Really 4.0-4.5 stars.

Well. Every time I tried to predict how this book would go, it found a new way to surprise me. I still am not entirely sure I know how it ended.

To backtrack--Don't Let the Forest In is author C.G. Drews's YA horror debut. It follows high school student Andrew Perrault as he struggles through his senior year while dealing with entitled rich bullies, ambivalent teachers, and his twin sister Dove apparently avoiding him. Then, monsters attack from the creepy forest bordering the gothic private school, and the only person who can fight them off is Thomas Rye, for whom Andrew has some very complicated feelings (and they were roommates). As if all of that wasn't hard enough, Andrew also has crippling anxiety and regular panic attacks. Buckle in--this ride pulls no punches.

It took me three tries to dive in, because I really wanted to devour this book in one sitting, and I'm very glad I did. This is a story that will swallow the reader from chapter one; it isn't for the faint of heart. Drews does a fantastic job of combing dark fairy tales with the horror genre--the Brothers Grimm would be proud. From the Victorian architecture to the detailed descriptions of Thomas's artwork and Andrew's flash fiction stories--'papercuts,' he calls them--the reader is fully steeped in the horror experience. As Andrew also increasingly questions his own reality, the reader is right there with him, trying to sort out fact from fiction, constantly propelled forward by the tantalizing foreshadowing dropped around Andrew throughout the book. The desire to know more becomes almost a compulsion when paired with Drews's lyrical prose.

My one qualm with this book is also a side effect of bingeing it: While I sympathized with Andrew's mental health struggles, it did feel a bit repetitive at times, especially when he did not accept the help offered to him; however, this all makes sense by the end of the book, so this wasn't as much of a distraction as it might have been. Rather, now that I've finished the novel, I want to immediately read it again so I can better understand how all the pieces slot into place.

With monsters galore, this is the perfect Halloween read, right up there with T. Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead. Fans of Holly Black and The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert will enjoy the dark fairy tale tone and structure of this book, while fans of The Dead Boy Detectives and The Babadook will enjoy not just the horror/supernatural aspect, but also the queer associations. I, for one, loved the ace protagonist and will look forward to the next world C.G. Drews has in store.

The writing style was phenomenal. I could feel myself breaking down a bit as I read, even though I felt the twist building, I still appreciated it, and there was further twist I hadn't expected. This is my book to get me out of a reading slump.

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞

for me, this book is about grief and the way we process it alongside love. there was such a hauntingly beautiful way about this book, to the way it was written, beautiful & creepy imagery, just everything about it set my insides on fire. the way the last chapter was set up had me in tears. it reminded me of the lyrics, ‘𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶’.

it was a heart breaking book & i’m definitely happy with it before my favorite read of 2024. my only negative & why it wasn’t 5 stars was just because it was truthfully a slower burn than i expected, i wanted more monsters & macabre fairytale stories than what was given.

*𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 & 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 100% 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣*

This one took me a while to chew through. And yes, I am in fact staring at the wall. Frowning. I don’t even know where to start or where to end with this book. Psychic damage level 10000 Anyone? This book is so dark and twisty, that even when you’re just this close to the end and you *think* you know you’re understanding what is going on? You don’t. Andrew, Dove and Thomas are three of some of THE most well written characters in any book I have read so far, in any genre. This one will FOR SURE stick with you: and you will give the tithes.

Thank you NetGalley and MTMC Tours for the e-ARC.

This book was intense, creepy and had me flipping the pages. The writing is beautiful and has so many descriptive scenes and quotes that I enjoy. Just the first line had me hooked “It hadn’t hurt, the day he had cut out his own heart.” (this quote is from an advanced readers copy which is an uncorrected proof)

Andrew and Thomas love intensely and I was not expecting the ending. I am still unsure what to make of it but the acknowledgments state "If you've turned the last page and are now frowning at the wall, then everything is as it should be." so I guess the author intended for this to happen.

I don’t normally read horror but I had to pick this one up as The Boy Who Steals Houses by the same author is one of my favourite books. So this one was on my most anticipated list for 2024!

Overall it is haunting & captivating.

Content warning this book deals with panic attacks, eating disorder, blood/gore, grief, bullying, body horror and self-harm

Holy smokes, this was so good.

It's my first book by C.G Drews and I can already tell I will be reading more. I long for more of this wonderful writing and I just finished Don't Let The Forest In 10 minutes ago.

I loved the story, the characters and not knowing if the events were real or not till the very last chapter. I still have questions about the ending, but I think it was intended that way.

Andrew is spiraling. Hard. He started his senior year of school, his twin sister won't talk to him and he desperately needs to crawl inside Thomas's heart just to feel alive again. It would be so easy, to die for his best friend. If only Thomas could see it...

