Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews is a haunting and beautifully written YA gothic horror that completely captivated me from the very beginning. Set in a dark, mysterious boarding school surrounded by a sentient forest, this book combines atmospheric horror with a story about young love, grief, and friendship. And let me tell you—it hits hard.

The story follows Andrew, who returns to school after summer break only to realize that things are different this year. His twin sister, Dove, has distanced herself, and his best friend Thomas is behaving strangely—especially after his parents go missing under suspicious circumstances. But the real terror begins when Andrew stumbles into the forbidden forest and sees Thomas fighting off monsters. That moment sets the stage for a gripping, terrifying journey into a world filled with forest creatures and buried secrets.

The dynamic between Andrew and Thomas was one of my favorite aspects of the book. There’s a lot of angst, tension, and yearning between them, and their relationship felt so real and raw. Thomas, the brooding bad boy, is impossible not to love, while Andrew struggles with his emotions in a way that feels relatable and heartbreaking. There were definitely moments when I just wanted to yell at them to kiss already! But the slow-burn romance fits perfectly with the darker themes of the book.

Drews’ writing is poetic and atmospheric, really pulling you into the eerie world of the forest. The monsters, both literal and metaphorical, were terrifying, and the twists in the plot kept me guessing right up until the end. I have to admit, there were a few moments that broke my heart—this book doesn’t shy away from its emotional depth. But it was so beautifully written that I couldn’t help but love it.

If you’re a fan of dark academia, queer romance, and stories filled with emotional depth, Don’t Let the Forest In is a must-read. It’s perfect for those rainy autumn afternoons when you want something spooky and thought-provoking. Just be sure to check the content warnings before diving in because there are some sensitive topics explored throughout the story.

In short, this book was everything I wanted and more. The characters, the romance, the eerie setting—it all came together to create a story that will stick with me for a long time. Highly recommend this one for your spooky season TBR!

Andrew has just returned to boarding school after summer break. It used to be the three of them: Andrew, his twin sister, Dove, and their friend Thomas. But this year is different. They're not all together. And Thomas is a suspect in some mysterious happenings with his parents. Then the monsters come.

I'm not sure what I just read. It was terrifying and heartbreaking. A story of young love and the trials of school politics. It was definitely outside of my usual genre, but it was worth the read.

I loved this book so much. I'm OBSESSED . C.G. Drews is a magical genius who has created a haunting and beautiful story that will capturing you right from the start.

I honestly just want to gush about everything from the writing style to the characters, to the plot but I know if I do that I might get spoilery . Just know that in my opinion this was perfection, Andrew and Thomas are everything. 🥰

Don't Let the Forest In is a Queer YA gothic horror that tells the story of an imaginative young main drowning in his emotions as he battles monsters both physical and metaphorical . Filled with angst , yearning, found family, grief, pain, magic, forest monsters, and an ending that fits the story perfectly.

Thank you to MTMC Tours for the earc!

If your spooky TBR is missing a book with creepy monsters, a sentient forest and amating characters, I have really good news for you!

I loved CG’s previous books, so it wasn’t a question that I wanted to read her newest one. But I was afraid too, as this is a horror, and that’s not my go-to genre. And yes, it was absolutely creepy, so read TWs before jumping in!

This book was everything I wanted and even more. It broke my heart (multiple times to be honest), but it was so beautifully written I forgive it. One of my favorite parts of this book was the writing itself. Good writing is a key for good storytelling, and CG is amazing at this.

I loved the characters, especially Thomas! He’s a bad boy, but so charming, you can’t help, but fall in love with him. Andrew was an interesting character, but I wasn’t a huge fan of him. Their romance was amazing, though, I spent an embarrassingly long time wishing they would just kiss already. I did love all the side characters, Lana and Chole were so amazing friends for Andrew. I loved Dove and I really wish we could have seen more of her. We have a few not-so-good characters, but I’m happy to say, bullies will get what they deserve in this story.

And the plot twist! Or should I say twists as in plural? At the first, I actually had to put down the book and stared at the wall for a while, because it seemed extremely possible. At that point I actually questioned the whole book, and Andrew became the most unreliable narrator ever. Then a few pages later came the real twist, and I was shocked and heartbroken. I was happy that we finally learnt what happened at the end of the previous year and what happened to Andrew’s hand, and why people hate Thomas.

Overall, it was a fantastic book, perfect for a rainy autumn afternoon, but be sure to check the TWs if you’re planning on reading this book!

Don’t Let The Forest In is a YA horror that follows our main character, Andrew, his best friend, Thomas, and a bit of Andrew’s twin sister, Dove. The book opens up at the start of senior year and things are off to a rocky start. Dove, distances herself from Andrew as soon as they get back to school and when he meets up with Thomas, he sees that he has blood on his sleeve.

