good god y'all I am such a desperate bitch for codependent loves !!!!

alright alright alright so Thomas and Andrew have been besties at their spooky boarding school for years. Andrew writes creepy fairy tales, Thomas draws creepy pictures for said stories, they're honestly a match made in heaven. Andrew's twin and him are both from Australia which isn't really important story-wise (except the audiobook narrator had an Australian accent!).

anyway they come back to boarding school after summer break except Thomas is ,,, different. his parents have mysteriously disappeared over the summer and Andrew eventually figures out that they were eaten by monsters, which are coming to hideous life in the woods around the school. the boys have to work together to protect their classmates. uh, kinda. mostly they get sidetracked staring into each other's eyes and no, I am not kidding.

“I know it wants a heart,” Thomas said, raw, “but it doesn’t have to be yours.”
Andrew’s fingers brushed across Thomas’ beautiful cheekbones, the curve of his perfect jaw, then through the thick, sticky blood spilling from his nose down his lips. Then he wrapped his fingers around Thomas’ throat.
This was how they were, bones broken and mended crookedly, each entwined with the other. He thought maybe you could love someone so much you ruined them, and then you ruined yourself.
“If you cut open my chest” – Andrew’s voice was wrecked – “you’ll find a garden of rot where my heart should be.”
Thomas tilted his head up, and the way he looked at Andrew was so tender and fierce, so full of fearless worship. “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.”


this book is unhinged, you can't trust a single character in it, but Andrew and Thomas are absolutely endgame. talk about ride-or-die friends and codependent lovers, bless 'em.


🌈 queer rep: achillean ace mc, achillean/queer love interest
thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc ✨

It’s been weeks now since I have finished this. I have tried to write a review on this book before and didn’t know how. It’s one that had continued to sit with me as I’ve picked up other books since. It has haunted me (affectionate).

If there were two words that I could use to sum up the vibe of Don’t Let the Forest In it would be pain and suffering (once again this is affectionate). This is my warning for potential readers that this is very teen angst which does have it lean pretty heavy into the YA because of that, so for those who are outside of the target age range, that could be an issue. The angst works for me, in part because of other things happening in the story, but I know it won’t for everyone.

Part one of why the angst worked so well for me is Andrew clearly needs a hug. He is someone who needs a long hug, therapist and medication. His mental illness is acknowledged and talked about (though I would argue people did fail him but not the point right now). His eating disorder is also talked about. All in all, I’m saying that while there is a lot of angst, it didn’t entirely feel like that sole teen angst of no one understands me or I’m getting into situations because I think I know everything. Andrew really is someone who just needs help.

Andrew and Thomas’ relationship is messy and one of the furtherest things from healthy that could be, but I ate it up. I loved their codependency. The way they craved each other and couldn’t seem to really function without each other was delicious.

The monsters were equal parts terrifying and fascinating! I’m so glad that I decided to tandem this as the illustrations really helped me picture what I otherwise couldn’t seem to piece together for myself.

Drews writing was… hauntingly beautiful. It was so easy to feel all the emotions that Andrew was feeling. They created this atmosphere that made me want to keep reading because my anxiety would spike as Andrew’s did. It left me fully engrossed, absorbed into this world of monsters coming alive.

This was a book club book and I think that was an excellent choice. With that ending it really allowed room for a lot of discussion which was excellent! Highly recommend reading this with someone so that you can discuss it.

Don’t Let the Forest In left me mesmerized. Drews writing left me captivated and hungry for more of their work, as well as botanical horror. I can’t wait to read more from this author and see what they come up with next.

This book took the parts of Raven Boys that hang around in the depths of my soul and created something new and horrifyingly beautiful…gimme the next one.

Don't Let the Forest was suitably creepy and the kind of horror that I often love. It is, for lack of better words, more about vibes than it is specifically what happens, right down to the fact that the ending lets readers have multiple interpretations.

Going full five stars here because this is a rare book that I know.... if it had existed when I was in high school I would have been OBSESSED. I also was a Sad Queer Teen who wrote a lot - stories, poetry, song lyrics - and the purpler prose the better. I loved Andrew's stories and I loved the Thomas that found his soulmate illustrating said stories.

I think there's a certain sort of desperation for another person that's so sweetly stitched into the teenage psyche and Don't Let the Forest In explores that in a way that feels so very personal and beautiful and grotesque all at once, even from the early pages, and right through the very end.

Read if you want the vibes of dark academia (the boarding school is a setting but the dark is in the bullying and the somewhat holy doctrine of fighting monsters every night), big yearning, explorations of asexuality and queerness, and beautiful boys doing terrible things and bleeding a whole lot.

Love this, can't wait to see what CG Drews has in store for us next.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group (Feiwel & Friends) and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for review.

DNF, but only due to life. What I read was not really my cup of tea, but I could see what other people love about this book.

