<i>First, a thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.</i>

DNF @ 37%, and yes, I **do** think this should count toward my read goal for my suffering.

Maybe I’ve just reached that age of “get off my lawn!” But the teenage angst… wasn’t doing it for me. Sorry! Was hoping this would be like [book:House of Hollow|54613751], but that book has something this one doesn’t. I am just not the target audience (as Keith Lee would say) for this one.

Don't Let the Forest In was a beautiful, haunting story of two messy, flawed, codependent teenage boys navigating disasters of the monstrous and romantic nature. DLTFI follows Andrew Perrault and Thomas Rye through their senior year of boarding school. Andrew is struggling to put it lightly, and Thomas tries to help in the best ways he knows how...by being chaotic and protective to a fault. Andrew writes dark fairy tales and Thomas illustrates the monsters from the stories. Only problem is that the stories are coming to life and attacking the boarding school, putting everyone in danger. Obviously the answer is for the codependent teenage boys to go into the off-limits forest to fight the monsters at night rather than sleeping or doing their homework. When they aren't battling literal monsters at night, Andrew is struggling with his asexual identity, attraction to his best friend, crippling anxiety, and has chunks of memory missing. Eventually the gaps in his memory are filled in & it's just more tragedy for the poor boy.

Overall I had a lot of fun reading this book! I can tell the author genuinely cared for the characters they created and the world they built. The writing itself was dark and descriptive. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes supporting queer stories and authors, enjoys botanical horror, great mental health rep, and a well thought out story.

I got so completely lost in this book. I couldn’t stop reading it. The story has this dark, creepy vibe that curls around two boys who are outcasts for different reasons. Thomas’s anger keeps other people at a distance the same way that Andrew’s shyness does, but they share a close bond with each other.

As the story progresses, Andrew changes. At the beginning, he feels powerless to steer even his own existence. But as the monsters get scarier and the forest gets (literally) under his skin, he begins to take action in his own way. I loved that arc in which he finds his voice and claims ownership of his life.

The desperation in the quest to stop the monsters had me leaping from one chapter to the next. I needed to know who was going to win: the forest with its monsters, or the prince and his poet.

I’ve read The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews before, and I really enjoyed that one. This book takes Drews’ storytelling to a whole new level, though. The tension in the horror elements. The characters you just want to rescue right off the page. The secrets and twisty plotlines. I love it all. Sign me up for all their future projects, please and thanks.

All that to say– if you’re looking for a dark, forest-y Halloween story, grab a copy of this one immediately.

This book was such a beautiful book to read. The writing and language worked so beautifully with the gothic, cottage core themes throughout the book.

Between Andrew (ace rep) and Thomas, this story shows the horror of art and the love for writing combined in this macabre YA Horror (subplot of romance) novel.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.

This book genuinely blew me away.

For anyone who loved The Raven Cycle, but thought, "that could've been scarier": This book is for you.

Don't Let the Forest In follows Andrew Perrault, returning to the elite Wickwood Academy for his senior year. And although high school has never been easy for Andrew, from the start, this year is different. His twin sister, Dove, is keeping him at arms length, and his best friend Thomas is acting strangely, disappearing into the forest behind the school at night. One night, Andrew follows him, to find Thomas fighting off horrifying creatures. But there's something familiar about these creatures: they look exactly like the ones from Thomas's drawings.

I absolutely devoured this book. It had me up way too late reading, and even though I finished at 3am, I wanted to turn to the beginning and start all over again. (And, at the cost of precious sleep, I did in fact reread the first chapter.)

I would recommend this book to anyone, and it's got me super excited to tackle CG Drews' backlist. The characters leap off the page and sink claws into your heart (in a good way). They're complex and messy and in need of a good hug. Andrew and Thomas are just two kids trying their best to figure out the world, and each other. My heart ached for them both, even when I wanted to shout at them. This story also has some of the best ace rep I've ever read. Andrew's identity is central to the story, and woven into all of his choices seamlessly, in a way that feels natural without distracting from the story.

I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and came away from the story thoroughly haunted. (It was maybe a mistake to read this in the middle of the night.... walking to the bathroom after was a terrifying experience.) Drews' prose is evocative, equal parts beautiful and macabre.

Thanks so much to Netgalley & Macmillan for the free review copy. Happy to say that I ordered my own copy before I even finished the ARC.

This book. I’m not even sure where to begin or how I can do it justice. Inside the slightly unsettling, but stunning cover is an atmospheric, melancholy, dark tale I thought about for days after reading the last line. A friend in my book club had finished it a few days earlier, and the two of us shared our opinions about what might have happened.

Every now and then I come across a novel so beautifully written that I re-read sentences or passages to fully appreciate them. This is one of those novels. The writing is poetic and immersive with an abundance of quotable lines. Many reviews I’ve seen included several.

Andrew, his twin sister Dove, and Thomas have been best friends for several years, but their relationships are rocky at the start of their senior year. Dove and Thomas aren’t speaking, she’s keeping Andrew at arm’s length, Thomas’s parents are missing and possibly murdered, and Andrew discovers Thomas is killing monsters in the forest at night. Monsters Andrew created in the twisted fairytales he writes.

You may feel off kilter during parts of the story and wonder what’s real. Other reviewers compared it to a fever dream, and I’d agree. I guessed a clever twist fairly early and and wondered how it would affect the outcome of the story. Short snippets of Andrew’s fairy tales are included and only add to the ambiance. He and Thomas are complex, messy, and heartbreaking, but their relationship is both tragic and selfless – but each would sacrifice everything for the other.

This is a story about love, strong friendships, and battling your demons, both internal and external. It’s one I’d highly recommend to fans of psychological horror, gothic tales, and haunting writing.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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.