I dove into this one completely blind, and I am so glad I did. The spooky gothic horror ambiance was impeccable—it’s strange, in the most delightful way possible, enigmatic, and brimming with profound emotions.

Evander & Laurie both have their separate struggles and when they finally set aside their differences and come together it’s so incredibly beautiful I felt the most joy I’ve probably ever felt when reading a book.

The writing style was so shockingly intense, intriguing, disturbing at times, and so deeply beautiful that I couldn’t get enough.

This book will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on me, and I am truly grateful for receiving an early copy through NetGalley.

“What if the worst of us is the only part that’s real?”

”There is nothing else to me but the hollow spaces I’ve carved out for you. I knew I’d cut myself to pieces on you if we ever had the chance to touch, but I wanted to.”

wow this was absolutely lovely. C.G. Drews has done it again. i loved and adored Don’t Let the Forest In, and i didn’t think this could top my love for that book, but somehow it did. it took me a few days to even be able to write a review, because this story absolutely wrecked me and i actually almost cried every time i tried to review this.

it’s hard to write much without spoiling, but wow i really related to evander. the queer and autism rep was so perfect, UGH. and him and laurie????? brb while i go sob forever.

”He is Icarus with wings of swan feathers, who chose to fly into the sun because it looked like a pretty boy.”

thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review

Thank you for this opportunity. I am so excited to read everything this author creates and feel the world is a better place with their writing in it.

Thank you.

the perfect mix of gothic horror and cottagecore. truly an amazing book that kept me guessing until the very end.

I absolutely devoured this book, much like I did ‘Don’t Let the Forest In’ before it. ‘Hazelthorn’ carries the same hopeful, devoted and sweet heartache as CG Drews’ other books in a new setting with amazing characters, a mysterious plot and incredibly satisfying ending. I cannot wait to have a physical copy of this book in October.

CG Drews does it again, as expected. I love everything about this book. I read 20 books this month and this was far and away my favorite. The writing, the character development, the relationships, the atmospheric storytelling…. I will literally read CG Drews’ grocery list and give it 5 stars. I felt the anxiety and the hope and the pain. I’ll think about this book for a long time, just like I do with Don’t Let the Forest In. Thank you.

“They are wrong like this—they should be flint against sharpened teeth if they touch. But instead, Laurie curves himself like a supplicant who would hollow out his own body if only it could be used to fit a lovely god inside.”

I am literally speechless. The yearning?? Dare I say, the hunger??? Every sentence of this story felt either like a delicious little treat, or being viciously stripped raw and left exposed.

The way CG writes is so vivid and mesmerizing, and the way they balance tenderness and brutality throughout this book will stay with me for a long while.

I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy so I can tear the pages out and eat them one by one.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the eARC ❤️

Wow. That was my first thought when I closed my Kindle on the incredible Hazelthorn. I was shocked, shaken, and in tears. I've had to sit with my thoughts since then just to begin to adequately describe and review Hazelthorn and honestly, I'm not sure I have sat long enough, but I'll give it a go because I have to encourage people to read this masterpiece of a book.

I don't want to give too much away about the plot because I feel like Hazelthorn is best entered without any preconceived notions about what you are going to encounter. In the barest sense, Hazlethorn is about two young men, Evander and Laurie, the mansion in which they reside, Hazelthorn, and Hazelthorn's, mysterious overgrown gardens. The tale the author has crafted is a blend of gothic horror, murder mystery, and deeply moving love story with the mansion and gardens becoming central characters. Picture The Secret Garden if the garden was hungry and you have just a mild taste of what you are in store for. Drew's writing is lush and atmospheric drawing you in and making you feel that you too are walking Hazlethorn's labyrinth halls and twisty garden paths. It draws you in and doesn't let go until the intense, shocking ending.

To say more would be to ruin the beauty and experience that is Hazelthorn. If you like horror, gothic vibes, mystery, dark fantasy or Cottagegore Hazelthorn is for you. Trust me the only thing you will regret about reading this book is that you won't ever be able to read it again for the first time.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, CG Drews, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh. My. God.

That's all. I don't even know what to say about Hazelthorn. I'm speechless, in such a good way, it feels magical (or is it some kind of witchcraft?). I'm the no thoughts, head empty meme, right now. If I'm being honest, I'm currently writing my review in the page app on my ipad, in the middle of the dark. I couldn't sleep and decided to finish the book, and it's probably the best decision I've ever made in my life—yeah, I'm truly acting as if I don't have a 8-hour flight tomorrow, haha, so my review will probably be messy.

I loved Don't Let The Forest In by C.G Drews but I had some issues—as I said in a previous review—and it seems like everything that left me a little bit.. unhappy in the past, just don't exist in Hazelthorn? I'm not even joking, this book is a masterpiece. It was dark. It was eerie. It was raw. It was romantically twisted . And it had me from the start, from the author"s notes: "this is the story of a boy looking for a monster, and it is also a story of well-placed rage." Do you realize that I was pulled into their world—once again—just with an author's note?

