First I have to comment on this books cover it just pulled me in for some reason and made me want to read this love it.
Now on to my thoughts
Overall, Don’t Let the Forest In
This is a thought-provoking story that will have you second guessing going into the woods.
fans of dark academia, horror, will enjoy this
Thanks netgalley

This book destroyed me, and I thanked it for the tears. The prose is downright poetic, every bloody, magic word, as all good fairy tales should be. I am bereft. One of my favorite reads of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars. This book was right up my alley. It is the perfect Halloween read!

The writing style is insanely good. I was eating up every line. It’s so descriptive. The scary and gross descriptions of the monsters and the forest were so creepy! I was gagging or cringing at some of the lines, in the best way possible.

Even each of Andrew’s stories that he wrote were so well written! Sometimes in books if a character is an author or writes poems or what not, what the character writes isn’t that good. This was not the case with this book! Every little story was so unique and creepy, it gave me chills.

I loved Andrew so much and my heart ached for him every time he was too in his head or looked down on himself. I related to him in so many ways, so his character really hit home for me. He has a special place in my heart.

I honestly didn’t like Thomas that much at first. I know we were supposed to like him because Andrew did, but he said some pretty harsh things, even if he was just protecting him. He also kept so many things from Andrew even though Andrew proved he wouldn’t get angry or look at him differently, which was frustrating. I think because I loved Andrew so much that if Thomas made him upset I got angry at him. Thomas is Andrew’s best friend and Andrew is obsessed with him, and they had a lot of history I did not get to see, so I wasn’t quite as forgiving as he was when Thomas did him dirty. Andrew did also say though they both knew how to push each other’s buttons and where to hurt each other the most, so Andrew wasn’t always innocent either.

Don’t get me wrong, I still wanted him and Thomas to get together. So many of the things they said or thought about each other was either so romantic or so heartbreakingly good, I was eating it up. I just didn’t like Thomas’ character as much as Andrew liked him.

I liked Lana a lot! She was in it quite a bit, but I could have used even more of her. I wish Dove was fleshed out a little more as well.

I need to reread this, almost immediately. So many signs were there showing what was going on but I didn’t connect the dots! I should have put the pieces together, but since we are in Andrew’s head I just took what he thought as truth.

The author’s note of this book made me laugh because that is exactly what I was doing! This will haunt me for a while! When it ended I thought to myself “that can’t be the end! I need more!!” But also it ended in the perfect spot. Two things can be true at once haha.

I do wish we had a little more answers on what happens in the aftermath, especially because some pretty major things happened. I want to see more of Andrew and Thomas together. Who knows, maybe we will get a sequel or a short story of them! I hope.

I highly recommend this. What you see is what you get, and it is very much so worth the read.

First of all—this has the most stunning cover and that will definitely be why a lot of people pick it up. Unfortunately, the words inside are less stunning. In many parts, the prose felt very try-hard and it ended coming off convoluted and nonsensical, and the characters felt like caricatures to me. TBH if you want a YA horror with deep themes and lyrical prose, pick up Kelly Andrew instead.

First off I love that the book takes places in Virginia because that’s where I’m from so it was cool to see it. Second this book took me on an emotional roller coaster and the ending absolutely shocked me. The dark academic vibes were fantastic as well. Very well written and the LGBTQ+ with the main character being asexual but still maintaining a romantic relationship is a nice reminder that relationships come in all shapes and forms and does not have to be physical for it to still be a valid relationship

This was an interesting story with some great writing, but as it progressed I found it harder and harder to get the pieces to fit together. The plot just got too far out there for me and it didn't feel grounded in anything. It felt like anything crazy out there could happen on the next page which made it hard to care. The ending also doesn't really resolve most of the story and it just feels like there are gaping holes left behind.

I did enjoy the atmosphere of the book though and the creepier parts where well executed.

CG Drews' Don't Let the Forest In, set to release on 10/29/24, is a gripping exploration of love, loss, and the shadows that lurk within us. Following high school senior Andrew Perrault, the novel weaves a dark fairytale that reflects both the magic and the terror of self-discovery.