A haunting, fanciful tale that follows you into your dreams and brings your nightmares to light. I never thought I would have to take breaks from a book or just stare at a wall for a moment after I read through the ending. There wasn’t a page that I didn’t want to give someone a hug and take pain away, but on the other hand I wanted the descriptions of the drawings and the cruel little fairytales to continue. It brought to mind how cruel and beautiful the Feywild would be if I could be plunged into that realm.

I am so grateful to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book as an ARC.

If you like Fae and dark academia this is the book for you! I would say this book actually scared me but not in a bad way I very much enjoyed the ride. The character development was 10/10 a lot of layers to the themes kept my interest at a peak kept me wanting to know more its dark but absolutely beautiful very well done!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

intense and atmospheric—gave me more to consider about its themes and ready for a re-read. I am normally nervous to read horror novels with this many disclaimers but I felt the journey would be worth the exploration and each topic was treated with depth.

This book was so good yet so different from almost anything I have read. I have been following this author for a while on social media while she was writing this book as well as others. I was very intrigued for this book and so glad I was able to get an early release. Quirky, weird, scary, and suspenseful. This book was all of the those things and more. While this book was something outside what I would normally read, I loved it. I can't wait to see what else she writes.

Andrew returns to Wickwood Academy, an elite and isolated boarding school. His best friend Thomas has a twin sister named Dove. Dove is a social butterfly, but has been very distant. When Andrew and Thomas reunite, Andrew notices that Thomas has blood on his sleeve and wants to protect him, but Thomas seems a bit off. Usually, Thomas draws out the dark fairy tales that Andrew writes, but now these creatures are more than just a drawing on a page. Andrew and Thomas have a very co-dependent relationship that may be born from grief and loneliness, but it seems to be doing them more harm than not.

This is a dark academia horror that will have you questioning what is real and what isn't. The unreliable narrating and the eerie atmosphere, as well as the monsters and the dark fairy tales, all give this book a very unique vibe. Andrew is dealing with self-identity, and Thomas is dealing with a lot of mental struggles. There are a lot of metaphors in this book, the monsters could be seen as an embodiment of grief and guilt. The ending is very open-ended, leaving you questioning a lot of things.. I can sometimes enjoy an open-ended book, but I'm not sure this one felt like enough. Though the ending is very poetic, many people will probably love it. The feeling of this book reminds me a lot of 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle', so if you enjoyed that book, you may also enjoy this. If you like unreliable narrators or dark academia, you may also enjoy this book.

content warning: grief, trauma, obsession, eating disorders, self-harm, unhealthy co-dependency, emotional instability, and psychological instability.

When I first saw this on Netgalley, I fell in love with the cover. After reading the synopsis, I had to have it.

Andrew Perrault, his twin sister Dove, and their best friend Thomas Rye were inseparable at Wickwood Academy, but since returning for senior year, Dove has been inexplicably avoiding them, and Thomas had been acting strange since arriving with dried blood on his sleeve. Desperate to find out what Thomas gets up to, Andrew follows him into the off-limits forest behind the school one night and catches him battling a nightmarish monster.

The monsters Thomas sketches from Andrew's macabre fairytales have been coming to life, and he's been going into the forest every night to keep them at bay. Even with Andrew's help, they struggle to keep the forest from closing in.

These boys are fighting for their lives every night, and it shows during the day. Thomas looks terrible, but there's something particularly concerning about Andrew. He's wasting away, and his sister is pushing him away. What isn't she telling him? The twist at the 80% mark put everything into perspective and blew my mind.

This story explores asexuality and mental health and delves into how grief manifests into repressed memories and disordered eating. Drews handles these themes with empathy and atmospheric prose. Andrew is falling apart. He can't confide in his sister about his confused feelings for Thomas nor that the stories he escapes to are now their reality. The school is in danger.

Thomas is tough, but now Andrew must be HIS protector and figure out how to stop these creatures. Even if it means destroying their creator.

I loved this read, but it ends abruptly. I needed at least one more chapter 😩

Thanks, Netgally, for the ARC of this wonderfully whimsical, dark and gory YA psychological horror.

Finished this book in about two days while visiting family, I just could not put it down! CG Drews writes such lyrical imagery that makes you feel like you are physically there. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending, but I’m very picky with endings in general, so I still enjoyed this book and all the forest rot it had!

Dark, lyrical, and emotionally intense. A haunting story of love, trauma, and monsters brought to life. The writing is vivid and immersive, with unforgettable characters and a gothic atmosphere perfect for fans of supernatural YA.

Posted to Amazon!

Thanks so much!

I’m amazed that I’ve managed to read multiple books in the past few days, but it happened. This time, I finally got off my butt and read Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews. I’ve been following CG Drews on Instagram for quite a while and when they announced that their debut YA Horror novel was on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to request it. But then, after getting approved, my brain so “nope, no reading for you” and it sat in my Kindle app… until last night when I finally got off my butt and started reading. I’m glad I did.