Later, when Thomas’ parents disappear without a trace, he begins to behave even more strangely and shuts Andrew out. That is until one faithful night when Andrew follows Thomas into the forbidden forest, near the school, and finds him fighting a monster. When Andrew sees this, he devotes himself to helping his friend defend the school and defeat the terrifying creatures.

As the story unfolds, the boys fight to learn the origin of the monsters and discover a way to end their reign of terror. Throughout this journey, buried secrets come to life and the truth threatens to destroy them both.

🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲

Asexual MC ✅
Queer rep ✅
Dark Academia (my forever love) ✅
Angst + mutual pining ✅
Captivating storyline ✅

🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲🖤🌲

Wow wow wow…….what a story!!! I’m absolutely gutted but in the best way possible. This is my first book by C.G. Drews and I am in awe of their writing style. Beautiful and poetic……..heartbreaking……..but yet so comforting at the same time. I was entranced and devastated throughout the entire book. If it weren’t for other responsibilities and momming, I would have devoured this in a few hours. I cannot wait to have the physical copy on my trophy……I mean…..book shelves.

This would be a great addition to y’all’s October/fall TBR. Be sure to check the content warnings before you dive in, as there are some sensitive topics discussed/outlined in the story. Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the ARC. Don’t Let The Forest In will be officially published on October 29th!

"All my stories are about you. They will always be about you."

Full review coming soon. :)

Thank you so much, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC.

This YA fantasy/horror was ominous and creepy and beautiful in all the right ways. Kept me guessing until the very end.

Zuallererst muss ich sagen, dass die Danksagungen am Ende des Buches genau zutreffen: „Wenn du die letzte Seite umgedreht hast und die Wand anstarrst, ist alles wie es sein soll.“ und „Möge dich dieses Buch verfolgen.“ Beide Aussagen spiegeln meine Erfahrung perfekt wider.
Die Schreibweise ist eindrucksvoll und intensiv.

Ein besonders starkes Beispiel: „Für einen brutalen Moment dachte Andrew daran, seine Finger in Thomas' Schnitt zu stecken und die Rippe aus seiner Brust zu ziehen, um sie in die eigene zu nähen. Sie wären für immer vereint, vereint in Blut und Knochen.“

Andrew ist ein faszinierender unzuverlässiger Erzähler, dem man blind vertraut. Wenn du ein düsteres, psychologisches Märchen mit einer modernen Schule, einem lebendig werdenden Wald und queerer Repräsentation suchst, dann ist dieses Buch genau das Richtige für dich.

Es war grotesk und faszinierend und wird mich noch eine Weile verfolgen. Vielen Dank an den Verlag und MTMC Tours für das eARC!

Dark, dramatic prose with lots of descriptive horror. I think some of those horror elements were well done, just ultimately not enough character work, especially at the beginning to make me really care about the characters. I did want to keep reading to see what was happening. The way ink, stories, and illustrations were used was very intriguing.

I also didn’t really understand the setting and how the school functions. Some of the way the teachers and bullies reacted and spoke was straight up bizarre, but it could add to the unsettling creepy story you slowly get fed. The ace rep was a bit disappointing as it mixed with aromantic rep labeled as just ace. I think the ending had the opportunity to really nail if things were plot holes or intentionally vague and not making sense, and it didn’t do that for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy to form my opinions from.

Dark cottagecore horror fans eat your heart out. This one’s for you! Don’t Let the Forest In is a YA horror with gorgeous prose and queer representation. An easy and addictive read that’s perfect for spooky season.

Andrew and Thomas are two boys that share an obsession for one another and the monsters that haunt them. The dynamics between the two boys was perfection. So much angst and tension!

There’s some great exploration of mental health here too which was refreshing to see. It was done really well by the author.

Overall an incredibly unique YA horror story that will live rent free in my brain for a while yet.

P.S completely obsessed by this cover art.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for my eARC!

I'm giving up on this book at the 20% mark. I do like the twins and the way Dove sticks by Andrew even when she is exasperated by him. I have sympathy for him and his confusion over whether he is asexual or just not "gay enough" but it's all I can do to keep from skipping ahead or at least skimming because it's moving too slowly to keep my attention.

I really struggled with deciding my star rating for this book.

In the technical sense, it’s very good. The writing is atmospheric and flowery, the characters are vivid, and it’s difficult to not be sucked in. For this alone, I’d probably give it a 4 or 5.