Plot Summary: Andrew finds solace in the twisted fairytales he writes for Thomas Rye, a boy with ink-stained hands and hair reminiscent of autumn leaves. As Andrew navigates the challenges of his senior year, he grapples with his twin sister Dove's sudden coldness and the growing bond with Thomas, who is hiding troubling secrets. When Thomas’s abusive parents disappear, and he shows up at school with blood on his sleeve, Andrew’s concern for his friend intensifies. The discovery of Thomas battling nightmarish monsters—creations of his own artwork—propels them into a fight for survival and the unraveling of their relationship.

REVIEW:
While the love story between Andrew and Thomas is beautifully crafted, Andrew's character initially feels a bit weak, often playing the victim in the face of his challenges. However, by the end, he embarks on a journey of redemption, showcasing growth that makes his character arc satisfying. Thomas, in contrast, emerges as a well-written, complex figure—both a hero in Andrew’s eyes and a vital source of support.

The novel explores rich themes of identity, love, and the struggle against one’s inner demons. The forest serves as a powerful metaphor for the unknown aspects of their lives and the monsters they must confront. A particularly striking twist—a revelation about a character presumed alive—adds a layer of depth that resonates long after the story concludes.

Drews’ lyrical prose immerses readers in the vivid and haunting world of Wickwood Academy and the mysterious forest. The blend of whimsy and horror creates an atmosphere that perfectly complements the emotional undertones of the narrative.

Final Thoughts:
Don't Let the Forest In offers a poignant love story intertwined with a thrilling fantasy narrative. Despite some initial reservations about Andrew's character, the novel ultimately delivers a compelling tale of bravery and connection. With its LGBTQ themes and unexpected twists, this book is sure to resonate with readers looking for both heart and depth.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

First, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’ll start by saying that the premise of this book, the prose, and the scenery/imagery were all lovely. It felt so haunting and I was hooked pretty early on. It handled some pretty heavy topics in beautifully gruesome ways.

But it also felt like it was trying too hard to be edgy and gruesome and horrific in some places, and I feel like it took away some of the punch from where it was important to have that horror the most.

All in all, this was a great read if you want something substantial, something that makes you want to keep sinking your claws in deeper.

I really loved this book! The writing was phenomenal and the characters were very well developed. I think my only complaint is the ending was pretty abrupt.

I liked this book so much! The creepy atmosphere and constant tension/anxiety kept my attention. The way the horror entered the story was really interesting. The desperate tension between the two main characters had me utterly hooked

Andrew's return to boarding school should be a return to all that's normal and right, but his twin Dove and their best friend Thomas aren't talking, and the police are questioning Thomas. And that's the normal part of his year. Andrew writes brothers grim style fairy tale vignettes and Thomas gives them life with macabre illustrations. Literally, and now Andrew and Thomas are fighting every night for their lives and the lives of their classmates.

Lyrical and haunting Don't Let the Forest In captures the feeling of being a mentally ill high school senior disturbingly well, and then takes it further. This is a story that will make you ask "what the fuck?" again and again.
Horrifically beautiful and deliciously fucked up, it's a plot driven story that will terrify you and leave you questioning the narrative's reality. C. G. Drews is a wordsmith. Highly recommended for horror and dark academia fans, and it might be worth a read for others for the prose and vignettes alone.

The ending leaves too much unanswered for my personal preferences, but I believe that is a convention of dark academia. I don't feel the content warning list in the book is comprehensive but some of them could definitely be massive spoilers so I understand why. I personally would have wanted this warning so I'm putting it below a spoiler.

The Tik Tok video is in my drafts so expect it later this week

This book sounded like a perfect spooky season read! The book started off quite well and I was pretty hooked in. But then I started losing interest and getting confused. I think this book has so many directions it wanted to go in but it just couldn’t be fully fleshed out. I liked this book, but I wanted so much more.

