Great story. For fans of 🏰 gothic horror, 📚 dark academia, 📓 storytelling 🧌, 🏳️‍🌈 queer loving, discovering oneself.
They’ve got 🪦 tragedy, ❤️ love, and 🧑🏻‍🦰👦🏼👱🏻‍♀️friendship that can’t be broken. It’ll leave you entranced by the scenery 🌲. Heartbroken 💔 from all the emotions you’ll feel for each character. You won’t want it to end.

Have you ever wanted to feel the moss between your fingers, the hear the whispers of fall leaves, to smell the bitter tang of bark and airy sweetness of soil? All of that, <i>and monsters.</i>

Atmosphere is everything in this haunting little book and the atmosphere of the private school and the forest behind it is as much a character as Andrew or Thomas. I grew up on [book:The Raven Boys|17675462] and this is the closest thing I have read to that energy in quite some time. I loved it.

A stay-up-past-your-bedtime book in two ways: first, because you won't want to put this down. Second, because the monsters have teeth and claws and may just be under your bed.

Stop whatever it is you are doing and read this book now. You won't be sorry.

Don't Let the Forest In feels like a dance with madness. It's a gripping dark tale that feels like a nightmare, but the kind you don't want to end. This story ensnares you. WARNING: your heart is not safe, but it is so beautifully and masterfully done that you'd gladly sell your soul to hear this tale.

This is a tale about Dove and her twin brother Andrew, who has a complicated connection with Thomas. Andrew writes dark, twisted fairy tales, and Andrew's art brings them to life, but it also threatens to upend everything they hold dear.

It's beautifully gory and bloody, a heart-wrenching search for identity and belonging, all told through excellent prose.

Would recommend for fans of the Raven Cycle and the Wicker King... We follow a high school senior Andrew and Thomas. Thomas has abusive parents, Andrew would do anything to protect him. Thomas would do anything to protect Andrew too, from himself, from his bullies. When Thomas' parents disappear, rumors go wild that he killed them. There is also Dove, Andrew's twin sister. All three of them used to be close, but they haven't been lately. I enjoyed this book and the plot twists that it had.

I am not even sure if my words can even express properly how well written this book is. C.G Drew's writing is so elegant and reading this book felt completely different from most books I have read lately. Andrew is such a beautifully written character, and the way he feels and what he goes through is so relatable that I have to put down the book occasionally because it gets so overwhelming. In a good way of course, like there's some book so good you can't put down and some that are so good you gotta take a break because it blows you away. He being an asexual boy in love with another boy really hits home. They way he describes how he feels through stories is truly magical. Also the two sides of andrew with him being fragile yet dark is exactly what I want in a character. I adore him and Thomas. I also love Dove because I love twins who unconditionally have each other's back. This book was so whismically with a touch of horror I highly recommend

2.25 Stars

Thank you NetGalley, Feiwel & Friends, and CG Drews for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thoughts:

I wish I had good things to say, but I am heartbroken by how much Don’t Let the Forest In disappointed me. 7 chapters in, and I believed this had a promising start to an amazing read. However, from there the story completely flopped. The plot truly lost its way. I can’t say that my attention wasn’t grabbed the entire time, but the confusing journey only continued to get more confusing. Not in a way that makes the readers think you have to be buckled up for the mystery or left with your own interpretation or understand that the narrator was unreliable, but because so many things that were pertinent to the story were never circled back to or answered. Ever.

The romance…. I don’t know if I am ready to talk about it all yet without losing my mind. All I can say is that romance is shoved down our throats without much build, and we are supposed to just follow along blindly with a tell over show chemistry (which I don’t even know if I like using that word because there was none in my opinion)! I’m here for a protective touch-him/her-and-you-die kind of love, but I have to like the two characters together for me to be in for the ride.

The writing was gorgeous, but it is style or substance all the way. I honestly finished this and don’t know if I am more mad, confused or upset by it all in the end.

P.S. I wish this story was told from Lana’s POV! My favorite character from the beginning and still is now.

P.P.S. Chill, you guys are only in high school lol

Paperback/Hardcover/Audiobook/E-book:
E-book
Pace:
Medium
Cover thoughts:
Obsessed with it!
Triggers:
Death, Gore, Eating Disorder, Violence, Bullying, Self Harm, Panic Attacks, Homophobia, Grief, Toxic Relationships, Abuse, etc.

Thank you net galley for this e arc.
Dear God this book completely fucking wrecked me. This I guess to say Don’t Let the Forest in is a YA queer forest horror novel delves into grief, love and the pain that comes with mental illness. If you love over the garden wall, if we were villains, and in general love queer books this is for you.

Soundtrack to describe this book: Doomsday by Lizzy McAlphine, Whispers by Halsey, Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths and The Night We Met by Lord Huron

So haunting. The story takes you in a journey and you never know what’s real and what’s imagined. Expertly done

5/5 stars

Due to the nature of life and being a mood reader, it took me a little while to really get into Don't Let the Forest In; but once I hit around 55% I got fully sucked in and finished the last half in just a few hours!

I loved the prose and stylistic choices throughout the novel, it made me feel like I was really with main character Andrew in his mind. Andrew's yearning for best friend and roommate Thomas was palpable, as was his creeping horror at what was happening.

I'll follow the author's lead on this and categorize Don't Let the Forest In as "cottagegore." Drews did an amazing job of making me feel as though I was slowly being subsumed by greenery and paranoia -- I could taste the soil and feel the moss. Drews made me question my own sanity and scramble back through the book once I'd reached the end and everything was recontextualized.