As the event unfold we get more and more into that spiral with Andrew and at about 65% I just didn't believe anything going on. I like books with unreliable narrative that get you to overthink it all. I'm still not a hundred percent sure it all was real. But paired with the atmosphere and the stuff going on, it seems fitting that readers wouldn't know what exactly is the truth.

The ending got me crying, I just wanted to protect Andrew and kick someone, but we won't say who for now.

It's a great unsettling read that makes you question everything you read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC

THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed this book. There's just nothing quite like reaching the twist, the climax, and finding that a book you were already enjoying is now 10x better than before. The monsters here are appropriately oozy and rotten, and the escalation of these eldritch horrors proves masterful. I really, really enjoyed this.


PROS
Beware the Creator: There's a certain catharsis in creating horrors. In writing them, in drawing them. And this book really twists that catharsis by asking, "Yes, but what if those horrors you depict peel themselves off the page and come after you next?" After a spat of dark academia books that promised me monsters and gave me less-than-compelling monsters-within, it was really refreshing to dive into a book that had, you know, actual monsters. Monsters with fangs and vine-y tentacles and a thirst for blood. Monsters that drip maggots and rot. Monsters that are violent and disturbing--and thoroughly appreciated.

Ace Spectrum: It's also really refreshing to have asexuality representation. Ace rep is so rare, especially in YA where romantic subplots are king. I appreciate Andrew, who is falling in love with his best friend but isn't sure he can give his best friend everything a romantic partner would. The aro/ace distinction here is nice. It's appreciated. Andrew is utterly infatuated with Thomas, and his own insecurity with his sexuality adds a layer to his jealousy when he thinks Thomas might be interested in others instead.

Supportive Friends: Andrew really isn't in a good place, and the bad place he's in isn't the kind of place a friend can help him out of. He needs more professional help than that. But I really appreciated the help that Andrew does get from friends anyway. Thomas wants to support Andrew. Thomas sees how Andrew is struggling. And Thomas tries to push and prod Andrew back to somewhere better. But Thomas also doesn't take the burden of Andrew's failing mental health onto himself, which is very important, too.


CONS
Wallowing: As I've said above, Andrew isn't in a good place. I am sure the author has listed content warnings for this book more extensively than I will, but I will say here that severe anxiety and disordered eating are a big part of what's happening here. If you're not in a place where you can read about that, this book isn't for you. Because reading through Andrew's perspective if very much like wallowing in this mentally-unwell mire. It is uncomfortable and unhealthy, and while that fits the story and the character, it might not be the right place for every reader to spend time.

Too Far: For all its bloody, gory monsters, this book is otherwise set in a boarding school that is real, concrete, realistic. So the fact that one teacher just seems to have it out for Andrew to an extreme extent feels... not quite right. I get why this sort of monstrously-out-to-get-you teacher archetype is being employed in a YA book, but at the same time, Clemens feels a bit hyperbolic for the text as a whole.

Mild Confusion: I think the twist at the end is great. It pulls so many pieces together. It adds a lot of emotional impact. And then... it leads to an ending that left me mildly confused. Don't get me wrong. I don't dislike the ending. I just wasn't 100% sure how we were leaving things off. I read it a few times, trying to reorient myself, and I just couldn't ground myself in it fully. The payoff was still there, but that actual clinching moment in the conclusion wasn't.


Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8/10

Those who enjoyed Victoria Lee's A Lesson in Vengeance will like diving into a campus haunted by the students who have lived and learned there. Anyone who loved Kosoko Jackson's The Forest Demands Its Due will adore these new eldritch horrors clawing their way out of the forbidden woods.

I found the concept to be interesting and I really enjoyed the vibes the book gave off. I tend like dark and creepy and this delivered both.

This book has beautiful imagery. Highly recommend if you enjoy visualizing beauty horror. Author has a smooth voice.

It’s better if you go into this book without a lot of knowledge, so before I dive into anything more specific let me just say that this is an unexpected gem of a book. It’s queer as hell with an emphasis on asexuality, and it’s the perfect little campus horror novel. While I have a few critiques from a craft perspective, I think emotionally this book hits all the right beats. It’s so creative and unique and even though I can think of a couple great comps to entice you into reading it, just know that it’s unlike almost anything I’ve ever read before. It deals with asexuality in such a real way, and I really appreciated that we got an ace main character who isn’t necessarily aromantic. All in all, maybe not a totally perfect execution but I think the dreamlike quality of the story really smooths over a lot of my main critiques - it ripped me to shreds and I will be thinking about the ending for a very long time. Cannot recommend this enough!!!!

-

If you need a little push to get going, let me tell you that this book feels like if Oliver and James from If We Were Villains were combined with Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper and they happened to end up in a world where Stranger Things and Annihilation morphed together.