This story is dark, hauntingly beautiful, disturbing and full of teenage angst and I continue to think about even a week after finishing it. I felt like I was peeling back the layers of what these boys were feeling and finding something totally unexpected. This book was both terrifying and beautiful and it was really hard to let it go.

Andrew is the sole narrator of this story, and even from the beginning, before all of the horror begins, you get the sense that he is not a reliable narrator. We know from the start that something bad happened at the end of the previous school year, that has broken the friendship between him, his best friend Thomas, and his sister. Andrew is friendless except for Thomas, and his grief over what is going on is palatable from the start. His unreliable narration continues as the monsters reveal themselves and the barrier between reality and nightmares becomes blurred. By the end of the story I still wasn’t sure how much of the story was real or imagined by Andrew. I really felt Andrew’s pain as he tries and at times fails to navigate his emotions about himself and those for Thomas, and even why he is protecting a school that has never protected him. I loved the beautiful relationship between him and Thomas and fragile it was at the beginning, but it eventually becoming something stronger.

The writing was what I really liked about this story. It was so beautiful and so descriptive that I had no trouble imagining the monsters and the horrors that these two boys went through. I was right there with them in the forest and the halls of the school as they fought to save each other and the school. I understand that there will be illustrations in the final book, which will add a marvelous layer to the story. The pacing was solid, with some nice quiet moments between the characters after the horror of the monsters. The blending of the themes of friendship, love, grief, discovering and accepting yourself amongst all of the horror was beautifully done. The ending was somewhat open, in that we are not sure what happens to the boys, but there was some implied closure, that while not happy, was at least an ending.

This book won’t be for everyone. It is disturbing in some ways, and if you don’t like unreliable narrators, than this isn’t for you. But if you like emotional stories about grief, acceptance and self discovery hidden inside a horror story, this is one you don’t want to miss.

“It was a school for brilliance, for fixating on the stars until you grew tall enough to reach them.”

“Andrew hated the way his brain did this. Destroyed beautiful things.”

“If the trees belonged to Thomas, midnight was in love with Andrew.”

“October arrived with cold teeth sharp enough to split bone.”

This book was beautiful in the most cold and dark of ways. From the beginning, it is clear that there is something deeply unsettling about Andrew, Thomas, Dove, and the boarding school they all attend, Wickwood Academy.
Andrew writes grim, dark fairy tales and Thomas draws them, both boys having darkness inside them that comes to life in their respective art--or in Thomas’s case, quite literally comes to life. The boys battle the monsters that come to life in the woods of Wickwood Academy, and through their battles, you start to see a much darker tapestry unravel.
I spent weeks after reading Don’t Let the Forest In to try to articulate just how unsettled I was after the last page. Drews had a hauntingly beautiful way of describing obsession in this book. There are layers as to why the obsession starts and how each character feels and acts on their infatuation with the woods, the dark, the macabre, and each other. Don’t Let the Forest In should be read on a dark and dreary day with a hot drink in hand as you sit by the window--preferably, close to wooded land so you can stare and sigh as the monsters come to life.
#DontLettheForestIn #NetGalley

4.25

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early review copy.

In Dont Let the Forest In we follow Andrew during his senior year of school. Almost immediately we get warned the forest is off limits. Based on the title alone you just KNOW something creepy is going down in there.

In the first couple chapters we are already in a position to root for and feel empathy towards Andrew. His dad is dropping off him and his sister Dove to school and we can see theres some animosity there. Something happened at school that his Dad has cause to worry about him going back.

The author does an amazing job of building this tension from page one. Why wouldnt his dad want him and Dove to go back? Once at school we meet Andrews best friend Thomas and their friendship starts to unspool before our eyes.

My favorite thing about this book was the atmosphere and the foresty imagery. I felt the tension and you could cut it with a knife. In places I felt like I could SMELL the moss and dried leaves. The descriptions were so lush and poetic. Also the way the creepy nature crept up on you!? Then all of a sudden I was too scared to keep reading in the dark! *chefs kiss*

Another thing I loved about this book is that for a YA book it got REALLY grotesque and downright dark and creepy in places. The author didnt shy away from dark imagery and I really appreciate when YA authors dont hold back. Teens and young adults are inherently smart and deserve good old fashion creepy/scary books too!

