"But his ribs were a cage for monsters and they cut their teeth on his bones."

I don't quite have the words to really explain how deep into my soul this book got. But in quite certain it's going to live there for a very, very long time.

The writing is just exquisite, while at the exact same time the story being told is full of horror and violence and things of nightmares. It takes an extremely talented author to be able to create this type of world that feels so dark and yet so welcoming.

CG Drews is a brilliant and gifted storyteller, and I cannot wait until the next time I'm lucky enough to once again journey into their dark mind and stories 🖤

Thanks so much to NetGalley, CG Drews, and Macmillan for the chance to review this A C of Don't Let the Forest In.

"I don't care how dark the world is for you. I'll hold out my hand until you find it, and I won't let go."

While this book had some interesting ideas, I felt pretty removed from it. The scary scenes didn't creep me out, and I never was able to get invested in the relationship between the main characters. I had such high hopes for it, but ultimately it felt very cold. I know some people are going to love this, but after reading books like She is a Haunting, Together We Rot, or Your Blood My Bones, this just didn't live up to expectations.

4.5 Stars

This book is beautiful. The writing is beautiful and dark and so heart-wrenching. I loved the exploration of sexuality, romance, and grief; how the power of grief is just as magical as the power of love. Seeing Andrew and Thomas spiral through this world of gothic and fantastical horror was really moving.

I wanted this to be a 5-star so badly, but it lost me a little bit in the middle. I think it was mostly that once the plot got started, it never let up and was brutal. I wanted just a few more quiet moments, where we could see the relationships before reality shattered would have pushed this into a perfect book for me.

This book embodies the quote "Reality is what exists when you stop believing in it."

This book is so gorgeously written it almost hurts. The beauty of it is undeniable, but there's a lingering sense of danger, of harm, that gives it a bite that can't be ignored.

3.8

First off this cover is beautiful.
Second this was definitely a good YA horror read. Although slightly easy to predict what was happening it still flowed so well and made this easy to read within a days span.

A beautiful, haunting story of two boys fighting monsters, literally and those that live inside themselves.
Andrew, Thomas, and Dove attend an elite private boarding school, they have been best friends since they were 12, and are now in their senior year. The friends try to navigate through the school year while dealing with bullies, confusion as to who they are, and the monsters trying to devour them.

4.5
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so unsettlingly beautiful and heartbreakingly genuine. You feel the characters aches and needs. The writing is dark, graceful and it timidly walks you through weakness. Through the grief and loss of these characters as they venture through their school and through the void of the woods that haunts them. This book completely surprised me with how much I couldn't put it down.

I’m heartbroken and haunted after this read. Beautiful, macabre, and deeply unsettling, Don’t Let The Forest In sent me reeling. The prose is entirely disconcerting. Every sentence left me yearning for more. The forest imagery persists throughout, becoming more intense and literal as the novel progresses. The body horror made me want to vomit — it’s so so good.

The story is set against a backdrop of a dark academic-esque boarding school — a wonderful setting for a story told by a narrator who doesn’t trust himself or his own eyes and seems to be walking on shards of broken glass.

The characters are perfectly horrible. I was invested in Andrew’s story from the moment he (and his twin sister) stepped foot into Wickwood, and got even more enthralled when Andrew noticed the blood on Thomas’ sleeve. Andrew’s anxiety and the way people treat him delicately really spoke to me.

The on-page discussion of being asexual was also done extremely well. Somehow in between the horror story, there’s an excellent discussion of identity. Yes, there’s blood and killing monsters, but Andrew also grapples with his shifting relationship with Thomas, and making new friends.

Every fan of horror, of the cruel version of love that twists perceptions, needs to read this book when it is released. You will be shaken to your core by this rotten fairy tale. I will be thinking about this book for a while. Happy reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, this is a beautiful cover. There is something mesmerizing and haunting about it.

I started reading this book on my commute ride home from work and I flew through half the book by the time I got home. That is a testament to how addicting this book was. I was sucked in.

The banter between the main characters was great. The setting was eerie and the writing was really easy to read and accessible. There were also many lines that I wanted to underline. I also did not see anything coming.

As someone who doesn’t really read psychological horror, this book had me hooked. I would highly recommend this book.

Initially the cover was what drew me in but the story in itself was so captivating that I finished it in one sitting.

I think the author did a great job at creating a unique blend of fairytale whimsy and psychological horror with poignant, lyrical prose and atmospheric details. The characters were also well fleshed out with complex relationships, though I feel they acted a bit younger than they were; they usually came off as 8th graders rather than high schoolers.

My main issue was with the pacing. The beginning-middle where quite slow and dragged a bit while the final reveal and the ending felt a little rushed.