With Hazelthorn, we once again find C.G. Drews' signature style—this eerie, mesmerizing universe where psychological horror, dark academia, and botanical horror intertwine with characters who feel.. too human. I don't really know how to explain what I mean, or even how to put into words what I'm feeling (English, unfortunately, isn't my first language), but these characters are raw and authentic. They have their strengths, their flaws, and they make choices, have thoughts and emotions that make you want to tear your hair out—because they force you to confront something.. real.

I loved Andrew and Thomas, but Evander and Laurie? I'm claiming them. I'm obsessed. I want to crawl into their minds and never move on. But it's not just them. The side characters matter, just as much as the setting(s) and places. I've said it before with Don't Let the Forest In, but one of the things I adore about C.G. Drews is how they give life into everything. The settings aren't just backdrops (obvious, right?), they're characters in their own right. I laugh about it now—though anyone who knows me would tell you that's unlikely, because I'm easily scared—but once again, I had the urge to put on my headphones, blast Agnes Obel and Hozier, and get lost in the forest near my place, just to sit under a tree and keep reading. Did I do it? No. It's winter, and there is no way I'm wandering alone in the woods at one in the morning.

C.G. Drews presents this book as a story about marginalized groups, injustice, pain, queerness, autistic rage, and self-acceptance—and that's exactly what Hazelthorn delivers. As I mentioned earlier, I was completely captivated by Evander and Laurie, and the writing style, combined with the pacing and the much darker atmosphere compared to their previous book, definitely played a role in that. As I mentioned earlier—and it was something that left me unhappy in DLTFI—we dive straight into the action from the very first chapters. Questions start piling up almost immediately, and the need to know more, to keep going, never left me. Honestly, it felt almost criminal to put this book down for anything else.

My review is a mess but.. it was a journey. I'm pretty sure that book was written in blood, using teeth and bones, and some witchcraft, because if not, I don't have any other explanation about how I still feel right now. The writing was, as always, absolutely stunning, and the romance? THE ROMANCE? I said it before but I'm obsessed with Evander and Laurie, with their top-tier banter, with the tension between them, with how their relationship intertwined with everything that's going on around them. They are buzzy and I will never shut up about them (well, I will have to because I’m waiting for my friends to read it in october).

To wrap this up—because I have to stop at some point—I can't wait for this book to be published so that everyone can finally read it. I know it's only march, but I already know that Hazelthorn is, and will remain, one of my best reads of the year.

Thank you again to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You may want to dig yourself into this book if you like YA gothic & botanical body horror, creepy secret garden like vibes, sketchy family drama, hate to love, and eerie vibes all around.

I AM. UNWELL. That’s is all. No, that’s not all because how can you say that’s all over this book?!? CG has quickly become one of my favourite authors, and If you’ve known anything about me it’s that I love botanical/ gothic horror and have essentially been chewing on the walls waiting for Hazelthorn to come out. Luckily, I got it right as I was slipping into being horribly sick and was able to make a cocoon tucked in the corner so I could let Hazelthorn push me over the edge into a rollercoaster of a fever dream. Kidding. Sort of.

Hazelthorn was everything I expect from CG, the fluid writing, entertaining characters, eerie vibes and a collection of quotes that I’ll just tuck over here to come back to later. I’m in love with the dynamic between Evander and Laurie, their interactions are pure entertainment and I laughed (wheezed after trying to laugh because I’m coughing) and couldn’t get enough of the quips that Laurie had.

The overall vibes of the book hit you immediately, with the first line setting an absolutely perfect feeling in the pit of your stomach as you try to unravel everything right alongside Evander’s memory. And then from there on out you’re on a careening downward spiral of sanity as CG leads you through mysteries, twists, and wtf moments.

My recommendation is to have a screaming buddy during reading, someone you can send your ramblings and feral observations to. If you do not have someone to send them to, my DMs are always open and I’m very good at screeching about books

This is my first book from CG Drews, and I was not disappointed. I was hooked from start to finish. I devoured it! I could have finished it in one day, but I forced myself to read slowly. My god was that difficult! A definite page turner! A phenomenal gothic, yet modern, creepy murder mystery, is how’d describe it. There’s also pictures in between chapters. I don’t want to give much away, the synopsis alone is enough to draw you in! Big thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan, Feiwel & Friends and CG Drews for this awesome YA horror ARC! I’m definitely purchasing a physical copy for myself! This is easily one of my top favorite books of 2025!

A botanical horror dripping in vines and dread, with a mouthful of rot waiting to scream.

No really, I loved this one so much. It's gothic horror, and it's yearning, and rage, and all of it wrapped in poison flowers, and thorny vines. Cannot wait to get my paws on it when it releases this Autumn.

This book is wild in the best possible way. C. G. Drews is so good at gothic atmospheric horror vibes that I fear I will be feral for any and all upcoming books. The way they write about body and even mind autonomy is so incredibly disturbing and relatable. I was desperate to know WTF is actually going on the whole time. I will be yelling at all my friends to read this book when it is published.