I think the only thing that kept this book from being a 5 stars for me is that shortly after Andrew arrives at school I did find the pace to lag ever so slightly, but once I hit that 30% mark I could not put it down.

Summary: "Psychological horror will leave readers breathless and hesitant to venture deeper into the woods."
"Once upon a time, Andrew had cut out his heart and given it to this boy, and he was very sure Thomas had no idea that Andrew would do anything for him. Protect him. Lie for him. Kill for him."

Review: Weird, gory, dark academia... count me in! I think author was very successful with the hole "creepy forest" topic. That was chef's kiss! It gets under your skin and makes you all itchy. A+. Please remember to read CW before starting your read.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy!

#DontLettheForestIn #NetGalley

If the cover calls to you, changes are you will love this - brutal and beautiful, this is the embodiment of thorny purple prose, where dark fairy tales and monsters mix with unreliable narrators until you're not sure what's real and what's metaphor anymore, unsure if that creeping feeling along your leg is just nerves or a vine, unseen and lying in wait.

Don't Let the Forest In achieves one of my favorite sorts of unreliable narrators - where you know Andrew is unreliable, but there's just enough to make you question just what parts of what he's experiencing are real and which aren't, right up until the very end. You get sucked in to the world of thorns and forests and flowers and rot, so involved that you don't know what to think when you start to want it to be real instead of just a cautionary tale.

Did I go into this book expecting a gothic, dark-academia adjacent horror novel soaked in plant horror? Yes. Did I expect to be left reading deep into the night, gripped by each page and crying at 2am because I NEEDED to know what happened to Andrew and Thomas? No but that’s damn well what happened.

"If the trees belonged to Thomas, then midnight was in love with Andrew.”

Andrew escapes into his own twisted fairytales to survive the everyday, and Thomas pens them into beautifully haunting illustrations – that come to life and start tearing the boys apart. This is where we enter DON’T LET THE FOREST IN, a twisted fairytale in its own right, filled with angst, yearning, gore and all manner of forest-dwelling nightmares. This novel is friends to lovers, but the lovers want to crawl inside each other. It’s YA horror where the monsters are on almost every single page and inside our main character’s head even more. This is everything I loved about The Raven Boys but taken to another level. It’s the vibe of Adam Parrish agreeing to be the forests’ eyes and ears but more, reaching into our Andrew’s heart and wrapping around his bones. It’s magic and grief and longing and the horror of what our own brains can conjure, and I loved it.



CHARACTERS

Well, I’m mark Andrew down as another feral but anxious MMC I’ll lay my life down for. I swore that I’d stop collecting weird little fictional loves (affectionate) to cram into the valves of my heart, but Andrew is made of broken glass and needs to be Protected. Of course, he is also so much stronger than he expects himself to be, and has made himself to feel – Thomas knows this.

However, DON’T LET THE FOREST IN is an exploration of a boy on the edge, of a clever and brave teen pushed past the point of wellness because of something terrible (hello, plot twist I was not expecting but definitely should have been), and it doesn’t take much for him to begin slipping away. The forest is a metaphor for SO many feelings, and Andrew is certainly loved by it. His emotions and the forest both constrict him, following him wherever he goes, tripping him as he walks until he’s running from foes in the daylight when everyone knows you’re supposed to be safe from monsters. Just not these ones. He is poetic and angsty, so filled with emotions that he’s bursting at the seams, and so desperately in love with his best friend Thomas. Andrew also offers gorgeous aromantic rep, and his story of acceptance and discovery is one that haunts the halls of this story as much as the forest-monsters do.