Okaaaaaaaaay. Lots to say here. There are a lot of ways to spoil this book, so I'm sorry if I accidentally do.

This book has some good, but it's kind of a slog through some of the lesser stuff.

At the heart of this story is grief. Andrew and his twin sister Dove have been friends with Thomas since they started at their boarding school, several years ago. As they return for their senior year, we get some very deliberate foreshadowing about an incident that happened last year. (Don't worry, you find out what it is toward the end of the book.) Apparently, this incident has driven a wedge into their group dynamic because Dove is refusing to talk to Thomas. She is steely and strong in all of the ways that Andrew is weak. He has severe anxiety that co-relates to his general teenage angst. He's also coming to terms with his asexuality despite his intense attraction to Thomas.

Andrew and Thomas are a strange duo. Andrew is a storyteller, but he only tells what can be likened to horror fairy tales. Thomas, inspired by Andrew's tales, creates beautifully detailed drawings of the monsters in Andrew's stories. The "argument" between Thomas and Dove has essentially pushed her ALL the way away from the boys and she delves into studying hard constantly. Andrew believes that Dove and Thomas were involved in a relationship of some sort, and that Thomas possibly said or did something to break Dove's heart.

Unfortunately, he doesn't get a conclusive answer about what their feud is because suddenly, for some unknown reason, Thomas shuts him out too. Things are difficult for the boys as they try to make their complicated, messy, violently co-dependent relationship functional. But stuff takes a turn when Thomas's drawings start coming to life.

*****THERE BE SPOILERS BELOW*



*The Bad*
First things first, the romantic relationship at the core of the story is problematic. Andrew and Thomas have a terribly unhealthy dynamic. I get that in YA lit, it's one of those tropes that is intended to "show their devotion" to one another. Unfortunately, those of us who have been in all-consuming relationships like that KNOW how scary it can be to feel that way. My take is, if you intentionally write for teenagers, and you normalize these borderline abusive relationships, teenagers who don't have enough life experience are unable to automatically notice how unhealthy the romance is. Which is irresponsible. Now, the unhealthy dynamic between the boys is essential to the plot - I understand that much. But... damn.

There are two very rapid twists at the end of the story which are deliberately contradictory. I don't see the point of the first twist, because we're absolved of it very quickly by the second twist. While I did predict the big reveal, it was fairly late in the story. I'm sure that less astute readers may not come to the same conclusion beforehand.

Andrew's stories fucking suck. They're super emo and sound exactly like the sort of shit that artsy, "troubled" boys write. Andrew's shtick is that there are no happy endings, so all of his stories end in despair. But there's no real plot to drive the stories and at a certain point you realize that the connection between the book's plot and Andrew's stories is tenuous at best.

The body horror is... eh? I felt like most of that was connected to the monsters, but eventually it found its way to Andrew and Thomas.

After learning what was going on with Andrew, it seems ridiculously callous for him to be attending school without more oversight. It's pretty obvious that he's messed up and the ending seems inevitable.

Why the hell can they not tell the people at the school about the monsters? Because no one will believe them? Well, it's a good thing that you stood back and said nothing. It sure made a difference.



*The Good*
The depiction of Andrew's panic attacks was a very real reminder of how overwhelming those can be.

Andrew's attempts at untangling his own mess of emotions were kind of heartbreaking. You could really see some depth in his character that was well below the surface.

The monsters were definitely scary. Some of the imagery is going to be in my brain for a while.

I really was unable to determine if the monsters actually were real or if they were hallucinations/ justifications for erratic behavior.

The ending is brutal. As it should be.


*****SPOILERS ABOVE*****

Overall, the book was okay. It has a lot of tropey vibes that don't necessarily pan out as expected, which is nice. However, the lack of a healthy relationship dynamic at the center of the book makes it a less than stellar choice for impressionable minds.

Once again, thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was genuinely one of the most haunting, tragic books that I’ve ever had the privilege of reading. From the prose, imagery, and representation, to the horror, the compelling dynamic of our protagonists, and the general unhinged-ness of the plot, all of these elements genuinely deserve those 5 stars! I don't normally read pure horror books, but this book had enough going on the psychological side of things to sinks its claws into me. I love the asexual representation in the form of Andrew, and while the discussions of asexuality were a bit jarring in the context of the novel, I appreciate that they were there (us aces deserve some love)! I love Andrew, Thomas, and Lana, and while discussions of Andrew's psyche bordered on "edgy" and repetitive, it wasn't enough to knock down my rating of the book significantly. I accidentally spoiled one of the plot twists of the book for myself, in hindsight, it actually made my experience of reading the novel that much more exciting, because I could properly analyze the foreshadowing and attention to detail that Drews laid out. Overall, this was a wonderful book to start out 2024 with, and I hope it bring other people the same joy that it did for me! The full review comes out on Tumblr, so be sure to keep an eye out for it when it drops!