Holy smokes. I had heard utterly amazing things about C. G. Drews other books - but this absolutely smashed my expectations out of the park. What a lovely, haunting, gothic book packed with just the right amount of EVERYTHING.

"Pain is meant to take up space or else we wouldn't know how to scream. Fuck making your agony silent to avoid disturbing others. Maybe they should be disturbed."

I loved the autistic and queer representation, as well as the pushback against "going with the grain." I adored how it encouraged the idea of being yourself, without shame.

I loved Evander. I loved Laurie. Seriously. The amount of words I could use are garbled, marred and tangled by how utterly amazing this is. Hands down.. PICK THIS UP!

this book was a lot of things and it left me with no words, if i'm being honest. it left me feel hollow and unwell, much like evander.

i devoured this book.

it was bizarre and dark but unique and interesting. it felt like haunting of hill house atmospherically. and the characters and plot felt closer to knives out. and i thoroughly enjoyed all the twists and turns.

i can't wait for this book to come out in october and for everyone to get a chance to read it :)

Hazelthorn was a merciless thicket slowly growing around me, encompassing me and wriggling between my ribs with every page. I am by no means a baby or easily squeamish, and while Hazelthorn didn’t terrify me, it did do a wonderful job truly unsettling me. It compares to Andrew Joseph White(HELL FOLLOWED WITH US, THE SPIRIT BARES ITS TEETH) in its visceral, evocative nature but carries it’s own identity and more natural flow to the line level(where I often find myself describing White’s work as “punchy”, this felt more like a “dance”). I devoured this book so quickly, eager to chase Evander’s story and unravel the family history of the Lennox-Halls like a tangle of roots. Brutally vivid and tender in equal measure, CG Drews has skyrocketed to the top of my author radar. I feel extraordinarily grateful to have received this eARC. 4.5/5 stars!

first of all, a huge thanks to the author and netgalley for accepting my request. i was really excited when i got the arc because i love cg drews and all her work and hazelthorn was no exception. i loved the wiriting and pacing of the book, which was phenomenal. as well as the the story which was amazing, engaging and thrilling.. if you love a dark, gritty book that makes your skin crawl this is the one.

I have absolutely no words to describe what I just read.

I don’t normally read anything creepy or scary but by the time I really realized what I was in for it was too late. I was completely entangled at that point. I absolutely tore through this book. It’s been so long since I’ve read a book that had me trying to cram in just one more chapter one more chapter. Ugh, I hope one day I’ll be able to collect my thoughts enough to right a well thought out review really dissecting what makes this story so beautiful and so brilliant but for now this is truly the best I can do.

What a journey this was, good grief

First of all: I don’t really get scared by books generally. I still love the spooky vibes and the tense feeling that horror and thriller books give sometimes, but not many have actually *scared* me. To say I’m shocked and impressed that a YA horror book would be one to get me would be an understatement. There was a moment when I was reading this lying in bed in the dark as our main character’s door creaked open, and at that moment my partner opened the room door in real life, and I think my soul fully left my body

Second: the writing in this was like reading the most beautifully grotesque poetry ever written. I was constantly taken aback by how someone could write like this. My only gripe is at times I felt like this dragged a smidge due to the flowery prose.

Third: the romance? I simply cannot. I was swooning over Laurie and Evander the whole time. Their banter was top notch. The tension? Chef’s kiss. Obsessed with them. And the added stakes of the romance to the already high stakes of the story just elevated the whole thing for me.

Additionally, the mental health, trauma, and disability representation within the cast of characters and getting to know them and their background will not soon be forgotten by me. I do not think I can elaborate without spoiling things, but the author said it best themselves in the author’s note:
“Hazelthorn is a story of queer and autistic rage and of being pushed over the edge. It is a story of the horror of being denied autonomy. It’s also about internalized shame and being at your worst before clawing your way toward self-acceptance.”

Of course given the above, please check trigger warnings before reading if that is a concern for you. While this was all tastefully and delicately handled, this had some very hard hitting themes.

All of that said: READ IT ASAP, I beg!!!!!!!!

4.75 stars rounded up

Thank you so much to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was an absolute delight to read. C.G. Drews captures yearning and obsession so incredibly well. Hazelthorn is so rich in gore and mystery that it was difficult to put down.

I really enjoyed the way Evander’s autism is depicted. It feels very empathetic without being sugarcoated or watered down. I have never been professionally diagnosed with autism, but I do struggle with pretty bad sensory issues (especially when it comes to physical contact) and I really connected to Evander’s experiences. I feel like a lot of autistic characters that I’ve seen who have sensory issues with physical contact tend to hate it indiscriminately (which is totally valid and definitely reflects lots of people’s experiences!) but I really resonated with how Evander didn’t mind being touched as long as Laurie asked first and gave him warning.

Overall, Hazelthorn is such breathtaking novel about loneliness and growing up with a lack of autonomy. C.G. Drews is definitely an auto-buy author for me, and frankly, anything with a cover illustrated by Jana Heidersdorf is going on the tbr too.