Thomas is similarly an incredibly rich character, a foil to much of Andrew’s anxiety. They make a hell of a pair in the forest, working together to keep the monsters away from the school, and being ripped apart every night in the process. Thomas is much of the reason that Andrew finds his strength, and Thomas is likewise a catalyst for his own growth. Get you a boy who would answer ‘yes’ immediately when asked if he’d sacrifice himself for you – and then try everything to make sure he doesn’t have to. Thomas is that typical ‘hates everyone but one person’ character, but he’s been given a softer side that contrasts so wonderfully with the person he is when he’s protecting Andrew.

The friends to lovers trope is exquisitely explored, growing as naturally and organically as the vines that wind themselves around both boys every evening in the forest. DLFTI takes high-school angst and rams up thirteen notches until everything is life and death – but for the genre we’re sitting in, this works. Everything IS life and death, for Andrew specifically. But when nightmares and drawings come to life, and you don’t know who or what to trust especially yourself, that long-harboured crush becomes something much more all-consuming.



PLOT/STORY

I found that the pacing of DLTFI moved perfectly, with just enough of a breather between each horrifying encounter with Thomas’s drawings come to life that I was able to really feel the consequences of each, while the threat was maintained. Drews’ prose brought to life things that everyone sees in the dark of the forest and chucks them into the supposedly safe halls of a private school, which is just the dichotomy that I think I loved most about this novel, and the horror genre as a whole. DLTFI encapsulates that feeling of ‘but I should be safe here’ and then turns it on its head.

When Andrew returns to school, we know that something has gone horribly wrong. But Andrew is an unreliable narrator, and so we never truly find out what happened during his last academic year until right at the end, when the stakes are highest and when the reveal is most impactful. I’m a fan of unreliable narrators, and this was so well done that the reveal took me by surprise, even as an incredibly suspicious reader – I was just SO engrossed in Andrew’s state of mind, in his relationship with Thomas, with Dove his twin sister, and his steadily unraveling life.

We follow Andrew and Thomas in their attempts to discover why Thomas’s drawings have started coming to life and terrorising them at school. But interspersed with the sort of horror that grows increasingly hard for them to hide, and increasingly takes its toll on their mental and physical wellbeing, is a story of queerness, of familial relationships, and of YA coming to age. Andrew is navigating a myriad of emotions, and Drews manages to capture the uprooting feeling of finding (and losing) yourself as a young person in a wonderful way.

The prose is PACKED with imagery, and as a lover of description and emotive language, I was absolutely living my best life. It’s like every sentence is diffused with life, dripping with emotion, caked in imagery as thick as soil, and I loved it. I’m a firm fan of lush prose, and DON’T LET THE FOREST IN has this in droves.

Quite simply, this was an addictive and emotional tale that gripped me and didn’t let go. I cried for Andrew and Thomas both and I look a little differently at the forest now when I walk through it.

**I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

CG Drews presents their take on YA horror with Don't Let the Forest In. Readers follow Andrew as he returns to his senior year at Wickwood Academy. Everything is the same. Same bullies. Same teachers. Same Thomas. Thomas who is the prince of his stories and is made of monsters. Andrew writes and Thomas draws. But Dove, Andrew's twin, is refusing to talk to them now. Before it was the three of them. And Andrew has new scars on his hand that no one wants to talk about. Andrew knows he needs Thomas, but doesn't he need his twin too? When the monsters of Thomas' drawings start crawling out of the forest and attacking students, Andrew and Thomas have to do something. Who will pay the tithe?

This novel is curling up in a library and viewing the comfort of academia from just slightly out of frame. Until ink bleeds onto the picture and makes it something macabre and wicked. It is gore and body horror and the dread of things watching from the dark. This is everything I could have hoped for from a book like this.

Andrew and Thomas are codependent and toxic and I love them so much. Each of them are exploring their queerness and what that means for them. Not individually. They are inherently intertwined and can't be separated.

I see where this book won't be for everyone. But it is absolutely for me.

For those of you who were swept away in the mind games of The Wicker King, the poetry of If We Were Villains, and the burrowing dread of Summer Sons. This one is for you.

Solid book, I loved the atmosphere the book gave off paired with the way in which it flowed. I am hoping to get a copy when it is published.