and the police suspect Thomas is behind their disappearance.

When Andrew goes into the forest near the school one night looking for Thomas, he finds the other boy fighting what seems to be one of his sketches come to life. Thomas tells Andrew that his drawings have been coming to life every night and he has been having to fight the monsters to keep them from hurting anyone. Soon the two boys join forces and battle the creatures every night, all the while trying to figure out a more permanent solution. They believe if they destroy all of Thomas’s art, that the monsters will stop.

This book was so good. Andrew and Thomas are fantastic characters and polar opposites of each other. Andrew lacks self confidence and self worth and really relies on the stronger characters in the book to help keep him going. Besides being unsure of his sexuality and how he fits into the LGBTQ community, he also has an eating disorder. Andrew is made to seem weak, but I definitely feel he had a hidden core of strength that he just didn’t know about. Thomas on the other hand is brash and reckless. He is the hero type, and is always ready to defend Andrew. He has a big personality without being cocky.

As I said earlier I loved the setting. Boarding school books are always a fun read for me. Plus a spooky forest full of monsters really adds to the atmosphere. I will say I wish it had a little more spookiness to it. This book is definitely a coming of age story, and I feel it leaned a little heavy into that aspect of it. That’s not a bad thing, but I’d have loved more of the supernatural element. The twist at the end was pretty cool and I didn’t see it coming. It made me want to read the book again to see if I can pick up on things differently.

The one thing I didn’t like about this book is that you never get a definite answer to what caused everything to happen. Plus it has an open ended ending and those always drive me crazy. Otherwise I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

Perfect for fans of The Raven Cycle and maybe also The Foxhole Court, Don't Let the Forest In is a dark-academia fever dream about two razor sharp boys trying to survive their senior year at a fancy boarding school...while also fighting the monstrous drawings of the one come to life. Andrew isn't looking forward to his senior year, as an anxiety-ridden guy who's a little in love with his best friend (who might be in love with his twin sister), but he knows with Dove, his sister, and Thomas, their best friend, they can all survive. Except things are not great. Dove and Thomas are fighting and Dove is avoiding Andrew, Thomas is drawing back from Andrew, and also he's been accused of murdering his parents. When Andrew discovers that Thomas is fighting fairy-tale monsters in the forest every night, it's almost a relief, since it's something concrete to fight. But they're going to have to give it everything they've got in order to survive.
The prose was beautiful. The characters are so delightfully messy. I appreciated the asexual representation. The monsters were terrifying. Fantastic book. I loved it.

🌈 Representation: Asexual & bisexual MCs
⚠️ CW/TW: Body horror, Gore, Death, Homophobia, Eating disorder, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Self harm

I was gripped by this story from the opening pages and it never let me go.

I'm not generally a big horror fan, but I knew C.G. Drews would deliver on a horribly beautiful story that would take root in my bones and devour me whole. My expectations were high, yet Don't Let the Forest In still exceeded them!

The writing was incredible, with prose I just wanted to eat. Definitely going to reread one day and annotate so I can highlight all my fave lines.

The characters all felt so real and I especially loved anxious, hurting Andrew as an MC. I just wanted everything to be okay for him and it added to the experience of watching everything be very not okay.

The ending was especially incredible and there were so many wtf moments that I adored! Never gonna stop thinking about this book!

This was the perfect fall read! I had so much fun reading it! I will definitely be rereading next fall also!

I preorder this book within the first third of me reading this ARC. I mean, just read this:
"Once upon a time, Andrew had cut out his heart and given it to this boy, and he was very sure Thomas had no idea that Andrew would do anything for him. Protect him. Lie for him. Kill for him."
Perfect for any spooky lovers. A mixture or horror and fantasy. Plus Queer YA novel!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

Original and unique!

Great book I was instantly hooked just boy the first couple of pages. Story was paced perfectly and I loved the ending.