4.25

“Everything inside me is in ruins,” Thomas said. “For you.”

Stoppp I am obsessed with these damaged, broken boys.

Thank you so much Macmillan and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much. The creepy vibes, the dark forest, the way the horror built a d built, adding a sense of urgency as you read, was all so perfectly done. This is what I’d been looking for with some other books I’ve read this month that have missed the mark.

Being inside Andrew’s head was A LOT. Drews really captures that all-encompassing anxiety, that feeling you’re going mad, really freaking well. It added an extra frantic energy to the story. But I loved this terrified, damaged boy so, so much. I just wanted to wrap him up and take care of him.

The relationship between Andrew and Thomas was almost dangerously co-dependent but, given everything they’ve gone through, it makes absolute sense. The slow burn of their relationship and all that angsty pining was absolutely delicious.

I also really loved Lana and Chloe and the image of the group of them potentially being besties together if things had been different was a really lovely one.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

My only complaint is how long it took Andrew to realise it was HIM creating the monsters and feeding the forest. It may have been that he just didn’t want to acknowledge it because it was tied up in so much trauma, but it was so painfully obvious to me early on that his continued ignorance became frustrating during the second half.

Two boys in love - one who writes terrifying fairytales and the other who illustrates them - and their love brings these monsters to life. Say less! I blew through this book in less than 24 hours because I was absolutely hooked. I needed to know what was happening with the monsters in the woods, and I needed to know what was causing them to creep around to begin with. I loved the asexual representation with Andrew while also allowing him to explore his feelings for Thomas and what it means to love someone without wanting to be sexually intimate with that person. The botanical body horror in this book was top tier, and it gave me the ick so many times. I also thought the anxiety representation via Andrew was well-done. Overall, I loved this and I am so excited to get my hands on a physical copy.

ambiguous endings are my downfall. other than that, this book was a great spooky fall read. I loved Andrew so much, he and Thomas being that obsessed with one another, ugh.

this was my first of C.G. Drews books, but I will definitely be picking up another in the near future. Thank you to Netgalley and Feiwel for the e-arc!

I will read pretty much anything with ace rep because we are woefully underrepresented in media but boy, am I glad I had the chance to read this one! Folk horror is probably my favorite genre of creepy books and this one hit perfectly. If you liked the Raven Cycle series but want something with a bit more edge and bit less Happily Ever After, this book is for you. I’m so thankful we are not only getting more mainstream asexual representation, but really incredible stories that normalize our identity!

I think it’s funny how the last words of the acknowledgment are “may this one haunt you“ and right after I read the last chapter I thought “oh this book will find me in my nightmares” so I’d say c.g. drews succeeded with what they set out to accomplish. this book is both exactly up my alley and not really. the themes call to me but I usually don’t seek them out because it makes me squirmish and uncomfortable — but once in a while it’s good to feel like that. I loved this story. It ate away at me and buried itself into my body and mind. I’m sure months from now I’ll think of it and shudder a little. In the best way possible.

This was a very well written and intriguing book. It was a bit slow, but I was captivated the whole time. I’ll admit that I really didn’t understand the ending and I’m feeling a bit confused. It was horror, but it wasn’t scary in the slightest. It was the perfect read for October!

“Their story had begun in the forest, a collision both violent and beautiful.”

Wow! This was a scary good time and perfect for spooky season! YA horror where we follow Andrew, who writes twisted fairytales, Dove, his studious twin sister, and Thomas, his artistic best friend and crush at Wickwood Academy. This isn’t a spoiler because it is in blurb, but we quite literally are fighting terrifying forest monsters in this story! The descriptions and writing in this was just harrowing. Honestly, this is about as much horror as I can take, haha. I love the development of the relationship between Andrew and Thomas (who are toxically codependent) and that ending… I was left speechless. I’m still buzzing from this read and I highly recommend if you want a nightmarish yet tender YA read! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing for this e-arc! Pub Date: 10/29/24

I may have just finished this one but I cannot find the words to explain how this book made me feel. It is so so unexpectedly good, and that's only because I had no expectations going into it!

If the cover alone doesn't draw you in, let me set the stage for you. Gothic style boarding school, twins, eerie forest no one is allowed to go in, troubled teens, monster drawings that come to life, queer romance. Need I say more?