Overall "Don't let the forest in" is a very gripping tale about our protagonist Andrew who navigates the complexities of his own identity as an asexual individual and with the unexpected manifestations of grief and loss told through a horror lens.

I was so excited for this! CG's writing is so lyrical, and her disaster forest boys are my new obsession! Fans of K.Ancrum "The Wicker King" will have found a new obsession with "Dont Let The Forest In.

Definitely not a book that was made for me, totally for a younger audience. Ended up hating most of the characters and the story itself is A lot of stuff that has been done time and time again.

This book is amazingly beautiful the horror was creepy and Andrew’s story is one I won’t forget for a long time
Very much enjoyed this one!

This book is beautiful, dramatic, and full of beautiful words. The horror is done masterfully, and the relationship is great.

This book wound itself around my bones and grew inside of me. I won't ever forget Andrew, and his story will haunt me for a long, long time. It was an incredible, tense read in which I felt the desperation of the characters as their world crumbled around them. I specifically appreciated the asexual rep in Andrew, which was handled with sensitivity and care. CG Drews is an auto-buy author for me now, and I'm excited to be ripped apart and devoured by whatever they write next.

Thank you to CG Drews, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this eARC of Don’t Let the Forest In.

The cover art and synopsis had me hooked immediately - I was very interested in diving deeper into this creepy boarding school monster tale. Unfortunately for me, it just didn’t quite hit home. It was, at times, very creepy. But it was also equal parts confusing and focused entirely on a subplot that felt unnaturally mixed into the horror side of the story. I would have enjoyed it more had the author leaned harder into the whimsical narrative and letting that carry the story, instead of the focus being so much on Andrew and his underlying desire for Thomas. I appreciate the representation that was shown in this story, and I think a lot of people will like it. It just wasn’t quite my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and most especially to CG Drews for the eARC of Don't Let the Forest In.

It took me far longer than I care to admit to actually pick up and read this novel - but once I did I couldn't put it down. While the first half was slow, it held enough in it's relationships & characters' interwoven narratives to keep me engaged while the second half was more explosive and the resolution satisfying. I definitely recommend.

Seeing all the glowing reviews, I guess I'm in the minority with this rating because I found this book to be dull. Don't Let the Forest In had all the ingredients to make an enjoyable read as I love dark academia aesthetics, woodsy settings, and themes of codependency. Unfortunately, though, it did not work out for me.

Rather than high schoolers, the characters acted much younger. Of course, I didn't expect the characters to act like adults, but the way they acted was like overdramatic, angsty middle schoolers. The book is described as having this all-consuming codependent friendship, but it didn't read like that for me. Andrew and Thomas's friendship was superficial, like it was all developed off-page, therefore I could not connect with them. On top of this, the characters just felt like caricatures. We have Andrew, the stereotypical loner character, Dove, Andrew's cooler twin sister, Thomas, the mysterious best friend and love interest, and Lana, the scary misunderstood "mean" girl, among others. There were also bullying scenes that were cartoonish and over the top like how you would see in a movie.

This book was a beautiful and dark masterpiece. A tale of young love, loss, and finding how to cope with both. The main character Andrew is in love with his roommate and best friend Thomas, but unsure if that love is returned. He is also dealing with his personal trauma the only way he knows how - diving into his stories and Thomas. The story got better and better with each page and the twists had you wondering what was real and what was imaginary. I gave this book 4.5 stars only because it read a little more YA than I am used to, but regardless this was a beautifully written masterpiece.

This review is based on an ARC of Don't Let the Forest In which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Feiwel & Friends).

4.5 stars

*flips to the beginning for immediate reread*

I have been procrastinating this review because I do not know how to put into words how incredibly, unexpectedly good this novel is--"good" doesn't even come close. This is my first C G Drews novel, and I am simply anguished at all that I have been missing out on!

The storytelling and world building here are what really get me. I was so invested in the plot, the characters, that when I began to grow suspicious of an unreliable-narrator situation, it felt like my world was upending. I devoured this novel. I found myself going to bed and waking thinking about it, needing to know what comes next, covertly reading at work. And still, the moment it all came to a close, I had such an urge to start all over again, knowing all I know now. Talk about re-readability!

Days later, I am still thinking about this story. And I've been telling everyone who asks, "This book is so good!!" Monsters, secrets, romance, horror, macabre, whimsy, art, humor, friendship, and a sibling story--all cohesively laced together and tied up with a ribbon. I still see the decadent imagery when I close my eyes...

Major props for the anxiety and ace representation here. The traits are executed well, without the whole book being about gender identity and mental disorders.

Wow, this review kinda sucks, huh? Just read the book!