As much as I loved this book, I definitely need a palate cleanser for the claustrophobia of green I can still feel days later (massive compliment!) ♡

I recommend this book to fans of dark fairytales, dark academia settings, requited pining, and cottage horror!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free digital ARC for my honest review!

“‘I think someday you’ll hate me.’ Thomas’s voice stretched with a loneliness Andrew had never heard before. ‘You’ll cut me open and find a garden of rot where my heart should be.’
‘When I cut you open,’ Andrew finally said, ‘all I’ll find is that we match.’”

This book was unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s a YA psychological horror about two boys with an incredibly co-dependent relationship fighting off monsters from the forest that are straight out of Thomas’ drawings.

I saw someone describe the horror in this book as botanical body horror, which is a perfect way to put it. The descriptions of the monsters were equal parts beautiful and terrifying, and I was left feeling very unsettled. Unfortunate that I usually read right before bed 😂

The relationship between Thomas and Andrew was the heart of the book. They were so wrapped up in each other that even they knew they’d end up hurting themselves, it was a really well done look at a toxic relationship.

Andrew’s struggles with anxiety hit very close to home, and my heart broke watching him fail to navigate the world. His internal plight was described so well.

If you’re looking for a unique horror with beautiful prose, terrifying forest monsters, and two boys who are so entangled they’re bound to hurt each other, check this book out.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the eARC.

Gripping. Dark. Suspenseful.

This one will keep you wanting more. There's a reason the Goodreads rating is sitting above four stars right now. You won't be disappointed in this one. Perfect for a dark and stormy fall afternoon.

Man I really wanted to love this story but it was such a let down! It sucks because the cover & the synopsis are amazing & had me hooked but the story just didn’t meet my expectations. It started off very confusing, with no info or backgrounds of relationships with all of the characters. It almost felt like I was dumped into the middle of a story.

Maybe I just wasn’t the target audience for this story because it seems to have glowing reviews from others. For me, I just needed more info & an understanding of the relationships & a less confusing story.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for this ARC.

Honestly I was so hyped for this book with all the raving reviews and the beautiful cover. I wish I had DNF-ed it instead unfortunately.

Now don't get me wrong, there were so many pieces that could have been great. The romance, the dark academia, the mystery, the amazing amount of representation. This should have been amazing.

But the story DRUG along and I struggled so hard staying in it. And the language is so flowery I was finding myself skimming to get to the point.

Then the twist, well it was obvious the whole time so I'm not sure why I took the journey. And the ending is completely open.

I really was hype to see a LGBTQIA+ story with full representation. This just ended up getting lost in the forest (pun intended).

Rating: 2.5/5.0

A dark allegory of the pain of grief and the power of love and longing. The writing is starkly beautiful and the characters are expertly drawn. I really liked the academic setting, the forest as monster, and the beguiling love story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

This was such a wonderfully twisted read. I adored the overwhelming use of dark elements to send this story deeper and deeper into the forest of horror.

Andrew, the narrator and one of the twins featured in this story, was so incredibly unreliable that you have to pity him. Yet, I couldn't get enough of the stories he spun.

I wish we could have seen some of the art that Thomas created. I feel like it would have really added an extra element to the monsters that emerged from this story. I really did love that feral boy of the woods. He was doing all he could to protect Andrew. EDIT: I've seen that the art was included in the final form of this book and I am so excited for future viewers to see it!

While I understand the artistic intent behind how little of a relationship we get between the boys, I wouldn't have complained about them having a little more.

I think Lana's presence and personality was a great taste of reality. She really was a well needed balance character.

This is a dark and twisted story about handling some of life’s hardest times as a teen. While grappling with the common challenges that teens face, Andrew and Thomas are facing down monsters from the forest outside their school. While they fight to protect the school and defend themselves, they attempt to piece together why this is happening. This is a true YA fantasy but definitely dark and gruesome while still handling some heavy issues. I recommend to those that don’t flinch as body horror and want depth in their dark fantasy.

I couldn’t get into this one unfortunately but can understand why others would. The writing was unique and atmospheric. However, it was a slow build that I couldn’t quite get into.

I always say I'm not a huge Horror fan, but like to push myself out of my comfort zone (even if it's just into more *YA* horror, ha), but I'm genuinely really happy I decided to take a chance on this book, even though I was scared! DON'T LET THE FOREST IN is a hauntingly devastating novel, filled with lush and vividly expressive prose from CG Drews. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it honestly felt like I was in a fever dream the entire time I was reading due to how easy it was to get immersed in it all, as well as due to how unsettling, dark, and macabre it all was.... which probably sounds a little sus haha, but I mean it in all the best ways! Definitely check this one out if you are a horror lover OR, even if you're not but are trying to expand to other genres!

Wow! What I love most about YA is its ability to encounter darker/serious themes while doing so in an approachable way. Don’t Let the Forest In is a perfect example. This is an excellent debut from CG Drews. The exploration of toxic relationships and what it means to love even when circumstances can be harmful to you was so interesting to explore in a YA context. This additionally being an LGBTQ+ relationship added to the dimensions of this story and my interest. Excellent excellent excellent

Quite an interesting read - definitely a great choice for a YA-horror-fantasy. The characters were done so well, as well as the horror aspect, but what gave this such a great read was the emotional toll the author put the characters into. And that emotional roller coaster would stay with you throughout the whole entire read.

The world build around our main character Andrew was written so well that you could visualize not only the monsters, but also the emotions and the sceneries. There was something about Andrew and Thomas, and also Dove, that you wouldn't be able to let go once the book was finished; the characters left that much of an impact. This macabre book hit all the right notes when wanting something that would be capturing the creativity of monsters, of friendships, of love, and everything else surrounding it. This was great.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.