Characters
The main characters, Andrew and Thomas, are quite interesting. Andrew is anxious about literally everything, while Thomas is tough and seen as a bad kid for the most part. At least that’s how everyone seems to view him. I liked both characters quite a bit.

Dove was so standoffish that I was taken aback – after all, she’s Andrew’s twin and even if she didn’t like Thomas for some reason, you wouldn’t think she’d abandon Andrew. But there’s a reason for it and I guessed that reason about halfway through the book.

As for the other characters, we see them but we don’t. We don’t get a lot of background on them and we don’t see them as much as Andrew and Thomas because the story isn’t about them. It’s about Andrew and Thomas.

All in all, I enjoyed the characters very much and enjoyed seeing asexuality portrayed as a lot of LGBTQ+ books I read don’t include asexuality.

Atmosphere
I have to admit, I’ve never been a big fan of forests. Sure, they can be beautiful, but I always end up thinking of what could be lurking out there. So that makes the atmosphere of this story all the better. Let us not forget the boarding school – that seems determined to ignore the weirdness of what is going on – and you’ve got the perfect creepy atmosphere for a story. Especially when you realize the forest might not be staying on its side of the fence.

Writing
CG Drews has a writing style may trip some readers up. The prose in this book, while not extremely difficult to read, is dark, twisted, and makes you stop and consider the imagery that is being put forth on the page. Some might be tempted to call the writing “flowery” for its descriptive nature, but it isn’t flowery – it is dark, moody, creepy, and full of rot and decay. And considering this is a horror novel, that’s a good thing. I have their next novel, Hazelthorn, in my NetGalley queue and I’m anxious to read it as well, as I want to continue reading this deliciously dark writing.

Plot
The plot for Don’t Let the Forest In might seem to take a bit to fully be understood, but it is meant to be that way. After all, there wouldn’t be a story if the plot was blatantly obvious from the start. No, this plot unfolds slowly, with twists coming here and there. The twists are rarely what you expect and even if you are expecting something, it may not be entirely correct. Some things become obvious as you read, others just pop up out of nowhere. It makes for a delightfully creepy read!

Intrigue
The intrigue in this book is amazing. There are so many questions that pop into your head as you read. Is Thomas what the gossip says he is? Why doesn’t Dove want anything to do with Thomas and why is she distancing herself from Andrew and everyone else? Does the school’s biggest bully have anything to do with this? What is going on here? Is all of this real? So many questions, so few answers…

Relationships
The relationships in this book are beautifully broken. Dove seems to want nothing to do with her twin. Andrew and Thomas dance around what they are and how they feel for each other. Even the relationships between faculty and Andrew or faculty and Thomas are disjointed, out of place, slightly off-center. It makes for wonderful reading and even more questions!

Ending
The ending? Obviously meant to be a one-off book. Stand-alone. No need for another book. Yet the ending will also leave you staring at the wall, wondering if it really is over. What did you just read there at the very end? Is everything OK? Is everything not OK? Who lived? Who died? What is going on? Was this all just a fever-dream? And yet even with all the unanswered questions that may pop into your head, you realize… you don’t want a sequel. It is perfect as it is.

I gave this book 5 stars. Not because I’ve been following CG Drews since before this book was even put on NetGalley, but because this book was amazing. Deliciously creepy, twisty, nightmare fuel that may not keep you up for days, but might make you stare a little closer at the shadows… or the trees in your backyard.

The concept of this book was really fun and I adored the characters themselves, but it was sort of hard to follow with how flowery and 'pretty' the writing was. There were so many metaphors and such that I honestly felt a bit stupid, like everyone else was getting it and I just... wasn't able to. I don't want to knock off stars for that, because the story itself was a great read, it was likely just a 'me issue' but I found it really hard to get through and honestly, it took me a long time. I picked it up and put it down several times. I wanted to know how the characters ended up, which is what made me keep trying, but it took me weeks to get through.

This story was very fun to work through. I think the character development was great and watching them evolve through the story really was my favorite part.

Gothic forests, dark twisted fairytales, and beautiful prose. This book was written so beautifully and it draws you in so you don’t want to put it down. It’s creative and well executed.

The “mystery” was a little too obvious and some of the stylistic choices pulled me out of the “movie in my head”.

I think all in all this book is beautifully YA.

very late to writing this review but had read the arc in the allotted time period before archiving. i thought i was going to enjoy this much more than i did, which was disappointing. imagery and world building was beautiful and unique at first but got repetitive after awhile it seemed. the two mmcs were giving toxic relationship more than “love of my life i’d die for” and honestly gave me the ick sort of. i did enjoy the twist at the end!

This was my first time reading CG Drew’s work but certainly not the last! Beautiful writing that builds this strange creepy tale. couldn’t get enough!