What made reading this not a good experience, was my own taste I think. This is a dark, heavy book; and that’s not a problem for me—I often seek out books with dark themes. But the “problem” for me, comes from the fact that (without giving too much away) there is essentially no brevity from this darkness. SLIGHT SPOILERS: I never felt like there was any hope of anything ending well, and it didn’t seem like the characters did either. It has the same tone of hopeless all throughout, and I never necessarily felt that the characters were working towards anything tangible. Again, this was the authors goal, to “haunt” the reader. But it made me borderline miserable for the entire book.

I know that there will be a large readership out there for this book—clearly, a lot of people already love it. Unfortunately, it was just too emotionally draining for me to feel the same.

Okay so chapter one was very confusing and weird and I can see people DNFing it there because it’s so confusing and I’ve seen someone DNF after one paragraph. I honestly thought this wasn’t going to be for me but I decided to give it a few chapters. I’m really glad I did because then I got to see that it was intentional. The writing style was brilliantly done for this book. I honestly barely found any typos.

I will say that I did predict the twist a bit, but not in a way that was ruined for me. I thought the monsters were a symbolism for something and was very pleasantly surprised.

I will admit that I want/need an epilogue chapter to explain the ending a bit more, but I really loved it overall.

This book was about a high school senior and his best friend fighting monsters, but it’s way more than just that. I do wish this book came with spoiler warnings. I think many will love it for spooky Halloween time!!! The book was very well written and explored a lot of important themes but to share what those are would spoil this one. I hope to see this book at many bookstores this fall!!! Thanks so much for letting me read this ARC!

<i> Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC!</i>

(Slightly above a 4). This book will haunt me. That's all.

Don't Let The Forest In is an absolutely chilling, beautiful, and creepy novel that focuses on what should be a positive: "What happens if your imagination comes to life?" Instead, it's a terror ridden haunted house of horrifying monsters and curses... and that's what makes it so great. This book focuses on Thomas and Andrew, two high school students at an elite boarding school. It's a familiar setup, the two misfits, the "weird kids", bond over their isolation. However, they begin to realize that their art (Thomas's paintings/drawings and Andrew's written stories) is coming to life and they must protect Wickwood Academy and everyone they know from the monstrous hold.

This book is so richly descriptive, I easily got lost in it. Normally, I don't highlight or note in books, and I found myself highlighting so many quotes for their beauty. It definitely is <b>heavy</b> on the body horror and nightmarish visions, and despite being YA, it definitely leans older in tone. The character ages are really all that makes it YA for me, you still get the stomach turning visuals of adult horror. What keeps this book from being a full 5 for me comes down to two things - the characterization and the tropes. Thomas and Andrew are meant to be two sides of the same coin, both boys who are plagued by dark thoughts and wild imaginations. For the first few chapters, the way the narration twists between them is confusing. Even as we get deeper into the book, there are times where it's hard to distinguish the two. I think this was on purpose but it was hard to follow. Secondly, it relies a lot on tropes around mental health, family struggles, and the tortured artist. I want the horror genre to let go of the "main characters must have mental health issues" trope so so badly. It's belittling and wasn't needed for the story. The plot itself also takes a while to get going.

Either way - I commend Drews for this book. It beautifully depicts the dark side of friendship, obsession, and idolization of those you love. It has great diverse representation and an openly asexual main character (something we don't see often even though we should). This is the kind of book I didn't want to end, and would happily read more set in this twisted world.

“Everyone’s first instinct was to go inside and hide under the covers. As if monsters couldn’t open doors and crawl into bed with you.”

The amount of lines I highlighted in this story just proves how beautiful the prose is. Some of these will stick me long after putting the book down.

The characters were fleshed out so well and the interior monologues of Andrew felt visceral. Although, he’s wrong about Tim Tams. They are delicious and he needs to respect that!

The codependent relationship between Thomas and Andrew will feel constricting and toxic, but it’s meant to be. These boys NEED each other and that need is present in each word of this story. It bleeds from the page and you want these boys to win. You want to fight with them and heal them and make things better. The horror is that you can’t. My goodness, what a thrill this story was. Taking that ultimate human want of needing someone to love you despite anything you may have done and not wanting to be alone, and then twisting it until it becomes a thing that festers and grows inside you. Until eventually, it no longer fits inside you. That’s what this story does. What it FEELS like.

Things that go bump in the night, monsters that’ll haunt your dreams, a creepy forest that is always watching, and a sense of grief and pain that blankets it all are all things you can find in this story.

I am very much looking forward to this author’s next book!

Beautifully dark. Drews's wordsmithing is such that I would stop everyone around me and read passages out loud. "They didn't need two hearts. They could share Andrew's, even if it was a bruised and sorrowful thing. Their rib bones would twine together in a lattice to protect them from the worst of the world, and they would always be together; they should never be apart." A psychological horror that makes you question what is real. Andrew Perrault writes beautifully twisted fairytales. Thomas Rye beautifully paints them. Things are not as they should be at Wickwood Academy. The boys are faced with their creations in the off-limit forest and must defeat them every night to protect the rest of the students.