This book struck every chord. I held my breath through many sections, and was amazed at how the author balances tenderness with the suspense of the story. Really very well done!

This book left me in utter shock. Haunting and lyrically grotesque in the best of ways, "Don’t Let the Forest In" is a masterfully woven suspenseful horror story about desperate boys and the monsters threatening to consume them inside and out

I also loved Andrew and Thomas as characters. Their dynamic is fascinating—two boys with minds filled with monsters, clinging to each other in a clearly codependent relationship. They desperately hold onto each other for better or worse, often worse. My favorite part of the novel is the ending. Without giving anything away, I love its ambiguity. I think that ending will stick in my head for a long time and eat away at me.

I feel conflicted about the scene where Andrew discusses being asexual with Lana and Chloe. One reason I picked up this book was for the ace representation, and I love seeing such scenes portrayed in a novel because they mean so much to me personally. However, I felt it didn’t quite meld with the tone of the rest of the story. In contrast, his coming out to Thomas flowed more naturally with the narrative and wasn’t as jarring.

Overall, I loved this book and would highly recommend it.

REVIEW
Don’t Let The Forest In by C.G Drews- 5/5
———————————————————————
Thanks to NetGalley for another great ARC! In my reading journey, Dark Academia has become my personal favorite genre, and this book was no exception. I was pleasantly surprised with this book considering its falling into the realm of YA fiction, which I have found to be a hit or a miss depending on the author. This book adds horror and fantasy to the genre, going from heartfelt to straight up gut reaching. If my review of this book doesn’t get you to give it a read, then I hope this quote from the author’s acknowledgments will.
“And to you, dear reader, thank you. May this one haunt you.”

#whatjillsreading #netgalley #kindleread #bookstagram

This a story laced with teeth. Which is fitting as it plays out like a dark fairytale. Infused with dark art and the types of tales that are full of metaphors and violent imagery. I loved the way it uses those aspects. There’s also just something so intruguing about relationships that are obsessive/ boderline harmful. Love that gets twisted. The writing itself is a treat, immersive and well crafted. An ode to all my favorite things, broken boys, spooky forests, monsters, and unreliable narrators. It twists and turns in an incredibly satisfying if not upsetting way. With a lush academic setting surrounded by a seemingly innocuous forest.

It’s an autumn lovers dream. And one I highly recommend be at the top of any fall list, an essential really.

One that will haunt you.

Thanks for the e-arc MTMC Tours!

I wish I could bottle the atmosphere of Don’t Let The Forest In. We follow mainly two boys at their prestigious boarding school during their senior year. Tensions are running high because our main character indirectly confessed his love to his best friend the last day before summer and since the start of the new semester something has undeniable been…off. We follow them as they battle inner demons but also external ones as the off-limits forest surrounding the school starts to creep closer to campus. Love, grief, anger, loss, thorns, dirt, and detention all swirl into a devastatingly beautiful story.

The book gave off strong feeling of the Raven Cycle with a cursed forest in Virginia, boys who bottle up their feelings to devastating effects, and battling monsters in broad daylight, but it also stood very strongly on its own. I loved the discussion of asexuality and basically everything that our main character struggled with throughout the story.

My only qualms with the book was that the repetition of certain descriptions got a little annoying - namely the use of ‘thorns’ in the first 30% - and that the ending was somehow so anxiety-inducing and fast paced, but also a little anticlimactic. Perhaps if we stayed a bit longer unpacking the plot twist it would have hit harder, but the pacing of the last 40 pages or so was so fast that you almost didn’t realized what happened until you finished the book.

Overall though, a stunning little book that will stay with me for quite a while!

I usually do not delve into horror/thriller books, so as a beginner to this genre, I thought it was good. A good introduction to the genre. I really loved the aspect of psychological horror where we could really see Andrew slowly start to lose his sense of reality. The end also hits you with so many twists that I didn't know what was reality and what was lies.

The prose in this story is gorgeous, truly. I love the spooky vibes, the creepy atmosphere. It is very lyrical. I could see myself rereading based on that alone.

I will say, however, that the dynamics could have used more work. Andrew is a very introspective character; he spends most of the book in his head, and, as a result, his relationships (specifically the one he has with Thomas) are more 'tell' than 'show.' But this makes narrative sense given the plot twist at the end.

Justice for Thomas Rye! He was my favorite. He deserved more empathy than he got.

The author says if you finish this book and are staring at a wall then they did their job. 100% the case. The atmosphere of this book was everything I wanted it to be, complete with botanical horror and moody characters. The whiplash the last part of the book gave me was real and I loved it. I'm still not certain what was real, if any of it! Love that! Loved it!