Andrew Perrault and his twin sister, Dove, are returning to Wickwood Academy for their senior year. Thomas Rye, fellow outsider and bestfriend amongst the twins, completes the trio in this odd friendship and nobody is happier to see him than Andrew. Thomas brings Andrew's twisted fairytales to life on paper with artistic and powerful monster drawings while Dove is their biggest supporter.

However, and of course, nothing is as it seems.

Andrew has never considered himself a social butterfly yet lately people are looking out for him more than usual. His sister, who after having an argument with Thomas, is now avoiding the boys at all cost. Andrew is in love with Thomas but has never openly discussed his sexualtiy with anyone, let alone with his best friend who is also seemingly in love with his sister. Thomas is struggling with the sudden death of his abusive parents. Andrew is struggling with an ED and Dove is nowhere to be found. The cherry on top? Thomas' drawings are coming to life and threatening the school's safety. So how will this trio stop the murderous monsters from devouring them whole?

This book may be tragic and haunting but it has a heart-wrenching beautiful love story intertwined within that will make you second guessing until the very end. I highly recommend this one!!

DNF at 65%.
I was really into this book for the first half but lost interest in the second, which is more of a me problem I think since I’ve read most reviews saying the opposite. The authors writing is wonderful and the horror is delicious. Just not hitting for me right now. Would read more from this author!

thank you MTMC Tours for the eARC

did i finish this book or did this book finish me? i will think about the ending forever omg

this book was so beautifully written that i had to highlight a lot of lines and scenes, and this does't happen much usually. Also i felt all the creepiness and the anxiousness and the book was so addictive and full of plot twists i hadn't expected!
the characters are really interesting and i fell in love with them right away <3
the love story made my tear my hair out all the time /pos

least but not last i liked the ace rep and it broke me seeing a character fighting against so much internalized aphobia, i cheered for andrew all the time and wished him the best <3

This was lush, atmospheric, and kept a constant thread of creepiness & ominous dread throughout, perfect for spooky season. I enjoyed having an ace main character and liked the discussions of his identity with several characters.

However, I wish this had a little more substance. The main twist was fairly predictable which is fine, it was very heavily foreshadowed. But I was expecting to learn more about the connection between the twist and the monsters, or what was causing the magic, why it started and whether it has stopped now, and whether any number of events actually occurred as described in the book or if they were all part of some sort of psychiatric break. It felt like it was really building up to something and I’m disappointed that the something in question was the resolution of the romance-type plotline more than it was an explanation of all of the other elements of the story.

I really don’t know how to put my feelings about this book into words but I’m going to try.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this one. And that’s not because I don’t read horror (though that’s partially the reason), it’s because this book is wholly unique in its style and execution. The entire time I was reading it felt like there was something lodged in my throat. This story inspired me to write poetry for the first time in months.

Andrew has returned to the only place that has ever felt like home to him, because that’s where Thomas is. But Wickwood Academy feels different this year. Andrew’s twin sister, Dove, is giving him the cold shoulder. Thomas is interrogated by police for the disappearance of his parents. But these aren’t the only things haunting them. Monsters lurk in the woods, monsters that exist only in Thomas’s drawings and Andrew’s stories. And as the winter approaches, so does the forest.

This book is just. Wow. The characters are beautifully written, both in description and character. The love that they share for their art and each other is tangible. They are both so complex and fighting these demons — both literally and figuratively, and it is done phenomenally. Just enough of these characters is left undisclosed and it makes for that much better of a story.

The pacing is also brilliant. I genuinely didn’t want to put this book down. The way that actions balance out the intensely graphic description and the characters emotions fit into the evolution of the plot is just so well done.

I could go on and on about the imagery, but really that’s all the reason you should need to read this book.

<b> “He wished he could stuff the ashy remains in his mouth, inked monsters and matches and wicked flames and all. It would burn him to the core but not before he spent a bright, searing moment feeling full. Emptiness banished.” </b>

Do you need any more? The whole book is like that and it’s beautiful.

Overall, this story beyond exceeded my expectations. I was so nervous about starting this book because it’s not a genre I usually read, but I’m so glad I did.

This was such a beautifully written story about heartbreak, grief, mental health and sexuality wrapped in a horror story of monsters and mayhem. It's rare that a horror story is so poetic and beautiful underneath the gore and frightful monsters, but ultimately I think that's one of the points of the book.

The relationship between Thomas and Andrew is so complex and the way they fight for each other is as beautiful as it is heart wrenching.