Andrew is a beautifully unreliable narrator. Yes, there is a lot of beauty in the darkness. Each version of darkness holds a truth that Andrew must work out or he will completely lose himself and any scrap of reality.

VERDICT- Must add to teen libraries that serve readers of thrillers.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc of this YA horror. I did enjoy it however there were a few reasons I didn't go all the way to five stars for it. Let me hit those first 1. The prose in the beginning is a bit hard to get into and Andrew (our point of view character) has so much on page anxiety that the prose begins to circle (more on that in a bit) 2. That beautiful prose really felt much more like I was seeing the author and not the characters who are 17-18 year old boys and even as an author of wicked fairy tales as Andrew is, this felt way too flowery (or maybe that's just the gender biases I carry with me growing up in the era that I did) 3.the ending (more on that later too without spoilers)

Andrew and his twin sister, Dove, are Australians going to a wealthy boarding school in the states. Dove is your quintessential over achieving academic. Andrew is a bundle of mental health issues (consider this your content warning) He has some sexuality worries (he's learning that he's ACE), huge anxiety issues especially social anxiety and later develops anorexia. Andrew worries what a lot of people with mental health issues do (speaking as one of the group) that his issues are too much for people. In his case, they are. Andrew is exhausting.

Andrew's one friend is THomas Rye, a very talented artistic young man, the abused and neglected son of two artistic parents, the boy who hates everyone but Andrew (and Dove) Apparently he and Dove had a blow out at the end of the school year and are not talking now. She's barely talking to Andrew and he has to rely on her roommate, the always ready to fight Lana Lang (whose name drove me up the wall since there wasn't at least one Superman reference to her name in the book)

The new school year opens with Thomas under suspicion of hurting his parents who disappeared and there is blood in the house. Worse, things are happening in the forbidden woods outside of the school. Monsters straight out of fair tales (like Andrew writes), straight out of Thomas's art (which they twig onto immediately) are attacking and if Thomas doesn't beat them every night, they attack the school.

The boys are left trying to find a way to defeat the monsters once and for all while not dying or failing out of school. We have nice supportive art teachers and on the other hand we have the bullies, one is the calculus professor and the other is Bryce, typical rich kid who is going to get away with it because teachers/admin love him. He and the teacher Clemmons are SO bad you're rooting for the monsters.

For Andrew the fight between Thomas and Dove, the monsters, school, Bryce and all of it are becoming too much, especially talk about what he did at the end of the last school year that left him with scars. Andrew develops an eating disorder (too full of the forest to eat is how he describes it) and his anxiety over his relationship with Thomas deepens (as he fears rejection if Thomas a) wants Dove b) wants him but only if sex is part of it)

It takes them a lot longer to figure out what is causing the monsters than I did (which is good because it would have been a short story and not a novel if they picked up on it that fast). And as much as I like Andrew, Thomas and even Lana, the ending disappointed me because (without spoilers) it relied on a trope I don't like (and one I know enrages a lot of people) and worse if this is how it plays out then every adult and several of his friends have really let Andrew and his mental health down. Still overall, it was an engaging psychological horror.

oh my god. this book is EVERYTHING. From the atmosphere to the two main characters, I was hooked the whole time.

The way the forest was described was creepy, atmospheric, and the perfect mix of moldy and gross, making it a living thing that was breathing down the necks of the main characters the entire time. The monsters were absolutely horrifying and made the whole forest so much scarier.

The characters, especially Andrew, were so well made, and I was obsessed. Andrew’s anxiety was so realistic, and I could truly feel as his anxiety got worse. I related so much to his reactions and genuinely he is a masterpiece of a character. The side characters as well, they were all so dimensional and it was easy to love them.

The twist, goddamn the twist. I didn’t see it coming, until one specific scene where I had to put the book down because I realized exactly what I had missed. It truly crept up behind me and shocked me to my core.

This book is absolutely amazing, and I know I will be thinking about it for awhile. I’ve been following the author for a bit now, and when this book was announced I was so excited they’d finally be publishing in America. This book was the perfect choice, and I will absolutely be devouring everything they write from here on out.

(Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC)

“All my stories are about you. They will always be about you.” Excuse me while I reread this stunning ARC. C.G. Drews, you drew me right in and did not stop the ride. Andrew and Thomas are going to live rent free in my head for some time. This was a story that did not disappoint. Twists. Turns. Everything in between. I am still reeling. I am so incredibly lucky that Netgalley allowed for me to read this as an ARC, I will happily refer this book and author to anyone that will listen. RUN. Do not walk. I was not ready for it, and I am going to absolutely be reading this again and again.