I grieved with these characters and rooted for them and I can't stop thinking about this one. I'm certain this book will stick with me for a long time!

First off, I just want to say that this cover is absolutely incredible and it's why I wanted to read this book in the first place. I can't wait to display this one!

Now onto the review.

This has been a bit of a weird year for me when it comes to reading. It's been hard for me to get invested in books, and even when I am it's been hard to keep my interest for more than a chapter or two. With that being said, I absolutely devoured this book. From the get go I loved Andrew and Thomas. I saw people marketing this as toxic codependency and that made me a little nervous because that isn't usually what I go for, but I don't think they really had a toxic codependent relationship, at least not in the way I thought they were going to. I felt more like they were two very lonely, troubled boys who loved each other very much. Maybe a little bit of a codependent relationship, but it was also incredibly sweet and I couldn't help but root for them. I also really appreciated that they both had their moments of strength and weakness throughout the book and were able to lean on the other when they needed to. Considering Andrew's anxiety, it would have been very easy for that to be his whole personality, but he had plenty of moments where he was the one who took charge so Thomas could be the one to fall apart. It made them feel much more multifaceted and realistic.

I loved the writing style and how vivid the monsters were. I can't wait to see the artwork in the published book. I loved all the twists and turns, especially toward the end when you're trying to find out who to believe and what's going on. I will for sure be rereading this at some point because I'm sure I missed out on details during my initial read.

The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because I'm personally not a fan of books that leave a lot of unanswered questions and this one does. I understand that's the point, and realistically when I reread this in the future it'll likely be bumped up to a 5, but after finishing it initially I did feel unsatisfied. Again, just a personal preference.

Overall, this was a great book and I highly recommend!

There is something about this author's writing style that made it difficult to understand. It's a very slow burn, and while it was probably a really deep and insightful story for some, it just didn't hit me like I thought it would.

What if you loved someone so much it destroyed you?

In Don't Let the Forest In, C.G. Drews writes a gory poem, a love letter to all the things that hurt and haunt. While marketed for YA and full of teen angst, I felt like the themes were much more adult than I expected (definitely check the content warnings before reading). There's coming-of-age, but also queerness, grief, mental health, and an exploration of the monsters we carry- and create. I'll be haunted by this book for a long time.

I could not put it down, and reading into the wee hours of the morning felt like the way it was supposed to be consumed. Eerie and atmospheric, the boarding school setting was a perfect backdrop to the psychological thrills and beautiful, terrible monsters. The queer representation, especially with an Ace MC, was handled realistically, and I appreciated how it was able to sit in Andrew's confusion and questioning without feeling the need to force neat understandings of sexuality. People, like this book, are complicated, messy, unreliable narrators of their own lives.

Thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for ruining my life in the best way possible.

This YA fantasy-horror queer novel is a must-read, with cover art that perfectly captures its creepy, artistic vibe. The plot revolves around Andrew, a shy, creative student at Wickwood Academy, whose monstrous drawings, brought to life by his friend Thomas, begin to hunt their creator. The chemistry between Andrew and Thomas is intense, and the gothic school setting adds to the eerie atmosphere. With themes of love, jealousy, and mystery, this tragic yet beautiful story is hauntingly captivating.

I finished this last night and honestly I've been staring at the wall just saying "what?" Which I've gathered is the point of the book, so well done! While I did suspect the twist early on, having it confirmed makes me want to go back and re-read it knowing what's to come.

Andrew is a highly unreliable narrator and there were many times that his and Thomas's characters bled together (which was kind of the point) that I did become confused as to where one stopped and the other began. The writing is fantastical and poetic and the imagery was superb and everything came together in a way in which you had no idea what was real and what was delusion. Even at the end, you're still not sure and I loved it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the eArc of this book. It is definitely one that will stay with you.

Absolutely blew me away! This was more out of my comfort zone but the pacing and depth was so good I think anyone would love this.

This was really a beautiful book. I loved the prose, I loved the setting, I loved the viciousness of what was going on, and how the nastiness of how some characters were was then conflicted with the beauty and the horror of the forest.

I will admit I saw the twist coming from a mile away (or, well, to be fair, I guessed what it could be because of the bread crumbs that were left in the story), but that didn't negate how well it ended up being.

I really had a good time with this one and this is a perfect read for the Fall weather.

Thank you to Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for a chance to read and review!